Scientific Exegesis

Exegesis

Important Exegeses Shia Exegeses Tafsir al-Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) Tafsir Abi l-Jarud Tafsir al-Qummi Tafsir al-'Ayyashi Al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Qur'an Majma' al-bayan Tafsir al-safi Al-Mizan Sunni Exegeses Tafsir Jami' al-Bayan Al-Muharrar al-Wajiz Tafsir al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim Tafsir Jalalayn

Exegetic Approaches Comparative Exegesis Scientific Exegesis Contemporary Exegesis Historical Exegesis Philosophical Exegesis Theological Exegesis Mystical Exegesis Literary Exegesis Jurisprudential Exegesis

Exegetic Methodology Qur'an by Qur'an Exegesis Hadith-Based Quranic Exegesis Intellectual Exegesis Ijtihadi Exegesis

Writing Styles Sequential Exegesis Thematic Exegesis

Exegetic Terminologies Asbab al-Nuzul Muhkam and Mutashabih (Decisive and Allegorical) Tahaddi Makki and Madani Nasikh and Mansukh (Abrogating and Abrogated) Ayat al-Ahkam I'Jaz (Miraculousness of Qur'an) Jary (Inclusion)

Scientific exegesis (Arabic: التَفْسير العِلْمي) is an approach to Quranic exegesis, which involves interpreting Quranic verses using the findings of empirical sciences. This exegetical approach has a long history among Muslims and gained significant attention in the fourteenth century AH due to efforts to address the apparent conflict between science and religion and to demonstrate the Quran's scientific miracles.

The historical development of scientific exegesis of the Quran has undergone three stages. The first stage began from the late first century to the fifth century AH. During the fifth century, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) sought to align Quranic verses with Ptolemaic astronomy. In the sixth century AH, al-Ghazali influenced the formation of the second stage. The third stage emerged with the rise of the empiricist school in eighteenth-century Europe.

Shia and Sunni scholars hold three perspectives regarding the Quran's comprehensiveness in relation to other sciences. One group believes that all sciences are encompassed within the Quran, another considers the Quran solely a book of guidance, and a third group distinguishes between various sciences. Notable works of scientific exegesis include Islam and Astronomy by Sayyid Hibatuddin Shahrestani and A Ray from the Quran (Partuwi az Qur’an) by Sayyid Mahmoud Taleghani, both Shia scholars, as well as al-Jawahir fi Tafsir al-Qur’an by al-Tantawi al-Jawhari, a Sunni scholar.

Concept and Significance

Scientific exegesis involves interpreting the meaning of Quranic verses using findings from empirical sciences. However, according to Mohammad Ali Rezaei Esfahani, a researcher of Quranic sciences, there are various definitions of scientific exegesis, with each interpreter defining it based on their own approach. In the context of "scientific exegesis," the term "science" refers to empirical sciences.

Numerous Quranic verses have come to be known as scientific verses, which are estimated to number up to 750. Scientific exegesis, as an approach to Quranic interpretation, has a long history among Muslims. Although some trace its origins to the second century AH, written records indicate that examples of this approach can be observed in the fourth century AH.

In the fourteenth century AH (twentieth century), interest in scientific exegesis grew among Islamic communities, particularly in Egypt, Iran, and India. In addition to Quranic exegetes, experts in empirical sciences also engaged with this exegetical approach. Facing the science-religion conflict originating from Europe, Muslims endeavored to demonstrate that Islam is not only compatible with science but also supportive of it.

It is said that the science-religion conflict, which emerged in the West primarily due to the perceived inability of the Christian scripture to address scientific findings, gradually spread to the Islamic world. In response, Muslim scholars sought to demonstrate Islam's compatibility with modern science by aligning the apparent meanings of Quranic verses and hadiths with empirical sciences. Some researchers attribute the rise of scientific exegesis among Shia and Sunni scholars to efforts to prove the Quran's scientific miracles. Mohammad Hadi Marefat, a scholar of Quranic studies, considered the scientific miracles of the Quran as one dimension of its miraculous nature and among its aspects of the Quranic challenge (tahaddi).

Stages of Scientic Exegesis

It is said that the scientific exegesis of the Quran has undergone three historical stages. The first stage, spanning from the late first century to the fifth century AH, began with the translation of Greek works into Arabic and Islamic conquests. During this period, scholars such as Ibn Sina sought to align Quranic verses with Ptolemaic astronomy.

Accordingly, the second stage of scientific exegesis began to develop in the sixth century AH, when Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH) and a group of scholars believed that all sciences are present in the Quran and can be derived from its verses. These two approaches persisted for centuries. Abu al-Futuh al-Razi (d. 556 AH) is recognized as the first Shia exegete to engage in scientific exegesis of the Quran. During this period, Mulla Sadra (d. 1050 AH) also referenced this exegetical approach in parts of his work, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim.

The third stage of the scientific exegesis trend emerged due to the spread of empiricism in Europe and the development of empirical sciences in the West during the eighteenth century CE. In this period, Muslims sought to demonstrate that there is no conflict between religion and science. Thus, they drew upon scientific findings to prove the Quran's scientific miracles and employed empirical sciences to enhance their understanding of the Quran.

Views on Scientific Exegesis

According to some researchers, in response to the question "Are all human sciences present in the Quran?", several perspectives on scientific exegesis emerged.

First View: Proponents

Some scholars believe that all human sciences are present in the Quran. According to Rezaei Esfahani, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, a Sunni scholar in the fifth century AH, was the first to propose this view in his works Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din and Jawahir al-Qur’an. Among Shia scholars, notable figures include Ibn Sina (d. 428 AH), al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Abu al-Futuh al-Razi, ‘Allama al-Majlisi (d. 1111 AH), Mulla Sadra, al-Fayd al-Kashani (d. 1091 AH), Sayyid Hibatuddin Shahrestani (d. 1386 AH), Sayyid Mahmoud Taleghani (d. 1358 SH), Mohammad Taghi Shariati (d. 1366 SH), and Mehdi Bazargan (d. 1373 SH). Among Sunni scholars, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606 AH) and al-Tantawi al-Jawhari (b. 1862 CE) were prominent scholars who continued scientific exegesis.

Some of the reasons provided by this group are as follows:

• The apparent meaning of certain verses suggests that the Quran encompasses everything. For example, verse 89 of Surah al-Nahl states, "We have sent down the Book to you as a clarification of all things."

• Verses that refer to various sciences; for instance, verse 47 of Surah al-Anbiya’, "We suffice as reckoners," is said to allude to mathematical sciences.

Second View: Opponents

Opponents of scientific exegesis view the Quran solely as a book of guidance and religion, asserting that it was not revealed to address empirical matters. This perspective is said to be expressed in the writings of Fadl ibn Hasan al-Tabrisi (d. 548 AH), a Shia scholar, and Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH), a Maliki jurist, who was among the first to oppose the views of al-Ghazali and others. Other Sunni opponents of scientific exegesis include Mahmud Shaltut (d. 1964 CE), Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi (d. 1397 AH), and Amin al-Khuli.

Some of the reasons for this view are as follows:

• The "Book" (Kitab) mentioned in verse 89 of Surah al-Nahl, which states "a clarification of all things," refers to the Preserved Tablet (Lawh Mahfuz), and the Quran does not contain all rational and traditional sciences.

• Interpreting Quranic verses with sciences such as astronomy, natural sciences, and the like involves undue complexity, as the illiterate Arabs to whom the Quran was revealed had no knowledge of such matters.

Third View: Distinction

This group believes that the Quran is both a book of guidance and contains verses related to scientific matters. Among Shia scholars, supporters of this view include Allama Tabataba’i (d. 1360 Sh), Naser Makarem Shirazi (b. 1305 Sh), Muhammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi (d. 1399 Sh), Mohammad Hadi Marefat (d. 1385 Sh), and Jafar Sobhani (b. 1308 Sh). Among Sunni scholars, proponents include al-Zamakhshari (d. 538 AH), Sayyid Qutb (d. 1906 CE), Rashid Rida (d. 1935 CE), and Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi (d. 1945 CE).

Some of the reasons provided by this group are as follows:

• The Quran is a book of guidance, ethics, and moral training, intended to lead humanity toward virtue and knowledge of God. Therefore, it is not necessary for it to comprehensively detail all empirical scientific matters.

• One cannot cite the apparent meaning of verses suggesting that the Quran encompasses everything as, on the one hand, some exegetes have explicitly rejected this literal interpretation, limiting it to matters pertaining to human guidance, and on the other hand, this view contradicts evident facts, as many physics and chemistry formulas are not found in the Quran.

• The purpose of verses referring to natural sciences is not to reveal geometric or chemical formulas; rather, such references are marginal, serving as examples, not as a means of teaching science.

Methods

Scientific exegesis has various types and approaches, which are as follows:

Deriving All Sciences from the Quran

As for methods of extracting sciences from the Quran, some exegetes have sought to derive all sciences from the apparent meanings of its verses. This group, including al-Ghazali and Ibn Abi al-Fadl al-Mursi (d. 655 AH), bases their belief on the principle that everything is contained within the Quran. For example, they have inferred medical science from verse 80 of Surah al-Shu'ara, "and when I get sick, it is He who cures me." According to Quranic scholars, in this approach, exegetes engage in esoteric interpretation (ta'wil) of the verses.

Applying Scientific Theories to the Quran

The application approach, which became prevalent in the twentieth century CE in countries such as Egypt and Iran, seeks to align proven scientific theories and discoveries from empirical sciences with the apparent meanings of Quranic verses. However, some researchers have labeled this approach as "imposition" rather than mere "application." Abd al-Razzaq Nawfal (d. 1984 CE) was among the exegetes who followed this method. For instance, in verse 189 of Surah al-A'raf ("It is He who created you from a single soul, and made from it its mate"), he interpreted the word "nafs" (soul) as "proton" and "zawj" (mate) as "electron," claiming that the Quran refers to the creation of humans from positive and negative atomic particles. According to Allama Tabataba’i, this approach cannot be considered true "exegesis" but is instead an application, which is an undesirable practice.

Employing the Sciences to Understand the Quran

In the employment approach, some exegetes strive to provide a better understanding of Quranic verses by utilizing various sciences. In this method, sciences are employed to elucidate and uncover the meanings of verses for a deeper comprehension. For example, the general law of plant pairing was discovered in the seventeenth century CE, whereas the Quran, approximately a thousand years earlier, referred to this concept in verse 36 of Surah Ya-Sin: "Immaculate is He who has created all the pairs of what the earth grows, and of themselves, and of what they do not know."

It is said that this approach, known as moderate scientific exegesis, is considered the best and only valid method of scientific exegesis. In this method, the exegete must avoid any improper esoteric interpretation or subjective exegesis and focus solely on the probable meanings of the Quran, as empirical sciences are conjectural and non-certain. It is also stated that by adopting this method, the scientific miracles of the Quran can be demonstrated.

Examples of Scientific Exegesis

Numerous exegeses have been written with a scientific approach. Some books that were entirely authored with a scientific exegesis perspective are as follows:

Monographs

Numerous books have been written on the scientific exegesis of the Quran, some of which include:

An introduction to the scientific exegesis of the Holy Quran (Daramadi bar tafsir-i ‘ilmi-yi Qur’an-i Karim) by Mohammad Ali Rezaei Esfahani, published by Osveh Publications in 1375 Sh. This book explores the concept of scientific exegesis, discussing its criteria, as well as the arguments of its proponents and opponents.

Research on the scientific miracles of the Quran (Pazhuhishi dar i‘jaz-i ‘ilmi-yi Qur’an), another work by Mohammad Ali Rezaei Esfahani, published by Mobin Book Publications in 1383 Sh. In this book, the author provides an introduction to scientific exegesis and specifically examines instances and examples of empirical sciences that align with Quranic verses.

The evolution and development of scientific exegesis of the Quran (Sayr-i tadwin wa tatawwur-i tafsir-i ‘ilmi-yi Qur’an) by Naser Rafiei, published by the World Center for Islamic Sciences in 1386 Sh. The author traces the historical development of scientific exegesis, explores the contributions of Shia and Sunni exegetes, and evaluates the arguments of both supporters and opponents of this approach.