Psychology of patience and semantic approach to the Qur’an: Meaning of Qāla on Istirjā’ Verse

Abstract

Q 2: 155–6 explains that every human being must be tested with calamity, so he had to be patient and recite istirjā’: innā lillāhi wa innā rāji’ūn (indeed we belong to Allah and to Him we return). According to al-Ghazali, patience is a character, not just an utterance, as a form of adaptation to certain conditions. So, what is istirjā’: utterance or action? This article questions the istirjā verse as utterance or action using a semantic approach. It will check the textual and situational context of the verse to understand the spirit behind the revelation of the verse. This article argues that qāla in Q 2: 155–6 does not mean to say but to act. The patient person realizes that Allah tests humans, so he is not angry but calms down and returns everything to Allah. This is called istirjā, so it is not just to say but to act. People who utter istirjā angrily are not patient but adapt to certain conditions. However, patient people will be calm and return everything to Allah as a reflection of the character lies beneath.

Keywords

• semantic
• psychology
• patience
• the verb of saying
• Qur’an