Rereading the Meaning and Reference of "Ṭāghūt" in the Holy Qurʿan by the Historical-Etymological Approach

Muslim commentators and lexicographers have not reached a coherent opinion about ṭāghūt, neither from literally, nor semantically, nor figuratively, and this has also caused a lot of confusion about this concept in the exegetical works. Using the etymological method, this article aims to clarify the historical meaning of this concept by illustrating the structure of this word and its origin. According to the research done in this article, it was found that ṭāghut is derived from the common Semitic root "ṬˁY/ṬĠY" which means “to make mistake, go astray”. Based on the use of this word in Jewish Aramaic texts and Christian Abyssinian texts, which are the origin of this concept entering the Arabic language, two references for ṭāghut can be found. The first reference is idols, which is borrowed from the Aramaic language, and the second reference is Kahins (shamans), which is borrowed from the Abyssinian (Geˁez) language. In the Holy Qur'an, the same two semantic spectrums are also reflected; both idol and god-like ṭaġūts are mentioned, and human ṭāghuts (which are shamans) are also mentioned. In addition to these two, ṭāghut is also used in the Qur'an in its general meaning in Semitic languages.