Reading the Qur'an in the Twenty-First Century: A Contextualist Approach

209 Pages·2013·3.201 MB·English

by  Abdullah Saeed

’ fi
Reading the Qur an in the Twenty- rst
Century
“Readers seeking to understand the current diversity in ways Muslims read and
interpret the Qur’an will find in Abdullah Saeed a sure-footed guide. He
demonstrates how a reading that respects context is firmly rooted in the Islamic
tradition from the earliest days.”
Daniel A. Madigan, Georgetown University, USA
Reading the Qur’an in the Twenty-first Century considers the development of
Qur’anic interpretation and highlights modern debates around new approaches to
interpretation. It explores how Muslims from various theological, legal, socio-
political, and philosophical backgrounds think about the meaning and relevance
of theQur’an,andhowtheir ideas applyin the contemporaryworld.This book:
(cid:2) reflects on one of the most dominant approaches to interpretation in the
pre-modern period, textualism, and the reaction to that in Muslim feminist
readings of the Qur’an today.
(cid:2) emphasises the importance of a contextualist reading of the Qur’an, and
covers issues such as identifying the hierarchical nature of Qur’anic values,
the criteria for the use of hadith in interpretation, fluidity of meaning, and
ways of ensuring a degree of stability in interpretation.
(cid:2) examines key Qur’anic passages and compares pre-modern and modern
interpretations to show the evolving nature of interpretation. Examples dis-
cussed include: the “authority” of men over women, the death of Jesus,
-
shura and democracy, and riba and interest.
Abdullah Saeed provides a practical guide for interpretation and presents the
principal ideas of a contextualist approach, which situates the original message
of the Qur’an in its wider social, political, cultural, economic, and intellectual
contexts. He advocates a more flexible method of interpretation that gives due
recognition to earlier interpretations of the Qur’an while also being aware of
changing conditions and the need to approach the Qur’an afresh today.
Abdullah Saeed is Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at
the University of Melbourne, Australia. His previous books for Routledge
include Interpreting the Qur’an (2006), Islamic Thought: An Introduction (2006), and
The Qur’an: An Introduction (2008).
This(cid:2)page(cid:2)intentionally(cid:2)left(cid:2)blank
’
Reading the Qur an in the
fi
Twenty- rst Century
A Contextualist Approach
Abdullah Saeed
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
Firstpublishedin2014
byRoutledge
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©2014AbdullahSaeed
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Saeed,Abdullah.
ReadingtheQur’aninthetwenty-firstcentury:acontextualistapproach/
AbdullahSaeed.
pagescm
1.Qur’an–Criticism,interpretation,etc.2.Qur’an–Reading.3.Qur’an
asliterature.I.Title.
BP130.4.S322013
297.1’226–dc23
2013031219
ISBN:978-0-415-67749-3(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-415-67750-9(pbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-87092-2(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
Contents
List of figures vii
Acknowledgements viii
PARTI
Background and examples of contextualism:
Past and present 1
1 Introduction and modern emphases in Qur’anic interpretation 3
2 Traditional interpretation, textualism, and the emergence of
contextualism 13
3 An early form of contextualism: Umar and interpretation 26
4 A modern form of contextualism: Women’s perspectives in
interpretation 38
PARTII
Key ideas and principles of contextualist interpretation 51
5 Revelation and contextualisation 53
6 Hierarchical nature of Qur’anic values 64
7 Parallel texts from the Qur’an and dealing with hadith 73
8 Meaning in a contextualist framework 83
9 “Fundamentals of the religion” and interpretation 90
10 Contextualist interpretation in practice 94
vi Contents
PARTIII
Different interpretations for different contexts: Four cases 109
11 Men’s “authority” over women and equality 111
12 Crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ 129
-
13 Shura and democracy 148
14 Riba and interest 160
PARTIV
Concluding remarks 177
15 Epilogue 179
Bibliography 184
Index 191
fi
List of gures
5.1 Revelation 58
5.2 Text and context 60
6.1 Hierarchy of values: Context independent and context
dependent 70
10.1 Interpretive framework 95
Acknowledgements
In writing the book, I have benefitted from the work of many scholars and
thinkers, many of whom are referred to in this book. In presenting their views,
whileIhavetriedtobeasfaithful aspossible,itisinevitablethatsomedistortions
can occur, for which I seek their understanding and forgiveness.
A number of friends and colleagues have assisted me in various aspects of
writing the book. Their research assistance, identifying relevant material, doc-
umenting them, checking sources, going over translation of texts, reading the
drafts and commenting on them have shaped the final look and feel of
the book. Withouttheirhelpandthissignificantcontribution,thiswouldnothave
beenpossible.InthisregardIamverygratefulfortheworkofmyresearch assistants
and colleagues Rowan Gould, Patricia Prentice, Adis Duderija, Redha Ameur,
CaraHinkson,HelenMcCue,andAndyFuller.Ofcourse,anyerrorsandmistakes
inthebookshouldbeentirelyattributedtome.IthankAdamHulbertforediting
of the first draft and Katia Houghton for copyediting of the text.
This would not have been possible without the support of Lesley Riddle
who was the Senior Editor at Routledge and encouraged me to complete the
book despitea range of personal difficulties that prevented me fromcompleting
the book on time. Her wonderful support kept me going. I am also very
grateful for the kind support and assistance provided by Katherine Ong and
Emma Hudson of Routledge through all stages of the production of the book.
Finally I am grateful for the wonderful support provided by my wife,
Rasheedaandson,Isaamwhohavealwaysdemonstratedanunusuallyhighdegree
ofpatiencewithmynever-endingprojectsofwritingwithlittletimefor them.
Part I
Background and examples of
contextualism
Past and present