ABSTRACT
In the opening lines of Jawāhir al-Ghazālī asks of those who recite the Qur’an and learn its apparent meanings, ‘Was it not your duty to sail to the midst of the fathomless ocean of these meanings?’ Referring to those who have indeed done this and dived to the depths in search of jewels, he adds that in his book, ‘I now wish to guide you to the manner of the journey of these people, of their diving and their swimming’ (Jawāhir 8; tr. 19-20). Chapter 3 outlined the theory of interpretation and the classification of Qur’anic verses which al-Ghazālī presents in Jawāhir al-Qur’ān. The present chapter extends the discussion of Jawāhir to explore the examples of Qur’anic interpretation which alGhazālī provides, and so to discover what kind of guide al-Ghazālī provides to those who wish to dive for jewels.
