نشریه پژوهش های قرآنی
سال بیست و هفتم شماره 2 (پیاپی 103، تابستان 1401)

The interpreters and translators of the Holy Qur’an have interpreted the phrase wa layālin ‘ashr (Sūrat al-Fajr, verse 2) as “the ten nights” and have been trying to find the greatest ten consecutive days of the year to jibe them with this phrase. This conjectural meaning is influenced by the personal views of other interpreters and does not match the theme and content of Sūrat al-Fajr. The present article, with a descriptive-analytical method and with the aim of discovering the original and true meaning of this phrase, seeks to give an answer to the question as to what the most suitable meaning for the phrase layālin ‘ashr is. Finally, it was found that the word layālin ‘ashr is morphologically trilateral and means “intertwined and overlapping” and the word layālin, although it means “nights”, according to the context and evidence in this sūra, it evokes tyranny and corruption. This statement is based on the fact that the Qur’anic oaths have been juxtaposed for the sake of credibility and reasoning about the possibility of the occurrence and fulfillment of the conclusion of the condition. Accordingly, fajr is a ray of the light being cast on the tangled darkness of the night (layālin ‘ashr) and destroys the darkness. This semantic impression conforms to the theme of the conclusion of the condition and the content of the sūra.

It is related in the Qur’an that after being expelled from the divine sanctuary, Iblis attributed his misguidance to God by the phrase bi mā aghwaytanī (As you have consigned me to perversity). Some interpreters have considered the statement by Iblis to be true and some have considered it to be false, and made this confirmation or denial the basis for bringing up the issue of predestination and free will.This research has reached the following conclusions by examining the interpreters’ opinion:Some interpreters have kept silent due to lack of dealing with the issue.Believers in predestination have considered ighwā’ (perversity) as meaning misguidance and have implied jabr (predestination) from it.Some believers in Divine Justice, despite having considered Iblis’s claim to be true, have interpreted ighwā’ in such a way that it does not imply God’s Injustice and creatures’ predestination towards sin.Some other interpreters have considered Iblis as false and malicious in this claim due to sensing predestination from the word ighwā’.Although having considered Iblis’s words to be true, Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī, in order to avoid predestination, has considered ighwā’ to be a secondary perversity and the result of Iblis’s own wrong choice.

In recent years, the thematic approach to the interpretation of the Qur’an has gained more speed, and interpreters have adopted a holistic approach to the Qur’an and its sūras with the aim of acquiring new knowledge. The theory of thematic unity also seeks to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the verses of the Qur’an with the premise of a single topic for each sūra. In the meantime, Mustafa Muslim, by writing “Al-Tafsīr Al-Mawḍū‘ī li Suwar Al-Qur’an Al-Karīm”, presented the first complete interpretation of the sūras of the Qur’an based on thematic unity. The extent of his success or failure in implementing this interpretation method and evaluating the efficiency of his theory depends on the study and examination of his interpretation work. Therefore, the main idea of ​​this article is to review the interpretation method of Mustafa Muslim in Sūrat Al-Baqarah with emphasis on the theory of thematic unity; whereas tracing and proving the thematic unity in the longest sūra of the Qur’an can be a confirmation of the mentioned theory and may reduce the amount of opposition to it; however, the findings of the research show that the thematic interpretation of Mustafa Muslim suffers from shortcomings such as affectation in determining the pivots and divisions of the sūras, the absence of the theory of thematic unity in the process of interpretation, ambiguity and distress in the method, etc. All in all, he has not been able to implement his theory of thematic unity in his interpretation.

Al-amāna (the trust) verse is one of the unequivocal and key verses of the Qur’an about the creation of man, which has been the subject of various and sometimes conflicting opinions among interpreters. Among the many meanings that interpreters have chosen for amāna; such as sharī‘a, wilāya, fiṭra, al-rūḥ al-manfūkh (the spirit breathed in), etc., it seems that the meaning that some mystics have reached, that is, the absolute caliphate over the entire human beings from God, as well as the meaning of free will, is of more accuracy; because, firstly, these meanings are based on the Qur’an’s emphatic truth about the intelligence, understanding and rationality of all the universe; secondly, they are specific to humans; thirdly, they are evolutionary and are in line with other verses of creation; fourthly, they provide the most suitable justification for the words ishfāq (apprehending), iniquity, and senselessness in al-amāna verse. Therefore, they are like two sides of the coin of amāna.

Language, as a living and dynamic phenomenon, has continuously been on the course of development and evolution. This is evaluated as obvious and positive in the science of linguistics. But when the sacred text is facing numerous addressees for a long period of time, it is possible to preserve the main essence, to study and receive its message, if you understand the text with the time of its issuance or revelation. Otherwise, it sometimes causes contradictions and doubts in the understanding and interpretation of some verses. One of the words and compounds of the Qur’an is lisān, ‘Arabī and the combination of these two. Most of the interpreters and translators have explained these words and additional combinations merely in same popular meaning as is used today, i.e. the Arabic dialect, following which the doubt is raised of the Qur’an’s monopoly for the speakers of the Arabic language and exclusion of the general human race and places. In addition, the contradiction created in this monopoly with the verses related to the universality of the Qur’an is also worthy of attention. Meanwhile, by reflecting on the verses and their context, and most importantly, on the literal meaning of these words, the other meaning of the obvious message can be explained to them without ambiguity or obfuscation. This article, with an analytical-critical approach and analysis of the essence and substance of these words relying on the context, has achieved a different semantic representation of these words and combinations, according to which, this doubt and contradiction is no longer an option.

One of the necessary conditions for understanding the contents of any word, including the Holy Qur’an, is the knowledge of the meanings of its words. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the interpreter of the words of Revelation to acquire the concepts of its words by using the appropriate method; because paying close attention to the conceptual features of each Qur’anic word plays a key role in the correct interpretation of the verses. A part of the interpretative heritage of Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) is dedicated to this part and by studying it one can find the proper method of semantics of the words of the Qur’an. Using the method of text analysis and text research, this paper has investigated the word study in Imam Riḍā (A.S.)’s interpretive narrations and has come to the conclusion that in the word analysis of the verses of the Qur’an, the Imam (A.S.) has taken into consideration the components of “explanation of the apparent meaning of the single words (mufradāt)”, “explanation of the rhetorical points and purposes of the words of the verses”, “expression of meaning-oriented morphological-syntactic points”, “attention to different readings”, “attention to the context” and “culture-orientedness”. According to the findings of the research, the Imam (A.S.) has paid attention to both lexical word analysis and Qur’anic single-word study in explaining mufradāt. In his interpretive narrations, “paying attention to the figurative meaning of the word and its semantic development”, “discourse-observation in the explanation of the word” and “pointing to the lack of synonymy” can also be seen, while his holiness has taken all of these into consideration with an emphasis on answering the related doubts and explaining the right theological beliefs for the addressees.

Social interpretation is one of the newly emerging trends, whose most important purpose and function is known to solve the problems of Muslim societies in different social, political and cultural dimensions. Among the challenges of Muslim societies in recent times, the void of governmental ideas and on the other hand, the effort to extract the view of religion, especially as originated from the Qur’an, has been a response to this need. Tafsīr Al-Munīr written by Wahbah al-Zuḥaylī is one of the contemporary interpretations that has a prominent representation in its different aspects of social orientation. By studying the above-mentioned interpretation and some other related works of the interpreter, the present study tries to show al-Zuḥaylī’s effort to explain the Islamic state theory. The three pillars of his state theory, in order of priority, are: council, ruler, and ummah; from among which, al-Zuḥaylī considers “council” as the fundamental pillar and explains the other pillars according to it.