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This book traces the emergence and development of the idea of literal meaning in Islamic legal hermeneutics. Literal meaning is what a text means in itself- regardless of what its author intends to convey or the reader understands to be its message. As Islamic law is based on the central texts of Islam- the idea of a literal meaning that rules over human attempts to understand Gods message has resulted in a series of debates amongst modern Muslim legal theorists. In this reading of Islamic legal hermeneutics- Robert Gleave explores various competing notions of literal meaning- linked to both theological doctrine and historical developments- together with insights from modern semantic and pragmatic philosophers. It focuses on Islamic legal writings- with reference to Quranic exegesis (tafsir) and Arabic rhetorical works. It describes Muslim debates through the lens of modern Western linguistic philosophy- opening the topic up for Western scholars....