In recent decades, Bint al-Sha¯{tcombining dot below}i''s literary approach to the exegesis of the Qur'an received some scholarly attention. This has particularly been directed at the exegetical method she developed under the tutelage of Ami¯n al-Khu¯li¯. This paper aims to re-examine Bint al-Sha¯{tcombining dot below}i''s exegetical oeuvre with an interest in its hermeneutic underpinnings. Through a close reading of her work al-Tafsi¯r al-baya¯ni¯ li'l-Qur'a¯n, questions about authority, language, and application emerge as central to her approach. These questions are further explored in light of the tension between modernity and tradition characterising her intellectualism, and in the context of her personal journey as a woman attempting to establish an authoritative exegetical voice in a male-dominated tradition. The paper concludes with a discussion on Bint al-Sha¯{tcombining dot below}i''s stance on the primacy of a linguistic approach for understanding the Qur'an and thus her divergence from Ami¯n al-Khu¯li¯ who emphasised history above language in his Manahij al-tajdi¯d. The emphasis on linguisticality evolves in Bint al-Sha¯{tcombining dot below}i''s work into a theology of humanity in which women are equally entrusted with understanding the Qur'an, revealing her interpretation to be motivated not only by an interest in the Qur'an's literary inimitability but also by a concern for social application.