The Rules of Interpretation: Review on Asbab Al-Nuzul in Tafsir Al-Mishbah

Abstract

An analysis of popularity and respectability of the exegetical sub-genre asbab al-nuzul (occasions of revelation) in the Qur’an is usually regarded to be considered under the category of Qur’anic sciences, which is an intersection between exegesis and narration. With the tool of asbab al-nuzul, the exegetes obtain a structural rule that lets them supervise the verse. Furthermore, because of the problems attended upon taking a strictly historical view of asbab al-nuzul, Muslim scholars sometimes interpret an asbab al-nuzul to mean not an actual historical event, but any situation to which given Qur’anic verses might have application. Therefore, the aim of this study is to forage a detailed inspection of rules of interpretation, which is related to asbab al-nuzul applied by M. Quraish Shihab, who was a prolific Indonesian exegete, and his published works continue to exert a strong influence. This study was a qualitative study, and the design of the study was a concept study. The systematic and in-depth collection of information was done on the two rules that were related to asbab al-nuzul used by Shihab to ensure that the resulting exegesis was in accordance with the requirements of Islamic law. Both rules emphasise that the most authentic and preferable rule according to majority of the scholars, which is the rulling should be derived based on the generality of the text and not on the particularity of the reason. There are many other parts of the related topics about asbab al-nuzul in this studied tafsir for future recommendations studies.