Fights & Flights: Underrated Opinions in Tafsir

Course Description

Join us for an illuminating seminar in which Dr Sohaib Saeed uncovers some realities of the Tafsir tradition and the debates that make it a lively and living science. It will examine two cases studies which form the basis for his 2022 article “Fights and Flights” in the Journal of Qur’anic Studies.

The first verse under examination is Al-Baqarah 2:178, the Ayah of Qiṣāṣ, in which the famed scholar Ibn Taymiyyah offered a surprising alternative to the mainstream interpretations, which has mostly been overlooked since his time, even by devotees of his writings. Dr Sohaib will provide a detailed breakdown of the wording to show how Ibn Taymiyyah’s reading (which is based on specific narrations from scholars of the Tabi’in) potentially solves problems faced by the interpreters before and after him.

The second case study on Al-Baqarah 2:260 concerns Prophet Ibrahim and the Birds. Alongside the common explanation which holds that Ibrahim (pbuh) was commanded to kill four birds and bring them back to life with his call, there is an alternative, apparently first proposed by the Mu’tazilite exegete Abu Muslim al-Isfahani. Again, this seminar will examine the two possibilities in parallel, while drawing attention to the reasoning provided by the mufassirun when supporting or dismissing minority views.

Ideal for: Students, scholars, and enthusiasts of Quranic studies interested in Quranic Hermeneutics and the dynamism of the Quran’s interpretive tradition.

Note: This course is included in the Quran Study Programme. If you are already enrolled in the programme, there’s no need to register separately for this course and you will receive the course access details closer to the course date. However, anyone interested in the topic or Qur’anic studies in general can benefit from this course.