نشریه پژوهش های قرآنی
سال بیست و یکم شماره 1 (پیاپی 78، بهار 1395)

The present research aims at identifying the developments progressed in the concept of social exegesis of the Qurān from the exegete's perspectives. This question is to be probed that whether the methologist's and interpretation fields analyst's understandings from social exegesis of the Qurān as a new phenomenon have been subject to fluctuations and ultimately have been evolved in the recent century or not. The most impressive achievement of this research is to study the nature of social exegesis of the Qurān from exegesis scholars’ viewpoint as a broad concept which is solely realized in the shape of the Muslim community socio-cultural developments effects on the contemporary exegete's works whose function is to adapt the verses of the Qurān to the new needs of Muslim societies (adaptive exegesis). Besides its primary extended meaning and its limited scope, such an interpretation includes all the aspects of individual and social lives of Muslims in the first step which positions its ultimate goal to prove the efficacy and sufficiency of the Qurān to guide the humankind (directive exegesis). By the end and in the third step, social exegesis is regarded to be an interdisciplinary field of study which is related to the propositions expressed in sociology as well.

Given the Qurānic teachings are divided into diverse subjects and pivots, undoubtedly its moral teachings are placed among the most important subjects and at least it should be admitted that if the revelation cosmology could be considered as the roots and foundations of the Qurānic knowledge whose branches are the ordinances of the law, the moral teachings would be the fruits and outcomes of good tree. However, it is for a long time that this question has been brought up among the Muslim intellects that if the Qurānic teachings enjoy a logical and coherent structure whose parts and elements are supported by a systematic thought and attitude pillars or if it includes incoherent and fragmented advice which does not possess a consistent basis and a relevant and systematic structure. Consequently, can any strong and meaningful tie be identified among them? Hence, the distinctiveness and advantage of moral teachings of Islam compared with other scientific-moral schools of thought is reliant upon knowing and discovering the Islamic moral system. This research has scrutinized and investigated discovering the relation between the moral values as the primary and important step in knowing the Islamic moral system as also stated in the Qurānic verses which have been mentioned as an introduction to this issue in this paper.

One of the most important issues in the Qurānic science, which is rooted in the Prophet and Ahlolbayts’ (the People of the House) traditions, is the issue of esoteric vs. external aspects of the Qurān. So far, many scholars have discussed the intent of the interior and esoteric interpretation of the Qurān and have introduced criteria for telling the exterior of the Holy Book from its interior. Usually the researchers have offered similar close interpretations for the terms revelation and exterior of the Qurān, idiomatic vs. literal meanings of the Qurān, the issues for which the Qurān has been revealed, exegesis and context of situation, adopting the verses of the Qurān to the natural referents and phenomena, and some other close meanings. Contrary to the present trend among researchers, the author of this paper attempted to solve the problem of drawing distinction between the exterior and interior meanings of the Qurān. The achievement of this research is to prove that every meaning the first audiences of the Prophet have grasped from the verses and learnt has been the esoteric interpretation and revelation of the Qurān and any other meaning beyond which the same spirit of revelation and understanding the first audiences of the Qurān conceived is taken by other audience either in the time of the Prophet or after that would be the interior and interpretation of the Divine Book. Undoubtedly, the register and atmosphere of revelation is the most important context of knowing the external meaning and revelation of the Qurān.

Makki and Madani knowledge of the verses of the Qurān is to trace and make the history of Qurān revelation credits. Investigating the Makki verses positioned in the Madani ones and vice versa falls under the concern of this scope subfields as the Qurānic sciences labels them exceptional verses. The Qurān exegetes disagree with each other if the last verse of the Muzammel Chapter, among some other verses, is Makki or Madani. As this verse is among the Makki verses revealed in the beginning of the Prophet’s first revelation, various viewpoints concerning this verse have been proposed in traditional and contemporary exegeses. This paper is to study the pros and cons’ standpoints and to attempt to respond the cons’ arguments arguing that this verse is not Makki.

The fame and popularity of Hafs from Asem method of Qurān recitation and its conformity with the most of available versions of the Qurān has made its evidence authenticity and validity very significant. Deploying an analytical-descriptive method, the present paper attempts to criticize the available views in this regard. In some references of the Shia and Sunni biographies of the narrators of traditions, Abdarrahman Selmi, Asem and Hafs are weakened while Othman is regarded as among Abu Abdarrahman’s scholars. The investigations showed that proving the affiliation of Abdarrahman to Othman demands a strong documentation and evidence. The reasons led to Asem’s weakening in transmitting traditions are in contradiction to his consolidations and focus to the Qurān recitation. The origin for Haf’s weakening was that he was mistaken with Hafs Basari and Azadi and not narrating the ancients’ sayings correctly. Likewise, Othman’s presence in this recitation’s evidence is null due to some reasons. Using historic and biographies of the narrators of traditions references, this writing proves that the weak evidence of this recitation is not reliable.

The verse of Covenant (Mithaq) (A’rāf Chapter, Verse 172) expresses the God’s covenant with his servants and caused various opinions being suggested by the Qur’ān exegetes. For instance, the existence of the primal world taken from traditions (Hadiths), temperament, symbols, human’s dual heavenly creative breath and mundane existence, the world of wisdom and revelation, and so on and so forth have been mentioned by them. After stating such opinions and investigating their weaknesses and strengths, this research will focus on the analysis of traditions pertaining to this verse which apparently enjoy spiritual successive narration. However, after eliding the common points in repetitive methods and traditions from a certain person and by stating the distress in the text of traditions and their weak documentation, not only is the spiritual successive narration of such traditions but also their validity questioned. Then, the researchers discuss Mukhtar’s theory postulating that human’s intuition exists during his lifetime and arguing that given human does not make veil for himself, he will grasp such covenant and intuition.

Verses 255-257 of Sūrat al-Baqara, also known as āyat al-kursī, has turned into one of the most frequently used and most outstanding verses of the Qur’ān with the Muslims due to the multiplicity of its readings (qarā’a) and numerous traditions in the sources of both Sunnī and Shī‘a, thus demanding special attention. With a methodological approach, this article has critically examined eight famous Persian translations of āyat al-kursī done after the Islamic Revolution. The accurate examination of these translations has made the writer draw the conclusion that none of these translators have presented an accurate translation for these three verses and each one of them has had some errors in the translation of some phrases. Most errors of the translators have been made in translation of the words qayyūm, kursī, and ṭāghūt. The etymological approach in determining the exact meaning of these words is very helpful and can be efficient in the systematic critique of the existing translations, and even if it does not give a definite response to this type of problems, it may at least reduce the ambiguities involved in translation and provide considerable critique tools for clarifying the borders of the strength and weakness of the translator’s work. Using valid interpretations and critical review of translations, in this writing, the errors are expressed and a more accurate translation is given for each phrase of these verses.