From Ocean to Ice: How Wahhabism Freezes the Quran’s Living Meaning

By V.A. Mohamad Ashrof, New Age Islam 3 October 2025 The Quran has for over fourteen centuries been approached as a boundless ocean of meaning—a divine address whose depths could be plumbed by successive generations, each discovering new wisdom relevant to its time. It has served as the foundational source of spiritual guidance, ethical vision, legal principle, and intellectual inspiration for a global civilization. The text itself claims to be a guidance for all people (2:185) and a mercy to all the worlds (21:107), implying a message whose relevance transcends the historical moment of its revelation. However, a powerful and globally influential hermeneutical movement, rooted in the 18th-century teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792), seeks to fundamentally alter this dynamic relationship. It attempts to freeze the Quran in time, chaining its meaning to a single, bygone era. This Wahhabi-Salafi tradition posits a stark and uncompromising criterion for authentic Quranic interpretation (Tafsir): an exclusive and literalist adherence to the perceived understanding of the Salaf al-Salih, the "Pious Predecessors," a group narrowly defined as the first three generations of Muslims. From this rigid standpoint, all subsequent interpretive developments—whether born of reason (‘Aql), philosophy (Falsafa), systematic theology (Kalam), or engagement with evolving human contexts—are summarily dismissed as illegitimate innovation (Bid’ah) and dangerous deviation. This restrictive hermeneutic, brandishing a claim to exclusive purity, presents itself as the sole guardian of Islamic authenticity. This paper argues, from an enlightened and liberative perspective, that this temporal restriction is a deeply flawed and damaging construct. It is built upon a historical mirage, stands in stark contradiction to the Quran's own internal directives, and fosters an intellectual environment profoundly hostile to critical thought and scientific inquiry. This paper will demonstrate that the Wahhabi temporal restriction on tafsir is not a faithful return to pristine origins but a historically late, authoritarian innovation. It functions as an ideological tool of intellectual foreclosure, stifling the Quran's dynamic, liberative, and intellectually stimulating potential. To substantiate this critique, this analysis will proceed in three parts: first, a deconstruction of the historical fallacy of a monolithic "Salafi" understanding; second, an examination of the Quran's own mandate for perpetual inquiry and reason; and third, an analysis of the stultifying impact of this hermeneutic on scientific and intellectual development. Deconstructing the Myth of a Golden Age Consensus The entire edifice of Wahhabi-Salafi hermeneutics rests upon a single, foundational premise: the existence of a singular, unified, and complete understanding of the Quran among the Salaf al-Salih. This premise is the linchpin of their claim to authority. If this pristine, monolithic understanding existed, their project of "purification" could be seen as legitimate. If it did not, their entire framework collapses into an exercise in selective appropriation and historical fiction. A meticulous examination of Islamic intellectual history overwhelmingly confirms that the latter is the case. The claim of a single "understanding of the Salaf" is a historical anachronism, a retroactive projection of a desired uniformity onto a past that was, in reality, defined by vibrant diversity and debate. The Companions of the Prophet, the very first generation, did not interpret the Quran in a uniform manner. The celebrated exegete ‘Abdullah ibn Abbas (d. 687 CE) was known for his linguistic depth and contextual reasoning, while ‘Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (d. 653 CE) championed a more cautious, tradition-focused approach. These were not minor stylistic differences but foundational methodological divergences within the Prophet's own inner circle. This diversity only intensified in the subsequent generations. The nascent schools of Islamic law (fiqh) that emerged in regional centres like Kufa, Medina, and Basra were built on distinct hermeneutical principles. The school of Kufa, which would give rise to the Hanafi madhhab, championed the use of analogical reasoning (qiyas) and juristic preference (istihsan), reflecting a greater confidence in reasoned opinion to adapt the law to new urban contexts. In contrast, the school of Medina, the foundation of the Maliki madhhab, placed immense weight on the "lived practice" (‘amal) of the people of Medina, viewing it as a living embodiment of the Sunnah. As the Joseph Schacht documented, these early schools represented fundamentally different "juristic theories" and approaches to the scriptural sources, long before they were formalized under their eponyms (Schacht, p.15-28). The very existence of these competing legal methodologies within the Salafi period is irrefutable proof against the notion of a single "Salafi" way. Theological debates were just as fierce and foundational. The first major theological schism in Islam, between the Qadarites (who championed human free will) and the Jabrites (who insisted on absolute predestination), was entirely a product of the Salafi era. These groups furiously debated the meaning of Quranic verses, with Qadarites pointing to verses like 18:29 ("The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve") and Jabrites citing verses like 57:22 ("No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being"). As the historian W. Montgomery Watt detailed in his seminal work, these were core theological controversies that demonstrate that the "correct" interpretation of the Quran's stance on divine omnipotence and human agency was a subject of intense and unresolved debate within the very generations the Wahhabis claim to emulate (Watt, p.34-48). The later emergence of the Mu'tazilite school, with its five principles rooted in reason and justice, was a continuation and systematization of these early rationalist trends. To claim a unified Salafi theology is to deliberately ignore this vibrant, contested intellectual landscape. Why Islamic Thought Had to Evolve The Wahhabi hermeneutic not only misrepresents the diversity of the Salafi era but also fails to grasp a fundamental historical reality: intellectual traditions must evolve to survive. The Muslim community's rapid expansion out of the Arabian Peninsula brought it into direct contact with the sophisticated civilizations of Persia, Byzantium, and India. It encountered new peoples, new social structures, and, most critically, new intellectual traditions, particularly the vast corpus of Greek philosophy and science. To remain relevant and intellectually coherent, Islamic thought had to develop new tools and frameworks. The dismissal of all post-Salafi intellectual development as bid‘ah is thus a rejection of the very mechanisms that allowed Islamic civilization to flourish. This necessary development occurred across several key fields. The sciences of Arabic grammar and rhetoric, perfected by post-Salafi scholars, enabled a far more sophisticated analysis of the Quran's literary structure, culminating in the masterful commentary of al-Zamakhshari (d. 1144 CE), Al-Kashshaf, which utilized advanced linguistics to unpack meanings inaccessible to earlier generations (Gilliot, p.104-107). Systematic theology (Kalam) was developed by figures like Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 936 CE) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 944 CE) as a rational defence of Islamic tenets against Hellenistic philosophical challenges. Their use of logic and dialectic was deemed essential for preserving the faith in a complex intellectual environment (Frank, p.12-18). Simultaneously, the encounter with Greek philosophy sparked one of the most intellectually fertile periods in human history. Muslim philosophers (falasifa) like Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d. 1037 CE) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 1198 CE) saw philosophy as a universal language of reason that could illuminate the truths of revelation. Their profound works integrated Aristotelian and Neoplatonic thought with Quranic principles, viewing the Quranic call to reflect on creation (e.g., 41:53) as a divine mandate for scientific inquiry. The mystical tradition of Sufism, with luminaries like Ibn Arabi (d. 1240 CE), explored the Quran’s esoteric dimensions (Batin), enriching the Islamic tradition immeasurably. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr argues, these philosophical and mystical traditions represent the intellectual and spiritual pinnacle of Islamic civilization (Nasr, p. 65-80). To dismiss this entire repository of wisdom as heretical innovation, as Wahhabism does, is to perform an act of radical intellectual amputation upon the body of Islamic thought. The Innovators Who Cried Innovation The final and most profound irony is that the Wahhabi insistence on exclusive Salafi authority is itself a historically late and novel development. It is not a "return" to a pristine past but a radical break from the broad, diverse, and evolving interpretive tradition that characterized mainstream Islam for over a millennium. As the legal scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl has powerfully argued, the modern "Salafi" claim functions primarily as an authoritarian discourse. By creating a fictional, monolithic "Salaf" and claiming to be their sole authentic representatives, this discourse empowers its proponents to silence all dissent. Any interpretation that deviates from their own is not merely incorrect; it is a heretical innovation that places its advocate outside the bounds of "true Islam" (Abou El Fadl, p.28-32). Therefore, the temporal restriction at the heart of Wahhabism is not the preservation of an ancient tradition, but a modern hermeneutical imposition designed to secure ideological hegemony. It is an innovation that masquerades as anti-innovation. The Quran's Mandate for Perpetual Inquiry Having established the historical fallacy of the Wahhabi premise, the critique must now turn to the primary source itself: The Quran. A close reading of the text reveals that it provides no basis whatsoever for confining its authoritative interpretation to a specific historical period. On the contrary, its verses, structure, and thematic emphasis actively encourage a perpetual, dynamic, and intellectually rigorous engagement applicable to every generation. The Quran's own internal logic militates against the very restrictions Wahhabism seeks to impose upon it. The Quran makes an unequivocal claim to universal and timeless relevance. It repeatedly describes itself as a guidance for all of humanity (2:185), a reminder for all the worlds (81:27), and a message sent to all people without exception (34:28). This claim to universality is fundamentally incompatible with a hermeneutic that freezes its authoritative meaning in the 7th-9th centuries. If the Quran is to be a living source of guidance for a person facing the challenges of globalization, digital ethics, and pluralistic societies, its principles must be accessible and applicable in that context. To argue that the definitive understanding of its verses on justice, governance, or the natural world was sealed over a thousand years ago is to render its claim to timeless guidance hollow. The divine address is open-ended. When the Quran asks, "Then will they not reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon their hearts?" (47:24), the question is posed in the present tense, directed at every reader in every age. The Divine Command to Reason Perhaps the most direct Quranic repudiation of a purely transmission-based, anti-rational hermeneutic is its relentless and emphatic command for believers to use their intellectual faculties. The Quran is saturated with calls to reason, reflect, contemplate, observe, and learn. The root ‘a-q-l, from which the word for intellect (‘aql) derives, appears 49 times, almost always in the form of a rhetorical question challenging the audience, "Will you not then reason?". The command to "reflect deeply" or "ponder over" the Quran (tadabbur) is a direct injunction for active, investigative engagement (4:82, 47:24). The Quran reserves its highest praise for the Ulu Al-Albab, "people of deep understanding" or "possessors of intellect." This esteemed group is defined in one of the scripture’s most powerful passages, 3:190-191: "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding (Ulu Al-Albab), who remember Allah standing, sitting, and on their sides, and contemplate (yatafakkarun) the creation of the heavens and the earth..." This passage inextricably links piety, remembrance of God, and the active, scientific contemplation of the natural world. The Wahhabi hermeneutic, by prioritizing transmitted reports (naql) to the point of marginalizing and suspecting reason (‘aql), stands in direct violation of this overwhelming Quranic evidence. It effectively discourages the very faculties that the Quran insists are essential for true faith. The Spirit over the Letter: Principles as a Guide A humanistic and liberative reading of the Quran recognizes that its guidance functions primarily through broad ethical principles, not just a static list of detailed regulations. The Quran’s enduring power lies in its articulation of timeless moral and ethical objectives (Maqasid). The command to uphold justice (‘Adl) is one of the most powerful and recurrent themes: "Be just; that is nearer to righteousness" (5:8). Justice is a dynamic principle that requires constant re-evaluation and application in new contexts. Similarly, principles of mercy (Rahmah) (21:107) and wisdom (Hikmah) (2:269) must guide the interpretation and application of its specific verses. The great Islamic scholar Fazlur Rahman proposed a "double movement" hermeneutic that perfectly captures this dynamic. He argued that the interpreter must first move from the present to the past to understand the specific historical context and socio-moral problem to which a Quranic verse was responding. Then, one must distil the general principle from that specific ruling and embody that principle in a new, concrete ruling that is appropriate for the contemporary context (Rahman, p.7-12). This methodology is intellectually rigorous, faithful to the text's spirit, and inherently anti-literalist. It is a process of ongoing ijtihad (independent reasoning) that Wahhabi restrictionism expressly forbids, thereby disabling the Quran's ability to provide living guidance. The Price of Closure: Intellectual Stagnation and Scientific Decline The consequences of this hermeneutical freeze extend far beyond the realm of theology and law. They have had a devastating and demonstrable impact on the intellectual vitality and scientific capacity of the societies where this ideology holds sway. A hermeneutic that is fundamentally suspicious of reason, hostile to philosophy, and insistent upon a single, unchanging interpretation of reality creates an ecosystem that is antithetical to the very spirit of scientific inquiry. By prioritizing transmitted reports (naql) over reason (‘aql) in interpreting texts related to the natural world, the Wahhabi approach discourages independent empirical investigation. Why observe, experiment, or theorize if the "meaning" is fixed solely by early reports? This undermines the Quran's own repeated calls to observe creation (e.g., 88:17-20, 3:190-191). As George Saliba notes, the early Islamic scientific flourishing occurred precisely when Greek rationalism and empirical observation were actively integrated with Quranic inspiration, not suppressed by it (Saliba, p.245-250). The Wahhabi rejection of later intellectual frameworks effectively severed this link. Furthermore, science requires abstract thinking, modelling, and theoretical frameworks. The Wahhabi suspicion of philosophy (Falsafa) deprives the intellectual culture of the tools necessary for advanced scientific theorizing. The legacy of figures like Ibn Rushd, who championed the harmony of revelation and Aristotelian philosophy/science, is marginalized or rejected (Leaman, p.78-82). This creates an intellectual vacuum where methodological naturalism and theoretical speculation are viewed with suspicion. By declaring only one strand of interpretation as valid, Wahhabism also suppresses the intellectual diversity and critical debate essential for scientific progress. As Toby E. Huff has argued, scientific advancement requires a "neutral space for intellectual inquiry" free from charges of heresy, an environment that the authoritarian nature of this hermeneutic makes impossible (Huff, p.73-90). Finally, the restrictive hermeneutic directs intellectual energy away from the Quran’s grand cosmic invitations toward a narrow legalism. Enormous effort is expended on the minutiae of ritual, while the Quran’s hundreds of verses inviting contemplation of the universe (e.g., 51:20-21, 45:3-5) are comparatively ignored. As Mohammed Arkoun argued, this represents a "closure of the Islamic mind," a shrinking of intellectual horizons that diminishes the curiosity and wonder essential for scientific investigation (Arkoun, p.115-118). Reclaiming an Islam of Intellectual Dynamism The Wahhabi-Salafi claim that authentic Quranic interpretation is irrevocably chained to the understandings of the first three centuries of Islam is a temporal tyranny—a self-imposed prison built on a historical fallacy and a Quranic contradiction. Historically, it whitewashes the vibrant diversity and necessary evolution of Islamic thought. Quranically, it tramples upon the text's clear and repeated imperatives for perpetual reflection, the rigorous use of human reason, and the dynamic application of its universal principles. The most tragic consequence of this intellectual foreclosure is the crippling effect it has had on scientific and intellectual development. By devaluing reason, suppressing diversity, and misdirecting intellectual energy, the Wahhabi hermeneutic creates an environment profoundly hostile to the spirit of scientific exploration that the Quran itself encourages. An Islamic humanistic and enlightened hermeneutics for the 21st century must decisively reject this temporal tyranny. It must answer the Quran's call to become "people of understanding" by embracing ongoing reflection on both the Book of God and the Book of Nature. It must affirm the God-given dignity of human reason and reclaim the full, diverse intellectual heritage of Islam—from its legal giants and theologians to its philosophers and scientists—not as deviations, but as legitimate responses to the Quran's enduring challenge. Only by unchaining the divine word from the prison of a fabricated past can the Quran fulfil its true role as a source of guidance that liberates the human intellect, inspires awe and curiosity, and fosters a culture conducive to knowledge, justice, and progress in all fields of human endeavour. Bibliography Abou El Fadl, Khaled. Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women. London: Oneworld Publications, 2001. Arkoun, Mohammed. The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought. London: Saqi Books, 2002. Frank, Richard M. Al-Ghazālī and the Ashʿarite School. Durham: Duke University Press, 1994. Gilliot, Claude. "Exegesis of the Qurʾān: Classical and Medieval." Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe, vol. 2, Leiden: Brill, 2002, pp. 99-124. Huff, Toby E. The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West. 3rd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Leaman, Oliver. Averroes and His Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006. Rahman, Fazlur. Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982. Saliba, George. Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007. Schacht, Joseph. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1950. Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought. London: Oneworld Publications, 1998. ----- V.A. Mohamad Ashrof is an independent Indian scholar specializing in Islamic humanism. With a deep commitment to advancing Quranic hermeneutics that prioritize human well-being, peace, and progress, his work aims to foster a just society, encourage critical thinking, and promote inclusive discourse and peaceful coexistence. He is dedicated to creating pathways for meaningful social change and intellectual growth through his scholarship. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/debating-islam/ocean-ice-wahhabism-quran-living-meaning/d/137091 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism