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Quranic Hermeneutics

Contents

 * 1Quranic hermeneutics
 * 1.1Contents
 * 1.2Introduction[edit]
 * 1.3Significant Influencers and Influences in Quranic Hermeneutics[edit]
 * 1.3.1Typologies[edit]
 * 1.3.2Main Types of Interpretation
 * 1.3.3People
 * 1.4Specific issues in Islamic hermeneutics[edit]
 * 1.4.1Human rights[edit]
 * 1.4.2The position of women and minority groups[edit]
 * 1.4.3Considerations for Interpretation
 * 1.5Examples of Hermeneutic Dissection[edit]
 * 1.6References[edit]
 * 1.7External 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.

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." In Amina Wadud's book, Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective, she defines the hermeneutical model as being, "concerned with three aspects of the text, in order to support it's conclusions: 1. The context in which the text was written (in the case of the Qur'an, in which it was revealed); 2. The grammatical composition of the text (how it says what it says); and 3. The whole text, it's Weltanshauung, or world-view. Often, differences of opinion can be traced to variations in emphasis between these three aspects" (Wadud 3).

Typologies[edit][edit]

 * Sunni
 * Shi'a
 * Sufi

Main Types of Interpretation[edit]

 * Textualism
 * Semi-textualism
 * Contextualism

People[edit]

 * Abdullah Saeed
 * Al-Tabari
 * Ibn Kathir
 * Al-Din

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.

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. Zayn R. Kassam mentions in the book, women in Islam, that, "Muslim women's praxis, particularly the hopes, possibilities, and challenges that accompany this scholarly textual reinterpretation, remains under-researched" (Kassam 94). 'New' schools of Islamic thinking (emblematized by such philosophers as Mohammed Arkoun) have challenged "monodimensional hermeneutics." Modern Qur’anic hermeneutics has been influenced by the changing position of women in the Muslim world and increasing numbers of study and interpretations of the text itself. Zayn R. Kassam adds to this in the book, Women and Islam, by stating that, “The discursive hermeneutics of Qur’anic tafsir is a strategy born of necessity and the unwavering belief in the unfulfilled promise of gender egalitarianism in Islam” (Kassam 117). 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." in her book, Qur'an and Woman, Amina Wadud, in the context of the creation story in the Qur'an, states that, "The Qur'an encourages all believers, male and female, to follow their beliefs with actions, and for this it promises them a great reward. Thus, the Qur'an does not make a distinction between men and women in this creation, the purpose of the Book, or in the reward it promises" (Wadud 15). This is an example of modern hermeneutics and the way it can be applied to this issue.

Another minority group to consider in more modern interpretations of the Qur'an is queer theory or interpretations. As mentioned by Kecia Ali in her article, Destabilizing Gender, Reproducing Maternity:Mary in the Qur'an, "In queer theory, gender and sexual dimorphisms are social constructions that invariably efface difference, administer power to the powerful, and subject the weak/disfavored to the rule of the strong/favored" (Ali 90). In other words, Ali explains that, "Queer theoretical interventions, then, have relevance for social life: challenging the presumed coherence and sacred nature of existing oppressive norms allows other forms of being and relating to emerge and flourish" (Ali 91). Queer readings and interpretations of the Qur'an are few and far between, while there are plenty of scholarships on gender-focused interpretations of the Qur'an.

Considerations for Interpretation[edit]
The secondary source (second to the Quran) that is used for interpretation and clarification is the Hadith.

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."

Examples of Hermeneutic Dissection[edit][edit]
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."

References[edit][edit]

 * 1) ^
 * 2) ^
 * 3) ^
 * 4) Arkoun, Mohammed. Islam: To Reform or Subvert.
 * 5) Saeed, Abdullah. Interpreting the Quran: A Contemporary Approach
 * 6) An-Na'im Abdullahi Ahmed. Muslims and Global Justice
 * 7) Kassam, Zayn R. Women and Islam. Praeger, Santa Barbara California, 2010.
 * 8) Wadud, Amina. Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective. Oxford University Press, 1999.
 * 9) Ali, Kecia. Destabilizing Gender, Reproducing Maternity: Mary in the Qur'an, JIQSA 2 (2017): 89-109.
 * 10) Rippin, Andrew. Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur'an. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1988.
 * 11) 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)