Conversation
The Speech and Silence of the Qur'an: Rethinking the Understanding of the Transcendent
This four-session series explores the relationship between the speech and silence of the Qur'an in understanding the Transcendent. In conversation with Nora Nouri-Sefat, Farhad Shafti opens new possibilities for reading the Qur'an and understanding the boundaries of religious language.
About this video
In the Islamic tradition, the Qur'an is the text of guidance, meaning, and encounter with the Transcendent; yet its understanding does not depend solely on what it explicitly says. At times, its silences, the limits of its expression, and its unspoken horizons also become significant in religious interpretation. This series, titled "The Speech and Silence of the Qur'an," is dedicated to rethinking this very relationship between Qur'anic discourse, human understanding, and the Transcendent.
In these four-session conversations, Farhad Shafti, hosted by Nora Nouri-Sefat, discusses questions such as the language of religion, the relationship between text and interpretation, the possibility of understanding the Transcendent, and the place of silence in reading the Qur'an. The program was held within the framework of DinOnline's series of free-thinking conversations and is an attempt to pose theological questions in a clear and critical language.
This series is significant for those interested in Qur'anic studies, the philosophy of religion, modernist theology, and religious intellectualism; because, instead of settling for habitual readings, it invites the audience to reflect on the boundaries of understanding, language, and meaning in encountering the sacred text.
