Rethinking quranic interpretation : insights from al-tabari’s classical tafsir

Abstract

This research explores the tafsir of Al-Tabari in a deep seat to critically situate his interpretations of Quranic-related verses that deal with gender in the context of early Islamic intellectual and socio-cultural thinking and to open Al-Tabari's exegesis, which fuses pluralistic and contextual approaches, thus capturing the diverse scholarly perspectives on gender in classical Islam. That is, while Al-Tabari's tafsir reflects traditional hierarchies of gender, it also opens up avenues of a pluralistic methodology for reinterpretation today. Hereby, integrating feminist and contemporary hermeneutical frameworks, this study suggests ways in which Quranic gender verses could be read differently in terms of justice. Hence, Al-Tabari echoes in history the early Islamic norms concerning gender at the same time serving as a jumping-off point for renewed engagement with gender justice in the current context of Quranic interpretation, bringing together classical scholarship and modern views.