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Modern Qurānic exegesis : a comparative study of the methods of Muḥammad Abduh and Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā

This thesis is an attempt to analyze and compare the methods of exegesis of `Abduh and Rid&dotbelow;a. The analysis focuses on their works of Qur'anic exegesis, especially their joint project Tafsir al-Manar. Their school of exegesis and principles of exegesis are a reflection of the socio-political setting in which they found themselves. They provide an antithesis to the schools and principles of exegesis favoured by traditional exegetes. `Abduh and Rida accused traditional exegetes of deviating from the guidance of the Qur'an by allowing their exegesis to develop into an intellectual exercise in grammar, theology, jurisprudence or even philosophical dispute. In the views of `Abduh and Rid&dotbelow;a, traditional exegetes tended to treat the Qur'an as a justification of their position in debate, a tendency that should be reversed. Both men tried to reformulate the approach of Qur'anic hermeneutics which they regarded as being applicable to social issues. Due to the differences in their respective intellectual backgrounds, experiences and attitudes towards different schools of thought, they applied different methods of interpretation. `Abduh was consistent in his modernist call to go "back to the Qur'an," for which he extracted guidance from the Qur'an through his own perception. As a consequence he limited the use of the intertextual approach to h&dotbelow;adith and philological analysis in his commentaries. Rid&dotbelow;a, on the other hand, extended their use in his interpretation. Rid&dotbelow;a also favoured the use of scientific knowledge in exegesis which `Abduh rejected due to its relativity. Rid&dotbelow;a's interpretation was also characterized by the extensive use of the opinions of earlier exegetes, which `Abduh tended to neglect.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.20893
Date January 1998
CreatorsJafar, Iftitah.
ContributorsBoullata, Issa J. (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Institute of Islamic Studies.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001655315, proquestno: MQ50525, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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