Abstract
The Quran,
which was revealed in a certain place and time, is a linguistic manifestation
of the will of Allah. This linguistic manifestation, which was sent to all
mankind, undoubtedly gained its existence within the limits and possibilities
of the Arabic language. Therefore, the Arabic language and its features have a
central role in the correct understanding of the divine message, as every
linguistic manifestation gains its meaning according to its context and
linguistic integrity. One of the features of the Arabic language and the Quran
is conditional statements. In this context, the main purpose of this study is
to determine the use of conditionals, which are generally used to express
possibility, as a way of expressing impossibility as a style in the Quran to
contribute to the better understanding of the Quranic style. For this purpose,
firstly, in order to better understand the Quran’s conditional style, how
conditional expressions are used in the Arabic language and the Logic will be
discussed. Then, the use of conditional expressions in the Quran will be
examined, and the style of expressing impossibility though conditionals will be
examined through examples from the verses of the Quran. In this study, it is
found that the conditionals, which were generally used to express possibility
in the Quran, were used to express impossibility in some verses. It is hoped
that this study will contribute to a better understanding of the Quran in terms
of style and it will help to prevent misunderstandings of the verses which use
conditionals to express impossibility.
Summary
The Quran is a
verbal statement of the divine will, sent to all humanity in a certain place
and time. This divine statement was presented to the understanding of humanity
within the possibilities and limitations of the Arabic language, taking account
of the realities and limitations of the world within which human beings live.
Therefore, it is of importance to know the language in which the Quran was
revealed in order to better understand the Quran. In this context, many Muslim
scholars have regarded the knowledge of the Arabic language and its linguistic
features as a prerequisite for understanding the Quran correctly. Furthermore,
a variety of linguistic features and styles was used in the Quran. One of the
styles used in the Quran is conditional statements. It is observed that even
though the conditional statements are generally used to express possibility in
the Arabic language and the Quran, in some verses it is used to express
impossibility. Moreover, there seems no academic study which focuses solely on
this topic. Studies on the conditional expressions in the Quran are mostly
about syntax and language. Furthermore, although there are many studies on the
conditionals in terms of language and style in the Arabic language, there is a scarcity
of studies in the Turkish language. In this study, the conditionals, which have
been studied in the Islamic scientific tradition, especially in the context of
syntax, logic, and fiqh, are examined as a Quranic style of the expression of
impossibility. It is hoped that this study will contribute to a better
understanding of the Quran in terms of style and it will help to prevent
misunderstandings of the verses which use conditionals to express
impossibility. For this purpose, firstly, how conditional style is used in the
Arabic language and the Logic will be examined to provide a general
understanding of the conditionals. Secondly, the use of conditionals in the
Quran is explored and how conditionals were used to express impossibility in
the Quran are examined through examples from the verses of the Quran.
Conditionals
have a wide range of use in terms of language and style in the Arabic language.
For example, the relationship between the parts of the conditionals, namely the
hypothesis and the conclusion can be real or figurative. Moreover, it is stated
that there are three different meaning relationships between the hypothesis and
the conclusion. Therefore, this wide range of conditional use offers different
possibilities for the understanding of the verses of the Quran. Additionally,
conditional statements are divided into two basic categories in the field of
Logic and they are discussed in great detail. When we look at the field of
tafsir, it can be observed that the commentators (mufassirun) have taken this
general framework about the conditionals in the field of Logic into account. In
other words, a number of commentators have sought to understand the conditional
statements used in the Quran based on their usage in the classical Logic.
Especially, some commentators have sought to prove that it is logically correct
to use conditionals to express impossibility through their usage in the
classical Logic. In addition to this, other commentators have sought to
interpret conditional statements that emphasise impossibility in the Quran in
terms of style, rather than in terms of logic.
Thus, based on
the usage of the conditionals in the Arabic language and the Logic, this study
stresses that the conditionals, which were generally used to express
possibility in the Quran, were also used to express impossibility in some
verses. The study, therefore, suggests that this usage of the conditionals
should be taken into account in the future Quran translations and readings.
Moreover, it can be argued that neither a purely logical language nor a purely
literal language was used in the Quran. For example, some conditionals which
have false conclusions in terms of Logic were used in the Quran on a literary
basis. On the other hand, to reduce these expressions merely to a literary
ground does not seem to be the right approach, as it will blur their meanings.
At this point, it can be argued that the Quran used an “upper language” which
to a certain extent included logical and literal language. Another finding of
the study is that overlooking the linguistic style and features of the Quran
opens the door to many different readings and makes the text say the things
that it does not really say. Therefore, it is important to note that even
though interpretive differences which arise from the possibilities of the
Quranic language and style offer richness and diversity of meaning,
interpretations which exceed the limits and possibilities Quranic language and
style does not lead to the richness of meaning, rather it leads to ambiguity
and confusion.
Belli bir mekân ve
zaman aralığında nâzil olan Kur’an, Allah’ın iradesinin dilsel bildirimidir.
Bütün insanlığın muhatap kılındığı bu dilsel bildirim hiç kuşkusuz Arap dilinin
imkân ve sınırları içerisinde varlık kazanmıştır. Dolayısıyla “Her dilsel
bildirim, varlık kazandığı bağlam ve bütünlük doğrultusunda anlam kazanır.”
gerçeğini dikkate aldığımızda ilahî kelamın doğru anlaşılmasında Arap dili ve
bu dilin ifade özellikleri merkezi bir konuma sahiptir. Arap dilinin ve
Kur’an’ın temel ifade özelliklerinden birisi ise şart cümleleridir. Bu bağlamda
yapacağımız çalışmanın temel gayesi genellikle imkân vurgusu içeren şart
ifadelerinin Kur’an’da bir üslup olarak imkânsızlık bağlamında kullanıldığını
tespit etmek ve bu şekilde Kur’an üslubunun anlaşılmasına katkı sunmaktır. Bu
amaç doğrultusunda ilk olarak Kur’an’ın şart üslubunun anlaşılmasını kolaylaştırmak
için Arap dilinde ve Mantık ilminde şartlı ifadelerin nasıl bir anlam
çerçevesinde kullanıldığı üzerinde durulacaktır. Daha sonra Kur’an’da hükmün
şarta bağlanması meselesine değinilerek, ayetler örnekliğinde şarta bağlanan
hüküm üzerinden imkânsızlığın ifade edilmesi üslubu incelenecektir. Bu
çalışmada Kur’an’da birçok ayette imkân vurgusu anlamında
kullanılan şartlı ifadelerin, bir Kur’an üslubu olarak bir kısım ayetlerde
imkânsızlık vurgusu bağlamında kullanıldığı sonucuna ulaşıldı. Bu tespitin Kur’an’ın
üslup düzeyinde anlaşılmasına katkı sunacağı gibi, imkânsızlık vurgusu içeren
şartla ilgili ayetlerin lafzından anlaşılacak yanlış okumaların ve manaların
önüne geçeceği kanaatindeyiz.
Birincil Dil | Türkçe |
---|---|
Bölüm | Makaleler |
Yazarlar | |
Yayımlanma Tarihi | 30 Haziran 2020 |
Yayımlandığı Sayı | Yıl 2020 Cilt: 19 Sayı: 1 |
Hitit Üniversitesi Kuzey Kampüsü Çevre Yolu Bulvarı 19030 - ÇORUM-TÜRKİYE
00 (90) 364 219 1100 - ilafdergi@hitit.edu.tr