Symbolic Quranic exegesis in Baha'u'llah's Book of Certitude: The exegetical creation of the Baha'i faith

This thesis will take particular interest in how Baha'u'llah overcomes theoretical obstacles to a realized eschaton, the most formidable of which is Islam's doctrine of revelatory finality founded on the Quranic designation of Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets" (Q. 33/40). Baha'u'llah sought to disenchant popular as well as clerical speculations on the eschaton, the impossibility of literal fulfillment of which effectively preempted its realization. This thesis will argue that Baha'u'llah advanced rhetorical-style arguments to establish that figuration underlies eschatological symbolism in the Gospels and the Qur'an.

Classical Islamic approaches to symbolism will be critically assessed as to precedent, leaving aside questions of dependence.

As to Baha'u'llah's own hermeneutic, this thesis will take Wansbrough's observations on the interdynamics of rhetorical and allegorical exegesis as a theoretical point of departure. Baha'u'llah's exegeses will be analyzed within what Wansbrough terms "procedural devices" employed across the spectrum of the classical exegetical tradition. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)