Theological Approaches to Qur'anic Exegesis: A Practical Comparative-Contrastive Analysis (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)

This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the various schools of Qur'anic exegesis, from the earliest periods through to the present day. Employing a comparative-contrastive methodology, the author examines traditional and rational schools of thought – such as the Mu’tazili, Shi’i, Ibadi, Sufi, metaphysical, modern, and scientific approaches to the interpretation of the Qur’an – to give a detailed analysis of the similarities and differences in their theological views. The study spans a broad period, covering exegetical techniques adopted in Qur’anic exegesis from its infancy during the 1 st /7 th century up to the beginning of the 15 th /21 st century. Furnished with copious micro- and macro-level examples which explicate the Qur’anic notions and the points of view relevant to each school and exegetical approach, the book provides a rounded empirical study of Islamic thought. This thorough and holistic historical investigation is an important contribution to the study of Qur’anic exegesis and Islamic theology, and as such will be of enormous interest to scholars of religion, philosophy and Islamic studies. Cover 1 Theological Approaches to Qur’anic Exegesis 6 Copyright 7 Contents 10 Acknowledgements 12 Arabic transliteration system 14 Introduction 16 Overview of the work 16 Structure of the work 20 Methodology 21 Statistical information for Qur’anic exegesis 22 1. School of traditional exegesis (al-tafsır bil-ma’thur) 25 1.1 Introduction 25 1.2 School of mainstream exegesis 25 1.3 Position towards non-mainstream exegesis 41 2. School of rational exegesis (al-tafsır bil-ra’i) 43 2.1 Introduction 43 2.2 Overview of rational Qur’anic exegesis 43 2.3 Approaches of non-mainstream Qur’anic exegesis 47 3. School of linguistic exegesis 98 3.1 Introduction 98 3.2 The evolution of linguistic exegesis 99 3.3 Text linguistic approach to Qur’anic discourse 108 3.4 Linguistic problems in Qur’anic exegesis 115 3.5 Modes of reading and Qur’anic exegesis 125 3.6 Stylistic inimitability and Qur’anic exegesis 142 4. Comparative-contrastive exegesis 158 4.1 Introduction 158 4.2 Micro Qur’anic exegesis 158 4.3 Macro Qur’anic exegesis 167 5. Contextual and co-textual relevance in Qur’anic exegesis 248 5.1 Introduction 248 5.2 Textual cohesiveness 248 5.3 Views of Western Qur’an scholars 249 5.4 A text linguistic approach to Qur’anic genre 250 5.5 Context in Qur’anic discourse 260 5.6 Notional allusion among surahs 261 5.7 Co-text in Qur’anic discourse 263 5.8 Organization, length and notional allusion of ayahs 269 5.9 Bell’s dramatic re-organization 271 5.10 Conclusion 278 Glossary 281 Notes 287 Bibliography 292 Index 301 "This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the various schools of Qur'anic exegesis, from the earliest periods through to the present day. Employing a comparative-contrastive methodology, the author examines traditional and rational schools of thought - such as the Mu'tazili, Shi'i, Ibadi, Sufi, metaphysical, modern, and scientific approaches to the interpretation of the Qur'an - to give a detailed analysis of the similarities and differences in their theological views. The study spans a broad period, covering exegetical techniques adopted in Qur'anic exegesis from its infancy during the 1st/7th century up to the beginning of the 15th/21st century. Furnished with copious micro- and macro-level examples which explicate the Qur'anic notions and the points of view relevant to each school and exegetical approach, the book provides a rounded empirical study of Islamic thought. This thorough and holistic historical investigation is an important contribution to the study of Qur'anic exegesis and Islamic theology, and as such will be of enormous interest to scholars of religion, philosophy and Islamic studies."--Publisher's website Hussein Abdul-raof. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.