The Contrastive Values Between Voiced and Voiceless Sounds and Their Role in Ibn Arabi's Usage

Abstract

This research examines Sufi studies as a gateway through which we can elucidate the relationship between phonetic features and existential meaning within the hermeneutic applications of Sheikh Muhyiddin ibn Arabi’s thought. Rather than treating them merely as two physical phenomena, they are approached as two interpretive tools within the realm of Islamic thought. This subject has occupied a vast space and received significant attention from scholars, particularly those who focused on interpretation (Interpretive) and finding solutions to many of the dilemmas inherent in the 'text'. However, this study does not stop at the boundaries of descriptive linguistics; rather, it hinges on the phonetic characteristics of jahr (voicedness/loudness) and hams (voicelessness/whisper) to manifest the concepts of the 'inward' (al-Batin) and the 'outward' (al-Zahir) through the binary oppositional values of these two features. It illustrates how Ibn Arabi employed these two attributes from multiple perspectives to express cosmic and spiritual semiotics that transcend pure linguistic description and act as a pivotal factor in clarifying multi-layered meanings. Thus, he links jahr (voicedness) to the world of the seen (alam al-shahadah), while linking hams (voicelessness) to the world of the unseen (alam al-ghayb), thereby rendering sound an instrument for decoding the ciphers of existence.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54633/2333-025-059-001