BİR KUR’AN ÜSLUBU OLARAK ŞARTA BAĞLANAN HÜKÜM ÜZERİNDEN İMKÂNSIZLIĞIN İFADE EDİLMESİ

Abstract

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.