Uṣūl al-Tafsīr

Abstract

“The best among you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it to others”is a well-known hadith on the superiority of the Qur’an mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥal-Bukhārī and many other hadith collections. When one needs to teach somethingto others, it is crucial to have a well-grounded knowledge of the subjectto be taught. More importantly, it is necessary to know the methodology ofobtaining this knowledge. In the field of Qur’an studies, ‘ilm al-tafsīr providesthe infrastructure for the interpreter who is preparing himself/herself to interpretthe Qur’an. In addition, uṣūl al-tafsīr provides him/her with an almoststep-by-step guide in this regard.This book Uṣūl al-Tafsīr could only have been written by an author withprofound experience in the history and exegesis of the Qur’an in particular, aswell as with a great deal of familiarity and comprehensive understanding ofthe various Islamic disciplines. In his valuable work, Recep Doğan, a lecturerof Islamic sciences and civilizations at Australia’s Charles Stuart University,attempts to fill a gap in the literature of the methodology of Qur’anic exegesis.In doing so, he provides detailed accounts on the history of uṣūl al-tafsīr andcombines both classical and modern Qur’anic exegetical approaches.In addition to the forward by Ismail Albayrak (pp. xiii-xv), the book consistsof twelve chapters, a glossary, and a bibliography. The chapters dealswith various topics, such as the history and development of Qur’anic exegesis,the revelation (waḥy), the transmission of the Qur’anic revelation, thei‘jāz of the Qur’an, the history of interpretation and interpreters, occasionsof the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl); clear and ambiguous verses (muḥkam andmutashābih), the notion of abrogation (naskh), Qur’anic readings and the notionof the seven letters, Qur’anic stories, esoteric interpretation, textualanalysis, and translation of the Qur’an. The work also contains detailed informationon the history of the methodology of exegesis, such as the Makkanand Madinian parts of the Qur’an.The author contends that the literature in the field of uṣūl al-tafsīr is limitedin both number and approaches (p. xiv). He also criticizes the approachof some orientalists in this field, which is, according to him, neither satisfyingnor flawless. However, the book does not include any evidence to support thisclaim. Nevertheless, Doğan does state that those who want to interpret ...