Quranic hermeneutics

Hermeneutics (/hɜːrməˈnjuːtɪks/) is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts on the basis of art of understanding and communication. Modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as semiotics, presuppositions, and pre-understandings. Hermeneutics has been broadly applied in the humanities, especially in law, history and theology. The terms hermeneutics and exegesis are sometimes used interchangeably. While hermeneutics is a wider discipline which includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication, exegesis (tafsir) focuses primarily upon the word and grammar of texts.

Qur'anic hermeneutics is the study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of the Qur'an, the central text of Islam. Since the early centuries of Islam, scholars have sought to mine the wealth of its meanings by developing a variety of different methods of tafsir. The two main types of verses to be interpreted are Muhkamat (clear verse) and Mutashabihat (ambiguous verse). From the early periods, Islamic scholars began to understand and interpret the Quran with different backgrounds and tendencies. These tendencies are also reflected in the emergence of different Islamic sects at the intellectual level; The three primarily established typologies of tafsir are Tafsir bi'r-Riwayah (sunni), tafsir bi-al-diraya (Shi'i; Opinion), and allegory (Sufi). The traditional approach to Quranic exegesis relies heavily on narrations supported by a chain of transmission (isnad).

Many of the traditional methods of interpretation are currently being challenged with a more modern or contemporary approachs. There are many challenges of addressing modern day human rights, women and minority groups through the traditional exegesis. The hermeneutical model can be considered an expanded approach to the classical concept of "interpretation through reason" or "tafsir bi-al-dirayah" and questioning. On the other hand, Tafsir as described by Andrew Rippin "is the humanization of the divine word and the divinization of the human spirit." Therefore, hermeneutical analyses, in contrast to tafsir, can be seen as an attempt to understand the text through a more secular approach, from a social sciences perspective. Stories containing mysterious or –according to traditional interpretations– supernatural elements, such as the Muqatta'at letters, the story of Solomon, Dhul-Qarnayn, and Ya'juc and Ma'juj, Taghut etc can be shed on lights so they gain meaningful processes by which these stories become legends through a serious cultural-anthropological background study. Furthermore, considering the findings of the revisionist school of Islamic studies, it is clear that the expression of certain narrative concepts in the Quran that refer to places, people, and events (such as Quraysh, Ababil, and Abu Lahab) in a single word or a few short sentences will require new interpretations and meanings that differ from the traditional narrative within this framework of understanding.