ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari’s contextualist approaches to the Qurʾān. We explain Shabestari’s use of a historical-critical approach in his interpretations of the Qurʾān. He argues that the scriptures should be understood as a product of the historical and cultural context in which they appeared and considers the Qurʾān to be a text with both a divine and a human nature. Shabestari’s approach is rooted in the idea that any interpretive discourse is influenced by the sociocultural context in which it emerged. All interpretations of the Qurʾān are thus related to how its interpreters see themselves and the world surrounding them, and how they are affected by their preferences, interests and preconceptions.
