The Position of Hadith Studies in the Theories of Ulum Quran from the Point of View of Ayatollah Ma’refat

Sunnah and Hadith, which is considered to be one of the oldest and most practical sources in Ulum Quran (Quranic sciences), covers a wide range of usage in the works of Mohammad Hadi Ma’refat (1309-1385 AH). If we consider the Quranic sciences as all the knowledge that is in the position of better understanding of the verses of the Quran, this important Quranic scholar has used it in a proper way in his traditional and narrative interpretation, i.e. al-Tafsīr al-Atharī al-Jāmi’. On the one hand, we can see that from the very first era, the traditions are very useful in the field of discovering the concepts of Quranic sciences; And on the other hand, this source has been more or less neglected by scholars of Quranic sciences. The connection of the concepts of Quranic sciences with texts of traditions is more understandable with a broader view of the definition of Quranic sciences. In her theories of Quranic sciences, Ayatollah Ma'raf has actually turned to the serious review and application of hadiths and based them on the centrality of the Qur'an; By analyzing the concepts of Quranic sciences in the acceptable traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) and the Companions, he has developed theories, differentiated and explained these concepts. He starts all Quranic issues from Quran and ends with Hadith and vice versa; This hadith approach can be a terminal chapter in the issue of the place of Sunnah and Hadith from his perspective. In order to explain this issue, the present article is an example of the theories of Batn, gradual abrogation, the revelation of the Qur'an on the Laylat al-Qadr and the revelation at the time of the Prophethood, the immortality and non-distortion of the Qur'an, tradition of Jary wa taṭbīq etc. has been proposed to show that this Qur'anic scholar's reference to the Hadith is very open and can be extracted.

The present research has analyzed the collection of works of Ayatollah Ma’refat with the descriptive-analytical method and the use of library sources in order to extract the researcher's views on the most important issues of Quranic sciences. The most important finding of this research and in comparison, with other views of scholars shows that his view is more towards the hadith of Ahl al-Bayt (as). According to other words, Ayatollah Ma’refat has paid attention to the topics of Quranic sciences with the idea that he considers the Ahl al-Bayt (as) to be the authority for complete knowledge of Quranic teachings and has examined the position of these topics in his works with such a basis.He also used the farīqayn’s hadiths, so besides the hadiths of the infallible imams (as), therefore, along with the hadiths of the infallible imams, he has also used the authentic traditions of the Sunnis. Considering the emphasis of knowledge on the basis of its theories on Imamiyyah and Sunni traditions, the authors of this article have also paid attention to the hadith collections of farīqayn in their library study.

Traditions in many cases, in the position of presenting on ẓawāhir or texts of the Quranic verses, play a significant role in recognizing or explaining the concepts of the Quranic sciences of Ayatollah Ma’refat; Unlike many Quranic scholars, Ayatollah Ma’refat uses the narrations of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the infallible imams (as) and even the Companions as evidence in the theories of Quranic sciences, especially the topics of revelation, abrogation, similar, etc. As an example, distinguishing between the beginning of the mission and the beginning of the revolution, examining the examples of gradual abrogation (in women beat's verses, prohibition of slavery, prohibition of wine) and the theory of baṭn and the non-distortion of the Qur'an, immortality, etc. As one of his interpretative sources, the traditions of the meanings of words and the occasions of revelation, are from companions with special conditions and their followers. In general, Ayatollah Ma’refat considers Sunnah and Hadith to be essential in understanding the Qur'an and believes that there are some things in the Qur'an that cannot be explained except through tradition, such as legislation that is generally stated in the Qur'an, or things like the statement of abrogating from abrogated that the Quran has not mentioned all its dimensions, angles and details, and the intellect does not lead anywhere;When faced with the concepts of Quranic sciences, he believes in the authenticity of the Quran and the authenticity of accepted traditions, which are adopted with a moderate view after revision from Shia and Sunni sources. The main reason for distinguishing him from other Qur'an scholars is this issue, which leads to the clarification of the link between the Qur'an and hadiths. One of the clear and prominent results of this research is his approximation approach in the investigations of the Quranic sciences, which is a special symbol of it in the book of al-Tafsīr al-Atharī al-Jāmi'.