Epistemological Infiltration in Qur’anic Exegesis: Shahrur’s Reading of Sab’al-Mathani Verse
Keywords:
Sabʿal-Mathānī, Muḥammad Shaḥrūr, Al-Dakhīl wa al-Aṣīl, Tafsīr bi al-Raʾy, Qur’anic HermeneuticsAbstract
This article examines Muḥammad Shaḥrūr’s interpretation of sabʿal-mathānī (Q 15:87) in al-Kitāb wa al-Qurʾān: Qirāʾah Muʿāṣirah through the al-dakhīl wa al-aṣīl fī al-tafsīr framework. The classical tradition, supported by two Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī reports, identifies the expression with Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, whereas Shaḥrūr reads it as the seven groups of disjoined letters. Using qualitative library research with directed content analysis and comparative-critical reading, the study maps his premises, procedures and conclusions and evaluates them against explicit criteria of valid interpretation. The findings show that his reading rests on syntactic analysis and anti-synonymy, and constitutes al-dakhīl bi al-raʾy in an epistemological, not narrational, sense because it displaces an explicit prophetic explanation without evidence of equivalent rank. The article proposes a criteria-based model that extends al-dakhīl theory to methodological infiltration.
Abstrak
Artikel ini mengkaji penafsiran Muḥammad Shaḥrūr atas sabʿal-mathānī (Q 15:87) dalam al-Kitāb wa al-Qurʾān: Qirāʾah Muʿāṣirah melalui kerangka al-dakhīl wa al-aṣīl fī al-tafsīr. Tradisi klasik, yang didukung dua riwayat Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, mengidentifikasi ungkapan ini dengan Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, sedangkan Shaḥrūr membacanya sebagai tujuh kelompok huruf terpisah. Dengan riset kepustakaan kualitatif, analisis konten terarah, dan pembacaan komparatif-kritis, studi ini memetakan premis, prosedur, dan kesimpulan Shaḥrūr, lalu mengevaluasinya berdasarkan kriteria penafsiran yang valid. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa pembacaannya bertumpu pada analisis sintaksis dan prinsip antisinonimi, serta tergolong al-dakhīl bi al-raʾy secara epistemologis, bukan naratif, karena menggeser penjelasan kenabian yang eksplisit tanpa bukti sepadan. Artikel ini mengusulkan perluasan teori al-dakhīl pada infiltrasi metodologis melalui model berbasis kriteria.
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