HERMENEUTIKA TRADISIONAL ISLAM DALAM TAFSIR BI AL-MA’TSUR: KAJIAN EPISTEMOLOGIS ATAS AL-TABARI, IBN KATHIR, DAN AL-SUYUTHI

Abstract

Contemporary Qur’anic interpretation shows a growing need for an interpretive model that remains rooted in the authority of revelation and transmitted reports amid the expansion of modern contextual readings. This study was conducted because traditional hermeneutics in tafsir bi al-ma’thur is often positioned as a classical method, whereas it contains a systematic epistemological structure through source hierarchy, sanad-matn criticism, tasdiq, and tarjih. The research problem asks how traditional hermeneutics operates within tafsir bi al-ma’thur, while the objective is to analyze the authority of transmission, source structure, and interpretive practice in the works of al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, and al-Suyuti. The data were processed through library research by reading, classifying, comparing, and analyzing classical tafsir literature and Indonesian scholarly journals published from 2020 to 2026. The findings show that tafsir bi al-ma’thur has four concrete elements: textual authority, sanad continuity, report criticism, and restricted ra’yu. Therefore, traditional hermeneutics functions as an interpretive foundation that preserves Qur’anic authenticity while allowing measured methodological development.