Traces the emergence and development of the idea of literal meaning in Islamic legal hermeneutics The idea of literal meaning - the meaning a text or statement has, regardless of what its author intends to convey or its audience understands to be its message - is here used as an analytical tool to inform a reading of Islamic legal hermeneutics with the insights of modern semantic and pragmatic philosophers. Author Robert Gleave argues that there have been various competing notions of literal meaning, linked to both theological doctrine and historical context. The inherent meaning of the text has become an element in discussions about who has the authority to interpret the revelatory texts, and what are the legitimate procedures for identifying what this literal meaning might be. Answers to these questions have evolved over time, and an attraction to the idea of a text's literal meaning which rules over all fallible human attempts to understand God's message has intensified among modern Muslim legal theorists. This attraction has resulted in intertwined debates concerning the processing and priority of legal meaning - and the importance of defining, identifying and promulgating the literal meaning of the central texts of the Muslim tradition shows little sign of diminishing. Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Exeter. Jacket image: Student annotated copy of the 1858 lithograph of Mirza Abu al-Qasim al-Qummi's Qawanin al-Usul Jacket design: [insert logo file] www.euppublishing.com ISBN 978-0-7486-2570-3 [please add in the white area above the barcode] Barcode [insert logo file] www.euppublishing.com ISBN 978-0-7486-2570-3 [please add in the white area above the barcode] Barcode