The Historicity of the Qur’anic Text: A Critique of the Concept and Implications in Contemporary Modernist Discourse
Keywords:
Historicism, Imami Thought, Revelation, Interpretation, Soroush, Renewal, Shabestari, Temporal Context, Hermeneutics, Qur'anic TextAbstract
This study examines the contemporary Shiite Imami intellectual stance on the historicist reading of the Qur'anic text, as presented by modernist thinkers such as Mohammed Arkoun, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Abdul Karim Soroush, and Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari. The research explores interpretative approaches that emphasize the determining role of historical and contextual factors in understanding revelation, contrasting them with the Imami approach that integrates temporal considerations while upholding the sanctity and transcendence of the divine text. The study shows that Imami thought does not reject historical context analysis but rather conditions it with epistemological and doctrinal frameworks that preserve the authoritative status of the Qur'an. The research outlines the diverse positions among Shiite thinkers—ranging from fundamental rejection to cautious integration of historicism within the bounds of authentic religious understanding. The study ultimately advocates for a rational, purpose-oriented, and Imami-based interpretative model that respects the timeless values of revelation while engaging with modern contextual realities.
References
1. T. Nöldeke, The History of the Qurʾan. Göttingen, Germany: Dieterich Publishing, 1860.
2. Goldziher, Studies in Islam, trans. A. H. al-Najjar. Cairo, Egypt: Dar Ihya al-Kutub al-Arabiya, 1920, p. 74.
3. A. Neuwirth, “Historicising the Qur’an: A European Perspective,” Qantara.de, 2010. Accessed: https://en.qantara.de
4. R. Boutaib[Limitations of Scientific Readings of the Qur'an: Angelika Neuwirth as an Example], Qantara.de, 2014. Accessed: https://ar.qantara.de
5. S. Abidi, Historicity of the Qur'anic Text According to Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd. Mu'minūn bilā Ḥudūd Foundation, 2023, p. 25.
6. A. Al-Zekrawy, The Historical Reading of the Qur'anic Text by Arab Modernists. Mu'minūn bilā Ḥudūd Foundation, 2016.
7. Raseef22, "Special File on Abu Zayd, Tizini, Shahrour, and Shabestari," 2020.
8. M. Arkoun, Readings in the Qur'an, trans. H. Salih. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Saqi, 2005, p. 54.
9. A. Al-Shabistari, "A Reading in the Imamate Stance on the Historicity of the Qur'anic Text," Nosous Moasera website, 2022, p. 95.
10. A. Al-Wa'idhi, "Critique of Textual Historicity in Modern Islamic Thought: A Study of Abu Zayd's Dissertations," Nosous Moasera, no. 40, 2016, p. 88.
11. A. Al-Wa'idhi, "The Temporal Understanding of the Qur'anic Text by Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd: Deconstructing the Concept," Nosous Moasera, no. 35, 2015, p. 63.
12. M. R. Al-Hasani, "The Historical Dimension of the Text and Tafsir al-Mizan," Nosous Moasera, no. 44, 2021, p. 71.
13. A. Mohammadi, "The Creative Reading of the Qur'anic Text by the Imamiyyah: Hermeneutical Alternatives Versus Historicism," Majallat Al-Istinbat Al-Ma'rifi, 2020, p. 53.
14. F. Beiser, "Historicism: A Brief Explanation," Atharah website, 2019.
15. Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, s.v. "Historicism."
16. S. Greenblatt, "New Historicism and Cultural Texts," citing atharah.net.
17. R. Soulen and K. Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, 4th ed. Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
18. H. Gunkel, The Legends of Genesis. Open Court Publishing, 1901.
19. J. Brown, Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy. Oneworld, 2014.
20. M. Arkoun, Qira'at fi al-Qur'an [Readings in the Qur'an], trans. H. Salih. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Saqi, 2001, p. 51.
21. M. B. Al-Sadr, Al-Madrasa al-Qur'aniyya [The Qur'anic School]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Ta'aruf, 1981, p. 152.
22. J. Barton, Ibid.
23. M. M. Shams al-Din, Al-Ijtihad wa al-Tajdid [Ijtihad and Renewal]. Beirut, Lebanon: International Foundation for Studies and Publishing, 1993, p. 82.
24. M. H. Ma'rifat, "Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun: Fi Thawbihi al-Aqtib" [Interpretation and Interpreters: In its Unique Form], (no title provided), no. 4, p. 112.
25. H. Al-Mustafawi, Al-Tahqiq fi Kalimat al-Qur'an al-Karim [Verification of the Words of the Holy Qur'an]. Tehran, Iran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, 1993, p. 63.
26. M. A. Al-Jabri, Al-Turath wa al-Hadatha [Heritage and Modernity]. Center for Arab Unity Studies, 1990, p. 59.
27. A. Laroui, Al-Arab wa al-Fikr al-Tarikhī [The Arabs and Historical Thought]. Arab Cultural Center, 1973, p. 69.
28. R. Simon, Histoire critique du Vieux Testament. Paris, 1678.
29. M. Arkoun, Nazʿat al-Ansana fi al-Fikr al-Arabi [The Humanist Tendency in Arab Thought], trans. H. Salih. Dar Al-Saqi, 1996, p. 74.
30. N. H. Abu Zayd, Mafhūm al-Naṣṣ: Dirāsah fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān [The Concept of the Text: A Study in Qur'anic Sciences]. Arab Cultural Center, 1990, p. 26.
31. H. Hanafi, Al-Din wa al-Thawra fi Misr [Religion and Revolution in Egypt]. Dar Al-Tanweer, 1995, p. 33.
32. K. Al-Haydari, Al-Qira'a al-Mu'asira lil-Nass al-Dini [The Contemporary Reading of the Religious Text]. Dar Faraqed, 2016, p. 49.
33. A. S. Al-Nashar, Nash'at al-Fikr al-Falsafi fi al-Islam [The Genesis of Philosophical Thought in Islam]. Dar Al-Ma'arif, 1965, p. 62.
34. M. H. Fadlallah, Min Wahy al-Qur'an [From the Inspiration of the Qur'an]. Dar Al-Malak, 2002.
35. N. H. Abu Zayd, Mafhum al-Nass: Dirasa fi Ulum al-Qur'an [The Concept of the Text: A Study in Qur'anic Sciences]. Arab Cultural Center, 1990.
36. N. H. Abu Zayd, Ishkaliyat al-Qira'a wa Aliyat al-Ta'wil [Problems of Reading and Mechanisms of Interpretation]. Arab Cultural Center, 1990, p. 110.
37. W. Masrahi and F. (surname not provided), "Al-Hadatha fi Fikr Muhammad Arkoun" [Modernity in the Thought of Muhammad Arkoun] (PhD dissertation, University of Algiers 2, Faculty of Humanities and Education), 2003.
38. A. Soroush, Bast-e Tajrobe-ye Nabavi [The Expansion of the Prophetic Experience]. Tehran, Iran: Ummah Publishing House, 2001, p. 71.
39. M. Mojtahed Shabestari, Al-Hirmuniyutiqa, al-Kitab wa al-Sunna [Hermeneutics, The Book and The Sunnah], trans. A. Al-Qabanji. Dar Al-Hadi, 2001, p. 114.
40. S. A. Hussein, "Qadaya al-Mar'a al-Muslima wa al-Ghazw al-Fikri" [Issues of Muslim Women and Intellectual Invasion] (Master's thesis, Islamic University of Gaza), 2005.
41. M. M. Ahmad, Tatwir Mafhum al-Jihad: Dirasa fi al-Fikr al-Islami al-Mu'asir [The Development of the Concept of Jihad: A Study in Contemporary Islamic Thought]. Arab Network for Research and Publishing, 2015, p. 88.
42. A. A. Abd al-Mawjud, Hajamat al-Mustashriqin wal-Munassirin 'ala al-Mar'a al-Muslima [Attacks of Orientalists and Missionaries on the Muslim Woman], 1st ed. Dar al-Fath lil-I'lam al-Arabi, 2015, p. 61.
43. A. Tizini, Min Yahwah Ila Allah: Ishkaliyat al-Tawhid fi al-Fikr al-Dini [From Yahweh to Allah: The Problematic of Monotheism in Religious Thought]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir, 2000.
44. A. J. Al-Rifa'i, Al-Din wa al-Ightirab al-Mītāfīzīqī [Religion and Metaphysical Alienation]. Beirut, Lebanon: Center for Studies of the Philosophy of Religion, 2010, p. 63.
45. Ibid., p. 75.
46. Ibid., p. 185.
47. Ibid., p. 63.
48. A. Harb, Naqd al-Nass [Critique of the Text], 3rd ed. Beirut, Lebanon: Arab Cultural Center, 2007, p. 72.
49. A. Soroush, Al-Qabd wal-Bast fi al-Shari'a [Contraction and Expansion in Islamic Law], trans. A. Al-Qabanji. Tehran, Iran: Dar Al-Hadi, 2006, p. 85.
50. M. H. Ma'rifat, Ibid., p. 52.
51. S. K. Al-Haydari, Al-Tajdid fi Fahm al-Nass al-Dini [Renewal in Understanding the Religious Text]. Tehran, Iran: Dar al-Tawhid Foundation, 2010, p. 78.
52. M. H. Al-Tabataba'i, Maqalat Ta'sisiyya fi al-Fikr al-Islami [Foundational Essays in Islamic Thought], 2nd ed. Beirut, Lebanon: Umm al-Qura Foundation for Research and Publishing, 1999, p. 62.
53. R. Khomeini, Al-Hukuma al-Islamiyya (Muhadarat Hawla Wilayat al-Faqih) [Islamic Government (Lectures on the Guardianship of the Jurist)]. Beirut, Lebanon: Nun Center for Translation and Authorship, 1970, p. 75.
54. M. B. Al-Sadr, Iqtisaduna [Our Economics] (Encyclopedia of the Works of Shahid Al-Sadr, vol. 3). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Thawra al-Islamiyya, 2000, p. 225.
55. A. J. A. Al-Huwayzi, Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn [Interpretation of Nur al-Thaqalayn], ed. S. A. Ashour, 8 vols. Beirut, Lebanon: Arab History Foundation, 2001/1112 AH, p. 63.
56. M. Allah and N. B. Ahmad, "Mafhum al-Tafsir al-Mawdu'i wa Manhajuhu 'inda Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr: Dirasah Tahliliyya" [The Concept of Thematic Interpretation and its Methodology According to Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr: An Analytical Study], Majallat al-Islam fi Asia, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 140–169, 2022.
