The Innovations of Ayatollah Marefat in Quranic Sciences and Exegesis

Ayatollah Muhammad Hadi Maʿrefat (d. 2007) was a distinguished contemporary scholar, whose views and methods in Qurʾānic sciences and exegesis have had a tremendous effect on the future of studies in this field. The deliberation of an expert jurist and scholar of law on the Qurʾānic sciences yields many benefits, especially one like him who has been innovative in all the fields that he has studied. Innovation here refers to the general uniqueness of his methodology and theory in Qurʾānic studies, in both form and content. The present paper first examines the uniqueness of his method and approach, and shows how in every subject, he put forward interesting ideas and attempted to uncover the common principles of differing perspectives. He tried to bring about harmony and avoids divisiveness, and was very well aware of the era in which he lived. He dealt wisely with the doubts and ambiguities that existed, and acted with deep insight as he attempted to draw a link between the Qurʾānic sciences and other sciences. He believed that every individual could access and understand the Qurʾān in accordance with his or her own level of learning and study. This essay then addresses his prominence and innovations in the field of Qurʾānic sciences and exegesis including his views regarding
miracles, the revelation and compilation of the Qurʾān, preservation of the Qurʾān from distortion, narrations about its distortion, the existence of intonation in the Qurʾān, the language of the Qurʾān, Qurʾānic stories, exegetical traditions, analogy and symbolism in the Qurʾān, abrogation, and decisive and allegorical verses in the Qurʾān.