Soteriological Semiotics within the Qur’an

Abstract

Allah states within the Qur'an "We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves, until verily they know that this is the Truth" (41: 53). This paper will take a twofold and interrelated approach to this verse, providing a commentary on this verse and, in doing so, draw out a hermeneutic tool that can be applied to the Qur'an as a whole. In order to understand this verse and highlight one particular hermeneutical approach, key elements within the verse will need to examined, such as "Our," the "signs," "the horizons," "within themselves," and “the Truth.” The aim of exploring these elements is to show how a particular understanding of their combination highlights the correlation between the showing of the signs and the individual knowing the relationship between the signs and the Truth. It is suggested that the process of showing, coupled with the subsequent knowing, makes possible the elucidation of a hermeneutic tool that will here be called soteriological semiotics. Through a tentative description of soteriologial semiotics, it will be shown that, in taking account of the signs and the individual’s reception of them, this hermeneutic tool can provide a framework for examining the method of communication from the Creator to the creation.

Keywords

• Soteriological semiotics
• tawhid
• soteriology
• hermeneutics
• Qur’an

Supporting Institution

The author received no grant support for this work.

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