The tafsir of al-Qurtubi is perhaps one of the most compendious of them all and is certainly among the most famous. As its title, al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur'an - The General Judgments of the Qur'an, suggests, its main focus is on the rulings and judgments to be found in the Qur'an. However, in the course of doing that, al-Qurtubi examines all the relevant sciences necessary, such as the hadith pertaining to the ayahs, events in the sirah, what the Companions, their Followers and other noted people of knowledge said about the ayahs, essential aspects of Arabic etymology, syntax and usage, copiously illustrated by examples, and much more.

In this volume, the author examines the Fatihah in great depth, and then works through the first juz’ (two hizbs), stopping to examine linguistic matters, ahkam/judgments in greater detail, covering, for example, iman, establishment of the salat, zakat, hypocrisy, the Tribe of Israel, the creation of Adam and Hawwa’, caliphate, abrogation, and including the pivotal story of the sacrifice of the cow by the Tribe of Israel.