Tafsīr is the exposition of a Qurʾānic verse — its meaning, its circumstance, its story, and the occasion of its revelation — in wording that indicates that sense manifestly; the word itself originally means uncovering and making manifest.
In ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s Works
In al-Mīzān's Muqaddimah, Ṭabāṭabāʾī defines tafsīr as explaining the meanings of Qurʾānic verses and disclosing their aims and significations. This substantially agrees with the received General technical meaning; its author-specific value is the direct attestation and the compact emphasis on maqāṣid and madālīl, not a rival doctrine of tafsīr.
Source: al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān
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