Shaykh Tantawi Jawhari was an Egyptian exegete known for having produced a scientific interpretation of the Qur'an. A pioneering scholar in terms of familiarising the people of his time with many previously neglected matters regarding Islam and science, his publications shocked the Cairo educational system and other Muslim places of learning in the early twentieth century.

This book examines the intersection between Tantawi Jawhari and Egyptian history and culture, and demonstrates that his approach to science in the Qur'an was intimately connected to his social concerns. Divided into three parts, part one contains three chapters which each introduce different aspects of Tantawi Jawhari himself. The second part explores the main aspects of his tafsir, discussing his approach to science and the Qur'an, and how he presented Europeans in his tafsir, and then addressing the impact of his tafsir on wider Muslim and non-Muslim society. The third section draws attention to the themes from all 114 suras of the Qur'an that are discussed within his commentary. It then analyses the current status of his views and the post-Jawharism perspective on science and the Qur'an, both today and in an imaginary future, in 2154.

Providing new English translations of Tantawi Jawhari's work, the book delivers a comprehensive assessment of this unique figure, and emphasises the distinctive nature of his reading of the Qur'an. The book will be a valuable resource for anyone studying modern Egypt, the Qur'an, Islam and Science, and scientific interpretation and inimitability.

About the Author

Majid Daneshgar teaches Islamic Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. His research interests pertain to the connection between Islamic intellectual and exegetical progress in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as well as Malay Islamic studies. His main volumes are: Islamic Studies Today: Essays in Honor of Andrew Rippin, co-edited with Walid A. Saleh (2016) and The Qur'an in the Malay-Indonesian World: Context and Interpretation, co-edited with Peter G. Riddell and Andrew Rippin (Routledge 2016)

Reviews

Daneshgar's scrupulous study of the life and thought of Tantawi Jawhari is a substantial contribution to the field of Quranic studies which also sheds light on one of the significant aspects of the Islamic reform movement, i.e. its stance towards science in the nineteenth century. Mahmoud Pargoo, in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

Book Information
ISBN 9781138052529
Author Majid Daneshgar
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g