Formulation of the claim
The Hajj is associated with a semantic and ontological shift in its meaning and in its existential effect.
Explanation
The Hajj is not presented merely as a ritual, but as a transition in meaning that changes its place within religious experience. This shift makes it connected to something beyond ritual performance, toward a broader horizon of significance.
Within this horizon, the Hajj is no longer just a practice separate from the human being; rather, it becomes tied to a redefinition of the relationship between the person and the sacred. It therefore acquires an ontological value, that is, a value that touches being itself, not merely outward appearance.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom falls within Arkoun’s reading of the Qur’an as a text that opens meaning onto levels that go beyond direct ritual interpretation. It comes close to the book’s theses, which reconsider religious concepts when they are read in their discursive and symbolic context, rather than as expressions with fixed meanings.
Limits of the claim
This atom does not imply that the Hajj is reduced to a mere symbol, or that all of its ritual dimensions are negated. Nor should the statement be burdened with more than it can bear within Arkoun’s framework, in that it points to a shift in both meaning and existence.