عنوان

Authentic interpretation of classical Islamic texts:

Number

TLpq303808474

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Authentic interpretation of classical Islamic texts:

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

R. Y. M. M. Curtis

Title Proper by Another Author

An analysis of the introduction of Ibn Kathir's "Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim"

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

G. L. Windfuhr

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Michigan

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1989

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

339-339 p.

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

University of Michigan

Text preceding or following the note

1989

Text of Note

This study examines Isma'il ibn 'Umar ibn Kathir's (ca. 1300-1374) introduction to his exegesis of the Qur'an, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim. The analysis is predicated upon the importance of understanding a foreign, classical and culturally distant text approximate to the understanding of the original audience; they were insiders. To authentically interpret a text as they did, the researcher must be apprised of the knowledge that the author assumed of his audience and of the historical context of the text and its author. This includes recognizing the formal and rhetorical structures of the literature and knowing the background knowledge of the audience, their linguistic approach to the language, and the intertextual references of the text. Accordingly, this study focuses on certain textual relations. Major facets were the theme structure and foreground parts of the text; words and names whose meanings may be arcane to those outside of the culture of the text; and the entities that influenced the text, its transmission, and reception. The study answers the following: what were the intellectual forces that shaped Ibn Kathir's introduction? how are they reflected therein? and what facets of the text are essential to an insider's understanding of it, that is, for an authentic interpretation? The discussion shows that Ibn Kathir's text reflects the influence and training of his mentors and of Ahmad ibn 'Adb al-Halim ibn Taymiyah (d. 728/1328) in particular; his text composes the second part of Ibn Kathir's introduction. These individuals were elite Damascene scholars and adherents of Ibn Taymiyah's religious ideology. The study demonstrates that key to understanding Ibn Kathir's introduction and other classical Islamic texts is familiarity with the ideology and education of the writer, for the classical author was writing for those whose education and culture were similar to his. Authentic interpretation requires the researcher to have a background in linguistics particularly in text or discourse analysis and in Arabic grammar, Islamic theology, the science of hadith, and the nascent era of Islam.

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i r

Ibn Kath

Language, literature and linguistics

Philosophy, religion and theology

Social sciences

G. L. Windfuhr

R. Y. M. M. Curtis

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y