The Study of the Qur'an

My paper explores the aesthetic dimensions of Qurʾānic passages that describe, sanction, or call for violence. Seen as problematic today, such passages are often ignored, explained away, or reduced to their historical contingency. The idea that they bear any aesthetic value seems ineffable, which conflicts, however, with the Islamic tenet of iʿjāz (the Qurʾān’s inimitability) that has mostly been defined in aesthetic terms. Scrutinizing our preconceived notions regarding religion and violence, on the other hand, helps shed new light on these passages. Reading violence-related verses diachronically with an open mind reveals their hermeneutic depth and aesthetic value. A non-teleological approach that embeds those passages in the greater narrative of the emerging Muslim community without presupposing their victory opens new avenues to appreciating them aesthetically and theologically. I argue that violence in the Qurʾān serves a particular aesthetic-ethical purpose, that is, to urge believers to critical self-reflection and God-consciousness.

This paper presents an example of al-Zamakhsharī’s interpretation of the use of the definite article in al-Baqara 2:5, “It is they who are the successful ones” (wa ulāʾika hum al-mufliḥūn) to show how communicative ideas from outside the discipline of tafsīr, taken from ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī and the field of rhetoric, came to inflect approaches to the Qurʾān at the granular level. This paper further shows how the intellectual debt of tafsīr to rhetoric can be traced by recourse to the ḥāshiya (metacommentary) tradition on al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Kashshāf and al-Bayḍāwī’s Anwār. Controversies that persisted throughout the post-classical period related to the interpretation of language and this verse, this paper concludes, had less to do with scholasticism and was instead reflective of underlying commitments to a communicative approach to language that had been derived from the field of rhetoric, which had motivated the interpretation of this verse in the first place.

This paper delves into a comparative examination of  Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī’s unique approach to Qurʾānic exegesis, highlighting his use of intra-textual analysis to interpret the so called anthropomorphic verses. Unlike his contemporaries, such as al-Tabārī (d. 310/923), whose exegesis relied heavily on philological analysis and Prophetic reports, al-Māturīdī adopts a method that seeks to understand Qurʾānic verses in the context of other verses, thereby offering a more Qurʾān-centric interpretation of verses that have often been subject to whimsical commentary. While celebrating al-Māturīdī's contribution to Qurʾānic hermeneutics, this paper also discusses the limitations of his approach, notably his occasional lack of philological rigor in comparison to the likes of al-Tabarī, al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538/1144) and al-Rāzī (d.543/1149). By exploring these nuances, the paper sheds light on a significant but under-explored method of early Islamic exegesis, offering insights about the potential of the exegetical literature in uncovering the meaning of the Qurʾān. 

This paper focuses on interpretive trends related to the Qur'anic concept of a created human nature or _fiṭra_ (Q 30:30). In particular, I seek to show the complexity of the debates surrounding this concept and the possibiities and limitations of simply delienating a Qur'anic concept of human nature. I will do so by highlighting both internal and temporal trends: working towards an understanding of the Qur'anic _fiṭra_ we encounter the existence of a ranger of interpretations as well as broad consensus _and_ important continuities and discontinues between different periods. 

In this essay, I analyze exegetical interpretations of the Qur’anic moral mandate of iḥsān (beauty/goodness) at times of conflict and demonstrate how certain interpretive choices can, at times, facilitate an exclusionary discourse that may undermine the moral call of the text. The three works examined are those by Ibn Kathīr (d.1373) which is the most widely circulated Qur’anic exegesis (tafsīr) in the world today, Sayyid Qutb (d.1966) who was an influential leader of political Islam, and Ṭabaṭabāʾī (d. 1981) who is a highly revered Shiʿi exegete, scholar and philosopher. This study is based on a holistic and methodical examination of the concept of iḥsān in the Qur’an and the way in which it is understood in various works of exegesis. The analysis also takes into consideration the possible impact of the historical context on the interpretations.