Introduction_to_islamic_hermeneutics.ppt.pptx

INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC HERMENEUTICS

Dr.Adis Duderija

SOURCE OF SLIDES Based on my first book - Constructing Religiously Ideal ‘Believer’ and ‘Muslim Woman’ Concepts: Neo-Traditional Salafi and Progressive Muslim Methods of Interpretation (Manahij), Palgrave Series in Islamic Theology, Law and History ed. by Khaled Abou El Fadl, 2011 October. Praise for the book: “Adis Duderija has comprehensively captured some of the most recent debates in modern Islamic thought on how foundational religious texts are interpreted. In doing so, he has not only rendered a major service to scholarship but he has also distilled the kinds of life-worlds a variety of contemporary Muslim interpreters foster. He is to be commended for this work that will no doubt spark robust debate.”--Ebrahim Moosa, Professor of Religion & Islamic Studies, Department of Religion, Duke University

“This new study by the gifted scholar, Adis Duderija, substantially raises the bar for all future studies dealing with the issues of fundamentalism, traditionalism, reformism, and authenticity and progress in Muslim thought.” Khaled Abou El Fadl, Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Professor of Law, Chair of Islamic Studies Program, UCLA School of Law

DEFINITION OF ISLAMIC HERMNEEUTICS -Theories and methods of interpretation of Qur’an and sunna -Similar to concept of manhaj -Long history of theories and methods of interpretation of Qur’an and Sunna- ulum ul Qur’an, tafsir, ‘ulum ul hadith, usul ul fiqh , kalam,tasawwuf

FACTORS INFLUENCING ISLAMIC HERMENEUTICS The Nature of Language and the Nature of Revelation The Location and Breadth of Meaning The Relationship between Text and Context Relationship between Reason, Text and Ethics The Conception of the Prophetic Sunna

THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE AND THE NATURE OF REVELATION -Nature of wahy - the idea/concept of Prophethood (nubuwwa) -nature of Prophetic experience- to what extent historically and culturally contingent , what is its scope ? - the nature of God’s Speech –Created vs. Uncreated

THE LOCATION AND BREADTH OF MEANING -the dynamic between author ( author’s intent) ; text and reader -objectivity vs. subjectivity -communities of interpretation/madhahib and role of ijma’ -distinction between meaning and its significance

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEXT AND CONTEXT -Ethico-religious texts – role of context -Role of asbāb ul nuzūl and ‘ilm asbāb al-wurūd -which elements of Qur’an and Sunna are kulliyyāt and which juziyyāt and how do we arrive at these ?

TEXTUAL COHERENCE -thematic/holistic approach vs. segmented/ line by line -istiqrā’,munāsaba, and tafsir mawdu’i -Interpreting the particular (juziyyāt) in relation to the general (kuliyyāt) not vice versa

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REASON, TEXT AND ETHICS -qiyas/analogy based , semi-contextualist; based on ethical voluntarism vs. contextualist , rationalist and ethically objectivist

THE CONCEPTION OF THE PROPHETIC SUNNA -What is the nature and scope of sunna and its conceptual and interpretational relationship with the Qur’an and hadith -Evolution of the concept of sunna from hadith independent to hadith dependent and from a dynamic, ethico-behaviour and rationalist concept to a static, textualist – based and reified concept

CONCLUSION -long history of Islamic hermeneutics -multiple factors influencing