Qoran Shenakht

One of the fundamental challenges in Qur’anic exegesis is the question of whether understanding a text is absolute or relative. The central question is whether an absolute understanding, independent of the exegete’s presuppositions, can be attained. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and a library-based method, this study examines the possibility of an absolute understanding of the Qur’an. Its aim is to provide a basis for adjudicating among different interpretations of the Qur’an and for benefiting from its guidance by demonstrating the possibility of access to the divine intent. The findings indicate that, on the basis of arguments such as the determinacy of word meaning through linguistic convention, the rule-governed nature of understanding, the possibility of certain understanding, and the Qur’an’s guiding purpose, absolute understanding is possible. Verses indicating reflection (tadabbur) and challenge (taḥaddī), as well as traditions prohibiting exegesis by personal opinion, also support this view. Consequently, the meaning of the text is fixed and determinate, and different understandings can be evaluated according to the criterion of attaining this final meaning. This principle plays an essential role in validating interpretations and preventing unregulated readings of the Qur’an.