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Quran Hermeneutics

Contents

 * 1Quranic hermeneutics
 * 1.1Contents
 * 1.2Introduction[edit]
 * 1.2.1Main Types of Interpretation
 * 1.3Specific issues in Islamic hermeneutics[edit]
 * 1.3.1Human rights[edit]
 * 1.3.2The position of women and minority groups[edit]
 * 1.3.3Considerations for Interpretation
 * 1.4References[edit]
 * 1.5External links[edit]

= Quranic hermeneutics[edit] = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Qur'anic hermeneutics is the study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of the Qur'an, the sacred text of Islam. Since the early centuries of Islam, scholars have sought to mine the wealth of its meanings by developing a variety of different methods of hermeneutics. Many of the traditional methods of interpretation are currently being challenged with a more modern or contemporary approach. The three primarily established typologies of tafsir are tradition (sunni), opinion (shi'i), and allegory (sufi). The two main types of verses to be interpreted are muhukmat (clear verse) and mutishabihat (ambiguous verse). The traditional approach to hermeneutics within the Qur'an embodies isnad (chain of transmitters).

Contents[edit]

 * 1Introduction
 * 2Specific issues in Islamic hermeneutics
 * 2.1Human rights
 * 2.2The position of women
 * 3References
 * 4External links

Introduction[edit][edit]
Hermeneutics in Islam leans on a lengthy tradition of tafsir, the exegesis of usually the Qur'an. Peter Heath posed in 1989 that "the modern study of Islamic hermeneutics is in its infancy"; in response, Jean Jacques Waardenburg proposed five questions and issues that a study of a possible hermeneutics of Islam would have to deal with:


 * 1) Is there a consistent methodology underlying tafsir that one could call hermeneutical, do rules exist "that have been explicitly formulated and consciously applied by Muslim scholars"?
 * 2) Given that much of the tradition of interpretation of the Qur'an is concerned with the interpretation of specific verses, what is the relationship between those interpretations and the interpretation of the Qur'an as a whole?
 * 3) What type of philological knowledge, and what type of knowledge of the historical reception of the text is necessary to come to an assessment of Islamic hermeneutics?
 * 4) Can we separate our emotional reaction to certain verses from the study of interpreting the text?
 * 5) What is the role of the specialists in the field (the mutakallimiin, the ulama, and the fuqahā') and what is their relationship to the broader circle of students of the Qur'an and the even larger community of believers?

Tafsir as described by Andrew Rippin "is the humanization of the divine word and the divinization of the human spirit."

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im suggests "Hermeneutics may be defined as the art or science of interpretation, especially for scriptual texts. In view of the inevitaility of using human reason and action in understanding and implementing any text, as noted earlier, a hermeneutical process is necessary for understanding the purpose and normative content of a text like the Qur'an." (155)

Significant Influencers and Influences in Quranic Hermeneutics
Al-Tabari was a Sunni scholar from the 9th and 10th century and arguably the most predominant figure in Quranic hermeneutics. Al-Tabari's traditional approach to interpretation relies heavily on the Hadith reports as a tool for clarification when the Qur'an presents a mutishabihat (ambiguous verse).

Amina Wadud, a contemporary interpreter of the Qur'an takes a different approach to interpretation by neutralizing the gendered aspect of the Arabic language. The three main aspects of hermeneutical engagement are according to Wadud,


 * 1) "the contest in which the text was written"
 * 2) "the grammatical composition of the text"
 * 3) "the whole text, or world-view"

Sayyid Qutb is a contemporary interpreter with the main goal to "revive Islam". He sees the Qur'an as a source for liberation from oppression. His egalitarian emphasis to the Qur'an is what Qutb states as its main intended purpose. Sayyid views the "West" as a facade for social and political progress. He criticizes the civil rights movement as a hollow example of progress.

Farid Esack, like Sayyid Qutb emphasizes the oppressed as being the primary focus for the initial Quranic revelation. Literary analysis being the main focus for interpretation with emphasis on social justice. A main component used by Esack is his emphasis on Taqwa as an indication as to who has the greatest ability to interpret the Qur'an.

Human rights[edit][edit]
A specific issue discussed is the relationship between Islam and human rights. ʻAbd Allāh Aḥmad Naʻīm sees the problem as one of the transformation of interpretations of the Qur'an to a globalized world and the mutual social and political influences between that globalized world and the Muslim community. He differentiates between the 'traditionalists' who advocate "strict conformity to Shari'a as an essential prerequisite for accepting the proposed change [toward a more anthropological view of Islam]" and those who do bypass the question of that conformity. A hermeneutic approach to Islam and human rights due to legal or ethical considerations must acknowledge the idea of historical and cultural change. Abdullah Saeed embraces this concept suggesting a "Contextualist" approach to interpretation. He emphasis understanding the socio-historical context of scripture and the complex meanings of Quranic verses. The use of abrogation for clarification and abandoning rigid interpretation from previous hermeneutic scholars loosely encompasses Saeed's approach.

The position of women and minority groups[edit][edit]
The growing influence of women in the Muslim world and their increasing access to higher levels of education, combined with the Western interest in the position of women in the Muslim world has a profound influence on Islamic hermeneutics, which must deal with transnationalism and its effect on gender roles. 'New' schools of Islamic thinking (emblematized by such philosophers as Mohammed Arkoun) have challenged "monodimensional hermeneutics." Interpretation of the Qur’an in terms of gender rights is becoming more prevalent, especially due to the many changes taking place in modern times concerning gender and other minority or oppressed groups. Mohammed Arkoun further expands on this thought explaining, "There are concrete examples how authority and power are conquered, monopolized and translated, not in the theoretical classical frameworks, but in a more simplified vocabulary, accessible to the illiterate peasants, mountain-dwellers and nomads."

Considerations for Interpretation[edit]
The secondary source (second to the Quran) that is used for interpretation and clarification is the Hadith. The Hadith report is a compilation of the things Muhammad did and said throughout his life (the portion that was not divinely revealed). Traditional hermeneutics consist of consulting the Hadith as the first step when a Quranic verse is in question. Within the Qur'an there are two distinct types of verses: muhukmat (clear verse) and mutishabihat (ambiguous verse). The most important and well established tafsir typology is Sunni (tradition). Second and third to Sunni is Shi'i (opinion) and Suf (allegory).

Generally speaking Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im suggest that "the diversity of Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi Muslims schools of thought signify differences in the hermeneutical framework." More specifically, "Among Muslims, three broad approaches may be identified in relation to the interpretation of ethico-legal content of the Qur'an in the modern period: Textualist, Semi-textualist and Contextualist" according to Abdullah Saeed. He suggest one aspect of interpretation belongs to ethico-legal content. "Examples of ethico-legal content include belief in God, prophets and life after death; regulations related to marriage, divorce and inheritance; what is permitted and prohibited; commandments relating to fasting, spending, jihad and hudud; prohibitions related to theft, dealing with non-Muslims; instructions relating to etiquette, inter-faith relations and governance."

References[edit]

 * 1) ^
 * 2) ^
 * 3) ^
 * 4) Saeed, Abdullah. Interpreting the Quran: A Contemporary Approach
 * 5) Al-Tabari. The Commentary on The Quran

External links[edit][edit]

 * Principles of Qur’anic Hermeneutics
 * Learning to Ask Questions: the Cases of Abraham and Noah (p) in the Quran
 * The Nature of Scriptural Reasoning in Islam
 * Islamic Hermeneutics (The Logician)

"Hermeneutics may be defined as the art or science of interpretation, especially for scriptual texts. In view of the inevitaility of using human reason and action in understanding and implementing any text, as noted earlier, a hermeneutical process is necessary for understanding the purpose and normative content of a text like the Qur'an. " - Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im  Among Muslims, three broad approaches may be identified in relation to the interpretation of ethico-legal content of the Qur∞ån in the modern period: Textualist, Semi-textualist and Contextualist. (Saeed)

"The book is, first and foremost, a justification for using a different approach to the interpretation of the ethico-legal texts. I will refer to this approach as ‘Contextualist’"

3 - (Saeed suggest using a "Contextualist" approach to interpretation

1 - One aspect of interpretation belongs to ethico-legal content. "Examples of ethico-legal content include belief in God, prophets and life after death; regulations related to marriage, divorce and inheritance; what is permitted and prohibited; commandments relating to fasting, spending, jihad and ªud≠d; prohibitions related to theft, dealing with non-Muslims; instructions relating to etiquette, inter-faith relations and governance." (Saeed, 1)

Women and Minority Groups:

Arkoun, Mohammed. Islam: To Reform or to Subvert? London. Saqi Books. Book - This book will be used to elaborate on what already exist on the wikipedia page in regards to the monodimensional hermeneutics in the section on women.

2 - At the end of the sentence with the monodimensional hermeneutics, explains Arkoun further expands on this thought explaining, "There are concrete examples how authority and power are conquered, monopolized and translated, not in the theoretical classical frameworks, but in a more simplified vocabulary, accessible to the illiterate peasants, mountain-dwellers and nomads." (Arkoun, 253)

It will look more like this hopefully:

The growing influence of women in the Muslim world and their increasing access to higher levels of education, combined with the Western interest in the position of women in the Muslim world has a profound influence on Islamic hermeneutics, which must deal with transnationalism and its effect on gender roles. 'New' schools of Islamic thinking (emblematized by such philosophers as Mohammed Arkoun) have challenged "monodimensional hermeneutics." Arkoun further expands on this monodimensional hermeneutics abandonment stating, "There are concrete examples how authority and power are conquered, monopolized and translated, not in the theoretical classical frameworks, but in a more simplified vocabulary, accessible to the illiterate peasants, mountain-dwellers and nomads." (Arkoun, 253)

We are trying this again as a group, right Women in the Quran? ~

Ahmed, Shahab. ''What is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2016. Book.

The entire 5th chapter focuses on Hermeneutical Engagement. There are many different aspects of interpretation that are discussed in this chapter and it will be used as a general overview of gaining an understand of all the different aspects of Hermeneutics in the Qur’an.

Brohi, A.K., Islam in the Modern World. Lahore: Sheikh Mohammad Amin for Publishers United, Ltd. Second Edition: 1975. Book.

In Chapter 10 the Doctrine of Tasawwuf focuses on interpretation for purifying oneself. The chapter focuses on interpretation of spiritual growth. On page 181 there is a section on interpreting the Quranic verse where god breathes life into adam. There is a consistent breakdown of verses and how they are interpreted.

Lawrence, Bruce. The Qur’an A Biography. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. 2006. Book.

In chapter 14 and 15 there is extensive information on how the Qur’an is interpreted in regards to Women and Human rights. These are the main two focus points of our project and this book will provide a greater understanding of how the Qur’an is interpreted and used in replace of medical treatment.

Amina Wadud suggest an interpretation within the Arabic gender constructs as such:

A. "Al-tullab fi al-ghurfah (masculine plural form) means"


 * 1) "three ore more students in the room - including at least one male"

2. "three or more exclusively male students in the room."

B. "Al-talibat fi al-ghurfah (feminine plural form) means"


 * 1) "three or more female students in the room"

Example from Al-Tabari:

"The interpretation of Allah is, according to the meaning narrated to us from 'Abd Allah b. Abbas: He is the One Whom everything takes as its god (ya'lahu), Whom all creatures worship (ya'budu).

Ibn 'Abbas:

Allah is He Who posses the attributes of divinity (al-uluhiya) and of being worshipped (al-ma budiya) with respect to all His creatures."

Continue from here if we want to keep this part.

Typologies

 * Sunni
 * Shi'a
 * Sufi

Main Types of Interpretation[edit]

 * Textualism
 * Semi-textualism
 * Contextualism

People[edit]
References :
 * Abdullah Saeed
 * Al-Din