Min wahy al-Qur'an (book)

Min waḥy al-Qur'ān (Arabic: مِنْ وَحْي القُرْآن) is a Shiite exegesis of the Qur'an in Arabic written by Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah, a Shiite scholar from Lebanon. The exegesis is, in fact, a written version of his Qur'anic lectures for young and educated people. Min wahy al-Qur'an includes the whole Qur'an and counts as a scholarly exegesis with a social approach.

The Author

Main article: al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah (b. 1354/1935 – d. 1431/2010) was a Shiite marja', author, and a proponent of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. His viewpoints were similar to those of al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr in Iraq. He organized wide-ranging scholarly and cultural activities in Lebanon. He is referred to as the spiritual father of Hizb Allah of Lebanon. Fadl Allah was abducted once and there were four attempts to assassinate him. His fatwas concerning the unity of Muslims, mourning ceremonies, and women have been at the center of attentions. He is buried in Lebanon.

Motivation for Writing

In his preface to the first print of the book, the author explains that the book was not written as an exegesis of the Qur'an; rather it was written as introducing certain Qur'anic issues with the purpose of awakening the spirit of the Islamic society, and since the Qur'anic culture is the essential element of acting upon Islam and the Qur'an is an infallible source of this culture, he sought to pose these issues.

Methodology of the Exegete

The author of Min wahy al-Qur'an relies on Qur'anic verses in his exegesis. In many places in his exegesis, the author reproaches self-centered people, calling them to be Qur'an-centered. According to Fadl Allah, addressing all people and calling them to reflect on the Qur'an shows that the Qur'an is understandable by every person.

Contents

Min wahy al-Qur'an is an ordinal exegesis of the Qur'an, that is, it begins with Qur'an 1 and goes through subsequent suras one after the other up to Qur'an 114. At the beginning of each Sura, the author accounts for its appellation. He then provides analyses concerning the verses, without delving himself into traditional literary and rhetoric issues. In its illumination of the verses and analyses of beliefs and social issues, Min wahy al-Qur'an refers to al-Mizan, and it sometimes objects to views in it.

Features

• Avoiding non-exegetical issues: in his exegeses of Qur'anic verses, Fadl Allah's remarks are only concerned with the content of the verses. He avoids any non-exegetical issues.

• Brevity: the author avoids repetitive remarks. For example:

1. He refers to literary issues very briefly and refrains from prolixity and explanation of what other exegetes have said.

2. He avoids mentioning the virtues of suras and verses, and rarely does he mention their virtues.

3. He cites other exegetical accounts very briefly and avoids elaborating them.

• Utilitarianism: the author holds that exegetical issues should have great benefits.

• Following the style of the Qur'an itself in elaboration and brevity: Fadl Allah characterizes his exegetical method of elaboration and brevity as a Qur'anic style.

• Identifying the objections: the author tackles and carefully examines theological, jurisprudential, exegetical and other sorts of issues.

• Drawing conclusions from the messages of the verses: the author of Min wahy al-Qur'an takes the Qur'an to be the origin of the intellectual and practical life of all human beings.

• Free thinking: another feature of the book is the author's free thinking and his resistance towards the views of prominent Shiite and Sunni exegetes of the Qur'an.

• The author's familiarity with modern sciences: here and there in this work, the author discusses scientific findings and their relation to Qur'anic verses, and in some cases, he questions the scientific interpretation.

• Framing the exegesis in terms of questions and answers: the book has framed the exegetical issues in terms of questions and answers. He takes this to be one of the best educational styles and to be important in deepening the thought and conscience.

• Novel ideas in women issues: another feature of Min wahy al-Qur'an is its special views in the interpretation of verses concerning family and women.

• Exegetical refinement: Fadl Allah draws on certain principles and standards in his refinement of exegetical views. In his view, an exegetical account is justified only if it is backed by scholarly evidence. Otherwise, it should not be cited in an exegesis of the Qur'an.

• Facing up to other exegetical theories: Fadl Allah takes the context to be a mark for the correctness or incorrectness of exegetical views. In different parts of his exegesis, he evaluates such views by appealing to contexts of verses.

Publication

The Qur'anic exegesis, Min wahy al-Qur'an, was published in 1399/1978 in Beirut. The second print of the book, with certain revisions, was published by Dar al-Milak in Beirut in a gorgeous way in 1998 in 25 volumes.