مجله پژوهش های تفسیر تطبیقی
پیاپی 13 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

The Ahādith of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH) are among the most important resources for exegesis of the Qur’an so the assessment of their credibility can have a tremendous effect on using them in the science of Tafsir. It seems that the comparative survey of informational and informant validity approaches has significant effects in the validation of exegetical Ahādith. By surveying the above 2 approaches and preferring the informational validity approach based on document study, text study, and reference study, the present article attempts to explain the impact of adopting each of the above approaches and the role of Ahādith in the interpretation of the Qur’an. Using descriptive analysis, this research study explains both of the above approaches and then compares them in terms of exegesis of the Qur’an. The Informant validity approach pays attention to the authority of Āhād news in interpretation of the Noble Qur’an and regarding the preference of information validity approach, the application methods of document study, text study, and reference study are presented. © Abbdollāh Zādeh, A; Izadi, M (2021) A Comparative Study of the Informational and Informant Validity Approaches to the Ahādith of Ahl al-Bayt and Its Role in the Exegesis of the Noble Qur’an.

Studying Qur’anic verses relying on their circumstance of revelation unveils some hidden truths about them. In this article, the 5th verse of Surah al-Qisas known as the Inheritors of the Earth is studied by such an approach. As it appears from its context, this verse implies that the will of God desired to show favor upon the Bani Isrā’il who were under the oppression of the Pharaoh to make them the heirs of a land named the Promised Land in the Holy Book. The present article discuses that although the context of this verse refers to the Bani Isrā’il during the age of Prophet Moses, regarding the fact that it was revealed in the Makki period when the Muslims were oppressed by the Mushrik leaders, it is definitely considered as good tidings for the Muslims that like Bani Isrā’il, they would relieve from tyranny and oppression, reach leadership, and inherit a land. Of course, this verse involves the general principle that the divine tradition desires that the oppressed people in every era specially Ākher al-Zamān (End Time) would achieve the leadership and inheritance of the earth.

Shi’ite and many Sunni scholars, based on rational and traditional arguments, recognize that the ancestors of the Holy Prophet of Islam have been believers; one of the evidences in this regard is the 219th verse of Surah ash-Sho’arā’ saying “And thy movements among those who prostrate”. The present study, using descriptive analysis, reviews the ideas of 114 Sunni and Shi’ite exegeses and categorizes them in 4 viewpoints: The first view believes that the content of the verse refers to conducting Roku’ and Sojud by the Prophet (PBUH) during congregational prayer; the second view holds that the verse denotes the Prophet sees his companions behind him during congregational prayer. However, these two interpretations perceive the verse to be away from the basic subject in discussion. The third view states that the Sājedin (those who prostrate), with reference to the traditions,  are Ahl al-Bayt; and the fourth view that is accepted by most of Sunni and Shi’ite commentators interprets that based on in-text evidence such as the implication of the words and the synthesis of the sentence as well as out-text evidence such as the narrations trusted by the early companions and commentators, the meaning of the verse confirms the lineage transmission  of the Prophet (PBUH) from his believer ancestors who were prostrating. The authors’ review indicates that, based on the evidences and reasons, it is appropriate to infer monotheism of the Prophet’s ancestors (PBUT) as the evident meaning or one of the meaning aspects of the verse relying on the potentiality of the words connoting more than a single interpretation. Moreover, the 3rd view has alignment, semantic contradiction and evidence expansion with that.

In some narrations about the Age of Reappearance of Imām Mahdi (MAHHR), there has been a mention of the return of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) and his assistance to Imām Mahdi (MAHHR). In this regard, a question is raised on whether the Noble Qur’an has also mentioned a word about this subject or not. One of the Qur’anic verses referring to the return of Prophet Jesus (PBUH) is the 159th verse of Surah an-Nisā’ saying “There is none among the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them.” In this article, we deal with the analytical survey of the Sunni and Shi’ite exegeses about this holy verse. Of course, there are some disagreements between the Shi’ite and Sunni commentators on the interpretation of this verse which basically refer to their perception of the pronoun “hā” in “Mawtehi”. Some Sunni commentators regard People of the Book as the reference for the pronoun “hā” and maintain that everyone among the People of the Book will believe in Prophet Jesus (PBUH) before his death. However, Shi’ite commentators think that the reference for the above pronoun is Prophet Jesus (PBUH) and hold that this verse refers to his return in the Age of the Reappearance of Imām Mahdi (MAHHR) and the clarification of truth to the People of the Book. By the critical review of the arguments and evidences of both groups, it is concluded that the reference for the pronoun “hā” is Prophet Jesus (PBUH) and the interpretation of this verse indicates the People of the Book will believe after the reappearance of Imām Mahdi (MAHHR) and before the death of Jesus Christ.

One of the old arguments on the authenticity of Wahy (revelation) is whether it has been affected by the inner sentiments of the holy Prophet (PBUH) or not so based on this inappropriate thought, the opponents have considered the Qur’an a mixture of the word of God and human word. The present study aims to prove infallibility of the Prophet in terms of affecting Wahy and the Qur’an’s authenticity. Data collection is conducted using library method and data analysis is done through content analysis and comparative methodical thematic interpretation. Answering this argument is based on the 15th verse of Surah Yunus discussed in four important Shi’ite and Sunni exegetical books named “at-Tibyān”, “al-Mizān”, “Kashshāf”, and “Fi Zilāl al-Qur’an” all having a rationalist approach. These exegeses, in addition to making a reference to this verse as one of the traditional reasons for infallibility of the Prophet in terms of not affecting the Qur’an, have also referred to some rational arguments. The results of the study show that according to the four above exegeses, this holy verse implies the authenticity of Wahy and the prophet is infallible in terms of affecting that so there has not been any change, transformation, exchange, deletion, or addition in the Qur’an. The rational arguments focused by the commentators include “the prophet’s lack of ownership”, “divine ownership and taking this right away from the Prophet”, “God’s prudence and His creative power and science”, “the Prophet’s lack of power”, and “unity of power” that the last one seems to be more reliable.

One of the challenging discussions about the Qur’an is the issue of its interior that has been confronted with different analyses of the commentators. The ideas of Allāma Tabātabā’i and Āyatollāh Ma’refat in this regard are sometimes either different or contradictory so the present study using a descriptive-analytical approach reviews how and why the views of these two contemporary Shi’ite interpreters about the Qur’anic Interior and its relevant aspects are different. The results show that: 1. Both of the commentators regard Batn (the interior) as merely “meaning” but in their exegesis, they also consider an “evidence” for that named “interpretation “and “adaptation”; based on traditions, the Interior should be recognized as “meaning” and “evidence”; 2. Allāma regards the interior identical with the words comparative objectives and Āyatollāh Ma’refat considers it to be the obligatory objective of the speech but the interior evidences of Allāma have obligatory implications as well; 3. Allāma maintains that the spread of the interior encompasses all the Qur’anic verses and Āyatollāh Ma’refat after disregarding the interior for the verses of Ahkām, deals with that in his subsequent works and considers a wide range for the verses that have the interior; 4. both thinkers do not hold achieving the interior limited to those who are infallible but Allāma maintains that its discovery would be possible through contemplation and Āyatollāh Ma’refat believes that it is possible by Tanqih-e Manāt (inference), negation of the feature, and making that public.

Many commentators have considered the phrase “and do not cast yourselves with your own hands into destruction” (al-Baqarah: 195) related to its contiguous verses and do not believe in its generality so they have presented different perceptions about it. Different commentators regard this verse as either a prohibition on Infāq, or a prohibition on extravagance in Infāq, or a prohibition on stopping Infāq, or a prohibition on Infāq during Jihād, or a prohibition on Jihād itself and so on. Due to the subjectivity of making a relation between each of the levels, incompatibility with the revelation of the verse, and inappropriate perceptions of the narrations, the aforementioned interpretations are seriously taken into reconsideration because regarding the independence of the different sections of Surah al-Baqrah, the general perceptions of Ahl al-Bayt and jurisprudence writers about the verse as well as confusion in the spread of relationship, this verse is independent from its contiguous verses.  This research was conducted by library study along with the assessment of different theories on the exegesis of the verse and it aims to criticize the perceptions relying on the relationship between this verse and its contiguous verses in order to prove its independence.

One of the very important issues in contemporary Iran is to determine “the realm of knowledge in the Noble Qur’an” because the supporters of the Qur’anic governance should first specify their stand on 3 minimal, moderate, and maximal approaches. The present article has made a comparison between the viewpoints of 2 eminent Qur’anic researchers; Allāma Tabātabā’i believes that the Noble Qur’an is the book of “guidance” not “science”; therefore, he maintains that the knowledge realm of this holy book is restricted to 5 fields of “beliefs”, “ethics”, “rules”, “stories”, and “preaching”. On the other hand, although Āyatollāh Javādi Āmoli accepts “guidance” as the main purpose of the Noble Qur’an, he does not hold the scope of guidance restricted to the above five fields and he believes that “all sciences” including “natural science” are in a way involved in the guidance of human being. Hence, the knowledge realm of the Noble Qur’an encompasses all sciences including natural science. This study answers “how we can extract all these sciences, especially natural science with all its various categories from a single volume book (The Noble Qur’an)”. In this article, Āyatollāh Javādi Āmoli’s viewpoint was chosen and the abovementioned theory was explained by his arguments as well as the systems theory and Ahādith. This paper has used library method for data collection, and comparative analysis for finding the answer.

The story ofSulaymān and the Queen of Sheba has been narrated in the Noble Qur’an and the Old Testament as one of the profound stories among the thinkers. From the comparison of these two narrations, it is concluded that although both scriptures have recognized the ultimate purpose of the Queen of Sheba was understanding the wisdom of Sulaymān and have confirmed the historical existence of Prophet Sulaymān and the story in terms of establishing social and human relations, lineage, knowledge, and wisdom of Sulaymān and so on, they are different with respect to the quantity and quality of narrating many aspects such as calling Bilqis’ throne, bringing an account by the Hoopoe Bird (Hud Hud), passing the glass surface by Bilqis and so on quoted in the Noble Qur’an with educational purposes whereas they have not been mentioned in the Old Testament. Besides, there are fundamental differences between the reporting method in these two scriptures in issues such as position (kingdom or prophethood), infallibility of Sulaymān from the beginning until the end of his reign, highlighting the process of converting to Islam and the promotion of the Queen of Sheba from idolatry to Tawhid (monotheism) and so on such that the most basic differences between these two narrations refer to their different approach and explanation (in terms of being for guidance or entertainment). Therefore, the comparative display of the differences and similarities as well as the the analysis of this visit in terms of method, structure, and content using a descriptive-analytical approach is considered the main innovative purpose of the present article.

Feminists who recognize themselves as the advocators for women’s rights have always held a negative view to the essential role of reproduction in women to which the continuation of human generation is dependent. Propagation of their ideas is one of the influential factors in the decline in population process threatening human society while Islam regards reproduction of generation as one of the most important functions for family and considers the role of women in this regard irreplaceable. Islamic feminism is a new trend in the feminism movement but since it holds a different stand from other tendencies in terms of reproduction, after explaining the western feminist approach, its views in this regard is surveyed independently (with an emphasis on the perceptions of Ms. Wadud). The results of the present study conducted through an analytical-comparative method show that the western feminists are basically against establishing family and discourage reproduction whereas Muslim feminists have a positive view about family formation and do not oppose reproduction, although their views about child rearing is different from genuine instructions of the Qur’an. The perceptions of Muslim feminists from the Noble Qur’an, compared to the exegetical views of commentators, is divided into two parts; if the Qur’anic verses fulfill their objectives they move along with the commentators, otherwise relying on their own feminist premises, they have non-methodical perceptions of the Qur’an.

In the exegesis of the phrase "This is my Lord" in the 76th to the 79th of Surah al-An'am, many commentators do not permit a verbatim interpretation of the verse and they think Prophet Ibrāhim as a divine prophet is immune from having worshipped anyone other than God. On the other hand, some commentators perceive a word for word meaning of this verse but they relate it to the childhood period of his highness and a result, regard him to be purified from Sherk (polytheism). Other commentators who do not accept this belief have presented various exegeses for the explanation of these verses that can be reviewed within 8 categories: For instance, the first group recognize these verses as a sort of pleading by Prophet Ibrāhim (PBUH) for the guidance of his tribe, the second one regard him at the beginning of his puberty in the course of reasoning to find his God; and the third to the eighth groups have mentioned some other reasons. The difference between the ideas of commentators, even contemporary ones, shows the necessity of this analysis. This research first extracts and classifies the presented views regarding these verses and then by the analysis of the arguments for each of them and the relationship of the verses, displays that the first group is closer to the truth and more defendable. Besides, the effect of surveying the relationship of the verses on the recognition of the appropriate view in the comparative exegesis is studied in this article.

Making a general or particular comparison between two exegeses is among Qur’anic research criticisms in the contemporary era. Regarding the fact that Tafsir Rouh ol-Ma’āni from Ālousi, the acclaimed commentator of the 13th century is recognized as the 2nd version of Tafsir Kabir from Fakhr Rāzi, the eminent theologian of the 6th century, the present study using a descriptive-analytical approach, attempts to compare the issue of God’s physicality from the view of both above commentators. This research has concluded that both Rāzi and Ālousi acknowledge that God is free from physicality but there are 2 differences between their views: First, Rāzi has emphasized on the infeasibility of this issue and has presented some rational arguments to prove his view while Ālousi has accepted this issue because it is the method of many other outstanding Islamic scholars and does not refer to or emphasize on the infeasibility of God’s physicality. Second, Rāzi has raised this discussion in a way that denotes the preference of hermeneutics in the style of Mu’tazila whereas Ālousi accepts the things that are attributed to God in the Qur’anic verses as well but he delegates determination of meaning to God. He still has a tendency to hermeneutics in some cases though. Furthermore, it should be noted that Ālousi has also criticized the view favored by Rāzi in some places.

most commonly used terms is “Ithm”. In the 120th verse of Surah al-An’ām saying “forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof”, the esoteric and exoteric aspect of “Ithm” is acknowledged.  The commentators have rarely paid attention to this meaning in their interpretations of this holy verse and so distanced from its concept because they mostly have interpreted that as the open and secret sins. In the present study, we aim to explain the exoteric and esoteric concept of sin that often has been neglected while it is very necessary for reaching the purpose of the verse. To this aim, a descriptive-analytical method was used with reference to the exegeses in order to critically analyze the ideas of commentators in their interpretation of the outwardness and inwardness of Ithm referencing to the in-text and out-text citations as well as exegetical, literary, ethical, and mystical resources. The results of the study showed that the outwardness of sin implies its apparent form that is conducted by parts of the body while its inward form is the idea of guilt in the heart penetrating into human soul. As a result, the above-mentioned verse focuses on two aspects of sin, not its classification into open and secret often seen in the exegeses.