Applying Mahmoud Shaltout’s Contextual Tafsīr to Qur’anic Teaching
Insights from Islamic Educational Institutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/jim.v23i1.34217Keywords:
Contextual Tafsīr, Epistemic Sequencing, Pedagogical Authority, Qur’anic Teaching, Islamic EducationAbstract
Contemporary debates on contextual tafsīr (exegesis) often emphasize methodological reform, yet they pay limited attention to how such approaches are pedagogically enacted and stabilized within Islamic educational institutions. This gap is particularly relevant to the legacy of Mahmoud Shaltout, whose contextual method sought to harmonize textual fidelity with socio-historical awareness. This study investigates how Shaltout’s methodology is implemented through pedagogical sequencing in Qur’anic teaching, and how this process mediates questions of textual authority. Through a qualitative, multi-site field study, this research draws on classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with instructors and students, and document analysis across selected Islamic educational institutions. The findings reveal a patterned epistemic sequence: instruction begins with linguistic and textual clarification, proceeds to socio-historical contextualization, and culminates in ethical abstraction and contemporary application. This staged process mitigates resistance, preserves scriptural authority, and enables gradual interpretive expansion. Consequently, the study argues that contextual tafsīr attains institutional sustainability not merely through theoretical coherence, but through structured pedagogical enactments that actively negotiate authority in practice.
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Interviews
Interview with P2, Pesantren Instructor, March 25, 2025
Interview with U1, March 12, 2025
Interview with Teacher Participant P2, March 2025
Focus Group Discussions
Focus Group Discussion (FGD 2) with Madrasah Students, participant S4, March 15, 2025.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD 3) with Pesantren Students, participant S1, March 15, 2025.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD 1) with University Students, participant S3, March 15, 2025.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD 1) with University Students, participant S5, March 15, 2025.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD 3) with Pesantren Students, participant S2, March 15, 2025.
Statement by S-U1 in Focus Group Discussion (FGD-U), March 15, 2025.
Classroom observations
Classroom observation, Islamic Public University Tafsīr session, March 14, 2025.
Classroom Observation Session 2, Pesantren Site, March 2025; Focus Group Discussion (FGD 3) with
Classroom Observation Session 1, University Site, March 2025.
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