When聽people come to read the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More, there is an interaction between what the words of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽say and what the person reading the text already thinks and believes before reading it. This lecture marks the launch of聽The Meaning of the Word: Lexicology and 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Exegesis聽(2015) and discusses the ways in which different Muslim scholars have responded to the words of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍. Chapters from the volume will be used as examples to show how the readings of individual words are influenced by theological, legal and philosophical agendas. The lecture also introduces some aspects of literary theory and philosophy of language that are necessary to gain an understanding of how we read, and why knowing how we read is important in the study of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and its interpretation.
Speaker
Dr Stephen R. Burge
Stephen Burge joined the Institute of Ismaili Studies as a Research Associate in 2009, having completed his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh. He has published a monograph on angels in Islam, as well as a number of articles on angels, exegesis and interpretation. He is also co-editing and translating a volume of the Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries Series on the Pillars of Islam, and editing a volume entitled The Meaning of the Word:聽Lexicology and 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Exegesis. His main research interests are the works of Jalal聽al-Din聽al-Suyuti,聽hadith聽studies,聽tafsir聽(Qur’anic Exegesis)聽and angelology.
