The Quranic Exegesis in  Modern World

Presented by

Syed Aqeel Iqbal

Research Scholar

Department of Arabic,

Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh, India

Email-s.aqeeliqbal@gmail.com

Contents

1) Introduction

2) Tafseer and Taawil-Two basic terms for Exegesis

3) Reliable sources for Quranic Exegesis

4) Unreliable sources for Quranic Exegesis

5) The need and importance of Quranic Exegesis

6) Some important principles of Quranic Exegesis

7) The need and importance of Modern Exegesis

8) Some Modern interpretations of the Holy Quran

1. INTRODUCTION

The Holy Quran which was revealed on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by Allah for the guidance of the whole mankind in a span of twenty-three years, is not only a book dealing with the Islamic laws and Shariah, but it is a book which contains amazing scientific facts and laws, not only for the people of Arabia or Asia, but for the whole humanity till the day of Judgment. It has challenged the whole world for its power of uniqueness quoting:

{وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ [البقرة : 23]}

The uniqueness of the Holy Quran is not only preserved in its words and verses with the beauty of the Arabic language, but rather it can be said that the real beauty is recognized after going through its meaning and interpretation.

The science dealing with the meaning and interpretation of the Holy Quran is known as the “Science of Exegesis”.

The well known respected Scholars of Quran have dealt with this science since the period of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) till date which in result gradually developed and expanded with the passage of time.

The word “Tafseer” in Ilm-ut-Tafseer (Science of Exegesis) is therefore derived from the word “Fasr” which in Arabic means “To open” referring to the meanings of Quran which are openly described. In the beginning stage of this science, this word was used exclusively for the interpretation of Quran, as much development was not seen in the era of Prophet (pbuh), but as the time passed and the Holy Quran received attention from each and every corner of the world, the science expanded,flourished and established itself as a vast and developed science.

Allamah Zarkashi has defined the science of Exegesis in a very brief and concise way.

He says;

Ilm ut Tafseer is:

“The knowledge through which one gains understanding of the Holy Quran and comprehension of its commandments and wisdom. (Al-Burhan, v.1, p.13)

This definition includes;

• determining the style of the text and its eloquence

• defining unknown or otherwise less used words

• the clarification of the meanings of verses

• extraction of laws and rulings

• explaining the underlying thoughts in metaphors and figurative speech

• reconciling verses that seem contradictory

• finding out the underlying reasons for parables

2)TAFSEER AND TAAWIL-TWO BASIC TERMS FOR EXEGESIS

Two basic terms are used in the language of Exegesis i.e.; Tafseer and Taawil .The word Taawil is although a word which is not commonly used for the exegesis of Quran but traces are found regarding its usage in the early period for the same purpose and the most important thing is that the Holy Quran has itself used this word for the its interpretation. The verse of Surah Al-Imraan determines it quoting;

(وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ  [آل عمران : 7])

“But no one knows its interpretation except Allah”

Some of the learned scholars including Imam Abu Obadiah focus on the point that these two words are synonyms, but the other group point out differences between these two words. Some of these points are mentioned below;

1) Tafseer is known as explaining the individual words of the Holy Quran, while Taawil is the explanation of a complete verse.

2) Tafseer is an interpretation of a verse which is not open to any other interpretation while Taawil is to choose one interpretation out of several possible ones.

3) Tafseer is an unquestionable explanation while Taawil may be challenged with other explanation.

4) Tafseer is the name of explaining the words while Taawil is meant to expound the lessons derived from them.

3)RELIABLE SOURCES FOR QURANIC EXEGESIS

After the brief introduction of Tafseer with the explanation of difference between ‘Tafseer’ and ‘Taawil’ we come to the main sources that play an important role in the interpretation of the Holy Quran. It is verily important for a reader of the Holy Quran to acquire knowledge regarding the reliable sources to prevent himself from misunderstanding.

Hence the sources for the exegesis of the Holy Quran are divided into two types;

• Reliable sources

• Unreliable sources

There are six sources that are considered as reliable in the field of Quranic Exegesis. They are;

• The Holy Quran itself

• The Sunnah or the tradition of Prophet (Pbuh)

• Narrations of the companions of the Prophet(Pbuh)

• Narrations of the followers of the companions

• Arabic lexicon

• Common sense

• THE FIRST SOURCE-THE HOLY QURAN:

The first and the most important source for the exegesis of the Holy Quran is the Quran itself as it has been explained in rule of exegesis that :

القرآن يفسر بعضه بعضا

“The verses of Quran explain each other”

It can be understood by an example. The verse of Surah Al-Faatihah says:

(اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ  [الفاتحة : 6]

“Show us the straight way,

The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace”

It is not clear in this verse that who are blessed people? But at another place it is stated:

(فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا  [النساء : 69])

In the same way the Quran is explained from the Quran itself through another recital that clarifies what is not clear from the first recital.

• THE SECOND SOURCE-THE TRADITION OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (Peace be upon him)

The second most important source for the exegesis of the Holy Quran is the Tradition of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).The Quran itself has clarified through its various verses that the real purpose of sending the prophet (pbuh) in this world for the mankind is to explain the true meaning of the Holy Revealed book to his followers and the whole world. The verse of Surah Al-Nahl explains it:

(وَمَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا لِتُبَيِّنَ لَهُمُ الَّذِي اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ  [النحل : 64])

In this verse Allah has made it clear that the main purpose of sending the prophet was to explain the Quran for his followers.

Another verse of Surah Al-Nahl further explains:

(وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ  [النحل : 44])

However some people try to create some misunderstanding and confusion in the minds of the innocent readers of the Holy Quran by saying that the importance of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) cannot be denied but one cannot rely on them as a source of exegesis as they have not reached through authentic sources.

But this confusion can be rejected by saying that the Almighty Allah who sent his Holy Book on his Beloved Prophet for the guidance of the whole mankind and took the responsibility for its preservation till the Day of Judgment, was verily aware regarding the preservation of the traditions of his prophet as the prophet was the only true interpreter of the Holy Divine Book.

He created people who spared their whole lives for the preservation of Hadith and left no stone unturned to clear out the fake ones from the true sayings .However it is an absolute fact that a vast collection of unauthentic collection and unsound narrations still exists in the collection of Hadith. The scrutiny of those narrations found in the books of exegesis is particularly essential for a reader of Quran because most of the commentators have only just preserved the traditions of Prophet without considering the classification of the fake ones from the true sayings. Hence a person who has a deep knowledge of the science of Hadith can easily pick out the authentic narrations from the unsound ones.

• THE THIRD SOURCE-

NARRATIONS OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET (PBUH)

The third important source for the exegesis of the Holy Quran is the narrations of the beloved companions of the Prophet. The companions of the prophet (pbuh) were the ones who devoted their entire lives to learn the Holy Quran from the Prophet directly. They learned each and every thing from the sayings and deeds of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).However their language was Arabic and they were fully aware of the environment of revelation, rather than rely on their linguistic excellence, they preferred to learn the Holy Quran verse by verse from the Prophet himself.

• THE FOURTH SOURCE-NARRATIONS OF THE FOLLOWERS OF THE COMPANIONS

There is a great confusion between scholars regarding the sayings of the followers of the Companions whether they should be accepted as an authentic source of exegesis or not?

Allamah Ibn Kathir has stated that if a Tabi’i reports an exegesis directly from the Companion of Prophet it will have the same status as that of a companion, but if  he gives his own interpretation than it will be seen whether another Tabi’i differs from him. If that is so, his interpretation will not be acceptable and conclusion will be drawn on the basis of other sources of exegesis.

• THE FIFTH SOURCE- ARABIC LANGUAGE

The fifth and the most important source of Quranic Exegesis is the Arabic language. There is no doubt and confusion in the point that the Arabic language is the only source for the interpretation of Quran if its meaning is clear. But if a reader is facing some ambiguity or some deeper sense or any problem in the interpretation, it cannot be cleared simply by the Arabic lexicon. Because Arabic is a very vast and rich language and its words are used in several meanings resulting various interpretations of a single verse. And if a single verse is misinterpreted or presented in an inappropriate way it can lead the reader to misconception in the explanation of the Holy Quran. That is the reason some Scholars reject the Arabic language alone as a source of exegesis as it has been reported that Imam Muhammad considers an exegesis through lexicon as undesirable but Allamah Zarkashi has clarified that Imam Muhammad did not mean to reject the role of lexicon in the Science of Exegesis.

   6)THE SIXTH SOURCE-COMMON SENSE

The sixth and last source considered as reliable in the field of exegesis is the common sense of a learned scholar of the Holy Quran. It is a known fact that common sense is an essential requirement for almost everything in world. But considering common sense as a reliable source of exegesis enriches its essentiality and importance for a reader of the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran as known is a deep ocean of endless meanings and wonderful facts. By the means of the above five sources a reader of the Holy Quran can understand the commands and secret mysteries of the Holy Quran to an extent, but it cannot be said that one has reached to the final point of interpretation because the Holy Quran is not a book confined in a group of people or a period of time but it is a book revealed on the Holy Prophet (pbuh) till the Day of Judgment.

4)UNRELIABLE SOURCES FOR QURANIC EXEGESIS

After the explanation of the reliable sources for the exegesis of the Holy Quran it is essential to point out some of the unreliable sources which are important for a reader of the Holy Quran to prevent himself from misunderstanding and misconception.

There are almost three sources that are considered as unreliable in the field of exegesis:

• Israiliyat or Judaica

• Narrations of Ka’ab al Ahbaar

• Narrations of Wahb al Munabbah

1) ISRAILIYAT OR JUDAICA

The first unreliable source in the field of exegesis is the narrations that have reached us by means of Jews and Christians. Some of these narrations are from the Bible or the Talmud and some are from the Mishnah and its commentaries.

Allamah Ibn Kathir has stated in his book that there are three kinds of Israeli narrations which should be understood clearly while dealing with the exegesis of the Holy Quran. They are:

• Israeli narrations that have been verified as authentic narrations in the period of the Prophet (pbuh) or after his era by the renowned scholars of Quran and Hadith.

• Israeli narrations that have been proved as fake and false by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself or by other perfect arguments.

• Israeli narrations that have been neither proved to be correct nor false through arguments. Such as the injunction of the Torah. According to law of Exegesis it is permissible to narrate such narrations, but neither a religious tenet can be based on them nor these narrations can be confirmed.

2)NARRATIONS OF KA’AB AL AHBAAR

The second unreliable source in the field of exegesis is the narrations of Ka’ab al Ahbaar. His full name is Ka’ab bin Mati al-Himyari. He belonged to Yemen and was considered as a high ranked scholar among the Jewish Scholars. In the year 12 A.H. he came to Medina and embraced Islam during the caliphate of Hazrat Umar.Ka’ab Al Ahbaar has been generally considered as a reliable scholar but Allamah Muhammad Zahid has expressed doubts on some of his narrations. Allamah Zahid Kauthari has also expressed that most of the narrations of Ka’ab Al Ahbaar are Israeli narrations and cannot be confirmed unless they are confirmed through other authentic sources.

3) NARRATIONS OF WAHB AL MUNABBAH

The third unreliable source in the field of exegesis is the narrations of Wahb Al Munabbah. He also belonged to Yemen and was born during the caliphate of Hazrat Othman. He was a religious and a learned scholar of his time. He has reported narrations from Hazrat Abu Hurairah, Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri, Hazrat Abdullah bin Omar, Hazrat Abdullah bin Jabir and Hazrat Ibn Abbas.The Research Scholars and Traditional Ulema have not questioned on the point of trusting him regarding the reliability of his narrations, but Hafiz Zahabi criticizes on his reliability saying:

“He was indeed a reliable person but on the other point he didn’t stop himself from narrating Israeli narrations”.

5)THE NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF QURANIC EXEGESIS

The Tafsir literature which is considered as one of the most precious treasure of the Muslim ummah is by no exaggeration the true reflection of the Muslim minds at its best. As the most intellectual minds have expressed their ability by leaving no stone unturned to interpret the Holy Quran in its true and real meaning. And just as the Holy Quran deals with all aspects of human life, thought and behavior, the Tafsir literature reflects Muslim ideas in all areas of thought and behavior. The Tafsir literature deals with sciences of eschatology and metaphysics to prayer and worship, from epistemology to individual conduct and social behavior, from social philosophy to the problems of familial and societal organization, from theology to law and morality, from the most sensitive aspects of motivation to the explicit problems of war and peace , to justice and Ihsaan, to history and futurology. Thus it can be said that a history of the intellectual Muslim minds can be written only after delving deep into the Tafsir literature.

The Prophet (pbuh) was not only the recipient of the Holy Quran but he was the most reliable and authentic interpreter of the most divine book, The Holy Quran. The prophetic model for the ummah is not only a realization of the ideal, but it also inaugurates a process through which those who have followed in the footsteps of the Prophet throughout the ages have continued to strive to understand, interpret, explain and implement the Word of God. The text of the Holy Quran was preserved and protected by Allah without any change even in the letters and words. However its translation into other languages provided as an aid to understand the Holy text. The translation however is a human effort known as the Tafsir literature which gradually accepted many changes and developments with the passage of time. The highly learned scholars left no stone unturned to explain the sacred text to the whole ummah and discover its teachings’ relevance to the problems faced by the people in particular situations. Similarly, efforts to implement the teachings were made at both individual and collective levels, and which did not lose the sight of the specific problems of the age. In facing these challenges, extreme care was taken to see that the word of God and the Word of human remained distinct. Every effort to understand the intent of Allah and its relevance to changing situations remained a human effort, despite the fact that, in the context of Islamic thought and literature, these represented the best of the Muslim genius. More than thousand Tafseers are available in the Arabic language and other foreign languages of the world since the era of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) till date. And in the same way, fresh contributions are also made by the learned scholars in every age and every area of the world. Every age has its own outstanding contribution which justifies the intellectuality of the Muslim minds and their devotion towards the service of Islam and the Holy Quran.

6)SOME IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF QURANIC EXEGESIS

As known earlier the exegesis of the Holy Quran consists of laws and sciences which form a very vast subject. A simple and unknown reader can get confused if he is unaware of these important laws and principles. In order to understand the principles of the Holy Quran , one has to be fully acquainted with the knowledge of Arabic language and literature, its grammar and composition with the essential knowledge of Islamic Jurisprudence and Hadith. The most two important principles which if ignored can cause great misunderstandings in the exegesis of the Holy Quran are:

• ALLEGORICAL MEANINGS OF THE HOLY QURAN

Allegory means ‘الاستعارة

’ in Arabic language. In the terms of Quranic Exegesis it is a word which is not used in its literary sense but in an allegorical sense. For example if one says ‘He is a donkey’, it doesn’t mean that the person is an herbivorous animal named ‘donkey’ but it means that the person is a foolish man. Hence the word ‘donkey’ is used here in its allegorical meaning. In the same way the Holy Quran also consists of many words that have allegorical meanings. But it doesn’t mean that each and every reader of Quran has a liberty to give an allegorical meaning as according to his desire. The scholars of Quran have laid down certain rules and principles that are mandatory to follow in the science of exegesis. The most important and basic rule here is that, while interpreting the verses the interpreter has to apply the literal meaning of a word in the first place, and the allegorical or proverbial meanings should be adopted only when the literal meaning cannot be applied due to sound reason, and if there is no such reason the allegorical meaning shall not apply. This principle is so clear and reasonable that one cannot ignore it even in the common human discourses, to say nothing of the words of Allah.

• THE HUMAN RATIONALE AND QURAN

In the present era some interpreters of the Holy Quran have started to apply distant meanings to the texts of the Holy Quran with the reason that the verses of Quran are against common sense and the demands of the modern world. Hence a great deal of errors are been made in this matter. The most important thing to understand in this regard is that there are basically two things i.e.-1) Recorded arguments 2) Human Rationale or Logic. The ‘Recorded arguments’ are those things that are proved from the Quran and Hadith and the ‘Human Rationale’ or ‘Logic’ is the result that a scholar of Quran finds through his mind. The scholars have laid down the rule that ‘Human Rationale’ or ‘Logic’ shall be accepted if the recorded arguments are against them, and if they are not authentically documented they will be considered as incorrect, and if their authenticity is unquestionable it would be said that there obvious meanings are not intended, and if another meaning can be informed that will be taken as the intended meaning. And if an informal explanation is not conceived it would be said that the true meanings have not been understood by us and reality is best known to Allah.

7)THE NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF MODERN EXEGESIS

The Modern World today is a period of intense activity, comparing to that of the Middle Ages, especially in the field of interpreting the Holy Quran. Muslims today are in the stage to confront and come to terms with the civilization and culture of the West and the modernity they have gifted to the whole world. This Modernity consists of the European and American Culture which is very much different from the traditional and mentality of Islam. The first and most important of these key concepts is ‘Secularism’. This word should be understood in general as a separation between interior and exterior, between religion and society and above all between religion and politics. The components of ‘Secularism’ where the sacred is separated from the social behavior and to even greater extent, radical secularism-where are all aspects of life, from the personal life to the stage of politics, are separated from the religion. The encounter of Muslims with this modernity compelled them to reread, revisit, evaluate and seek a better understanding of  their own tradition and culture provided by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, in an attempt to relate their culture to a reality and challenge the modern culture of secularism.

Naturally there was no appropriate way to understand the prospects of Islam in the face of modernity than to look at the analyses and studies of the essential document on which the whole of Islam is based: ‘The Holy Quran’. It is a fact that the Quran will be the key to the future evolution of the Muslim Ummah just as it was the key of success for Islamic Empire in the eight to eleventh centuries.

The Quran continues to be a living document for the ordinary believer, but above all for the Muslim Intellectuals. The study of the Holy Quran undoubtedly represents an investigation of identity, an exploration of what it means to be a true Muslim in today’s modern world. New methodologies, replacing the traditional way of Tafseer and Taawil were introduced by the Learned Scholars for a deep and challenging study. The Muslim Intellectuals left no stone unturned in proving the authenticity of the Holy Quran with the Scientific world. The reason behind this was to prove the Holy Quran as a practical text rather than confining it in a sacred and religious text used only for religion and worship. The most original part of the contemporary exegesis, has been directed at discovering the Quran’s practical dimension to modify the structure of reality and revolutionizing human relations .The learned Scholars in order to challenge the modernity and renew and reform the Muslim Civilization have taken up the responsibility of a modern interpretation of the Holy Quran.

8) SOME MODERN INTERPRETATIONS OF THE HOLY QURAN

In this last point some examples are given regarding the Modern Interpretation done in this renaissance period of Islam. The most three important interpretations that have been widely accepted and have drawn a great attention of the Scholars are:

• Scientific Interpretation

• Thematic Interpretation

• Literary Interpretation

• SCIENTIFIC INTERPRETATION

Of the different types of commentary on the Holy Quran, the Scientific commentary is one of the most curious and controversial. It is based on the belief that it is possible in some way to find in the Quran either precise revelations concerning scientific problems ( in areas such as astronomy, biology and geology) or passages indicating that scientific discoveries that have revolutionized the modern world are anticipated in the Quran. The clear aim is to find further proof of the inimitability of the Quran and of its miraculous nature. In this case, of course, that miraculous nature lies not in the Quran’s form but in its content. The French Exegete Doctor Marrice Bucailli has based the Quranic Exegesis on three presuppositions:

1) The Quran contains mention of scientific “Truths” neither known nor guessed at the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

2) The Quran contains nothing that conflicts with modern science. This lack of anything that contradicts the most up-to-date science would have seemed astonishing in the Prophet Muhammad’s time.

3) The Quran contains a number of terms the true meaning of which cannot be understood except in the light of modern science.

• THEMATIC INTERPRETATION

The term “thematic,” i.e. relating to a theme, is used to describe the method in which an exegete selects a group of verses related to a single theme. We may also call this method “synthetic” because it does not seek to impose human experience on the Qur’an; rather it seeks to synthesize these verses and their meaning into a single composite view and to unite human experience with the Qur’an. In this method the exegete does not interpret the Qur’an verse by verse; rather the exegete attempts to study the whole Qur’an by taking up a single theme from various doctrinal, social, cosmological and ethical themes  dealt with by the Qur’an. This method seeks to find or to discover the Qur’anic viewpoint concerning a particular issue from amongst the various issues related to life and the universe. Hasan Hanafi and Fazlur Rahman are considered as the two most important supporters of a thematic approach to the Quran.

• LITERARY INTERPRETATION

The most important interpretation of the Holy Quran that is considered as a center point in the field of Modern interpretation is the literary interpretation of it. The Quran is a linguistic document of incomparable importance. The Qur’anic discourse is a unique and sensitive genre that exemplifies the peak of literary beauty. The linguistic environment of the Qur’an is such that a change in the word order will lead to a change in its communicative effect and the meaning it intends to portray. This can also disfigure the Qur’anic stylistic effect and can disturb the harmony of semantic cohesion throughout the book. The Great learned scholars of Islam who have devoted themselves in interpreting  the true literary form of the Holy Quran, have left no stone unturned in figuring out the literary pearls hidden in its holy verses. The most unique and highly appreciated interpretations in this regard are the works done by Maulana Abul Al’a Mawdudi named as ‘Tafheem ul Quran’ and Sayyed Qutb as ‘Fi Zilaal al-Quran’.

SOURCES:

•  Mohammad Taqi Usmani, An approach to the Quranic Sciences, Kitab Bhawan, New Delhi

• Sayyad Abul Ala’a Mawdudi, Towards understanding the Quran, Markazi Maktaba Islami

• N.Hanif, Islam and Modernity, Sarup and Sons, New Delhi

• Massimo Carpanini, The Quran, Modern Muslim Interpretations

• Helmet Gatge, The Quran and its Exegesis ,Routledge and Kegen Paul, London and Herley

• Allamah Zarkashi, Al-Burhan,

• Allamah Aalusi, Ruhul Ma’ani,

• Allamah Suyuti, Al-Itqaan

• Ismail bin Umar Ibn Katheer, Tafseer ul Quran al-Azeem