Light in The Qur’an: Ibn Sina’s Psycho-Philosophical Interpretation on The Surah Al-Nūr [24:35]

Humaidi Humaidi, Yusuf Rahman

Abstract


This article explains and analyzes the position and function of the soul for humans and its relationship to the Supreme Being in Ibn Sina’s interpretation of the Qur’an, Q.S. al-Nur [24:35]. According to Ibn Sina, the soul is the same as light, nur, and non-physical being that becomes a source of knowledge, enlightenment, and truth. The method used by Ibn Sina in interpreting this verse, Q.S. al-Nur [24:35], can be classified into rational or manhaj al-ijtihad al-’aqli. Meanwhile, the scope of the study focuses on the existence, potential, and actualization of the human soul, which originates in the Universal Being, Allah SWT. The analysis concludes that Ibn Sina’s rational-psychological interpretation is the first in the history of tafsir. This conclusion also responds to the accusation that Ibn Sina’s interpretation is misleading, distancing Muslims from the Islamic creed. This qualitative library research applied a rational and historical approach and analysis.

Keywords


Light; Intellect; Psychological Interpretation; Philosophical Interpretation.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Anggoro, Taufan. “Tafsir Alquran Kontemporer: Kajian Atas Tafsir Tematik-Kontekstual Ziauddin Sardar.” AL QUDS : Jurnal Studi Alquran Dan Hadis 3, no. 2 (2019): 199. https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v3i2.1049.

Ashi, Hasan. Al-Tafsīr Al-Qur’āniyyah Wa Al-Lughah Al-Ṣūfiyyah Fi Falsafah Ibn Sīnā. Lubnan: Al-Muassasah al-Jami’at al-Dirasat al-Nashr wa al-Tauzi’at, 1982.

Al-Bashri, Hasan. Tafsir Al-Hasan Al-Bashri, Al-Juz Al-Thani. Kairo: Dar al-Hadith, n.d.

Corbin, Henry. Avicenna and the Visionary Recital. New York: Bollingen Series LXVI, 1960.

Davidson, Herbert A. Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

al-Dzahabi, Muhammad Husein. Al-Tafsir Wal Mufassirun Al-Juz’ Al-Thani. Kairo: Maktabah Wahbah, n.d.

Ehsanfar, Majid, Khorramabad Branch, Islamic Azad, and Hossein Vaezi. “The Suspended Man Self-Awareness in Ibn Sina and Suhrawardi ( a Comparative Study ).” The Quarterly Journal of Philosophical Investigation 14, no. 32 (2020): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.22034/jpiut.2020.41090.2640.

Fard, Amir Abbas Mahdavi, and Aminollah Shakeri Movvahid. “The Comparative Analysis of the Exegital Method of Avicenna and Sheikh-i Ishraq.” Biannual Journal of Comparative Exegital Research 6, no. 11 (2020): 235–51. https://doi.org/10.22091/ptt.2020.4404.1587.

Al-Ghazali. The Niche of Lights-Mishkah Al-Anwar, A Parallel English-Arabic Text Translated, Introduced, and Annotated by David Buchman. Utah: Brigham Young University of Science, 1998.

Girdner, Scott Michael. “Reasoning with Revelation: The Significance of the Qur’anic Contextualization of Philosophy in Al-Ghazali’s Mishkat Al-Anwar (The Niche of Lights).” Boston University, 2010.

Gohlman, William E. ed. The Life of Ibn Sina. New York: State University of New York Press, 1974.

Heath, Peter. Allegory and Philosophy in Avicenna. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.

Ibn ʿAbbās. Tanwīr Al-Miqbās Min Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās. Beirut: Lidar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1992.

Ibn Mandzur. Lisan Al-Arab. Kairo: Dar al-Ma’arif, n.d.

Ibn Sīnā. “Kitāb Al-Najāh Fi Al-Ḥikmah Wa Al-Manṭiqiyyah, Al-Ṭabiʿiyyāt, Wa Al-Ilāhiyyāt.” Beirut: Dar al-Akhlaq al-Jadidah, 1985.

Al-Ishārāt Wa Al-Tanbīhāt. Qum: Mathba’ah Maktab al-I’lam al-Islami, 2000.

Risālah Fi Maʿrifah Al -Nafs Al-Nāṭiqah Wa Aḥwāliha. Berkshire: Hindawi Foundation, 2018.

Al-Shifā', Jilid 1-10. Qum: Wizarah al-Thaqafah wa al-Irsyad al-Qumi, n.d.

Al-Taʿlīqāt. Qum: Al-I’lam al-Islami, n.d.

“Tisʿu Rasāʾil Fi Al-Ḥikmah Wa Al-Tabi’iyyat.” Kairo: Dar al-’Arab Lilbustani, 1989.

Inati, Shams C. Ibn Sina’s Remarks and Admonitions: Physics and Metaphysics. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.

Ibn Sina Remarks and Admonitions Part One: Logic. Toronto: Pontificial Insitute of Medieval Studies, 1984.

Ivry, Alfred L. “Al-Kindi’S Metaphysics: A Translation of Ya’qub Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi’s Treatise on First Philosophy (Fi Al-Falsafah Al-Ula).” New York: State, 1974.

Janssen, Jules. “Avicenna and The Qur’an: A Survey of His Qur’anic Commentary.” MEDIO 26, no. 6 (n.d.): 177–92.

Kamali, Sabih Ahmad. Al-Ghazali’s Tahafut Al-Falasifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers). New Scholasticism. Lahore: Pakistan Philosophical Congress, 1963.

Kerwanto. Metode Tafsir Esoeklektik: Pendekatan Integratif Untuk Memahami Kandungan Batin Al- Qur’an. Bandung: Mizan, 2018.

Marcotte, Roxanne D. “Suhrawardī(d.1191) and His Interpretation of Avicenna’s (d. 1037) Philosophical Anthropology.” McGill University, 2000.

Mcginnis, Jon. Great Medieval Thinkers: Avicenna. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Nakosteen, Mehdi. “History of Islamic Origins of Western Education, A.D. 800-1350 with an Introduction to Medieval Muslim Education.” Colorado: University of Colorado Press, 1964.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Colorado: Shambala Publication, Inc, 1964.

Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna, Suhrawadi, Ibn ’Arabi. Oriens. Vol. 18. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.

Rahman, Fazlur. Major Themes of the Qur’an. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979.

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din. Sharh Al-Ishārāt Wa Al-Tanbīhāt. Teheran, 1384.

Sands, Kristin L. (Zahra). “Commentary (Tafsir) and Allusion (Ishara): A Comparative Study of Exoteric and Sufi Interpretation of the Qur’an in Classical Islam.” Dissertation. New York University, 2000.

Schultz, Duane P, and Sydney Ellen Schultz. A History of Modern Psychology. Ninth. Belmont: Wadsworth Engage Learning, 2008.

Siraisi, Nancy G. Avicenna in Renaissance Italy: The Canon and Medical Teaching in Italian Universities after 1500. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.

Medicine and The Italian Universities 1250-1600. Leiden: Koninklikje Brill, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781482286809-37.

Smet, Daniel de, and Meryem Sebti. “Avicenna’s Philosophical Approach to the Qur’an in the Light of His Tafsīr Sūrat Al-Ikhlas.” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 11, no. 2 (2009): 134–48. https://doi.org/10.3366/E1465359110000847.

al-Sulami, Abi Abd al-Rahman. Ḥaqā'iq Al-Tafsīr, Tafsīr Al-Qur’ān Al-ʿAzīz, Al-Juz’ Al-Awwal. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2001.

Al-Ṭabarī. Tafsīr Al-Ṭabarī Min Kitābihi Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān ʿan-Ta’wīl Ayi Al-Qur’ān, Al-Isrāʾ Ila Al-Naml, Al-Majallad Al-Khāmis. Beirut: Muassasah al-Rasalah, 1994.

Tafsir Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Ayi al-Qur’ān, Juz 17. Kairo: Markzaa al-Buhuts wa al-Dirasat al-Arabiyyah wa al-Islami, 2001.

Al-Walid, Kholid. “Takwil Epistemologis Ibn Sînâ Atas Surah Al-Nûr Ayat 35.” ULUL ALBAB Jurnal Studi Islam 19, no. 1 (2018): 1. https://doi.org/10.18860/ua.v19i1.4797.

Warno, Nano. “Metode Demonstrasi (Burhan) Dalam Filsafat Islam.” Rausyan Fikr 17, no. 2 (2021): 311–44.

Widigdo, Mohammad Syifa Amin. “Philosophical and Religious Justification of Prophecy: A Comparative Analysis between Al-Ghazali and Maimonides’ Accounts of Prophecy.” Afkar 22, no. 1 (2020): 123–46.

Wisnovsky, Robert. “Avicennism and Exegetical Practice in the Early Commentaries on the Isharat.” Oriens 41, no. 3–4 (2013): 349–78. https://doi.org/10.1163/18778372-13413406.

al-Zahra, Kayhul Fatimah. “Al-Takwil Al-Falsafi Li Al-Nash Al-Dini Inda Ibn Sina.” Universite Mohammad Bodiaf, 2019.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18196/afkaruna.v19i1.16381

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdiciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies indexed by:   

Office:
Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
F6 Building 2nd Floor, Jl. Brawijaya, Geblagan, Tamantirto, Kasihan, Bantul, Yogyakarta 55183