Qurʾānic Hermeneutics with Reference to Narratives: A Study in Classical Exegetical Traditions Submitted by Khaled Troudi, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arab and Islamic Studies, July 2011 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this dissertation which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by or any other University. (Signature)…………………………………………………………………….. i ACKNOWLEDGMENT First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members and staff of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter for their encouragement and guidance. I would also like to express my gratitude to all my advisors for their teaching and patience, and in particular, to Dr. Jamal Barzinji from the International Institute of Islamic Thought who shared my curiosity about religion and helped me in some of the most provoking discussions and discourses. My sincere thanks are also extended to the members of my PhD Thesis Committee Professor ―Abd al-Ḥalīm from SOAS and Professor Robert Gleave from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter for their guidance and patience. Special thanks to my advisor, teacher and friend, Dr. Sajjad Rizvi to whom I am eternally grateful, as words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude. Dr. Rizvi taught me how to understand serious scholarship and the amount of work that is required for such an endeavor. His wise and insightful comments during our meetings, and counsel during the preparation of this thesis will be something that I will never forget. He gave me what I needed to complete this thesis. I would like to thank my parents and specially my wife Faten, without the help of whom this project would not have been possible. Khaled Troudi ii NOTES A- References All Qur‖ānic verses and their translations used in this thesis are quoted from ―Abd Allāh, Yūsuf ―Alī. The Holy Qur‖ān: Text, Translation, and Commentary. (Beltsville, MD: Amāna Publication, 1999). In each quotation of the verse, I have noted the number of Sūrah (Chapter) according to the chronological order of the muṣḥaf followed by the number of the verse (eg: 12:111). This style has been used for both the main document and footnotes. Also, I have used the Harvard style system in the footnotes and cited the full bibliography of all references at the end of the thesis. For example: Rippin (1985: 57) or Ṭabarī (1954, II: 356). B- Arabic Transliteration The Arabic transliteration used in this thesis follows the system used by the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. The tables of transliteration are as follows: CONSONANTS ة ت خ ج ح خ د ر س ص ط ػ ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك و ل ٌ ِ h n l m k q f gh ― ẓ ṭ ḍ Ṣ sh s z r dh d kh ḥ j th t b VOWELS ū = و ī = ي ā = ى ā = ا a = ء ‖ = ء taʾwīl asbāb Rāzī hudā tafsīr Abū - The position of the closed tā‖ or tā‖ marbūṭah written in the end of the word in al-―Ilmiyyah = انعهًيّة :this thesis is to be transliterated as follows -an = انُّضٔل :is to be transliterated as follows ال The position of the definite article - nuzūl. Except for names, such as al-Suyūṭī, al-Dhahabī, al-Rāzī, and so on, the .is clearly mentioned ال definite article iii Qurʾānic Hermeneutics with Reference to Narratives: A Study in Classical Exegetical Traditions ABSTRACT This dissertation is a critical study of the hermeneutical analysis used in classical tafsīr with reference to some Qurʾānic narrative passages. It examines those discourses that are related to these narrative passages by producing a comparative review of the some widely used Qurʾānic commentaries—namely, those by Hūd ibn Muḥakkim, al- Ṭabarī, al-Zamakhsharī, al-Thaʿlabī, al-Rāzī, al-Ṭabrisī, Ruzbihān al-Baqlī, and Nisābūrī. It critically studies the conditions that influenced the interpreters‖ prejudices and preconceptions. Also, this research critically analyzes the gap that exists between these Qur‖ānic narratives and their interpretations. This research consists of five chapters. The first two chapters deal with hermeneutics and narratives with respect to approaches and methods. The last three chapters are case studies, which explore the hermeneutical discourses related to these narratives. An analysis of the early methods of exegesis used on selected Qurʾānic narrative passages—conducted through the interrelated concepts of linguistics, grammar, lexicography, mysticism, history, textuality, and theology- will serve as the framework within which to study the level of understanding of these interpreters of the Qurʾānic text and their impact on the Muslim community. Critical research is conducted and primary sources are used to study how these exegetes understood the Qurʾānic text and contextualized the available knowledge to interpret Qurʾānic narratives on the literary, textual narrative, theological, and mystical levels. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. HERMENEUTICS ................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Muslim Approaches to Hermeneutics .................................................................................................... 12 2. NARRATIVE ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Muslim Approaches to Narrative ............................................................................................................ 21 CHAPTER ONE: QURʾĀNIC HERMENEUTICS ................................................................................................... 31 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 31 1.1 CLASSICAL UNDERSTANDINGS .................................................................................................................... 35 1.1.1 The Formative Period of Tafsīr ............................................................................................................ 36 1.1.2 The Classical Schools of Tafsīr ............................................................................................................. 39 1.2 DISCUSSION OF THE LITERATURE: THE EXEGETES AND THEIR WORKS .............................................. 57 1.2.1 Hūd Ibn Muḥakkim al-Hawwārī (d. 280 or 290/893 or 902) ............................................................ 59 1.2.2 Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) ...................................................................... 63 1.2.3 Abū Isḥāq Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Thaʿlabī (d. 427/1035).................................... 66 1.2.4 Abūʾl-Qāsim Jār Allāh MaÎmÙd b. ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538/1144) ....................................... 71 1.2.5 Abū ʿAlī Faḍl ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Faḍl al-Ṭabrisī (d. 548/1154) ....................................................... 75 2.1.6 Abū ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar b. Ḥusayn Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209) ......................................... 80 2.1.7 Abū Muḥammad ibn Abī Naṣr Shīrāzī Ruzbihān al-Baqlī (d. 606/1209) ........................................ 82 2.1.8 Niẓām al-Dīn b. al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Khurāsānī Nisābūrī (d.728/ 1327) ............................. 85 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 87 CHAPTER TWO: THE CLASSICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE QURʾĀNIC NARRATIVE ................................. 91 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 91 2.1 THE EXEGETICAL CONCEPTS OF NARRATIVE ........................................................................................... 95 2.1.1 The Semantic Range of qiṣṣah .............................................................................................................. 96 2.1.2 The Semantic Range of nabāʾ................................................................................................................ 99 2.1.3 The Semantic Range of ḥadīth ........................................................................................................... 103 2.1.4 The Semantic Range of usṭūrah ......................................................................................................... 105 2.2 SOURCES AND EXEGETICAL METHODS OF NARRATIVE ........................................................................ 109 2.2.1 The Qurʾān ............................................................................................................................................. 110 2.2.2 The Prophetic ḥadīth ........................................................................................................................... 114 2.2.3 Grammar, Lexicography, and Linguistics ......................................................................................... 120 2.2.4 Mysticism and Theology ....................................................................................................................