Turn to Scripture

This article provides a critical analysis of Samuel Ross's perspective presented in his book, "Quranic Exegesis and the Turn to Scripture." Ross examines the interaction of Muslim exegetes with the Bible, aiming to elucidate the reasons for its neglect in pre-modern interpretations and its increasing use in modern ones. He argues that despite the existence of old Arabic translations of the Bible, Muslim exegetes rarely referenced it until the late nineteenth century. However, after this period, influenced by factors such as British and French colonialism, the arrival of Christian missionaries, and the publication of Arabic Bible versions, exegetes in the Islamic world began to extensively utilize this text in their interpretations. This article critiques Ross's methodology and examines his historical and theoretical foundations, analyzing the challenges to his hypothesis of initial Muslim unfamiliarity with the Bible and his simplification in analyzing interpretive developments. The findings reveal that despite Ross's innovation in studying intertextual relationships, his source-critical and historical limitations hinder a complete understanding of the complexities of Muslim engagement with the Bible. This research, focusing on critiquing Ross's viewpoint and analyzing its methodological and historical limitations, aims to clarify the weaknesses and challenges of his hypotheses regarding the interaction between Quranic exegesis and the Bible.