نشریه قرآن پژوهی خاورشناسان (قرآن و مستشرقان)
سال هفدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 33، پاییز و زمستان 1401)

Opposition to women’s hijab based on the importance of chastity has been promoted for some time among some new Muslim thinkers, especially Islamic feminisms. Among them is Amina Wadud, an American Christian who became a Muslim and a professor at the University of Virginia, in the book “Quran and Woman”. In this book - which is also his doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan, America - she claims that the type of clothing in the present era is based on the patriarchal view of women and from the cultural determinism of societies. From her point of view, the Quran did not intend to legislate hijab; rather, these verses are stories about the popular culture of the descent era to show the importance of women’s social presence along with chastity. In this article, the author has tried to criticize the foundations and results obtained by Amina Wadud in the theory of chastity. By studying and extracting the basics of Amina Wadud in the book “Quran and Woman” and analyzing it in a descriptive-analytical critical method, it was found that in the basics of Wadud there are things such as interpreting the Quran without the Sunnah, establishing monotheistic hermeneutics, modernism and the necessity of contemporary readings, belief Gender equality plays an important role in presenting the theory of chastity and hijab avoidance; by criticizing the foundations and correct interpretation of the hijab verses, the theory of the jurists and commentators of the two major Islamic according to the verses of strengthening the hijab and being satisfied with chastity without the obligation to wear the hijab was criticized.

Jihad is one of the branches of religion that became obligatory in Madinah and the Holy Quran recommended Muslims to it. Orientalists have introduced the book of violence and the religion of Islam as the religion of the sword without paying attention and analyzing the nature, philosophy and works of the Quran. The main problem of the research is that what are the appropriate answers to the doubt of some orientalists (including Revan Firestone, Bernard Lewis, Rizway Pfizer, Theodore Noldeke, etc.) regarding the existence of violence in the context of Jihad in Islam? The method of this research is analytical-descriptive and critical. The research aims to provide appropriate answers to the above question, taking into account the goals of the Islamic religion and Quranic concepts. The important findings of the research are reported as follows. The objectives of Islam are based on peace and tranquility, and numerous verses indicate the call for peace and peaceful coexistence with other religions, as well as divine-wide mercy. Historical examples such as the 13-year presence of Muslims in Mecca, as well as the peace of Hudaybiyah and the conquest of Mecca, are evidence of the claim that war and jihad in the era of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) had all defensive aspects, and also the effects of time and place in the rulings of jihad prove peace-oriented in the field of Jihad.

Some orientalists, like Gustave Le Bon, have suspected that the Prophet of Islam (P) was a lustful person because of his many wives. Influenced by them, Dr. Soha in his book “Criticism of the Quran”, referring to verses 37 and 38 of Surah Al-Ahzab, accused the Prophet of Islam (P) of possessing a married woman (Zainab bint Jahsh) and claimed that this practice has both caused the collapse of the family system and has become an excuse for the religious jurist to divorce women without the permission of their husbands. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method, has criticized Soha’s accusations and claims from three interpretative, historical and jurisprudential perspectives and has come to the conclusion that firstly, the story of the Prophet (P) falling in love with a married woman is a fabrication and it is not compatible with verses and traditions; Secondly, the collapse of Zayd bin Haritha’s family is not one of the negative consequences of the marriage of the Prophet (P) with Zainab bint Jahsh; because this claim would be true when the Prophet (P) forced them to separate, while Zainab’s separation was at the request of her husband i.e. Zaid, not through the acts of guardianship by the Prophet (P). Thirdly, verses 37 and 38 of Surah Al-Ahzab cannot be a document of the application of guardianship by the jurist in the issue of divorcing women in special circumstances; because the cases of the implementation of guardianship by him are recorded in jurisprudence books, none of which are relevant to the issue of the divorce of Zainab bint Jahsh, and the divorce sermon, if it was implemented by the Prophet (P), was actually at the request and as attorney of Zayd

The personality and life of the last prophet (P) as the last prophet of God who became the source of great changes in the world, has always been the focus of orientalists, but Mr. Uri Rubin’s picture of the character of the Holy Prophet (P) in Leiden Quranic Encyclopaedia in part of the article on Mohammad (P) in many cases is significantly different from the picture presented by Muslim historians. Therefore, this article has discussed Uri Rubin’s views using the descriptive-analytical method with a critical approach. The findings of the research indicate that the reason for Uri Rubin’s lack of success in presenting the correct image, in addition to his religious, political and scientific insight, is due to his method of studying the issues of Islamic history. It seems that the author of the article “Mohammad” in the encyclopedia was not very successful due to not having a suitable method for analyzing the events and currents of the era of the beloved Prophet. In this article, the most important weaknesses of the above article, such as incorrect assumptions about Islam and the personality of the Prophet of Islam (P), not referring to Shia sources, excessive trust in the writings of Orientalists, relying on the theory of Sunni scholars and not referring to Shia sources are examined and analyzed

The term “general spirit” of the Holy Quran is based on the concept proposed by Amina Wadud, a neo-Muslim of African-American origin. Shee believes that the verses of the Holy Quran should be interpreted based on this basis; because the general spirit and supreme goal of the Holy Quran have been gender equality. After presenting its solutions and methods in understanding the verses of the Holy Quran and reaching a bottleneck, the movement of returning to the Quran has chosen this basis to maintain and continue its movement. This stream analyzes the Quran based on hermeneutic-historical approaches and believes in the fluidity of the meaning of each word or verse based on the historical-cultural conditions of the reader of the text. The basis of the general spirit is the basis of the hermeneutic-historical method, which has not been seriously disputed so far. This article, which was written with a documentary method and a descriptive-analytical approach, deals with two main criticisms in terms of the ineffectiveness of this basis in the interpretation of the verses of the Holy Quran and its hermeneutic presuppositions and its triple consequences in the process of interpretation. The consequences of this basis include the separation of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, the inadequacy of the Sunnah in expressing the meanings of the verses of the Holy Quran, the belief in the historicity of the Quran, and the absence of an objective and stable understanding of the Holy Quran

Johann Zechendorff (1580-1662) was the head of the Sevi Kau Latin School, a linguist and a Lutheran Christian. He was one of the pioneers in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies in the territory of the Kingdom of Germany in the Roman Empire. The translation of the Saff and Naba Surahs into Latin, as well as the translation of the commentary of the Qari’ah and Asr Surahs, are among his printed works, which were printed with wooden letters with difficulty. He made a lot of efforts to prepare the complete printed version of the Quran along with the Latin translation; however, due to unknown reasons, he failed to publish the complete Quran. So far, the activities and works of Johann Zechendorf as the pioneers of Islamic studies have not been considered and analyzed in Persian studies. This research, with a descriptive-library method, reviewed the works and activities of Zechendorff in the field of Arabic education and the translation of the Quran into Latin, and based on the previous research of Asaph Ben-Tov, Roberto Tottoli and Reinhold Glei, he endeavored to determine the position of this German orientalist in the field of Arabic education and outlined Islamic studies. In addition to the brief description and introduction of Zeschendorff’s works, the results indicate that although he started his translation in the early stages intending to reject it, in the later stages and after getting to know Baydawi’s exegesis, he changed his approach, which could be the cause of his isolation in the final stages of his life

The doctrine of the covenant is one of the most important religious teachings that has been prominent in different religions. The testament is so important in Judaism and Christianity that the holy books of these two religions are referred to as the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Holy Quran, the issue of the covenant between God and mankind is emphasized, and the servants are asked to adhere to their covenant. Some contemporary theologians have tried to link the issue of the covenant in the Bible to the treaties of ancient times by extracting covenant characteristics from ancient treaties. Rosalind Gwynne, a contemporary Quran scholar, has tried to provide an analysis of the covenant structure in the Holy Quran by using these indicators. In this article, while trying to present a clear picture of these studies, it is concluded that although the mentioned studies have good advantages, they are not very successful in adopting the results of the discussion in some cases, and some of their conclusions are a place for reflection and problems. One of the problems of Gwynne is that he considers all the verses of the Holy Quran to be related to the covenant. Although this kind of broadening greatly increases the ability of the narrators to analyze, it is doubtful whether it can be considered an analysis of the Quranic covenant. In addition, some of Gwynne’s interpretations of the verses related to the covenant are also flawed, and more suitable interpretations can be presented. It seems that the most important feature of the covenant in the Holy Quran is its knowledge-giving aspect, which has been neglected in the mentioned research, and yet it can be considered as a fundamental difference from the covenant in the Holy Bible

The subject of this article is the criticism of James Bellamy’s viewpoint regarding the word “Ummah” in two verses of Surah Hud and 45 of Surah Yusuf. By criticizing the text, he changed, modified and corrected the words of the Quran. Citing some evidence, James Bellamy has claimed that the word “Ummah” in these two verses is a mistake and has replaced the word “Ummad” which, according to his claim, has a lot of similarities with each other and is more compatible with the context of the verse. The reasons cited by him to prove this claim are the explanation of the meaning of “Hin” and “Muddat” by commentators in verse 8 of Surah Hud and the existence of a difference in reading between commentators in verse 45 of Surah Yusuf. These claims and their evidence were analyzed and criticized by the phenomenological method and using interpretive and lexical sources. Criticisms were explained in detail in three sections, linguistic review, textual suitability review, and review of similar cases. The results of these three investigations showed that no change or spelling was missing in this word that needed to be corrected, and James Bellamy’s studies in the field of criticizing and correcting the words of the Quran are the result of damages such as the influence of the presuppositions of the Bible, incomplete understanding of the characteristics of the Quran, incomplete search and lack of mastery of Quran and Arabic literature that have led to tasteful comments and far from scientific evidence and reasons in correcting some words

Russian Islamologists have long paid attention to the translation of the Holy Quran, and the translation of the Holy Quran into Russian is for three hundred years ago. In the translations of the Holy Quran, the transmission of various grammatical-semantic elements is of great importance. One of these elements is the aspect of the verb. Aspect refers to one of the characteristics of the verb tense that shows how it occurs in one of the three tenses and it is necessary to pay attention to it in translation. One of the means of expression of the aspect in Arabic is ‘lam’ and ‘lamma’ which comes from the present tense verb and changes its meaning to the negative past tense. Depending on the context of the sentence, it includes various semantic applications such as continuity and stability, occurrence and completion, and so on. In this article, the reflection of ‘lam’ and ‘lamma’ in four Russian translations of the Holy Quran by Nouri Osmanov, Elmir Kuliev, Valeria Porokhova, and Ignaty Krachkovsky has been studied with a descriptive-analytical method. All of the above translations have shortcomings in the expression derived from ‘lam’ and ‘lamma’. Therefore, at the end of each verse, a suggested translation is provided

Since the long past, interlanguage translation has always been of interest. Since Islam was accepted by non-Arab Muslims, the issue of Quran translation was also raised. Considering the special position of the Quran and its inhumanity, translating the Quran into non-Arabic languages has been and is the most challenging issue among translators. Especially, conveying the concept of allusions and similes is almost impossible considering the miracle aspect of the Quran. At the same time, with the widespread promotion of Islam in the world and the need for all Muslims to benefit from this source of revelation, the translation of the Quran is inevitable. On the other hand, the familiarity of the majority of people in the world with the English language has translated the Quran into this language very important. This article, using a descriptive-analytical method, seeks to answer the question of how the English translators of the Quran (Arberry, Saffarzadeh, Pickthall, and Yusuf Ali) acted in the translation of the word “Ba’dh” (“some”) and its compositions. In the study of the existing translations, the effect of the difference in the mother tongue and the cultural differences of the translators is evident in the presented works. Of course, other translations have also been used as needed. The results of the research indicate that in most cases the grammatical role of the word or its specific meaning in the composition has been neglected and the correct translation has not been provided

In the continuum of history, the suspicion of taking Quranic narrations from a priori texts in heterogeneous traditions was used in time-related ways to show the anonymity of the teachings and propositions of the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran and religious believers sought answers in various ways regarding the alleged method of the skeptics. With the spread of knowledge and theories, and its projection into philosophical and religious theories, the method of spreading the suspicion of the Quran was replaced by a method consistent with the methodological system of knowledge. In this regard, it is necessary to confront the idea of taking revelation teachings in proportion to the rival processing method. The methodological system of this research is based on a text, with the view of Toofan narration, which considers it as a text and with approaches similar to it, such as hermeneutic, intertextual, and narratological approaches, it seeks to critique discourse and justify it in its static and unique story of Noah’s flood in the Quran in terms of originality. One of the findings of the present study is that although the storm narrative has repetitive elements in all mythological and semi-mythological narratives, in the discourse of the Holy Quran due to the use of special linguistic and metalanguage elements in the shadow of monotheism and resurrection has made it heterogeneous and independent of other types of narrative.

Quranic jurisprudence or in other words Islamic jurisprudence as a complete system of Islamic rules and laws has been reflected in the works of Orientalists for a long time. In other words, the origin and source of Quranic jurisprudence are one of controversial issues in this field of study. Orientalists have turned to the studies of Islamic studies and jurisprudence with different aims and objectives. In their works, they have criticized and examined this issue, and they have addressed the basic question of whether the jurisprudence rulings were issued from the primary source of the Quran or whether jurisprudence has Islam been influenced by other divine religions such as Judaism and Christianity and even the laws of some countries? From this, the present study deals with the “origin and formation of Quranic jurisprudence from the point of view of the Orientalists” by descriptive-analytical method and by collecting information in the library method and content analysis. Referring to some apparent similarities of Islamic laws with the laws of previous divine religions, they developed this premise and paid attention to the fact that, contrary to the opinion of Muslim thinkers, Islamic jurisprudence is not derived from the Quran and the source of revelation, but this group of laws has entered the religion of Islam from Judaism and Christianity, and in this regard, some cases of similarity of Islamic laws with the laws of previous religions have been pointed out. Of course, some orientalists, along with Muslim thinkers, believe that since the rulings in different religions are from the heavenly God, therefore it is not strange to observe some aspects of similarity, and since the rulings in the heavenly religions were issued from a single source and for common purposes, they have aspects of similarity, and several reasons such as the existence of some jurisprudence and rules such as the system of hasbah, iqab, ta’zir, zakat, etc., which exist only in Islam and jurisprudence of the Quran, are a clear proof of the non-adaptation and formation of Islamic jurisprudence from other sources that the author criticizes in the present study by addressing the opinions of some orientalists about the origin of the jurisprudence of the Quran