Mousavi, Seyydmohammadsadeg; Arabi Ayask, Ali; Ebadi,, Mehdi

doi:10.22054/ajsm.2025.84583.2114

"A Critique of the Lexical Justification for Naming the Tadabbur-Based Interpretive Method in the Qur'an"

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

seyydmohammadsadeg mousavi ¹

ali arabi ayask ²

mehdi ebadi, ³

¹ "PhD Graduate in Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran."

² &amp;amp;quot;Assistant Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, University of Quranic Sciences and Teachings, Qom, Iran.&amp;amp;quot;

³ ;Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Shahid Motahari Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. E-mail

https://doi.org/10.22054/ajsm.2025.84583.2114

Abstract

The correct understanding of Qur’anic vocabulary plays a fundamental role in attaining the divine intent, as a misinterpretation of a word can lead to erroneous interpretive principles. In recent years, a method known as “Tadabbur in the Qur’an” has attracted attention. This method is based on understanding the internal connections of verses and sūrahs and derives its name from the term “Tadabbur”. Using a descriptive-analytical approach and drawing on sources in Arabic semantics, the present research analyzed the term “Tadabbur”’s original meaning and demonstrated that relying on the lexical meaning of this word to designate a specific interpretive method lacks sufficient scientific justification. Although this method can be considered a branch of interpretation, the application of the term “Tadabbur” to it is semantically and linguistically questionable. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that this method of understanding Qur’anic verses has no direct connection with the root meaning and morphological structure of the term “Tadabbur”, and designating it as such is open to scholarly criticism.

Keywords

Critique of the Tadabbur Method

Semantic Analysis of the Term "Tadabbur"

Nomenclature of Qur'anic Interpretive Methods

Understanding the Qur'an

Lexical Analysis of Qur'anic Vocabulary

Subjects

قرآن پژوهی

Abu al-Husayn, A. F. Z. (1404 AH). Mu'jam Maqayis al-Lugha (A. S. M. Harun, Ed.). Islamic Propagation Office Publications.

Al-Baghdadi, A. D. A. M. (1415 AH). Lubab al-Ta'wil fi Ma'ani al-Tanzil (M. A. Shahi, Ed.). Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah.

Al-Jawhari, I. H. (1410 AH). Al-Sihah - Taj al-Lugha wa Sihah al-'Arabiyyah (A. A. G. Attar, Ed., 1st ed.). Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin.

Al-Tabataba'i, S. M. H. (1405 AH). Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran. Islamic Seminary Teachers' Publications.

Al-Tabarsi, A. A. (1403 AH). Al-Ihtijaj. Mortaza Publishing.

Al-Tabarsi, A. A. F. H. (1408 AH). Majma' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran. Islamic Seminary Teachers' Publications.

Al-Turayhi, F. D. (1416 AH). Majma' al-Bahrayn (S. A. Hosseini, Ed., 3rd ed.). Murtazawi Bookstore.

Al-Zamakhshari, A. Q. M. U. (1399 AH). Asas al-Balagha. Dar Sadir.

Al-Zamakhshari, A. Q. M. U. (1417 AH). Al-Fa'iq fi Gharib al-hadith (I. Shams al-Din, Ed.). Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah.

Elahi-Zadeh, M. H. (n.d.). Introduction to Tadabbur in the Surahs of the Holy Quran. Baathat of the Supreme Leader, Quran and Itrat Foundation.

Elahi-Zadeh, M. H. (1394 SH). Tadabbur Ordered Lessons in the Quran (A. Sheikh Zadeh, Ed.). Tadabbur in the Quran and Sunnah.

Elahi-Zadeh, M. (1396 SH). Foundations, Principles, and Method of Tadabbur in the Quran. Tadabbur in the Quran and Sunnah.

Fakhr al-Din Razi, A. A. M. U. (1420 AH). Mafatih al-Ghayb (3rd ed.). Dar Ihya al-Turath al-'Arabi.

Haqqi Bursawi, I. (1330 AH). Tafsir Ruh al-Bayan. Dar al-Fikr.

Hamiri, N. S. (1420 AH). Shams al-'Ulum wa Dawa' Kalam al-Arab min al-Kulum (H. A. al-ʿUmari, M. A. al-Iryani, & Y. M. Abdullah, Eds.). Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir.

Ibn al-Sikkit al-Ahwazi. (1412 AH). Tartib Islah al-Manṭiq (M. H. Bakaei, Ed., 1st ed.). Publishing Institute of Astan Quds Razavi, Islamic Research Foundation.

Ibn 'Ashur, M. T. (1420 AH). Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir. Arab History Foundation.

Ibn Manzur, M. M. (1414 AH). Lisan al-'Arab (A. F. Sahib al-Jawāʾib, Ed., 3rd ed.) Dar al-Fikr - Dar Sadir

Ibn Qutayba. (1408 AH). Gharib al-Hadith (A. al-Jubouri, Ed., 1st ed.). Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah.

Lakza'i, A., Mirbagheri, S. M., & Mohammadi Ashnani, A. (1391 SH). Critique and Evaluation of Methods of Tadabbur in the Holy Quran with Emphasis on the Methods of Muhammad Hossein Elahi-Zadeh and Valiullah Naqipourfa (Master's thesis). Faculty of Quranic Sciences, Tehran, University of Quranic Sciences and Education, Tehran, Iran.

Mohammad Ali Nejad Omran, R., Nosrati, H., & Dehghani, F. (1398 SH). Critique and Review of the Method of Tadabbur 'Sura-Word-Centric' in the Holy Quran. Seraj Munir, 10(34), 173-203. https://doi.org/10.22054/ajsm.2020.48667.1575

Mostafavi, H. (1402 AH). Al-Tahqiq fi Kalimat al-Quran al-Karim. Translation and Publishing Center.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Bashar ibn al-Anbari (n.d.). Al-Zahir fi Ma'ani Kalimat al-Nas.

Raghib al-Isfahani, H. M. (1412 AH). Mufradat Alfaz al-Quran (S. A. Dawudi, Ed.). Dar al-‘Ilm - Al-Dar al-Shamiyyah.

Sahib ibn 'Abbad, I. 'A. (1414 AH). Al-Muḥit fi al-Lugha (M. H. Al-Yassin, Ed.). Alam al-Kitab.

The Holy Quran. (n.d.).