Drawback of Split Exegesis

It is important to note that this reference is made with the sole purpose of knowing the literal meaning of the verse or a few verses under study. In this type of exegesis the commentator uses all possible means only to find out the literal meaning, and at one time he studies only a small section of the Qur'an. But with a consecutive study of each and every section of the Qur'an, he can on the whole acquire a fair degree of knowledge of the contents and the fine points of the whole Qur'an, though he does so only in a split and scattered form. Anyhow, he cannot determine the view of the Qur'an in regard to every field of life in respect of which Qur'anic verses have been revealed. Scattered information is there, but no connecting link exists to coordinate this information and provide the view of the Qur'an with regard to each one of the various subjects and fields.

Thus in split exegesis enough attention is not paid to the coordination of the verses, though in certain cases their interrelation is explained.

Adopted from the book: "Trends of History in Qur'an" by: "Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr"