Mudabicara.com_ Discussing hermeneutics is certainly a difficult thing but also interesting. The reason is that there are many views and opinions about this hermeneutic science.
The general understanding of hermeneutics itself is a branch of philosophy that studies the interpretation of meaning. In interpreting the meaning of hermeneutics trying to get the full meaning both in text and context.
There are many thinkers, both western and eastern, who discuss hermeneutics. Now! this time, mudabicara wants to discuss one of the hermeneutic theories of Hasan Hanafi, a critical Islamic thinker from Egypt. For more, see the following reviews:
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What is Hermeneutics?
Etymologically, hermeneutics comes from the Greek words hermeneutine and hermeneia. These two words mean interpret and interpretation. Meanwhile, in English, hermeneutics means interpreting.
The term hermeneutics comes from a treatise entitled Peri Hermenias (About Interpretation), therefore the science of hermeneutics itself cannot be separated from the views of the life of its founders.
In the Greek tradition, the term hermeneutics is associated with Hermes (Hermeios), a divine messenger in ancient Greek mythology whose job was to convey and translate divine messages into human language. According to the myth, Hermes was tasked with interpreting the will of the gods (the Oracle) with the help of human words.
Before entering into the discussion of hermeneutics according to Hasan Hanafi, we need to first review what hermeneutics means according to experts.
Definition of Hermeneutics According to Experts
1. Carl Braaten
Hermeneutics is a science that reflects on how one word or one event at a time and condition in the past can be understood and become meaningful in the present.
It also contains methodological rules to be applied in the interpretation and methodological assumptions of understanding activities.
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2. Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermarcher
Hermeneutics is a method of interpretation and considers all texts to be the object of hermeneutical study. In addition, Hermeneutics is also used as a theory about the elaboration and interpretation of texts regarding traditional concepts of scriptures and dogmas.
Meaning is considered not just a sign carried by language, because language can express a reality clearly, but at the same time it can hide the reality itself.
Schleiermacher offers a method of historical, objective and subjective reconstruction of a statement, discussing the language as a whole.
Where the main task of hermeneutics is to understand the text well or even better than the author himself and understand the author of the text better than understanding himself.
3. Martin Heidegger
According to Heidegger’s philosophical thought, hermeneutics includes two periods, among others, the first period covers the nature of “being” and “time”.
Man is the only being who inquires about “being”. Because, in essence, humans “exist” but do not just exist, but are always closely related to their own “existence”.
While the second period explains the meaning of “kehre” which means “reversal”. The non-concealment of “being” is the original occurrence.
Thinking is essentially tied to meaning. Therefore, humans are not masters of what “is” but are guardians of it.
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Language is not just a tool to convey and obtain information. Language is basically “the language of nature”. This means that thinking is an answer, response or response.
It is not the manipulation of ideas whose essence is already contained in the process of speaking language and not just as a mere tool. In reality, language is more decisive than facts or actions.
Language is the abode of “the being”. Language is a space for meaningful experience. Experience that has been expressed is experience that has crystallized.
Therefore experience becomes a kind of substance and experience becomes meaningless if it does not find its home in language.
Conversely, without real experience, language is like an empty space without life. Understanding the text itself lies in listening through human language about what is said in the language expression.
4. Jurgen Habermas
Hermeneutics according to Habermas aims to understand the process of understanding .
Understanding is an activity of experience and theoretical understanding combined into one. It is impossible to fully understand the meaning of a fact, because there are always facts that cannot be interpreted.
In understanding something, of course, it also involves language as a fundamental element in hermeneutics. Because, the analysis of a fact is done through the relationship of symbols and these symbols are symbols of facts.
5. Paul Ricoeur
The meaning of Paul Recoeur’s Hermeneutics departs from a text as an autonomous or stand-alone and does not depend on the intent of the author.
There are three kinds of text autonomy, namely the intention or intent of the author, the cultural situation and social conditions of the procurement of the text, and for whom the text is intended.
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The task of hermeneutics directs its attention to the objective meaning of the text itself, regardless of the subjective intent of the author or other people.
Interpretation is considered to have succeeded in achieving its goal if the “world of text” and “world of interpretation” have blended into one.
6. Jacques Derrida
In the philosophy of language related to hermeneutics, Derrida distinguishes between “signs” and “symbols”. Each sign is arbitrary.
Language by its very nature is “writing” objects arising in a network of signs, and this network or network of signs is called “text”.
Everything that exists is always marked by textuality. There is no meaning beyond the text. Meaning is always woven into the text.
Hasan Hanafi’s Hermeneutic Theory
At the level of Al-Quran hermeneutic thought, as we all know, Hasan Hanafi has an idea in the form of emancipatory critical Al-Quran hermeneutics.
Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory is about understanding the meaning of the Koran in the present context without being uprooted from the historical context and most importantly this understanding is not stuck in the discourse.
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Furthermore, Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory is truly capable of bringing about social change in society, this is the focus of study or the distinction of Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics of Hasan Hanafi’s View
Hasan Hanafi’s Hermeneutic Theory was first put forward through his phenomenal work entitled Religious Dialogue and Revolution .
In his work Hasan Hanafi sees hermeneutics as axiomatic, as is the view of the Koran towards other holy books, the status of women according to the Koran and Jewish teachings and so on.
Also in Dirasat Islamiyyah the chapters of Ushul Fiqh and Dirasat Falsafiyyah are mainly in the discussion of Qira’ah Nash .
Two agendas and major tools, namely Hasan Hanafi’s concern in developing his Al-Qur’an hermeneutics is built on two agendas, namely methodical issues or interpretive theories and philosophical issues.
Methodically, Hanafi seems to want to outline several new lines in understanding the Koran with the main focus on the liberation and emancipatory dimensions of the Koran.
While having a philosophical agenda, Hanafi has acted as a critic and even a deconstructor of the old theory which is considered as the truth in the Al-Quran interpretation methodology.
Thus, in this context, Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory tries to reconstruct hermeneutics in his own style by using several major tools, namely ushul fiqh, phenomenology, Marxism, and hermeneutics itself.
Through these four compositions, Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory builds and accommodates the idea of liberation in Islam.
Or it can be called a revolutionary interpretation which is a normative-ideological basis for Muslims – to deal with all forms of repression, exploitation and injustice – which carries hermeneutics which is more practical and capable of being a problem solver.
Interestingly Hasan Hanafi in Islam in The Modern world that the interpreter’s responsibility is to reveal human existence both individually and socially with various situations according to the message of Islamic teachings themselves ( shalih likulli Zaman wa eat ).
Hermeneutics as Axiomics
Hermeneutics as axiomatic according to Hasan Hanafi means the description of the process of hermeneutics as a science that is rational, format, objective and universal, namely by constructing a method that is rational, objective and universal in understanding Islamic classical texts.
Hermeneutics in Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory also plays the same role as overall theory and sum theory in mathematics.
Where to put all the axioms in advance and try to solve the hermeneutical problem first without referring to specific relevant data so that it will become a kind of universal mathesis.
Hermeneutic axiomatization itself, according to Hasan Hanafi, associates all the problems contained in the scriptures and tries to solve them in advance or in principle by putting the problem together in an axiomatic form.
This is in order to create an objective, rigorus (precise, accurate and universal) interpretation discipline.
In addition, it is intended that the interpretation of the Koran can touch society broadly and empirically with all the problems it faces, not only in theoretical aspects, but also practically-applicatively.
Hanafi gives stressing (emphasis) on the importance of ideology and “interests” to be brought into the process of interpretation.
Far from reading the text carried out by the interpreter is inseparable from the socio-cultural background and internal influences that he has.
Simply put, an interpreter in interpreting must know who he is on the one hand, and be objective and not brutal (arbitrary) in interpreting the Al-Quran text on the other hand.
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Because for him, hermeneutics teaches normative methods so that expertise is needed in interpretation work.
Explanation in Qadlaya Muashirah , Hasan Hanafi argues that most interpretations of the Koran are confined to tautological (consonant) and repetitive themes which are actually irrelevant.
Transforming interpretation from simply legitimizing dogma to revolutionary movements and from tradition to modernization, this is what Hanafi later calls “regressive-progressive” actions.
According to Hanafi in Min al-Nash ila al-Waqi’ , when the text contradicts maslahat, then maslahat is the one that should come first, because the text is just a wasilah (tools), as for maslahat is ghayah or maqashid from the text itself.
The interrelation between interpretation and reality is indeed very significant for Hanafi in hermeneutics. In fact, if we observe that Hasan Hanafi always relates hermeneutics to the level of “praxis”, this is seen as related to the influence of Marxism in his mind.
That’s all for an explanation of Hasan Hanafi’s hermeneutic theory, see you in the next discussion. Happy reading!