Qur'anic exegesis through unreliable traditions amounts to...

Qur'anic exegesis through unreliable traditions amounts to interpreting it in accordance with one's subjective judgement and ascrib­ing a falsehood to God, and this is prohibited. The point around which all these judgements revolve is the essential need for safeguarding the Qur'an as the source of all religious knowledge and teachings. Just as the Qur'an has sanctity and credibility, its exposition and explanation too should bear a seal of reliability.

Role of Exegesis in Legal Deduction No doubt, the difference of viewpoint regarding Qur'anic tafsir has a significant effect upon the process of a jurisprudent's deduction of ahkam from the Qur'an. Hence a mujtahid cannot afford to be unfamiliar, in the course of his work, with tafsir and its historical development (to the extent that it has a bearing on legal deduction).

Researchers in the field of Qur'anic studies have identified three separate areas for the sake of classifying and systematizing these studies: `Ilm al-tajwid, dealing with phonetics and the pronunciation of consonants and vowels. 2.`Ilm al-qira'ah; dealing with words, their syllabication and com­position and the techniques of recitation. 3. `Ilm al-tafsir, dealing with the meanings of words, the historical circumstances of the revelation of verses (asbab al-nuzul), etc.

Discus­sions regarding nasikh and mansukh, and muhkam and mutashabih also re­late to `ilm al-tafsir. Researchers in Qur'anic sciences have compiled various books and treatises in this field. However, for reasons of space, we shall refrain from mentioning them here. The Mode of Revelation: The temporal aspect of the Qur'an's revelation, too, has received attention among the topics of discussion pertaining to Qur'anic studies.

However, it is difficult to visualize any effect of the aforesaid topic on the process of legal inference from the Qur'an. Some are of the opinion that the Qur'an was revealed all at once and completely, although the Holy Prophet recited the same in parts in different contexts. Some others believe that the Qur'an was gradually revealed over a period of time, and its revelation, being in the temporal order of its communication, was also gradual.

Some of the verses, like those of the Surat al-Qadr, apparently confirm the first view, and some others, like verse 106 of Surat al-'Isra; are compatible with the theory of gradual revelation.