Components of "social monotheism" in the Qur'an

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Logic, Understanding Religion, Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought

2 Level 4 comparative interpretation of the Masoomiya Seminary Institute of Higher Education

Abstract

"Social monotheism" is one of the topics of social discourse and is of interest to contemporary thinkers, which, in a new trend, proposes a social understanding of monotheism, whose meaning and components are not very lucid. Ayatollah Khamenei is among the intellectuals who have entered the field of social discourse and have opened up discussions in this regard based on the Qur'an. Therefore, the present article, by emphasizing his thought, seeks to extract the meaning of social monotheism through the expression of the components of social monotheism in the Qur'an, since social monotheism is a non-simple and multidimensional issue. The results of this study which has been carried out using a descriptive-analytical method and based on library information, reveal that in Ayatollah Khamenei's view, faith in the Oneness of God is not a mere mental and individual belief, but takes on a social aspect. Consequently, the acceptance of Divine Lordship (Lordly monotheism) and the negation of any sovereignty other than God’s (devotional monotheism) are the two principal components of social monotheism. According to the verses of the Qur'an, other components such as the purposefulness of Creation and causing of responsibility towards society and the World of Existence, the acceptance of the absolute sovereignty of Allah in all aspects of social and individual life, the orientation of actions and emotions towards Allah, and the consolidation and social orientation of other elements of religion are considered to fall under the category of Lordly monotheism, while the negation of the rule of tyrants and the necessity of forming a divine system, the negation of any kind of demand for exclusivity and privilege, and the negation of non-divine theories are deemed to fall under the component of devotional monotheism, which in a general view reveal the meaning and quiddity of social monotheism.

Keywords

Bi-Quarterly Journal of Quranic Interpretive and Semantic Studies
Volume 5, Issue 8
September 2022
Pages 25-50

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 June 2022
  • Accept Date: 03 July 2022
  • First Publish Date: 23 August 2022

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