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Vol. 11 No. 3 (2026)
Special Issue: Risale-i Nur Studies and Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s Intellectual Legacy

Special Issue: Risale-i Nur Studies and Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s Intellectual Legacy

Reform-Oriented Exegesis in the Thought of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi: Methodological Insights from the Risale-I Nur

https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v11i3.1099

Published 14.05.2026

  • Ahmed S.A Alqodsi
    • ,
  • Sharifah Norshah Bani Syed Bidin
Ahmed S.A Alqodsi
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)

Sharifah Norshah Bani Syed Bidin
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

Abstract

This study examines Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s reform-oriented exegetical approach grounded in iṣlaḥ (ethical and social rectification) and articulated through tajdid (renewal) in the Risale-i Nur. It highlights how he connects Qur’anic discourse to contemporary realities and rearticulates Islamic understanding towards the Qur’an’s objectives. Unlike previous scholarship that mainly emphasises the social, political, or educational aspects of Nursi’s thought, this research foregrounds his exegetical method as a distinctive contribution to modern Qur’anic studies.

Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach, the study analyses selected interpretive passages from the Risale-i Nur to identify Nursi’s methodological strategies. The findings indicate that he employed multiple interpretive mechanisms: interpretation by the Qur’an, interpretation by the Sunnah, and rational reflection integrated with spiritual insight, while consistently emphasising the purposive and ethical dimensions of the Qur’anic text.

The study concludes that Nursi’s reform-oriented exegesis grounded in iṣlaḥ and tajdid offers a coherent and integrative framework that integrates textual, rational, and spiritual elements, thereby enriching the field of contemporary Qur’anic interpretation. This framework provides not only a conceptual model for understanding reform within an Islamic intellectual framework, but also practical insights for addressing current intellectual, social, and moral challenges faced by Muslim societies.

Keywords

Reform-oriented exegesis, Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur, Qur’anic objectives, religious reform

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References

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