Deficiencies of Sunni Commentators in Applying the Rules of Interpretation in the Verses regarding the Infallibility of the Prophets

Abstract

One of the basic foundations and requirements of Qur'anic interpretation is interpretive rules. Sunni thinkers have been at the forefront of recounting and setting the rules of interpretation. The general rules that are mediated by inference from the verses of the Qur'an are called interpretive rules, which are divided into two types of common rules between interpretation and other sciences and rules specific to the interpretation of verses. The value of interpretive rules depends on its correct application in the interpretation of verses. This study tries to answer the question by referring to Sunni interpretations with an analytic-critique method to address the question: What shortcomings have had the Sunni commentators in applying the interpretative rules in the verses regarding the infallibility of the prophets? Despite the claim of Sunni commentators to pay attention to the most important interpretive criteria in the verses in practice, they have committed several mistakes, which are: ignoring the centrality and authenticity of the Qur'an in relation to other epistemological sources, considering the general authority of companions’ narrations, ignoring the semantic differences of near-meaning words, taking the Israʼiliyyat, hesitating in interpreting the verses and contradiction in terms of interpreter. Among these, the biggest shortcomings are quoting from the Israʼiliyyat and ignoring the semantic differences of near-meaning words.