Detailed Abstract
Research Objective: This research aims to examine the types of applications of the existing Torah and Gospel in the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an, with the goal of quantitatively and qualitatively developing the resources for the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an. The interpretation of historical verses, especially those related to Christianity and Judaism and their holy scriptures, sometimes necessitates referring to the Old and New Testaments, or at least referring to them can help in a more accurate understanding. For example, Islamic sources and even historical sources alone cannot adequately examine the verses related to the Israelites and their Prophets or even the nations and Prophets before them, or they face serious limitations and issues. Additionally, the possibility of scholarly examination of verses that directly pertain to the Torah and the Gospel and their texts cannot be achieved without referring to the texts of the Torah and the Gospel. Therefore, the main question is: What applications can be found for the claimed Torah and Gospel in the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an? Naturally, other preliminary questions arise, such as: Do these three Qur’anic exegetes fundamentally believe in the distortion of the Old and New Testaments? Or, is it permissible from their perspective to use the Old and New Testaments in the interpretation of the Qur’an, which they have utilized in their interpretations ؛or, like Allamah Ṭabāṭabāī's approach to narrations, he has used them for other reasons despite their assertion of their invalidity and impermissibility?
Research Methodology: This study uses a descriptive-analytical method drawing upon library resources to compare three Qur’anic Exegeses. The Tafsīr of al-Mīzān and al-Atharī al-Jāmiʿ, as the pioneers of two contemporary Shia exegetical trends, and the Tafsīr of al-Furqān, which have made the most use of the Old and New Testaments, are the focus of this research. In addition, due to the space limitations of the article and the unfinished status of the Tafsīr al-Atharī al-Jāmiʿ after Surah Al-Baqarah, as well as the presence of a considerable number of verses related to the Israelites in this blessed Chapter, Surah Al-Baqarah was chosen as the scope of this research. After determining the scope, to answer the preliminary questions, the views of these three Qur’anic exegetes in their various works were examined, and finally, by extracting the instances of using the Old and New Testaments in their exegesis books, they were classified and organized.
Research Findings: The results of the research show that despite the serious differences in the type of distortion of the Old and New Testaments between Allamah Ṭabāṭabāī and Ayatollah Sadiqi Tehrani, who believe in the verbal distortion of the Torah and the Gospel, and Ayatollah Ma’rifat, who differentiates between the distortion of the original version of the Torah and the distortion of the existing versions, all three exegetes agree on the possibility of using the Old and New Testaments in the interpretation of the Qur’an. They consider the Old and New Testaments at least as a referable historical source, although they set conditions for it. Ultimately, by examining the performance of these three Qur’anic exegetes in Surah Al-Baqarah alone, a total of nine types of applications were identified for the use of the Old and New Testaments in the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an: "Using to identify fabrications in Islamic sources, mutual affirmation of the Qur’an and the Old and New Testaments, refutation against the Old and New Testaments, effort to determine the instances of verses, detailing a historical process mentioned in the Qur’an, preferring an exegesis opinion, mutual understanding of narrations and the Old and New Testaments, mutual understanding of the Qur’an and the Old and New Testaments, understanding words and their etymology."
Final Conclusion: In addition to accepting the distortion of the Old and New Testaments in any verbal or semantic form, the possibility and permissibility of using them in the interpretation of the Qur’an were established in these three Qur’anic exegeses. By reviewing and organizing them, nine types of applications of the Old and New Testaments in the interpretation of the Qur’an were identified, which can naturally be completed with more comprehensive studies in all Surahs of the Qur’an.