Engineered Spirituality in Bābīyah and Bahā’īyah: A Critical Study of Al-Dakhīl in Qur’anic Exegesis
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates the hermeneutical strategies of the Bābīyah and Bahā’īyah, focusing on their symbolic and esoteric reinterpretations of the Qurʾān in legitimizing new religious authority. Employing a qualitative library-based approach, the research examines primary texts alongside classical tafsīr traditions and modern hermeneutical theories. The analysis demonstrates that the Bābīyah and Bahā’īyah shifted from the linguistic-philological hermeneutics of classical mufassirūn such as al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, and al-Dhahabī toward charismatic-symbolic readings, where the authority of the interpreter overrides transmitted knowledge. Comparative engagement with contemporary hermeneutical models, including Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd’s cultural-linguistic paradigm, Abdullah Saeed’s contextualist approach, and Sahiron Syamsuddin’s maʿnā-cum-maghzā method, highlights both divergences and resonances. The study concludes that al-Dakhīl fī al-Tafsīr should not merely be viewed as deviation, but as a distinct hermeneutical logic mobilized in constructing theological legitimacy and communal identity.
Authors: Abdullah Qohi, Nur Fatih Ahmad, Ahmad Mansur
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $32
OpenAlex ID: W4415737243