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In the Name of God بسم الله
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About this blog

This blog has my attempts to analyse the Qur'an using Izutsu's semantic field analysis. The work uses Gen AI to actually undertake the analysis

Entries in this blog

The Ismail (عليه السلام) & Isaac (عليه السلام) accounts. Comparisons.

Summary Using a decision theory framework, according to the Biblical account Abraham's decision-making is a direct response to a divine command, showcasing a hierarchical obedience. In contrast according to the Qur'anic version Ibrahim's decision-making involves communication and consensus, reflecting a more collaborative form of obedience. Introduction I was having a general chat with GPT4 about social science perspectives on the Qur'an and we ended up at a point where it seemed
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

1

Immanent concepts within the Qur'an

The conversation started in relation to the navigation thread, and the focus here is on immanence more broadly Thank you, I wanted to check the following. It is said that the notion of risk is immanent within the concept of trust because in order to demonstrate trust in someone you have to take a risk with them ... Are there any other pairs of concepts within the Qur'an that are more or less explicitly immanent within each other?   The Qur'an frequently presents concepts in p
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

0

Ships and the Qur'an and the epistemology of navigation

Summary Ships are an interesting phenomenon that are referred to in the Qur'an on a number of different occasions. For the Arabs at the time of revelation they would likely have been considered as an object that people made and used. The Qur'an points out that the source of the innovation is God and that they are an example of His Mercy. My belief as a layperson is that this supports the contention that Islam is supportive of product innovation. Once we s
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

16

Behaviour - semantic relationships vs. thematic links in the Qur'an

Summary  Assessing our behaviour and making modifications to it in order to improve our welfare are significant aspects of human life. I explored this concept with gpt4. In addition to various insights this time the discussion also touched on the distinction between dealing with semantic relationships based on root derivations and those conceptual relationships that are based on more thematic or narrative connections. So, for example, GPT4 identifies the relationship between the r
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

0

'Loss' in the Qur'an & associated constructs

Introduction This was an interesting exercise. My initial prompts encouraged gpt4 to focus on the English word 'loss' in the initial root analysis that it did. I had to reset the analysis to focus on the relationship between Arabic words. Summary (partial, a reply to this post will contain the second set of analysis and associated summary) In essence, the interconnectedness of these roots F-Q-D, D-N-Y, and ‘-Q-L in the Qur'an underscores the idea that an excessive focus on the
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

1

Qur'an - the epistemology of travel

Summary (TLDR) In summary, while the Qur'an acknowledges various sources and forms of knowledge, the association of "آيات" with travel underscores the value of experiential and observational knowledge. It emphasizes that traveling and exploring the world is not just a physical endeavor but also a deeply intellectual and spiritual journey that offers unique insights and lessons.   Are there any other roots that consistently appear in close proximity (same or neighbouring ayats) to
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

0

Mercy and Destruction in the Qur'an

Summary (TLDR) The following is from the conclusions to this exercise: While these are just a few examples, they showcase the interconnectedness of these roots (replacement, destruction and succession) and their themes in the Qur'anic narrative. The roots, while distinct in their primary meanings, often overlap in the broader thematic context, emphasizing the cyclical nature of history, divine justice, and the consequences of human actions. These examples showcase the Qur'an'
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

1

Perception - Semantic Field Analysis

Summary In this post, I report a conversation with GPT4 where we undertook a semantic field analysis of various roots from the Qur'an that are related to the notion of perception.   My questions are in red and GPT4 answers are in black text. This conversation was informed by a previous discussion on this subject that I had with @Chaotic Muslem on this forum some years ago. Subsequent analysis in this post focuses on ayats where the Qur'an refers to the ways by which perception can
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

0

Trust in the Qur'an and comparisons with Luhmann

Summary There are a lot of attempts to link Qur'anic insights with the physical sciences. There's less in the area of the social sciences. For this post, I conversed with GPT4 about some semantic field analysis related to trust references in the Qur'an. Then I asked it to compare these to the work of the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. The purpose of the latter exercise was not to 'validate' the Qur'an as some analyses of its references to the physical sciences attempt to do, but ra
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

5

Measurement in the Qur'an - the association with precision

Summary This post and the replies to it explore the notion of measurement in the Qur'an and the range of meanings that it conveys, from the mundane to the more esoteric and divine. These posts then focus on the association between measurement and precision in the Qur'an and how intertwined the two concepts are. Given that improvements in precision are associated with technological development - it is hypothesised that the latter could be considered a 'good' thing. Introduction A p
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

5

Measurement - Izutsu's methodology applied to "ك-ي-ل" (k-y-l) in the Qur'an

Summary I asked GPT4 to apply the methodology of Izutsu's semantic field analysis of the Qur'an to the root k-y-l. For those of you who are not familiar with Izutsu, at the end of this post is a link to a Shiachat thread about him that I created sometime ago. Following the root analysis, the AI came to this conclusion:  The root "ك-ي-ل" and its derivatives contribute to a Qur'anic worldview where justice, truth, and fairness are paramount, both in worldly transactions and in the u
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

3

Prophet Nuh (عليه السلام) an early social entrepreneur V2

Same methodology as before, but more specific prompts on my part - and better answers   Summary An important motivation for exploring this topic was my previous blog post about Prophet Yusuf's ((عليه السلام).) policy options. The overall theme of that post was the role of the State (Egyptian) that would intervene in the national grain market on the advice of Prophet Yusuf ((عليه السلام).). That was an example of how (in my opinion) Islam presented a non-market based solution to an
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

5

Prophet Nuh (عليه السلام) an early social entrepreneur

Putting 2 and 2 together I have some knowledge of what social entrepreneurship is and like most of you I have read the story of Prophet Nuh ((عليه السلام).) in the Qur'an and Bible. At this point, I would start googling like crazy to build up the argument, but I decided to take a short-cut and asked chatgpt the following question: Can Noah and his construction of the ark be considered a form of social entrepreneurship?   Now there are aspects of social entrepreneurship that
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

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Prophet Yusuf's (عليه السلام) policy options

[amended 19 August 2023 to include references to the Irish potato famine and two Bengal famines]     Images taken at the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Sq, Cairo. June 2024 Surah Yusuf Prophet Yusuf (عليه السلام) advised Pharoah to hoard grains during the years of plenty. I think this episode is a noteworthy one because it shows how a State can intervene in the marketplace in order to improve the welfare of the wider population. But as we shall see below, the g
Haji 2003

Haji 2003

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