Philosophy of Science and the Reconstruction of Contemporary Qur’anic Interpretation: Integrating Epistemology, Methodology, and Qur’anic Contextualization

Abstract

Contemporary society faces increasingly complex problems, including large-scale deforestation, landslides, climate change, environmental degradation, technological disruption, and humanitarian crises, many of which were not encountered in the same form by classical Muslim scholars. These challenges raise an epistemological question concerning the capacity of contemporary Qur’anic interpretation to produce relevant and transformative responses. This study examines the integration of philosophy of science as a foundation for reconstructing contemporary tafsir by connecting epistemology, methodology, and contextualization. Employing qualitative library research with a philosophical-analytical approach, the study critically examines classical and contemporary tafsir discourse alongside developments in philosophy of science and contextual Qur’anic hermeneutics. The findings indicate that the problem is not the inadequacy of classical tafsir, but the tendency to reproduce inherited interpretations without sufficiently transforming their ethical principles into responses to emerging realities. Such a tendency contrasts with the intellectual productivity of classical scholars, who actively engaged with the scientific, social, political, and intellectual challenges of their own contexts. The study argues that contemporary tafsir requires an epistemological reconstruction that integrates revelation, reason, empirical knowledge, interdisciplinary inquiry, and contextual awareness. In this framework, Qur’anic interpretation should not merely explain existing texts but generate ethical and intellectual responses to new problems, including ecological disasters and destructive exploitation of natural resources. The novelty of this study lies in proposing philosophy of science as a foundation for transforming tafsir from a predominantly reproductive tradition into a productive, contextual, interdisciplinary, and problem-oriented intellectual enterprise.