A Critical Analysis of Muḥammad Rātib Nabulsī's Scientific Exegesis of Verse 37 of Surah al-Raḥmān

Abstract

Nabulsī, a contemporary āuranic scholar, is a follower of the scientific interpretation school. Among the verses he has interpreted is verse 37 of Surah al-Raḥmān, which he associates with a cosmic phenomenon. In his view, this verse describes the explosion of a star, resulting in the formation of a reddish nebula resembling a rose. The image published by NASA of the "Cat's Eye Nebula," which Nabulsī believes resembles a flower, is his only evidence for this claim. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and a critical approach, aims to find Nabulsī's interpretation inconsistent with the apparent meaning and context of the verse; and also, examines the compatibility of such an interpretation with the verse and evaluates its validity. The results indicated that Nabulsī's interpretation is not inconsistent with the context of the verses and is not supported by scientific data in the field of astronomy. Recent, clearer images from NASA of the Cat's Eye Nebula reveal that the previous image was inaccurate, and this nebula is neither red nor rose-like. Furthermore, his interpretation lacks literary and linguistic support, and the etymological research conducted in this study confirms this claim. An analysis of Nabulsī's interpretation within the framework of conceptual metaphor theory also reveals that he neglected the source and target domains of this metaphor, leading to errors. Additionally, when examined from the perspective of the Quranic language, Nabulsī's interpretation faces significant challenges that cannot be justified.