The Batini (Esoteric) Interpretation of the Holy Qur'an: A Critical Review of Modern Approaches

Abstract

1. The esoteric movement began to resurface throughout the Islamic world under new names and appearances, such as "enlightenment" "renewal," and "modernity movements." The principles of classical esotericism are well established in the modern movements and these were inspired and driven by classical esoteric philosophy, which employed esoteric vision as a source and starting point for its intellectual underpinnings, used the same discourse framework in the Qur’anic interpretation.  Using a methodological comparison of classical and modern esoteric movements, this study seeks to trace the origins of modern esotericism in the philosophical literature of the classical esotericism. The study discovered areas of agreement and divergence between the two religious dogmas in terms of approach for interpreting and understanding of the holy text.