Specialization and Generalization of Meaning in Lexical Substitution Words in Quranic Readings

This study discusses the phenomena of specialization and generalization of meaning in words, and explains their causes and forms, and examines their effect on changing the meaning of lexical substitutional words in Quranic readings, from what they were in their original formulation and in their customary use in the pre-Islamic era, and what they became in the Islamic era and after it. To achieve these objectives, the study used prose texts and poetic evidence from the pre-Islamic and non-pre-Islamic eras from the era of protest, and some verses scattered in some language dictionaries that were cited to explain the meaning of the word, in addition to the respected heritage records from the Islamic era to the present day, such as: books of interpretation, such as: “Jami’ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wil Ayat al-Qur’an” by al-Tabari, “al-Kashshaf” by al-Zamakhshari, “al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an” by al-Qurtubi, “Fath al-Qadir” by al-Shawkani, “Ruh al-Ma’ani” by al-Alusi, and language dictionaries, such as: “Miqyas al-Lugha” by Ibn Faris, “Mukhtar al-Sihah” by al-Razi, and “Lisan al-Arab” by Ibn Manzur, as they are among the books that represent an important source in collecting and directing those words, and an important linguistic wealth that deserves to be studied. The study concluded that the most common form of semantic change in substitutional words is specification, while the forms of semantic generalization are limited, and the main reason for this is the specificity of the newly created meanings in Islamic law in general, and in the Qur’anic context in particular