The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims
Although the Qur’ān calls Muslims to make peace with their enemies (Qur’ān 8:61‒62), some early Qur’ān exegetes1 interpret that to be abrogated by subsequent war verses (Qur’ān 9:5; Qur’ān 9:12‒13). This, according to a sound methodology, is a misinterpretation. So why is the Qur’ān often taken out...
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International Institute of Islamic Thought
2012
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oai:doaj.org-article:18ad85ffe635437381a4e0c2465ee2f32021-12-02T19:23:13ZThe Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims10.35632/ajis.v29i2.11992690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/18ad85ffe635437381a4e0c2465ee2f32012-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1199https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Although the Qur’ān calls Muslims to make peace with their enemies (Qur’ān 8:61‒62), some early Qur’ān exegetes1 interpret that to be abrogated by subsequent war verses (Qur’ān 9:5; Qur’ān 9:12‒13). This, according to a sound methodology, is a misinterpretation. So why is the Qur’ān often taken out of context on many issues, and on peace and war injunctions in particular? In other words, why does misunderstanding seem so pervasive among Muslims of different generations on different matters? This is certainly one of the most important questions in the context of intellectual discussion about the Qur’ān and Islam for at least two reasons: 1. The consequences of this question effectively undermine all genuine efforts to both divorce Qur’ān or Islam from the misconducts of some Muslims on several fronts, and to convey its universally positive messages. 2. The implications of this question appear to lend some credence to the claims and analyses of those who see the pervasive nature of this misunderstanding as truly representing Islam ‒ one that, in their eyes, has to be considered rather genuine. Here, their underlying presumption is that there is no “misunderstanding” of the Qur’ān, for the very fact of its pervasiveness means that it must be the true representation. The following are some honest attempts to offer a much-needed explanation in the face of these two potent and critical observations, but not as a way to justify the problem. Although the pervasive nature of misunderstanding the Qur’ān may be overplayed (one always finds dissenting voices that tend to offer more logical and supported opinions ‒ in this case, al-Ṭabarī or Ibn al-ʻArabī, the Jurist), it is true that Muslims rarely acknowledge it as a problem, hardly address it adequately, or even contemplate its negative implications for Islam. The misguided understanding of the verses of peace and war, for example, came about through a delicate interplay of at least three factors ‒ namely, interpretive methodology, cultural environment, and ideological pursuits ‒ each of which is analyzed below ... Zakyi IbrahimInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 29, Iss 2 (2012) |
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DOAJ |
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Islam BP1-253 |
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Islam BP1-253 Zakyi Ibrahim The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| description |
Although the Qur’ān calls Muslims to make peace with their enemies
(Qur’ān 8:61‒62), some early Qur’ān exegetes1 interpret that to be abrogated
by subsequent war verses (Qur’ān 9:5; Qur’ān 9:12‒13). This,
according to a sound methodology, is a misinterpretation. So why is the
Qur’ān often taken out of context on many issues, and on peace and war
injunctions in particular? In other words, why does misunderstanding seem
so pervasive among Muslims of different generations on different matters?
This is certainly one of the most important questions in the context of intellectual
discussion about the Qur’ān and Islam for at least two reasons:
1. The consequences of this question effectively undermine all genuine
efforts to both divorce Qur’ān or Islam from the misconducts of
some Muslims on several fronts, and to convey its universally
positive messages.
2. The implications of this question appear to lend some credence to
the claims and analyses of those who see the pervasive nature of
this misunderstanding as truly representing Islam ‒ one that, in their
eyes, has to be considered rather genuine. Here, their underlying
presumption is that there is no “misunderstanding” of the Qur’ān,
for the very fact of its pervasiveness means that it must be the true
representation.
The following are some honest attempts to offer a much-needed explanation
in the face of these two potent and critical observations, but not
as a way to justify the problem. Although the pervasive nature of misunderstanding
the Qur’ān may be overplayed (one always finds dissenting
voices that tend to offer more logical and supported opinions ‒ in this
case, al-Ṭabarī or Ibn al-ʻArabī, the Jurist), it is true that Muslims rarely
acknowledge it as a problem, hardly address it adequately, or even contemplate
its negative implications for Islam. The misguided understanding of
the verses of peace and war, for example, came about through a delicate interplay
of at least three factors ‒ namely, interpretive methodology, cultural
environment, and ideological pursuits ‒ each of which is analyzed below ...
|
| format |
article |
| author |
Zakyi Ibrahim |
| author_facet |
Zakyi Ibrahim |
| author_sort |
Zakyi Ibrahim |
| title |
The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| title_short |
The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| title_full |
The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| title_fullStr |
The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Question of (Mis)interpreting the Qur’ān by Muslims |
| title_sort |
question of (mis)interpreting the qur’ān by muslims |
| publisher |
International Institute of Islamic Thought |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/18ad85ffe635437381a4e0c2465ee2f3 |
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AT zakyiibrahim thequestionofmisinterpretingthequranbymuslims AT zakyiibrahim questionofmisinterpretingthequranbymuslims |
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