|
Related Articles
Islam: Origins, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Persons and Sacred Places... click
Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation... clickMuslim Modernists and New Hermeneutic Approach to the Prophetic Tradition... clickQur'anic Hermeneutics: Navigation of Modern Dilemmas... clickArguments for Abrogation in the Qur'an... click
|
|
| |
|
Islamic Epistemology Seminar - IAN Jambi
Dr. Ahmad Totonji participated in a Seminar on Islamic Epistemology organized by IAIN Sulthan Thaha Syaifuddin, Jambi, Sumatera, Indonesia on June 7, 2009. The seminar was attended by Vice Rectors, Directors of Post Graduate Studies and lecturers. The participants were inspired and enlightened by Dr. Ahmad's inputs. A proposal to develop a Center for Islamic Epistemology Studies at IAIN Jambi was mooted and received positive feedbacks from all participants.
Dr. Ahmad also attended Melayu Cultural Night and the Opening Ceremony of the 9th IAIN National Scout Camp attended by the Coordinator Minister of People Welfare Abu Rizal Bakri; the Chairman of National Head Quarter of Indonesian Scout Movement Prof. DR. Azrul Azwar; Gavernor of Jambi, Zulkifli Nurdin and The Rectors and Vice Rectors of State Islamic Universities (UIN, IAIN, STAIN) from all over Indonesia. Dr. Ahmad held series of discussion with the Rectors and Vice Rectors of State Islamic Universities (UIN, IAIN, STAIN) from all over Indonesia. The discussion and sharing of ideas had strengthened their commitment on the cooperation with the State Islamic Universities on the Islamic Epistemology programs... read more
|
Toward a Philosophical Approach of the Hermeneutics of the Qur'an
Aliaa Ibrahim Dakroury Although claims questioning whether religious sacred books can be "translated" or not have been heard for quite some time, they have increased with the emergence of globalization and the increasing openness and flow of information due to modern technology. In the context of the relationship between hermeneutics and communication, one could argue that interpreting the Qur'an is an interesting case study for many reasons. Among them is the number of debates and discourses that have been raised both for and against its translation. Another reason, perhaps one of the largest barriers according to some religious Muslim groups, is that the Qur'an is fundamentally revealed and written in Arabic, and, therefore, its true meaning cannot be translated into another language. Certain verses, such as "It is a Qur'an in Arabic, without any crookedness (therein): in order that they may guard against evil" (28:39), have been presented to support this argument. What is hermeneutics? Etymologically, the term hermeneutics comes from the Latin hermeneuin or hermeneutica, which mean the "process of mediating meaning that proceeds from the outside to the inside of the meaning."2 Along these lines, one could see hermeneutics as not simply translating or uttering a meaning, but rather as explicating and interpreting a given text's spirit and inner meaning. I will begin to illustrate this study's importance by pointing out the amount of controversy surrounding the issue of interpreting the Qur'an. Following that, I will propose a possible philosophical foundation for a hermeneutics of the Qur'an through synthesizing two different streams of the approaches to the philosophy of hermeneutics. The first one will be the Muslims' collective appropriation and understanding, as seen through two exegeses: those of al-Ghazali (1058-1111) and Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905). The second will be the western perspective through the standing points of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and Jürgen Habermas (1929- ). The study will conclude by discussing a possible position that one can adopt when dealing with the issue of interpreting a sacred text, in general, given their "sensitivity," especially for its followers and believers... read more |
|
Rituals, Ideals, and Reading the Qur'an
S.Sayyid
As Muslims, we revere the Qur'an as an object, allotting it pride of place in our homes, treating it with care, keeping it bound nicely (if not ornamentally), and using it as a "trump card" to win arguments with our Muslim friends. We seem, however, less able or willing to accord it the respect it deserves as a text. To suggest that most Muslims do not treat the text with respect seems to fly in the face of many believers' experience, for do we not take its verses and make amulets out of them, place them around our homes and other buildings, and incorporate them in our prayers? Surely, this suggests that Muslims do respect the Qur'anic text. By "respecting the text," I mean undertaking a reading critically shaped by our awareness of God as All-Powerful and All-Knowing, whose effects can be gleaned in the Qur'anic language like footprints in the snow, but whose infinite majesty invariably escapes our limited comprehension. In other words, respecting the Qur'an means recognizing the nature of its textuality, recognizing the way it is written. For Muslims, reading the Qur'an has a unique significance that it cannot have for non-Muslims, be they politicians, columnists, polemicists doubling as scholars, or even serious scholars. I would argue that for non-Muslims, the Qur'an's significance is secondary, in that its importance is derived from the value that Muslims place on it. While anyone can have an opinion about the Qur'an, it is the Muslims' opinion that is of primary importance, for, as a collective body, Muslims comprise its main stakeholders... read more
|
|
Some Features of Mawdudi's Tafhim al Quran
Mustansir Mir
Tafhim al-Quran, a six-volume commentary on the Qur'an, is Mawdudi's magnum opus. It is not only a treasury of information, it is also a distillate of Mawdudi's thought. In writing tafhim, as he says in the Preface to the book, Mawdudi has in mind the needs of those educated laymen who wish to understand the message of the Qur'in but lack access to the original Arabic sources on the subject; the word tafhim, which means "to make someone understand," aptly describes the nature of the book. The following pages analyze some of the features of the work.
Even a cursory reading of tafhim would show that the work is a "modern" one. Most Urdu Qur'an commentaries present a "traditional" look in that they lack methodical arrangement of material. Tafhim seems to satisfy many of the formal requirements one expects a book of this kind to meet....Above all, Tafhim is modern in that its author evinces an awareness of the situations and problems of the present age. On quite a few occasions Mawdudi cites, in support of his interpretation of Qur'anic verses, recent researches in the fields of physics, medicine, and archeology. And, as a study of Tafhim shows, its author addresses himself to many concerns and questions that a twentieth-century reader- Muslim or non-Muslin-of the Qur'an is likely to have... read more
|
|
|
