التفسير بالرأي
al-Tafsīr bi’l-Raʾy
Interpretation of the Quran by the free exercise of the interpreter’s own reasoning, as distinct from interpretation handed down from the Prophet and earlier generations
What it means
The phrase means “interpretation by opinion”. Scholars of tafsīr traditionally set it beside al-tafsīr bi’l-ma’thūr, the interpretation that is transmitted: the Quran explained by the Quran, by the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and by the Companions. Interpretation by reason uses the mind, together with knowledge of the Arabic language and the Quranic sciences, to draw out meaning that no transmitted report states. Scholars distinguished a praiseworthy kind of raʾy, which rests on language, sound method and knowledge, from a blameworthy kind, which bends the text to desire or speaks without knowledge. Many large commentaries combine both approaches, and the debate concerns the conditions for sound reasoning rather than whether reasoning is allowed.
Often misunderstood as
That it means reading the Quran however one likes, when the tradition sets strict conditions on the use of reason.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 49, listed as AL TAFSĪR BIL RA'Y. The definition is restated here.