reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

58 Nasr Abu Zaydthe commencement (isti 'naj) of a new sentenceY Secondly, to explain the veryexistence of ambiguous passages, 'Abd al-Jabbiir invokes the concept of God'sproviding humans with their best welfare (al-a$ lab), explaining that the ambiguousis intended to stimulate human reason into action.This declaration of the Qur'iin- that it contains clear verses (ayat mu(licamat)that form the backbone of the Book (umm al-ldtab), as well as ambiguous verses(ayat mutashabihat)- is taken by 'Abd al-Jabbiir to support the Mu'taziljtes'sworldview briefly presented in this section. This worldview also has to besupported by the Qur'iinic discourse. To this end, 'Abd al-Jabbiir differentiatesbetween three levels of the Qur'iinic discourse:That which the discourse conveys by itself, independent from intellectualinference. These are the legal regulations, al-a(lkam al-shar 'iyya, whichreason alone cannot attain; they are known only through the Qur' iinicdiscourse, naft al-khitab.2 That which both the Qur' iinic discourse and the intellectual inference bothequally convey. This is the le~el of signification related to the domain ofpromise and threat, al-wa 'd wa-1-wa 'fd. 'Abd al-Jabbiir includes in this levelthe issue of seeing God (ru 'yat Allah) in the afterlife with the human eye,which the opponents of the Mu 'tazilites sustain as one of God's promises tothe pious believers. The Mu' tazilites maintain that both the Qur' iinic discourseand rational evidence reject their opponents' claim. 223 The third level is the domain ofthe rational level where the Qur' iinic discoursealone cannot be properly understood. This is the domain of 'ad! and taw(lfd,in which rational inference alone reaches this knowledge.So, dependent on rational inference and their explanation of the different aspectsof the Qur'iinic declaration in 3:7, the Mu'tazilites are able to tackle any apparentcontradiction in the Qur'iinic discourse. It suffices now to present their solution oftwo seemingly contradictory cases in the Qur'iin: one related to tawbfd and theother related to 'ad!.One, the presentation of God in the Qur'iin: some passages of the Qur'iin statethat there is no resemblance between God and his creation/man, such as Chapter112 called a/-Ikhla$ ("The True Devotion"). This idea is also emphasized in Q2:255, known as the "Chair Verse." But there are other passages in which God ispresented with corporal features such as hands (38: 1 0) and eyes (20:39), and evenhuman qualities like hatred (9:47), love (5:54) and deception (8:30).Two, the issue of free will or, to be precise, the issue of khalq al-aj'al, i.e.whether human actions are created by human power and free choice or by God:Towards understanding the Qur 'an's worldview 59again, the Qur'iin provides two conflicting answers. The first is that God is thecreator of all human actions (Q 22:14; 37:96), the creator of t;la/al ("leadingastray") and huda ("guidance") (Q 4:88; 6:125; 12:27; 14:4, 27; 16:93; 30:29;35:8; 74:31); the second is that humans are responsible for their choice of t;lala/ orhuda (Q 5:105; 10:108; 17:15; 27:92).The Mu'tazilites first identified the Qur'iinic passages expressing God's tran­... scendence as clear (mubkam) and the passages that express His anthropomorphic.··, features as ambiguous (mutashabih). Likewise, the passages that underline free:Will are identified as clear and those that suggest predestination as ambiguous.· Second, they employ the concept of figurative speech, majaz, to interpret·. the ambiguous verses in conformity with the clear verses; majiiz provided a.; powerful instrument of ta 'wfl, i.e. to interpret the text of the Qur' iin beyond the··' . immediate meaning according to the Mu'tazilites' transcendental theology. 23 The··.opponents of the Mu'tazilites, the I:Ianbalites and later the Ash'arites, made use of· the same method; they acknowledged the existence of mubkam-mutshabih, but ·they identified them differently. What the Mu'tazilites considered as clear they· considered ambiguous, and vice versa. Thus the Qur'iin became the battlefieldof a fierce intellectual and political conflict. The dispute was not only about. meaning but also entailed the structure of the text of the Qur' iin, i.e. the identificationof the parts which are clear and those which are ambiguous. Both the'Mu' tazilites and their opponents agree on the principle, but they disagree about itsimplementation.In conclusion, one might infer that the Mutazilites' worldview, although shapedby theological concerns, is more humanistic than that of their opponents. God acts.. ··in accordance with certain ethical values He obliged Himselfto follow. According.>to the Mu'tazilites' worldview, .God is not a tyrant. The opponents of theMu' tazilites emphasize the image of God as a king who forces his subjects to actthis or that way and then judges and punishes whomever He wants and rewardswhomever He likes. The image of God in the Mu' tazilite worldview is also that of·· . king, but of a king who rules in accordance with the ethical constitution of a·· republic.The ~fifis' approach to the Qur' an•· Since this intellectual dispute concerning the structure and the meaning of the.· Qur'iin between the Mu'tazilites and their opponents is, in fact, foremost an··· .. expression of socio-political conflict, I carried the question of the hermeneutics of: the Qur'iin to the context of Sufism, or mysticism- a movement supposedly·void of political interests. This was the topic of my PhD thesis, on the Qur'iinic21 For the different opinions about the two possible articulations of the verse and the different interpretationfor each articulation, see al-TabarT, Abu Ja' far Mul)ammad b. Jarir, Jami 'al-bayiin . 'an/a 'wil iiya/-Qur 'iin, ed. Mahmfid Mul.minmad Shakir, Beirut: Mu' assasat al-Risiila, 2000, 6:200-6.22 For more details on the Mu'tazilite position, see al-lttijiih a/- 'aqlfji-1-taftir, I 90-215.· 23 For a detailed analysis of the concept of Ia 'wf/ vis-a-vis taftlr, see my Mafhiim an-Na$$.' Dirasa ji'ult7m '1-Qur'iin ("The Concept of the Text: study in the sciences of the Qur'an"), Beirut andCasablance: AI-Markaz a!-Thaqafi '1-' Arabi, I st edition 1990, followed by many reprints, chapterfive, 219-41.