نشریه مطالعات قرآنی نامه جامعه
پیاپی 135 (پاییز 1399)

The issue of “inward” and “outward” of the Qur’an is one of the subjects that have long been considered by commentators and other activists in the field of semantics of the Holy Qur’an. The long history of research on this issue has drawn the attention of Muslim interpreters and other scholars to a variety of related issues. Accepting or rejecting the establishment of a relationship between these two semantic domains and determining the type of this relationship (in case of believing in its existence) are considered to be among the most significant discussions centered on this issue. The present article aims to analytically study Sadr al-Muta’allehin Shirazi’s perspective toward these two matters. In the opening section of the article, after concisely explaining the meaning of the three key words, “relationship”, “inward” and “outward”, mentioning the theoretical and research background of the subject, and referring to “the certainty of existence of inward meanings for verses”, Mulla Sadra’s view on the very existence of the relationship between the two inward and outward semantic layers of the Qur’an and its exclusivity to an “obligatory” relationship was analyzed. In the concluding part, after confirming and strengthening the first part of Mulla Sadra’s standpoint, the evaluation and critique of the second part of his belief was presented. The outcome of the three essential critiques in this regard is that the inward meanings mentioned in the narratives indicate the diversity of the type of relationship between the “inward” and the “outward” of the verses, and as a result, believing in the exclusivity of this relationship to an “obligatory” linguistic relationship is a false belief.

Realizing the doctrines of the Qur’an as the “Greater Weight” has been the focus of attention of Muslims, intellectuals in the field of “interpretation” and “Qur’anic sciences” in particular, from early Islam to the present era. The first step in this regard is “knowing the meaning of the Qur’anic terms”, by which sometimes the true meaning (the signified) is intended and at other times the evolved meaning. Most lexicographers have addressed the true meaning (and the signified) of words, and have seldom paid any regard for their evolved meaning. Taking into account Allameh Tabatabaei’s status in interpretive associations, it is essential to study his views in the book “Al-Mizan in the Interpretation of the Qur’an” in this significant semantic field. In order to achieve this purpose, the present article was written using the descriptive-analytical method. According to the findings of the research, Allameh has accepted two types of evolution of the Qur’anic terms, i.e., vocal and denotative, and in some cases, he has referred to vocal evolution without any change in the meaning or changer of the meaning. He has considered denotative evolution to be sometimes the developer of meaning and sometimes its restrictor, and in the denotative evolution of the meaning developer type, he has pointed out some positive and negative words, indicating the direction and so forth, and in the denotative evolution of the meaning restrictor type, he has mentioned family relations and Shari’a truths.

According to the explicit referent of the narrative, “I have been given the Book and its equivalent with it”, an equivalent of the Book (Qur’an) was also given to the Prophet (PBUH), which, like the Book (Qur’an), is called revelation so that it would play a complementary role to the Book. The fundamental and significant question, however, is whether the revelation to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is limited to the verses of the Qur’an or any other revelation has been made to him apart from the Qur’an. The main approach and pillar of the present article are the explication and analysis of the above narrative. According to the meaning of this Hadith, what exists in the Qur’an is “Qur’anic revelation” and what is stated in the form of the irrefutable Prophetic narratives is “non- Qur’anic revelation”. It is noteworthy that Qur’anic and non-Qur’anic revelations have a common element and peculiarity, i.e., being “heavenly” and “Divine”. Yet, a number of scholars have limited the revelation to the Prophet (PBUH) to Qur’anic revelation, while Qur’anic and narrative evidence firmly and explicitly indicates that the Prophet (PBUH) has brought from God not only the Qur’an, but also its equivalent, in his own words, along with it. This “equivalent of the Book” (Qur’an) is the very Prophetic tradition, and these two accompany and complete one another and constitute the religion and Shari’a.

The Qur’an is a book for the guidance of mankind and guarantees social laws. The course of historical events also takes place in the social context. Therefore, many verses may be examined from a historical perspective. Sūrah al-Yūnus, as a Meccan Sūrah, contains laws that God revealed for the guidance of the polytheists. These laws include general and conditional types. General laws apply to all individuals and Divine conditional laws depend on human’s free will. These laws operate in the legality frame of history and society, and all these currents are definable in a historical context. In order to acquire an understanding of these traditions, Fariqain’s interpretive sources and the interpretiveanalytical research method have been used. Conducted studies indicate that there are two types of Divine laws in history, namely, general and conditional. General laws govern human history and societies, while conditional laws are directly related to human’s free will. If the people of a society choose the religion of Islam and adhere to its requirements in this path, this will cause a change in the historical movement and lead the society from downfall and destruction towards prosperity and perfection.

The Qur’an is a multi-layered text with inward aspects, and the discovery of its semantic layers requires a methodical look. The present study aims to offer a comprehensive semantic model for divine assistance by means of angels, using the method of semantics. The author endeavors to analyze the related terms in the discourse chain of two consecutive verses of Sūrah Āli-Imrān, i.e., 124 and 125, and verse 9 of Sūrah al-Anfāl, in terms of intertextuality, juxtaposition and substitution relations, to present the Qur’anic worldview of the words, and to seek help from other related verses as a confirmation by employing the Qur’an-to-Qur’an interpretation method. The outcome based on the verses is that from among the cases of juxtaposition of the focal word, assistance, with the words, patience, piety, enemy’s evasion, time and urgency, one thousand, three thousand, five thousand, the marked, the successors, the sent down, the Believers, supplication, answering, salvation and sufficiency, the highest relation frequency has occurred with “Lord” and “angel”, and from among the most frequent substitutes for assistance, “help and aid” can be mentioned. This type of assistance is specific to the Believers and contingent upon conditions that bring about help, aid, victory, good news, heartfelt reassurance, piety and gratitude, and in turn, lead to destruction, despair and humiliation for the other party; a thorough, continuous, sufficient and saving assistance, the main helper of which is God who assists through material and spiritual means.

Although the Qur’an, as the most complete and the last heavenly book, was revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) in the Arabian Peninsula, its doctrines do not belong only to the age of revelation and have been revealed for all people at all times and places. Some of the orientalists who have conducted studied on the religion and the scriptures of the East, have raised problems and doubts about the Qur’an, one of which is the non-universality and non-generality of the Qur’an, and following them, theorists from the Islamic world, too, emphasize the non-universality of the Qur’an. This article first extracts the verses referred to by the claimants of the non-universality of the Qur’an and the orientalists’ views on it with the library method, then responds to the problems raised by the claimants of the non-universality of the Qur’an, employing the descriptive-analytical method, and ultimately, explicates the universality of the Qur’an, using Qur’anic reasons. A criticism of the arguments put forward by those raising doubts reveals the inadequacy of some verses in their claims, and the Qur’anic reasons indicating the Qur’an’s being a reminder to all the world and a warning to the public (at present and in the future), the generality of its addresses, the defiance of the Qur’an and its inviolability, prove the universality of the Qur’an.