The Development Process of the Subjective Interpretation Reading during the First Five Centuries after Hijrah

One of the ways to understand historical texts، including the texts of the subjectively-interpreted hadiths، is examination of what their audience had perceived from them. Extracting the type of approach the early Muslims had towards subjective interpretation (interpretation by one’s personal opinion) and presenting the historical course of its development process، this paper intends to pave the way for achievement of the main purpose of the subjectively-interpreted hadiths. In the first century after Hijrah، every kind of Quranic expression which did not originate from the works of a righteous predecessor was considered subjective interpretation by the Companions and the Successors and believing that their interpretation activities were not subjective، they interpreted the Quran widely. In the second century، when Muslims raised doubts as to whether the interpretation heritage of the first century was not contaminated with subjectivity، they began to bring charges and stand up against each other. This trend was reinforced in the third century. In the fourth century، the first efforts are made to offer a new reading of subjective interpretation and following its validation in the fifth century، in the late 5th century، the new reading was institutionalized as a new interpretation procedure in the interpretation tradition of the Muslim community.