نشریه قرآن شناخت
سال سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 6، پاییز و زمستان 1389)

This article covers the interpretation of verses 30-40 of Sura II the essence of which is as follows: Verse 30: The prophet Adam has been the viceroy of Allah. Angels found out the potential corruption of the earthly creature from that of the earlier inhabitants of the earth, or from the mutual implication of sensual desire and anger with corruption.Verses 31-33: The criterion for vicegerency is knowledge of all the Names taught to Adam. However, the angels did not have the capacity of learning all of them. By viceroy is meant the species of human being, and the hidden issue is the faithlessness of Satan. Verse 34: Some of the angels have been commanded to prostrate before Adam to show their modesty. The inclusion of Satan in this command is due to his presence among them.Verses 35-36: The paradise of Adam has been one of the Intermediate World. Adam, Eve, and Satan have breen those who were commanded to get down. The eating of Adam from the forbidden tree is considered as a failure to do the more desirable.Verse 37: In the process of the repentence of Adam, three stages of repentence occurred: the favor of Allah to Adam through presenting Words to him, pronouncing these words by Adam, and the acceptance of Adam's repentence by Allah.Verse 38: The content of this verse is the first divine legislated message to Adam. The prima facie meaning of the Quran requires that the origins of human being refer to the first man and woman who were created from clay.

Historicity of the text stresses on its being influenced by the cultural, and social realities of thetime of its creation. The present article studies the exposition of Nasr Hamid Abuzayd on the historicity of the Quran. He believes that the Quran is a cultural product. Thus the original meaning of the Quran is a historical one and it should be interpreted in the light of these realities. However, the linguistic signs in the Quran are of the capability to lie on the focal point of “creative interpretation”being reconstructed according to the social and linguistic realities of the age of the interpreter. The object of interpretation of the Quran should be understanding the signification rather than the meaning relevant to the time of revelation. This approach requires that those parts of the Quran which are not compatible with the cultural and linguistic realities of the contemporary age should be considered mere historical evidence. The most significant problem with Abu Zayd' s view is delimitation of the Quran in the tight circle of the circumstances of the age of revelartion, and submission to the infiltration of false concepts arising from the ignorance and backwardedness of the culture of that age into the revealed substance.

This article deals with the possibility and conditions of the contribution of intellect in the interpretation of the Quran according to textualists. The object of this study is the analysis of the claim and evaluation of the arguments of textualists towards the function of intellect in the interpretation of the Quran. It is an analytical and descriptive survey of the issue taking a critical approach towards the study of textualists views and proofs. Textualist interpreters emphasize the centrality of the literal aspect of religious texts including the holy Quran and traditions when understanding divine intent, giving at the maximum amere instrumental role to intellect. Adhering to extreme textualism, the People of Hadith “Ahl al- Hadith” do not give any role to intellectual acquired knowledge in understanding verses. Asharites practically prefer the literal texts to any thing else, and Akhbariyya have the same view as the People of Hadith in denying the validity and function of intellect. People of Separation “Ashab al- Tafkik” also recognize only the natural intellect –based on their own terminology- in interpretation, denying the validity of demonstrative reason. Textualists have put forth four series of arguments towards proving their claim. However, none of these is capable to establish their claim or deny the validity of intellect in the interpretation of the Quran.

Thematic interpretation –in comparison with running interpretation- is a newly arising exegetical method seeking to reveal the theory of the holy Quran concerning a certain issue or problem. The present article is an attempt to explain the nature of this exegetical method, the cocept and the foundations of this exegesis, its difference with running interpretation, and the extent of its dependence on the latter. Thus the article first presents a conceptual study of the words"Tafsir" and "Mawdui"i.e. "thematic", followed by various definitions of thematic interpretation. Thematic interpretation is deduction of the theory of the holy Quran concerning an issue or problem via gathering and classification of all relevant verses and their methodological investigation, whether the issue found in the Quran itself or come across from outside. Thematic interpretation is different from running one in respect of objective, start, role of interpreter, and method. However, it owes in matters of seeking issues, revelatory study of verses, and revealing the signification of the whole verses to the running interpretation.

The beauties and subtleties of Quranic expressions witness to the fact that the holy Quran is a technical, delicate, beyond temporal and superhuman wording havig a coherent and uncomparable context. Takingstylistic study into consideration and adpopting a descriptive – analytical method at four levels i.e. phonetic, semantic, syntactic, and imagery, the present article undertakes explaining Sura Maryam. At the phonetic level, there is a kind of harmony and measure in the music and cadence of this Sura. Repetition of certain phonemes and words has plyed a big role in adding to the beautiful cadence and forcefulness of the Sura as well as its melodious aspect. Imagery has been used in this Sura towards the internalization of the intendedmessages in the minds of addressees, and variousideas have been conveyed in a sensational way. There are two kinds of imagery in this Sura: real and rhetorical.

Sunni and Shiite schools have different views concerning the meaning of the verse of promise (xxiv, 55) and signification of the promised people. There is no argument for either school to deny the application of the promied people in this verse to Imam Mahdi and his companions at least as one of the extentions or instances in view of the generality of the wording in the verse. Taking an analytical and critical method, this study has concluded that this verse exclusively applies to the age of reappearance. The arguments behind this claim are as follows: unconditionality of the expressions in the verse particularly "complete establishment of the religion" and "guarantee of an all out security", the traditions of both schools, and the link between this verse and that of the domination of religion(IX,33).

The present article studies the Verse of Trial as one of the principal evidence towards the distinction and independence of Imamate from prophethood, criticizing the arguments of the theory of dependence in the light of the former evidence. These arguments are as follows: the unconditionality of the concept of “Imam” and the general mood of the word “al-Nas” i.e. "people" in the verse in question, and exclusive application of Imamate to its perfect example due to its application to the infallible Imams,. Following this discussion, signification evidence towards the view supporting the independence of the concept of ‘Imamate” in the Shiite school is analyzed.These evidence are formulated based on two focal points: the relation of undergoing certain trials with the position of Imamte at the beginning of the verse, and modification of Imamte with divine covenant at the end. This study owes its special significance to the point that essentially the theory of Imamate in the Shiite school rests on the Quranic concept of Imamate, and unlike the theory of the Sunni school, it derives its evidence from Quranic verses on Imamate. The study and analysis of the signification of the verse is based on the interpretation of the Quran by the Quran, supported by certain Hadith evidence.