The Semantic and Contextual Meanings of the Cognitive Words “yʕqilu:n, yatafakaru:n, yatadabaru:n, yafqahu:n” in Holy Qur’an

Abstract

The current study endeavors to identify the semantic and contextual meanings of four cognitive words: “yʕqilu:n, yatafakaru:n, yatadabaru:n, yafqahu:n” in Holy Qur'an. The motive for this study comes from the vague semantic relations expressed by Muslim exegetes and interpreters of these words. Additionally, translating them into other languages such as English is considered challenging due to the cognitive resemblance, nature, and senses they express. Thus, the study aims to unravel the slight cognitive distinctions among these cognitive words by scrutinizing the micro and macro levels of structure and contexts of the Holy Qur'an. To accomplish the aims of the study, the Semantic Approach of Toshihiko Izutsu (2008) is adopted as a theoretical framework along with a contextual syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis of the targeted data. The findings reveal that the four cognitive verbs denote different semantic senses and are used in the Holy Qur'an in different contexts. They express different cognitive skills and mental abilities. Moreover, the findings show that these verbs are used differently in the Holy Qur'an to whom they are addressed and the consequences of using them.