Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and his understanding of exegesis in his Risale-i-Nur

Modernist exegesis emerged under the influence of Western science in various parts of Muslim lands such as India and Egypt in the mid-nineteenth century. Key figures of this modernist exegesis include Sayyid Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) and Muhammad ʿAbduh (d. 1905). A number of influential Muslim scholars also appeared in many parts of the Muslim world in the modern period. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) was a Muslim thinker and great scholar from Turkey in the twentieth century. This research project aims to analyse the methodology of Said Nursi‘s Qur‘anic exegesis with special reference to the views of the early Muslim modernist intellectuals. It particularly focuses on Nursi‘s usūl al-tafsīr book, Muhākamat (The Reasonings), and his one-volume commentary, Ishārāt al-Iʿjāz (Signs of Inimitability). This research explores the difference between Nursi‘s reading of the Qur‘an and that of his counterparts who follow both classical and modern approaches. Does he offer a new reading differing from others or does he follow very well-established exegetical traditions? Where does Nursi stand in relation to various modern Muslim scholarship on the Qur‘an?

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