Australian Journal of Islamic Studies

The Māturīdī Tradition of Tafsīr

2026-04-20T00:36:25+00:00

Despite increasing scholarly interest in the Māturīdī school of dialectic theology and Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī’s Qur’an commentary among scholars of the history of kalam (rational theology) and tafsīr (Qur’anic exegesis), respectively, comparatively little attention has been devoted so far to the role of Qur’anic exegesis among later representatives of the school and to its relevance for the elaboration and transmission of Māturīdī thought in general. Accordingly, this article sketches the history of the Māturīdī tradition of Qur’anic exegesis. After discussing al-Māturīdī’s foundational Taʾwīlāt ahl as-Sunna and its relevance for the formulation and dissemination of his doctrines, it turns to the tafsīr works of later major Māturīdī scholars, most notably Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī and Abū l-Barakāt al-Nasafī. It presents an overview of the history and impact of Māturīdī(-influenced) Qur’anic interpretation until the 19^th century, as reflected in independent tafsīr works as well as in glosses and super-glosses to earlier texts of the genre, including to popular non-Māturīdī titles, such as al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Kashshāf and al-Bayḍāwī’s Anwār al-Tanzīl. Thereby, it is shown that the field of tafsīr has been an important locus for the assertion, elaboration and transmission of Māturīdī thought.

Qur’ānic Hermeneutics in the Ottoman Context

2026-04-20T02:17:25+00:00

This article reexamines Abū al-Suʿūd al-ʿImādī’s Irshād al-ʿAql al-Salīm as a milestone in the development of Qurʾānic hermeneutics during the Ottoman era. Departing from the conventional perspective that post-classical tafsīr (exegesis) replicated prior models, it contends that Abū al-Suʿūd formulated an interpretation where language, law, and theology were integrated into a cohesive hermeneutical framework. His commentary elucidates how balāgha (rhetoric) is not merely as a discipline of eloquence but also a medium for moral reasoning and legal authority. The article demonstrates that Abū al-Suʿūd reinvented tafsīr as an intellectual conduit between revelation and governance, integrating the Qurʾān into the moral and institutional framework of the Ottoman Empire through the lenses of linguistic coherence, legal reasoning, and rhetorical form. In response to previous works advocating for resurgence of interest in Ottoman exegesis, this research presents Irshād as a paradigm of interpretive innovation that reconciles the methodological distinctions between classical and contemporary Qurʾānic scholarship. It reestablishes the Ottoman exegetical effort as a vibrant domain of hermeneutical innovation, where the Qurʾān’s aesthetic influence, moral significance, and legal reasoning intersect. The book reframes Abū al-Suʿūd not only as an Ottoman jurist but as a hermeneutical builder whose conception of Qurʾānic coherence persists in influencing modern discussions on authority, interpretation, and ethical responsibility.

Tafsir for the Crimean Khan and Ottoman Sultan

2026-04-20T03:25:45+00:00

This research explores the exegetical legacy of Ibrāhīm al-Qirīmī/İbrâhim el-Kırımî (d. 1593) a prominent 16^th century Crimean Sufi scholar affiliated with the Halveti order and closely connected to Ottoman Sultan Murad III. Although often overlooked in the broader landscape of Islamic intellectual history, al-Qirīmī’s writings (particularly his Qur’anic commentary on the “Light Verse”, (Q. 24:35) reveal an important synthesis of Ibn ‘Arabī-inspired Sufi allegorical interpretation (tafsīr ishārī) and Sunni orthodoxy. Recent scholarship has corrected past attributions of his work and begun to uncover his role not only as a commentator but also as a key political actor and spiritual advisor in the Ottoman court. The article places al-Qirīmī within the historical and intellectual context of late 16^th century Ottoman-Persian conflicts, demonstrating how his writings reflect the religious and political discourse of his time. By analysing his hermeneutic methodology (particularly his Halveti-based theory of the soul’s stages of ascent and descent), this article covers al-Qirīmī’s contribution to the Qur’anic exegesis outside the medrese system and shows the political angles of Sufi commentary in early modern Islamic empire.

"The Clearest Point of the Story"

2026-04-20T03:25:39+00:00

This article examines the Qiṣaṣ i-Rabghūzī, the earliest and most influential Turkic rendition of the qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ tradition, composed by Nāṣir ad-Dīn Rabghūzī in 709–710 AH/1310–11 CE within the religiously plural and politically fractured world of the Chaghatay ulus (appanage). Focusing on Rabghūzī’s richly developed Story of Joseph (Yūsuf), this article explores how he adapts and expands a well-established Qurʾānic storytelling tradition, adding local lore, lyric poetry, mystical insight, and pedagogical innovation. Rabghūzī crafts a multilayered work designed not merely to make Islamic scripture and culture accessible to a Türki-speaking audience but to shape behaviour and belief within a mixed Islamic environment. This article argues that Rabghūzī’s concluding emphasis, “the clearest point of the story,” which forbids harbouring a bad opinion of forgiven offenders, constitutes a call for reconciliation addressed not only to the general populace, but particularly to the divided Chinggisid elite. Yet this teaching is only the distilled expression of a wider programme: Rabghūzī offers Joseph as a paradigm of just kingship, patient Islamisation, moral reform, and communal integration, inviting Mongol elites to realise a truly Islamic polity through Joseph-like virtues.

Qur’anic Footprints from Southeast Asia in the Turkic World

2026-04-20T03:25:40+00:00

This article links Southeast Asian tafsir and the Ottoman State by focusing on the first printed edition of the Tarjumān al-Mustafīd in Istanbul in 1884. The island of Sumatra and the Sultanate of Aceh played a crucial role in the spread of Islam and Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir) throughout the Malay world. A foundational name is that of ‘Abd al-Rā’ūf al-Fansūrī (ca. 1615–1693), one of the earliest Qur’anic commentators in the Malay world. His work, Tarjumān al-Mustafīd, represents the first – and for several centuries the only – complete interpretation of the Qur’an in the Malay language. The Tarjumān al-Mustafīd, which was written in Aceh in the late 17^th century, was completed with the help of ‘Abd al-Rā’ūf’s student and co-author, Bābā Dāwūd al-Rūmī (d. first half of 18^th century). The Tarjumān al-Mustafīd was first printed in Istanbul in 1884, from a manuscript brought to Istanbul and presented to Sultan Abdülhamid II by Ahmad al-Fatānī (d. 1908), supervisor of the Malay printing press in Mecca. This recently discovered manuscript of Tarjumān al-Mustafīd is held in the Faculty of Theology of Uludag University, Bursa.

Making Space for Women’s Tafsir

2026-04-20T03:25:42+00:00

This article explores how contemporary Muslim women claim hermeneutical agency in Qur’anic exegesis by bringing Turkish female exegetes into conversation with Indonesia’s feminist tafsir tradition. Focusing on Semra Kürün Çekmegil’s Okuyucu Tefsiri and Necla Yasdıman’s Kur’ân Tahlili, we trace two distinct yet complementary strategies: a reader-friendly, narrative-rich tafsir that centres on women’s lived experiences, and a lexicographic, grammar-based engagement that quietly widens semantic possibilities. Both authors work largely within Sunni orthodox frames, but negotiate verses on creation, marriage, qiwamah and social roles in ways that soften patriarchal readings and foreground reciprocity, compassion and moral responsibility. Their projects are then situated alongside three tendencies in Indonesian feminist exegesis that emerge from pesantren activism, university-based gender studies and institutional tafsir initiatives. Taken together, these cases show that women’s Qurʾanic interpretation in Türkiye and Indonesia does not always present as explicitly feminist; rather, it often operates as a calibrated agency from within the tradition, expanding women’s authority over the text, unsettling androcentric norms and diversifying what counts as legitimate tafsir today.

Towards A Holistic Framework For Scientific Exegesis

2026-04-20T03:25:44+00:00

Scientific exegesis (tafsir ilmi), which connects Qur’anic verses with scientific discoveries, remains a significant discourse in contemporary Islamic scholarship, particularly concerning its methodology and interpretive validity. This study contributes to this area by analysing and comparing the methodological approaches of Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır and Tantawi Jawhari in interpreting the Qur’anic verses on creation (ayat al-khalq) based on Hak Dini Kur’an Dili and al-Jawahir fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Karim. Employing a qualitative research method and thematic analysis, the study focuses on three key themes: the creation of the universe, the heavens, and the earth. Findings reveal that Elmalılı adopts a rational-theological approach rooted in the kalam tradition and emphasises balance between revelation and reason, whereas Tantawi applies an empirical-reformist approach, employing science as an instrument of da‘wah and intellectual renewal. Both affirm the harmony between revelation and science as manifestations of Divine unity. The synthesis of these two approaches offers a balanced epistemological framework that integrates revelation, reason, and empirical experience. Based on these findings, the study proposes the Holistic Scientific Exegesis Framework (HSEF)—an integrative model uniting naql (revelation), ‘aql (reason), and tajrībah (empirical observation). Future research is recommended to assess the effectiveness of HSEF in Islamic education, particularly in developing a holistic model of scientific literacy that balances cognitive, affective, and spiritual dimensions.

Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Qur’an Translation

2026-04-27T12:21:45+00:00

Mehmet Akif Ersoy (1873–1936), renowned Turkish poet and national anthem author, was pivotal in the War of Independence and early Republic. In his contract with the Directory of Religious Affairs (Turkey) for 6,000 lira to render the Qur’an’s meanings into modern Turkish, it was stipulated that the work use the term “a rendering of meanings” (meâl) rather than “translation” (tercüme) to emphasise its interpretive and scholarly nature and be published alongside Elmalılı’s exegesis. In 1932, amid reforms, he resigned and returned the payment. This article examines the linguistic, theological, and political challenges that Mehmet Akif encountered, analysing his initial acceptance of and eventual withdrawal from the Qur’an translation commission. It also highlights the significance of his partially completed translation, undertaken in Turkey and Egypt, portions of which were rediscovered in 1988 and later in 2016. The study argues that Mehmet Akif’s withdrawal stemmed from linguistic, theological, and political sensitivities, illustrating how the Qur’an translation project exposed tensions between religious tradition and secular nation-building, even as Mehmet Akif endorsed the Turkish national project but feared the erosion of Islamic identity.

Bridging Tafsīr Tradition and Modernity

2026-04-27T19:28:43+00:00

Ali Bulaç (b. 1951), a prominent Turkish Islamist intellectual and sociologist, has played a significant role in shaping contemporary debates on Islam, modernity, and religious thought in Türkiye. His seven-volume Qurʾānic commentary, Kur’an Dersleri (Dirāsāt al-Qur’ān), represents the culmination of decades of intellectual engagement and offers a valuable window into modern Turkish tafsīr discourse. This article examines Bulaç’s hermeneutical approach by analysing the intellectual and biographical conditions that prompted him to write a tafsīr, the methodological principles that structure his exegetical practice, and the broader scholarly tradition within which he situates himself. Building on this foundation, the study focuses on two representative case studies that illuminate the character of his interpretive project: (1) his engagement with the ongoing debate between contextualist and traditional approaches to Qurʾānic interpretation, and (2) his approach to women’s veiling (ḥijab/headscarf) in the Qur’ān. Through these cases, the article demonstrates how Bulaç seeks to uphold classical hermeneutical principles while responding critically to the theological, socio-ethical and intellectual challenges of the modern world. His tafsīr exemplifies a distinctive attempt to bridge inherited exegetical methods with contemporary concerns, making the Qurʾān intellectually rigorous and contextually meaningful for modern Turkish readers. Regarding the two cases, the article argues that Bulaç rejects modernist/contextualist approaches to revelation, particularly criticising Fazlurrahman and Abdolkarim Soroush’s interpretations. While the Qurʾān uses history as a narrative tool, not as a limiting context, the purpose of the Qurʾān’s judgments is universal. Although he often critiques modernist and reformist perspectives, he occasionally aligns with them on certain points, such as Jesus’ ascension and return. Finally, Bulaç believes in the universality of the Qurʾānic teaching for women’s veiling (ḥijab/Ali Bulaç headscarf), and the obligation to wear the headscarf is still in force for Muslim women due to the Qurʾānic reason (‘illa) of “identity.”

Defying the Hermeneutical Universal

2026-04-20T01:21:40+00:00

This article re-examines the interpretative methodologies of early Muslim exegetes, particularly ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, arguing that their premodern approach fostered a holistic understanding of the Qur’ānic text. Unlike modern frameworks that often impose rigid categorical divisions, classical tools of interpretation situate revelation within a dynamic temporal and historical context, thereby establishing a palpable nexus between the Divine message and lived human experience. Furthermore, there is pushback against modern interpretative categories that overemphasise sectarian divisions or uncritically borrowed terms from other monotheistic religions. By exploring the concepts of authenticity (ṣiḥḥah) and authority (thiqah) in early Qur’ānic exegesis, this article demonstrates how these two elements shaped an interpretive paradigm that is not merely a variation of broader hermeneutical theories but a distinct intellectual enterprise with its own logic and objectives. Ultimately, the significant contribution of the endeavour lies in the more nuanced representation of Islamic intellectual history, challenging anachronistic readings and illuminating the unique epistemological commitments that underpinned classical interpretative approaches.