Ittijahat al-Tafsir fi al-Qarn al-Rabi Ashar
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- Mu'assasat al-Risalah
Ittijahat al-Tafsir fi al-Qarn al-Rabi Ashar (Trends of Exegesis in the Fourteenth Century AH) is a three-volume survey and critical study of modern Quranic exegetical trends by the Saudi scholar Fahd al-Rumi .
Background and Purpose
The work was originally prepared as a doctoral dissertation . Al-Rumi identified several motives for undertaking the study: the immediate aftermath of the fourteenth Islamic century (which ended around 1980 CE), leaving its exegetical trends open for systematic documentation; the need to provide clear criteria for evaluating both sound and flawed methodological currents; the unprecedented speed and scale with which modern printed works were distributed; the emergence of novel interpretive directions alongside traditional ones; and the shift beyond written manuscripts into modern mass media, including radio, the press, television, and academic conferences .
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into an introduction, a prolegomenon (tamhid), five major parts (abwab), a conclusion, and extensive analytical indexes :
- Prolegomenon: Outlines the historical beginnings of tafsir during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions, traces the stages of transmission, codification, and composition, surveys earlier exegetical methodologies, and examines the period of intellectual stagnation in the Muslim world leading up to the modern revival in Quranic writings .
- Part One: The Theological Trend (al-Ittijah al-Aqa'idi): Surveys theological schools and their exegetical approaches, covering Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah (with studies of works such as Adwa' al-Bayan, Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman, and Mahasin al-Ta'wil), the Shi'i branches (Twelvers, Zaydis, and Ismailis, analyzing works including Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an and the Republican movement), the Ibadi tradition (Himyan al-Zad and Taysir al-Tafsir), and Sufi exegesis .
- Part Two: The Scholarly and Scientific Trend (al-Ittijah al-Ilmi): Divided into three chapters addressing transmitted exegesis (al-tafsir bi-l-ma'thur), legal exegesis focusing on statutory verses (tafsir ayat al-ahkam), and empirical scientific exegesis (al-manhaj al-ilmi al-tajribi) . The latter evaluates historical and contemporary debates on scientific interpretation, critiquing Tantawi Jawhari's Al-Jawahir fi Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim, Kashf al-Asrar al-Nuraniyyah, and numerical interpretations such as those of Abd al-Razzaq Nawfal .
- Part Three: The Modern Socio-Rationalist School (al-Madrasah al-Aqliyyah al-Ijtima'iyyah al-Hadithah): Investigates the role of reason in the Quran, the origins of modern rationalist-social reformist exegesis associated with Muhammad Abduh and Muhammad Rashid Rida, and examines their interpretive methodologies in texts such as Tafsir al-Manar (Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Hakim) and the exegesis of Juz Tabarak .
- Part Four: The Literary Trend (al-Ittijah al-Adabi): Analyzes rhetorical exegesis (al-manhaj al-bayani), covering its theoretical foundation by Amin al-Khuli and applications by Aisha Abd al-Rahman (Bint al-Shati') and Muhammad Ahmad Khalafallah; and the method of literary appreciation (al-tadhawwuq al-adabi), exemplified in Sayyid Qutb's Fi Zilal al-Qur'an .
- Part Five: Deviant Trends (al-Ittijahat al-Munharifah): Explores interpretations regarded by the author as outside orthodox scholarly norms, categorized into atheistic/materialist approaches (such as Al-Hidayah wa-l-Irfan), unqualified modern interpretations (exemplified by Mustafa Mahmud's Al-Qur'an: Muhawalah li-Fahm Asri), and unmethodical readings (such as Risalat al-Fath) .
The work concludes with a summary of the development of modern exegesis, followed by detailed indexes of Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, biographical entries, and cited sources .
Publication and Reception
The first edition was published in 1407 AH (1986–1987 CE) under the auspices of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia . Subsequent multi-volume editions were published by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut, including a second edition in 1414 AH and a fourth edition in 1422 AH .
The book has become a standard reference in academic studies on modern Quranic exegesis . While modern scholars such as Fadl Hasan Abbas commended its scope and industry, they also noted reservations regarding aspects of its historical categorizations and its critical treatment of certain modern figures and reformist trends .
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