A Comparative Analysis of the Quranic Foundations of Imam Khamenei and Andrew Rippin

Document Type : Scholary

Authors

1 Ph.D. (Level 4) Student of the International Institute for Islamic Studies (IIIS), Qum, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Quran and Orientalism, Al-Mustafa International University, Qum, Iran

Abstract

The Quran is the eternal miracle of the Prophet Muhammad and contains 
the plan for the guidance and salvation of mankind. Many Orientalists, 
including Rippin, view this divine book and eternal miracle as a literary 
text and examine it with such an assumption. This research aims to 
comparatively analyze some of the Quranic foundations of Imam 
Khamenei and Andrew Rippin through a descriptive-analytical approach 
in order to highlight the authentic Quranic foundations in comparison with 
the views of Orientalists. Some of Rippin’s Quranic foundations are as 
follows: The Quran is neither a Divine book nor an eternal miracle; the 
Quran does not present any exegetical method for its interpretation; the 
difference in readings is a justification for the Quran’s miraculousness; the 
occasions of revelation are merely literary devices. In contrast, Imam 
Khamenei regards the Quran as a guiding book that is not limited to any 
specific time or place; he believes in the linguistic and semantic 
miraculousness and inimitability of Quranic verses and the wisdom behind 
their arrangement; he examines the difference in readings through 
appropriate means such as verifying the authenticity of narrators, the 
context of verses, and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad; he 
considers the occasions or context of revelation as appropriate devices for 
a better understanding of the verses. As long as Orientalists such as Rippin 
are not guided into the revelatory nature of the Quran, one should not 
expect them to have a correct understanding and a fair evaluation of the 
Quran and its verses.

Keywords

The Quran: Contemporary Studies
Volume 2, Issue 3
Second year, Number 3, Spring 2023
June 2023
Pages 23-46

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