Abstract

This study examines the epistemological value of Qur’anic evidence, with a particular focus on the evidence presented in verse 21/22 of Al-Anbiya. The scope of the research is limited to ʿAbd al-Laṭif Kirmānī’s criti-cisms of Teftāzānī’s (d. 792/1390) interpretation of this verse and Alāʾ al-Dīn al-Buhārī’s (d. 841/1438) responses to these criticisms. In this context, the study first addresses the conceptual framework of evidence types—namely, rational/ʿaqlī and transmitted/naqlī evidence, as well as rhetori-cal/hatābī and demonstratative/burhānī evidence. It then provides a de-tailed analysis of Teftāzānī’s views on the epistemological value of the evi-dence in Al-Anbiya and ʿAbd al-Laṭif Kirmānī’s subsequent critiques. Fi-nally, the approach adopted by Alāʾ al-Dīn al-Buhārī in addressing this is-sue is evaluated. This research is significant in that it highlights the depth of debates concerning the epistemological value of Qur’anic evidence within the Islamic intellectual tradition and demonstrates the potential these deba-tes hold for the field of exegesis. The primary objective of the study is to sys-tematically assess, in light of the perspectives of ʿAbd al-Laṭif Kirmānī and Alāʾ al-Dīn al-Buhārī, the interpretive diversity regarding the epistemologi-cal value of the evidence in al-Anbiya 21/22. To achieve this, an inter-textual analysis methodology has been adopted, and the relevant classical texts and debates have been examined in detail.