The Idea
This claim links the original meaning of Islam to the Qur’anic act of total surrender to God, not merely to a social identity or a rigid religious label. Here, Islam denotes an existential and ethical stance based on free submission to God, not on formal affiliation alone. The given reading suggests that this meaning carries a profound spiritual dimension within the Qur’anic text itself.
Concise Formulation
Islam: indicates: total surrender to God
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim serves the book’s argument because it redefines the central concept around which the whole discussion turns. If Islam in its origin is an act of surrender, then any understanding of it should begin from the Qur’anic meaning rather than from later usages alone. In this way, Arkoun sets a standard for interpretation that distinguishes the textual origin from accumulated historical understandings.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim lies in the fact that it opens the way to reading Islam as an experience of meaning, not merely as a label for a community or a closed system. This helps explain Arkoun’s interest in the Qur’anic text as a source of renewal in meaning. It also reduces the tendency to flatten religion into ready-made definitions and restores its ethical dimension.
Brief Evidence
Arkoun distinguishes an original meaning of «Islam» as total surrender to God Arkoun distinguishes an original meaning of «Islam» as total surrender to God
Reading Questions
- What is the difference between understanding Islam as total surrender to God and understanding it only as a social identity?
- How does this definition change the way the Qur’anic text is read in Arkoun’s work?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.