Dr Nuha al-Shaar, a Research Associate in the Institute鈥檚 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Studies Unit, presented a paper at the 25th Congress of the Union Europ茅enne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI), held at the Universit脿 di Napoli 鈥渓鈥橭rientale鈥 in Naples from 8-12 September, 2010. Her study focused on the development of ethical discourse, especially the concept of birr (virtue), in selected second to the seventh century (AH) 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic commentaries.
Dr al-Shaar鈥檚 presentation, entitled 鈥淐onstructing Ethics in 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries: The Development of the Concept of Birr (Virtue)鈥, was part of a panel on Islam. After giving a brief overview of the studies that dealt with ethical themes in the Qur’an, the paper highlighted the need for more studies investigating how ethics were cultivated and developed in 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic exegetical traditions. To this end, the paper highlighted several examples of the commentaries on the concept of birr, translated as 鈥榲irtue,鈥 with a particular reference to 2:177 in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More. The commentaries of Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 150/767), Abu Ja鈥榝ar al-Tabari (d. 310/923), Fakhr al-Din, 聽al-Razi (d. 606/1209) and al-Alusi (d. 911/1505) were examined by Dr. al-Shaar. After showing that these commentaries take birr to be a moral virtue, the paper sought to understand how this definition was informed by the theological, legal, or mystical affiliations of the commentators. In this regard, the study paid attention to the lexical and grammatical discussions used to describe birr.
The paper also demonstrated the vitality of the enterprise of the interpretation of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 as well as its relationship with other disciplines of learning. Dr. al-Shaar argued that exegetes not only tried to make sense of the meaning of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic text but also attempted to relate the text to contemporary cultural and social concerns. The exegetical tradition related to verse 2:177 of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 generally fits this pattern and gives equal standing both to religious belief and to a person鈥檚 various social obligations.
Founded in 1962, the UEAI aims to facilitate meetings and exchange of ideas and information among specialists of the Arab and Islamic world working in European universities. Congresses are held every two years and the proceedings are published.