From Normative Citation to Critical Analysis: Evaluating Methodological Problems in Contemporary Indonesian Qur’anic Scholarship

Al Fiqri Ardiansyah; Marhamah Annazah Tambunan

Authors

Al Fiqri Ardiansyah Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Marhamah Annazah Tambunan Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

Keywords:

Qur’anic scholarship; normative citation; Indonesian tafsir studies; methodological rigor; critical analysis

Abstract

Contemporary Indonesian Qur’anic scholarship has expanded significantly into social, ethical, ecological, familial, political, digital, and therapeutic issues, yet this thematic vitality is not always accompanied by equivalent methodological rigor. This article examines the methodological problem of normative citation, namely the tendency to use Qur’anic verses and tafsir references as direct legitimating evidence rather than as textual materials requiring sustained interpretive analysis. The study aims to evaluate how selected Indonesian Qur’anic studies articles construct arguments through Qur’anic citation, operationalize tafsir methods, integrate theoretical frameworks, and move from textual evidence to academic conclusion. Methodologically, the article employs a qualitative textual research design combining document analysis and qualitative content analysis. It analyzes an initial purposive corpus of fourteen Indonesian Qur’anic and tafsir studies articles published between 2020 and 2025, focusing on citation patterns, interpretive mediation, methodological clarity, tafsir utilization, theoretical integration, contextual relevance, and argumentative accountability. The findings show that many studies employ Qur’anic verses as normative legitimation for contemporary issues, while methodological procedures such as thematic tafsir, contextual interpretation, hermeneutics, comparative analysis, and living Qur’an are not always operationalized clearly. The study also reveals a productive but unresolved tension between textual fidelity and contextual relevance. This article contributes to Qur’anic studies by distinguishing between normative citation, interpretive analysis, and critical-analytical Qur’anic scholarship. It argues that Indonesian Qur’anic scholarship can preserve Qur’anic normativity while strengthening academic accountability through textual selection transparency, semantic analysis, contextual mediation, tafsir comparison, theoretical consistency, and traceable argumentation.

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