Location
3C - Islamic Pilgrimage
Start Date
29-6-2017 4:00 PM
End Date
29-6-2017 5:30 PM
Description
This paper looks at the symbolism of the traversing between the hills of Ṣafa and Marwah (sa‘ī) from the traditional Muslim stories pertaining to it, and its intertextualities with the Bible. A linguistic method is used to understand how the Qur’an uses polysemy in its language to symbolize some of its rituals. It is shown that the term “sa‘ī” in the Qur’an is used to symbolize the traversing between death and life. This symbolism is compared with Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis, as Jacob sees the angels ascending and descending from heaven in a location that he later calls Bethel (House of God), which incidentally is what Muslims consider the Ka‘bah. The pilgrims, during ‘Umrah, may be symbolizing the angels ascending unto heaven, while the pilgrims, during Ḥajj, may be symbolizing the angels descending from heaven.
Included in
Jacob’s Ladder: Sa‘ī
3C - Islamic Pilgrimage
This paper looks at the symbolism of the traversing between the hills of Ṣafa and Marwah (sa‘ī) from the traditional Muslim stories pertaining to it, and its intertextualities with the Bible. A linguistic method is used to understand how the Qur’an uses polysemy in its language to symbolize some of its rituals. It is shown that the term “sa‘ī” in the Qur’an is used to symbolize the traversing between death and life. This symbolism is compared with Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis, as Jacob sees the angels ascending and descending from heaven in a location that he later calls Bethel (House of God), which incidentally is what Muslims consider the Ka‘bah. The pilgrims, during ‘Umrah, may be symbolizing the angels ascending unto heaven, while the pilgrims, during Ḥajj, may be symbolizing the angels descending from heaven.