Hanafi Approaches to the Relationship between the Qur'an and Previous Scriptures in the Tafsirs of al-Maturidi and Abu'l-Barakat al-Nasafi

This study examines Hanafi approaches to the relationship between the Qur'an and previous divine scriptures by focusing on two major representatives of the Hanafi exegetical tradition, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333/944) and Abu'l-Barakat al-Nasafi (d. 710/1310). It aims to identify the scholarly and methodological foundations of the interpretive divergences that emerged within a shared madhhab framework rooted in the legacy of Abu Hanifa (d. 150/767), particularly in exegetical, theological, and legal-theoretical discussions. In this context, the study traces the dynamics of continuity and change within the Hanafi school through the question of the Qur'an's semantic relationship with earlier revealed books and asks whether strong intra-madhhab commitment precluded methodological differentiation in hermeneutical and linguistic reasoning. In this study, where qualitative research methods are based, the issue of the relationship between the Qur'an and previous scriptures is examined through text analysis and comparative analysis. The findings reveal a marked methodological and intellectual divergence within the Hanafi tradition across theological, juristic, and interpretive lines. Al-Maturidi, prioritizing meaning over wording in acts of worship, argues for a non-literal yet substantive spiritual and semantic continuity between the Qur'an and previous scriptures, thereby permitting ritual prayer in languages other than Arabic under certain theological and practical conditions. By contrast, al-Nasafi locates the Qur'an's inimitability (iʿjaz) in its Arabic wording, nazm, and rhetorical eloquence, maintains that full translation is impossible and that complete semantic identity is unattainable, and consequently restricts non-Arabic prayer for those able to perform the ritual in Arabic. Overall, the study demonstrates that Hanafi exegetes articulated diverse and at times opposing, methodological approaches shaped by differing conceptions of iʿjaz and the priority of meaning in revelation, interpretation, and devotional practice.