Critique of the Popular Interpretation of Q 22: 52 Based on Lexicology and Qurʾānic Exegesis

Translation and interpretation of words are among the important topics in the science of exegesis. Sometimes, a word deviates from its original and true meaning, and secondary, distant, or even new meanings replace it. When examining ancient texts, paying attention to the evolution of words is of great importance because the speech in ancient texts was issued with regard to the original and prevailing meaning at that time, while later interpreters consider meanings other than the original one. The word Manā and its two derivatives tamannā and Umnīyyatih in verse Q 22: 52 are examples of this. In authentic lexicons, the original meaning of manā is taken as death and decree, while interpreters have considered the word tamannā to mean wish (al-umnīyya), which has led to the possibility of Satan's influence in the realm of revelation and the story of the cranes in the books of exegesis. This research, by contemplating the true meaning of these words in authentic lexicons and considering the context and the reality of revelation, has understood tamannā to mean the arrival and predestination of the time of the prophets' death and umnīyyatih to mean wish. In this approach, the antecedent of the pronoun al-hāʾ in umnīyyatih is Satan.