Textualist and Contextualist Approaches to Qur’anic Interpretation: Implications for Contemporary Islamic Education and Ethical Values Formation

Abstract

The tension between textualist and contextualist approaches to Qur’anic interpretation remains a significant issue in contemporary Islamic thought, particularly in understanding the relationship between revealed texts, historical contexts, and ethical values. This study examines the methodological relationship between these two approaches and explores their implications for contemporary Islamic education and ethical values formation. Employing qualitative library research with descriptive-analytical and hermeneutical approaches, the study draws primarily on Abdullah Saeed’s interpretive framework and engages with the hermeneutical perspectives of Fazlur Rahman, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, and Hans-Georg Gadamer. The findings demonstrate that textualist and contextualist approaches are not entirely opposing paradigms but exist along a methodological continuum, as both require contextual knowledge, although they differ in the scope and authority assigned to it. Through an analysis of Qur’anic verses concerning testimony, slavery, and qawwamah, this study proposes a semi-textualist framework that integrates textual meaning, socio-historical understanding, and scholarly consensus (ijma). This framework offers an interpretive foundation for Islamic education by encouraging a balanced understanding of religious texts, critical engagement with historical contexts, and the internalization of ethical values. It further highlights the importance of developing educational practices that preserve the authority of revelation while fostering contextual awareness, intellectual responsibility, and ethical sensitivity in contemporary Muslim society.