MODERN MUSLIM INTELLECTUALS AND THE QUR’AN : Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

The sixth chapter of the book is on the noted Egypt scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd who had to flee Egypt as his views on the Quranic text were not acceptable to the Islamic orthodoxy. This chapter has been contributed by Navid Kermani.  Navid says "In Abu Zayd's view, the outstanding civilising role of the Qur'an makes Arab culture 'a culture of the text' (hadarat alnass). Indeed, he goes so far as to describe it as the culture of the text par excellence.

 

According to Nasr, Arab culture was spawned by 'man's confrontation (jadal) with reality, and his dialogue (hiwar) with the text. Nasr also maintains significantly that to define Arab-Islamic civilisation as a culture of the text implies that it is also a culture of interpretation (hadrat al-ta'wil). Nasr, like other Muslim intellectuals we are discussing here, also maintains that the language of the Qur'an—like any other text—is not self explanatory and its meaning depends on the intellectual and cultural horizon of the reader (intaj dalalatihi). Hence the message of the text can only be revealed by its interpreters.

 

There have been different interpretations of the Quran and the main sects of Islam are also based on these differing interpretations. If there could be so many interpretations in early Islam, how can one avoid newer interpretations today as socio-cultural and political conditions have changed drastically ever since? Abu Zayd goes even further and makes an interesting point:

The [Qur'anic] text changed from the very first moment—that is, when the Prophet recited it at the moment of its revelation—from its existence as a divine text (nass ilahi), and became something understandable, a human text (nass insani), because it changed from revelation to interpretation (l-annahu tahawwala min al-tanzil ila a-ta'wil).

 

The Prophet's understanding of the text is one of the first phases of movement resulting from the text's connection with the human intellect.

 

Thus Abu Zayd lays great emphasis on understanding or interpretation of the text. Even personal background very much influences this understanding. If the same text is read before a group of people of the same spatio-temporal background it is likely to be understood in different ways by the individual members of the group if their intellectual development differs. Its transformation from divine revelation to human understanding plays a vital role in acting according to the text.

 

Abu Zayd makes another point about Prophet's understanding of the Qur'anic text. According to him, we cannot absolutise the Prophet's understanding of the text. "Such a claim [that the Prophet's understanding is sacred] leads to a kind of polytheism, because it equates the Absolute with the relative and the constant with the transient; and more specifically, because it equates the Divine Intent with the human understanding of this Intent, even in the case of the Messenger's understanding. It is a claim that leads to an idolization of a conferral of sainthood upon the Prophet, by concealing the Truth that he was a human, and by failing to present clearly enough the fact that he was merely a prophet."

 

Of course this is too radical a position to be accepted by the Muslims in general. The hadith literature plays very important role in tafsir or interpretation of the Qur'an in the Islamic world. The Prophet's understanding of the Qur'anic text is indeed considered sacred and absolute by the Muslims. More important is to challenge the understanding of the text by the Prophet's companions. But irony is that even the understanding of the Qur'an by the Prophet's companions is considered almost as absolute as that of the Prophet's. The Prophet's companions had radically different backgrounds from plain and illiterate Bedouins to those who had a highly developed and sophisticated intellectual background.

 

Also, one must make distinction between 'ibadat and mu’amalat in tafsir of the Qur'an. 'Ibadat should be left untouched and they can be treated as constant while the Qur'anic verses dealing with interpersonal issues (mu’amalat) could be subjected to different interpretations. Issues pertaining to women's rights have assumed much greater importance today and the Qur'anic injunctions in this and other respects of this nature could be opened to re-reading and re-interpretation. 

 

Even this is a difficult struggle but worth waging for realising the universal potential of Islam.  The Muslims today almost 'worship' not only the companions of the prophet but also companions of the companions (tab'a tabi'in and tab'a tab'a tabiin) and their understanding of the Qur'an is absolutised. The Muslims have to come out of that at least in matters of mu’amalat. If that happens, it will be a great achievement for the Islamic world.