"La Yesil Amma Yefaal", description or advice? Critical analysis of the interpretive legacy of verse 23 of Surah Anbiya

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Islamic philosophy and theoloy, Faculty of theology and Islamic studies. , University of Tehran. Iran

2 Department of Islamic philosophy and theology/ Faculty of theology and Islamic studies/ University of Tehran/ Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

One of the issues that are neglected in the history of the interpretation of the verse “lā yus’al” (Anbīyā’: 23) is not distinguishing between descriptive and normative approaches. To clarify the verse, this article explores the question that “whether the phrase of “lā yus’al ‘ammā yaf'al” (God is not questioned about what He does) is only a recommendation and expression of normative dos and don'ts for "prohibition" of asking about the divine act, or can it contain a descriptive and news message to talk about the real world and prohibiting the question of God’s actions?” The answer depends on two sub-questions: a) What is the basis of the unquestionability of God's actions? To find this basis, we use conceptual, systematic, and propositional analysis. b) With what purpose does the verse express the unquestionability of divine action? We seek the answer by examining the context of “lā yus’al ‘ammā yaf'al” in the semantic context of Surah Anbīyā’. The results show that the question of objection in this phrase is a process that implies different stages of “evaluation,” “blame and protest” and “reprimand and punishment.” Therefore, in the context of a descriptive approach, the verse may include the message that none of God’s servants can (not that they should) ask about God’s actions. Also, this phrase may indicate a directive prohibition of “interrogative question” about the end of divine actions. This prohibition (in the form of news) refers to the limitation of the perceptive realm of servants as questioners and their lack of knowledge of God.
 
 

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History

  • Receive Date: 08 October 2021
  • Revise Date: 31 January 2023
  • Accept Date: 31 January 2022

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