Rethinking traditional tafsȋr through the study quran : a discourse analysis

Abstract

This study focuses on The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, authored by a team of scholars led by Seyyed Hossein Nasr along with four American professors. It aims to examine whether The Study Quran (TSQ) aligns with traditional commentaries, as its authors claim, or whether it departs significantly from premodern interpretations. The research is based on the assumption that TSQ is shaped by a distinct understanding of “tradition” held by its authors, which may result in interpretations that differ from the mainstream of classical tafsīr. This study adopts a qualitative methodology, combining comparative textual analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The former is used to identify whether TSQ’s interpretations converge with or diverge from earlier exegetes, while the latter enables the study to go beyond descriptive content by uncovering how TSQ articulates power relations and ideological positioning through its commentary. The primary data source is The Study Quran itself, with a focus on its commentary rather than its translation or supplementary essays. The secondary sources include a range of tafāsīr, from medieval to modern, along with relevant books, journal articles, and scholarly works. This research investigates TSQ’s interpretive orientation through two main themes—theological and legal—by analyzing its treatment of Q 3:19, Q 3:85, and Q 4:34, to understand how TSQ positions itself within broader modern tafsīr discourse. Drawing on Fairclough’s CDA framework, this thesis argues that The Study Quran represents a traditionalist-universalist tafsīr: a project that re-appropriates classical commentary to support a universal metaphysical vision. While heavily drawing on traditional sources, TSQ in some cases departs from classical epistemic structures and reframes tradition through universalist ideas, positioning itself as a post-traditional intervention in contemporary Qur’anic interpretation.