مجله پژوهش های قرآن و حدیث
سال پنجاه و سوم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1399)

The Holy Qur’an is a book of reform and guidance that refines and challenges the established culture of the time from ignorant blemishes by designing and quoting cultural components. The similarity and harmony of the Qur’anic concepts with some cultural components of the time of Revelation have been taken by Qur’an critics to speak of the impact of environmental characteristics on the Qur’an.This article examines the origins of Dr. Soha’s thought and discusses the types of culture of the time. It concludes that the Qur’an has not been influenced by the culture of Ignorance Age, but has corrected and reformed it in different stages. The Qur’an condemns the culture which is characterized by the Ignorance Age and, thus, accepts the culture that is devoid of the stigma, taints and blemishes of it. It firstly purifies the eclectic culture of the time and secondly stabilizes and develops it. In short, to quote the cultural components of Ignorant Age does not mean that the Qur’an was influenced by the environmental culture prevailing in that time; rather, it signifies the wise employment of the culture of the time by God Almighty to correct that culture.

Variant readings of the Qur’an led to the emergence of different ‎diacritics and the expansion of ‎meaning of the verses. At times, these differences reached their culmination in a verse or even in a word; as a result, the study and identification of their acceptable, eloquent and even more eloquent aspects will provide a new vision of Qur’anic associations, diacritics, and semantic implications. Based on the descriptive-analytical method, this paper analyzes the ‎word al-arhām (the wombs) in the first verse of Surah al-Nisā’. It proves that the diacritics resulting from the ‎three ‎readings of the word al-arhām include ten aspects, each ‎carries its own ‎implication. Additionally, the ‎variant readings are an effective factor in creating ‎diacritics expressed by scholars and commentators for this word. These ‎diacritics have given different ‎syntactic combinations ‎and new implications for the ‎word al-arhām.‎

In his commentary of Al-Mīzān, Allameh Tabātabaeī reports narrations following the interpretation of verses. He selects and reports them with reference to the reason he did not mention the others, explicitly or implicitly. Findings show that at least twelve approaches are available in the book: 1. Not reporting of narrations contrary to the context, 2-Avoid quoting narrations unrelated to the verse, 3. Avoid quoting ineffective narrations on understanding verses, 4. Avoid quoting narrations that disagree with the interpretive perspective, 5. Avoid quoting similar narrations, 6. Paucity of reporting jurisprudential narrations, 7. Avoid reporting narrations of the cause of revelation indicating adaptation (jary wa tatbīq), 8. Avoid quoting the extensive report of narrations of the Qur’anic stories, 9. Not mentioning the narration due to its opposition to the Qur’an, 10. Not narrating the narration due to opposition to the intellect, 11. Not mentioning due to the possibility of forgery, 12. Not narrating a narration due to its idrāj.

The verse 33: 23 (Surah Al-Aḥzāb) is one of the Qur’anic verses with special social function. Since the exegetes often considered the letter “min” (من) in this verse in the meaning of “tab'īḍīyah” (تبعیضیه) and they did not emphasize the role of the Battle Khandaq in this verse, then they could not connect it to the previous verse in terms of coherence and hence they were bewildered. This research therefore discovers the coherence of this noble verse with its context to reveal exactly its social indications. Based on the descriptive-analytical method, through analyzing the linguistic method of “Tajrīd” with the letter “min” and finding its important examples in the holy Qur’an, the paper provides a new analysis of the logical coherence of this verse with the previous. In conclusion, it proves that this verse, in explaining the social effects of “Faith” versus the effects of “hypocrisy,” has complete coherence with its context and extra-textual information. Regarding the linguistic method of “Tajrīd” and honoring the resistance of the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH), it also considers their “Faith” as the cause of their courageous resistance against enemies.

One of the most important concerns of Rijāl scholars is how to identify common narrators in problematic sanads. Among the most frequent common narrators may be mentioned of “Ahmad bin Muhammad”, the name that is common by three narrators who lived at the age of Imam Jawad (AS) to Imam Hassan Askarī (AS), including Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Khālid Barqī, Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Isā al-Ash'arī Qomī and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Sayyārī. The first two narrators are the great authentic Shiite narrators, but the last is an exaggerator and heretic narrator. Using the method of historical and Rijāl study on the personality of Sayyārī and comparing his professors and narrators with Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Khālid Barqī’s and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Isā al-Ash'arī Qomī’s, the possibility of Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Sayyari is studied here through the Rijāl evaluating criteria.

Sometimes one word is mixed with another and brings two meanings. This is called Syntactic Tadmīn by scholars and commentators. This syntactic phenomenon, in terms of its role in the translation and interpretation of the Qur’an, has always been considered by Qur’anic commentators and scholars for interpreting verses. This article studies the phenomenon of Syntactic Tadmīn according to its position, function and role in the interpretation of Majma' al-Bayān in three types of verb, noun and letter. It is concluded that Tabrisī, like scholars, has accepted Tadmīn and used it as a syntactic Ta'līl in transitive and intransitive verbs, and vice versa, the type of Arabization following derivations and the firm state (of Arabization) of nouns and conditional tools. He did not use the term Syntactic Tadmīn at all, but he has used alternative terms such as “Meaning, That Is” for this syntactic phenomenon. Additionally, though this great commentator only referred to the Syntactic Tadmīn of some verses in his book, he ignored others, that may be an exegetical error as well.

Clarifying semantic coherence in a Qur’anic Surah, as a fundamental and challenging task, requires the identification of its key concepts. Most commentators use qualitative methods for this purpose, which may be influenced by their theoretical tendencies and individual mentality. Corpus-based analysis with quantitative and statistical methods can provide objective evidences that are relatively unbiased and provide a firm base for qualitative analysis. In this research, the keywords of a Surah are identified through corpus analysis and a coherent model is developed by analyzing their denotations and key concepts. In a case study of Surah al-Shawrā, it is proved that, in addition to the concepts of “revelation and prophecy” which have attracted the attention of commentators, this Surah implies to the concepts of “absolute power and authority” and “guardianship” of God in higher layers. Also, in fact, the concepts of “revelation and prophecy” are instances of the realization of the former concepts.

This paper analyzes and evaluates the critiques proposed by Dhahabī on the “Yawm al-Dār” Hadith referring an event happened in the early days of the holy Prophet’s invitation. Shi'a takes it as an evidence to the Imamate of Ali bin Abi Tālib (AS). The Sunni scholar, Dhahabī challenges the tradition through proposing critiques based on that he discredits it. This study is paramount considering: 1. The importance of the hadith to the succession of the holy Prophet (PBUH), 2. The state of Dhahabī, not only as a historian but also as a hadith expert. Based on the descriptive-analytical method, it concludes that Dhahabī’s sanad and rijāl critiques are not acceptable based on Sunni rijāl and contextual principals. Additionally, Sunni scholars, regarding Ali’s the authority of caliphate after the holy Prophet (PBUH), approve and accept the Yawm al-Dār tradition.

Lāt, ‘Uzzā and Manāt are mentioned once in the Qur’an, Surah al-Najm (Q. 53: 19-20). Since these deities did not have positive functions in the Islamic Monotheistic System, they have not been proposed extensively. Inquiring the background of these gods and reestablishing their functions, this research clarifies the semantic context of the verses related to them. Its main question is that “what were the functions of these gods (Lāt, ‘Uzzā and Manāt) in different historical periods and to what extent they are reflected in the Qur’anic application?” The study of the symbolic aspects of these gods shows that they were praised and consecrated in the Arabic culture not only as deities of hope, but also as deities of fear. According to the historical evidence, one may conclude that these two characteristics are implicitly pointed out in Surah al-Najm, all of them return to the God of Islam, Allah.

Shawkānī, the late prolific Sunni scholar, studied forged hadiths in the book entitled Al-Fawā'id Al-Majmū'a fi Al-Ahādīth Al-Mawdū'a (collected benefits of forged hadiths). In this book, besides rejecting the forgery of some hadiths, he considers others not fabricated basically. Based on content analytical method, this research extracts the methods and criteria applied to recognize forged hadiths and then analyzes and criticizes them. It is concluded that Shawkānī mainly applied sanad criticism in the quotation form to recognize forged hadiths, though traces of content criticism are seen there in his assessments. His evaluation is criticized somehow he did not follow a consistent procedure in his work. Moreover, contradictions are sometimes found between his words and practice.

James Bellamy, a former professor of Arabic literature at the University of Michigan and one of the greatest claimants of “textual criticism” and “correction of the official text of the Qur’an”, through citing  a narration from Imam Ali (AS) who after listening to the verse 56: 29 (و طلح منضود) denied the existence of the word “talh” in the Qur’an and despite the narrator’s request he considered the change of the Qur’an against the expediency, argues that this narration proves the definite existence of errors in the present text of the Qur’an. He believes that commentators, particularly the Companions including Imam Ali (AS), presumed the existence of errors in the text of the Holy Qur’an. Since this tradition is one of the reasons argued by James Bellamy to confirm the presumption of the existence of errors in the Holy Qur’an, this study examines its sanad (chain of transmitters) and content (implications) to show how scientific and reliable it is. Accordingly, reliable and important exegetical, rijāl and historical sources are used, as well as, the sayings of famous Islamic scholars are also referred. Additionally, as the issue of the existence of Qur’anic errors is a very important matter and has very serious effects, it should be examined that James Bellamy’s arguments have scientific accuracy and stability or his claim is a false premise that lacks sufficient evidence and, hence, his subsequent arguments and the amendment would be incorrect and unscientific.

Muhkam and Mutashābih are of the important issues in the Qur’anic exegeses. One of the Islamic West mystics and commentators in the sixth century AH was Ibn Barrajān. This research examines Ibn Barrajān’s view on Muhkam and Mutashābih. Based on documentary and descriptive-analytical method, it was concluded that Ibn Barrajān first referred to Mutashābih as the description of Muhkam. He based his idea on the hierarchy of Divine Revelation and its descendant, that is 'Umm al-Kitāb (i.e. Kitāb Mubīn or Lawh Mahfūz), Muqatta’a letters and the Qur’an. Second, he referred to Mutashābih as the similarity of verses with each other in miracle and truthfulness, the similarity of verses with the verses of 'Umm al-Kitāb, and the similarity of some verses with others, which cause reader’s confusion. According to Ibn Barrajān, Muqatta’a letters are Muhkam in a sense and Mutashābih in another sense. Also, it was not found that Ibn Barrajān was influenced by others. It seems his idea of Muhkam and Mutashābih is based on his own perception and Ijtihad of the verses and Prophetic narrations.