المغالطة في التفسير

Abstract EN

This research paper discusses an important issue of the Qur'an exegesis and interpretation, namely chicanery that many exegetes, in the past and the present, made use of in their interpretations.

It clarifies the meaning of chicanery as the interpretation of the Qur'an in a wrong way to prove a certain argument or doctrine with the intention of misleading people.

It explains kinds of chicanery that could be associated with bias and/or ignorance.

The present researcher explores chicanery motives, which are: bias in favor of one's doctrine or predecessors, error of reasoning sources, error of reasoning method, vanity and conceit.

I illustrate these points with examples drawn from the most common doctrines in the past and present, namely the Shiites, the Sufis and the Muˁtazila.

I only mean to give examples, not a comprehensive account, to show their use of chicanery to prove their false doctrines on the issue of the Imamate (religious leadership) according to the Shiites' view, the issue of seeing God according to the Muˁazila view.

I cite the interpretation provided by the exegete ˀAbu ˁAbdur-Raḥmān As-Sulamῑ on bism il-Lāh (in the Name of God).

His interpretation does not agree with the approach adopted by other exegetes.

This research paper concludes with some significant results such as the paramount importance of studying this topic that opens the gates for other researchers to explore this point in depth in Masters and PhD theses and to scrutinize all the doctrines that made use of wrong interpretation full of fallacies and chicanery as a way to prove their doctrines.

It also concludes that fallacies and chicanery found their way in the disciplines of theology, language, reasoned evidence, and quoted evidence.