Maûn Sûresi Özelinde Bir Kur’ân Hermenötiği Denemesi
A Hermeneutical Approach to the Holy Qur’ān in the Case of Sūrah al-Mā‘ūn

Summary/Abstract: Sūrah al-Mā‘ūn is one of the most debated sūras of the Holy Qur’ān. The dispute primarily is about whether the sūrah belongs to the Meccan or Medinan periods. Besides those who believe that the sūrah, which consists of seven verses, was revealed at Medina entirely, some mufassirs think that three verses of the sūra were revealed at Mecca and the remaining verses at Medina. Behind the disagreements are diverse riwāyats transmitted from the Ṣaḥāba. Furthermore, various arguments have been made about the meaning of such words as sahūn and mā‘ūn in the sūrah; and there are strong disagreements about the identity of the people mentioned in the sūrah. This study tries to understand the dispute by focusing on its historical background rather than reconciling these contradicting riwāyāt. To this aim, the data that constitutes the basis of the disagreements will be analyzed to make it more comprehensible. This methodology is utilized to demonstrate an example of the Qur'ānic hermeneutics. Here, our objective is to emphasize the significance of the comprehensive approach to the Qur’ānic tafsīr in general. As a matter of fact, such an endeavor will reveal that we need a new point of view not only for the Sūrah al-Mā‘ūn but for any problem faced in the field of Qur’ānic tafsīr. The present study argues that this is the original point of view of the first generation, a point of view historical distance made obliviated. The most crucial disagreement in the surah is over the meaning of verses 4-6 "So woe to those who pray (muṣallīn), but are heedless of their ṣalāt, those who perform only to show off (yurāūn)". Therefore, the present study focuses on the disagreements on these verses. According to different accounts of the circumstances of revelation of these verses, this sūrah was revealed about some polytheists in the Meccan period. Among them, al-‘Āṣ bin Vāil's name stands out. However, the narrations about the expressions muṣallīn and yurāūn in the surah have led to the emergence of the opinion that the later part of the sūrah was revealed in Medina. For, according to these narrations, muṣallīn here describes those who perform ṣalāt, and yurāūn describes munāfiqūn. In this case, the people in question in the verses are the munāfiqūn of Medina who are heedless and perform their ṣalāt for hypocrisy. Among the companions from whom these narrations transmitted, the names of Ibn ‘Abbās and Qatāda stand out. Therefore, some mufassirs thought that the second part of the sūrah was revealed in Medina. However, the narrations stating that the sūrah was revealed in Mecca were also transmitted from these two companions. It is even narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that the entire sūrah had been revealed in Mecca. Thus, some early mufassirs endorsed this opinion. Those who say that the people who are described in the aforementioned verses are some of the Meccan polytheists have also associated the expression muṣallīn with the concepts of mukā’ and taṣdiyya’ mentioned in al-Anfāl 8/35. According to the narrations regarding the verse “Their ṣalāh at the Kaaba was nothing but whistling and clapping” the polytheists were worshiping in the Kaaba by whistling and clapping. This is the ṣalāh condemned in Sūrah al-Mā‘ūn. However, when we look at the background of the related narrations, it is clear that this conflict stems from the hadiths of the Prophet. Because, when the Prophet was asked about the identity of those described in these verses in the Medina period, on one occasion he said that they were munāfiqūn and those who postpone their ṣalāts. Ṣaḥāba and Tābi‘ūn scholars, notably Ibn ‘Abbās, said these were munāfiqūn. The fact that Ṣaḥāba and Tābi‘ūn scholars interpreted the verses in terms of the hadiths of the Prophet on the incident in Medina, led to the emergence of the opinion that these verses were revealed in Medina. It resulted in the emergence of disagreements about the place of revelation of the verses, which constitute the second part of the sūrah, and the identity of the people condemned. However, one can argue that the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad merely point out that some of the facts mentioned in the surah are in the semantic field, not that these verses were revealed in Medina. Therefore, instead of viewing the differences in the narrations as inconsistencies, it is more appropriate to consider that the new problems have been included by Prophet Muhammad in the scope of the semantics of the verses that were revealed earlier. Thus, Prophet Muhammad set an example for the interpretation of the Qur'ān by including the munāfiqūn of Medina and the people who wasted their ṣalāts by delaying them, into the scope of the verses that were revealed about some polytheists who were heedless and who performed their ṣalāts with hypocrisy in the Meccan period. Thus, he confirmed that the verses cannot be assigned to the people who caused them to be revealed and should not be limited to the times and places where they were revealed.

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