Phenomenology of Literalism in the Understanding of the Qur an

The present article is a short survey of the literalism in the understanding of the Qur’an. First of all, it refers to the tradition of literal and allegorical interpretation in pre-Islamic period; then, it traces the history of this phenomenon in Islam. Literalism appears in various Islamic schools and sects, but it is not of the same meaning in all of them. An interpretation may be regarded as literal in one sect and allegorical in another. This survey does not claim to be comprehensive, but hopes to present obvious and examples of this phenomenon. Literalism in this article includes textualism.