Requirements of Qur’ānic Theorizing: A Thematic Interpretation Approach

Given that many schools of thought in today’s world theorize on different aspects of human life, undoubtedly one of the most important tasks of modern exegetes is to extract theories of the Qur’ān in various fields. This paper deals with one of the most important fundamental issues in this regard, i.e., the criteria and norms that a standard qur’ānic theory should have. For this purpose, first the research literature is explained, and then the characteristics of theory in the general sense (i.e., scientific theory) are enumerated. Afterwards, the requirements of qur’ānic theorizing are mentioned and explicated. Since the best way to discover the qur’ānic view of a subject is the method of thematic interpretation, this paper believes that the process of discovering the theory of the Qur’ān about an issue (that is, qur’ānic theorizing) follows the same method. Accordingly, some of the requirements of qur’ānic theorizing found in this study include avoiding the interference of any prejudice, conducting the systematization of qur’ānic teachings, being up-to-date and forward-looking, having fluency and clarity of expression, and having congruence with other definite facts and theories.