Interpreting the Qur’an Towards a Contemporary Approach by Abdullah Saeed (London and New York: Routledge, 2006. 192 pages.)

Abstract

The book Interpreting the Qur’an is a welcome addition to the developing
field of Qur’anic studies, as it contributes specifically to the study of tafsir
(Qur’anic exegesis). In a field that still lacks adequate historical surveys and
monographs, Saeed offers an insightful work on how the exegetical tradition
can be read and understood. He attempts to plot various trajectories of development
that span the classical and modern periods leading up to the present.
However, the success and accuracy of his historical inquiry is largely
affected by his more prominent and overarching objective: developing a
modern methodology of scriptural interpretation. Over the course of twelve
chapters, Saeed embarks upon an attempt to reevaluate and redefine how the
Qur’an is understood.
In the introduction, the author states that he is dealing only with the
Qur’an’s ethico-legal concepts, the source material of Islamic jurisprudence
(fiqh). Traditionally, this material has been read in a “legalistic-literalistic”
fashion. However, the author hopes to replace it with a “contextualist” approach, which would take “into consideration both the socio-historical
context of the Qur’an at the time of revelation in the first/seventh century
and the contemporary concerns and needs of Muslims today” (p. 1) ...