The Linguistic (Lughawī) Orientation in Indonesian Qur’anic Exegesis: A Comparative Study of Mahmud Yunus’s Tafsir Qur’an Karim and M. Quraish Shihab’s Tafsir al-Mishbah

Abstract

This study compares the linguistic (lughawī) orientation of Mahmud Yunus’s Tafsir Qur’an Karim, one of the earliest Qur’anic commentaries written in Indonesian, with that of M. Quraish Shihab’s Tafsir al-Mishbah. It focuses on how both exegetes employ Arabic lexical and semantic analysis to elucidate Qur’anic vocabulary and meanings. This qualitative study adopts a library-research method and applies comparative textual analysis to the two commentaries, supplemented by relevant secondary literature. The findings demonstrate that linguistic analysis is a prominent feature of Yunus’s commentary, although his explanations are generally concise and practical. He also strategically employs footnotes to clarify important terms and concepts, thereby making the Qur’anic message more accessible to readers with limited proficiency in Arabic. Shihab similarly adopts a linguistic approach, but develops his analysis in greater depth and detail. Despite their differences in analytical depth and mode of presentation, both exegetes regard proficiency in Arabic as indispensable to a nuanced understanding of the Qur’an. The study concludes that Yunus made a significant contribution to the development of Indonesian Qur’anic exegesis by introducing an accessible form of linguistic interpretation, while Shihab’s work represents a more elaborate application of the same exegetical orientation.