Publication: Muhammed Ahmed Halefullah, eserleri ve Kur’an tefsiri ile ilgili görüşleri
Abstract
Muhammed Ahmed Halefullah, Eserleri ve Kur'ân Tefsiri İle İlgili Görüşleri konulu bu çalışma, Modern Mısırda Kur'ân üzerine yapılan çalışmalar içerisinde önemli bir yeri bulunan Halefullah'ın eserlerini ve Kur'ân kıssaları teorisini konu edinmektedir. Kur'ân'ın rasyonalist bir bakış açısıyla tefsir edilmesi, tefsirin sınırlarını aşan bir yaklaşım olarak değerlendirildiği için, pek çok zaman sorunlara yol açmıştır. Halefullah'ın ortaya koyduğu metin ve gerçeklik çerçevesindeki tefsir ve kıssa teorisi, tefsirin sınırlarına karşı bir tecavüz olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Halefullah 1947'de Kahire Üniversitesi'nde hazırladığı doktora teziyle İslam dünyasında öne çıkan bir kişilik olarak görülmektedir. Esasen danışmanı Emîn el-Hûli'nin de daha önce ileri sürdüğü benzer görüşler geniş çapta ilgi ve tepki toplamıştı. Halefulah, Kur'ân'daki peygamber kıssalarının tarihsel değil edebi kıssalar olduğunu iddia etti. O'nun teorisine göre bu kıssalar, dini hedeflere ulaşmak amacıyla, bir peygamber olarak Hz. Muhammed'in ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda tekrar edilmiştir. Bu tespit neyin gerçek olup olmadığı hususunda önemli bir hareket noktasını oluşturmaktadır. Tezi kamuoyunun gündemine girince, Halefullah dinden çıkma ve cehaletle itham edildi. Juri tezi reddetti ve kamuoyu tepkisi nedeniyle yazar üniversitedeki görevinden alında.Halefullah tezini 1950-51 yıllarında yayınladı. Geleneksel bakış açısına göre Kur'ân kıssaları tarihsel gerçek olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu konu modern çağda çeşitli sorunları beraberinde getirmiştir. Çünkü bu kıssalarda anlatılanlar, çeşitli tarihsel verilerle uyuşmamaktadır.Örneğin, Haman, Kur'ân'da Firavun'un veziri olarak anlatılmaktadır. Tevrat'ta ise Pers kralının bir veziri olarak belirtilmektedir. Modern Müslüman hangisine inanmalıdır? Kur'ân'a tarihsel bir kaynak olarak yaklaşmak zorunlu mudur? Bu çelişki nasıl aşılacaktır? Oryantalistlerin bu konudaki eleştirilerine nasıl cevap verilecektir? İşte Halefullah'ın tezi bu sorular etrafında dönmektedir. Halefullah ısrarla, Kur'an'da anlatılan kıssaların psikolojik ve edebi karakterine vurgu yapmaktadır. O'na göre Kur'ân bu kıssaların tarihsel özelliği ile ilgilenmemiştir. Kutsal gerçekleri somutlaştırmak için bu edebi kıssalar anlatılmıştır. Bu yüzden de kıssalarda zaman ve mekanlar çoğu zaman anlatılmamıştır. Halefullah'ın kıssa teorisi 1947'den bugüne kadar Kur'ân üzerine çalışma yapan pek çok araştırmacının dikkatini çekmiştir. Bu araştırma yazarın düşüncelerini, ayrıntılı olarak ortaya koymak ve Kur'ân tefsiri alanında çalışma yapanlara, farklı bakış açılarını göstermek amacıyla hazırlanmıştır.
This work is about the Muhammed Ahmad Khalafallah's, who has an important position in the works which was made on Qur'an in Modern Egypt, product and his theory of Stories of Qur'an. Rationality is one area where the limits of interpretation are confronted; the desire to see scripture as fully in keeping with reason can only be taken so far before those who maintain a more traditional view of Islam raise their objections. Another area where these limits are confronted is seen in the relationship between the text and historical reality, often spoken of in terms of the conflict between 'truth' and 'reality'. Muhammad Ahmad Khalafallah (1916-1997), in a thesis submitted to Cairo University in 1947, brought this issue to prominence in the Islamic world. While the issue had been broached by others before him, especially his teacher Amin al-Khawli (1 895-1966). Khalafallah's instance, public reaction was fairly rapid. He wrote that the prophetic stories in the Qur'an were not historical as such but kerygmatic: that they were being repeated for their moral/ religious aims, and were repeated in different forms according to Muhammad's needs in a given situation. They were therefore contingent upon history even in their aims. This is the distinction between what may be termed 'truth' (in a spiritual sense) and 'reality' (as reflected in historical fact). Khalaf Allah was accused of 'atheism and gross ignorance'. It was published in 1950-1 but he was subsequently forced out of his university teaching post. Traditionally, all the stories of the Qur'an have been seen to be of equal value and to be of a historical nature. This position raised a number of questions in the modem world, however. What of stories which did not seem to be in agreement with other, earlier sources? For example, in the Qur'an Haman is presented as Pharaoh's minister while in the Bible he is a minister to the Persian king of a much later period. What is a modem Muslim to believe? Are the facts of the Qur'an all necessarily true historically and all other sources false? How will this attitude work in conjunction with the historical-critical method which clearly values older sources over newer ones? One of Khalafallah's concerns was apologetic: how to save the Qur'an from the attacks of the Orientalists who continued to cite all these problems within the text. Khalafallah's resolution of the problem was to say that the concern of the Qur'an is to employ striking literary expressions through which psychological and religious truths are expressed. Its concern is not necessarily with historical or material truth (that is, 'reality'). Literary genres, specifically the historical-literary, parable and allegory, have been employed within the Qur'an to embody these spiritual truths. The aim of the Qur'an was to 'admonish and exhort', not to instruct in history. Hence, information about time and place are generally missing in the Qur'anic narratives. Khalafullah's teory has called many investigators' attentions who has worked on Qur'an since 1947. This work has the assertion of explaining the author's opihion, as detailly.
This work is about the Muhammed Ahmad Khalafallah's, who has an important position in the works which was made on Qur'an in Modern Egypt, product and his theory of Stories of Qur'an. Rationality is one area where the limits of interpretation are confronted; the desire to see scripture as fully in keeping with reason can only be taken so far before those who maintain a more traditional view of Islam raise their objections. Another area where these limits are confronted is seen in the relationship between the text and historical reality, often spoken of in terms of the conflict between 'truth' and 'reality'. Muhammad Ahmad Khalafallah (1916-1997), in a thesis submitted to Cairo University in 1947, brought this issue to prominence in the Islamic world. While the issue had been broached by others before him, especially his teacher Amin al-Khawli (1 895-1966). Khalafallah's instance, public reaction was fairly rapid. He wrote that the prophetic stories in the Qur'an were not historical as such but kerygmatic: that they were being repeated for their moral/ religious aims, and were repeated in different forms according to Muhammad's needs in a given situation. They were therefore contingent upon history even in their aims. This is the distinction between what may be termed 'truth' (in a spiritual sense) and 'reality' (as reflected in historical fact). Khalaf Allah was accused of 'atheism and gross ignorance'. It was published in 1950-1 but he was subsequently forced out of his university teaching post. Traditionally, all the stories of the Qur'an have been seen to be of equal value and to be of a historical nature. This position raised a number of questions in the modem world, however. What of stories which did not seem to be in agreement with other, earlier sources? For example, in the Qur'an Haman is presented as Pharaoh's minister while in the Bible he is a minister to the Persian king of a much later period. What is a modem Muslim to believe? Are the facts of the Qur'an all necessarily true historically and all other sources false? How will this attitude work in conjunction with the historical-critical method which clearly values older sources over newer ones? One of Khalafallah's concerns was apologetic: how to save the Qur'an from the attacks of the Orientalists who continued to cite all these problems within the text. Khalafallah's resolution of the problem was to say that the concern of the Qur'an is to employ striking literary expressions through which psychological and religious truths are expressed. Its concern is not necessarily with historical or material truth (that is, 'reality'). Literary genres, specifically the historical-literary, parable and allegory, have been employed within the Qur'an to embody these spiritual truths. The aim of the Qur'an was to 'admonish and exhort', not to instruct in history. Hence, information about time and place are generally missing in the Qur'anic narratives. Khalafullah's teory has called many investigators' attentions who has worked on Qur'an since 1947. This work has the assertion of explaining the author's opihion, as detailly.