The rules of interpretation: How do al-‘ām and al-khāş applied in Shihab’s exegesis?

Shihab is a scholar who has produced a comprehensive 30-chapter exegesis entitled Tafsir Al-Mishbah. In interpreting the Qur’an, he had applied several rules that had driven him towards commenting the verses. This kind of rule is also adopted by the other exegetes to ensure their exegeses are in line with the Islamic law. Therefore, this study seeks to analyse the rules of interpretation applied by him which focuses on the discussions of al-‘ām (general) and al-khāş (specific). To get a proper conclusion, this study has adopted the document analysis method by making language scriptures and venerated exegeses as the main sources of reference. This is to ensure that the rules that he had employed can be analysed perfectly and also consistent with the conclusion made by the scholars. The study found that Shihab had applied seven rules related to general and specific in his methodology, and the rules have been affirmed by both scholars and exegetes.