Comparison of Ibn Khaldun and Molla Fanari Concerning Debates on the Nature of Tafsir

Year 2019, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 261 - 290, 31.12.2019

Sümeyye Sevinç

https://doi.org/10.20486/imad.646947

Abstract

The nature of the Tafsir has been the subject of controversy both in the classical and contemporary periods of Islamic scientific tradition. According to this approach, it is seen that Tafsir is a distinctive science as opposed to the approach which asserts that it is not a science. In addition to these two approaches, a third approach that makes Tafsir a unique science has led the discussion. In this research, Molla Fanari, whose views reflect the third mentioned approach in the period of the foundation of the Ottoman Empire, is compared with his contemporaries Ibn Khaldun’s views on the science of Tafsir. Both scholars reveal their views on Tafsir in the preliminary part of their works. In this study, how aforementioned scholars give place to Tafsir considering the other science branches specific to Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah, which is the introductory chapter of his historical book Kitab al-Ibar, and the preliminary part of Molla Fanari’s Ayn al-Ayan. Both authors think that due to the peculiar nature of the Tafsir, it has not any universal precepts. However, Ibn Khaldun limits Tafsir to narrative and language, while Molla Fanari opens a wide range of meanings beyond the narrative and language under certain conditions. As a result, these two scholars have shown from different angles how Tafsir science presents its unique structure.

             Summary

The nature of the tafsir has been the subject of
controversy both in the classical and contemporary periods of Islamic science
tradition. In this context, the question of whether tafsir is a science and
what kind of nature it is if it is a separate science is questioned within the
framework of the criteria that classical philosophy foresees for science. In
this respect, as opposed to the approach that asserted that tafsir is not a
science, the approach that tafsir is an independent science has emerged. In
addition to these two approaches, a third approach led to the discussion that tafsir
is a science, although it has a unique structure, unlike other sciences. In
this study, the views of Molla Fanari and his contemporary Ibn Khaldun, who
reflects the mentioned third approach, are compared. According to this, firstly
the classification of the sciences in the Islamic science tradition and Ibn
Khaldun among the prominent names in this matter are emphasized. Then, to bring
a unique perspective on the place of tafsir in the sciences, Molla Fanari, one
of the scholars who lived in the early period of the Ottoman Empire, emphasizes
the interpretations of tafsir from the previous scholars. In this context, to
live in the same age and to be in Egypt at the same time and to have a common
intellectual environment, Ibn Khaldun's general place of tafsir in the
classification of sciences and the special evaluations of Molla Fanari about tafsir
are compared. In other words, the opinions of Ibn Khaldun and Molla Fanari
about the place of tafsir in sciences are evaluated in the context of tafsir.
Both scholars reveal their views on tafsir in the beginning part of their
works. The nature of tafsir, Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah,
which is the introductory chapter of his historical book Kitab al-Ibar, and Molla Fanari's Aynu’l-A‘yan is considered in this research. On the other hand,
even though the two works mentioned above constitute the basis of the research,
different works of the authors are also applied in the matters that are needed.

In this research, firstly, the intellectual
environment in which both scholars are examined in terms of scientific,
political and cultural environment and then the place of both scholars in tafsir.
At this stage, the science definitions of both scholars are evaluated. In this
context, first of all, the views of the two scholars about knowledge and
collected science are evaluated in terms of the criteria of classical science
philosophy. Then, the classification of the sciences of both scholars is
emphasized. This part of the research aims to reveal where the tafsir is
located in the classification of sciences. In the next stage, according to the
allocation of a place in the classification of sciences of tafsir, the nature
of the tafsir is discussed. In all these stages of the research, the views of
Ibn Khaldun and Molla Fanari are examined by the comparison method. Thus, it is
aimed to contribute to the discussions about the nature of tafsir over the
place where two scholars who are contemporary of each other give tafsir in the
sciences. It is known that Molla Fanari, who lived in the Anatolian geography
under Ottoman rule, came to Egypt for education in the period when Ibn Khaldun
was in Egypt which was under the domination of the Mamluks. It is rumored that Molla
Fanari, who came to Egypt on various occasions after the death of Ibn Khaldun,
met with the scholars whom Ibn Khaldun interacted with. Besides, both scholars
have played common social roles such as scholar, qadî, fakih and sufi. Although
it is not possible to state that these two scholars interact with each other,
it is possible to state that both are in a common basin and that this basin
influences their ideas.

On the other hand, although Ibn Khaldûn and Molla
Fanari take the basic principles of classical philosophy of knowledge while
receiving information, it is seen that these two scholars reflect the
differences in their understanding of Sufism to their understanding of
knowledge. Likewise, it is possible to state that although both scholars
adhered to the criteria of classical philosophy of science in general, in the term
of science, they displayed different attitudes in terms of observing all the
criteria of classical philosophy in tafsir. Ibn Khaldun, who is in search of
the criteria of classical science philosophy in tafsir, is not concerned about
touching all the criteria of classical science philosophy, not only in tafsir
but also in some of the sciences he touched. It is seen that Ibn Khaldun did
not fully apply the criteria of the historical sciences in terms of being the
source of revelation to the erudite sciences. On the other hand, Ibn Khaldun
and Molla Fanari classify the sciences according to whether they are
ecclesiastical or not. However, although Ibn Khaldun included tafsir in the
classification of sciences as a sub-branch of the Qur'an sciences, it can be
argued that Molla Fanari considered tafsir as a tool and a theoretical aspect.
In fact, according to Ibn Khaldun, tafsir is a high science, although it is a
sub-branch of the Qur'anic sciences. In this case, it is possible to argue that
the originality of tafsir according to Ibn Khaldun is due to its inadequate in
terms of the Asiatic bases although it is pure science. However, it is
noteworthy that Molla Fenârî's evaluation of tafsir in two stages, both
instrument and theoretical knowledge, is more evident in the insufficiency of
the general rules of tafsir. As a result, it is possible to state that both
scholars agree that tafsir does not have a complete base. However, while Ibn
Khaldun gave a limited meaning to narrative and language, it was seen that Molla
Fanari had a wider field of meaning beyond narrative and language. Thus, these
two scholars in the same basin have handled in different ways how tafsir
presents its unique structure.

Keywords

Tafsir, Ibn Khaldun, Molla Fanari, Muqaddimah, Ayn al-Ayan

TEFSİRİN MAHİYETİNE DAİR TARTIŞMALARDA İBN HALDÛN VE MOLLA FENÂRÎ MUKAYESESİ

Abstract

Tefsirin mahiyeti, İslâm ilim geleneğinin gerek
klasik gerekse çağdaş döneminde tartışma konusu olmuştur. Bu bağlamda tefsirin
bir ilim olmadığını ileri süren yaklaşıma muhalif olarak tefsirin müstakil bir
ilim olduğu yaklaşımı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu iki yaklaşıma ilaveten tefsirin
kendine özgü bir ilim olduğuna dair bir üçüncü yaklaşım tartışmaya yön
vermiştir. Bu araştırmada, zikri geçen üçüncü yaklaşımı Osmanlı Devleti’nin
kuruluş döneminde belirgin bir şekilde yansıtan Molla Fenârî ve onun
çağdaşı İbn Haldûn’un tefsire dair
görüşleri mukayese edilmektedir. Her iki âlim de tefsire dair görüşlerini,
eserlerinin mukaddimelerinde ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmada, İbn Haldûn’un
tarihi olarak bilinen Kitâbü’l-‘İber’in giriş bölümü olan Mukaddime’si ve Molla Fenârî’nin Aynü’l-a‘yân adlı eserinin
mukaddime kısmı çerçevesinde tefsirin diğer ilimler içerisindeki yeri ele
alınmaktadır. Her iki müellif de tefsirin kendine mahsus yapısı sebebiyle küllî
kaidelerinin bulunmadığını düşünmektedir. Fakat İbn Haldûn tefsiri rivâyet ve
dil ile sınırlamakta, buna karşın Molla Fenârî ise tefsire rivâyet ve dilin
ötesinde belirli şartlar dâhilinde geniş bir anlam alanı açmaktadır. Netice
itibariyle söz konusu iki âlim, tefsirin kendine özgü nasıl bir yapı arz
ettiğini farklı açılardan göstermiş bulunmaktadır.

Keywords

Tefsir, İbn Haldûn, Molla Fenârî, Mukaddime, Aynü’l-a‘yân

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