LessonsIntroduction to Bayān and the Foundational Modes of IndicationQuiz

الدَّلَالَةُ هِيَ كَوْنُ الشَّيْءِ بِحَيْثُ يَلْزَمُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ بِهِ الْعِلْمُ بِشَيْءٍ آخَرَ
Indication is a relationship in which knowing one thing leads to knowing another.

The first thing serves as the indicator; the second is what the mind reaches through it. The relevant connection is not identical in every case: the basis of indication depends on the kind of sign being considered.

For example, an Arabic speaker hearing “insān” understands the conventional meaning “human being.” Seeing smoke may lead an observer to infer a fire through an empirical and rational relationship. The first involves a linguistic convention; the second does not require a spoken word.

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Defining dalālah

Introduction to Bayān and the Foundational Modes of Indication

الدَّلَالَةُ هِيَ كَوْنُ الشَّيْءِ بِحَيْثُ يَلْزَمُ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ بِهِ الْعِلْمُ بِشَيْءٍ آخَرَ
Indication is a relationship in which knowing one thing leads to knowing another.

The first thing serves as the indicator; the second is what the mind reaches through it. The relevant connection is not identical in every case: the basis of indication depends on the kind of sign being considered.

For example, an Arabic speaker hearing “insān” understands the conventional meaning “human being.” Seeing smoke may lead an observer to infer a fire through an empirical and rational relationship. The first involves a linguistic convention; the second does not require a spoken word.