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Yrd.
Doē. Dr. Żbrahim GÖRENER |
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The books written under the title of usūl are well-known in Turkey. When one looks at those kinds of books, one might think that they are methodological books. But, the contents of those books do not support this conclusion. In a method, two things' existence is crucial: sources and attitudes. It is true that the books that carry the word usūl in their titles are considered as sources, but it is not common to see any attitudes in them. As an example, one can take the title tafsīr usūlu. The books titled as tafsīr usūlu includes such topics as history of the Qur'an, Qur'anic sciences (Ulūm al Qur'an) and history of exegesis. It is possible to organize those topics under the perception-understanding-commentary schema. In this way it will be easier to determine whether the books of tafsīr usūlu are sources or methods. By the history of the Qur'an one defines the field of study. It is important to know what the qualities of the scripture are and how it reached us. It is reasonable to define this as perception level, because the scripture is the immediate object for one who is eager to understand Qur'an. Then comes the second level: understanding. In this level, one expects to find understanding methods in the tafsīr usūlu, but generally it contains only the sources for understanding. The last level is explanation and commentary. In the tafsīr usūlu books, one can find only historical process and classification. Attitudes toward Qur'anic sciences and other sources may be found in particular works separated from tafsīr usūlu. Such books may focus only on one commentator or on grouped exegesis tendencies. |
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