The color of Philosophicalism among a group of contemporary Shia commentators: A typical applied Study on the interpretation of “The Concepts of the Qur’an”

Abstract

Undoubtedly, for the interpretation of the Qur’an, there are principles and rules that  attention for them are mandatory for the interpreter of the Qur’an, among these principles is to follow the method of the Salaf and not mix the interpretation with anything else.  This is what the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned: “Whoever interprets the Qur’an based on his own view and opinion, his place is Hell.”  For this reason, scholars have prohibited the interpretation of the Qur’an based on the opinions of philosophers and the wonders of their philosophy, and the interpreter should not use philosophers as his guide in the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an.   We see that some Shia commentators criticize the Sunnis and claim that the Sunnis have harmed themselves by not taking tafsir from its pure sources, “the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet” (as will be explained in this article) but they themselves are in a worse situation than what they criticize others for, and that is abandoning the interpretation of the Sahaba and Tabi‘in and following the views of the philosophers and this category applies exactly to them who say: They see straw in the eyes of others, but they do not see the branch of the tree in their own eyes. This discussion clarifies the extent of the influence of Philosophicalism on the contemporary interpretations of the Shiites through a brief sampling of an important interpretation of their interpretations, that is, the interpretation of “The Concepts of the Qur’an” by Jafar Subhani, who is considered one of the most prominent contemporary scholars and one of the critics of sunnite (as I mentioned in this article) in Iran.  Also, this article informs us about the sources of contemporary Shiite interpretations, that is, those who are influenced by them in rationality and theology. From this discussion, it becomes clear to the respected reader, the method of interpretation by opinion in the eyes of contemporary Shia.  The results of this discussion show that many contemporary Shiite scholars followed the path of philosophers such as Mulla Sadra, Ibn Sina, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and others. Not only have they filled their interpretations based on the opinions of these scholars and the opinions of the Mu’tazila sect before these scholars, but, they have considered the opinions of those scientists as an illuminating light for the light of their path In this article, a critical descriptive method is used, and the field of applying and taking examples, the interpretation of “The Concepts of the Qur’an” by Ayatollah Jafar Subhani, is determined.