Two Dominant Currents of Understanding the Qur’anic Word in Islamic Thought

Abstract

UDK
28-256
28-23:165.62

This paper examines two main currents of thought concerning the Word of God and its understanding within Islamic thought—the Muʿtazilite and the Ashʿarite schools and their implications for some contemporary approaches to understanding the Qur’anic text. Although there are irreconcilable differences between these two currents - the former advocating the createdness, and the latter the eternality, of the Word of God - they share a common position regarding the transcendent and immanent dimensions of the Divine Word, that is, its supra-historical and historical reality. The author also addresses essentialist and postmodernist approaches in contemporary currents of thought, which imply not only continuity but also discontinuity of tradition in approaching the Qur’anic text. Furthermore, the nature of the word and the act of understanding are examined, with emphasis placed on their metaphysical foundation.