A Comparative Study of Ghazali and Allameh Tabataba'i's Views on the Theory of "Spirit of Meaning"

The "spirit of meaning" is one of the ideas on the semantics of the religious words that has attracted the attention of scholars such as Ghazali and Allameh Tabataba'i. Using a descriptive-analytical and documentary method, this paper, examines and adapts this theory to the teachings of these two thinkers, while emphasizing the semantic analysis of the Qur'anic words. Ghazali has based this theory on the balance of the unseen world and the material world, and the relation between exoteric and esoteric. The spirit of meaning to him is a heavenly truth, which has the possibility of representing in the form of sensory examples, and its achievement depends on a Sufi pass from the realm of imagination and removal of the extensional features from the gem of meaning. He has presented a different account in this regard. Allameh Tabataba'i, in the light of this theory, has also explained the semantics of the words and their relation to various senses based on their function and purpose. Nevertheless, despite the fact that both thinkers, by proposing this theory, emphasize the denial of esoteric commentary in the sense of the deviate from the literal meaning, in many cases, they have accepted the theory of the existence of figurative expression in the Word of God and its necessity.