Known as the esoteric genre of exegesis on the Qur’an, ta’wil has traditionally been distinguished from tafsir which is the exoteric and more widely accepted mode of Qur’anic interpretation. Ibn al-Arabi is one of the best known ta’wili interpreters for his controversial mystical exegesis on the Qur’anic text. The present paper, in order to see how his ta’wil differs from the other interpreters’ (such as al-Baydhawi’s) tafsirs methodologically, conceptually, and linguistically, examines how Ibn al-Arabi approaches interpretation of the Qur’anic verses in his ta’wil. The paper, by way of examining his ta’wils as well as the methodology and theosophical tenets in his two most renowned theosophical books, Fosus al-Hikam and Naqsh al-Fosus, tries to determine the kind of knowledge that he relies on as well as the conceptual and interpretational framework within which he engages in ta’wil. The paper argues that Ibn al-Arabi’s ta’wil as opposed to others’ tafsirs does not extract the meaning of the verses primarily from the text through its bottom-up analysis. Considering his assertion that the mystics (including him) receive their knowledge through reason and revelation from the same source as the prophets’, the paper also argues that his ta’wils’ noticeable independence from the text is due in part to the theosophical knowledge that he already brings to the task of interpretation. In fact, this partly "unveiled" knowledge enables him to interact with the text in the construction of its meaning, while at times he seems to be only realizing what corresponds with his knowledge among the verses. It is this very claim to having access to the original source through unveiling that renders his claim to ta’wil - which literally means referring to the original meaning - plausible. By implication, understanding the internal operations of ta’wil through the examination of the verses interpreted by this esoteric method as well as the theosophical context of their interpretation may offer insights into the manner in which ta’wili interpreters have approached the task of interpretation and distinguished themselves from those basing their interpretations on tafsir.

To date there are only a handful of critical studies in Euro-American scholarship on Shi‘i intellectual engagements with the Qur’an. The few works that have been studied shape current understandings of the Twelver tafsir tradition as one where the authority of the Imams features prominently. According to this view, Shi‘i exegetes invoke the authority of the Imams by relying on their sayings and teachings as the sole source for elucidating the meanings of the verses. This view of the Twelver tafsir tradition presupposes a neat juxtaposition of sectarian identity and hermeneutical methods. I argue against this functionalist approach that valorizes sectarian identity as the primary determinant of hermeneutical desires and sensibilities. While it may be possible to notice certain patterns within the Twelver Shi‘i tafsir tradition where the Imams play a governing role, an examination of further sources resists such an approach. In this paper, I bring attention to a work that challenges a rigid characterization of Twelver Shi‘i exegesis: the only extant volume of a tenth century tafsir authored by al-Sharif al-Radi (d.1015C.E.), a prominent Shi‘i theologian, poet, and historian of Baghdad. He is remembered in the Sunni tradition as a renowned Arabic poet and in the Shi‘i tradition as the compiler of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib’s Nahj al-Balagha. His Qur’an commentary however, has received little attention. Titled “Haqa’iq al-Ta’wil fi Mutashabihat al-Tanzil”, literally “Hermeneutical Realities in [Uncovering] the Ambiguity of Revelation,” this text employs the traditionally Mu‘tazili approach of focusing on the Qur’an’s “ambiguous verses” as the primary site of interpretation. Departing from the Mu‘tazili exegetical method of theological discussion however, al-Radi argues that in order to disentangle the conundrums that populate the Qur’an, language, poetry, and metaphor were indispensable tools. I explore two larger conceptual questions in my examination of al-Radi’s distinctly literary approach to the Qur’an: How did the category of “ambiguous verses” serve as a shared idiom of communication for the scholarly elite of this era irrespective of their sectarian and religious affiliations? Second, what were the politics of taking a literary approach to the Qur’an in tenth century Baghdad, and how did they shape the discourse on its interpretation? I refer to a specific example from his tafsir to illustrate that al-Radi’s position as poet, exegete, theologian and grammarian provide an instructive glimpse of how these varied disciplines coalesced in his distinct interpretation.

The Qur’an has been the source of both immense reverence and widespread controversy throughout Islamic history. A number of contemporary Muslim intellectuals and reformers, in an effort to re-interpret and reform our understanding of the Qur’an, have posited new theories of prophetic revelation. Foremost among them is the Iranian Muslim intellectual and reformer Abdulkarim Soroush. Most recently Soroush publicly articulated his theory of revelation which holds that Prophet Muhammad was the divinely inspired creator and producer of the Qur’an or “the agent and recipient of revelation”. Soroush has defended his views as being consistent with the tradition of medieval Islamic philosophy and mysticism as a whole. However, there are no academic studies that compare his theory of revelation with medieval prophetic thought. This paper attempts to address this area by undertaking a detailed comparison of Soroush’s theory of prophetic revelation and that of the medieval Shi'i Isma'ili philosopher Nasir-i Khusraw (d. 1088). Like many of the medieval Islamic philosophers from whom Soroush has drawn inspiration, Nasir incorporated Neo-Platonic and Aristotelian concepts into his philosophical framework. Nasir-i Khusraw developed an elaborate theory of prophetic revelation dealing specifically with nature of the Qur’an and the role of the Prophet Muhammad in its production. However, there has also been no in-depth academic analysis of his theory of prophetic inspiration. By drawing upon the recently translated works and interviews of Abdulkarim Soroush and several treatises of Nasir-i Khusraw, this paper argues that both thinkers have essentially the same model of revelation – the common elements of which are summarized as follows: a) the idea that revelation is not verbally revealed to the Prophet but is received by his soul as formless intelligible content; b) the depiction of the Angel Gabriel as a spiritual faculty of the Prophet; c) the notion that the Prophet’s spiritual consciousness expands during the course of revelation; d) the assertion that the Prophet himself composed the verses of the Qur’an in accordance with his historical and cultural context. In this respect, it is shown that the core features of Abdulkarim Soroush’s theory of revelation are present in the thought of Nasir-i Khusraw. This commonality between the thought of Khusraw and Soroush illustrates the value of certain ideas found in medieval Islamic thought and the immense potential for their incorporation into the modern Muslim discourse. A full bibliography can be provided on request.