Discourse on ‘Ilm al-Wad‘ in Modern Shi‘i Scholarship

Some notes

Abstract

The aims in this paper are simple: one, to present the views of two influential 20th century Imamite scholars on the origin of language; two, to show how their respective genres of scholarship shape their discussions of the origins of language; and three, to show how different genres of modern Imamite scholarship interact to reinforce one another. This paper is divided into two parts; in the first section of the first part I paraphrase my own translation of sadr’s discussion of the origin of language. This section follows sadr’s text very closely. In the second section I place sadr’s discussion into the context of Imamite discourses on wad‘ in ‘ilm usul al-fiqh, as well as the history of the question of the origin of language. Finally, I highlight an important question that emerges as a result of this contextualization. In the first section of the second part I paraphrase my own translation of Tabataba’i’s commentary on al-Baqarah 31, an important proof-text in Muslim discourses about the origin of language.In the second section I explain how Tabataba’i’s commentary contributes to the discussion of the origin of language. I shed light on the hermeneutic challenges that he faces after taking a position on the relevance of al-Baqarah 31 to the question of the origin of language, and I show how, in his capacity as a mufassir, he is able to deal with these challenges.