Interpretation of the verses of Qurʿān has a history back to the early revelation. Muslims believe that Qurʿān is the word of God, which is revealed to Muhammad, and therefore, understanding the real purpose of the Qurʿān, is vital. Reading the Qurʿān, for traditional Muslims was not like reading a scientific or historical text, it was rather encountering with a metaphysical reality that is formulated in the form of the letters, words, verses, and chapters with the goal of (...) educating man to realize his/her potential faculties in becoming what he/she is created for. In this encounter with a sacred reality that connected them to both visible and invisible realm, they sought to find out the core meaning of the revealed message. Sufis described the text in a way was such as a mirror in which everyone who tried to look at it saw himself. This paper investigates the mirror in which Sufis looked upon the Islamic revelation. (shrink)

This article, after tracing a precise classification of the exegetical trend known as iʿjāz ʿilmī, summarizes and discusses the criticism leveled at it and examines how the “scientific interpretation” of the Qur’ān is liable to blend with pseudoscience and conspiracy theories to the detriment of a solid harmonization of science and religion and of a genuine appreciation of natural science. Furthermore, the article offers some practical ideas that can be implemented in order to effectively and fairly address iʿjāz (...) ʿilmī in the Muslim world. (shrink)

The last article of this three-part series on the Qurʾān and science discusses the creation and development of the scientific miraculousness of the Qurʾān, which claims that the Qurʾān contains scientific findings and has particular scientific features, such as harmonious numerical analogies and formulae, that confirm the divine origin of the text. It became a political-theological tool used by Muslim preachers and activists across the globe. Unlike scientific interpreters of the Qurʾān, advocates of scientific miraculousness (...) were concerned with not only uniting Muslims and proving God's authority over the universe but also promoting the Qurʾān as a mine of modern science, archaeology, and history, the authenticity of which is unchallengeable. (shrink)

The second installment in a three‐part series on the Qurʾān and science, this article provides a systematic discussion of the scientific interpretation of the Qurʾān both inside and outside the Muslim world. This discussion reveals how Muslims’ interactions with Euro‐Americans have kept discourse on the Qurʾān and science alive. It also demonstrates how Muslims promoted this exegetical genre transregionally from the Middle East to Southeast Asia.

We discuss the special place of the Qur'an in the Muslim discourse in general and on science in particular. The Qur'an has an unparalleled influence on the Muslim mind, and understanding the Islamic treatise on science and religion must start from this realization. We explore the concept of science in the Islamic culture and to what extent it can be related to the Qur'an. Reviewing various Islamic discourses on science, we show how a simplistic understanding of the plan to adopt (...) modern science within an Islamic revival program has been corrupted in the form of the theory of "scientific miraculousness of the Qur'an." We assess and dismiss this theory but use it to show how a serious misunderstanding of the nature of modern science and a narrow view of the Qur'an has led to that embarrassingly popular yet misguided theory. We conclude by promoting a multiplicity of readings of the Qur'an and show that this allows for an enlightenment of one's interpretation of Qur'anic verses, using various tools at one's disposal, including scientific knowledge. We uphold Averroes's principle of "no possible conflict," which can be used to persuade the Muslim public of a given idea not by proving that it can be found in the Qur'an but rather by showing that at least some readings of it are fully consistent with the given scientific theory. (shrink)

As the first installment in a three‐part series on the Qurʾān and science, this article begins with the author's personal and scholarly experiences to demonstrate the importance of the twin trends of Qurʾānic scientific interpretation and Qurʾānic scientific miraculousness, including how both serve as Muslims theological tools. It then touches upon the close relationship between theology and scientific knowledge in the history of Islam. The main focus concerns how science is situated and defined in Islamic literature, (...) with particular references to traditional Muslim commentaries and treatises. It also concerns the way Muslim exegetical figures and traditionalists are encouraged or discouraged from taking science into account based on the Qurʾān and prophetic traditions. (shrink)

This edition and annotated translation of al-Qāsim's Kitāb al-mustarshid includes a discussion of anthropomorphism and interpretation of the Qur’ān in the theology of the Zaidite imam al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm . Al-Qāsim's methods of interpretation are put forth and analyzed in light of early Qur’ānic exegesis.

Qur’an states about ‘Adam’s Istifā’ or selection of Adam over all the people of the world, along with Noah, Āl-e-Imrān and Āl-e-Ibrāhim. The commentators have interpreted the ‘Istifā’ as ‘God’s selection’. If Adam is the first human to step into the world, what does God mean from ‘his selection over all the people of the world’? The followers of the evolutionary reading of the text of the Qur’an use this verse and determine that ‘Adam’ is the chosen person (...) amongst human beings in his time, but some commentators have criticised this to accept the other verses that say ‘Adam is the father of all human beings’, and they believe that Adam was created without parents. This study reviewed the collection of verses of human creation, based on three principles: the consistency of the Qur’an, near synonymy and the Qur’anic truth. The conclusions are: The Qur’anic concept of the ‘Adam’s Istifā’ leads to his creation without the affiliation of the previous generations. Such interpretation is confirmed by the system of Qur’anic verses. Based on Qur’anic concepts of the Bashar, Insān and Rūh, Adam is an advanced Bashar which is named Insān, who is gifted the Rūh, and modern humans are all from his generation. (shrink)

Qur’an states about ‘Adam’s Istifā’ or selection of Adam over all the people of the world, along with Noah, Āl-e-Imrān and Āl-e-Ibrāhim. The commentators have interpreted the ‘Istifā’ as ‘God’s selection’. If Adam is the first human to step into the world, what does God mean from ‘his selection over all the people of the world’? The followers of the evolutionary reading of the text of the Qur’an use this verse and determine that ‘Adam’ is the chosen person (...) amongst human beings in his time, but some commentators have criticised this to accept the other verses that say ‘Adam is the father of all human beings’, and they believe that Adam was created without parents. This study reviewed the collection of verses of human creation, based on three principles: the consistency of the Qur’an, near synonymy and the Qur’anic truth. The conclusions are: The Qur’anic concept of the ‘Adam’s Istifā’ leads to his creation without the affiliation of the previous generations. Such interpretation is confirmed by the system of Qur’anic verses. Based on Qur’anic concepts of the Bashar, Insān and Rūh, Adam is an advanced Bashar which is named Insān, who is gifted the Rūh, and modern humans are all from his generation. (shrink)

In terms of understanding and interpreting a text, both the Christian world and the Islamic world have developed a discipline appropriate to the nature of the belief in their own books. Schleiermacher, one of the names that had a profound effect on modern hermeneutics, proposes two methods, grammatical and psychological methods, in understanding and interpreting the New Testament (Gospels). In this study, an evaluation has been made about whether the psychological method (hermeneutics) of Schleiermacher, who is a Christian theologian, can (...) be utilized in the Qur’anic exegesis (Tafsir) and interpretation (Ta’wil) and the similarities and intersections of this method with the sciences in the Qur’anic exegesis method have been attempted to be explained. In line with this goal, first of all, information about the understanding of the holy book in Christianity and Islam was given. Afterwards, the definitions of the intuitive and comparative method, psychological and technical task proposed by Schleiermacher in his psychological method were made and its contents were explained. In the last part, it has been evaluated whether the aforementioned methods will contribute to the interpretation of the Qur’an, and if a similar method has been formed as a science in the Islamic scientific tradition or in the method of tafsir, this is also stated. In addition, an opinion has been expressed on whether the methods that cannot be used directly in the interpretation of the Qur’an can be applied to the authors of tafsir (mufassirun) and the tafsirs they have written. (shrink)

The nature of Islamic ethics has long been a topic of debate amongst Muslim scholars. Islamic ethics was, and continues to be, instrumental in negotiating the dynamics and relation between the Muslim practitioner of the law and the values of human beings. Thus, the interpretive framework through which authoritative Islamic sources are interpreted determines or, at least, influences, the normativity and ethical outlooks gained from the texts. I propose a virtue ethics framework because it aligns with Islamic principles and values. (...) Virtue ethics is an ethical approach that prioritizes cultivating virtuous behavior in the practitioner through engaging in certain rituals and actions. Another way of conceptualizing this is that certain rituals and actions are instrumental in cultivating virtuous dispositions in the practitioner. In this essay, I argue that a robust virtue ethics framework can be interpreted from the Qur’an because will contribute to our understanding of the aspirational nature of the Qur’an. This is done in reference to Shariah as the “path of God.” My argument is proposed by first, highlighting the concept of Shariah; what it is, and how its essence may be understood. Second, I engage in textual analysis of the Qur’an in light of virtue ethics, while substantiating that analysis with secondary material. (shrink)

In the field of ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, in which the conceptual framework of the science of interpretation is drawn and the main rules used in tafsīr are discussed, independent books have been compiled since early periods. Some of these works stand out as foundational texts because they make important determinations about the nature, function, methodology, and relationship of the science of tafsīr with other Islamic sciences. The masterpiece entitled Fahm al-Qurʾān by al-Khāris al-Muhāsibī, a scholar of sufism, tafsīr, kalām, and (...) hadīth is one of these books. Al-Muḥāsibī was a writer who lived in a period when philological and Sharīʿah sciences gained a systematic structure and schools were born and developed. Muhāsib'i's multifaceted scholarly depth, the requirements of his time, and the characteristics of his work distinguish Fahm al-Qurʾān from other works in the field in terms of its problematic, content, and style. It can be said that Fahm al-Qurʾān consists of two main chapters. In the first chapter, the issues of kalām, meaning, and reason are subjected to a quiddity inquiry. In the second chapter, the linguistic aspect of kalām is emphasized and the content and style of the Qur'ān are discussed under the headings of muhkam- mutashābih, naskh and üslūb al-Qur'ān. In this work, al-Muḥāsibī suggests that before asking How we should understand the Qur'ān?, the reader should ask What exactly is being understood and what is meaning? The first of these questions includes the question Who am I? While the sources of The Sciences of the Qurʾān mostly focus on how to understand the Qurʾān at the epistemological and methodological level, in Fahm al- Qurʾān, the meaning of understanding the Qurʾān is problematized and a theory of reason and meaning that is competent with moral training is built. Thus, the conceptual inquiries of the work extend to the existential philosophy of the author. Despite these privileges, it is surprising that Fahm al-Qurʾān did not gain a prominent place among the main sources of tafsir methodology in later periods. This may be due to the theorization of a theory of meaning in which moral maturation is placed at the center. In this research, while trying to reveal the original value that Muhāsibī added to the field with Fahm al-Qurʾān, the systematic structure of the science of interpretation, its connection with other religious sciences, the relationship between speech adjective and language were made problematic and tried to be resolved in the context of the research hypothesis. In this context, it has been determined that al-Muḥāsibī's Fahm al-Qurʾān draws the conceptual framework of tafsīr methodology in relation to the authentic structure of the sharī'ah sciences at a very early period. The fact that Fahm al-Qurʾān carries important signs regarding the position of tafsīr in the hierarchy of sciences and its relationship with other sharī'ah sciences increases the value of the work in identifying the codes of the traditional paradigm. In the research, in which induction methods were used in text analysis and deduction methods were used in discourse analysis, it was determined that Fahm al-Qurʾān had a fiction that shapes the traditional paradigm and depicts the authentic structure of religious sciences. (shrink)

No single collection of biblical or Midrashic writings has ever been explicitly cited as a direct source for the Qurʾān. However, as the final divine scripture in the historical continuum of monotheistic religions, the Qurʾān exhibits a clear textual and chronological relationship to the biblical traditions of Judaism and Christianity. Its stories are intertwined with narratives that evoke biblical and Midrashic sources. This connection has motivated some Muslim scholars, particularly narrative exegetes such as Ibn Kathīr, al-Ṭabarī and al-Qurṭubī, to interpret (...) the Qurʾānic text by drawing on biblical and post-biblical knowledge, often referred to as Isrāʾīliyyāt.Contribution: With its treatment of this connection, this article will show that biblical lore has played a crucial role in exegesis of the Qurʾānic scripture, helping the exegetes provide meaning to obscure Qurʾānic verses, uncover its ambiguous figures and expand its stories. (shrink)

Ibn Lebbân (d.749/1349), who originally belonged to a family from Siirt, is a Sufi Islamic scholar who wrote important works in many fields, especially the Quran, Hadith and Sufism. He lived during the period of the Bahri Mamluks (1250-1382), who ruled in Syria and Egypt and were known as the founding family of the Mamluk state. Ibn Lebban was engaged in science throughout his life, trained students, gave fatwas and guided the people. Many scholars who came after him spoke highly (...) of him in their works. His work titled "İzâletü'ş-şübühât ʿani'l-âyât ve'l-eḥâdîsi'l-müteşâbihât", which is one of the important works of Ibn Lebban that is known and has survived to the present day, is about the mutashabih attributes mentioned in verses and hadiths and attributed to Allah. It contains useful and enlightening information regarding the interpretation of these adjectives. In this article, Ibn Lebban el-Is'ırdî's life, his scientific personality, his work named "İzaletü-ş Şübühât" and his comments on some mutashabih adjectives that constitute the content of his work and his approach on this subject will be discussed. (shrink)

The Turkish market of Qur'an translations and studies is exceedingly oversaturated. Critics find some of these lacking in proper hermeneutical judgement, impelling them to reflect on the conditions of judicious Qur'anic exegesis. These reflections have remained relatively unexplored in English academic literature. In Critical Hermeneutics, Celik explores and compares the hermeneutical philosophies of three Turkish intellectuals, namely Alpyagil, Cündioglu, and Öztürk. By exploring their philosophical views on subjectivity and objectivity in the context of interpreting the Qur'an, Celik draws major implications (...) for reading the Qur'an in new and different ways. (shrink)

The great majority of commentators have evaluated the splitting of the moon. The vast majority of them think that it occurred in the Prophet’s period basing their view on the clear statement of al-Qamar 54/1 verse and on related rumors. However, some commentators claim that the moon will split on the doomsday, by referring to the context of the same verse. The same names criticize the rumors claiming that they cannot constituteevidence for the splitting of the moon. To those who (...) think so, from the fact that the splitting of the moon was related by few companions and that it was not recorded in various geographies it is evident that the incident did not happen. It cannot be said that the commentators, who took that the view that the split of the moon were in the period of the Prophet, have similar views in this regard. They have different interpretations in matters such as the realization and the shape of the event. On the other hand, those who claim that the split of the moon is only an idiomatic statement and that the event is only a lunar eclipse, declare that the split of the moon never actually happened. In this study which deals with various interpretations of tafsirs of the splitting of the moon, it is aimed to criticize different opinions on this issue. Document analysis and comparison methods were applied in the article.Summary: The issue of the splitting of the moon has attracted many names from various disciplines, notably the commentators. In the verse of al-Qamar 54/1 mentioning the splitting of the moon has been an important factor for the commentators to evaluate this issue. The ḥadīth narratives regarding the cleavage of the moon are found in many ḥadīth sources, in particular, Ṣahīh al-Bukhārīand Ṣahīh al-Muslim. The rumors about the splitting of the moon, albeit with different forms, are attributed to Anas b. Mālik (d. 93/712), Jubayr b. Muṭ‘īm (d. 59/678-679), ʿAbdallāh b. ʿAbbās (d. 68/687-688), ʿAbdallāh b. ‘Omar (d. 73/692), and ʿAbdallāh b. Masʿūd (d. 32/652-653) One of the rumors about the splitting of the moon, although it is based on ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661)is not found in the authentic ḥadīth sources. In some narrations, it is said that the miracle of the moon's splitting took place upon the request of the polytheists while the others are only mentioned how this miracle happened. On the other hand, it cannot be said that the commentators agree on the split of the moon. The main purpose of this study is to identify these opinions with its basis. Apart from those who do not accept the occurrence of the incident, there are differences of opinion among the commentators who see this event as a miracle of the Prophet Muḥammad. It is possible to classify the disagreements of the commentators in this subject in two headings as the time and manner of occurrence of this incident.Most of the classical commentators, on the basis of narrations, think that the splitting of the moon occurred during the period of Mecca. Among these commentators, al-Wāḥidī (d. 468/1076) and al-Qurṭubī (d. 671/1273), as well as the rumors of this evidence, offer as a proof the verse, "if they see a miracle, they turn away and say that this is a great magic." (al-Qamar 54/2). Some commentators, such as al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072), accept that this phenomenon has taken place in the past by referring to the opinion of the commentators about the split of the moon. The views of many of the modern-day commentators such as Siddiq Ḥasan Khan (d. 1307/1890), Mawdūdī (d. 1399/1979) and Sābūnī, on this issue, apart from the narrations related to the subject have shaped the general opinion of the commentators. There are differences of opinions among some of the commentators, who accept that the splitting of the moon takes place during the time of the Prophet Muḥammad, as to the reasons and arbitrariness of the incident. According to classical period commentators such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923), al-Samarqandī (d. 373/983), Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210), al-Qurṭubī (d. 671/1273), and Shīʿī commentators al-Qummī (d. 329/941), this incident took place upon the Prophet Muḥammad asked for a miracle as evidence for his prophethood by Meccan polytheists. Therefore, these commentators establish a relationship between the splitting of the moon and the prophethood of the prophet Muḥammad. On the other hand, commentators like Sayyid Quṭb (d. 1385/1966) argue that the splitting of the moon cannot be regarded as evidence of the prophethood, citing the fact that the miracles of the Prophet Muḥammad except the Qurʾān were not reported. There is a disagreement about the validity of the narrations related to the events among the commentators, who see the splitting of the moon as a miracle of the Prophet Muḥammad. Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373) and Shawkanī (d. 1250/1834) commentators, such as the rumors about this issue as a precise; ibn ʿĀshūr (d. 1879/1973) does not accept the news on this issue as a precise. There are also some commentators who suggest that the splitting the moon will take place in the future. The commentators, who shared this view, especially Rashīd Riḍā (d. 1353/1935) argued that the splitting of the moon did not take place in the past, pointing out that the validity criteria of narrations related to the splitting of the moon, and contradictory issues in the content of the rumors, also most of the people narrated by him/her cannot witness the incident and that it is not possible for people in a certain geography to witness this incident.There are few classical period commentators who suggest that the moon will be split in the future during the apocalypse. The prominent names are al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, (d. 110/728), ʿAṭāʾ b. Abī Rabāḥ (d. 114/732) and Abū Bakr al- Aṣamm (d. 200/816). On the other hand, many names such as Rashīd al-Riḍā (d. 1353/1935), al-Marāghī (d. 1364/1945) and al-Shinqīṭī (d. 1394/1974) from the modern period declare that the moon will split during the apocalypse.According to these, in the verses of the al-Qamar 54/1 that apocalyptic scene is mentioned.In the verse, they try to justify the use of the verb meaning of a split in the past tense by introducing some evidence from other verses.According to them, in many verses that speak of apocalyptic scenes, events are expressed in the past tense. There are also commentators who have different evaluations on the way of the occurring event instead of the time concept. Al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), Muḥyiddīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) and Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī (d. 1052/1642) do not see the splitting of the moon as a real split mentioned in the verse of the al-Kamer 54/1. According to them, the event is an optical illusion. Muḥammad Asad (d. 1412/1992) connected this illusion to the lunar eclipse. Trying to explain the splitting of the moon by some commentators is one of the commentary differences in this issue. According to Mawdūdī, who did not see this event scientifically impossible, it is possible to reunite a fragmented star with gravity. Without a doubt, Ṭanṭawī al-Jawharī (d. 1940) is one of the names who make the most striking evaluations in this issue. According to him, the miracle of the moon's splitting has many aspects to shed light on scientific studies. Ṭanṭawī al-Jawharī sees the verse as the sign of the moon instead of any other celestial body, as a sign that the moon had long ago broken off from the world. Therefore, Ṭanṭawī al-Jawharī establishes a relationship between the splitting of the month mentioned in the verse and the theories about the separation of the moon in the modern period.One of the arguments about the splitting of the moon is related to the fineness of the language. Some commentators, who draw attention to the expression of the splitting of the moon, which is the expression in the Qurʾān, argue that the purpose of the separation of the moon is the occurrence of truth. According to the advocates of this view, the Arabs use such a statement to express that a work has come to light. According to this, the term "splitting the moon" as means that the Qurʾān expands the darkness in its period. In summary, the commentators make various comments on different grounds such as the narrative expression of the verse al-Qamar 54/1 regarding the splitting of the moon, the narrations about the event, and the language subtleties. (shrink)

Quranic recitations have attracted great attention from scholars throughout the ages. The recording of Quranic recitations, whether in special works, tafsir or hadith works, began in the early periods of Islamic history. This study aims to introduce Ibn al-Yazidi, Abu Abdurrahman al-Yazidi (d. 237 AH) and to examine his approach to presenting and guiding Quranic recitations in his book “Gharib Al-Qur’an and Tafsir”. The Yazidi family is famous in the field of Quranic recitations. At the forefront comes Abu Muhammad (...) Yahya bin al-Mubarak (d. 202 AH), the father of Abu Abdul Rahman Abdullah bin Yahya, the author of the book under study. Abu Muhammad has a special narration and interpretations in Quranic recitations. Abu Abdul Rahman narrated the recitation of Abu Amr bin Al-Ala (d. 145 AH) from his father Yahya and acquired Arabic knowledge from Farra (d. 207 AH). Ibn al-Yazidi wrote the book “Gharib Al-Qur’an and tefsir”, which is in the middle ranks among its peers, including the gharibul-Qur'an and the languages of the Quran. He revealed his preferences in recitations and explained their meanings and the differences between them. Ibn al-Yazidi also wrote his book before many of the famous books in Bayan al-Gharib and al-Kira'at. Ibn al-Yazidi, who acquired the recitation from his Yazidi father Yahya bin al-Mubarak (d. 202 AH), the owner of the famous recitation, did not stick to a single recitation in his book. Since the readings he confirmed or selected in his book are a mixture of mutawatir, famous and shaz readings, as we will see throughout our study, he did not mention this classification, which came late for his time. Similarly, regarding the strange words in Ibn al-Yazidi's book Gharib Al-Qur’an and tefsir, we see that sometimes he mentions some words in a different order in the verse or verses. Sometimes he presented the Qur'anic recitation with a verse that is not in place in the Qur'an. Because while explaining the strange words, he relied on interpreting the Qur'an with the Qur'an, so he mentioned another verse by saying "from him" or "from that" and presented the recitation in the verse. Ibn al-Yazidi was also interested in the languages mentioned in the Qur'an and their status in explaining, defining and guiding the Qur'anic recitations. Thus, Ibn al-Yazidi presented various readings in many places of the book, and became a reference that was used by Mekki ibn Abi Talib (d. 437 AH), Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH) and other writers in tafsir, garib al-Qur'an and readings. In the study, a scanning approach was followed to list the words mentioned by Ibn al-Yazidi in one or more of his readings, and a historical descriptive approach was followed to mention the life of Abu Abdul Rahman and to explain the importance of his book and its scientific value in the field of garib al-Qur'an and Qur'an readings. Later, in his work titled "Gharib Al-Qur’an and its Tafsir", an analytical approach was followed to explain Ibn al-Yazidi's sources and his approach to presenting and directing the readings. The study consists of an introduction, two sections, a conclusion and a bibliography. The introduction section includes the importance and methodology of the study. In the first part, Ibn al-Yazidi's introduction and the introduction of his book called Gharib Al-Qur’an and its Tafsir are given. In the second part, Ibn al-Yazidi's approach to presenting and guiding the recitations is presented. Then, the conclusion and sources. (shrink)

Muḥkam and mutashābih have developed as two topics that are related to every field of religious studies throughout the historical process. The fact that this has been a topic of controversy in every field of religious studies is due to the fact that verses of the Qur’an were classified as muḥkam and mutashābih by the verses of the Qur’an. Discussions and suggestions regarding muḥkam and mutashābih generally tended to be limited to the studies about the semantic definitions of (...) the terms or were shaped around the narratives about the circumstances of the revelation and thus digression from the actual context was inevitable. In addition, acknowledging muḥkam and mutashābih as semantic qualities of the Qur’an raised doubts over the Qur’an's status as an understandable text. As mutashābih verses were considered by some as ambiguous, this enabled each school of thought to base their opinions on the verses of the Qur'an. The fact that current interpretations of the verses of the Qur’an are not made free from the historical points of view is due to the strength of the historical knowledge. Qur’an demands faith in the previous canons as well as demanding faith in the previous messengers. In this context, muḥkam are the genuine commandments of the Qur’an which did not exist in the previous canons whereas mutashābih are the commandments that resemble the ones in the previous canons. This research employs analysis, comparison and criticism methods for examining its subject matter. Meanings of the verses of the Qur’an are analyzed linguistically and the relations between the terms in this context are attempted to be shown. In interpreting the verses about the topic, arguments of different schools of thought are included. Criticism of the previous interpretations is carried out considering the contextual and semantic integrity of the Qur'an. It is also stated that while forming its muḥkam verses, the Qur’an employed the methods of abrogation, adjournment and conversion. Abrogation is not an annulation of the own verses of the Qur’an but an annulation of a commandment in a previous canon. Adjournment means not to abrogate a commandment of a previous canon but their inclusion in the new canon. The cases that the Qur’an mentions in which the messenger is accused of fabricating are stated to be due to the conversion of the commandments the interlocutors had already known by genuine verses of the Qur’an. To regard muḥkam and mutashābih as genuine and resembling verses would fortify the judgement that the verses of the Qur’an are comprehensible. This paper concludes that the muḥkam verses provide the fundamentals of the system of law which is the Qur’an, and mutashābih are the verses that are in the Qur’an and show resemblance to previous laws that were already present at the time. In relation to this, that those with crooked hearts tracing after the mutashābih is interpreted to mean that they investigated whether the ayats were included in the previous canons and that Allah knows the gloss of the mutashābih ayats is interpreted to mean that He knows in which canon the ayats were first included and finally the attitude of those with deep wisdom towards the muteshâbih ayats is explained as that with their vast knowledge on revelation, they confess that all the resembling ayats were revealed by Allah. (shrink)

Writings on al-Shāṭibī have focused on his views on maṣlaḥah and Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah. His approach to the interpretation of the Qurʾān and the implications of such an approach have only rarely been heeded. This study addresses this aspect of al-Shāṭibī’s work. It essentially asserts that in restructuring Islamic legal theory around the idea of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, al-Shāṭibī brought jurists and Qurʾān commentators closer to one another. It further argues that his contribution went beyond the interest of jurists centred on (...) legal reasoning by holding a comprehensive hermeneutical view of the Qurʾān informed by belief in the thematic unity of its sūrahs and verses. Taking such unity as the cornerstone of a sound understanding of the Qurʾān capable of grasping its eternal values and universal principles, he developed a methodology that has inspired a few eminent contemporary Muslim scholars who have developed what has come to be known as thematic interpretation of the Qurʾān. This article discusses al-Shāṭibī’s hermeneutics of the Qurʾān by delineating his epistemic and methodological propositions. Thus, the author aims to show the existence of semantic unity and epistemic interconnectedness among different disciplines in Islamic scholarship. (shrink)

Journeys of Ghazali and Averroes to their diverse conceptions of the role of reason -- From the chimera of philosophy to the evidence of "the just balance" -- The decisive criterion of the distinction between islam and hypocrisy (zandaqa) -- Averroes, philospher-reader of the precious book -- Reorganization of the world according to Aristotle in the light of Qurʼanic revelation by Averroes -- Ghazali and Averroes in Muslim society.

Review of Avital Wohlman, Al-Ghazali, Averroës and the Interpretation of the Qur'an: Common Sense and Philosophy in Islam, Translated by David Burrell Content Type Journal Article Pages 637-639 DOI 10.1007/s11841-010-0207-3 Authors Scott Girdner, Western Kentucky University, 1906 college Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA Journal Sophia Online ISSN 1873-930X Print ISSN 0038-1527 Journal Volume Volume 49 Journal Issue Volume 49, Number 4.

Undertaking a crucial role in transferring the Qur’an and Sunnah after the prophet, companions of him became the basic gateways to be referred to in apprehending the nuṣūṣ for future generations after them. While the companions spent their scientific skills on understanding the nuṣūṣ with the methods they used, in general, they used the Qur’an, Sunnah and Arabic poetry in this sense. The fact that companions spread to different places in the world through conquests resulted in the (...) transfer of sciences such as tafsīr, fiqh, qirāʾah, etc. to these places. These transfers later facilitated the formation and expansion of scientific circles, hastening the establishment of scientific schools in various locations and initiating the process of formal education; moreover, independent figures began to come to the fore in the mentioned sciences. As a result of this, in the sciences such as qirāʾah etc. a process of independence was initiated. Later, the rules of qirāʾah science were transferred in the books instead of oral narration. So much so that the importance of waqf and Ibtidā can be understood from the fact that they are the fields where works are constantly written. Although they did not mention some of the defining concepts and expressions used in today's fields such as waqf, Ibtidā, etc., the companions of the prophet used them in practice. In addition, they implemented the concepts that would be named later in the theoretical sense in waqf and Ibtidā of the Qur’an. This made a significant contribution to the formation of the rules, which would be developed later. Our main goal in this study, where the companions and different qurrāʾs recitations are basically studied, is not an attempt to determine the initial adventure of waqf and Ibtidā, which have important functions, but to see the effects that this science reveals in the fields such as fiqh, tafsīr, qirāʾah and rhetoric. Here, without spreading the issue too much, and by limiting the topics discussed, the effects of waqf and Ibtidā were tried to be revealed within the framework of Mu'tazilah, Kharijiyyah, Jahmiyyah, Shiʿah, Haruriyyah and Ahl al-Sunnah. On the other hand, it was put forth that waqf and Ibtidā, are as important for recitations as they are for reading the Qur’an properly, presenting its interpretation in an authentic way, preserving the language structure and determining the provisions firmly. In addition, in this study, the relationship of waqf and Ibtidā, with the related sciences was metioned under the determined headings. However, it is useful to state that the subjects related to this science should be addressed independently in different studies. Within this context, the importance and subtleties of the science of waqf and Ibtidā, were reflected by determining the approaches of the sects and giving examples of reference verses that would shed light on the subject by opening subheadings. (shrink)

The Sciences of the Qurʾān contain information about the process of Qurʾān and its structural characteristics, language and stylistic features, as well as statistical data on the content of the Qurʾān. This information, which contributes significantly to the understanding of the Qurʾān, is generally classified within the relevant narratives and the classifications are sometimes associated with verses. In this context, the way in which the Sciences of the Qurʾān explain the verses, which do not act solely on methodical premises, differs (...) from the Qurʾānic exegesis books. In the Sciences of the Qurʾān, the subject of revelation forms are classified within the frame of the narrations, and the 51st verse of the Sūrat al-Shūrā is frequently referred to. In other words, the related classifications are matched with the 51st verse of the Sūrat al-Shūrā. In the exegesis, this verse is handled more comprehensively considering its context and the literal possibilities. There are two remarkable comments about this verse in terms of its reflection in the revelation classifications. However, on the contrary, it is possible to encounter examples where the verse is subject to specific discussions. One of them belongs to Jār Allāh al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and the other to Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286). When the exegesis of al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī are examined, it is seen that this verse is the subject of ru’yat Allah (seeing Allah) discussion between Muʿtazila and Ahl al-Sunnah and the classifications are made in this context. However, it is interesting to note that the classification of al-Zamakhsharī is more suitable for the perspective of the Sciences of the Qurʾān. In this study, the codes of the determinations made by al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī related to the 51st verse of Sūrat al-Shūrā was read on the commentaries. While al-Zamakhsharī explains this verse as a proof for the argument that God cannot be seen, al-Bayḍāwī develops an example of reactionary interpretation upon Zamakhsharī’s view. The Sciences of the Qurʾān (as a discipline), which opens a separate title to the ways of revelation, uses this verse as a template and takes it away from the discussion. In the study, the subjective dimensions of the discussion and classifications made in the context of this verse were evaluated. As a result, it is concluded that a classification similar to classification of al-Zamakhsharī has been made in the literature of the Sciences of the Qurʾān as it provides more comprehensive framework. Summary: During the period of revelation of the Holy Qurʾān not only the sunnah and actions of the Prophet which explained the Holy Qurʾān, but also various sources of information based on language and consultation, were used in order to understand the Holy Qurʾān. The first people introduced to the revelation used their own language/oratory skills, which were natural them, to understand the Qurʾān and were also able to observe the events and problems that brought about the revelation of the verses. These elements, used by those first people for understanding the Qurʾān, were readily available in their society. Therefore, understanding of the Qurʾān while the Prophet was still alive did not require a codification of those resources or treatment of the matter on a theoretical level. Subsequent generations mostly compensated the lack of those advantages by the use of the Sciences of the Qurʾān books penned individually after 2nd Century (A.H.), and those written systematically under the collective name "the Sciences of the Qurʾān" starting from the 6th century (A.H.). These works covered many subjects such as the beginning of the revelation, the accentuation of the Qurʾān, the physical development process of the Qurʾānic text, information based on observation as well as the tone and content of the Qurʾān and provided information details for Qurʾānic interpretations. Over time, this information was classified in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature, organized under various relevant titles and enhanced with examples, numerical and qualitative information. One of the main topics of the Sciences of the Qurʾān is the subject of “revelation and its forms”. In the literature of the Sciences of the Qurʾān, the classifications made under this topic are generally associated with the verse 51 of Sūrat al-Shūrā. In this verse, the forms of communication between Allah (Jalla Jalaluhu) and the servant/prophet are categorized. The context of the verse 51 of the Sūrat al-Shūrā in the tafsīr literature is different from the context in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature. As a matter of fact, while this verse is examined in detail with respect to the context, concept analysis, and the possibilities of i‘rāb (classical Arabic grammar), it is merely referred to in the Sciences of the Qurʾān. This is due to the fact that the determinations and classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān are shaped mostly in the light of the historical context and narrations of the subject.It is also possible to encounter examples of tafsīr where the 51st verse is made the topic of detailed discussions. There are two remarkable comments about this verse in terms of its reflection in the revelation classifications. One of them belongs to Jār Allāh al-Zamakhsharī (d.538/1144) and the other belongs to Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286). The tafsīr s of al-Zamakhsharī and al-Bayḍāwī make it clear that this verse is the subject of ru’yat Allah discussion between the Muʿtazila and Ahl al-Sunnah and the classifications are made accordingly. The fact that i‘rāb examinations of the two authors are similar and both took into account other linguistic possibilities despite their preferences, which also prove that the points of conflict are not literal. Al-Zamakhsharī thinks that this verse determines the way Allah speaks not only with his prophets but also with all people. According to al-Zamakhsharī, the 51st verse refers to the three forms of communication that takes place between God and any of His servants. Allah communicates with His servants; a) through inspiration, inspiration to heart or through dreams, b) by making His words heard through certain channels, c) by sending one of his angels as a messenger. In the verse, the first is expressed as revelation, the second is to speak behind a veil, and the third is to send a messenger. According to al-Zamakhsharī, Allah's inspiration to the mother of Moses, the dream that He showed to Abraham regarding the sacrificing of his son and inspiration of Psalms to David, all relate to the revelation concept mentioned in the first option. Al-Zamakhsharī believes that revelation from behind a veil is an adage. This adage can be compared to a king speaking with one of those at his service behind a veil/curtain, where the person hears the voice of the king but cannot see him. Allah only spoke to Moses and angels in that manner, and sent angels to speak to His other servants/prophets.As a response to al-Zamakhsharī, al-Bayḍāwī interpreted the verse concisely explaining the 'revelation' (وحيا) as a secret word that is quickly understood. Because, in terms of its nature, revelation is not a word made up of sound waves that come one after another to make words. In the verse, this word refers both to the Night Journey (Mi‘rāj) and the talk mentioned in the hadiths regarding the ru’yat Allah, and Allah speaking to Moses without Moses seeing Allah. However, in the verse min verâi ḥicâb/attributed to the word 'revelation 'من وراء حجاب makes it clear that the expression refers to a form of speech in which Allah is heard but not seen. Therefore, the word 'revelation' refers to a mutual talk and according to al-Bayḍāwī, this is proof that ru’yat Allah is possible. The fact that the classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān literature agrees with the classification of al-Zamakhsharī, not al-Bayḍāwī. This result is closely related to the structural features of the Sciences of the Qurʾān in which authors strive to make general explanations that are beyond sectarian preferences and views. Understanding the verse as a conversation between Allah and man, and not between Allah and His prophet, provides a more comprehensive classification in terms of the use of revelations (not only the use of the word revelation) in the Qurʾān. Thus, the address that was made to Abraham in his dream, the revelation of to Moses' mother, and inspiration to our holy Prophet and other people can be interpreted according to this verse. In addition, the ru’yat Allah debate was excluded from the subject in the classifications made in the Sciences of the Qurʾān and implication of the verse was limited to the talks made in a worldly manner. (shrink)

al-Qurṭubī (d. 671/1273) was a scholar of tafsīr, ḥadīth and fiqh. He experienced both Western and Eastern civilizations in the geography of Andalusia and Egypt, respectively. In his famous Tafsīr called al-Jâmi li-Aḥkâm al-Qur’ān, al-Qurṭubī comparatively explained and interpreted all legal verses. Also, in addition to exploring the spesific legal rulings denoted in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah, al-Qurṭubī has largely interpreted the legal norms regarding the issues of jurisprudence. By doing this, al-Qurṭubī contributed to the formation and development of (...) a civil codification activity under a kazuistic format. The casuistic structure of the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān is anlaysed in terms of the form and content in the sample of al-Jâmi. Therefore, neither the similarity or similarity of the schools of the legal exegesis of Qur’ān and of the legal schools nor the disciplines of positive law, but their kazuistic structures, which systems they built and which interpretation methods and techniques they operated on this basis, were evaluated in terms of their original structure. In this direction, the article emphasizes that the casuistic structure of the legal exegesis of Qur’ān is established on and by the Prophet’s sayings and practices. Although, it has been observed that it is a unique tradition, both as form and content, and that the interpretation means are identified with its own unique structure, it has been concluded that the casuistic method is not one of the fundamental elements of both this tradition and Islamic legal thought. This means that the casuistic method is always a tool that can be changed and transformed according to the conditions of time and space.Summary: As it is stated in al-Isrāʾ 17/106: “And (it is) a Qur’ān which we have separated (by intervals) that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And we have sent it down progressive.”, the Qur’ān is revelaed in about twenty-three years by taking into consideration the sociocultural positions of its interlocutors. The Prophet Muḥammad explained the Qur’ān by the virtue of the ayah: “(We sent them) with clear proofs and written ordinances. And We revealed to you the message (i.e. that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought.” (an-Naḥl 16/44). Of course, there is no subject integrity in this Qurānic chronology-which also reflects life. As a matter of fact, the issues related to individual and society have been independently analyzed by a casuistic/case-based method and ruled in accordance with the intention of Allāh. It can be seen that the ayahs “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and (yet, some) benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.’ And they ask you what they should spend. Say, ‘The excess (beyond needs).’ Thus Allāh makes clear to you the verses (of revelation) that you might give thought.” (al-Baqara 2/219) and other ayahs such as (al-Baqara 2/186; al-Nisāʾ 4/176; al-Anfāl 8/1) reflect the casuistic method in terms of form and content. This can also be exemplified by the Sunna. For example, when the question “Is it permissible to perform ablutions with sea water?” was posed to Messenger of Allāh. He said that “It’s water is clean and his dead (fish) are lawful “(Abū Dāwūd, “Ṭaḥāra”, 41). By this answer, the Prophet Muḥammad indeed ruled and established a general rule.It can be said that this early example table formed the basis of the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān in terms of origin, source and application, and that its shape and content are often immanent in the examples it contains. In this article, based on the prophetic period, the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān and casuistic structure has been studied with an analytical and critical approach. Again, because the casuistic method is one of the universal concepts of east-west science and cultural life, an interdisciplinary approach was exhibited in this study. The roots of the casuistic method date back to 5000 BC and the legal systems of the society and states of antiquity are examined from this method. This method is chosen and used in the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān. However, this study does not analyse the sameness or the similarity of the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān and the legal schools nor the positive law disciplines, but the casuistic structures used by these, the systems they have built on this basis and the interpretation methods and techniques they have been used and analyzed in terms of their originality.In effect, the article embodies the Qur’ānic exegesis called al-Jâmi li-Aḥkâm al-Qur’ān by al-Qurṭubī (d. 671/1273), a scholar of tafsīr, ḥadīth and fiqh. In addition to the works of the aḥkām al-Qur’āns, which deal with the interpretation of the ayahs related to the subjects of ʿibādāt, muʿāmalāt ve ʿuḳūbāt, many other works have been used in parallel with the development of the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān. al-Qurṭubī, who comparingly explained the legal verses in his tafsīr, investigated the aspects of the Qur’ān and Sunna that indicate the aḥkām, generally interpreted the existing legal norms within the framework of evidence and introduced his own opinions and etasblished his ijtihād. Thus, he benefited from the tafsīr accumulation and contributed to the formation and development of a civil legalization activity with casuistic format. As a matter of fact, the casuistic/case-based method has been used as a codification/tadwīn technique by Western and Eastern legal disciplines and systems. The casuistic method covers both concrete event and abstract ruling methods. In the casuistic method, which is fact-based event, the laws are organized according to all possible events that can be experienced. On the other hand, the abstract method, which is defined as the abstract ruling method, aims to organize the laws in a general and abstract framework. In the article, it is stated that the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān contains both concrete and abstract dimensions in its own way. It has been emphasized that the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān is based on divine revelation (waḥy) and that it is separated from human law as its origin and source, and that this feature is its most faithful characteristic. On this basis, the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān is a separate scholarly tradition and has its own definition, subject and purpose. Its original structure and function have been noted. As a matter of fact, the subject and purpose of the legal exegesis of the Qur’ān always require the tafsīr and taʾwīl of the legal verses having regard to the Qur’ān and Sunna. It is also necessary for the purpose of investigating the ways in which nuṣūṣ (an explicit statement upon which a ruling is based) can refer to the provisions and to resolve the issues related to individuals and society. As a matter of fact, the legal verses function as a guide for humanity until the day of judgment as the inspiration for religious-legal matters; they contain the content and provisions that offer happiness in the two worlds. (shrink)

When the Qur’ān was revealed, it primarily used the language of the first addressees, Arabic, in the most impressive and understandable way to convey its message. In doing so, it used all the possibilities allowed by the range of meanings and rules of the language. While the Qur’ān conveys its message to its addressees, it sometimes uses long expressions, sometimes quite concise ones, and even a word or preposition in some places. Due to the structure of the language, the words, (...) the smallest component of the language, and, peculiar to it, even the prepositions and letters, due to the morphological structure of Arabic, are the elements that completely affect the meaning. Like many other letters and prepositions in Arabic, the preposition “إنْ” handled in this study undoubtedly has an important effect on the meaning. We generally encounter, in many verses of the Qur’ān, the use of this preposition in the sense of condition, which is the most basic meaning in the language. In addition to this meaning, the negative, emphasis, and causal meanings are also the other uses of this preposition according to the integrity of Qur’ān and the context of the verses. Apart from the meaning of condition as the basic meaning of the preposition “إنْ” in the Qur’ān, whether the meaning of cause/ta‘līl exists in the language and this meaning is used in the Qur’ān is basically an issue discussed by the Basra and Kūfa language schools, the issue has still been discussed by the exegetes as well due to its effects on the meaning. It is quite important for correctly understanding the Qur’ān to determine the effect of the preposition “إنْ” on the meaning when it is mentioned in the Qur’ān and to give the appropriate meaning to the context. This paper is also important in that it aims to deal with the effect of the preposition in question on the meaning in the verses where there are controversial approaches and in the example of the use of the verb form “إِنْ كُنْتُمْ". In the study, the approaches of the exegetes to the verses on which there are problematic approaches are transferred from the major interpretations written from the early period to the modern period and some evaluations are included with an analytical view. Although the Basra language school and some exegetes following them say that “إنْ”does not mean causation, the linguists of Kūfa and the exegetes following the same line have stated that it also means that, and they showed examples from the āyāt (verses) and hadiths that it is not correct to use this preposition in the meaning of condition in some contexts in the Qur’ān. For example, they argued that the use of the expression “إِنْ كُنْتُمْ”used about angels in a verse in Sūrat al-Baqara 2/31, as “if you are of the truthful” would raise doubts as to whether they were truthful or not and this would contradict their qualifications as angels. On the other hand, they argued that giving a conditional meaning to “إِنْ كُنْتُمْ”at the end of the verses starting as “if you are believers” or the ones in which the believers is directly addressed as in al-Baqara, 2/278 and Āl ‘Imrān 3/139, would cause a contradiction between the beginning and the end of the verse, and that this style would cause a problem on the ground of belief about Allah. In the same way, some linguists argue that giving the meaning of conditions to some verses poses a problem in terms of the context and the style of the Qur’ān, and they explain this situation through al-Baqara 2/23 and similar verses. For, although it is certain that the polytheists doubted about the Qur’ān in the verse in question according to them, the statement “If you are in doubt about the Qur’ān, bring a sūra (chapter) like it” fits neither context nor fact. The Basra language school who constitutes the majority and think that the expression “إِنْ كُنْتُمْ”mostly found at the end of the verses in the Qur’ān includes the meaning of condition, and the other exegetes following them have systematically added the meaning of condition to all of the verses in which the aforementioned preposition is used, and in cases where the meaning of condition is problematic or subject to some objections in terms of context, they have resorted to various linguistic explanations such as omission (hazf), precedence-postponement (taqdīm-ta’khīr) and metaphor. As far as it can be determined in this study, except for some scholars of wujūh and naẓā’ir, there was no one who constantly gave the meaning of cause in the verses where the meaning of condition is open to discussion, whereas some exegetes gave the meaning of condition or cause/ta‘līl depending on the context and used all the possibilities of the language by acting more freely. However, it has not gone unnoticed that they present a problematic interpretation style by displaying different approaches in similar āyāt (verses) that come in the same context. (shrink)

This work deals with Mollā Gūrānı̄’s critique (d. 813/1488) of Qāḍı̄ al-Bayḍawı̄ (d. 596/1200) and Zamakhsharı̄ (d. 538/1144). The Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara sūras in his manuscript tafsı̄r “Ghāyat al-Amānı̄” are chosen as the texts to examplify Mollā Gūrānı̄’s critique. His criticism is mostly related to language, qirāʾa (recitation and vocalization of Qur’ānic text), conceptual meaning and disagreement in interpretations of the Qur’ānic verses in question. Gūrānı̄ primarly criticisez Qāḍı̄ due to his reputation among Ottoman scholars. Guranı̄ has not only criticized (...) Kādı̄ and Zamahsharı̄ in the commentary of the surahs Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara but also Taftāzānı̄ and Kavāshı̄. This clearly shows thah he is a well-versed scholar in researching especially in comperative analysis. In this study, our investigation is limited to, however, Zemakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄. This stuyd shows that Zemakhsharı̄ is strictly bound to Ahl al-Sunnah. Moreover, the hadith reports are considerably important for him in understanding and interpreting the Qur’ānic verses. He closely follows the interpretive traditions of early Muslim scholars, especially on the matters that Muslim scholars had an argeemnet.Summary: This study discusses the criticism of Mollā Gūrānı̄ (d. 813/1488), one of the Ottoman commentary scholars, against Qāḍı̄ al-Bayḍāwı̄ (d. 685/1286) and Zamakhsharı̄ (d. 538/1144). The two Qur’ānic Surahs Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara are chosen from his critiques in a manuscript of his commentary called Ghāyat al-Amānı̄. Mollā Gūrānı̄’s manuscript is registered in Sulaymāniye Library, Dāmād Ibrāhı̄m Pasha Section at number 146 and consists of 352 pages in total. This copy is one of the oldest among other its existent copies. The main reason of our preference of this copy is that it is both legible and at the end of the book (the farāgh part), it writes that it was proofread by his author himself and that handwriting notes at the margins of the pages belonged to the author. We have examined this copy by comparing another copy which is again in the Sulaymāniye Library, Haji Maḥmūd Efendı̄ section at number 162, consisting of 484 pages in total, comparatively. We have examined critiques of 41 verses in total from Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara surahs.Gūrānī’s critiques of Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄ are too wide to be discussed within the limits of an article. Therefore, we have tried to briefly introduce these critiques. While presenting the commentators views, we tried to make their inexplicit expressions clear and furthermore elaborate their purposes by making use of some other resources. We have to say that we also used bracketed explanatory statements while giving commentators opinions.Most of the critiques of Gūrānı̄ are aimed at Qāḍı̄ since the latter’s commentary was one of the favourite ones among Ottoman intellectual circles. Therefore, in writing his commentary manuscript, Gūrānı̄ ambivalently both followed and criticized Qāḍı̄’s commentary. When Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara surahs are used as a base, it is evident that Gūrānı̄’s commentary Ghāyat al-Amānı̄ is a reason-based (dirāyah) in line with those of Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄ as commentary methodology. Gūrānı̄ modelled himself so much on Qāḍı̄ in this commentary of his that it seems as an abridged copy of Qāḍı̄’s. Ghāyat al-Amānı̄ as a commentary example of Ottoman era shows that the commentary methodology of the time did not change even four hundred years after Zamakhsharı̄.It is possible to say that Gūrānı̄ criticized Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄ in this commentary in a meticulous manner. Although many of his critiques are disputable, his rigorous approach to texts and his courage of critique, instead of imitative attitude, of Qāḍı̄’s commentary, which was held in high esteem in madrasahs of the time, and of commentary of Zamakhsharı̄, who was competent in Arabic language, is of great significance. Gūrānı̄ used a comparative scientific methodology and was a prominent. When his commentary manuscript examined it can be seen that it was not only Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄ but also Taftāzānı̄ (d. 792/1390) and Kavāshı̄ (d. 680/1281) who got their shares from his critiques. Most of Gūrānı̄’s critiques were on the subtleties of Arabic language. He sometimes expressed his criticism using Arabic grammar rules and sometimes rhetoric requirements. His other critiques involved topics such as, conceptual meaning, verses integrity, recitation and some interpretations of verses that he disagreed with. His critical method was based on the integrity of the Qurʾān, interpretive traditions, Salaf’s views and logical contradictions. We ought to mention that Gūrānı̄ showed his strong commitment to his predecessors and scholars for matters on which they had consensus. We comprehend this commitment on occasions when he rejected the claim that, for instance, a given form of qirā’a from Salaf was wrong according to Arabic grammar in favour of Salafı̄ reciter. The aim of this study is to give an idea about commentary understandings and methods of commentators in Ottoman era and to make contribution to introducing Gūrānı̄, who criticized Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄, two prominent commentators competent in their field, to researchers in terms of his attribute as a critic. An earlier study on his critiques made in this commentary of Gūrānı̄ only covered his critiques of Qāḍı̄ for some of his interpretations in Fātiḥ̣a and Baqara surahs. Therefore, another important factor leading to this study was to cover all critiques he made against the views and comments of both Zamakhsharı̄ and those shared by Zamakhsharı̄ and Qāḍı̄. Hence, this study aims to contribute to the fiedl as an analytical study or a translation made by researchers on this concise and handwritten manuscript.Some conspicuous features are seen in Gūrānı̄’s critiques. As he pointed out in his reviews, in case of subjects with availability of narratives (rivāyah) and of suitability of the literal meaning of verses, he did not prefer allegorical interpretation. He gives the impression that he based his reviews on Ahl al-Sunnah, and he took pains to follow Ashaʿrı̄te school of thought. Although Gūrānı̄, did not see harm in sharing the same things with Zamakhsharı̄, opposing Qāḍı̄ as regards Arabic language, he was always in opposition with Zamakhsharı̄ in relation to commitment to sectarian view and Ḥadı̄ths. It can also be said that Gūrānı̄ did not favour esoteric-allusive commentary style.It can also be said that Gūrānı̄ had sound and deep knowledge in the field of Kalām. This can be deduced from his considering Qāḍı̄’s arguments to criticize Muʿtazila as insubstantial and sometimes from his criticism of Qāḍı̄ for his careless selection of phrases he used in theological issues. Meanwhile, Gūrānı̄ criticized some views which did not belong to Qāḍı̄. For example, it is seen that he criticized Qāḍı̄ for his citation of an opinion through the phrase “it is said that” as if it was his own view by writing an annotation on the margin that it was Qāḍı̄ who said it. In our opinion, the most important thing that the critique of Gūrānı̄ shows is his scholarly identity and his outspoken character of enunciating of what he believed scholarly and conscientiously. This, also, shows the existence of critical thinking in Ottoman scholarship tradition. (shrink)

Aḥmed Cevdet Pasha (d. 1312/1895) is one of the influential and prominent Ottoman scholars in history and law. Besides history and law, he also produced works on literature, sīra (the life of the Prophet) and tafsīr (the Qur’anic exegesis). In the last years of his life, Cevdet Pasha aimed to translate the Qurʾān including short comments on the verses, but this work was remained limited to the sūrah al-Baqara. Correspondingly to this translation named Terjeme-i Sharīfa, he prepared a glossary to (...) the Qurʾān called Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa for expressions and terms that require detailed explanation. Hereby, this work could only include the sūrah al-Baqara. After Cevdet Pasha’s death, his books passed to his daughter Ms Fāṭima ʿAliyye (d. 1936). The director of the Library of Maʿārif, Nācī Qāsim (d. 1963) gave a deed stipulating that he would take the first part of the Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa and Terjeme-i Sharīfa from her and return them as they are. Later on, he published only the Muqaddima (introduction) and Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa in the work named Tercemeli Ḳurʾân-ı Kerîm (İstanbul: 1927). Placing the Muqaddima at the beginning of the book and Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa at the end misled some people by making them to think that the translation belongs entirely to Cevdet Pasha. Sulayman Tevfīq reprinted these two works together within his translation named el-Beyān fī ʾāyāti’l-Qurʾān in 1928. Terjeme-i Sharīfa has not been published anywhere else. Emine Armağan recently found and published a notepad in which Cevdet Pasha wrote Terjeme-i Sharīfa, mentioned Muqaddima and Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa. In her book Emine Armağan printed the pages belonging to Cevdet Pasha as thumbnails, but she did not publish them in Latin. In this article, Muḳaddime and Lâḥika-i Şerîfe are Latinized and compared to the Terceme-i Şerîfe. The relevant parts of the translation are given in the footnotes. This study is an attempt to determine to what extent the translation in the manuscript form corresponds to the glossary and the soundness of relating the text to the author. In addition, many errors in the Ottoman edition of the glossary were also corrected. In the Muqaddima, Cevdet Pasha draws attention to the necessity of God’s existence, the illiteracy and the trustworthiness of his Messenger, and that the revelation is the primary source of knowledge for people. He summarizes the process of the Qurʾān’s revelation, notification and compilation. He briefly touches on the issues related to ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān. Cevdet Pasha, who passed from here to the miracle of the Qurʾān, talks about the qadim (pre-existing) nature of the divine word and teḥaddī. Cevdet Pasha emphasizes that understanding the Qurʾān is possible only by knowing the Arabic language very well and whithout this knowldege the Qurʾān cannot adequately be translated into another language. On the other hand, he also believes that the first meanings can be externally translated in order to explain the first meanings of the verses to those who do not know Arabic. Cevdet Pasha’s preface is considerably concise in structure. He shortly pointed to the crucial issues in one sentence and passed to the other subjects. While writing Terjeme-i Sharīfa, Cevdet Pasha left the extensive explanations of the polysemous words and terms that cannot be translated literally to the tafsīr and Lāḥiqa. Cevdet Pasha’s Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa is entirely original and not merely a translation of any Qurʾānic dictionary. He compiled the meanings of a word existing in different verses, and he was very meticulous in choosing the meanings the words. He summarized very detailed informations in the sources in a simple, concise and fluent style. The arrangement of the words was based on the abbreviated versions used in the Qurʾān. In addition to the lexical meaning of the word, he sometimes mentioned the words’ roots, form, singular and plural forms, ism al-fāʿil, ism al-mefʿūl, ism al-mekān, synonym/antonym, lexical aspects, the meaning and terminology it expresses in different recitations of the Qur’an (al-qırāat). He in particular highlighted if the word is one of the al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā. He explained the changes in the meaning of a word when it is used for Allah or for humans. He shortly touched on the legal rulings. Cevdet Pasha clearly expressed in his work the most vital issues that the community should know without tiring the general reader of scientific disputes, philosophical discussions and literary analysises. Cevdet Pasha did not refer to any sources in his work and did not mention the transmission chain of the narrations. As a result of our research, we determined that he benefited from the commentaries of al-Zamakhshari (d. 538/1144), al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210), al-Qurṭūbī (d. 671/1273) and Beyḍāvī (d. 685/1286). We have seen that there are some similarities between the explanations of the words in the Lāḥiqa-i Sharīfa and the famous Qurʾānic dictionaries such as al-Mufredāt, Umdet al-ḥuffāẓ and Beṣāir. (shrink)

The iltifāt (reference switching) is one of the arts of high literary value, widely practiced in the Qurʾān. This art takes place in the form of switching to another person, verb mode, number, preposition or sentence type contrary to the necessity of the situation, while continuing the word as a certain person, verb mode, number, preposition or sentence type. The art of iltifāt adds certain meanings to words such as certainty, continuity and movement. It keeps the curiosity, desire, excitement and (...) shiver alive. Similar to those who read the Qurʾān, those who read the translation of the Qurʾān are expected to be able to notice these meanings as much as possible and feel the literary pleasure of this art. There are important structural differences between Arabic and Turkish. In addition, the text that needs to be translated into Turkish is Holy Qurʾān, which has a divine infinite dimension, and it is a limited human mind attempts to translate it. This situation requires an advanced level of caution and diligence in transferring the art of iltifāt to the translations of Qurʾān. The issue of the art of iltifāt and the transfer of this art to the translations of the Qurʾān has also been studied in scientific research in different world languages such as Arabic, English and Indonesian. As far as we can determine, the only study in Turkish that examines the reflection of the iltifāt in the Qurʾān is the article titled "The Translation Problem of the Art of iltifāt in the Translation of the Qurʾān" by Haşim Özdaş. In the mentioned article, five different Qurʾān translations of eight verses from different types of the art of iltifāt were examined. It has been claimed that there is no art of iltifāt in Turkish language and literature, and that the translation of the art of iltifāt in the verses into Turkish is an obstacle to understanding the verses and leads to a wrong or incomplete understanding. As a solution, while the verses are being given and translated, it is suggested that the art of iltifāt in the verses be ignored. In this research article, the cases of the translations of the Qurʾān reflecting the art of iltifāt, as an example of iltifāt between māzī (past tense) and muzāriʻ (present tense) verbs modes in the verses are discussed. In addition, it discusses the opinions that say there is no art of iltifāt in the Turkish language, that the exact transfer of the art of iltifāt found in the Qurʾān to the translations of the Qurʾān causes wrong or incomplete understanding, therefore, the art of iltifāt should be ignored when the verses are being translated. As a result, the present study argues that the art of iltifāt is also a subject of Turkish rhetoric, which should be reflected in the translations of the Qurʾān as much as possible, and the transfer of the art of iltifāt in the translations of the Qurʾān does not constitute an obstacle to understanding the verses, on the contrary, the reference to this art in the verses will contribute to the realization of the divine purpose and wisdom. The data sources of the research were created from 6 verses and their 22 different translations, using various sampling methods. The data collected from these were analysed using the comparative text analysis method on the basis of the inductive approach. Qualitative data was converted into quantitative data, processed in the SPSS application, and the findings were presented as numerical figures in tables. At the end of the research, it was determined that iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes studied in the science of rhetoric was also a subject of grammar as the phenomenon of time shifts in verbs. It was seen that the art of iltifāt was applied in an average of 800 places in the Qurʾān, and the iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes accounted for 6.9% (55 pieces) of this amount. Most of these fifty-five iltifāts were iltifāt from the māzī verb mode to the muzāriʻ verb mode (63.6%), while the amount of iltifāt the muzāriʻ verb mode to the māzī verb mode was less (36.4%). In the analysed translations of the Qurʾān, it was determined that the iltifāt between māzī and muzāriʻ verbs modes was not reflected at a rate of 90.9%, and the art of iltifāt was completely abandoned in 14 of the 22 translations. It was concluded that the reason why the art of iltifāt in the verses was not reflected in the translations of the Qurʾān was the belief that this art was not found in Turkish and that the transfer of this art leads to wrong and incomplete understanding. In the research, it was proposed to increase the number of scientific studies in which various translation strategies and techniques were tested in the transfer of the art of iltifāt in the verses in the translations of the Qurʾān. In this respect, this research article is expected to pave the way for more research on the issue of transferring the arts used in the Qurʾān and to be useful for future translations of the Qurʾān. (shrink)

Islamic studies, as a discipline, are carried out according to various methodological commitments and hermeneutic presuppositions. This includes traditional conservative and apologetic perspectives, as well as Orientalist and revisionist, more or less historical-critical approaches to Islamic religious life. Interpretation of Islamic faith and practice is to be understood accordingly. Notwithstanding such methodological commitments, one can reasonably ask if and how a phenomenological clarification of ‘the Qur’an’ might add to this understanding. Phenomenological methods vary, in which case phenomenological description (...) is dependent on the methodological guideline adopted, e.g., that which follows Edmund Husserl or, alternatively, the approach offered by Martin Heidegger. This paper reviews these methodological issues with a view to illuminating an alternative comportment that sees the Qur’an as a phenomenon open to clarification, yet without commitment to epistemological or empirical methods of analysis. (shrink)

The Qur’an has been transmitted as both a written text and an oral recital. This has led to the development of a reading tradition that permits numerous different vocalisations to be made upon the basic skeletal text of the established ʿUthmānī codex. Ibn al-Jazarī chose ten early readers whom he felt were most representative of this tradition and whose readings are treated as canonical up until this day. One of these, the Kufan linguist al-Kisāʾī has been characterised in the (...) literature as more focused on the grammar of the Qur’an than his reader peers. This article explores al-Kisāʾī’s process of ikhtiyār when deciding between various possible readings. The sample for analysis consists of Kisāʾī’s tafarrudāt, the approximately fifty cases in which his reading differs from the other nine readers. By comparing his reading with the comments of early scholars of Qur’anic linguistics, especially his near-contemporary al-Farrāʾ, it is possible to construct a typology of the suspected principal reasons for al-Kisāʾī’s tafarrudāt. Not only are many of these based on grammatical preferences, but they demonstrate a significant degree of consistency. Furthermore, analysis of a cluster of readings with implications for the interpretation of the sharīʿa provides evidence for a subtle exegetical dimension to al-Kisāʾī’s work as a reader-grammarian. (shrink)

Overall, this book is indispensable for anyone wanting to have a richer understanding of how the Qur’an is read and interpreted within a feminist context. It is a wonderful synthesis of the work that has been done in the field thus far and provides tools necessary to seek out new avenues in understanding the Qur’an while still retaining a feminist spirit. Yet, in the end, this book does not disturb Muslim world order. It remains an overwhelming possibility for (...) Hidayatullah that interpretations which hierarchally differentiate between men and women may not be wrong. There is a comforting sense of resignation, or at least an affirmation of the ambivalence that Muslim mothers have transmitted to their daughters for centuries. We, feminist Muslims, are left with the same ambiguity with which we started the book. However, we now have a much deeper understanding of the nature of that ambiguity, and that perhaps is worth embracing in itself. (shrink)

The Qur'an depicts fluctuating relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. While at times such relations can be conciliatory and harmonious, at others they are inimical, uneasy, or distant. Still, the Qur'an acknowledges the necessary ontological reality of the human difference. This is evidenced in many verses. Thus, I will argue that an “attentive” and “worldly” reading of the Qur'an is crucial to curb misunderstanding of the way ‘difference’ is perceived in Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. A close reading is primarily (...) a multiple form of communication. It is needed to resist the networked systems of power and control dominated by images and mass media in the Arab world and Western. It is exceptionally important to free the interpretation of Qur'an from the grip of Muslim and non-Muslim extremists and Islamophobes who read some of its verses as evidence of essentialized enmity harbored by Muslims towards all non-Muslims. (shrink)

The Qur’ān Recitation is taught as a compulsory or elective course at all levels of formal in education, as well as in the courses of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in non-formal education in Turkey. In the curricula of this course, it is emphasized that the readings should be word and meaning centered and the course should be centered on the meaning of the Qur’ān. However, the achievability of these idealized goals should be discussed. In addition, due to the focus (...) of the curriculum on literally and meaningfully, there are professional difficulties in teaching the words of the Qur’ān and the programs lose their functionality. In this case, the teaching of the meaning of the Qur’ān should not be in the learning area of this course but should be the subject of a separate professional course. This study discusses the applicability of this, reminds the limits of the Qur’ān course, the importance of teaching the wording from a professional point of view, and the problematic aspect of teaching the meaning of the Qur’ān together with the teaching of the words, and clarifies how it can be done. The objective of the study is not to advocate the incorrectness of reading the meaning or to assert the principles of interpretation. The aim of the study is to contribute to the preparation of a realistic curriculum for the realization of the goals of the Qur’ān recitation courses by determining the limits of the courses in the professional field. In this context, the programs of formal schools such as imam hatip secondary school, imam hatip high school, middle and high schools, some sample the programs of the faculties of theology and the course curricula of the presidency of religious affairs were examined and evaluated in terms of teaching the meaning of the Qur’ān. (shrink)

Deixis is the thing referred to by linguistic units outside the text or the discourse. The act of demonstrating or indicating the elements of a state through gestures or linguistic units is called deixis. Deictic is the name given to the linguistic elements such as pronouns, demonstrative nouns and adverbs which refer to the personal, spatial or temporal aspects of a speech act and which are, therefore, all directly related to the context surrounding its act of communication. Since the references (...) of the deixis expressions can only be identified within the context of actual communication, the subject is considered as a part of the pragmatics. This study aims to analyse the demonstrative nouns used in Qur’anic verses within the context of deixis and types of deixis, which are research areas of pragmatics, and to identify the types of deixis used in Qur’an. This study also aims to provide insight about how to present the references of demonstrative nouns especially in Qur’anic translations to be understood correctly by the readers. This is because the translations of Qur’an are presented in written form and the references of the deictic units are not expressed clearly in some of them. In this case, it is assumed that the reader might have difficulty understanding the meanings of the deixis such as “this, to this, these”. This study, firstly by studying deixis and types of deixis from the modern linguistics and pragmatics resources, aims to form a conceptual framework. After the first chapter, upon which the main problem of the study will be built, is completed, the demonstrative nouns are analysed in terms of their structural and referential aspects within balâg̲h̲a and tafsîr sources, classical Arabic language nahw sources being in the first place. After the obtained data is analysed, by associating the demonstrative nouns in Qur’anic verses to types of deixis, anaphora and cataphora, their references are determined. In this direction, firstly the demonstrative nouns in Qur’an will be identified and the type of deixis is tried to be explained by providing one example for each one of the demonstrative nouns in terms of their referential variety. For this purpose, this study highlights the demonstrative nouns which cannot be directly understood but only can be identified by checking the context. That is, the demonstrative nouns which take adjectives or which are adjectives themselves will not be included in the scope. The references of these nouns existing in the verses will be specifically analysed within the classical tafsîr works. This study is significant as it reveals the references of the demonstrative nouns by analysing the types of deixis in order to understand Qur’an more accurately. Though there are various studies regarding the demonstrative nouns, there are no studies found analysing the references of these nouns according to their types of deixis. With this study, it is understood that classical tafsîrs mention the deixis, types of deixis, and the references anaphora and cataphora for demonstrative nouns. As the demonstrative nouns, which are deictic elements, are used to point to all types of living and non-living creatures, they are considered as indefinite things. It is understood that for the other interpreters, the vagueness can only be eliminated by taking pragmatic factors such as the speaker, listener and the context of communication into consideration. 20 types of demonstrative nouns were used for a total of 1047 times in 89 different surahs. These demonstrative nouns are as following: “ذا، هذا، هذان، هاتين، هؤلاء، ذلك، ذانك، ذلكما، ذلكم، تلك، ذلكن، هذه، أولئك، أولئكم، أولاء، كذلك، كذلكم، هاهنا هنالك، ثم”. The fact that demonstrative nouns are used so often in Qur’an prove that these nouns are quite important in understanding the Qur’an. This study addresses the verses with demonstrative nouns in terms of types of deixis, as part of pragmatics, by referring to classical tafsîr and linguistic sources. It has been determined that demonstrative nouns in Qur’an make personal, spatial or temporal references, discourse deixis, anaphora and cataphora, however they do not perform as social deixis. It has been concluded that identifying the references of demonstrative nouns is quite important in understanding and interpreting Qur’an correctly. It is also understood that the methods to determine the references of demonstrative nouns by the sources used in the study have pragmatic characteristics. It is observed that the references of the demonstrative nouns are not presented in certain Qur’an translations. In this context, it has been concluded that stating the references of these nouns in written form for the translation of Qur’an into different languages is vital for these references to be understood correctly. It has also been concluded that it is a requirement in terms of pragmatics to take the references of the deictic elements mentioned especially in the primary sources into consideration. (shrink)

: The thought of the Qurʾān consists of certain concepts. The concept of “fiṭrah” that expresses the physical and spiritual side of the people, is one of crucial concepts which stands for the conseption of the Qurʾān. Therefore this concept has become the one drawing attention of scholars from the earlies. Usually, the concept of “fiṭrah” is interpreted as the religion of Islam and the initial creation or the human potentiality of acception a religion and whether they can change or (...) not. In this context, it has been established a connection between the “word of khalqullah” in the Surah of Rūm and the same word in the Surah of Nisā. In this study, the essence of “fiṭrah” will be examined and the basic elements of “fiṭrah” will be focused on. Also, whether wisdom, affection, love, and ugliness are among the basic components of fiṭrah or not, will be discussed. In addition, whether there is any connection between the verse of “fiṭrah” and the words of “tabdīl” and “taġyīr” will be investigated. Summary: The Qur’ānic view of human has been set forth with certain concepts. According to our understanding, there is a strong relation between the Qurʾānic definition of human and the terms of tafsīr and ta’wīl. If the Qur’ānic view of human is put forth correctly, then the explanation and interpretation of the Qurʾān will also be more accurate. Therefore, we think that there is an important link between the characteristic of Qurʾānic view of human and the ta’wīl of naṣṣ. For this reason, we have based our study on the term, fiṭrah which explains the nature of human beings and the context of this term in the Qur’ān. In this regard we have tried to take into account in our comments the consistency through the mention of the term of fiṭrah that comes in the 30th verse of the surah al-Rūm with the relation to other verses. Main focus of the study is to see whether the essential aspects of human nature is in correlation with compassion, mental potentiality, power to produce, seeking for truth, wanting to do good and avoiding bad deeds. In the etymological dictionaries of Arabic language and in tafsir books the term of fiṭrah has been explained in various meanings such as “religion of Islam”, “unity of God”, “the first creation of human beings”, “mental capability”, “ability to accept the truth”, “initial agreement”, “pre-eternity of human destiny”, “inborn creed”, “tattoing”, “plucking females hairs” and “to geld animals”. The verse of “la tabdīla li khalqillāh” is explained that there should not be changed things and qualities which are parts of the nature of human being. The verse of "I am going to command humans and they are going to change God's creation" is associated with above mentioned fiṭrah verses. In this context neglecting to worship to Allah and taking means through other idols that are worshiped, sacrificing in the name of idols, replacing religious motives with other motives, denial of creed, making permissible acts impermissible or impermissible acts permissible, females plucking their hair, etc., have been interpreted as changing Allah’s creation. However, we do not think that the interpretation of nature that is mentioned in the verse regarding the replacement of Allah’s creation has no relation with the replacement of Allah’s creation which occurs in Surah al-Nisā. Because changing khalqullāh in al-Nisā is not to change fiṭrah which is accepted same as religion and there is no relation between two issues. The mention of nature along with the concept of religion comes to show the value of Islam is in accordance with human nature. Yet when the Qurʾān is interpreted in the correct manner, a better understanding of the human nature will be seen. The samples and types of i’rāb regarding the link between the terms of fiṭrah and dīn show that there is also a strong relation between religion and human nature. This shows that religion entails all the values and qualities that human nature contains. In the context of the Qurʾān, the term of fiṭrah consists of spiritual qualities, such as reflection, love, desire to find the truth, inclination to good deeds, avoiding bad deeds, creativity and worship rather than physiological qualities such as the desire to eat and drink, need of shelter and sexuality. These are core foundations of human nature which cannot be changed. However, these natural qualities can be lead the opposite direction. This is the reason why there is frequent mention of natures spiritual qualities in the Qurʾān. However, if the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are falsely interpreted, the core qualities of nature will be understood incorrectly which may not be a prototypical that the Qurʾān aims. The Qurʾān frequently makes mention and condemns those that do not use their logic, which comes to show the importance of nature. In order for the other nature qualities to be functional, first the logic must be functional. Likewise, since early ages people try to understand the objects in their environment and start to question them is again natures manifestation. The past and today's philosophical movements, scientific research and as a result the information and findings derived from them is a result of human nature. One of the main components of nature is the belief of the unity of God and acknowledging that the creator is Allah therefore comprehending that He is only worthy of worship. Thus, this belief provides the mental and emotional integrity of person. In times of difficulty, through the natural instinct people show towards the Creator is an act of the reaction shown which is coursed by natural creed properties. It should be said that another important natural human quality is love and affection. As the Qurʾān has expressed that human being is created from "alaq" also comes to the meaning of compassion. It is the human’s natural instinct to incline to those that he has compassion for. Once this inclination is made stronger the compassion turns into love. Desiring good or evil is also part of human nature as these two opponents are in men’s structure. Men being virtuous comes from choosing the good. Another important feature of human nature is desiring those that are aesthetically beautiful and disliking those that are aesthetically ugly. Men does not only desire those that are aesthetically beautiful but rather those that are spiritually attractive such as knowledge, modesty and bravery. It dislikes ignorance, lies and other bad qualities. Qurʾān’s phonetic structure can be counted as a proof to this. One of human’s natural instinct is to create and constantly update information. The word "khalq” is used commonly to bring anything to existence when it was absent totally, therefore this is used for mankind as a metaphor. As a result, it is possible to say that the most important human instinct qualities are reason, the ability of accepting of the unity of God, compassion, human and divine love, creativity, evoking good deeds, avoiding evil, valuing those that are ecstatically nice and avoiding those that are ugly. The different meanings and definitions of fiṭrah in tafsīr books and dictionaries such as dīn, pre-eternity of human destiny, initial agreement, and to geld animals are not the essential aspects of fiṭrah but the manifestations of the basic elements. (shrink)

The interpretation of the verses of the Qur’ān, which contains condem-nation or criticism at the literal level towards the Prophet, has been the sub-ject of interest in contemporary studies as well as in classical tafser. The in-terpretation of such forms of addressing to the Prophet Muhammad (and some other prophets) can be analyzed within the framework of the idea of “Infallibility of Prophet” (ismat al-anbiyā) as well as in terms of the func-tional/performative references of the verses in the conditions (...) of their revela-tion. Therefore, Hz. Whether these verses that address the Prophet contain some kind of condemnation, if they contain it, whether this issue will be a contrast to the understanding of ismat is considered a common field of re-search related to the disciplines of tafsir [Quranic Exegesis]; and kalam [Is-lamic Theology]. Determining the meaning through activities such as reveal-ing the philologically probable meanings of the expressions contained in the verses in question and compiling narrations about the subject is related to the discipline of tafsirand the aspect of the subject that corresponds to the adjective ismat is related to the science of kalam. In this context, this article will focus on some problems that may result from ignoring the occasions of revelations, narrations of companions and successors and, some problems that may arise if the discussions on the subject of ismet which is related to the discipline of kalam, on Qur’ān translations based on the translation analysis of verse al-Ahzāb 33/1. Thus, in the light of the evaluations of the commentators of the classical period, the meaning understood from the verse will be compared with the literal meaning, the subject/discussions in different disciplines and the contributions of the results obtained from these discussions in solving the problems in another discipline will be mentioned. (shrink)

There is a prevailing opinion in the literature that the first name to mention the interpretation of the Qur'an with the Qur'an as a method is Ibn Taymiyya. He puts it at the forefront in the hierarchy of evidence in his Muqaddima. However, Abu Bakr Ibnu'l-Arabi, who lived two centuries before Ibn Taymiyya, also refers to the same method in the first place among the tafsir methods he suggested. Based on this finding, in the article, after briefly mentioning the (...) aforementioned tafsir method, a brief information about Ibn al-Arabi's Qânûn al-Ta'wîl is given and his approach to this method is examined. Within the scope of this subject, the common and different aspects of both authors' methods of interpreting the Qur'an with the Qur'an are presented. In addition, the findings regarding the problems arising from the authors' putting this method in the first place are shared. Finally, the possible reasons why both authors put this method in the first place are discussed. The aim of the study in this background is to reveal that there was another scholar mentioning the method in the first place before Ibn Taymiyya among the exegetical methods in the classical period and to perform an analysis within this framework. By the application of "data and content analysis", the content in Ibn al-Arabi's Qânûn al-Ta'wîl and Ibn Taymiyya's Muqaddimah in the context of the Qur'an's interpretation with the Qur'an has been analyzed. This content has been subjected to comparative analysis in terms of commonality and differences. (shrink)

In this article, I examine what selected Muslim women in Finland and Egypt do with the Qur’an in their daily lives. I shed light on their modes of engagement with the Qur’an (spiritual, emotional, intellectual, communal). I analyse how their relationship with the Qur’an is shaped and changes over the course of their life. I pay attention to the interplay between the women’s daily lives and the ways in which they experience, learn from, grapple with, and interpret (...) the text. My overall aim is twofold: to contribute to research-based understanding of the Qur’an as daily religious practice that in many ways involves learning both about God and about the complex circumstances of personal life, and to unpack the layered and shifting meanings of this practice in the context of the women’s lives. My analysis is informed by life-story interviews with six women in Helsinki and Cairo (three in each country). (shrink)

The Qur'an is a holy book on which many studies have been carried out by both Muslims and non-Muslims. In terms of its religious and cultural origins, Turkey is one of the countries where the most research on the Qur'an has been conducted. However, the fact that the studies and contributions will be gain a more important place in the international arena, the articles written about Qur'an in Turkey be addressed in various aspects in this article. For this purpose, the (...) articles have been classified firstly by the contents. Thus, it has been questioned which topics have been researched much and which ones have been researched relatively less. Secondly, the article also aims to determine how many articles composed about Qur'an in an interdisciplinary manner. And the numerical changes of the articles are also examined yearly. In addition, the number of articles related with Qur'an and written in a language except for Turkish is also determined in the article. Based on that, some evaluations are made about these articles and their authors. Finally, some formal, contextual and scientific procedural errors in the articles written about Qur'an have been examined, and it has been investigated whether there have been ethical violations in the articles or not. Lastly, various suggestions to eliminate the deficiencies, have been suggested. Since the excessive increase in the number of articles after 2015 made the research difficult, the determinations in the article are limited to the articles between 1930 and 2015. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 24.1 (2004) 135-157 [Access article in PDF] "That We May Know Each Other": The Pluralist Hypothesis as a Research Program Paul O. Ingram Pacific Lutheran University When an African American Muslim named Siraj Wahaj served as the first Muslim "Chaplain of the Day" in the Unites States House of Representatives on 25 June 1991 he offered the following prayer, the first Muslim prayer in the in the (...) history of the House of Representatives: In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most merciful. Praise belongs to thee alone; O God, Lord and Creator of all the worlds. Praise belongs to Thee Who shaped us as and colored us in the wombs of our mothers; colored us black and white, brown, red, and yellow. Praise belongs to Thee who created us from males and females and made us into nations and tribes that we may know each other.1Siraj Wahaj's prayer is a direct reference to one of the most cited verses of the Qur'an: "Do you not know, O people, that I have made you into tribes and nations that you may know each other." Of course, "knowing each other" is an important goal in the practice of interreligious dialogue, but Muslims often move on to cite further Qur'anic advice about religious pluralism: "If God had so willed, He would have made you a single people," the verse reads, "But His plan is to test you in what He hath given you; so strive as in a race in all virtues."2 According to Siraj Wahaj and many like-minded American Muslims, Islam and pluralism go hand in hand and respect for the dignity for each person, no matter what religious or secular label he or she wears, rests on Islamic foundations. Of course, this interpretation of the Qur'an is rejected by radical communities within the House of Islam as well as by fundamentalist communities within Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jewish traditions. Nor are the foundations of pluralism only found in the Qur'an; Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, and aboriginal traditions support religious pluralism as well.This essay's thesis, what John Hick first posited as the "pluralist hypothesis," offers us the most coherent theoretical framework—minus Hick's Kantian epistemology—from which to interpret contemporary postmodern experiences of religious [End Page 135] diversity. Furthermore, I shall argue that the pluralist hypothesis constitutes a coherent history-of-religions research program from which to investigate and interpret the facts of religious diversity.3 In order to demonstrate the adequacy of my thesis and argument, I shall appropriate the philosopher of science Imre Lakatos's account of the methodology and structure of scientific research programs, guided by Nancy Murphy's application of Lakatos's work in the construction of theological research programs. But first, some preliminary clarifications about what I mean by "religious pluralism" and "religious diversity."4 The Structure of the Experience of Religious Pluralism In a recent book on the lives of four Catholic writers—Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, and Walker Percy—Paul Elie provides one of the most accurate descriptions of the structure of postmodern experience of religious diversity in English print: We are all skeptics now, believer and unbeliever alike. There is no one faith, evident at all times and places. Every religion is one among many. The clear lines of orthodoxy are made crooked by our experience, and are complicated by our lives. Believer and unbeliever are in the same predicament, thrown back onto ourselves in complex circumstances, looking for a sign. As ever, religious belief makes its claim somewhere between revelation and projection, between holiness and human frailty, but the problem of proof, indeed the burden of belief, for so long upheld by society, is now back on the believer, where it should be.5Assuming that Elie's description is an accurate one, certain implications follow that will serve as working assumptions of this essay."Pluralism" is not just another name for "diversity." Diversity names the fact of the existence of differing... (shrink)

The 19th century constitutes the most unsteady period of the Ottoman Empire on the basis of military, political and scientific senses. Although not as much as in previous centuries, respected scholars and mystics continued to be upbrought in this century. Muhammed Tevfîk Bosnevî Efendi (1866) is one of the leading scholar mystics who upbrought in the Ottoman science and wisdom climate in the aforementioned period. After he was promoted to the caliphate post in eleven sects carrying out active guidance (...) activities in Istanbul, he consented to become a devout disciple of the famous Halwati-Shabani Sheikh of the time, Kuşadalı İbrahim Efendi, and received his ijazah by completing the entire course of mystical training under his supervision. Upon the death of his sheikh, he took the position of guidance and assumed the duty of guidance for twenty years. He also adopted the understanding of ignoring the cult rituals such as the crown, cardigan, and fleece, which were the most distinctive qualities of his sheikh, and disregarded such images throughout his life. He has a deep knowledge of Islamic sciences such as fiqh, tafsir, hadith and kalam, as can be understood from the works that were written by his students in the lesson circles called Council [Majlis]. In this study, which examines the work named "Tefsîru ve'd-Duhâ li'l-Hammâmî", his hermeneutics method is discussed. At the end of the study, it is understood that he explained the Qur'an in the light of the Qur'an, hadith-i sharifs, and the words of the Companions. It is also clear that in order to consolidate the subjects, he included legends from the life of our Prophet Muhammed, Companions and Saints (Awliya). Although he interprets words, it is observed that his main priority is not words but their meaning, he focuses on verses’ messages and aimed to deliver them to the addressee. It has been determined that he preferred the explanations of the past scholars rather than interpreting the verses personally, and he referred to both the first period hermeneutics works written in Arabic and the ones written by the Ottoman scholars. (shrink)

Qadianism is a sect that emerged in India at the end of the 19th century, within the framework of the ideas of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Ghulam Ahmad emerged with Messianic claims such as Mujaddid, Mahdi, Messiah and Nabi. The period when Ghulam Ahmad declared himself the savior coincided with the 18th century when there was great despair and disappointment in the society due to the British plans to invade India. Ghulam Ahmad said that jihad will be realized not by sword (...) but by peace. He claimed that he was commissioned by God for this. Resulting from these claims of Ghulam Ahmad, Qadianism has been declared a "non-Islamic" sect in the Islamic world. For this reason, they had to go to other countries from India to some Balkan countries. Qadianis were first encountered in the Balkans in 1929. They carried out activities in many areas such as many social organizations, book translations, humanitarian aid and education in the Balkans. The Qur'an was translated into Albanian by Qādiyani Muhammad Zakaria Khan in 1990 within the framework of the views of the Qādianī sect. This was a turning point for them. Khan has become an important figure of the Qadiyani sect with this translation of the Qur'an in the Balkans. In this study, we discussed the verses that Khan interpreted in terms of Mahdism and Messianism of the Qadiyani sect. He tries to prove that Ghulam Ahmad is the Mahdi and the messiah in the aforementioned verses. As a method, Qadiyani sources and classical Islamic books that give information about this subject were used. (shrink)

In his 1988 University Lecture in Religion at Arizona State University, Josef van Ess argued for a widespread concept of a “compact” God in early Islam. The notion is expressed by ṣamad in Sura 112.2, an enigmatic word, which “in the first half of the second Islamic century … was understood as meaning ‘massive, compact.’” There is Islamic evidence for this, van Ess argued: “The best testimony, however, comes from outside Islam: Theodore Abū Qurra, bishop of Ḥarrān in Upper Mesopotamia (...) , translated ṣamad into Greek as sphyropēktos, a quite unusual word meaning something like ‘hammered together, closely united.’ Nicetas of Byzantium later on used holosphyros instead, ‘entirely chased in metal.’” Those familiar with the negative reception of these Byzantine translations of ṣamad by several scholars will undoubtedly be surprised by van Ess's statement, which considers the translations as trustworthy testimony. When John Meyendorff had earlier wondered tentatively whether some Byzantine interpretations of Islamic doctrine, including God sphyropēktos or holosphyros, could “in fact come from some forms of popular Arab religion—distinct, of course, from orthodox Islam—which were known to the Byzantines,” his thought was called “provocative.” Scholars translate sphyropēktos as “beaten solid into a ball” or “solid ” and holosphyros as “of hammer-beaten metal” , “made of solid, hammer-beaten metal” , “impenetrable” , or “made of solid metal beaten to a spherical shape” . They are often inclined to assume that the Greek words represent “a clumsy translation” , “a blatant, derogatory mistranslation of the divine epithet ṣamad” , “the result of a biased attitude and wrong interpretation of the Qur՚anic proclamation of Allah” , or “one of the stock examples in Christian polemics against Islam” or that they were “probably originally chosen for polemical reasons, to claim that Muslims believe in a material, corporeal God” . Perhaps under the impression of these views, in his recent translation of Theodore Abū Qurrah, John C. Lamoreaux, instead of sphyropēktos, adopts a variant reading, steiropēktos , meaning “barren-built.”. (shrink)

Ci sono molti metodi diversi nell’interpretazione delle Scritture, e del Corano in particolare, e questi tendono a lavorare con diverse teorie del significato. Dopo tutto, la questione è cosa un particolare testo significhi effettivamente, e abbiamo bisogno di una teoria su come risolvere tali questioni, specialmente quando ci sono evidenti difficoltà nella comprensione del testo. Le argomentazioni tendono a spaziare su quale teoria del significato dia più senso al testo, o funzioni più adeguatamente come teoria del significato. Un metodo che (...) non è stato adottato nel complesso è quello di vedere la questione almeno parzialmente come morale ed epistemologica. Dovremmo avere fiducia di poter comprendere interamente ciò che abbiamo davanti e come potremmo sapere di avere la risposta alle questioni semantiche che ogni testo porta con sé? Si potrebbe sostenere che un’etica della moderazione, dell’equilibrio e della moderazione sono importanti tecniche ermeneutiche che finora non sono state sufficientemente impiegate quando si discute su come comprendere e interpretare il Corano. There are many different approaches to interpreting scripture, and the Qurʾān in particular, and these tend to work with different theories of meaning. After all, the issue is what a particular text actually means, and we need a theory about how to resolve such questions, especially when there are apparent difficulties in understanding the text. Arguments tend to range over which theory of meaning makes most sense of the text, or works most adequately as a theory of meaning. One approach which has not been taken on the whole is to see the issue as partially at least moral and epistemological. Should we have confidence that we can understand entirely what is before us, and how would we know that we have the answer to the semantic issues that any such text brings along with it? It might be argued that an ethics of moderation, balance, and restraint are important hermeneutic techniques that up to now have not been sufficiently employed when discussing how to understand and interpret the Qurʾān. (shrink)

While studies on contextual coitus verses interpretations have been explored by many scholars, there is a paucity of research addressing the theme holistically and spotlighting the aspects of moral ethics of its communication. To fill this lacuna, this study aims to analyse the communication ethics of coitus words in the Qur’an. Two main questions are discussed in this study. Firstly, what is the semantic meaning of coitus in the Qur’an? Secondly, why does the Qur’an employ certain terminologies (...) to convey the topic of coitus? This study applies a case study design to analyse the word ‘coitus’ in the verses of the Qur’an holistically. The results show that the Qur’an utilises 12 keywords related to coitus for the purpose of fostering the communication ethics of the Arab community at the time of revelation. Moreover, this study found that the Qur’an uses those specific keywords to respond to the sexual behaviour of pre-Islamic Arab community, narration of eroticism in other scriptures and gender inequality in sexuality. This study resolves that the words of ‘coitus’ in the Qur’an have implications for the emergence of Quranic communication ethics, which respects the aspects of comprehensiveness, politeness, analogy, aesthetics, intensity and gender equality. These six aspects form sexual communication ethics that are probed from a humanist perspective.Contribution: This article contends to unify the concept of theology and the principles of communication ethics. In particular, this study provides a theoretical contribution to the ethics of sexual communication that is sourced from the worldview of Qur’anic theology. Also, the methodology of this study can be a prototype of semantic analysis research that discusses certain topics and spot important keywords around that topic. (shrink)

Originally published in 1967, this Companion is designed to help readers of the Qur’an by giving them necessary background information. An account is given of ideas peculiar to the Qur’an, and the main variant interpretations are noted. A full index of Qur’anic proper names and an index of words commented on has been provided. Based on A J Arberry’s translation, this Companion can be used with other translations, or indeed with the original text, since the verses are numbered.