Formulation of the claim
For Arkoun, eschatological time takes precedence over worldly time and death in shaping Qur’anic consciousness.
Explanation
Arkoun accords eschatological time interpretive priority, understanding from it that the horizon of meaning is not completed within earthly life alone. In this way, the presence of death becomes part of the construction of meaning, not merely an ending temporally separate from it.
This entails that speech and action fall within the horizon of salvation, not within a purely worldly reckoning. Eschatological time here is not a later addition, but a framework that directs Arkoun’s reading of the Qur’anic discourse.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom appears within Arkoun’s attempt to read the Qur’an as forming religious consciousness through an eschatological horizon that is more important than the time of everyday experience. It converges with closely related theses that connect Qur’anic meaning with directing the human being toward destiny and salvation, rather than toward describing the worldly world alone.
Limits of the claim
This atom should not be burdened with a general philosophical judgment about every conception of time in Arkoun, nor should it be made to negate the presence of this world or its value in Qur’anic discourse. It points to an eschatological priority in interpretation, not to a denial of worldly time.
Brief evidence passage
Arkoun accords eschatological time interpretive priority, understanding from it that the horizon of meaning is not completed within earthly life alone. Hence the claim that eschatological time is higher than the time of the world and death. Thus the presence of death becomes part of the construction of meaning, not merely an ending temporally separate from it.
Related links
- Readings in the Qur’an
- Arkoun