Epistemologi Tarjih dalam Maḥāsin al-Ta'wīl dan Qawā'id al-Tarjīḥ: Komparasi Al-Qasimi dan Al-Harbi serta Kontekstualisasinya bagi Moderasi Penafsiran Al-Qur'an Kontemporer

Abstract

Differences in Qur'anic interpretation (ikhtilāf al-mufassirīn) are inevitable in the history of tafsīr, yet studies on how exegetes weigh competing opinions remain dominated by single-figure research, leaving the continuity between modern exegetical practice of tarjīḥ and its contemporary theorisation unmapped. This study analyses the construction of the concept and rules of tarjīḥ of Jamaluddin Al-Qasimi (d. 1332 AH) in Maḥāsin al-Ta'wīl and Husain Al-Harbi (b. 1387 AH) in Qawā'id al-Tarjīḥ 'inda al-Mufassirīn, compares their epistemological foundations, and formulates their contextualisation for contemporary Qur'anic interpretation. It is a qualitative library study employing the comparative (muqāran) method, supported by content analysis and an epistemological framework of sources, methods, and validity. The findings show that Al-Qasimi practises tarjīḥ in a deductive-applicative manner grounded in Salafi principles, siyāq, and the criticism of narrations, whereas Al-Harbi systematises tarjīḥ inductively and theoretically into rules classified by their evidential sources. Both converge on a hierarchy of evidence led by the Qur'an, authentic Sunnah, and the Arabic language, and on the principle of reconciliation (al-jam') before preference. Combining Al-Qasimi's practice with Al-Harbi's theory offers a measurable model of tarjīḥ that accommodates ikhtilāf tanawwu' and supports moderate interpretation, tafsīr education, and the evaluation of digital tafsīr