Literal and Figurative Implications in Literary-Exegetical Theory: Majāz and Rhetoric in al-Zamakhsharī’s al-Kashshāf

Abstract

This project studies the intellectual development of Islamic exegesis and rhetoric/literary theory (tafsīr and balāgha) during the classical period (9th – 12th century). The dissertation traces the evolution of a contested term, “majāz” often translated as “metaphor” or “figurative speech.” Through a comparative linguistic study, the dissertation challenges this conventional reading and argue that misapprehensions of the term have obscured its uniquely metonymic quality which far better accounts for its nuanced usage during this critical juncture in Arab-Islamic literary theory. The project is both diachronic and synchronic in nature: I trace uses of majāz in the classical period and its implications for Qurʾānic interpretation with a particular focus on Abū Qāsim al-Zamakhsharī’s (d. 539 H/1143 CE) seminal commentary, al-Kashshāf ʿan Ḥaqāʿiq al-Tanzīl (The Unveiler of Revealed Truths). A primary objective of this research study is to shed light on a major scholar of classical Islam whose significance in the domain of literary exegesis in Western scholarship has arguably been given insufficient due. I attempt to situate the Kashshāf more firmly in the context of the “literary” exegeses of the fifth/eleventh century, and highlight the particular branches of ʿilm al-maʿānī and bayān, central features of the Kashshāf’s literary identity as evidenced through its author’s stated reliance on them. My methodology incorporates tools in digital humanities including the use of frequency analysis to count the occurrence of specific terms such as majāz in classical tafasīr. This approach allows for a quantitative examination of textual patterns, providing insights into linguistic trends and thematic emphasis within the data. The project thus integrates philological study with data analysis.