Introduction to the Fundamentals of Understanding of the Text from the Viewpoint of Muhaqiq Esfahani and from the Prospective of Hermeneutics

An important part of the discussions in Jurisprudence (Usul) are quite hermeneutic in essence; and there is a deep connection between them and the discussions on the ''hermeneutics of the text''. The juridical provisions concerning the understanding and deducing the Holy Scriptures (the Book and the Sunnah) are derived from the common law dominating on understanding of the text which have been discussed in Jurisprudence due to their ongoing nature and dominating nature on the "understanding of the human-created text". The aforementioned discussions justify the reason for conducting comparative studies in this regard. This article aims at investigating the effective elements on the understanding of the text in Jurisprudence from the juridical viewpoints of the eminent scholar Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Esfahani in comparison to viewpoints of some of the outstanding Hermeneutists. In this article, in addition to explain the text model from the viewpoint of the researcher Esfahani, we are going to deal with the role of the text, author and commentator on understanding of the text. Meanwhile, we will consider determining of the text meaning, the status and role of the author in understanding the text and also interpretative comment of the researcher Esfahani. And finally a comparison will be conducted between the Muhaqiq Esfahani's view and views of some of the Hermeneutists such as Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur and Hirsch. Muhaqiq Esfahani believes in objectivity of the text meaning. He also holds that the interpreter must look for the author's real intention by understanding of the text meaning. In fact, he considers the text as a counselor in the sense intended by its author. Muhaqiq Esfahani and other juridical scholars both hold a high status for the author as the creator of the text and they believe that discovering author's real meaning is the ultimate goal of text understanding, and they revere to the text status as something objective carrying the message of the creator and the only way to achieve his intended meaning and look for discovering exoteric meaning of the text at the time of its creation, and at the same time regard the status of commentator, a person who looks for the author's intended meaning by adopting the customary method of mutual understanding, application of linguistic principles, and not imposing his subjectivities on text.