The Concepts of Ma’na and Maghza in The Thought of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd

Abstract

This study examines the concepts of ma'na and maghza in the thought of Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd as a contemporary hermeneutical approach to the interpretation of the Qur'an. Nasr Hamid views the Qur’an as a linguistic text (nashsh lughawi) that cannot be separated from the Arab socio-historical context at the time of revelation, hence he refers to it as a muntaj tsaqafi (cultural product). Within this framework, he introduces two fundamental concepts: ma’na, which refers to the historical-original meaning of the text as understood by its first audience, and maghza, which refers to the significance or core message that is universal and relevant to the contemporary context. This approach is a synthesis of Gadamer’s hermeneutics, which emphasizes interpretive freedom, and Ricoeur’s objective hermeneutics, which emphasizes the attainment of meaning through textual signs. The ma’na wa maghza methodology is applied through four steps: reconstruction of the historical context, linguistic analysis, identification of universal values, and re-actualization in a contemporary context. This study is a literature review (library research) using content analysis. The results indicate that the “ma’na wa maghza” approach represents a breakthrough in contemporary exegesis, capable of contextualizing the Qur’anic text within modern reality without compromising its historical authenticity.