The known unknown: Revelation and the unconscious

Abstract

With this essay, the author attempts a depth-psychological interpretation of knowledge of religious revelation by examining two narrative parables (amṯāl) from the Koran on the ›subject level‹, which in Sura 36 and Sura 18 belong to the oldest Koranic examples listed under the generic term maṯal. Following in the footsteps of Eugen Drewermann, who with his work Tiefenpsychologie und Exegese opened the doors wide for a depth-psychological interpretation of the Bible and at the same time rejected the promise of salvation of historical-critical interpretations, the author also goes into the wide field of the unconscious to uncover mental images of individuation processes hidden behind the often allegorical Koranic ›experiences of revelation‹. In the context of psychoanalysis and with a view to the genre of the maṯal, she discusses the epistemic function of parables, as they also appear in the Old and New Testaments, and describes them as a special form of teaching that, due to its pictorial nature, always reveal an »abyss to not-knowing«. The aim of the parable is therefore not to convey a predetermined and teachable knowledge; rather the intended act of understanding lies in not knowing or the unconscious, so that psychological developments can be set in motion on the basis of subjective human experiences and inner processes can be made recognizable. Using the example of the parable from Sura 36, she also shows that a depth-psychological interpretation is likewise a part of the Islamic exegesis tradition, especially if one takes into account the Sufi commentaries, which also contain interpretations on the subject level, as can be seen in the Tafsīr of Pseudo-Ibn ʿArabī from the 12th century.