- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- Chapter:
- (p.366) 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- Source:
- With Reverence for the Word
- Author(s):
Hava Lazarus-Yafeh
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Sūfī Qurʼān interpretation is well known for both its beautiful metaphors and enigmatic mystical depths. From Sahl al-Tustarī to Pseudo-Ibn al-Arabī—and even before and after these protagonists—this literature flourished among other genres of mystical literature, often using the Qurʼān as an external framework or even only as a pretext to give expression to mystical ideas, metaphors, similitudes, or stories. Mystical metaphors occur in several Sūfī commentaries of the Qurʼān, for example with regard to the famous Verse of Light in Q 24:35 or the dog that accompanied the famous Sleepers in Q 18:18 and in many other instances. Most Sūfī authors, however, do not go much further than using similes and metaphors in their Qurʼānic interpretations. One can discern a clear trend of avoidance of the use of allegories in Sūfī Qurʼān interpretation, as in most medieval Muslim religious literature. One reason is that allegory was seen as a potential threat to religious thought and practice, especially with respect to the basic dogmas of Islam and the punctilious performance of the religious commandments.
Keywords: Sūfī, Qurʼān, interpretation, commentaries, allegories, Islam, metaphors, Sahl al-Tustarī, Verse of Light
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- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
