The Scientific Authority of the Qur'an with Emphasis on the Thoughts of Rashid Reza's Qur'anic Studies

The scope of the scientific authority of the Qur'an and the determination of its boundaries is one of the most important principles of Qur'anic interpretation, and all the great commentators have considered this principle. There are three theories about the scope of the authority of the Qur'an: 1. The Qur'an expresses all the truths of the universe. 2. The Qur'an expresses the causes of the happiness of the Resurrection Day. 3. The Qur'an expresses the factors of happiness in this world and the Resurrection Day. The research method of the study is library-documentary and content analysis is descriptive and inferential. The objective of the present paper is to determine the scope of the scientific authority of the Qur'an with emphasis on the Rashid Reza's thoughts of Qur'anic studies. Rashid Reza, one of the pioneers of the movement to return to the Qur'an and the author of Tafsir al-Minar, like many commentators in his commentary, has analyzed and explained the scope of the scientific authority of the Qur'an and has examined the scope of the scientific authority of the Qur'an based on the Ayah 3 of surah Ma'ideh. He explains in Ayah 89 of Surah Nahl, 38 of Surah An'am and 9 of Surah Isra' how the Qur'an can express everything. Rashid Reza's perspective on the practical authority of the Qur'an is consistent with the third aforementioned theory and as a result, he believes that whatever is related to religion can be found in the Qur'an.