Beyond Interpretation: Reception Theory and the Transformation of Qur’anic Meaning Across Cultures

Abdullah Safei

Authors

Abdullah Safei Institut Ilmu Al-Qur'an Jakarta

Keywords:

Qur'anic Reception Theory, Living Qur'an, Cross-Cultural Interpretation, Meaning Transformation

Abstract

The Qur'an is a universal sacred text whose meanings continue to evolve through diverse cultural contexts without altering its normative authority. However, existing approaches in Qur'anic Studies, including classical tafsir, contemporary hermeneutics, and Living Qur'an studies, have not sufficiently explained the mechanisms through which Qur'anic meaning is transformed across different socio-cultural settings. This study aims to examine how Reception Theory explains the transformation of Qur'anic meaning across cultures and to develop a new theoretical framework specifically for Qur'anic Studies. Employing a qualitative conceptual research design based on library research, this study synthesizes Hans Robert Jauss's Reception Theory, Wolfgang Iser's Reader Response Theory, Abdullah Saeed's contextual approach, and contemporary Living Qur'an scholarship. Data were collected through a systematic review of books and recent scholarly articles and analyzed using conceptual analysis and theory synthesis. The findings reveal that the transformation of Qur'anic meaning does not occur at the level of the sacred text but at the level of cultural reception, where readers' horizons, cultural mediation, historical experience, and social practices shape the actualization of Qur'anic values. Based on these findings, this study proposes Qur'anic Reception Theory (QRT), consisting of five interconnected dimensions: Textual Authority, Reader's Horizon, Cultural Mediation, Social Embodiment, and Meaning Transformation. The proposed framework extends Reception Theory beyond literary studies and offers a new paradigm for understanding the dynamic relationship between revelation, culture, and society. This study contributes theoretically to the advancement of Qur'anic Studies by providing an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing the reception and transformation of Qur'anic meaning across cultures.

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