Reconstructing Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān: An Analysis of Shāh Walī Allāh Al-Dihlawī's Five-Science Hermeneutical Framework in Al-Fawz Al-Kabīr

Membina Semula Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān: Analisis Kerangka Hermeneutik Lima Ilmu Shāh Walī Allāh Al-Dihlawī dalam Al-Fawz Al-Kabīr

Abstract

This article reinterprets Shāh Walī Allāh al Dihlawī’s al Fawz al Kabīr fī Uṣūl al Tafsīr as a coherent framework for Maqāṣid al Qurʾān. Through close textual analysis, it reconstructs how al Dihlawī organizes Qurʾānic meaning around five interlocking “sciences”: legal rulings, dialectical argumentation, reminding of Allāh’s blessings, reminding of Allāh’s days, and the Hereafter and argues that these operate not as discrete topical bins, but as higher order objectives oriented to the moral refinement of the human soul. The study clarifies the methodological roles of ẓāhir/bāṭin interpretation and the category of gharāʾib in concentrating and sign posting purposive meanings. It further shows how al Dihlawī distinguishes blameworthy from praiseworthy jadal, specifies narrative purpose under Ayyām Allāh, and situates al-tadhkīr bi ālāʾ Allāh between divine beneficence and manifestations of power, thereby integrating law, polemics, narrative, and eschatology within a single teleological horizon. The article concludes that al Fawz al Kabīr should be read not merely as a pre modern primer in ʿUlūm al Qurʾān but as a foundational contribution to a maqāṣid based hermeneutic that is philologically disciplined, theologically lucid, and pedagogically oriented to transformation. This reframing provides a historically grounded platform for contemporary Qurʾanic studies seeking purposive coherence without sacrificing lexical nuance or exegetical rigor.