Bint al-Shati and al-Bayani Interpretation of Surah al-Alaq; From Theory to Practice

The expository (Bayani) exegesis is a new school in the Quran exegetical method in the contemporary age that follows the classical and ancient literary ways of the Quran interpretation. Instead of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Asad Abadi and especially Mohammad Abduh, Amin al-Khouli (1895-1966) is known as the founder and theorist of this exegetical school. He believed that the main and first goal of the interpretation is the genuine and absolute understanding of the Quran without considering any other preconditions. So, he proposed general principles and rules in the semantics of the words and verses of the Holy Quran. Bint al-Shati was his disciple, companion, wife, and follower. It has been stated in the introduction of the "Al-Tafsir al-Bayani" book that she has committed herself to implementing Amin al-Khouli's principles and tried to use them in her interpretation. In this study with emphasis on surah al-Alaq, the result of this commitment, the accordance of the theory with the practice, and the conformity of her interpretation with those principles were examined. The findings show that in the cases such as the interpretation according to the revelation order, thematic interpretation, semantics of a word through investigation the similar lexicons, etc., she has not implemented her and al-Khouli's principles in the exegesis and only committed to them theoretically.