著者

小杉泰

雑誌

東洋学報 / The Toyo Gakuho

巻号頁・発行日

vol.76, no.1, pp.112-138, 1994-10

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The exegesis of the Qur'an is an indispensable part of the history of Islamic thought, as all religions put importance upon the interpretation of their sacred texts. 'Ilm al-tafsīr, or the science of Qur'anic exegesis, is abundant in its resources both in classical and modem periods. This field, however, has been virtually ignored, until recently, in Islamic studies in the West as well as in Japan.In order to discuss each work in the field of tafsīr, we need a comprehensive framework for analysis. This article is an attempt to create a set of typological standards to differentiate the contents of each work and to analyze them. It proposes to differentiate tafsīr at three levels: in terms of the Qur'anic texts dealt with, (i) comprehensive, (ii) partial, and (iii) difficult words only; in terms of modes of exegesis, (a) word by word (in the order of the Qur'anic passages), (b) generic, and (c) by subject. In terms of methodology, (1) by other Qur'anic passages, (2) by Hadith, (3) by opinions of the early generations, (4) linguistic and grammatical, (5) theological, (6) philosophical, (7) legal and juristic, (8) mystical, (9) social, (10) by selection of the preceding exegeses, and (11) encyclopedic.Through examination of works from both classical and modern periods using these categories, it is strongly felt that these can be applied without separating the classical and the modern, and that the continuity between the two should be emphasized so that we can formulate a comprehensive view of tafsīr literatures.