For the first time, Wensbrough regarded Ibn Ishaq’s biography as a kind of narrative of Quran interpretation; a form in which storytelling plays a central and fundamental role. In this research, inspired by this perspective and using a descriptive-analytical method combined with critique, we have evaluated Wensbrough’s view on the relationship between Ibn Ishaq’s biography and the tradition of Quran interpretation, and we have examined how Quranic verses are applied within this work.
The results show that 127 instances of Quranic verses are presented throughout various discussions in this work. The explanation of occasions of revelation with 75 instances constitutes the main part of the biography’s narratives centered around Quranic verses. Although Wensbrough considers mentioning the occasions of revelation as an element of Jurisprudential exegesis, findings from this study indicate that, as Ripin has also said, this element is characteristic of the narrative type of exegesis, according to the classification of pre-Tabrian interpretive genres, from Wensbrough’s perspective. The inclusion of verses in the words and writings of characters in the narrative, embellishing and beautifying the speaker’s speech with divine verses, explaining the meanings of words—especially terms like Takamad, Dakhil, and Gharib—illustrating examples of verses, and interpreting Quranic verses by citing other verses are other types of verse application in Ibn Ishaq’s biography.