Freedom in the Qur’an: Exploring Possibility or Impossibility
Subject Areas : Iranian Political ResearchSharif Lakzai 1 , Najmeh Keikha 2
1 - Assistant professor, Research Institute of the Islamic Sciences and Culture
2 - Assistant professor, Shahid Beheshti University.
Keywords: قرآن, آزادی, freedom, انتخاب, Qur’an, choice, Khalif of Allah , خلیفه الله,
Abstract :
Some people believe that freedom is a modern concept and there is no track to be found in the Islamic texts concerning this concept. According to these people, the freedom in the world today, has originated from the thinking of the modern Western society, and it has been absent in the Muslim community. Moreover, even if it is assumed that it is possible to discuss the concept of freedom in the Holy Quran, there is extreme scarcity in this regard in the Islamic literature and teachings.Therefore, we cannot provide literature concerning the issue of freedom and discussing freedom in such texts as the Qur’an remains impossible. Meanwhile, there are other viewpoints in this regard which state that it is conceivable to talk about freedom in the Qur’an, without looking for counterparts among the modern discussions. . On the one hand, the concept of human freedom has always been the most important concept for human being and therefore the most central text in Islam could not be silent about it; on the other hand, if the meaning and purpose of freedom is determined in the religious texts, we can reflect on the religious texts and investigate aboutthe presence of the elements and principles of freedom in the Qur'an. Freedom has been considered as a modern phenomenon and an achievement different from the former thoughts and world because the forms and manifestations of freedom has changed but the theme of freedom has always been important. The present article deals with the possibility and impossibility of freedom in the Qur’an and tries to discuss some of the main points in this regard.
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