Uṣūl al-Tafsīr: The Sciences and
Methodology of the Quran

Recep Doğan
Clifton, NJ: Tughra Books, 2014. 347 pages.

“The best among you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it to others”
is a well-known hadith on the superiority of the Qur’an mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ
al-Bukhārī and many other hadith collections. When one needs to teach some-
thing to others, it is crucial to have a well-grounded knowledge of the subject
to be taught. More importantly, it is necessary to know the methodology of
obtaining this knowledge. In the field of Qur’an studies, ‘ilm al-tafsīr provides
the infrastructure for the interpreter who is preparing himself/herself to inter-
pret the Qur’an. In addition, uṣūl al-tafsīr provides him/her with an almost
step-by-step guide in this regard.

This book Uṣūl al-Tafsīr could only have been written by an author with
profound experience in the history and exegesis of the Qur’an in particular, as
well as with a great deal of familiarity and comprehensive understanding of
the various Islamic disciplines. In his valuable work, Recep Doğan, a lecturer
of Islamic sciences and civilizations at Australia’s Charles Stuart University,
attempts to fill a gap in the literature of the methodology of Qur’anic exegesis.
In doing so, he provides detailed accounts on the history of uṣūl al-tafsīr and
combines both classical and modern Qur’anic exegetical approaches. 

In addition to the forward by Ismail Albayrak (pp. xiii-xv), the book con-
sists of twelve chapters, a glossary, and a bibliography. The chapters deals
with various topics, such as the history and development of Qur’anic exege-
sis, the revelation (waḥy), the transmission of the Qur’anic revelation, the
i‘jāz of the Qur’an, the history of interpretation and interpreters, occasions
of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl); clear and ambiguous verses (muḥkam and
mutashābih), the notion of abrogation (naskh), Qur’anic readings and the no-
tion of the seven letters, Qur’anic stories, esoteric interpretation, textual
analysis, and translation of the Qur’an. The work also contains detailed in-
formation on the history of the methodology of exegesis, such as the Makkan
and Madinian parts of the Qur’an.

The author contends that the literature in the field of uṣūl al-tafsīr is lim-
ited in both number and approaches (p. xiv). He also criticizes the approach
of some orientalists in this field, which is, according to him, neither satisfying
nor flawless. However, the book does not include any evidence to support this
claim. Nevertheless, Doğan does state that those who want to interpret the

110 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 33:4



Qur’an must have an essential knowledge of many subjects, among them Ara-
bic philology, hadith, fiqh, and theology. 

Many orientalists and western scholars have studied the Qur’an, notwith-
standing their employment of different approaches. The author mentions Ignaz
Goldziher (1850-1921) and Theodor Nöldeke (1836-1930) in particular, along
with some other modern western scholars. The picture would have become
richer if the works of Abraham Geiger (1810-74) and Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-
93) had been included and discussed in this context, as their works have been
praised by Muslims and non-Muslim scholars alike.

The book’s logical arrangement makes it easy to read and comprehend
for those who are unfamiliar with this genre of Islamic studies. Doğan re-
markably demonstrates the different meanings of the revelation so as to show
that it is not limited to divine messages to the prophets, but could also include
natural instincts, inspiration, signals and signs, and divine inspiration to the
angels. After that, he moves on to the Qur’an as transmitted in both oral and
written forms, and places a strong emphasis on the history of the written text
was made, especially the methodology of collecting the Qur’an after the
Prophet’s death and of writing it down during the rule of Caliph Uthman.

In the introductory chapter, Doğan deals with the history of ‘ulūm al-
Qur’ān and defines the different terminology related to it, such as fahm al-
Qur’ān (understanding), ‘ilm al-Qur’ān (science), and fiqh al-Qur’ān
(jurisprudence). As a field of scholarship, uṣūl al-tafsīr is one of the disci-
plines established in the third/ninth century. Prior to that, the study of the
Qur’an used to be included under the science of hadith and recognized as
the book of exegesis (kitāb al-tafsīr). The two sciences were later separated
and established their own methodology. The book addresses the develop-
ment of this area not only during the first centuries of Islam, but also gives
examples of some modern works in a way that enables the readers to estab-
lish the connection between the two sciences. The list of resources, however,
is not comprehensive because it focuses mainly on the discipline’s major
traditional and contemporary works. 

Building on the previous notion, Doğan tackles the question of why uṣūl
al-tafsīr developed so late by giving different reasons for this phenomenon.
For example, he states that there was no need for it during the Prophet’s life-
time, for he and some of his Companions were the only interpreters. Another
reason pertaining to the late development of ‘ulūm al-Qur’ān is that for a long
time ta’wīl and tafsīr were used interchangeably. Doğan then provides defi-
nitions for many different terminologies in the field of Qur’anic exegesis, such
as ta’wīl, uṣūl al-tafsīr, ‘ulūm al-tafsīr, and the translation of the Qur’an. 

Book Reviews 111



Although, the translatability of the Qur’an was – and remains – a subject
of dispute among Muslim scholars, it is fair to say that both literal translations
and translations of its meaning form an important discipline, especially for
Muslims today. For this reason, the author makes a clear distinction between
the translation of the Qur’an and tafsīr methodologies. 

Muslims believe that the Qur’an is a miracle (mu‘jizah) in its entirety, an
assertion designed to challenge those who claimed that it is forged. Despite
the fact that the topic of i‘jāz is often mentioned briefly in other modern works
on methodology, Doğan gives an ample explanation of this topic and its related
subjects.

In three different chapters, Doğan covers three related subjects. In chapter
5, he starts with the history of interpretation and interpreters of the Qur’an in
general, while in chapter 11 he deals with esoteric interpretation of the Qur’an.
Finally in chapter 12, he focuses on textual analysis and translation. The three
chapters list various scholars and their works on Qur’anic interpretation. In ad-
dition, the book makes reference in many places to Sufi interpretations, such
as Muhiy al-Din ibn Arabi’s exciting ideas on the Qur’an’s revelation – he re-
gards it as a development from the rank of absorption toward the rank of elab-
oration, where Divine Being manifests Himself through His speech (p. 33). 

The book could serve as an excellent reference for those students being
introduced to the Qur’an or to Muslims who want to deepen their understand-
ing of their identity in the light of the Qur’an. The author’s wealth of examples
enables the reader to build a meaningful bridge between the past and the pres-
ent. Given the richness of subjects covered, a subject index would have been
very helpful. 

Walid Ghali
Head of the Library, IIS-ISMC Joint Library

London, United Kingdom

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