Seyyed Jamaleddin Asadabadi, Forerunner in Social Interpretation of Quran
Speaking at a forum on "Social Interpretations of Quran", Mahmoud Vaezi added that Asadabadi began considering the Quranic teachings with a social approach.
The forum was held on Monday at the 22nd International Holy Quran Exhibition which is underway at the Holy Defense Garden-Museum in Tehran.
Vaezi said that after the peak of Islamic civilization in the 3rd and 4th Hijri centuries (10th and 11th centuries A.D.), Muslims societies got engaged in conflicts and discord which brought about the decline of their power and grandeur.
As a result, and because of conspiracies of the enemies, he stated, the Quran and its teachings were isolated among Muslims.
"This trend continued until about 150 years ago when Seyyed Jamaleddin Asadabadi and Muhammad Abduh began travelling to different parts of the Muslim world to draw Muslims' attention to the teachings of the Holy Book."
He said Asadabadi made efforts to make clear the fact that the Quran is not for reading per se but it is a book that provides humanity with guidelines for daily life and for prosperity and salvation in this world and the next.
According to Vaezi, Asadabadi could not create the intended Islamic awakening in the Islamic society at an extensive level but it was Imam Khomeini (RA) who not only drew public attention to the Quranic teachings but actually managed to implement the Quran's social injunctions.
He went on to say that rationalism and the belief that Quranic teachings are reviving are the foundations of social interpretation of the Quran.
