The top Tafseer Books are:

1. Tafsir ibn Kathir by Ibn Kathir

Tafsir Ibn Kathir is the most renowned and accepted explanation of the Quran in the entire world. In it, one finds the best presentation of Ahadith (stories), history, and scholarly commentary. Muslims consider it to be the best source based on Quran and Sunnah.

2. Tafsir al-Tabari by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari

Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān, popularly Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, is a Sunni tafsir by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. It immediately won high regard and retained its importance for scholars to the present day. It is the earliest major running commentary of the Quran to have survived in its original form.

3. Tafsir al-Qurtubi by Al-Qurtubi

Tafsir al-Qurtubi is also known as Al-Jami’li-Ahkam or Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an or Tafsir al-Jami’. The basic objective of this tafsir was to deduce juristic injunctions and rulings from the Quran yet while doing so, al-Qurtubi has also provided the explanation of verses, research into difficult words, discussion of diacritical marks, and elegance of style and composition.

4. Tafhim-ul-Quran by Abul A’la Maududi

Tafhim-ul-Quran is a 6-volume translation and commentary of the Qur’an by the Pakistani Islamist ideologue and activist Syed Abul Ala Maududi. Maududi began writing the book in 1942 and completed it in 1972. It is a combination of orthodox and modernist interpretations and has deeply influenced modern Islamic thought.

5. Tafsir al-Jalalayn by Al-Mahalli and Al-Suyuti

Tafsīr al-Jalālayn is a classical Sunni interpretation of the Qur’an, composed first by Jalal ad-Din al-Maḥalli in 1459 and then completed after his death by his student Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti in 1505, thus its name, which means “Tafsir of the two Jalals”. It is recognized as one of the most popular exegeses of the Qur’an today.