He himself says...

He himself says: "I had three courses of the exegesis of the Qur'an and seventy courses of the reciting of the Qur'an with Ibn Abbas". It means that Ibn Abbas gave two kinds of instruction, one of which consisted of exegesis of the Qur'an and the other of reciting the Qur'an, and Atiyya attended three courses of the former and seventy of the latter.

Holy Qur'an, the Key to Success The above narration relating to Atiyya shows how great an importance the companions of the Prophet of Allah and the Tabi'in attached to the exegesis and reciting of the Qur'an and how fond they were of acquiring knowledge in this behalf.

They knew very well that the glory of the Muslims and their prosperity in this world and in the Hereafter lies under the protection of the Qur'an and it has been revealed so that the Muslims may always recite it and reflect upon its contents. Furthermore, they should learn the meaning of the Qur'an from the Prophet of Allah and should also become acquainted with them themselves and ponder over them.

In the following Qur'anic verse the Muslims have been asked to do two things: Firstly they should learn the meanings and the interpretation of the Qur'an from the Holy Prophet, and secondly they themselves should endeavor to understand it and ponder over its contents. The Almighty Allah says: We have revealed to you the Qur'an that you may explain to the people that which has been revealed for them, so that perhaps they may reflect.

(Surah al-Nahl, 16:44) This verse means that the people are required to perform two things regarding the Holy Qur'an. Firstly they should learn and commit to memory the explanations provided by the Prophet of Allah and should understand by means of his remarks that which needs explanation. It does not, however, mean that an explanation by the Holy Prophet is needed also in respect of those verses which are explicit and clear.

Help of explanation by the Holy Prophet is needed in respect of only those verses which are difficult to understand and must be explained in detail, because different persons interpret them differently. The second duty of the Muslims with regard to the Qur'an is that they themselves should also endeavor to profit by it and utilize their intellect to understand it.