The Place of Archaeological Studies and Historical Geography in ‎Contemporary Interpretations

Abstract

Since Allah sometimes speaks of the location of historical stories in the verses of the Qur'an, understanding some of these verses requires historical ‌archaeological and geographical studies. The advancement of science in the new age and the existence of spiritual crises due to the distance from religion require interpreters to interpret with a scientific perspective. Social and cultural developments and the expansion of the field of science due to the relationship between the Islamic world and Western civilization have created some innovative factors that have had a profound effect on the content and style of interpretation. This is why contemporary Islamic commentators, in accordance with the specific characteristics of this era, have optimized the knowledge related to the Qur'an in order to convey the messages of the Qur'an to the people with a new face. Based on this, the present study has examined archaeological and historical geographical studies in the interpretation of the Qur'an and has researched in six contemporary interpretations. Historical geography in cases such as the Holy Land, the Land of the Aḥqāf, the Land of Gog and Magog, the Cave of the Companions of the Cave, Mount Judi, Majmaʽ al-Bahrayn and Adna al-Arḍ (i.e. Nearby Land) have shown the spatial dimensions of the lands where the events took place. And from this study, it was concluded that the Qur'anic stories, mentioning specific geographical places, are real and historical stories, and the ancient relics of these stories can be seen on earth today.