A New Look at the Exegetical Methods of Both Factions (Sunni and Shia) in Interpreting Verse 55 of Surah Al-Ma'idah to Prove the Guardianship of Imam Ali (AS)

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Mahdism Research, Research Institute of Mahdism and ‎‎Future Studies, Research Institute of Islamic Culture and Sciences, Qom, Iran.‎

2 Level 4 student of Comparative Interpretation major at Hazrat Khadija Babol Specialized ‎Center, Babol, Iran.‎

Abstract

Verse 55 of Surah Al-Ma'idah is among the most crucial and distinctive verses used to prove the guardianship )Wilayah( of Imam Ali (AS). A proper analysis of this verse can, by itself, refute numerous misconceptions. Unfortunately, many commentators have exerted excessive effort to address doubts concerning this verse, when, in fact, a precise interpretation or hermeneutic understanding of it—using three distinct Quranic methods, plus a semantic exploration of the words within the verse—could eliminate the grounds for such doubts in the first place. Most exegetes, in their interpretation of the verse, have resorted to narratives, including occasions of revelation (sha'n nuzul) and explanatory or interpretive traditions (riwayat mufassirah or mu'awwalah). However, the doubts raised by skeptics often stem from a misunderstanding of the semantic meaning of the word "Walī" and other terms in the verse. Therefore, one of the most important focal points for Quranic research is the precise discovery and explanation of the meanings of verses and ambiguous statements using a fresh analytical-descriptive method. Undoubtedly, grasping the meanings of the Quran is impossible without recognizing and understanding the meanings of its words. This has always been a primary concern for religious scholars and exegetes: to delve into the core of divine goals and purposes through a precise and fundamental understanding of the lexicon. One of the most frequently used Quranic terms is "Walī", which has been employed with various meanings. Findings indicate that the word "Walī" in the Quran is used with meanings such as offspring, material and spiritual guardianship/leadership, and friend, and as a divine name and attribute. It is also frequently associated with terms like "Uli al-Amr" (those in authority) and "obedience." Therefore, the word "Walī" is a homonym (mushtarak lafzi). To accurately understand its meaning, attention must be paid to its preceding and succeeding contexts (qara'in), through which, along with its collocates (ham-neshinan) and the verse's overall context (siyaq), the primary meaning of the verse can be discovered. In verse 55 of Surah Al-Ma'idah, the guardianship and Wilayah over the community are presented as being analogous to that of the Prophet of Islam.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

* Holy Quran
Ali ibn Ibrahim Qumi. (1387 AH). Interpretation of al-Qumi. Najaf: Tayyib Musawi Jazairi Press. [In Arabic]
Al-Jaf, Abd al-Hamid. (1430 AH). Thumma Shi'ani al-Albani. Qom: Al-Matba'ah Sitara. [In Arabic]
Alusi, Mahmud. (1415 AH). The Spirit of Meanings in the Interpretation of the Great Quran (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah. [In Arabic]
Amini, Abd al-Husayn. (n.d.). Al-Ghadir. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Andalusi, Abu Hayyan Muhammad ibn Yusuf. (1420 AH). Al-Bahr al-Muhit fi al-Tafsir (The Encompassing Ocean in Tafsir). Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
Ansari Qurtubi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad. (n.d.). Al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Quran (The Comprehensive for the Rulings of the Quran). Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
Arusi Huwayzi, Abd Ali ibn Jum'ah. (1415 AH). Tafsir Nur al-Thaqalayn (The Light of the Two Weighty Things) (4th ed.). Qom: Intisharat-e Isma'iliyan. [In Arabic]
Ayyashi Samarqandi, Muhammad ibn Mas'ud. (1380 AH). The Book of Interpretation) (1st ed.). Tehran: Al-Matba'ah al-Ilmiyyah. [In Arabic]
Baghawi, Husayn ibn Mas'ud. (1420 AH). Ma'alim al-Tanzil fi Tafsir al-Quran (Landmarks of Revelation in the Interpretation of the Quran) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Baghdadi, Ali ibn Muhammad. (1415 AH). Lubab al-Ta'wil fi Ma'ani al-Tanzil (The Essence of Interpretation in the Meanings of Revelation) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah. [In Arabic]
Bahrani, Sayyid Hashem. (1422 AH). Ghayat al-Maram wa Hujjat al-Khisam (The Ultimate Goal and the Argument Against Adversaries) (Editor: Sayyid Ali Ashour). Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Tarikh al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Baydawi, Abdullah ibn Umar. (1418 AH). Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta'wil (The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Fakhr Razi, Muhammad ibn Umar. (1420 AH). Al-Tafsir al-Kabir (Mafatih al-Ghayb) (The Grand Interpretation) (3rd ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Farahidi, Khalil ibn Ahmad. (1409 AH). Kitab al-Ayn. Qom: Nashr Hijrat. [In Arabic]
Fayd Kashani, Molla Mohsen. (1399 AH). Tafsir Safi (1st ed.). Mashhad: Dar al-Murtada. [In Arabic]
Fayyumi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad; Al-Shaykh Muhammad, Yusuf. (1428 AH). Al-Misbah al-Munir. Lebanon: Al-Maktabah al-Asriyah. [In Arabic]
Haqqi Burusawi, Ismail. (n.d.). Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan (Interpretation of the Spirit of Elucidation). Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
Hawwa, Saeed. (1409 AH). Al-Asas fi al-Tafsir (The Foundation in Interpretation). Cairo: Dar al-Salam. [In Arabic]
Husayni Bahrani, Sayyid Hashem. (1415 AH). Al-Burhan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Proof in the Interpretation of the Quran). Qom: Bi'that. [In Arabic]
Husayni Milani, Ali. (1386 SH). Negahi be Ayeh Welayat (A Look at the Verse of Wilayah). Qom: Nashr al-Haqa'iq. [In Arabic]
Ibn Abi Hatim, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad. (1419 AH). Interpretation of the Great Quran. Riyadh: Maktabat Nizar Mustafa al-Baz. [In Arabic]
Ibn Ashur, Muhammad ibn Tahir. (1420 AH). Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir (The Liberation and Enlightenment) (1st ed.). Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Tarikh. [In Arabic]
 Ibn Athir, A. b. M. (1988). Usud al-ghaba fi ma‘rifat al-sahaba (Vol. 6). Beirut, Lebanon:  Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
Ibn Durayd al-Azdi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Hasan. (1987 CE). Jamharat al-Lughah (The Compendium of Language) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Ilm lil Malayin. [In Arabic]
 Ibn Hanbal, A. b. M. (1997). Musnad al-Imam Ahmad (H. b. A. Ibn Qutb, Ed.). Cairo, Egypt: Mu’assasat Qurtuba. [In Arabic]
Ibn Jawzi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali. (1407 AH). Zad al-Masir (Provisions for the Journey). Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Ibn Juzayy, Muhammad ibn Ahmad. (1416 AH). Facilitation of the Sciences of Revelation (1st ed.). Beirut: Sharikat Dar al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. [In Arabic]
Ibn Kathir Damashqi, Ismail ibn Amr. (1419 AH). Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim (Interpretation of the Great Quran) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Manshurat Muhammad Ali Baydun. [In Arabic]
Ibn Manzur, Muhammad ibn Mukarram. (1408 AH). Lisan al-Arab (The Tongue of the Arabs) (Editor: Ali Washiri). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Ibn Tawus, Ali ibn Musa. (n.d.). Sa'd al-Su'ud lil Nufus Manzud (The Fortune of Felicity for Ordered Souls) (1st ed.). Qom: Dar al-Dhakhair. [In Arabic]
Izutsu, Toshihiko. (1393 SH). Khoda va Ensan dar Quran (God and Man in the Quran) (Translator: Ahmad Aram). Tehran: Sherkat Sahami Publications. [In Arabic]
Ja'fari, Ya'qub. (1376 SH). Tafsir Kawthar (Kawthar Interpretation) (1st ed.). Qom: Intisharat-e Hijrat. [In Arabic]
Jassas, Ahmad ibn Ali. (1405 AH). Ahkam al-Quran (Rulings of the Quran) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Javadi Amoli, Abdullah. (1391 SH). Tasnīm Tafsīr-e Qur’ān-e Karīm (Tasnīm: Interpretation of the Holy Quran) (Editor: Muhammad Farahani, 1st ed.). Qom: Markaz Nashr Isra. [In Arabic]
Jawhari, Ismail ibn Hammad; Attar, Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur. (1404 AH). Al-Sihah (lil Jawhari) (The Authentic by al-Jawhari). Beirut: Dar al-Ilm lil Malayin. [In Arabic]
Khoei, Sayyid Abul Qasim. (1430 AH). Al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Elucidation in the Interpretation of the Quran) (1st ed.). Qom: Mu'assasat Athar al-Imam al-Khoei. [In Arabic]
Khuza'i Nishaburi, Husayn. (1371 SH). Rawd al-Jinan wa Ruh al-Jinan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Gardens of Paradise and the Spirit of Paradise in the Interpretation of the Quran) (Editors: Muhammad Ja'far Yahaghi and Muhammad Mahdi Naseh). Mashhad: Islamic Research Foundation of Astan Quds Razavi. [In Arabic]
Kiya Harasi, Ali ibn Muhammad. (1422 AH). Rulings of the Quran (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Manshurat Muhammad Ali Baydun. [In Arabic]
Lyons, John. (1383 SH). Moqaddameh-i bar Ma'nashenasi Zaban Shenakhti (An Introduction to Linguistic Semantics) (Translator: Hossein Valeh). Tehran: Entesharat-e Soroush. [In Arabic]
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. (1403 AH). Bihar al-Anwar. Qom: Mu'assasat al-Wafa. [In Arabic]
Makarim Shirazi, Naser and a group of authors. (1374 SH). Model Interpretation (1st ed.). Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah. [In Arabic]
Maraghi, Ahmad ibn Mustafa. (n.d.). Interpretation of al-Maraghi. Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Ma'rifat, Muhammad Hadi. (1418 AH). Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun fi Thawbihi al-Qashib (Tafsir and the Mufassirun in its New Garb). Mashhad: Daneshgah Oloum Eslami Razavi. [In Arabic]
Mashhadi Qumi, Mirza Muhammad. (1368 SH). Tafsir Kanz al-Daqa'iq wa Bahr al-Ghara'ib (Interpretation of the Treasure of Subtleties and the Ocean of Wonders) (1st ed.). Tehran: Entesharat-e Vezarat Ershad Islami. [In Arabic]
Mawardi, Ali ibn Muhammad. (n.d.). The Pithy Remarks and the Sources: Tafsir al-Mawardi (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Manshurat Muhammad Ali Baydun. [In Arabic]
Maybudi, Ahmad ibn Abi Sa'd Rashid al-Din. (1371 SH). (The Unveiling of Secrets and the Equipment of the Pious) (5th ed.). Tehran: Entesharat-e Amirkabir. [In Arabic]
Mazhari, Muhammad Sana'ullah. (1412 AH). The Mazhari Interpretation Pakistan: Maktabat Rushdiyyah. [In Arabic]
Mokhtar Omar, Ahmad. (1385 SH). Semantics (Translator: Hossein Seyyedi). Mashhad: Entesharat-e Ferdows Mashhad. [In Arabic]
Mughniyah, Muhammad Jawad. (1424 AH). The Revealing Interpretation (1st ed.). Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah. [In Arabic]
Muzaffar, Al-Shaykh Muhammad Hassan. (n.d.). Proofs of Truth for the Path of Truth. Qom: Mu'assasat Al al-Bayt (AS) li Ihya al-Turath. [In Arabic]
Nasafi, Abdullah ibn Ahmad. (1416 AH). The Interpretation of Nasafi: The Evidences of Revelation and the Realities of Interpretation (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Nafa'is. [In Arabic]
Nasa'i, A. b. A. (2003). Khasa'is Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (D. b. M. Al-Zahwi, Ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: al-Maktaba al-‘Asriyya. [In Arabic]
Nizam al-A'raj, Hasan ibn Muhammad. (1416 AH). Tafsir Ghara'ib al-Quran wa Ragha'ib al-Furqan (Interpretation of the Wonders of the Quran and the Desires of the Criterion) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Manshurat Muhammad Ali Baydun. [In Arabic]
Palmer, Frank. (1374 SH). Negahi Tazeh be Ma'nashenasi (A New Look at Semantics) (Translator: Kourosh Safavi). Tehran: Nashr-e Markaz. [In Arabic]
Qurtubi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad. (1364 SH). The Comprehensive for the Rulings of the Quran. Tehran: Nasir Khosrow. [In Arabic]
Raghib Isfahani, Husayn ibn Muhammad. (1412 AH). Mufradat Alfaz al-Quran (Vocabulary of the Words of the Quran). Beirut: Dar al-Shamiyyah.
Razi, Fakhr al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar. (1420 AH). [In Arabic]Mafatih al-Ghayb (Keys to the Unseen) (3rd ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Rida, Muhammad Rashid. (1414 AH). Tafsir al-Quran al-Hakim al-Shahīr bi Tafsir al-Manar (The Interpretation of the Wise Quran Known as Tafsir al-Manar). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah. [In Arabic]
  Sabzevari, M. (1998). Irshad al-adhhan ila tafsir al-Qur'an (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Ta'aruf lil-Matbu'at. [In Arabic]
Samarqandi, Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. (n.d.). Bahr al-Ulum (Ocean of Sciences) (Editor: Mahmud Matrahi). Beirut: Nashr Dar al-Fikr lil Tiba'ah wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi'. [In Arabic]
Sayyid Murtada, Ali ibn Husayn. (1441 AH). Al-Shafi fi al-Imamah (The Healer in Imamate) (Editor: Muhammad Husayn Dirayati). Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi, Islamic Research Foundation. [In Arabic]
Sayyid Qutb. (n.d.). Fi Zilal al-Quran (In the Shades of the Quran). Beirut: Dar al-Ihya li al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Shawkani, Muhammad ibn Ali. (n.d.). Fath al-Qadir (The Opening of the All-Powerful). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah. [In Arabic]
Shirazi, Ahmad Amin. (1271 SH). The Way of Eloquence: Commentary on Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani. (n.p., n.d.). [In Arabic]
Suyuti, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr; Abd al-Shafi, Ahmad. (n.d.). Lubab al-Nuqul fi Asbab al-Nuzul (The Essence of Transmissions Regarding the Causes of Revelation). Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah. [In Arabic]
Suyuti, Jalal al-Din. (1404 AH). Al-Durr al-Manthur fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma'thur (The Scattered Pearls in Interpretation by Narration). Qom: Maktabat Ayatollah al-Uzma al-Mar'ashi al-Najafi (RA). [In Arabic]
Suyuti, Jalal al-Din. (n.d.). Al-Bahjah al-Mardiyyah ala Alfiyyah Ibn Malik (The Pleasing Joy on Ibn Malik's Alfiyyah). Qom: Isma'iliyan. [In Arabic]
Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir. (1412 AH). Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Comprehensive Elucidation in the Interpretation of the Quran) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah. [In Arabic]
Tabarsi, Fadl ibn Hasan. (1372 SH). The Compendium of Elucidation in the Interpretation of the Quran (Editors: Fadlullah Yazdi Tabataba'i and Hashem Rasooli, 3rd ed.). Tehran: Nasir Khosrow. [In Arabic]
Tabataba'i, Muhammad Husayn. (1390 AH). Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Balance in the Interpretation of the Quran) (2nd ed.). Lebanon: Mu'assasat al-A'lami lil Matbu'at. [In Arabic]
Taftazani, Mas'ud ibn Umar. (n.d.). Kitab al-Mutawwal wa bi Hamishihi Hashiyat al-Sayyid Mir Sharif (The Detailed Book with the Commentary of Sayyid Mir Sharif in its Margin). Qom: Maktabat al-Dawuri. [In Arabic]
Tantawi, Muhammad. (1973 CE). Al-Tafsir al-Wasit lil Quran al-Karim (The Intermediate Interpretation of the Holy Quran). Cairo: Dar al-Nahdah. [In Arabic]
Tha'alibi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad. (1418 AH). Tafsir al-Tha'alibi al-Musamma bi al-Jawahir al-Hassan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Interpretation of Tha'alibi named The Beautiful Jewels in the Interpretation of the Quran) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Tha'labi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad. (1422 AH). Al-Kashf wa al-Bayan al-Ma'ruf Tafsir al-Tha'labi (The Discovery and Elucidation known as Tafsir al-Tha'labi) (1st ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Tirmidhi, M. b. ‘Isa. (1998). Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Vol. 5). Qom: Dar al-Hadith. [In Arabic]
Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan. (n.d.). Al-Tibyan fi Tafsir al-Quran (The Elucidation in the Interpretation of the Quran). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Ukbari, Abdullah ibn Husayn. (1419 AH). The Elucidation in the Grammatical Analysis of the Quran (1st ed.). Riyadh: Bayt al-Afkar al-Dawliyah. [In Arabic]
Wahedi, A. b. A. (1990). Asbab nuzul al-Qur'an (al-Wahidi) (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Beirut: Dar al- Kutub al-Ilmiyya, Publications of Muhammad Ali Baydun. [In Arabic]
Wahidi, Ali ibn Ahmad. (1416 AH). The Medium in the Interpretation of the Glorious Quran (1st ed.). Cairo: Jumhuriyyat Misr al-Arabiyyah, Wizarat al-Awqaf, al-Majlis al-A'la lil Shu'un al-Islamiyyah, Lajnat Ihya al-Turath al-Islami. [In Arabic]
Zamakhshari, Mahmud. (1407 AH). Al-Kashshaf an Haqa'iq Ghawamid al-Tanzil (The Revealer of the Realities of the Ambiguities of Revelation) (3rd ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Zuhayli, Wahbah ibn Mustafa. (1418 AH). Al-Tafsir al-Munir fi al-Aqidah wa al-Shari'ah wa al-Manhaj (The Illuminating Interpretation in Creed, Law, and Methodology) (2nd ed.). Damascus: Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir. [In Arabic]

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics