Konstruksi Mazhab Tafsir Syiah: Studi Formatif dan Afirmatif

Abstract

The diversity of tafsir traditions in Islam has given rise to various schools of Qur’anic interpretation that developed according to their respective theological and epistemological foundations. One of these is the Shi'a Imami tafsir school, which possesses distinctive characteristics in understanding the Qur’an. This study aims to analyze the construction of the Shi'a tafsir school through formative and affirmative dimensions in order to explain its process of formation and the epistemological identity that underpins its interpretive tradition. This research employs a qualitative library research method using historical and epistemological approaches. The data were collected from Shi'a tafsir works and relevant academic literature and analyzed through descriptive-analytical content analysis. The findings reveal that the Shi'a tafsir school was formed through a continuous historical process, beginning with the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, and later developing into a systematic interpretive tradition through codification and methodological refinement. Its epistemological identity is grounded in the concepts of Imamah, hujjiyyat al-Imam, ‘ilm al-Imam, the distinction between the exoteric (zahir) and esoteric (batin) meanings of the Qur’an, and the use of ta’wil as an interpretive instrument. These findings demonstrate that Shi'a tafsir constitutes a distinctive system of knowledge with its own methodological characteristics and contributes to the enrichment of tafsir studies through the integration of historical, epistemological, and methodological dimensions in understanding the Qur’an.