Qur’an and Social Sciences

Qur’an and Social Sciences

A Discourse Analysis of Jihadi Salafi Excommunication of Political Rulers (Based on Qur’ān 5:44) through the Lens of Social Exegesis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ehsan KhamnaviKhiabani 1
Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Mousavi 2
Abolghasem Naghibi 3
1 PhD Candidate in Fiqh and Principles of Islamic Law, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Fiqh and Private Law, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author)
3 Department of Jurisprudence and Private Law, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/arq.2025.242438
Abstract
This study aims to examine and critique the Jihadi Salafi reading of Qur’ān 5:44. The research employs a descriptive–analytical method and is grounded in the theoretical framework of social exegesis of the Qur’ān and critical discourse analysis. The findings indicate that this interpretation suffers from methodological deviation in three respects: first, by disregarding the historical context and circumstances of revelation—relating to the alteration of the ruling on stoning by the Jews of Medina—the verse is detached from its original setting; second, it fails to distinguish between the various degrees of unbelief, whereas Qur’ānic exegetes such as Ṭabarī, Qurtubī, and ʿAllāmeh Ṭabāṭabāʾī differentiate between “practical unbelief” and “doctrinal unbelief”; and third, it instrumentalizes Qur’ānic interpretation for ideological purposes. The historical roots of this reading may be traced to developments following the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate as well as the influence of the thought of Sayyid Quṭb and Ibn Taymiyyah. From a social perspective, this interpretation yields consequences such as delegitimizing Muslim governments, weakening social cohesion, undermining the authority of jurisprudential scholarship, fostering religious disengagement among younger generations, reinforcing Islamophobia, and obstructing pathways toward Islamic civilizational development. The study concludes by proposing strategies at the theoretical, jurisprudential, and educational levels, including a return to the classical exegetical tradition, systematic critique of Salafi jurisprudence, and reform of religious education.
Keywords
Jihadi Salafism
Qur&‌‌‌rsquo
ān 5:44
Social exegesis of the Qur&‌‌‌rsquo
ān
Excommunication of rulers
Degrees of unbelief
Social implications

Subjects

The Holy Qurʾān
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  • Receive Date 14 May 2025
  • Revise Date 30 August 2025
  • Accept Date 02 September 2025