Exploring Hasan Hanafi's Contextual Interpretation: Building a Bridge Between Text and Time

Abstract

Interpretation of the Qur’an faces significant challenges when a seventh-century sacred text is required to respond to contemporary social realities. In this context, Hasan Hanafi, a contemporary Muslim thinker from Egypt, proposes a hermeneutic and contextual approach as a response to the stagnation of classical textual interpretations. This study aims to examine Hasan Hanafi’s concept and method of contextual interpretation in bridging the Qur’anic text with modern socio-historical challenges. This research employs a qualitative library research method through content analysis of Hanafi’s major works, such as Min al-‘Aqidah ila al-Tsaurah, Dirasat Islamiyah, and al-Din wa al-Tsaurah fi Mishr. The findings indicate that Hanafi constructs an interpretative framework grounded in social hermeneutics, phenomenology, and liberation theology, emphasizing rationality, social justice, and the emancipation of the ummah. He also reinterprets key concepts such as jihad, usury (riba), and the caliphate to align with modern socio-political systems. Hanafi’s approach to Qur’anic interpretation is not merely academic but transformative, offering a new paradigm that is responsive to changing times and global human needs.