Lamrani, Lila <br/><br/>
Koranic hermeneutics in Avicenna’s Epistle on Return: Between orthodoxy and philosophy 

 -  2016.<br/>							 
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<br/><br/> In his Epistle on Return, Avicenna presents a study on the status and function of the Koran, which is one of the most advanced pieces on the hermeneutics of the sacred texts. Far from considering the Koran as a demonstrative text dealing with what there is, Avicenna explains that it is in fact a rhetorical text that aims at pushing people to adopt the adequate moral behavior to ensure social cohesion. Therefore the Koran’s superiority lies in the fact that it perfectly fulfills its function, while associating a subtle knowledge of human psychology to the use of adequate rhetorical devices. The peripatetic tradition of rhetoric and its role allows a better understanding of the framework in which Avicenna is incorporated to establish his demonstration. Nevertheless, the sources of the legal tradition validate this stance by stating that the Koranic verses cannot always be taken in their literal sense.