Semantic Association of Islamic Terminology and its Relevance to Islamic Jurisprudence

(Basil Mahmoud Hafi)

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Abstract

The present research work investigates the technical significance of semantic association and their relevance to Islamic jurisprudence. In particular, it looks into the association of a linguistic term with a specific Sharia reference. The two linguistic features which will be tackled are grammatical coordination and semantic association. The central question is whether the occurrence of one case concerning a particular Quranic or Sunna judgment is applicable to that case only, or whether it can be extended and applied universally to all similar cases. In case of coordination, the question is whether the propositional meaning of one clause is extendable to all subsequent coordinated clauses. The significance of the topic is seen in the differences about semantic association, differences which influence fundamental issues and their applications to particular cases in Islamic jurisprudence. The arguments for and against the extendibility of propositional meaning and the universality of judgment is discussed showing the conditions stipulated for its application by Hanafi and Maliki Shari’a scholars. Then, Shari’a position about minor issues such as eating horse meat, bathing before Friday prayer, and performing Omra are discussed. The methodology is basically descriptive and analytical with comparisons of various positions. The results reveal that Islamic scholars had their differences concerning semantic association, adopting four different opinions about the incompleteness of coordinated clauses, which is significance for judgment about minor problems such as eating hose meat. The paper offers some recommendations urging further study of the issues highlighted in the present work in future research works and academic dissertations. Key Words: Extendibility of coordinated clauses, Islamic terminology, Universality of religious judgment.
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