Özet:

As a result of the events that occurred after the death of the Prophet, such issues as caliphate and great sins were discussed extensively. These discussions led to the emergence of political and theological sects among the Muslims at the time. Each sect tried to find references from the Qurʾān and ḥadīths to prove that their claim and cause were right. When the members of the sect failed to find the evidence they sought, they either tried to interpret some verses in the Qurʾān in a way that could fit their own ideas or attempted to create narrations to this end. The most prominent of those who engaged in such activities were the extreme shīʿī (Ġulāt al-Shīʿa) sects that emerged in the early period. It is possible to say that the first extreme instances of the interpretation (taʾwīl) of the Qurʾanic verses were made by the early shīʿī extremist sects. These interpretations constituted the initial core for the bāṭinī method of interpretation, which later left a deep mark on Islamic culture. Divergent interpretations led to the disregarding of the siyāq and sibāq of the verses of the Qurʾān, the loss of their original meaning, and the interpretation of the verses from personal and subjective perspectives. The interpretations made in the early period show not only the background of the interpretations made later, particularly by the Ismāʿīliyya and Imāmiyya Shīʿa, but also the source of the extreme interpretations in shīʿī tafsīr. Therefore, the knowledge of the extreme interpretations in the early period could contribute to the understanding of those in the later Imāmiyya Shīʿa. This makes the extreme interpretations offered the early period even more important. Since the interpretations in the early period were mostly made by the extreme shīʿī sects, the present study focuses on these sects and the views defended by them and mentions the verses that were interpreted in line with these. It discusses at length the interpretations made by these sects in the early period and the beliefs forming their background. This study objectively addresses the interpretations that emerged after the Prophet until the mid-second century hijrī, mostly based on religious and cultural influences, by taking into account the effects of politics, without mentioning the political conflicts and the impacts of these conflicts. Firstly, it analyses the word interpretation (taʾwīl), which constitutes the focus of the article, and discusses the pre-Islamic use of this word. Then it elaborates on the use of this word in the Qurʾān and during the time beginning with the Prophet until the Tābiʿūn period, along with the earliest examples of interpretation. Then, the study discusses the extreme shīʿī sects and the figures who are considered as the pioneers of these sects. Thus, it reveals the effect of the regions where these sects emerged and the impact of the beliefs held by the leaders and members of these sects on the earliest extreme interpretations. This is because there is a strong relationship between the level of knowledge of the leaders of the sects, along with the society and culture in which they were raised and the geography where the sect emerged. This study provides information about the intellectual background of these sects. Then, considering the chronological order of the sects, it cites and evaluates the verses interpreted by the shīʿī extremist sects. The present study concluded that it would be more accurate to discuss the influence of religious movements, such as Manichaeism and Mazdakism, which emerged in the basin of Persian culture, rather than that of Judaism and Christianity, on the background of the extreme interpretations of the Qurʾān by the extreme shīʿī sects in the early period. This conclusion is also supported by the emergence of the early period extreme interpretations not in the regions dominated by the Umayyad power or the Khawārij, but in the regions where the early shīʿī sects flourished and the apparent influence of the Persian sects in these regions. In Islamic culture, those who put forward extreme thoughts or make extreme theological interpretations are accused of heresy, and this is another indication showing that the main source of the understanding of the interpretation is the ancient Persian religions and sects. This is further supported by the fact that the word Zend is used in the sense of "the interpretation of the Avesta," and that those who offer divergent interpretations of the Avesta in a way contrary to its literal meaning are called Zandī. In this respect, the word “zandīq,” derived from the word (زَنْدِ كِرَاي), is considered an Arabicized word.

Anahtar Kelimeler: