The Power of Language in the Classical Period of Kalām
Journal Title: Nazariyat İslam Felsefe ve Bilim Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi - Year 2019, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
When examining classical-era kalām books, we may be at first surprised by the great importance given to language in their theological discussions and the recognition of linguists (ahl al-lugha) as authorities. Whenever Muslim theologians (mutakallimūn) deal with any issue, they first determine how the linguists would have made sense of the relevant terms and then explain it in a way that is appropriate for use in Arabic. This sensitivity to language is not only limited to defining the Islamic terms such as “belief” (īmān), “unbelief” (kufr), “disobedience” (ma‘ṣiya), and “justice” (‘adl), but also includes defining the terms of physics and cosmology. In other words, when conceptualizing terms such as “universe” (al-‘ālam), “body” (jism), “substance (jawhar), “accident” (‘araḍ), “motion” (ḥaraka), and “rest” (sukūn), these theologians mostly take into account how the speakers of language commonly use them.
Authors and Affiliations
Mehmet Bulğen
Keywords
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- EP ID EP603951
- DOI 10.12658/Nazariyat.5.1.M0065en
- Views 149
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The Power of Language in the Classical Period of Kalām
When examining classical-era kalām books, we may be at first surprised by the great importance given to language in their theological discussions and the recognition of linguists (ahl al-lugha) as authorities. Whenever M...