علم الداللة يف فلسفة الغزايل: مقاربة حتليلية
Semantics in al-Ghazālī's Philosophy: An Analytical Approach

Summary/Abstract: Semantics is a fundamental intersection between language and philosophy, concerned with the processes of producing and perceiving meaning. It examines these processes through the concepts of the signifier and the signified. The science of semantics developed particularly through its interaction with philosophy, logic, and the religious sciences. Especially in the works of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 511/1111), we see that semantics is not merely a linguistic field but also an important tool for understanding reason and the nature of existence. This study addresses the problem of semantics in the philosophy of al-Ghazālī. Meaning constitutes a theoretical foundation for understanding al-Ghazālī’s epistemological and logical system of thought. The research aims to reveal his approach to meaning through rational textual analysis, a purposive-contextual framework, and linguistic logic. It examines the relationship between semantics and philosophy, as well as the importance al-Ghazālī assigns to the classification of signification (dalāla). The study is structured into three main sections. The first focuses on verbal and logical types of signification, particularly the relations of conformity (mutābaqa), inclusion (taḍammun), and necessary implication (iltizām), and how al-Ghazālī employs them in his theory of knowledge and in distinguishing between direct and indirect meaning. The second section analyzes interpretative signification, which extends beyond the explicit text and enables inference through reason or contextual cues. This includes required implication (iqtiḍāʾ), indication (ishāra), and conceptual signification (muwāfaqa and mukhālafa). Conceptual signification, in particular, emerges as a key tool in al-Ghazālī’s derivation of rulings. The third section discusses al-Ghazālī’s classifications of the relationship between words and meaning, exploring concepts such as synonymy, antonymy, homonymy, and tawātur, along with the boundaries between literal and metaphorical meanings. While al-Ghazālī does not entirely reject synonymy, he denies absolute semantic equivalence, carefully distinguishing between philosophical terms such as (māhiyya) essence and (wujūd) existence, (jawhar) substance and (ʿaraḍ) accident, and (ʿaql) mind and (nafs) soul. This distinction is critical in theological and logical debates to maintain coherence between context and meaning. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that al-Ghazālī presents a multilayered theory of signification that integrates language, philosophy, and purposive reasoning. For him, signification is not merely a direct correspondence between word and meaning but a comprehensive process in which reason, contextual cues, and linguistic structures interact to produce meaning. Thus, language is not just a medium of transmission but an epistemological tool that constructs and situates meaning.

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