Literary Approach and the Construction of Meaning in Contemporary Qur’anic Exegesis

A Comparative Study of the Thought of Bint al-Shati and Ahmad Muhammad Khalafallah

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to compare the mechanisms of meaning construction developed by Bint al-Shati and Ahmad Muhammad Khalafallah in contemporary literary Qur'anic exegesis and to formulate an analytical typology that explains their differing epistemological assumptions regarding the location of interpretive authority. Design/methods/approach – This research employs a qualitative-comparative design based on library research using the muqāran (comparative) method of Qur'anic exegesis. The primary sources comprise al-Tafsīr al-Bayānī and al-I‘jāz al-Bayānī by Bint al-Shati, together with al-Fann al-Qaṣaṣī fī al-Qur'ān al-Karīm by Ahmad Muhammad Khalafallah. Data validity is strengthened through source triangulation and comparative textual analysis. Findings – The study demonstrates that Bint al-Shati locates meaning within the linguistic structure of the Qur'anic text, producing a model of linguistic stability grounded in the principle of anti-synonymity. By contrast, Khalafallah understands meaning as emerging through the interaction between Qur'anic narrative and its audience, resulting in a model of narrative functionalism that emphasizes the pedagogical effectiveness of revelation. Rather than constituting a rigid dichotomy, these models represent two poles of a broader hermeneutical spectrum between textual stability and contextual interpretation. The resulting typology provides a systematic framework for classifying literary approaches to Qur'anic exegesis according to where interpretive authority is located. Research implications/limitations – The study is limited to two exegetes within the intellectual tradition of the Amin al-Khuli School. Future research should test the proposed typology against other literary exegetes and explore hybrid approaches that combine linguistic and narrative strategies. Originality/value – This study offers an original analytical typology of contemporary literary Qur'anic exegesis by distinguishing the models of linguistic stability and narrative functionalism based on a single epistemological variable—the location of interpretive authority—thereby extending existing classifications beyond methodological differences and providing a systematic framework for comparative hermeneutical analysis.