|
Rethinking the Theoretical Foundations of the Scientific Interpretation of the Qur’an through an Interdisciplinary Approach
|
Farahnaz Khoshzaban   , Majid Maaref1 , Mojgan Sarshar |
|
|
|
Abstract: (61 Views) |
| The scientific interpretation of the Qur’an, as one of the contemporary approaches in Qur’anic studies, has long been a subject of scholarly debate. This approach posits that, in addition to its mission of spiritual guidance, the Qur’an contains implicit references to scientific order and natural phenomena that may be reinterpreted through the lens of empirical and human sciences. However, the ongoing disagreement between maximalist and minimalist perspectives within this field reveals the epistemological and methodological fragility of its foundations. The maximalist view regards the Qur’an as encompassing both religious and scientific knowledge, whereas the minimalist approach confines its scope to guidance and the semiotics of the inner (anfusī) and outer (āfāqī) worlds. The present study aims to analyze these two perspectives, critique the epistemic and methodological challenges of scientific interpretation, and propose a balanced framework based on an interdisciplinary approach. The research employs an analytical–critical method grounded in library-based study and develops within the interface of Qur’anic hermeneutics and the epistemology of religion. The findings indicate that scientific interpretation, when founded upon interdisciplinary principles and avoiding the imposition of unstable scientific theories, can contribute to a deeper understanding of divine revelation and to redefining the relationship between religion and science. The study concludes by emphasizing the necessity of rethinking the epistemological bases of this approach to enable a more systematic and enduring interpretation of the Qur’an in light of contemporary intellectual developments—a form of interpretation grounded in the comprehensive guidance of the Qur’an, the conditional validity of empirical knowledge, and the primacy of revelation over scientific theorization, articulated across ontological, epistemological, and methodological dimensions. |
|
| Keywords: Interpretation, Scientific Interpretation of the Qur’an, Interdisciplinary Approach, Methodology, Epistemological Foundations. |
|
|
Full-Text [PDF 413 kb]
(39 Downloads)
|
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/11/21 | Accepted: 2025/11/21 | Published: 2025/11/21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Send email to the article author |
|
|
|
| Add your comments about this article |
|
|
|
