Fazlur Rahman's Historical Approach to the Qur an; A Descriptive-Analytic Study

Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988) can be regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the twentieth century. Rahman's modern approach to the Quran is the base of his reform thoughts and in his Quranic studies, history has a particular place. Rahman's approach to the Quran, based on the history and has reflected in his understanding of the nature of Quranic revelation, his view on the method of Quranic interpretation as well as his perspective on the methodology of Quranic studies. In this article, the significance of Rahman historical view on those three fields and its results have been illustrated. In his exposition on the nature of revelation, Rahman has emphasized on the circumstances of Prophet's era, proposing the “double movement” theory for Quranic exegesis in modern time and has defended of historical critic approach against literary analysis in Quranic studies.