AN EXEMPLARY SUFI COMMENTARY: Latā’if al-Ishārāt by ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (376/986 – 465/1072)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15408/dhtmrb62Keywords:
Sufi hermeneutics, ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Qusyairī, Laṭā’if al-Isharāt, Sunnite SufismAbstract
Different from his predecessors, ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Qusyairi composed a less controversial Sufi commentary on the Qur’an, the Laṭā’if al-Ishārat. In a moderate approach the book provides glimpses of esoteric understanding resulted from a successful attempt of integrating Sufism into the Sharī‘a as the common endeavor of the early Quranic commentators to enroot Sufism into the Qur’an as the core Islamic notions. The question discussed in this piece is, then, how did al-Qushayrī interpret the Quranic verses to produce his mystical understanding in his Laṭā’if al-Isyarāt? The findings show that al-Qushayrī usually conveyed the spiritual significance of the Qur’ān in addition to provide its verbal meanings. The clearer the spiritual significances of the Qur’ānic verses attached to their literal interpretation, the lesser the need to articulate any allegoric or symbolic way of interpretation. On the contrary, the more obscure the spiritual significances to be disclosed from the formally interpreted literal senses, the more symbolic expressions will be attributed to the verses concerned.
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