نشریه مطالعات قرآن و حدیث
سال دوم شماره 1 (پیاپی 3، پاییز و زمستان 1387)

Ihlal is among the Quranic terms used to indicate the rejection of certain customs of the Ignorance Days concerning sacrifice of animals. Since this issue has not had any actual function in Islamic Law, it has not found any opportunity of usage in Muslims juristic literature. Various factors have caused a wide range of commentators and jurisprudents of different Islamic schools to refer the concept of Ihlal to that of Tasmiyah (uttering the invocation “in the name of Allah” when slaughtering animals).They are lack of the usage of this term for sacrificing animals in the Islamic period, long distance between the Days of Ignorance and today, oblivion of the customs of that time, and the popularity of the issue of Tasmiyah when slaughtering animals – though for the daily consumption of meat rather than ritual purposes. Studying the etymology of the word and its ancient usages, the present article seeks to identify the semantic texture of this word in its pre- Islamic usages. It also indicates that what was termed as Ihlal in the days of ignorance was much more limited than tasmiyah in Islamic Law in terms of being ritual and being restricted to certain sacrifices. Furthermore, it is important to know the negative usage of Ihlal in the holy Quran, since there is no command or recommendation concerning Ihlal. It is only said that eating the meat of an animal whose Ihlal is for other than God is forbidden. Considering these points, it can be concluded that the verses concerning Ihlal can not be directly and based on their denotation be relied on for the issue of Tasmiyah when slaughtering. Therefore for jurisprudential purposes, we should seek other types of evidence or references including explicit Sunna or the esoteric interpretation of Ihlal in the Quran.

Considering the traditions of the chronological order inauthentic, Allama Tabatabai believes that we can restore the chronological order of Quranic passages through reliable ways of deduction (Ijtihad) and the context. The question is whether Allama himself has acted according to his own theory. However, traditions of chronological order are among the reliable sources for determining the chronological order of the Suras and verses. Some commentators have only counted on these traditions towards finding the chronological order. However, some others consider them unreliable and count on the context of Suras and verses for this purpose. Allama has a confirmatory and supplementary approach towards traditions generally, but he holds that the traditions of chronological order are not reliable at all. He presents certain arguments to prove his hypothesis, but they are to be reviewed and analyzed. On the other hand, he has not acted according to his own theory in Al Mizan Commentary. He does not refer to any tradition at all in some cases relying merely on Ijtihad. Sometimes he refers to traditions as further evidence for his Ijtihad and in certain cases, he turns to a critical analysis of traditions. This approach indicates that we can not follow a single method and it is necessary to proceed to a combined method of deduction and tradition.

The character of Ayatullah Taliqani and his method in the exegesis of the Quran gave rise to a large number of elites welcoming this exegesis in the two or three decades ending in the victory of the Islamic Revolution. This commentary was eloquent along with distinct features almost unique by that time in writing religious and exegetical works in Persian. The most significant factors of the eloquence of this commentary are as follows: author’s concern for the younger generation and the educated people, skillful use of expressive language, focusing on artistic aspects of the Quran., measured distinctive choice of Persian vocabulary, benefiting from authoritative sources, addressing in contemporary expression, seeing the events and occurrences in the light of verses, taking scientific exegesis into account, useful historical information, analytical element and benefitting from literature sources. All these features contributed to providing a scholarly exegesis catching the interest of the intellectuals. These qualities made Partow Commentary a distinctive example of the exegesis of the holy Quran with a social approach in Persian language. Giving a brief account of general features of social exegesis, the present article deals with these distinctions in the commentary of “Partowi as Quran”.

Commentary of Muqatil ibn Slayman is one of the earliest concise running commentaries of the 2nd century A.H. It is a combination of literal, textual, intellectual and deductive exegesis. The literal aspect of this exegesis predominates other aspects. Scholars are divided concerning the religious school of Muqatil and he is not considered authentic in terms of his being a transmitter of hadith. However, Sunni scholars have attached big importance to his exegesis. Some Shiite scholars have also quoted from him. The outstanding features of this commentary are as follows: conciseness, avoiding quotation of different and contradictory views, avoiding mentioning the reward of recitation of Quranic Suras, and giving Quranic vocabulary careful consideration. Among the weaknesses of this commentary we may refer to the author’s doubting the infallibility of Prophets, confusion in the issue of Imamate, his claim of the physical presence of God on the day of judgment,. .. The method of this descriptive study is gathering information based on content analysis.

The holy Quran discusses the issue of reformation and corruption as well as different currents leading to the reformation and corruption of individuals and societies. It also illustrates the expressive picture of true reformers and creators of corruption. On the one hand, Quranic teachings deal with the causes and factors of corruption and wickedness, and on the other, with various mechanisms paving the way for making environment free from moral and social corruption. Studying the concept of reformation and corruption as well as the necessity of reformation, the present article discusses briefly the ways and mechanisms of reformation and campaigning against corruption.

John Burton, a British Qur’an researcher, maintains that the currently available Qur’an has been compiled by the Prophet (p.b.u.h) himself. The issue of abrogation of verses and codices of the Qur’an compiled by Companions are factors that have contributed to the elimination of the role of the Prophet (s) in compilation of the Qur’an. Issues such as Naskh al- tilawa wa al – Hukm, Naskh al- tilawa dun al – Hukm and variations in the Companions’ recitations of the Qur’an are false accounts. He maintains that these are fabrications of jurists, used as evidence to support their juristic decrees using the Qur’an where there was no evidence for them in the present Qur’anic text. Had the holy Prophet (s) compiled the verses of the Qur’an in the form of a book, the aforementioned jurists would not have been able to talk about the existence of various recitations in the codices of the Qur’an compiled by the Companions and elimination of verses from the present Qur’an in the form of the two types of abrogation mentioned above. They had no choice but to eliminate the role of the Prophet (s) in the compilation of the Qur’an, postulating that the Qur’an was compiled after his demise. Although there are positive points in Burton’s theory, it suffers from certain fatal flaws.

New exegetical approaches in the Indian subcontinent are the outcome of direct or indirect communication with the colonizing powers of the west in the middle of the 19th century. Sir Seyyed Ahmadkhan is one of the first commentators who tried to present the essential Quranic concepts with the help of the findings of modern science in the Indian subcontinent. His commentary not only did not face the warm welcome of the Sunni scholars, but it gave rise to certain reactions and oppositions. In the midst of this process, Muhyi al-Din Ahmad, known as Mawlana Abulkalam Azad (1888-1958) the famous man of letters, scholar, and political activist, in spite of his vicissitudes in the field of politics managed to present a translation and exegesis of the holy Quran in Urdu entitled” Tarjuman al- Quran”. His exegesis was welcomed in modernist and Sunni circles. However it should be noted that in his new approach, Azad was certainly influenced by the thoughts of Ahmadkhan. Although his commentary deals with contemporary issues in a new approach, it is not devoid of traditional view towards the issues raised in Quranic verses. He has done his best to interpret the Quranic terms and concepts as understood in the time of the holy prophet. Azad emphasizes that the Quran and Islam do not mean to introduce a new religion. Rather, they call the followers of other religions to act according to their genuine and original teachings.