PRESENCE OF KIRA’AT IN HANDŽIĆ’S ANNOTATION OF THE QUR’AN

Abstract

Mehmed Handžić (1906-1944) is one of the most significant Bosnian alims (scholars). Even though he lived shortly, he is the most prolific Bosnian alim that left us imposing literary work from various studies. What makes him unique and original among the Bosnian ulama is the fact that he was the only one, in the modern history of the Bosniaks, who wrote a commentary of the Noble Qur’an in Arabic. He was especially interested in ayatul-ahkam, ayats with Shari’ah (legal) themes. The most significant annotations from this field are: surahs Al-Baqarah and An-Nisa’. By detailed analysis of the interpretations of these two surahs, it can be concluded that he relied greatly on tafsir works of eminent mufassirs such as: Tabary, Jassas, Ibn al-‘Arabi, Kurtuby, Alusy, Zamakhshary, Razy, Baydavy, Ibn Kathir, Jalalayn, Nasafy, etc. In addition to works of tafsir, he also used other sources such as hadith, fikh and linguistic works. When reading Handžić’s tafsir works, one can say with certainty that he used kira’ats for additional argumentation of his attitudes and as arguments for answers to some fiqh questions, in addition to other resources of his interpretation, thus following the practice of former proponents of traditional-rational method when interpreting the Qur’an. This paper also includes some quotes that illustrate how Handžić considered kira’at as being important in the interpretation of the Qur’an, as well as some concrete examples that show presence of kira’at in his interpretation of the Noble Qur’an. Keywords: Handžić /tafsir/ interpretation/ kira’ats/

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