Exploring the Multifaceted Meaning of 'Rahmah' (Mercy) in the Holy Quran: A Polysomic Analysis

Abstract

Polysemy is one of the most significant topics discussed at all linguistic levels, including lexical or substitutive polysemy. In semantics, meanings are always influenced by their co-occurring elements within a structural system, and their semantic analysis is conducted based on the reciprocal relationship between the components of this system and the discourse process of the text. Attention to the linguistic context and the overall text, after an etymological examination and discovering the semantic field of a word, effectively illustrates the semantic evolution and resulting polysemy of that word. One of the most important aspects of Qur'anic research is the precise discovery and explanation of word meanings within the structure of divine speech to facilitate understanding and interpretation of the religious propositions derived from them. This paper centers on the linguistic examination made of the variety of meanings of the word "Rahmah” in the Holy Qur’an, showing its semantic development within the holistic construction of Qur’anic verses as well as determining meanings it plays off against the core meaning and contextual element involved by relying upon the Qur’anic exegesis.. In this study, About the divine speech structure, the term "Rahmah" in the Holy Qur'an has several connotations like Islam, heaven, belief, rain, sustenance, etc., and all of them are understood against the background knowledge along with other linguistic features.