Aufa Varrassyah Nawwaf, Ahmad Musonnif Alfi, Abdul Ghofur Maimoen, Muhammad Najib

Tafsir As a Political Legitimacy: The 1979 Iranian Revolution and Muḥammad Taqī Al-Mudarrisī’s Political Notions in Min Hudā Al-Qur`ān

Introduction

Tafsir as a political legitimacy: the 1979 iranian revolution and muḥammad taqī al-mudarrisī’s political notions in min hudā al-qur`ān. Unpack Muḥammad Taqī al-Mudarrisī's Shia tafsir as political legitimacy for the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Reveals calls for freedom, Sharia, and counter-hegemony.

Abstract

In Islamic political activism, religious sacred texts have been frequently instrumentalized to achieve certain interests. However, regarding the Iranian Revolution, there is a lack of studies on how religious texts were instrumentalized to justify the political movement. In addition, the existing research is only focused on a classical Shia tafsir and a classical issue, namely the Imamate of ‘Alī. It left a gap in the relationship between modern Shia tafsir and modern political turmoil. Given that, this article aims to examine a Shia tafsir which appeared amidst the 1979 Iranian Revolution, namely Min Hudā Al-Qur`ān by Muḥammad Taqī al-Mudarrisī. Employing Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, this paper does not only describe al-Mudarrisī’s political notions but also reveals whether or not there was an attempt to establish hegemony. This article analyzes the interpretation of Qur`anic verses related to the political terms and finds that al-Mudarrisī favored human freedom and a new governmental system based on Sharia values. Additionally, the discourse in his tafsir tended to be provocative as he invited people to realize them and eradicate authoritarianism and dictatorship, showing an effort to establish a counter-hegemony against the domination of the state ruler at that time. Additionally, this article reassesses Mohammed Ayoob’s statement that Shiites maintained a status quo and made peace with unfair conditions.

Review

This article critically examines the instrumentalization of religious sacred texts to legitimize political movements, focusing specifically on the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Addressing a clear lacuna in existing scholarship, the paper moves beyond classical Shia tafsir and issues like the Imamate of ‘Alī to investigate the relationship between modern Shia interpretive traditions and contemporary political upheaval. Its core objective is to analyze Muḥammad Taqī al-Mudarrisī’s *Min Hudā Al-Qur`ān*, a significant tafsir that emerged during the revolutionary period, through the lens of Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, aiming to uncover al-Mudarrisī’s political notions and assess his attempts at establishing hegemony or counter-hegemony. Employing a focused analysis of Qur'anic verses related to political terms, the research effectively demonstrates how al-Mudarrisī articulated a vision advocating for human freedom and a novel governmental system rooted in Sharia values. The study highlights the provocative nature of al-Mudarrisī’s discourse, characterizing it as an explicit invitation for popular action to dismantle authoritarianism and dictatorship, thereby revealing a robust effort to establish a counter-hegemony against the reigning state power. A particularly significant contribution of this work lies in its critical reassessment of Mohammed Ayoob’s assertion regarding Shiite communities maintaining a political status quo, offering compelling evidence that challenges this conventional understanding by illustrating active engagement in revolutionary transformation. Overall, this article presents a timely and valuable contribution to the fields of Islamic studies, political science, and Middle Eastern history. By systematically exploring the intersection of modern tafsir, revolutionary politics, and Gramscian theory, it not only fills a crucial research gap concerning the Iranian Revolution but also enriches our understanding of how religious hermeneutics can be actively deployed to shape political discourse and mobilize social change. The findings provide fresh insights into the dynamic role of religious scholars in periods of intense political transformation, making it essential reading for scholars interested in the intellectual underpinnings of Islamic political activism and the complexities of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

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