THE MYTH OF ‘ABŪ LAHAB’ IN Q.S. AL-MASAD [111]: 1

ANALYSIS OF ROLAND BARTHES’ SEMIOTIC THEORY

Abstract

The Qur’anic story of “Abū Lahab” is often misunderstood by some who assume that the story is factual-exclusive. This article is designed to examine how the concept of Abū Lahab is understood in Qur’anic terms, and how it is embodied in today’s context. This research uses a library research method with a descriptive-analytical pattern, through Roland Barthes’ semiotic approach as a theoretical basis. Barthes argues that the language system can be understood through two steps of semiotic reading, the first is what he calls the linguistic system (language-object), and the second is the mythical system (metalanguage). To arrive at the mythical system, it is necessary to extract meaning through the signifier system, which consists of three elements: the signifier element, the signified element, and the sign element in the second layer of the semiotic system. Through Roland Barthes’ semiotic reading, the concept of Abū Lahab that is understood to be exclusively addressed to ‘Abd al-‘Uzzā is a myth. Abū Lahab is not a personal name, but a general and universal title. ‘Abd al-‘Uzzā is only one historical representation of the figure of Abū Lahab. From Barthes’ semiotics, Abū Lahab is more accurately understood as ‘anyone who opposes the truth and is intolerant (radical) towards other groups, not hesitating to carry out offensive resistance to them if it is not in line with their personal or group ideology or political interests’. Thus, in the modern context, anyone can potentially become “Abū Lahab” as the khiṭab of Q.S. Al-Masad if they share these characteristics.

References

Allen, Graham. Roland Barthes. London: Routledge, 2003.

Arikunto. Metodologi Penelitian. Jakarta: PT. Rineka Cipta, 2002.

Aṣfahānī, Al-Raghīb al-. Al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qur’ān. Vol. 3. Mesir: Dār Ibnul Jauzī, 2017.

‘Āsyūr, Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir bin. Tafsīr al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr. Vol. 30. Ṭūnis: Dār al-Ṭūnisiyyah li al-Nashr, 1994.

Barthes, Roland. Crítica e Verdade. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2007.

———. Critica y Verdad. Spanyol: Siglo XXI Ediciones, 2006.

———. El Grado Cero de La Escritura: Seguido de Nuevos Ensayos Críticos. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Siglo XXI Argentina Editores, 1973.

———. Element of Semiology. New York: Hill and Wang, 1977.

———. Empire of Signs. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983.

———. Image-Music-Text. London: Fontana Press, 1997.

———. La Aventura Semiólogia. Barcelona: Paidós, 1990.

———. Le Degré zéro de l'écriture. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1973.

———. Lo Obvio Y Lo Obtuso: Imagenes, Gestos, Voces. Barcelona: Paidós, 1986.

———. Mythologies. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1972.

———. Mythologies. New York: The Noonday, 1991.

———. Placer Del Texto, El - La Leccion Inaugural. Siglo Veintiuno Editores Argentina S.A., 2008.

———. The Fashion System. California: University of California Press, 1990.

Budiono, Arif. “Penafsiran Al-Qur`an Melalui Pendekatan Semiotika dan Antropologi (Telaah Pemikiran Muhammad Arkoun).” MIYAH: Jurnal Studi Islam XI, no. 2 (2015): 281–306. https://doi.org/10.33754/miyah.v11i2.19.

Dimasyq, ‘Imāduddīn Abī al-Fidā’ Ismā‘īl ibn Kathīr al-. Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. Vol. 7. Kairo: Al-Maktabah al-Islāmiyyah, 2017.

Eco, Umberto. A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976.

Fayūd, Basyūnī ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ. ‘Ilm al-Bayān. Kairo: Mu’assasah al-Mukhtar, 2015.

Ferguson, Sam. “Roland Barthes: Biographie.” French Studies 69, no. 4 (October 1, 2015): 554–55. https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knv220.

Fiske, John. Pengantar Ilmu Komunikasi. Jakarta: Rajawali Press, 2012.

Ichwan, Mohammad Nor. Memahami Bahasa Al-Qur’an: Refleksi Atas Persoalan Linguistik. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar, 2018.

Jābirī, ‘Ābid al-. Al-Aql al-Siyāsī al-‘Arabī: Muḥaddadātuhu wa Tajliyātuhu. Beirūt: al-Markaz al-Thaqāfi al-‘Arabī, 1991.

Jafar, Lantowa. Semiotika Teori, Metode, dan Penerapannya dalam Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakarta: Deepublish, 2017.

Jendri, Jendri, and Ummi Kalsum. “Interpretasi Semiotika Loyalitas Suami Isteri dalam Q.S. Al-Lahab.” Jurnal Ulunnuha 9, no. 2 (2020): 103–19. https://doi.org/10.15548/ju.v9i2.1737.

Kabīsī, Aḥmad ‘Ubaid al-. Mawsū‘ah al-Kalimah wa Akhawātuhā fī al-Qur’ān al-Karīm. Vol. 10. Beirūt: Dār al-Ma‘rifah, 2017.

Kurniawan. Semiologi Roland Barthes. Magelang: IndonesiaTera, 2001.

Ma‘lūf, Louis. Al-Munjid fī al-Lugah. Beirūt: Dār al-Maḥriq, 1986.

Mawṣulī, Abī al-Fatḥ al-Azadī al-. Asmā’ Man Yu‘rafu bi Kunyatihi min Aṣḥāb Rasūlillāh Saw. Mesir: Universitas ‘Ain Syams, n.d.

Munawir, Ahmad Warson. Kamus Al-Munawwir Arab-Indonesia Terlengkap. Surabaya: Pustaka Progresif, 1997.

Mu’ti, Fathi Fawzi Abdul. Kisah Nyata Dibalik Turunnya Ayat-Ayat Suci Al-Qur’an (Asbabun Nuzul Untuk Zaman Kita). Translated by M. Dedi Slamet Riyadhi and Khalifurrahman. Jakarta: Zaman, 2011.

Muzakki, Akhmad. “Kontribusi Semiotika dalam Memahami Bahasa Al-Qur’ân.” ISLAMICA: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 4, no. 1 (2014): 35–48. https://doi.org/10.15642/islamica.2009.4.1.35-48.

Qarnī, ‘Ā’id bin ‘Abdullāh al-. “Durūs Al-Shaikh ‘Ā’id al-Qarnī.” Al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah. Accessed May 24, 2024. https://shamela.ws/book/7708.

Quṭb, Sayyid. Fī Ẓhilāl al-Qur’ān. Vol. 6. Beirūt: Dār al-Shurūq, 2003.

Rahman, Fazlur. Islam and Modernity. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1984.

Rahman, Zakia Fikriyah. “Surat Al-Lahab dalam Studi Analisis Stilistika.” TSAQOFIYA Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Arab IAIN Ponorogo 2, no. 2 (2020): 108–28. https://doi.org/10.21154/tsaqofiya.v2i2.32.

Ṣabūnī, ‘Alī al-. Al-Tibyān fi ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Jakarta: Dinamika Berkah Utama, 1985.

Saifullah, Aceng Ruhendi. Semantik dan Dinamika Pergulatan Makna. Jakarta: PT. Bumi Aksara, 2018.

Salsabila, Akmalia, and Rizal Samsul Mutaqin. “Mengungkap Pesan di Balik Kisah Abu Lahab dalam Al-Qur`an (111): 1-5 (Kajian Semiotika Michael Riffatere).” Suhuf 16, no. 2 (2023): 441–61. https://doi.org/https//doi.org/10.22548/shf.v1612.820.

Samoyault, Tiphaine, and Sunil Manghani. “On Barthes’ Biography: A Dialogue.” Theory, Culture & Society 37, no. 4 (July 1, 2020): 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276420910471.

Samoyault, Tiphaine. Roland Barthes: Biographie. Paris: Seuil, 2015.

Shihab, M. Quraish. Ensiklopedia Al-Qur’an: Kajian Kosakata. Vol. 2. Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2007.

———. Kaidah Tafsir: Syarat, Ketentuan, dan Aturan Yang Patut Anda Ketahui dalam Memahami Ayat-Ayat Al-Qur’an. Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2013.

———. Tafsir Al-Mishbah: Pesan, Kesan dan Keserasian Al-Qur’an. Vol. 15. Jakarta: Lentera Hati, 2005.

Suyūṭī, Jalāluddīn al-. Al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Beirūt: Mu’assasah al-Risālah Nāshirūn, 2008.

Ṭabarī, Abū Ja‘fār Ibnu Jarīr al-. Jāmi‘ al-Bayān ‘an Ta’wīl Āy al-Qur’ān. Vol. 11. Kairo: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 2010.

Wijaya, Aksin. Arah Baru Studi Ulumul Qur’an: Memburu Pesan Tuhan di Balik Fenomena Budaya. Yogyakarta: IRCiSoD, 2020.

Zed, Mestika. Metode Penelitian Kepustakaan. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2008.

Zuḥaylī, Wahbah al-. Al-Tafsīr al-Munīr: Fi al-‘Aqīdah wa al-Syarī‘ah wa al-Manhaj. Vol. 15. Dimashq: Dār al-Fikr, 2009.