Political discourses in twentieth-century Shi'i tafsir : an analysis of Muhammad al-Sadiqi's al-Furquan

Abstract

This thesis examines the construction of political discourses in al-Furqān fī Tafsīr al-Qur’ān bi al-Qur’ān wa al-Sunna, a twentieth-century Shi’i tafsir written by Muḥammad al-Ṣādiqī. It begins with the assumption that al-Ṣādiqī offers a new paradigm in political articulation in the modern Shi’i exegetical landscape by making his tafsir a validator to entities outside the Imams. This thesis is a qualitative study that employs three theories: tafsir as a reflection of the social context, tafsir as a subjective text, and tafsir as a genealogical tradition. By examining four major political themes: leadership, form of governance, perception of external or non-Islamic ideologies and systems, and revolution, this thesis results in several findings. Firstly, al-Ṣādiqī accommodates multiple interests in his tafsir. He wants to preserve his Shi’i commitment, while demonstrating his identity as an Iranian and modern exegete. Al-Ṣādiqī tends to frame Saddam Hussein, Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Zionists, the U.S., Israel, Russia, communism, and capitalism in a negative manner, showing that the situational experience influences his interpretation. Secondly, it is confirmed that al-Ṣādiqī truly legitimizes non-Imam figures, which in this case are Khomeini and Iranian Muslim revolutionaries, by distorting the meaning of some verses and riwāya. In this matter, this thesis views that al-Ṣādiqī aims to promote national identity and construct hegemony. In addition, this thesis also argues that al-Ṣādiqī went beyond the other twentieth-century tafsirs. Thirdly, this thesis notes a paradox in al-Ṣādiqī's political stance. He promotes Khomeini on one hand, yet contrasts his concept of wilāya al-faqīh on the other hand. Ultimately, this thesis refines and updates Sajjad Rizvi's study, which merely contends that modern Shiites preserve the function of tafsir as a tool for justifying the Imams, without adequately examining its use in validating non-Imam entities and constructing national identity.