Qur'ānic hermeneutics : al-Tabrisī and the craft of commentary / Bruce Fudge.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The genre of scriptural commentary in Islam -- al-Tabrisi: a twelfth-century exegete of Khurasan -- Language and knowledge in Majmaʻ al-bayan -- Commentary and Qurʼanic narrative -- Qurʼanic hermeneutics and the Muʻtazila.

The work of the twelfth-century Shi{u2019}ite scholar al-Tabrisi, Majma{u2019} al-bayan, is one of the most important works of medieval commentary on the Qur{u2019}an, and is still in use today. This work is an in-depth case study of Islamic exegetical methods and an exploration of the nature of scriptural interpretation in Islam. Drawing on a wide variety of sources including unpublished manuscripts, the author examines how exegesis serves to construct, maintain and defend the status of the Qur{u2019}an as scripture and to uphold certain ideological agendas, among them the notion of the literary and rhetorical supremacy of God{u2019}s revelation in Arabic. Focusing on the genre and process of Qur{u2019}anic exegesis itself, he treats Qur{u2019}an interpretation as part of a category of religious practice recognizable from the history and comparative study of religion. Written in clear and accessible style, Qur{u2019}anic Hermeneutics makes Qur{u2019}anic exegesis intelligible to specialists in Islam as well as those interested in scripture and its interpretation in general. As such, it will be a valuable reference to scholars of Islamic studies, religion and scripture.