Ethics in the Qurʾān and the Tafsīr Tradition

From the Polynoia of Scripture to the Homonoia of Exegesis
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-90-04-69646-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 23, 230 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 499 g

Reihe: Texts and Studies on the Qur'an

This book is about the articulation of ethics in the Qur'an and the tafsir tradition. Based on an examination of several apparently problematic Qur'anic narrative pericopes and how the exegetes grappled with them, the book demonstrates that the moral world of the Qur'an is polyvalent and non-linear, owing, above all, to its intrinsic ethical antinomies and textual ambiguities. That is, the book contends that paradox and uncertainty are both constituents of the Qur'an’s ethical architectonics, and that through these constituents the Qur'an charts a system of ethics that seeks to tread in the midst of a non-ideal world rife with uncertainty.

The book also argues that the tafsir tradition tends to erode the hermeneutical openness of the Qur'an and, thereby, limits the Qur'an’s ethical potential. The book, thus, advances our understanding of Qur'anic ethics and contributes to the field of tafsir studies and to the scholarship on Qur'anic hermeneutics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Moqbel, Tareq

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Acknowledgements

Notes on Referencing, Translation, and Transliteration

1 Introduction

1 Scope of the Inquiry

2 Previous Scholarship on Qur?anic Ethics

3 Aims and Research Questions

4 Choice of Qur?anic Commentaries

5 Central Arguments

6 Plan of the Book

Part 1 Theory

2 Antinomy

1 Introduction

2 The Antinomy of Values

3 Antinomies in the Qur?an

4 Implications of Moral Antinomies: Morality and Code Fixation

5 Implications of Moral Antinomies: Moral Rules as Idealizations?

6 Narratives as Sites of Moral Antinomies

7 Managing Paradox: Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in the Tafsir Tradition

8 Conclusion

3 Ambiguity

1 Introduction

2 The Concept of Ambiguity

3 The Function of Ambiguity

4 Bauer’s Thesis on Ambiguity in the Tafsir Tradition

5 The Tolerance of Ambiguity in Qur?anic Narratives

6 Theology of Revelation, Interpretation, and Ethics

7 Conclusion

4 The Drive towards Homonoia in the Tafsir Tradition

1 Introduction

2 Theoretical Thematisation of Homonoia

3 Homonoia in Exegetical Practice

4 Counterpoints

5 Conclusion

Part 2 Praxis

5 The Ethical Nature of God

1 Introduction

2 Moses on the All-Encompassing Destruction

3 The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart

4 Abraham Debating the Punishment of Sodom

5 The Binding of Abraham’s Son

6 Shu?ayb and the Will of God

7 Conclusion

6 Ethics towards God

1 Introduction

2 Arguing with God? The Angels and the Beginning of Creation

3 Abraham’s Attribution of God’s Name to a Star

4 Joseph and the Remembrance of God

5 Mary’s Death Wish

6 Jonah and God’s Omnipotence

7 Conclusion

7 Social Ethics

1 Introduction

2 Joseph on the Ethics of Seeking Leadership and Self-Praise

3 Joseph and the Ethics of Deception

4 Property Damage and Homicide in the Moses-Khi?r Narrative

5 Abraham on the Problem of Lying

6 Conclusion

8 Beyond Good and Evil: A Conclusion

Bibliography

Index of Qur?anic Verses

General Index

Über Autor(innen)

Tareq Hesham Moqbel is a Research Fellow at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and an Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. His work addresses the Qur'an—its reading traditions, interpretation, and continuity with the Bible.