IBN JARĪR AL-ṬABARĪ’S CRITICAL USE OF QUR’ANIC READINGS IN EVALUATING INTERPRETIVE OPINIONS: A THEORETICAL AND APPLIED STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52747/aqujssis.5.01.393Keywords:
Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr (Qur’anic Exegesis), Qur’anic Readings, Anomalous Readings, Canonical Readings, Interpretive Critique, Methods of Exegesis.Abstract
This study, entitled “Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī’s Critical Use of Qur’anic Readings in Evaluating Interpretive Opinions: A Theoretical and Applied Study”, explores al-Ṭabarī’s critical methodology in engaging with the exegetical statements of earlier scholars through the lens of Qur’anic qirāʾāt (variant readings). While al-Ṭabarī is widely recognized for his encyclopedic mastery of Arabic linguistics, Hadith, jurisprudence, and related disciplines, this research specifically investigates his discerning application of both canonical (mutawātir) and anomalous (shādhdh) readings in affirming or refuting interpretive views. The study adopts a descriptive and analytical method and is structured into an introduction and a preliminary section, providing a brief biography of al-Ṭabarī and a conceptual overview of critique in tafsīr, followed by two main chapters: the first addressing the theoretical relationship between qirāʾāt and exegesis, and the second presenting applied examples of al-Ṭabarī’s critical use of variant readings in evaluating tafsīr. The study concludes with several key findings, including that al-Ṭabarī exercised expansive critical insight in his exegesis without excess or negligence; that he more frequently employed anomalous readings in his critiques than canonical ones; and that not every Qur’anic reading has interpretive significance, particularly those limited to phonetic variation rather than semantic difference. Further conclusions are discussed in detail within the study.
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