Taha al-Alwani's Theory of Interpretation of the Qur'an : The First Signs of Postmodernism in Contemporary Islamic Thought

Abstract

This paper aims to show that the tone of postmodernism, in the sense of the collapse of the "Grand Narrative" as defined by Jean-Francois Lyotard, is seen in the ideas that are held by contemporary Muslim intellectuals, taking the case of the thought of Taha Jabir al-Alwani (1935-). One of the key-words in his theory of interpretation of the Qur'an is "the Sovereignty of the Quran." By this term he advocates that "the Divine Sovereignty" has ended when the final revelation or Qur'an was brought about and the prophecy was sealed, and then the Sovereignty has shifted to the Qur'an's text. Nevertheless, this does not deprive him of concern about the empirical matters, as he suggests the "Combination of Two Readings," another key-term of his thought. This term expresses the obligation of humans to combine two readings, the reading of the revelation and that of the world. This concept compels him to examine the law. He introduces the theory of "Fiqh for Muslim minorities" as the ideal style of Islamic law in the contemporary world. It promotes multiplication of discrepancies and creates plural valid fiqhs. Each filth would be enforced as a "micrology" and it narrates only a "micro-narrative." One can arrive at a clue, through the example of Alwani's ideas, to re-read contemporary Islamic thought, which in the author's view is being infiltrated by the ethos of postmodernism.