Comparative Analysis of Shiʿi Narrative Interpretations on the Issue of the Causes of Revelation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Theology and Education of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), University of Isfahan, Iran

2 PhD graduate of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

A close examination of Shiʿi narrational exegesis reveals that, like other Qurʾānic commentators, the authors of these works exercised ijtihād in interpreting the Qurʾān. Their exegetical judgments, shaped by diverse theological and intellectual contexts, are reflected in their selection, organization, and presentation of transmitted narrations. This study comparatively analyzes six major Shiʿi narrational commentaries—Tafsīr al-Qummī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, Al-Burhān by al-Baḥrānī, Al-Ṣāfī by Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, and Nūr al-Thaqalayn by al-Ḥuwayzī—to examine their treatment of reports concerning the occasions of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl). Employing a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach, the study identifies significant differences in both the selection and interpretation of these reports. The most notable distinctions appear in Tafsīr al-Qummī, which includes narrations that appear incompatible with the doctrine of prophetic infallibility, and in Al-Burhān, whose author extensively employs asbāb al-nuzūl reports to criticize the opponents of the Ahl al-Bayt. A common feature underlying these approaches is the broad acceptance of interpretive narrations despite variations in their reliability. The findings further indicate that the development of Shiʿi theology, particularly the transition from the pre-rationalist period to the rationalist Baghdad school, significantly influenced al-Qummī’s exegetical methodology. Likewise, al-Baḥrānī’s reliance on sources such as Taʾwīl al-Āyāt al-Ẓāhirah, Rawḍat al-Wāʿiẓīn, and Al-Hidāyah al-Kubrā accounts for many of the distinctive features of his treatment of asbāb al-nuzūl reports.

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References

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Biannual Journal of research in the interpretation of Quran
Volume 12, Issue 24
August 2025
Pages 215-246

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