Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
شیراز بلوار چمران خ محمودیه کوچه ۲ درب آخر طبقه همکف
2
Associate Professor and Faculty Member of Al-Mustafa Al-Alamiyah University, Qom, Iran
3
University of Holy Quran Sciences and Education. Dean of the Faculty of Quranic Sciences in Tehran. Faculty member
10.22034/jqopv.2025.10128
Abstract
This study aims to critically review Toshihiko Izutsu's views in the field of Quranic semantics, based on Shiite sources and analyzing Orientalist components, and examines the intersection of the three "Shiite theology", "Izutsu's methodology", and "Orientalist discourse". Emphasizing the linguistic-historical analysis of Quranic concepts, Izutsu considers semantics as a tool for discovering the epistemological layers of the sacred text. However, the central question of this article is whether his semantic principles, given the predominance of Sunni sources in his works, are compatible with the Shiite interpretive system - centered on concepts such as wilayah, batin, and ta'wil -? Also, how is his approach to contemporary Orientalism - with characteristics such as historical reductionism, East/West dualism, and an objectivist view of religious texts - related? The research method is a combination of qualitative content analysis of Izutsu's works (especially "God and Man in the Quran" and "Ethical-Religious Concepts in the Quran"), comparative comparison with key Shiite texts (such as Tafsir al-Mizan, the works of Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi, and Hadiths of the Imams in Bihar al-Anwar), and critique of the discourse of classical and modern Orientalists (such as Goldziher, Schacht, and Newson). The findings show that, first, fundamental Shiite concepts such as "imamate" and "ilm al-ladni", relying on Izutsu's reading of "language as a worldview", need to be redefined in a framework beyond purely historical semantics. Second, despite the convergence of Izutsu's method with some Orientalist ideas (such as a systemic view of religious language), there are serious contradictions between "his existential semantics" and "the positivist paradigm of Orientalists". By revealing the unspoken potential of Izutsu's thought for Shia studies, and at the same time criticizing the hidden Orientalist foundations in his methodology, this article takes a new step towards establishing a "comparative semantics of religions" with a critical approach to Orientalism.
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