Providing a Model for Evaluating the Dependency of Comprehension of Qur'an Verses on Cultural Studies

Some religious modernists believe that correct and scientific comprehension of the Qur’an is merely provided through historical and cultural study of the context of revelation time. Others, on the other hand, advocate that knowing interior and connected evidence suffices for Qur’an comprehension. Further, they say that exterior and unconnected evidence such as cultural and historical studies can have little effect on Qur’an comprehension. These various attitudes made us research them and represent a model to assess the dependency of Qur’an comprehension on cultural and historical conditions of revelation time. The present study examined works of scholars in this field such as Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Khorramshahi, and Tabatabaei through a descriptive and analytical method. Then, a model was recommended to evaluate the dependence of understanding of the Qur’an on the cultural and historical conditions of revelation time. The model includes four components: cause of revelation; vocabulary; subject matter; expressions which encompass twelve rules based on the features of verses in each component. Input of the model is one verse and its output is a dependent, independent, or semi-dependent mode.