ABSTRACT
In Chapter 7 we explore Malekian’s project of spirituality, his contextualist approach to the Qurʾān and how he challenges Soroush’s and Shabestari’s theories of revelation. Providing examples from the Qurʾān, Malekian argues that many commands and prohibitions mentioned in the Qurʾān, ḥadīth and riwāyāt are related to the geographical, cultural, social, political and economic circumstances and conditions of Arabian society in pre- and early Islamic times. He also distinguishes between the essential—the core (hasteh) or kernel (lob)—aspects of Qurʾānic teachings and the accidental dimensions of the Qurʾān, which he refers to as the external skin (pūsteh) of religion. Central to Malekian’s project is the idea that for the essence of religion to be alive in today’s context, its accidental aspects must be changed.
