نشریه پژوهش های قرآنی
سال بیست و یکم شماره 3 (پیاپی 80، پاییز 1395)

The Qur’ān’s words and doctrinal knowledge (ma‘ārif) have originated from inclusive truths and principles that are trans-regional and trans-historical. Accordingly, by discovering the real concept and inclusive precept and bypassing the evidentiary characteristics, the apparent content of the verses can be compared to other evidences. Therefore, what is pursued by this article is to address the methods of using the principle of applicability (jar-y) and comparison (taṭbīq), and similarly, to study the logical concept and evidence and the method of refining the basis of the ruling (tanqīḥ-i manāṭ), since it is also the same in the principle of applicability and comparison. After fulfillment of procedures that are considered as preliminary to understanding the text, the verses of similar subject are set together so that by abolition of ineffective features, the general ruling is discovered (applicability) and this ruling and manāṭ can be a reliable basis for comparison to other evidences.

Educational interpretation is a new trend in the contemporary interpretation writing, which is started with an approach to the guiding, educational, and social aspects of the Holy Qur’ān. However, concerning its nature, concept and evidences, two traditional viewpoints are brought up with a general look at the issue of education and the new viewpoint in respect to the problems of educational sciences and its scientific and research context in hermeneutics sources. In the existing definitions of educational interpretation, the expanse of the science of education, the researchable issues in it, and its research methodology are ambiguous and unspecified. The way to recognize its nature logically and comprehensively is through using the method of analyzing the concept of education and interpretation, the relation between them, and delineating their realm. The concept and evidences of education is used in an absolute way in this combination and include all the past and present researches. As a result of this approach, the possibility for enjoyment of a widespread expanse of the two fields of education and interpretation is provided for; particularly in the methodology of this trend, there is the possibility of using various methods. This research is intended to re-examine the definitions, concept, evidences, elucidation of the status, the methodology, and the widespread realm of interpretational-educational researches with the use of new methods and findings in these two disciplines that have been less attended to.

There is an apparent contradiction in some āyas of the two Sūrat al-Tawba and Sūrat al-Mā’ida concerning the interaction between the People of the Scripture and the polytheists. In order to resolve this contradiction, a group of interpreters have maintained the posterity of Sūrat al-Tawba, hence the abrogation of the contradictory āyas of Sūrat al-Mā’ida. Another group, by believing in the posterity of Sūrat al-Mā’ida, have considered its āyas as unequivocal, but have resorted to strange interpretations in conceptualizing the āyas of Sūrat al-Mā’ida for resolving its contradiction with Sūrat al-Tawba or have ignored the conflict of these two sūras. Yet, another group have considered the āyas of Sūrat al-Mā’ida as unequivocal and lasting only in relation to interaction with the polytheists of the People of the Scripture. Proving Sūrat al-Mā’ida to be the last revealed sūra, this article has rescinded the abrogation of its āyas and has explained the outcomes in how to interact with the People of the Book and the polytheists. Then, in resolving the contradiction, it has not maintained the abrogation of Sūrat al-Tawba; rather, by proving the twofold approach of these two sūras, it has described the āyas of Sūrat al-Mā’ida as the dominating āyas and proportionate to the peace conditions and the āyas of Sūrat al-Tawba as specific to the condition of war and conflicts.

The Qur’ān’s verses of meteors are among the challenging verses concerning the Qur’ān and astronomy. The interpreters have provided various views in this respect. Most of the earlier interpreters regard the apparent meanings of these verses that include the evils’ eavesdropping and driving them away with meteors as a referent to these verses; whereas, the contemporary interpreters who have encountered newer misconceptions and questions in this respect, have more chosen the way of ta’wīl (allegorical interpretation) and some have also failed to comment. Nevertheless, it seems that the above-mentioned ta’wīls do not have strong evidences and are not worth referring to. On the other hand, by delving into these verses and through employing another part of the Qur’ān and traditions, newer points can be found concerning its semantic reappraisal, so as to maintain a more efficient role for heaven and its masses in dispersing the evils. Thus, along abiding by the apparent meaning of the Qur’ān and needlessness of unacceptable ta’wīls, all the misconceptions related to this notion would also be answered.

Second to the literary and lexical collections, the jurisprudential interpretations are one of the exegetical varieties that take place in the sanctuary of the Qur’ān and in light of its doctrinal knowledge. Almost one third of the āyas of the Qur’ān comprise of the conducts and speeches of the prophets and people of the earlier communities. In one respect, the number of the scriptures of earlier religions or their time spans are not clearly specified; thus with regard to the jurisprudential employment of the verses of stories by the Imams, their jurisprudential utilization is a serious necessity. Study of the abrogation issue in view of legal theorists (uṣūlīs) and interpreters has indicated that there is no elaborated and specified viewpoint by them concerning jurisprudential utilization of this section of the Qur’ān.
In this research, the interpreters’ legalistic perspective in the āyas of the Joseph story is centered around three issues of cooperation with false governances, approval and disapproval of planting false evidence, and fabricating lies against others or justification of means for a sacred goal. The present article, which is prepared by using library sources and conducted with descriptive-analytical method, describes how the interpreters and jurisprudents make jurisprudential employment of the verses of the Qur’ānic stories, and goes on to critically review the quality of their argumentation. The findings of this research demonstrate the lack of a single specified position concerning the scope of validity of the earlier religious laws and abrogation in their legal view on the above-mentioned verses and an indication of the interpreters’ and jurisprudents’ need for a jurisprudential look at elucidating the framework of abrogation and inference of precepts from the story verses of the Qur’ān.

The Holy Qur’ān has brought up the issue of the death and ascension of Jesus (A.S.) in five āyas. The application of the word tawaffā (recompense) to death and sleep in the Qur’ān has caused the interpreters to differ in explanation of the death of Jesus (A.S.) and its quality. After compiling and systematizing the viewpoints of all Shī‘a and Sunnī interpreters in this respect, the present article has analyzed and critiqued the interpreters’ arguments with the content analysis (descriptive-analytical) method and has finally concluded that the expediency of reconciling among the āyas of the Qur’ān reveals that Prophet Jesus (A.S.) has been ascended to heaven and recompensed alive together with his soul and body; and other viewpoints, including the possibility of the natural death of the Prophet Jesus (A.S.) before the ascension of his body to heaven, which is brought up along with other possibilities among the viewpoints of the two great contemporary Shī‘a interpreters (Allama Tabataba’i and Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli), are unacceptable.

Many interpreters and Qur’ān researchers from earlier times to the present have taken the interrelatedness of āyas as granted and have made great attempts in setting up relations among the āyas of the Qur’ān. Although not speaking explicitly of the benefits of the consistency of āyas and do not name in detail the benefits of relation, the above group obviously pursue specific benefits by bringing up the issue of the consistency and maintaining relations among āyas. Some of those benefits are measurement of exegetical viewpoints, the āyas literature, disproving the distortion of the Qur’ān, uncovering beliefs and opinions, removing doubts concerning the sanctuary of the Qur’ān, logical arrangement of the āyas, comprehension of the theological concepts and so forth. In contrast to this group, some do not believe in the essence of consistency and do not approve the usefulness of relation among the āyas. On this basis, the present writing enumerates the benefits that the first group can bring up for the consistency issue and then states the deliberations that the second group may have concerning those benefits.