A STUDY OF SELECTED THEOLOGICAL THEMES IN THE TAFSĪR OF ’AL-’IMĀM ’AL-’ALŪSĪ’S RŪḤU’L-MACĀNĪ
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Date
2018-06
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UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
Abstract
cAqīdah (Creed) is the foundation upon which all other Islamic activities are built. This is well enunciated in the Qur’ān, with supportive proofs in the Sunnah. However, cAqīdah has been generating controversy among Mufassirūn (Qur’ānic Exegetes) of the early, medieval and modern periods. It is against this backdrop that this study aimed at studying selected theological issues in the Magnum Opus Tafsīr of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī’s Rūḥu’l-Macānī. The objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the view that ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī is a controversial scholar; (ii) determine the quality and appropriateness of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī’s argument and its consonance or otherwise with the fundamental principles of Islam; (iii) investigate ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī’s modes of treating theological matters; (iv) highlight the contributions of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī towards the correct understanding of the Qur’ān in general and theology in particular; (v) examine the differences in the classification of Tafsīr Rūḥu’l-Macānī; and (vi) evaluate the discussion of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī on the convergent and divergent theological verses.
The study adopted historical and exegetical methods. Historical method was used in rendering the historical accounts of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī, while exegetical method assisted in analysing ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī’s discussion of verses with theological connotations in the light of Qur’ān and Ḥadīth.
The findings of this study were that:
i) ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī is an objective scholar, as his Minhaj (method) is clear from his discussions on theological issues;
ii) ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī always refers to the Salaf Ṣāliḥ, making his arguments to be of high quality and in accordance with the fundamental principles of Islam;
iii) ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī’s modes of treating theological matters were indicative of his mastery of exegesis for discussing theology-related verses clearly;
iv) theological divergences were not only borne out of philosophical thinking in defence of individual sect and lack of proper understanding of the Islamic texts, but also for lack of reference to the pristine Islam;
v) Tafsīr Rūḥu’l-Macānī is a class on its own for combining kinds of Tafsīr, a quality which seems rare in other Tafsīr books;
vi) theological discussions of ’al-’Imām ’al-’Alūsī subsumed, to a large extent, the views of these Islamic sects: Sunnites, Shiites, Ashcarites and Muctazilites, including the Ṣūfiyyah; and
vii) discussion on theological issues by the contemporary Muslims is predicated upon the stand of Salaf in order for theological differences to be resolvable.
The study concluded that Rūḥu’l-Macānī is an exegetical book, which ranked among similar works by the renowned Mufassirūn, based on the understanding of the early predecessors and that theological differences are resolvable through Tafsīr if dissociated from individualism, sectarianism, shallow research, superciliousness and haste in giving Islamic verdict. The study, therefore, recommended a re-examination of the divergent theology-related issues based on the understanding of the pristine Islam that is free from extraneous philosophical thinking.
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TAFSĪR, AL-’IMĀM, AL-’ALŪSĪ, RŪḤU’L-MACĀNĪ, cAqīdah