Identifying preface in the Qur’anic Surahs a new methodology of Qur’anic Interpretation”
It is a universally established fact that effective speech and writing comprise some basic and interconnected components such as preface, central theme, contextual flow, and conclusion. Absence of any of these elements may mar the beauty and effect of speech and writing. There is unanimity among...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Centre of Qur'anic Research, UM
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/48454/1/48454_-_Identifying_preface_in_the_Qur%E2%80%99anic_Surahs.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/48454/ http://ejum.fsktm.um.edu.my/VolumeListing.aspx?JournalID=22 |
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| Summary: | It is a universally established fact that effective speech and writing comprise some basic
and interconnected components such as preface, central theme, contextual flow, and
conclusion. Absence of any of these elements may mar the beauty and effect of speech
and writing. There is unanimity among Muslims, masses as well as scholars, over the
Qur’an as the most effective speech revealed by Allah. The main reason for this quality
of the Qur’an, as agreed by all Muslim scholars, is its inimitability (i‘jaz al-Qur’an). Yet,
it is unbelievably surprising that most of the mufassirun (commentators of the Qur’an)
right from the early periods of Islamic history until today ignored the task of identifying
various components of Qur’anic Surahs and establishing link among them. Some
commentators like Qazi Abd al-Jabbar, al-Haralliyy, al-Razi, al-Biqa’i, Syed Qutb, Syed
Mawdudi, al-Farahi, and Islahi did attempt in their commentaries of the Qur’an to
interpret the Surahs as thematically coherent by identifying link among various
components of each and every single Surah. Some of them simply tried to show the
link among all the verses of Qur’anic Surahs; and some others identified various themes
in a Surah and suggested possible link among them. It appears that no commentator
paid attention to identifying preface in Qur’anic Surahs, particularly large ones. It may
not be imaginable that the Qur’anic Surahs do not have introductory part. The claim
that preface does not exist in Qur’anic Surahs controverts the belief that the Qur’an is
the most effective speech. This paper represents a humble attempt to research that each
and every single surah, short or large, contains one or the other preface, at times,
spreading over several verses in the beginning and, at times, covering only the first one
or two verses. With the identification of preface in a Surah, the task of interpretation
may become easier than ever before. This paper is divided into two main parts: (1)
framework and role of preface in the interpretation of the Qur’an, and (2) identification
of preface in some Surahs and its link to the rest of the verses in the particular Surah |
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