Revisiting ModernNaẓmApproaches to the Qur'an: Iṣlāḥī’s Interpretation of Q. 107 and Q. 108 in hisTadabbur-i Qurʾān

Abstract

Modern naẓm approaches to the Qur'an ask for a detailed study of the interpretive methodologies and assumptions that function behind them. In order to understand such structural approaches, the present article offers a focused study of two important suras of the Qur'an (Q. 107 and Q. 108), involving some polysemous words, in the Urdu tafsīr of Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī (d. 1997), Tadabbur-i Qur’ān. Iṣlāḥī’s theory of naẓm has gained considerable attention in the academy and is worthy of investigating from new perspectives. It is built on a holistic and unified system of connections within a sura and between suras. The paper aims to investigate the mechanism through which Iṣlāḥī identifies naẓm, and examine its relationship with specific meaning and historical context of a sura. It argues that Iṣlāḥī’s concept of naẓm, which he presents as an internal feature of the Qur'an, seems to be based on and shaped by a specific view of the life of Prophet Muḥammad. It appears that non-linguistic factors play a pivotal role in his theory of naẓm. Therefore, in order to fully comprehend his system of linkages in the Qur'anic discourses, there is a need to further investigate how he understands the biography of the Prophet and the early Islamic history in comparison to other exegetes and historians, and how he approaches the question of the authenticity of our knowledge about the details of Muhammad.