The Methodology of ‘Majalis al-Tazkir min Kalam al-Hakim al-Khabir’ Commentary

Research into ibn Badis's intellectual plan illuminates that, as much as possible, he based his thoughts and views on the Quran and the Prophetic tradition. Believing in the inability of the human mind to comprehend the unseen, he enumerates logical conditions for sound rational reasoning. In general, ibn Badis paid special attention to the interpretation of the Quran and dealt with educational, corrective, and cultural issues in this context. Even during the time Algeria was occupied by French colonialists, relying on the Quran and the Prophetic tradition, he solidified the Algerians’ ideas to make them fight against the domination of the colonialists and to stimulate their Islamic-Arab identity. Therefore, his enlightening method in interpreting the verses of the Quran is first based on the Quran and the Prophetic tradition, and then, in the absence of evidence from these two, he turns to the hadiths of the Companions and the Successors. In still later stages, he clarifies the meaning by using the words and their roots, taking advantage of the proportions among the verses, relying on the cause of Revelation or using the context of the verses and the Arabic poems and literature, etc. In general, he has a social orientation in “Majalis al-Tazkir min Kalam al-Hakim al-Khabir” commentary. Using the content analysis method, the present study examines ibn Badis's interpretation method by explaining each of the above-mentioned issues.