The Qur�?nic Sufi Hermeneutics of Shaykh Mu??af?� al-�Al?w?: A critical study of his Lub?b al- �Ilm F? S?rah al-Najm
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Date
2018
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
The main focus of this dissertation is a critical study of the Arabic text, titled:
Lub?b al �Ilm F? S?rah al-Najm (The Kernel of Knowledge in the Chapter of
the Star) by Shaykh Ahmad bin Mu??af?� al-�Al?w?.
Due to the lack of research on esoteric commentaries of the Qur??n in the
English language, there is a need to embark upon an in-depth study of such
texts. An important work on Shaykh al-�Al?w? in English is Martin Lings� A
Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century. This book is an excellent introduction to
the life, works and thought of Shaykh al-�Al?w?, but it does not deal with a
specific text in any detail. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine
closely the above-mentioned text of Shaykh al-�Al?w? as a sample of his
esoteric interpretation of the Qur??n. For the purpose of this thesis, I shall
undertake a translation of his exegesis (tafs?r) on S?rah al-Najm (the Chapter
of the Star). I will include with it explanatory notes and identification of key
quotations and sources. This sample from Shaykh al-�Al?w?�s work will form
the basis of my critical analyses. It will also provide a means for comparison
with some of his other works, and with Qur??nic commentaries of the same
genre by other Sufi scholars, both classical and modern. In this dissertation, I
also seek to offer some answers and proofs concerning the validity of the
existence of esoteric tafs?r and why it is needed. I will do this by examining
key verses in the Qur�?n and the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet
Mu?ammad).
The distinction between esoteric and exoteric interpretations of the
Qur??n will also be dealt with in this dissertation. Although the emphasis will
be on the esoteric dimension, neither the esoteric nor the exoteric dimension
will be treated in a mutually exclusive way. Most Arabic commentaries on the
Qur??n tend towards the exoteric and literal meanings of the text, but the
exoteric form also has an inner dimension which Shaykh al-�Al?w?
demonstrates in his commentary on S?rah al-Najm.
Description
Magister Artium - MA
Keywords
Arabic text, English language, Esoteric interpretation, Qur�?n, Esoteric dimension