Islamic Studies and Quranic Research in the Contemporary World

Islamic Studies and Quranic Research in the Contemporary World

An analytical study of relativism and the connection of horizons in the harmonics of Asmabarlas and its application to some of her interpretations of the Quran.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Maryam Fadaei Ashiani 1
Hossein Heydari 2
Muhammad Hassan Saneipour 3
Mostafa Abbasi Moghadam 4
1 PhD Student in Qur'anic Sciences and Hadith, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Religions and Philosophy, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Qur'anic Sciences and Hadith, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
4 Associate Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran
10.22034/iscw.2026.2091138.1253
Abstract
This study examines the hermeneutic position of Asma Barlas in understanding the Holy Qur'an using a descriptive-analytical method, aiming to determine the relationship of her approach to the two paradigms of objectivism and relativism. The findings indicate that Barlas is influenced in her intellectual foundations by Amina Wadud, Fazlur Rahman, Khaled Abou El Fadl, and Toshihiko Izutsu, and in some positions aligns with thinkers such as Gadamer, Tabatabai, Soroush, and Torkashvand. In understanding the Qur'an, in line with Gadamer's theory of the "fusion of horizons," she employs Fazlur Rahman's "double-movement" theory, and at the stage of applying meaning, she aligns with the "application" element of Gadamer's hermeneutics. The contradiction between the claim of discovering the author's intent, the non-exclusivity of interpretation, belief in the multiplicity of meanings, and the distinction of interpretations brings Barlas's history-centered basis closer to relativism, in which attaining a definitive understanding of the Qur'an appears impossible. However, her relativism does not lead to semantic negationism and unlimited pluralism that would deny any fixed truth, because she distinguishes between correct and incorrect understandings and offers criteria for identifying the best meaning—although in her own interpretive practice she ignores these criteria and, based on that same historical view, presents understandings whose result is the neutralization of the transhistorical dimension of revelation. Barlas's hermeneutics entails consequences such as the loss of the transhistorical applicability of the Qur'an, the relativization of religious concepts, the diminishing role of the author, and the subordination of the text to social developments
Keywords
Islamic feminism
objectivist hermeneutics
relativistic hermeneutics
Quranic hermeneutics
Asma Barlas
Subjects
The Holy Quran: Translation by Khorramshahi, available at: Tanzil.ir
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Islamic Studies and Quranic Research in the Contemporary World
Volume 5, Issue 1 - Serial Number 9
September 2026
Pages 199-230

  • Receive Date 20 June 2026
  • Revise Date 28 October 2026
  • Accept Date 10 October 2026
  • First Publish Date 10 October 2026
  • Publish Date 23 August 2026