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.

Among the important matters covered in this volume are extensive commentary on the Ayat al-Kursi the greatest ayat in the Qur'an, the ayats on usury and the longest ayat in the Qur'an which regulates credit and debt, among the very last revealed to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the unparalleled ayats that conclude Surat al-Baqarah, and the passage from Surah Al 'Imran that explicates the difference between ayats containing clear judgements and others that are open to interpretation. There is of course, the eponymous theme of the surah, the family of 'Imran: Maryam, her son 'Isa, Zakariyya' and his son Yahya, peace be upon them all.