Hermeneutical Foundations of the Sufi Tradition of Interpreting Qur’anic Verses and Hadiths: а Case Study of the Treatise “Bustan al-Muhibbin”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48010/xmgm4741Keywords:
Sufism, Hermeneutics, Quranic Verses, Hadith, Ishari Meaning, Spiritual Education, Yasawi, Bustan Al-MuhibbinAbstract
The article presents a hermeneutical analysis of the Sufi interpretation of Quranic verses and Hadiths based on the outstanding monument of Turkic Sufi literature of the 18t-19th centuries - the treatise Bustan al-Muhibbin by Shaykh Khudaydad bin Tash-Muhammad al-Bukhari. The study’s relevance lies in its focus on revealing the inner (theological and philosophical) dimensions of Sufi hermeneutics within the broader framework of Islamic thought and spiritual education. The main objective of the study is to determine the theological and philosophical foundations of the tradition of unveiling spiritual meanings in Sufi texts.
The authors consider the ishari (allegorical or inner) interpretation of the Quran and Hadith as an independent method of Sufi hermeneutics, comparing it with interpretative models found in the works of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, and Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri. The source base of the study comprises three manuscript copies of the treatise Bustan al-Muhibbin: two are preserved at the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Abu Rayhan al-Biruni of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan (No. 5455/II and No. 9163), and the third is kept in the “Azret Sultan” State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve in Turkestan (No. KK-3704). The research methodology is based on textual analysis, Sufi hermeneutics, theological and content analysis, and the method of symbolic-comparative deconstruction. The scientific novelty of the research lies in revealing a spiritual-exegetical model of Sufi interpretation in which Quranic verses and Hadiths are understood through a system of metaphors and isharat (symbolic indications).
Among the main results is the systematization of key Sufi concepts such as: the heart as the spiritual Kaaba, the murshid as the spiritual guide, and dhikr as the act of heart’s awakening. These notions are interconnected with the doctrine of spiritual perfection and inner ethics of the human being.
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