Contemporary Approaches to the Qurʾan and its Interpretation in Iran

Ali Akbar, Abdullah Saeed

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000709797
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

This book sets out how contemporary Iranian scholars have approached the Qur??n during recent decades. It particularly aims to explore the contributions of scholars that have emerged in the post 1979-revolution era, outlining their primary interpretive methods and foundational theories regarding the reading of the Qur??n.

Examining issues such as the status of women, democracy, freedom of religion and human rights, this book analyses the theoretical contributions of several Iranian scholars, some of which are new to the English-speaking academy. The hermeneutical approaches of figures such Abdolkarim Soroush, Muhammad Mojtahed Shabestari, Mohsen Kadivar, Hasan Yousefi-Eshkevari, Abolqasem Fanaie and Mostafa Malekian are presented and then analysed to demonstrate how a contextualist approach to the Qu'ran has been formed in response to the influence of Western Orientalism. The effect of this approach to the Qu'ran is then shown to have wide-ranging effects on Iranian society.

This study reveals Qu'ranic thought that has been largely overlooked by the West. It will, therefore. Be of great use to academics in Religious, Islamic and Qur??nic studies as well as those studying the culture of Iran and the Middle East more generally.

Part I
Introduction and reception of Western scholars' approaches to the Qurʾān in Iran

Introduction

This book is an attempt to present to English-speaking audiences an outline of how particular contemporary Iranian scholars have approached the interpretation of the Qurʾān during the past few decades (1990s–2010s). It examines discussions among Iranian scholars about the Qurʾān and methods of its interpretation in the post-Revolutionary era.

The book begins with an exploration of how ideas about Qurʾānic studies in the West have been received by Iranian religious scholars, especially from the conservative camps. Then it explores contextualist approaches to interpreting the Qurʾān developed by reformist Iranian scholars. The book shows how contextualisation, as a new discourse, has emerged among some reformist Iranian scholars in their approaches to the Qurʾān during the 1990s–2010s. Finally, the book demonstrates how contextualist interpretations of the Qurʾān in the works of reformist scholars have broader sociopolitical implications since they favour the mutability of the Qurʾān’s sociolegal rulings (aḥkām) today.

Some of the questions that shape the major concerns of this study include the following: How have some conservative Iranian scholars responded to Qurʾānic studies undertaken in the West? To what extent are contextualist approaches to interpreting the Qurʾān highlighted in the works of reformist Iranian scholars, particularly during the past three decades? What are some of the implications of a contextualist reading of the Qurʾān? How have contextualist Iranian scholars been able to interpret the Qurʾān in light of the new challenges posed by the modern world? To what extent have they been able to use their contextualist approaches to the Qurʾān to develop a project of reform – one that responds to the issues of human rights, religious pluralism and gender equality?

A brief overview of the major themes of contextualisation

Although the notion of contextualisation is dealt with in greater detail in Part II of this book, here we outline some of the main features of a contextualist approach to the Qurʾān to give readers a sense of what contextualisation means. Contextualisation is an umbrella term that covers a number of approaches to interpreting the Qurʾān. Although we do not intend to claim that contextualist scholars form an entirely homogenous group, a contextualist approach, broadly speaking, looks at the Qurʾān in light of the historical context of its revelation. A contextualist approach takes into account the broader social, cultural, political and economic milieu in which the Qurʾān was revealed. Contextualists often distinguish between universal and particular verses. That is, they differentiate between Qurʾānic verses that only apply to specific conditions and those that apply to humans more generally.

Another interpretative method highlighted in the work of some contextualist scholars is intra-textual reading, which implies that the Qurʾān should be treated holistically. Thus, instead of reading Qurʾānic verses – especially those dealing with sociolegal issues – in isolation, readers should seek to understand these verses through the prism of the rest of the text. In other words, Qurʾānic verses – especially those related to sociolegal matters – should be interpreted in light of the Qurʾān’s underlying principles and the Qurʾān’s overall movement towards advancing justice for humans.¹

For contextualists, in the same way that the historical context of the Qurʾān influenced its content, the historical contexts and environments of its interpreters have played a key role in its interpretations. In this sense, contextualists often argue that it is important to draw a close connection between the context in which the Qurʾān was revealed – referred to by Abdullah Saeed as macro context 1 – and the context in which the Qurʾān is being interpreted today – referred to as macro context 2. To “translate” the Qurʾān from macro context 1 to macro context 2, an interpreter must be aware of both contexts.² This view is often used by contextualists to argue in favour of the idea that the “meanings” of some Qurʾānic passages, especially those connected to sociolegal matters, can be different for a contemporary reader than they would have been for the original seventh-century audience of the text. In this sense, in moving from macro context 1 to macro context 2, “there may have been a socio-historical background and context that warranted [a specific legislation]; when the situation changes . .. the law has to be rethought anew”.³

It is worth noting that the theme of the historical contextualisation of the Qurʾān has been, broadly speaking, emphasised in the writings of Western scholars. Beginning in the nineteenth century, Western scholars of Islam began to look at traditional approaches to interpreting the Qurʾān differently. Although Muslim scholars had occasionally attempted to connect individual revelations with the events of the Prophet’s life in order to discover the context of specific Qurʾānic revelations, they, as Munim Sirry argued, “vehemently refused to attribute the Qurʾān to the evolution of the Prophet’s spiritual life and his religious and political problems and strategies”.⁴ “Most Muslim scholars”, according to Sirry, “do not welcome the emphasis on the environmental influence on the Qurʾān as it implies that the Qurʾān is of human rather than divine origin”.⁵

The idea that the Qurʾān should be understood in light of the Prophet’s biography and the events that the nascent Muslim community experienced was highlighted in early Western Qurʾānic scholarship, including the works of Theodor Nöldeke, Friedrich Schwally and Otto Pretzl.⁶ Indeed, it was in the mid-nineteenth century that the discipline of the history of the Qurʾān emerged in the West. Western scholars from the nineteenth century onwards frequently emphasised that the Qurʾān was the product of a milieu in which Jewish, Christian and even Zoroastrian teachings were prevalent. Accordingly, they often attempted to discover possible connections between the Qurʾān and Judeo-Christian ideas. Such ideas have arisen more generally to argue for the Qurʾān’s dependency on the Bible.⁷ Many orientalists – except those who argue that the Qurʾān – in its current version – dates from much later than the time of Muhammad or even the caliph Uthman – believe that the sociopolitical, intellectual and cultural contexts of Arabia during the seventh century played a key role in shaping the content of the Qurʾān. While the Qurʾān itself does not contain a record of the historical events that Muhammad experienced while he lived in both Mecca and Medina, these events and the prevailing cultural elements of Arabian society, some argue, still played an important role in the formation of the text.

The theme of the historical contextualisation of the Qurʾān can also be found in the writings of Muslim contextualist scholars, as we demonstrate in the second part of this book. However, it is essential to highlight from the outset that there is an important difference between the notion of context emphasised by Muslim contextualist scholars and that emphasised by non-Muslim scholars in the West. While Muslim contextualist scholars, including Iranian contextualist scholars, emphasise the influence of context and history when interpreting the Qurʾān, they do not, in general, question the essentially divine nature of the text. However, Western academic tradition has been concerned mainly with discovering the context of the text in a way that helps identify the different stages through which the Qurʾān came into being. The very nature of the Qurʾān, according to this Weltanschauung, or worldview, is that it is mostly connected to contextual and human elements, such as Muhammad’s personality, his biography and his familiarity with earlier religious scriptures, as well as the sociocultural norms of Arabian society and the historical events that he and the nascent Muslim community confronted. Indeed, the idea that the Qurʾān is of a divine origin is not a central theme in Western/non-Muslim scholarship. While it is not surprising for a non-Muslim scholar to question the divine nature of the Qurʾān, Muslim scholars – be they reformist or conservative – do not generally do so.

Contextualisation in response to the discourses of conservative theologians

As we demonstrate in the first two parts of this book, although the discourse of orientalism has, by and large, been challenged by conservative Iranian scholars and researchers, it has left an impact on the intellectual climate of Iranian scholarship, especially within religious intellectual circles. One particular impact has been the influence of methods of historical contextualisation. By delving into the theories, ideas and approaches of particular reformist Iranian scholars to the Qurʾān, this book intends to provide insight into the ongoing project of contextualisation in Iran.

It is worth noting that reformist scholars’ contextualist readings of the Qurʾān are also reactions to the conservative theological discourses that came to shape the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The rise of political Islam, which was felt during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, eventually led to a debate among Iranian scholars on the place of pluralism, freedom, democracy and individual rights in Islam. It is within this context that some religious intellectuals (rowshanfekrān-e dīnī), from the early 1990s onwards, began to reconsider traditional approaches to interpreting the Qurʾān. The ideas of these religious intellectuals, as demonstrated in this book, challenged the religious authority of traditionally educated Muslim scholars, although there was some variance among religious intellectuals in how strongly they distanced themselves from conservatives.

Given that the Qurʾān is considered a rich resource for theological debate and sociopolitical action in Iran because of the central place of religion in the public space, debates between conservative and reformist religious scholars – be they clerics or lay intellectuals – about social issues are often referred to the Qurʾān. For conservative religious scholars, the unique nature of the Qurʾān as the direct Word of God means that it must be placed over all other texts – which are inherently fallible; thus, it is a significant point of departure for sociopolitical decision-making in society. In addition, conservative theologians in Iran have produced a considerable volume of writings on the immutability of the Qurʾān’s teachings on sociolegal issues. As Ahmad Vaʿezi (b. 1962), a conservative theologian and instructor at the ḥowzeh of Qom, wrote: “Not all changes lead to changes in the nature of Qurʾānic commandments. Therefore, we cannot ignore the injunctions of the Shariʿa based on external and contextual changes, and instead replace the unshakable commands of the Shariʿa with conjectures and guesses”.⁸ Like Vaʿezi, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi (b. 1935), who is often identified as “the most conservative among Iran’s clerical elite”,⁹ argues against the mutability of the Qurʾān’s teachings on sociolegal issues. For him, the traditional Islamic jurisprudential discourse should be applied in its entirety today. Reinterpretation of the primary sources of Islam is not necessary: “The Islam that we believe in is what has been interpreted by the Twelve Imams and, alongside them, by...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• PART I Introduction and reception of Western scholars' approaches to the Qurʾān in Iran
• PART II Approaches of contextualist Iranian scholars towards interpretation of the Qurʾān
• PART III Contextualist approaches in practice
• PART IV Concluding remarks
• Bibliography
• Index