An Analysis of the Semanto-Linguistic Relation between “Tâqwā” and “Iḥsān” in the Qur’an

Introduction: The “Semantic Method” is one of the best methods for studying the semantic structure of the Qur’anic words, and it is of a great significance in semantic researches. In this article, using this method, we have undertaken a lexical semantic analysis of the two Qur’anic terms “Tâqwā” and “Iḥsān”, and have enumerated their semantic organs and semantic qualities on the basis of the Qur’anic verses, since the concepts denoted by these two terms have a special and distinguished position in Qur’anic ethics.
It should be noted that the expressions “Semantic Organ” and “Semantic Quality” are proposed and explicated here for the first time within the framework of the “Lexical Semantic Analysis” method. We have explained that semantic organs are the constituents and formative components of meaning which, in a dynamic and living relationship, lead
to the formation and emergence of meaning; whereas semantic qualities refer to the characteristics that are present in the meaning of a word and in its semantic organs, such as continuity and hierarchical gradation. These two components play a crucial role in the extraction of the meanings of Qur’anic vocabulary and can render semantic analysis more precise. For this purpose, all the Qur’anic verses containing the roots (w-q-y) and (ḥ-s-n) were examined, and the verses that were useful for extracting the semantic organs and semantic qualities of the two Qur’anic terms “Tâqwā” and “Iḥsān” were identified.
Findings: Based on the Qur’anic verses, we have concluded that “Islām”, “Imān”,
and “ʿAmal-e Ṣāliḥ (Righteous Action)” are the semantic organs of “Tâqwā”, while “protectiveness and safeguarding”, “hierarchical gradation”, and “continuity” constitute its semantic qualities. Likewise, “Imān”, “Tâqwā”, and “ʿAmal-e Ṣāliḥ” are the semantic organs of “Iḥsān”, and “bestowal (favor)”, “quality-seeking”, and “advancement and compensatory orientation” are its semantic qualities.
Discussion: On the basis of the Qur’anic verses cited in the text of article, Islām, when accompanied by righteous action, gives rise to Imān. Imān, when coupled with Tâslīm, leads to Tâqwā. Likewise, Imān accompanied by righteous action results in Tâqwā. Moreover, the conjunction of Tâqwā and righteous action leads to Iḥsān, and the combination of Imān and Tâqwā gives rise to Iḥsān. These judgments indicate a hierarchical relationship between these concepts, in which each plays a fundamental role in the generation of a new meaning. Accordingly, in examining the relationship between the concepts of these terms, we identified two types of relations: the “relation of production” and the “relation of increase.” This means that Islām and Imān, as the two principal semantic organs of Tâqwā, lead to the production of the concept of Tâqwā, while righteous action, as a facilitator of meaning, plays a role in the emergence of this new concept. Here, it must be added that intensity in Imān and Tâslīm leads to an increase in these concepts and in their product, namely, Tâqwā. Similarly, Imān and Tâqwā, as the semantic organs of Iḥsān, lead to the emergence of this concept and to the intensification of its degree. Here again, the concept of righteous action functions as a facilitating factor. Therefore, what causes Iḥsān to emerge from the combination of Imān and Tâqwā is righteous action; and, fundamentally, Iḥsān is of the nature of high-quality righteous action. This means that Tâqwā, when adorned with high-quality righteous action, guides the human being toward Iḥsān.
Finally, in examining the effects of the combination of Tâqwā and Iḥsān, we have concluded that the shared effects of their combination are divine companionship (mâʿiyyât -e- ilāhī), great reward, divine forgiveness and mercy, and cancelling out the sins.