The Epiphany of Tafsir Ash-Sharawi with reference to the Contextualization of Takfir and Jihad by the Nigerian Muslim Scholars

Abstract

Abstract

Tafsīr remains an essential scholastic interpretation of the messages contained in the Glorious Qur’ān. It provides explicit meaning, explanation, interpretation, and commentary on the Quran. However, one of the significant characteristics of Tafsir is the fundamental approach derived from the prophetic and companions’ legacies, which metamorphose into the classical and modern style of explication and commentary in the later 20th century. Tafsir Shaarawi is considered one of the modern pieces of exegeses of the Quran with the view of interpreting the creeds and legal rulings in the Glorious Qur’ān based on the scientific, socio-economic, political, and cultural context. Al-Imam Mutawalli Ash-Shacrāwi is a renowned Islamic scholar among the leading authors of modern Tafsīr in contemporary society. This study aims to explicate the manifestation of Tafsir Ash-Sharawi on the Contextualization of Takfir and Jihad by the Nigerian Muslim Scholars. Analyzing the exegetical approaches of shaʻarawi theological interpretation of Takfir and socio-political conceptualization of Jihad in the modern era. This study demonstrates how Tafsīr Ash-Shacrāwi can be used in correcting the modern crises of Takfir and Jihad among Nigerian Muslim scholars. The study adopts exegetical and phenomenological analytical methods of research. The exegetical method explains the Qur’anic verses while phenomenological analysis explicates the views of Al-Imam Ash-Shacrāwi in his Tafsīr on the contemporary understanding and application of the concept of Takfīr and Jihad to address the public interest of the Muslims and entire humanity. This work concludes by recommending the application of Quranic values in solving human challenges in contemporary society.