Said (Abdullah) ed., Contemporary Muslim Qurʾānic Hermeneutics. Translations and Perspectives, Leiden, Brill, ("Texts and Studies on the Qurʾān ; 26"), 2026, 420 p. ISBN 978-90-04-75068-5
Editor
Abdullah Saeed, PhD, is Sultan of Oman Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on contemporary Qur’anic hermeneutics, with major works including Reading the Qur?an in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2013).
Presentation
This book brings together leading Muslim thinkers—from Egypt to Tunisia, Morocco, Iran, Turkey, to Indonesia—offering bold, diverse perspectives on how to interpret the Qurʾān in a changing world. From gender justice and interfaith relations to critiques of tradition and modernity, these essays tackle urgent questions facing Muslim communities. Many appear here in English for the first time. Whether defending classical methods or proposing reformist approaches, each author engages deeply with the Qurʾān’s meaning and relevance. A unique resource for students, scholars, and all who seek to understand contemporary Qurʾānic hermeneutics from within the Muslim tradition.
Content
Chapter 1: Contemporary Approaches to the Qurʾān: Context and Interpretation
by Abdullah Saeed
Chapter 2: Do We Have a Theory of Exegesis?
by Ḥasan Ḥanafī
Chapter 3: The Qurʾān—The World as a Sign
by Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd
Chapter 4: Prophetic Reading of the World
by Muḥammad Mujtahed Shabestarī
Chapter 5: How Contextual are the Qurʾān and I?
by Mehmet Paçacı
Chapter 6: Contextuality of Qurʾānic Discourse and Objective Meaning of Historical Discourse
by Ömer Özsoy
Chapter 7: A Perspective on Hermeneutics
by M. Quraish Shihab
Chapter 8: Modernist Reading of the Qurʾān and Connected Creativity
by Ṭāhā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān
Chapter 9: Indonesian Muslim Responses to Use of Hermeneutics in Studying the Qurʾān and Tafsīr: A Critical Assessment
by Yusuf Rahman
Chapter 10: Family Affairs and Exegetical Disagreements—Inheritance
by Nāʾila al-Sillīnī al-Raḍwī
Chapter 11: Reconsideration of Meaning of Qiṣāṣ
by Sedigheh Vasmaghi
Chapter 12: Interfaith Marriage—A Model for Women’s Tafsīr
by Siti Musdah Mulia
Chapter 13: Understanding the Qurʾān’s Criticisms of Other Religions
by Mun’im Sirry