Contemporary Approaches to Exegesis: An Overview of Modern Scholarship

Abstract

The Holy Qur’ān is the source of directions for the people of Islam as well as for humanity in the matters of this world and the hereafter. When the light of Islam reached out of the Arab Peninsula, the religious scholars wrote commentaries in other languages to explain the rules of the Holy Qur’ān to the non-Arabs, especially in view of the development of Urdu language. The twentieth century A.D. was a very important period for Muslims in this respect. In accordance with the demands of the time, the style of Exegesis of the Holy Qur’ān also changes according to the understanding, communication needs and current circumstances of people of all ages. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the tradition of studying the Qur’ān continued to develop. The leading scholars of various sects began to defend their teaching and legal position. Scholars of science began in their own way the process of understanding the Qur’ān, which brought scientific and theological interpretations to the fore. Some modernists based their interpretation of the Qur’ān on their modern activities in the field of Islamic Studies of various institutions or universities, which began to specialize in the study of the Qur’ān and the sciences of the Qur’ān. The upshot of this work is that a large body of commentary literature has emerged in this region over the past half century. Urdu is one of the most popular languages in the world after Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, in which not only have these comments been translated into world languages, but also the legitimacy of said comments. The reality has also gained popularity around the world. This article introduces and describes the style of modern Urdu language commentaries.