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Retrieved from: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za (Accessed: Date). lr-JSIQ Btl t:: l-/ ~ErvlI THE HERMENEUTICS OF THE QUR'aN IN THE SAHiH OF BUKHaRi by HAROONMEMI THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES in the FACULTY OF ARTS at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY PROMOTER: PROFESSOR J A NAUDE MAY 1992 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise is due to Allah to have granted me the strength and ability to complete this humble piece of work. Firstly, I am mostly indebted to my teachers both local and abroad, and my parents, who deserve my greatest debt for their care and attention. I pray for them in the words of the Qur'an: "My Lord bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood." (17:24). I will be failing in my duty if I do not express my gratitude to my ever-responding promoter, Professor J A Naude, whose copious support and academic guidelines resulted in the culmination of this work. Although very heavily committed, he always maintained a very personal relationship ever responding to my requests. Sincere gratitude is due to my friends and colleagues who read the draft and improved it by counsel and unsparing criticism. I sincerely thank my beloved wife and son for their support and for bearing the pangs of my absence and night vigils. In conclusion I wish to thank all those who supported me directly or indirectly, those mentioned above and those that I have not mentioned. I beseech Allah to guide us all and bless us with everlasting bliss. Amen HMemi May 1992 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Notes on Transliteration and Abbreviations INTRODUCflON THE IMPORTANCE OF TAFSiR 1 1. The Our'an as the Speech of Allah 1 2. The Function of the Prophet (pbuh) 3 3. Logical and Methaphoric Meaning 4 4. The Importance of I:Iadith 6 5. The Aim and Contents of this Thesis 7 CHAYIERONE A SHORTBIOGRAPHY OF IMaM BUKHaRi 10 1. Family Background and Birth 10 2. Childhood and Early life 10 3. Imam Bukhari's Education 11 4. The Socio-Political Context of Bukhari's work 13 5. Imam Bukhari's Death 14 6. Imam Bukhari and the Science of Hadij]; 16 7. Imam Bukhari and the Science of Jarh 17 8. Imam Bukhari's Religious Circumspection 18 9. Imam Bukhari's Works 18 CHAYfERTWO A BRIEF INTRODUCflON TO IMaM BUKHaRi'S SAJ:IiI:I 20 1. The Title of the Book 20 2. Why Imam Bukhari Compiled his Collection 20 3. Historical Background 21 4. The Contents and Style of the Sahih 22 5. The SalJilJ's Manuscripts 24 iii CHAPTER TIlREE TAFS'tR IN TIIE SA.I:IWOF IMaM BUKHaRi 26 1. The Presentation of Tafsir in the Sahih 26 2. The Index of the Kitab al-Tafslr 27 CHAPTER FOUR THE PROPHET (PBUH) EXEGETICAL STYLE AS I EXPOUNDED AS BY IMaM BUKHaRi 34 1. Tafsir al-Our'an bi-T-Our'an 35 2. Tafsir of Qur'anic Lexicography 36 3. Elucidation of a Revealed Text by the Text Itself 37 CHAPTER FIVE ASBill AL-NUZUL (TIIE OCCASIONS OF REVELATION) 39 1. What is Asbab al-Nuzul 40 2. The Benefits of Asbab al-Nuziil 41 3. The General Implication of Asbab al-Nuzul 43 4. How to Recognise Asbab al-Nuzul 43 5. Could a Verse have more than one Occasion of Revelation 44 CHAPTER SIX TIIE SA.I:IW'S APPROACH TO HISTORY 47 1. Our'anic History and its Miraculous Aspect 47 2. The Sahih and Isra'iliyat 48 3. The Division of Isra'illyat 50 CHAPTER SEVEN ELEMENTS OF QUR'aN SCIENCE 53 1. Muhkam and Mutashabih 53 2. The Exegetical Genre of Nasikh al-Our'an wa-Mansukhuhu 57 3. Qur'anic Lexicography 60 CHAPTER EIGHT IV BUKHaRi AND THE TYPES OF TAFS'IR 63 1. Tafsir Types in Muslim Academic Circles 63 2. Wansbrough's Exegetical Typology 64 3. Bukhari and Wansbrough 65 CHAPTER NINE CONCLUSION 67 1'/ GWSSARY 73 BffiUOGRAPHY 76 v NOTES ONTIllS THESIS Arabic words have been italicised except for the names of persons and instances where the dot underneath a letter cannot be reproduced in italic mode for example in Sahih, Words such as Qur'an, surah and tafsir have not been italicised due to their frequent appearance in the thesis. Bukhari and Imam Bukhari refer to the same person. ," The Sahih refers to the Jami' of Imam Bukhari edited by Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalant. This work has been used throughout unless otherwise stated. The translation of the A"badith from the Sahih has been taken from the translation of Dr.Muhammad Muhsin Khan. The definite particle "al" has been omitted for names and words that are commonly used in this study. The Arabic terms are explained in the glossary which is at the end of the thesis. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS S.A.W.: Sal/d Alliihu 'alayhi wa-sallamahu i.e. May Allah have mercy upon him (the Prophet (pbuh) and bless him. pbuh.: peace be upon him (the Prophet). A.H.: alludes to after Hijra, the migration of the Prophet (pbuh) from Makkah to Medinah. Sa"bil) : refers to Imam Bukhari's Jarni'. CONSONANTS d b t t Z; th J gIl I) f kh q d k dh I r m z n VI h w y Consonants are transcribed according to the above transliteration table. ~e reader will easily recognise the transliteration of vowels. The consonant 'alif is not written with the usual transliterated (') when a word begins with it, for example A1;ladith. INTRODUCflON THE IMPORTANCE OF TAFSfR 1. The Qur'an as the Speech of Allah The Our'an as the Muslim witness understands it, is the Word of Allah. It is the actual speech of Allah revealed unto the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the final messenger of Allah unto mankind. The revelation of the Our'an took a period of twenty-three years, revealed according to the need so as to create an environment conducive to the human mind's understanding of it. From the very advent of creation the structure of guidance was founded on two principles. Firstly, a revealed scripture expounding what is wanted of Man and secondly, an anointed personality to practically demonstrate the methods of its implementation. The Our'an is very simply the code of Man's conduct on earth until he reaches his eternal abode. However, the Our'an was revealed to the Arabs in the Arabic language. Since it is the very Word of Allah Himself, the Our'an allows for no change in literacy and style and also for no equivalent in any other language. The speech of a person gains significant magnificence in the presence of four factors: 1 (1) the speaker's knowledge and information. The speech of an educated person can be clearly distinguished from that of an ignorant person. (2) a person's understanding, intelligence and perception. An Arabic proverb reads that the speech of a person is the scale of his intelligence. A person can be well-informed but his poor intelligence will make his speech insulting like the speech of a fool. (3) his public image and social status. 1 'Uthmfin! Shabbir A: Fadl al-Biiri , Urdu commentary of the Sahih, Idarah 'Ulum al-Shari' 1st ed.1973, v.i p79. 2 (4) the speech if transmitted has to be through authentic sources, otherwise, it will be unpopular and incomplete even in the presence of the above-mentioned factors. The Qur'an, being the speech of Allah, fully possesses the above four factors, because Allah is the All-Knowing whose knowledge is so vast that it even incorporates those things within us that we ourselves are unaware of. His intelligence is unsurpassed and He is recognized even by speechless creations t' because he is the Creator of everything that exists.? Therefore, His speech is complete, flawless and free from incongruity. It is for this reason that we find the literary content of the Our'an representing the highest ideal of style, character, eloquence and rhetoric. The Our'an is recited in Arabic and its recitation is rewarding, whether it is recited with or without understanding.3 This formality has been adopted, contrary to the revelations of the past, mainly to preserve the purity of its style and textual content which in various language recitation would have been forfeitedr' and to retain it as a living miracle of the Prophet (pbuh) up to the end of time. Therefore, Allah challenged Man to reproduce a text of the nature of the Our'an.> This challenge of Allah was initially directed to the Arabs whose poetic efficiency and language style was unsurpassed and profound.f This challenge of reproducing a sarah the like thereof holds up to this day and shall remain up to the end of the existence of Man.