Distance as a Key to Interpretation: Analyzing the Semantic Transition of

Akhondy, Ali Asghar; Salehi Zade,, Mohammad Esmaeel

doi:10.30512/kq.2025.22962.4070

Distance as a Key to Interpretation: Analyzing the Semantic Transition of "And Allah is Kind to His Servants" (al-Baqarah, 207) from the Perspective of Early and Late Commentators

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ali asghar Akhondy ¹

Mohammad esmaeel Salehi zade, ²

¹ Assistant professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran. E-mail: ali15as51@shahroodut.ac.ir

² Assistant professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, University of Quranic Sciences and Education, Faculty of Quranic Sciences, Shahrood, Iran. E-mail: salehi@quran.ac.ir

10.30512/kq.2025.22962.4070

Abstract

The final phrases of Quranic verses, known as Fāṣilah, not only serve rhetorical and aesthetic functions but also play a crucial role in semantic interpretation. Verse 2:207 of the Qur’an, which speaks of self-sacrifice for the sake of divine pleasure, concludes with the phrase wa-ʾAllāhu raʾūfun bil-ʿibād (And God is compassionate to the servants), which at first glance seems thematically detached from the central message of the verse. Adopting a descriptive-analytical and comparative approach, this article explores how this Fāṣilah has been interpreted in both classical and contemporary exegetical traditions. Through an examination of major interpretations, including al-Manār and al-Mīzān, the study demonstrates how modern exegetes, moving beyond literal and individualistic readings, offer a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the verse. In these interpretations, the Fāṣilah is not only semantically coherent with the verse’s broader context, but it also highlights a civilizational and communal vision of divine compassion. The presence of selfless and sacrificial individuals is thus portrayed as a manifestation of divine mercy that contributes to the moral and spiritual stability of the society. This comparative analysis shows that tracing the semantic link between Fawāṣil (verse-endings) and the surrounding discourse opens new interpretive horizons in Qur’anic studies.

Keywords

Quranic Fāṣilah, Divine compassion, Raʾūfun bil-ʿIbād, Qur&rsquo

anic verse 2:207, Comparative analysis

Subjects