The basic intention of 紮喝娶a紳ic exegesis (喧硃款莽蘋娶) is to understand what the text of the Qur’an means. Before attempting to understand anything of the 紮喝娶a紳ic worldview, its theology and ethical values, there is a need for exegetes to engage with the individual words found in the 紮喝娶a紳Muslims believe that the Holy 紮喝娶a紳 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 itself. Yet, exegetes and translators, whether medieval or modern, have different theological perspectives, which influence how they do this. Many modern scholars have recognised that lexicology plays an important part in exegesis, but there are few studies of how exegetes use it to develop their interpretations of the 紮喝娶a紳 or that address lexicology in 紮喝娶a紳ic exegesis in any depth. This volume of essays addresses this gap in the scholarship.
The Meaning of the Word provides an overview of the development of lexicological analysis in the 喧硃款莽蘋娶 tradition, and examines how exegetes interpreted words in the 紮喝娶a紳. The contributions reflect on lexicology in 紮喝娶a紳ic exegesis through studies of a wide range of subjects, from linguistics to literary criticism, and law and gender to mysticism; from examinations of the issue of lexicology in the Arab, Persian and Turkish worlds to its examination in the European world; and from studies of the earliest discussions of 紮喝娶a紳ic lexica to those made in twentieth-century Turkey and recent English translations of the Qur’an. This volume will become a subject-specific reference volume for anyone working on the interpretation of the 紮喝娶a紳, but also in Islamic Studies and the wider field of Religious Studies.
Notes on Contributors
Note on Transliteration, Conventions and Abbreviations
Preface
1. Introduction: Words, Hermeneutics, and the Construction of Meaning, S.R. Burge
Section I: Lexicology and the Formative Period of 紮喝娶a紳ic Exegesis
2. In Search of Meaning: Lexical Explanation in Early 紮喝娶a紳ic Commentaries, Kees Versteegh
3. Lexicological Hadith and the School of Ibn 尪Abbs, Herbert Berg
4. The Interpretation of Three 紮喝娶a紳ic Terms (釦勳聆櫻堯怗硃, 廎夕域鳥硃 and 廜█餃餃蘋梁) of Special Interest to the Early Renunciants, Christopher Melchert
Section II: Lexical Methodologies in Action: Four Case Studies
5. The Use of Lexicography in the Great 紮喝娶a紳ic Commentary of al-Wh怗id蘋 (d. 468/1076), Claude Gilliot
6. Authority and the Defence of Readings in Medieval 紮喝娶a紳ic Exegesis: Lexicology and the Case of Falaq (Q. 113:1), S.R. Burge
7. Poetic Licence and the 紮喝娶a紳ic Names of Hell: The Treatment of Cognate Substitution in al-Rghib al-I廜λahn蘋s 紮喝娶a紳ic Lexicon, Devin Stewart
8. Paradoxes in Shahrastn蘋s Lexicological Methodology, Toby Mayer
Section III: Words, Interpretation and Legal Disputes
9. From 紮喝娶a紳 to Fiqh: Sunni and Shii 啦硃款莽蘋娶 on the Inheritance Verses and the Named Cases (al-Mas尨il al-Mulaqqaba), Agostino Cilardo
10. Marital Discord in 紮喝娶a紳ic Exegesis: A Lexical Analysis of Husbandly and Wifely 捧喝莽堯贖堝 in Q. 4:34 and Q. 4:128, Ayesha S. Chaudhry
11. The Optional Ramadan Fast: Debating Q. 2:184 in the Early Turkish Republic, M. Brett Wilson
Section IV: The Word in Translation: Medieval and Modern Disputes
12. The 幛櫻喧勳廎仟 of Salmn al-Fris蘋 and the Modern Controversy over Translating the 紮喝娶a紳, Travis Zadeh
13. The 紮喝娶a紳 Today: Translating the Translatable, Stefan Wild
Bibliography
Index of 紮喝娶a紳ic Citations
Index of 紮喝娶a紳ic Words and Phrases
General Index
In this volume, a fascinating array of subject areas, including theology, mysticism, the linguistic sciences, literary criticism, law and translation, provides the thematic backdrop against which key aspects of classical exegetical discourses are gauged and contextualized.
Mustafa Shah, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
This volume of essays, dealing with how Muslims have grappled with issues of meaning in the 紮喝娶a紳 through lexicography and translation through the centuries, brings together some excellent research and penetrating analysis. It provides a valuable contribution to the discipline.
Andrew Rippin, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria, Canada
Stephen R. Burge is a Research Associate at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2009, and has since published this as Angels in Islam: Jall al-D蘋n al-Suy贖廜俸徉s al-廎兀b尨ik f蘋 akhbr al-mal尨ik (London, 2012). More recently, he has focused his attention on 紮喝娶a紳ic exegesis, particularly Suyu廜虹s main exegetical work, al-Durr al-manthur fil 喧硃款莽蘋娶 bil-ma尨thur. He is also working on an edition of the Anthology of 紮喝娶a紳ic Commentaries on the Pillars of Islam.