The Different Meanings of "mā" (what) Between Negation and Affirmation in the Holy Quran: Collection and Study

Abstract

Research Topic: The Different Meanings of "mā" Between Negation and Affirmation in the Holy Quran: Collection and Study

Research Objectives and Significance

• Compiling a specific type of disagreement into one place for easy access, as one of the objectives of compilation is to gather scattered information.
• Studying these instances and clarifying the different interpretations of them.

Research Methodology

• The researcher collected the verses in which there is disagreement about the meaning of "mā" (what).
• The researcher studied the verses and explained the different interpretations of them.
• The researcher exerted effort to prioritize what he thought was the stronger opinion and to correct what he thought was most likely correct, based on the principles and rules of Quran interpretation.
• The researcher did not delve into the details of the disagreement due to the nature of the research.
• The researcher did not clarify the meaning of some of the individual words in the verses under study, as the study focused on determining whether "mā" should be interpreted as negation or affirmation.
• The researcher wrote the research paper according to the general rules and accepted customs of Shariah research in terms of attribution, quoting verses, and authenticating hadiths.

Key Findings

• The number of instances collected and studied by the researcher was twenty-four.
• The disagreement in the meanings of "mā" includes some cases that fall within the scope of affirmation and others that fall within the scope of negation.
• The disagreement in the meaning of "mā" between negation and affirmation has a significant impact on the meaning of the verse.
• One of the effects of the disagreement in the meaning of "mā" is the disagreement in its grammatical position.
• Another effect of the disagreement in the meaning of "mā" is the disagreement in stopping and starting.
• Many of the interpretations are based on grammatical possibilities presented by grammarians and are not attributed to any of the predecessors.
• Affirmation in "mā" occurs in relative nouns, infinitives, and redundant "mā".
• Negation occurs in negative and interrogative "mā".