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Interpreting the Qur'an: Towards a Contemporary Approach

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Interpreting the Qur'an: Towards a Contemporary Approach Chapter number 1111 Interpreting the Qur∞a¯n 2 3 4 5111 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 Debates among Muslims over the conception of the authority of the 4 Qur∞ån underlie much of what is read about Islam in the popular media 5 these days. This book by Abdullah Saeed will add a new voice to those 6 debates and, as its impact is felt, broaden the popular conception of 7 what Islam is all about today. 8 Andrew Rippin, University of Victoria, Canada 9 20111 How is the Qur∞ån – central to all Muslim societies – to be understood 1 today in order to meet the needs of these societies? Abdullah Saeed, a 2 distinguished Muslim scholar, explores the interpretation of the ethico- 3 legal content of the Qur∞ån, whilst taking into consideration the changing 4 nature of the modern world. 5 Saeed explores the current debates surrounding the interpretation of the 6 Qur∞ån, and their impact on contemporary understanding of this sacred 7 text. As he attempts to determine the text’s relevance to modern issues 8 without compromising the overall framework of the Qur∞ån and its core 9 beliefs and practices, he proposes a fresh approach, which takes into 30111 account the historical and contemporary contexts of interpretation. 1 This book is likely to inspire healthy debate and appeal to a genera- 2 tion of students and scholars seeking a contemporary approach to the 3 interpretation of the Qur∞ånic text. 4 5 Abdullah Saeed is the Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies 6 and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam at 7 the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has written widely on Islam 8 and is the author and editor of a number of books, including Approaches 9 to Qur∞ån in Contemporary Indonesia (2005), Freedom of Religion, 40111 Apostasy and Islam (co-author, 2004), Islam and Political Legitimacy 1 (2003), Islam in Australia (2003) and Islamic Banking and Interest (1996). 2 3 44111 1111 2111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 44111 Context of the debate on interpretation iii 1111 2111 Interpreting the Qur∞a¯n 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 Towards a contemporary 4 approach 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 Abdullah Saeed 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 44111 1111 2111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3 First published 2006 4 by Routledge 5 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 6 Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 7 270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016 8 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group 9 © 2006 Abdullah Saeed 20111 1 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. 2 “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s 3 collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 4 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or 5 reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or 6 other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, 7 without permission in writing from the publishers. 8 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data 9 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library 30111 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 1 Saeed, Abdullah. ∞ 2 Interpreting the Qur an: towards a contemporary approach/Abdullah Saeed. – 1st ed. 3 p. cm. 4 Includes bibliographical references and index. 5 1. Koran – Hermeneutics. 2. Koran – Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title 6 BP130.2.S193 2005 7 2997.1′226′01 – dc22 2004029204 8 ISBN 0–415–36537–6 (hbk) 9 ISBN 0–415–36538–4 (pbk) 40111 1 2 3 44111 Context of the debate on interpretation v 1111 For Rasheeda and Isaam 2111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 44111 1111 2111 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 44111 Context of the debate on interpretation vii 1111 2111 Contents 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 Acknowledgements viii 4 Foreword ix 5 ANDREW RIPPIN, UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA, CANADA 6 7 1 Introduction 1 8 9 2 The context of the debate on interpretation 8 20111 1 3 Revelation and interpretation 26 2 3 4 Interpretation based on tradition and textualism 42 4 5 5 Interpretation based on reason 57 6 7 6 Flexibility in reading the text 69 8 9 7 Abrogation and reinterpretation 77 30111 1 8 The meaning of the text as an approximation 90 2 3 9 Recognition of the complexity of meaning 102 4 5 10 Socio-historical context and interpretation 116 6 7 11 Ethico-legal texts and a hierarchy of values 126 8 12 Epilogue 145 9 40111 1 Glossary 155 2 Notes 159 3 Bibliography 175 44111 Index 183 viii Context of the debate on interpretation 1111 2111 Acknowledgements 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 4111 Many people have contributed to the research, writing and publication 5 of this book. In particular I would like to express my gratitude to Andrew 6 Rippin, who read the manuscript and provided critical comments for 7 revising it and strongly encouraged me to publish it; to Lesley Riddle of 8 Routledge for her encouragement and support for the publication of the 9 book; to Gemma Dunn and Diana Chambers for editorial support; to my 20111 colleagues and friends, Jacky Angus, Redha Ameur, Abdul Ghafoor Abdul 1 Raheem, Riyad Asvat and Rachel Woodlock, for their comments and feed- 2 back; to Donna Williams for her reading and contribution to the polishing 3 of the manuscript; to Andy Fuller for his critical look at the manuscript 4 and his comments as well as his research assistance and help in the final 5 preparation of the manuscript; to the Journal of Qur∞anic Studies for 6 permission to publish a revised version of the article ‘Rethinking 7 “Revelation”’ (1999) which forms Chapter 3 of this book; and finally to 8 my wife Rasheeda and son Isaam who have supported me without any 9 complaints, as usual. 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 44111 Context of the debate on interpretation ix 1111 2111 Foreword 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 4111 The challenges that face the modern religious thinker are both daunting 5 and profound. Two assumptions are generally made: that the fundamental 6 truths of religion itself (however they are defined) are of value to humanity 7 and that the relevance of religion to human concerns of today must at 8 all costs be demonstrated. The stumbling block for many people seems 9 to be the structures of traditional religious authority that are so closely 20111 tied to the text of scripture in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; questions 1 that the twenty-first century poses so frequently thus appear to strike at 2 the heart of religion itself as it has conventionally been conceived. This 3 is true whether the discussion is about gay ministers in Christian churches, 4 definitions of Jewish descent, or Muslim marriage to multiple wives. How 5 are the deeply felt moral principles of today to be reconciled with a text 6 of scripture that has always been understood in ways that challenge those 7 emerging and evolving contemporary positions? 8 When Muslims deal with the text of the Qur∞ån, understood to be 9 literally the ‘Word of God’, the issue arises in many ways, some of which 30111 certainly prove to be more pressing morally than others. Within the Muslim 1 world, the matter first arose in recent times when the question of the rela- 2 tionship between the text and history was discussed. How was the text 3 of the Qur∞ån to be reconciled with older historical sources (e.g. the Bible) 4 that recount the ‘facts’ differently? Such discussions invoked the principles 5 of the historical-critical method and were, for many people, reasonably 6 well accommodated within the strictures of Muslim faith. That is, the 7 authority of the text was relocated through a process of interpretation so 8 that it resided, for example, in the moral vision of Islam as a whole where 9 the details of history do not matter, but only the moral aims of the story 40111 remain relevant. These discussions raised the difficult issue of how to 1 reconcile modern intellectual attitudes to the text of scripture and did so 2 by dealing with concerns that, certainly by the measure of more contem- 3 porary debates, could not be said to raise the more pressing and practical 44111 issues of law and morality.
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