Rûzbihân Baklî’nin ʿarâʾisü’l-Beyân Tefsirini Hermenötik ve Metaforik Yaklaşımla Okumak: Kehf Sûresi Örneği
A Hermeneutical and Metaphorical Readıng of Rūzbıhān Al-Baqlī’s ʿarāʾıs Al-Bayān Tafsīr: The Case of Sūrat Al-Kahf

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to re-read the ishārī (allusive) exegesis methodology of Rūzbihān al-Baqlī (d. 606/1209), one of the prominent mystical commentators of the 12th century, through his work ʿArāʾis al-Bayān in the light of modern hermeneutic and linguistic theories. Ishārī interpretations, frequently debated in the Islamic exegetical tradition for remaining outside the bounds of methodological (uṣūl) control, are examined in this article specifically within Sūrat al-Kahf. Baqlī’s interpretive logic is linked to the theories of thinkers such as Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, and Umberto Eco. The core of the study is the "semantic mapping" method, in which Baqlī aligns the exoteric (zāhir) elements in the verses with the spiritual levels of the seeker’s (sālik) inner world. In this context, it is analyzed how concepts such as "ornament" (zīnat), "fatigue" (naṣab), and "town" (qarya) in the surah are removed from ordinary physical realities and transformed into "living metaphors" that describe the seeker's ontological state. Specifically, Baqlī’s interpretation of Prophet Moses’ state of fatigue (naṣab) during his journey as the "effect of a slight deviation from the straight path upon the heart" is explained through Ricoeur’s theory regarding the power of metaphor to redescribe the world. Furthermore, Baqlī’s approach to the text is evaluated as a dynamic "event of understanding" where the historical horizon of the Qur’an meets the horizon of Sufi experience, within the framework of Gadamer’s thesis on the "fusion of horizons". The findings demonstrate that Baqlī’s interpretations are not arbitrary imaginings; on the contrary, they fill the semantic gaps (the "open work") in the text with mystical internal consistency and turn the text into a "living field of truth". In conclusion, this study reveals that traditional ishārī exegesis possesses a potential for interdisciplinary meaning-making, capable of engaging with modern hermeneutic possibilities.

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