The Idea
What is meant is that the Qur’an is not presented here as a legislative text only, but as a highly dense symbolic language that carries images and meanings beyond direct expression. Thus, “sublime symbolism” means that the text operates through suggestion, representation, and condensation, not through abstract exposition alone. It is therefore understood as a text that opens multiple significations and cannot be reduced to a single reading.
Concise Formulation
The Qur’an: crystallized a sublime symbolic language
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This statement is important in the structure of the book because it prepares the reader for a mode of reading that does not treat the Qur’an as a rigid material, but as a text with its own expressive power. Through it, the book justifies the need for a reading that takes into account levels of meaning and formulation, rather than relying solely on a literal or singular understanding that narrows the text.
Why It Matters
The importance of the claim lies in the fact that it places the Qur’an at the heart of the project of understanding, not at its margin. If the text is symbolic in essence, then understanding it requires greater sensitivity to language, context, and signification. In this way, it becomes clear why Arkoun rejects mere direct reception and calls for a deeper reading.
Brief Evidence
What is meant is that the Qur’an is not presented here as a legislative text only, but as a highly dense symbolic language that carries images and meanings beyond direct expression. Thus, “sublime symbolism” means that the text operates through suggestion, representation, and condensation, not through abstract exposition alone. It is therefore understood as a text that opens multiple significations and cannot be reduced to a single reading.
Reading Questions
- What does it mean to describe the Qur’an as a sublime symbolic language?
- How does this description change the way the text is handled in the book?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location within the book’s material.