Author

Ali Akbar is a Research Assistant at Deakin University and at the University of Melbourne. His research interests include Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics, Modern Islamic Thought, classical and contemporary Qur’anic hermeneutics and Islamic Feminism. His work appeared in a number of key journals, including Middle Eastern Studies, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, and Islamic Quarterly. He is the author The Political Discourse of Decline and Backwardness among Contemporary Iranian Intellectuals (Farzan-e Rooz, 2017), written and published in Persian.L’auteur

Presentation

A number of innovative hermeneutical approaches emerged in Muslim exegetical discourse in the second half of the 20th century. Among these developments is a trend of systematic reform theology that emphasises a humanistic approach, whereby revelation is understood to be dependent not only upon its initiator, God, but also upon its recipient, Prophet Muhammad, who takes an active role in the process.
Ali Akbar examines the works of four noted scholars of Islam: Fazlur Rahman (Pakistan), Abdolkarim Soroush (Iran), Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari (Iran) and Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (Egypt). His study shows that the consequences of taking a humanistic approach to understanding revelation are not confined to the realm of speculation about God–human relations, but also to interpreting Qur’anic socio-political precepts. And the four scholars emerge as a distinctive group of Muslim thinkers who open up a new horizon in contemporary Islamic discourse.

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction

Some background studies
The study
The content
Chapter 2. Traditional Understanding of Revelation

Revelation in the Qurʾān
Two terms for revelation in the Qurʾān: wahòy and tanzīl
Revelation in the traditional accounts: Internal and direct, or external and mediated?
Revelation and its link to the personality of the Prophet
The Prophet’s feelings/experiences at the moment of revelation
God’s Words, revelation and the Qurʾān
Challenges to traditional theories of revelation
Conclusion
Chapter 3. Fazlur Rahman: Revelation Historicized

Rahman’s account of revelation
The sources of Rahman’s theory of revelation
The connection between revelation and Qurʾānic hermeneutics
Rahman’s hermeneutics in practice
Conclusion
Chapter 4. Abdolkarim Soroush: the Prophet’s Revelatory Experiences

Soroush’s theory of revelation
The sources of Soroush’s ideas about revelation
Soroush’s hermeneutics
The implications of Soroush’s hermeneutics
Conclusion
Chapter 5. Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari: How the Prophet saw the world

The need for reconsideration of traditional account of revelation
The sources of Shabestari’s theory of revelation
Shabestari’s hermeneutics
Shabestari’s hermeneutics in practice
Conclusion
Chapter 6. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd: Revelation as a Linguistic Manifestation of the Communicative Interaction between God and the Prophet

Abu Zayd’s account of revelation
The sources of Abu Zayd’s ideas about revelation
Abu Zayd’s hermeneutics
The implications of Abu Zayd’s hermeneutics
Conclusion
Chapter 7. Conclusion

Accounts of revelation
The roots of each scholar’s account of revelation
Hermeneutic approaches: theoretical level
Hermeneutic approaches functioning in practice
Final remarks