The Mu‘tazila's Contribution to Islam: A Study of Their Theology and Hermeneutics in the Exegesis of al-Jushami

FAIN: FB-53227-07

Suleiman Ali Mourad
Smith College (Northampton, MA 01060-2916)

A study of Mu‘tazila doctrinal theology and Qur’anic hermeneutics as preserved in AL-TAHDHIB FI TAFSIR AL-QUR’AN by al-Jushami (d. 1101 CE). This Qur’anic exegesis is a significant repository of Mu‘tazila teachings, and the study will determine its organizational and methodological structure, range of doctrines it promotes and anchors in Islam's Holy Scripture, and impact on later exegetes. The project's importance is that it allows for a better-informed knowledge about the Mu‘tazila, an influential yet understudied group, whose members made great contribution to Islamic theology and hermeneutics. It will also highlight the richness and diversity of the Islamic tradition, and relevance of Mu‘tazila rational theology to modern Muslim trends.

Associated Products

The Survival of the Mu`tazila Tradition of Qur'anic Exegesis in Shi`i and Sunni tafasir. (Article)
Title: The Survival of the Mu`tazila Tradition of Qur'anic Exegesis in Shi`i and Sunni tafasir.
Author: Suleiman A. Mourad
Abstract: Like all other Islamic sects and movements, the Mu`tazilas were very attentive to the study of the Qur'an and many among their ranks authored books on Qur'anic exegesis. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of tafasir compiled by Mu`tazilas are not extant and, for a long time, the vast majority of the scholarly community has been under the impression that the only surviving Mu?tazila tafsir was al-Zamakhshari’s Kashshaf. However, two other major Mu?tazila tafasir have come to light, and now we can begin to determine the contribution of the Mu?tazila exegetical tradition to the field of tafsir. This study will argue that the demise of the Mu?tazila does not necessarily mean that their tradition of Qur'anic exegesis died out; nor for that matter their theology and religious thought. To this end, it examines two cases that demonstrate that the Mu?tazila tradition of Qur'anic exegesis was, at least to some extent, absorbed into the mainstream exegetical traditions of Twelver Shi`ism and Sunnism. The first case details the influence of al-Jishumi’s Tahdhib on Majma` al-bayan by the prominent Twelver Shi`i exegete al-Tabrisi. The second shows the reliance of the paramount Sunni theologian and philosopher Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in his Mafatih al-ghayb on al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jqs.2010.0106
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Quranic Studies

The Revealed Text and the Intended Subtext: Notes on the Hermeneutics of the Qur'an in Mu`tazila Discourse as Reflected in the Tahdhib of al-Hakim al-Jishumi (d. 494/1101) (Book Section)
Title: The Revealed Text and the Intended Subtext: Notes on the Hermeneutics of the Qur'an in Mu`tazila Discourse as Reflected in the Tahdhib of al-Hakim al-Jishumi (d. 494/1101)
Author: Suleiman A. Mourad
Editor: David Reisman
Editor: Felicitas Opwis
Abstract: This article analyzes al-Jishumi’s introduction to his seminal work al-Tahdhib fi Tafsir al-Qur'an (The Refinement in the Exegesis of the Qur'an). Al-Jishumi conceptualized hermeneutical exegesis to revolve around eight categories. Five of these categories the exegete has to relate exactly in the way they were established by the consensus of earlier exegetes: reading, philology, grammatical syntax, composition, and occasion of revelation of the Qur?anic text. The other three categories (meanings, evidences, and decrees) represent aspects where the exegete, as being under a divine obligation, has to demonstrate his own ability at rational inquiry to dislodge the meanings and the legal and theological implications of the Qur?an. In this way, al-Jishumi argued that exegesis is a dynamic and ongoing process, and never an accomplished task.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.brill.nl/islamic-philosophy-science-culture-and-religion
Publisher: Brill Academic Publisher
Book Title: Islamic Philosophy, Science, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honor of Dimitri Gutas
ISBN: 9789004202740

Sunnat-e tafsiri bar ja-ye mandeh az Mu`tazila dar tafasir-e shi`i ve sunni. (Article)
Title: Sunnat-e tafsiri bar ja-ye mandeh az Mu`tazila dar tafasir-e shi`i ve sunni.
Author: Suleiman A. Mourad
Abstract: This is a Persian translation of the article: “The Survival of the Mu?tazila Tradition of Qur?anic Exegesis in Shi?i and Sunni tafasir.” Journal of Qur?anic Studies 12 (2010): 83–108.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://historylib.com/index.php?action=article/view/1517
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Ayine-ye Pojuhesh 24.3 (1392): 5–15

The Mu`tazila and Their Tafsir Tradition: A Comparative Study of Five Exegetical Glosses on Qur'an 3.178. (Book Section)
Title: The Mu`tazila and Their Tafsir Tradition: A Comparative Study of Five Exegetical Glosses on Qur'an 3.178.
Author: Suleiman A. Mourad
Editor: Mustafa Shah
Abstract: This article studies five different Mu`tazila exegetes and examines their views on verse 3.178 of the Qur'an.
Year: 2013
Primary URL: https://www.routledge.com/Tafsir-Interpreting-the-Quran/Shah/p/book/9780415580748
Publisher: Routledge
Book Title: Tafsir: Interpreting the Qur?an.
ISBN: 9780415580748

Towards a Reconstruction of the Mu`tazili Tradition of Qur'anic Exegesis: Reading the Introduction of the Tahdhib of al-Hakim al-Jishumi (d. 494/1101) and Its Application. (Book Section)
Title: Towards a Reconstruction of the Mu`tazili Tradition of Qur'anic Exegesis: Reading the Introduction of the Tahdhib of al-Hakim al-Jishumi (d. 494/1101) and Its Application.
Author: Suleiman A. Mourad
Editor: Karen Bauer
Abstract: This article examines the approach and methodology followed by Mu`tazila exegetes in interpreting the Qur'an. It is based on the exegesis (tafsir) of al-Hakim al-Jishum.
Year: 2013
Primary URL: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/aims-methods-and-contexts-of-quranic-exegesis-2nd8th-9th15th-centuries-9780199670642?facet_narrowbytype_facet=Academic%20Research&lang=en&cc=us
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Title: Aims, Methods and Contexts of Qur?anic Exegesis (2nd/8th – 9th/15th C.)
ISBN: 9780199670642

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