1.What is this article about?
Answer : Its about comparing the elucidation of the semantic stucture and fixity of a number of key terms and concepts of the Quran by 2 contemporary scholars, Toshihiko Izutsu and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, with that of Raghib al-Isfahani, the author of Kitab al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran.
2.What does it mean by 'key terms'?
Answer : Those words used by the Quran which play a decisive role in making up the basic conceptual structure of the Quranic worldview.
3.What is Izutsu's semantic approach on the Quran?
Answer : A conceptual scheme which he call Quranic Weltanschauung. And he made clear its difference from the the pre-Quranic or Jahiliyyah Worldview.
4.What did Izutsu say in his concept scheme of Quranic Weltanshauung?
Answer : He say that the quran is a large semantic field, a self-sufficient systems of words into which all words,whatever their origins, have been integrated with an entirely new systematic interpretation.
5.How does Izutsu describe his interpretation method?
Answer : An analytic study of the key words of a language with a view to arriving eventually at a conceptual grasp of
the Weltanschauung or worldview of the people who use that language as a tool not only of speaking and thinking, but, more important still, of conceptualizing and interpreting the world that surrounds them.
the Weltanschauung or worldview of the people who use that language as a tool not only of speaking and thinking, but, more important still, of conceptualizing and interpreting the world that surrounds them.
6.What is Izutsu's conclusion?
Answer : He concludes that, although many of the words used in the Quran are the same as those used in the JÄ€hiliyyah times, they were neither assigned the same roles nor denote the same concepts.
7.Now, let's go to al-Attas. What is his methods?
Answer : Semantic Analysis.
8.What did Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas mean by Islamization process?
Answer : Revolution and replacement of the Jahili worldview with the Islamic Weltanschauung.
9.What is the example of al-Attas work, using semantic analysis?
Answer : "Islam : The Concept of Religion and The Foundation of Ethics and Morality."
10. What did he say regarding the term Din in his work (answer no.9)?
Answer : The term din conveys the concept of man’s existential indebtedness to God, man’s total submission to God, an exercise of judicious power, and a reflection of man’s natural tendency towards goodness and justice.
11.What is the conclusion that Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas draw from his semantic analysis method that he applies to the key word din?
Answer : He says that Islam as ‘the din’ is “the subjective, personal religion of the individual as well as the objective pervading self-same religion of the Community and,that it operates as the same religion in the individual as a single entity as well as the society composed collectively of such entities.
12.Ok.Let's move on to Raghib al-Isfahani.Who is he?
Answer : One of the most renowned linguists to appear during the Abbasid period. He made contributions to tafsir, ethics, theology, mysticism,and belles-lettres.His fame rests, however, on his Mufradat alfaz al-Quran, which reflects his exceptional aptitude for subtle semantic analysis and marks an advance in the systematic studies of the Quran.
13.What is his method that he uses in his Mufradat alfaz al-Quran?
Answer : First, he clarifies the lexical meaning of words, analyzing their morphology and tracing their etymology; then he exemplifies their usage in various contexts, citing from the Quran, traditions, and poetry; and then he explains the meaning of the term occurring in the verse in relation to other verses, employing the so-called Qura-by-Quran approach. In addition, Raghib al-Isfahani also cites from the Prophet’s Companions, philosophers, and sages. Nevertheless, he always gives priority to religious over philosophical sources.
Extra note :
The word Allah, from our understanding is His name given by Allah Himself. Without Him telling us about His name, it is impossible for us to know His name. So, the knowledge about Him,and including His name is given by Him to us. The first human, prophet Adam a.s. already know what to call Him as. That is Allah. It is Him who told prophet Adam a.s about Himself.
