Did Modernity End Polyvalence? Some Observations on Tolerance for Ambiguity in Sunnitafsīr

The transition from a polyvalent premodern tafsīr tradition to a more monovalent modern tradition has been noted by several authors. This article tries to more precisely locate this shift through a case study of commentaries on Q. 53:11, on the controversy over whether the Prophet saw God. I intend to show that from the nineteenth century onwards there indeed was a decline of polyvalence in the discussion of this verse, culminating in a univocal choice for an angelic instead of a divine vision in the twentieth century. I claim that one of the main reasons for the decline of polyvalence on this particular issue is the rise of the trend to approach suras as a unity in tafsīr, instead of a more atomistic approach to separate verses which was more common in premodern tafsīr traditions. A claim sometimes made that the decline of polyvalence has to do with the rise of Salafism or ḥadīth-minded scholarship of the likes of Ibn Kathīr thus seems unjustified.