A Comparative Analysis of the Quranic Foundations of Imam Khamenei and Andrew Rippin

The quran is the eternal miracle of the prophet muhammad and contains the plan for the guidance and salvation of mankind. many orientalists, including rippin, view this divine book and eternal miracle as a literary text and examine it with such an assumption. this research aims to comparatively analyze some of the quranic foundations of imam khamenei and andrew rippin through a descriptive-analytical approach to highlight the authentic quranic foundations compared with the views of orientalists. some of rippin’s quranic foundations are as follows: the quran is neither a divine book nor an eternal miracle; the quran does not present any exegetical method for its interpretation; the difference in readings is a justification for the quran’s miraculousness; the occasions of revelation are merely literary devices. in contrast, imam khamenei regards the quran as a guiding book that is not limited to any specific time or place; he believes in the linguistic and semantic miraculousness and inimitability of quranic verses and the wisdom behind their arrangement; he examines the difference in readings through appropriate means such as verifying the authenticity of narrators, the context of verses, and the tradition of the prophet muhammad; he considers the occasions or context of revelation as appropriate devices for a better understanding of the verses. as long as orientalists such as rippin are not guided into the revelatory nature of the quran, one should not expect them to have a correct understanding and a fair evaluation of the quran and its verses.