Abstract:

We will examine the nature of al-Qushayrī’s use of ishārī tafsīr while exegeting the verses about pilgrimage, and in this context, the form of ta’vīl of the verses in this article. It seems that in the historical process, mufassirs take into account the principles of the schools they belong to while interpreting the Qur’an. In the ishārī tafsīr school, one of these cults, the mufassirs gave place to the esoteric (ishārī) meaning as well as the apparent meaning. Sometimes these mufassirs were able to prioritize the ishārī meaning rather than the apparent meaning. One of the mufassirs belonging to this school is al-Qushayrī. al-Qushayrī is one of the rare mufassirs who developed an original form of interpretation in ishārī tafsīr. The role of his being a Sufi commentator is undeniable in this. He, in his tafsīr, he included ishārī interpretations on matters related to worship as well as issues related to faith and treatment. Similarly, the mufassir brings the ishārī interpretation to the fore in the tafsīr of the verses about the pilgrimage and considers the apparent meaning as secondary. al-Qushayrī evaluated his ishārī interpretations about the pilgrimage to get closer to Allah. According to al-Qushayrī, a person who performs the pilgrimage will go through various stages and go a long way in reaching Allah. However, those who do not perform the pilgrimage will be deprived of this opportunity. In this study, the ishārī interpretations of the pilgrimage in al-Qushayrī’s al-tafsīr named Laṭā’if al-ishārāt will be discussed. First of all, a brief information about the definition and nature of ishārī tafsīr will be given, and then al-Qushayrī’s ishārī interpretations about the verses related to pilgrimage will be examined. In addition to this, some sufistic concepts in his tafsīr will also be tried to be explained.

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