The Concept of Contrast in the Holy Qur’an

Abstract

Antonymic terms are one of the reasons for differences of opinion amongst scholars regarding many verses of the Qur’an. For example, the word ‘quru’ (قروء) is used in the language to denote two opposing meanings: menstruation and purity; consequently, scholars have differed in their interpretation of the word ‘quru’ based on these two opposing meanings. This research is a comparative analytical study of certain examples cited in books on antonyms as having two interpretations; they may be interpreted in more than two ways, but this is due to the difference in meanings, as seen in the two opposing meanings found in the Arabic language. Among the most important findings of this research are: that every Qur’anic word classified by scholars as an antonymic term cannot, in most cases if not always, be interpreted according to its two opposing meanings in a single context; and that antonymy is part of lexical commonality, yet there is a distinction between them; for every antonym is a common term, but not every common term is an antonym.