Towards a Philosophical Qur'anology: Structure and Meaning in the Qur'an (original) (raw)

Some Implications of Hermeneutical Readings for the Study of the Qur'an

Hermeneutics opens up possibilities to understand something as comprehensive as possible, and at the same time, as various as possible. There can be as many readings as the number of readers or even more readings than the number of the readers as they can deploy different points of views, approaches and methods in one object. This article formulates the question of what implications does hermeneutical reading for the study of the Qur'an may have? While the result of hermeneutical reading can bc as productive as possible accordingly, its implications are of variety. However in this article, two implications will be discussed: one implication on scientific necessity and the other is on productivity of reading. Two cases will be discussed here: the Qur'an as textus receptus and as discourse.

"Qur'ān" for The Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion

The Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion, 2021

Among the Qur'ān's central themes are the multiplicity of revelation, the phenomena of prophethood, the nature of death, and the reality of the afterlife, among other issues central to the philosophy of religion. Nonetheless, the Qur'ān remains understudied in the field. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Western scholars have sought to establish approaches to the Qur'ānic text that eschew the Qur'ān's account of its own origins, history, and nature and circumvent a millennium of Muslim scholarship. This has resulted in contradictory approaches that render the field of Qur'ānic Studies in a state of disarray. Confusion most often arises regarding ongoing debates about the Qur'ān's origins. Misunderstandings also prevail in philosophical and theological evaluations of the Qur'ān due to the imposition of foreign philosophical categories without first seeking to analyze Qur'ānic teachings on their own terms. Given the foundation the Qur'ān provides for discussions germane to the philosophy of religion and the paucity of material addressing Qur'ānic teachings, the first step in this field must be to outline the manner in which the Qur'ān addresses issues central to the philosophy of religion.

Hermeneutical Approach to the Qur’An

Episteme: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman, 2018

This paper discussed the life background of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd and the hermeneutical method in used to interpretation of the Qur'an. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd was among productive Muslim scientists. He wrote over twenty-nine works from 1964 to 1999. His works included books and articles. Nasr's thought was a product of his educational background and religious thought. An interesting discussion of Nasr's thought was the conceptual discourse (an-nash). In the historical trajectory of the Arabic world, the text had a crucial position, especially when we saw the development of Islamic literature from pre-Islamic to the Islamic era. The oral tradition was deeply rooted. The text was ultimately believed to have a major influence in the formation of civilization through a hermeneutical approach, developed by modernists such as Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, which became an attempt to develop an approach in understanding the Qur'an which had been widely opposed among Muslims. Because there was a very basic difference between hermeneutics on the other hand, and tafsir-takwil on the other hand, so it is considered inappropriate to be used to study the Qur'an. Therefore, this paper will discuss the concept of hermeneutical method of the Qur'an by Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd as a repertoire of Islamic studies.

The Debates of the Createdness of the Qur’An and Its Impact to the Methodology of Qur’Anic Interpretation

ULUMUNA, 2016

The status of the Qur'an as the verbatim words of God has become undisputed belief among Muslims. However, beyond the agreement on this fundamental doctrine, they differed from interpreting the nature of "the Qur"an" whether it is eternal and co-existent with God or created by God like other beings in this world? Throughout Islamic history, there are at least two major trends in interpreting the nature of the Qur"an as God words, i.e. scholars who believe in the eternity of the Qur"an and those who believe in the createdness of the Qur"an. A number of Muslim thinkers since three decades ago have adopted the concept of the createdness of the Qur"an to support their methodological principles developed in interpreting the Qur"an. This paper will explore further the origin of the doctrine of eternity and the createdness of the Qur"an, the debate on this issue in classical and contemporary Islamic thoughts and its methodological implications on the interpretation of the Holy Scripture.

Qur'Anic Hermeneutics: Problems and PROSPECTS1

The Muslim World, 1993

The eternal cannot enter time without a time when it enters. Revelation to history cannot occur outside it. A prophet cannot arise except in a generation and a native land, Directives from heaven cannot impinge upon an earthly vacuum.2 This paper was first delivered at a conference on 'Modern Approaches to the Study of Islam' held at the University of Cape Town in August 1991. Kenneth Cragg, The Event ofthe Qur2n: fs/zm a n d h Scr@/ure

Word Made Book: A Semantic and Historical Study of the Supra-Rationality of the Qur'ān as Transmitted in the Medium of Revelation within the Metaphysical Sociology of Arabia

ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries, 2021

This article argues that the Qur'ān seeks to place its modality of revelation within the oracle of Arabia and recognizes it as such a valid "form" of revelation. It inducts its medium of revelation within the familiar apparatus of the pagan divination institution by tapping into the realm of supra-rationality while, simultaneously, making a radical departure from it at the doctrinal level. The Qur'ānic oracle speaks for one universal God as opposed to a tribal deity, pantheon of gods, or an anthropomorphized divinity that partakes of the experience of humanity. The article seeks to work with the core Islamic concept of revelation in dialogue with the notion of the Word of God in a semantic slash historical context. 1 The inquiry glances at the historical presentation of what Islam warrants as a rationale of revelation by maintaining a propositional and qualitative distinction from the pagan oracle. It projects the dialectics of quality versus quantity and principle versus form rather than undertaking a complete break with the existing metaphysical and epistemological cosmos. Such a claim of external guidance, from the above, as laid by all three Semitic religions is, inherently, based upon, and rooted within the source of a higher realm attributed to the divinity. Islam's hierarchy of being and non-being revolves around an essential Being, the one true God, as a theological necessity, whereas all contingency, the creation including mankind, is granted existence in the sanctuary of the divine will that takes place through God's grace. The will of God, Logos, defines the relationship between the necessity and the contingency in the self-consciousness of the Qur'ān.