Özet:

This article focuses on the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab’s understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an. As a close friend of the Prophet and as a consultant to him, Umar witnessed the revelation of the Qur’an for many years. This naturally provided him with a good knowledge of occasions of revelations. His innate ability to think parallel to the logic of revelations could be seen in the fact that the Qur’an occasionally supported opinions he held prior to the revelation. This article argues that Umar’s approach to the Qur’an and its interpretation is multi-faceted and rather complicated, and it cannot be easily described. However, two general observations could be made. First, Umar appears to have emphasized time and again the sacred nature of the Qur’an. Second, he seems to have had greater good of the people in mind when he derived decisions from the Qur’an. Desiring to place the Qur’an in every aspect of life, his instincts often made him use Qur’anic verses in extraordinary ways. Examining Umar’s understanding of Qur’an and the method of comment will help us not only appreciate better the environment in which the revelation was sent down but also recognize the underlying purposes of the Qur’anic messages. We hope that this study will contribute to our understanding of the history of the interpretation of the Qur’an and will help reexamine our relationship with the Qur’an.

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