Abstract:

This study presents the evolution of the perception and the practice of tafsîr in the historical process. In this framework, it suggests that this evolution and the new problems which are produced by the new perception on tafsîr at the end of the long historical process reveal significant difficulties in interpreting the Qur'an. This situation necessitates a return to the question of methodology. Moreover, this study shows that the first condition of a correct understanding of the Quran as a sacred text is to be read in the history of its own context (asbâb al-nuzûl) and of the messengership (risâla). This requires special attention to the historical context as well as the language spoken and the cultural situation behind it. Here, the term of language refers to the use of the first interlocutors of the Quran.

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