Divine Narrative in Dark Tones: An Islamic Theological Analysis of Qur’anic Symbols And Verses In the Lyrics of For revenge

This research looks at the presentation of Qur’anic symbols and verses in For revenge’s dark music lyrics which we connect to Qur’ianic exegesis and the base of Islamic theology which we look at through the eyes of contextual theology and civil religion. We used a descriptive qualitative approach which for primary data included from Qur’anic verses and exegesis which relate to the lyrics, for secondary data we looked to books, journals and reports which support. Data collection was done through literature review, analyzed via content analysis and we used triangulation for validation. We found out that While For revenge has a very sad dark theme, their lyrics do present Qur’anic symbols which play into theological values like qadar, sabr, ikhlas and the transience of the world. Also we see that the choice of words, metaphors and emotional tone which the artists use in fact tell a story which allows for the religious messages to be received by the audience, without them being put forth in a didactic way. What is new in this study is we report that dark music though very far in look and feel from religious music -- does in fact put forth Qur’anic messages through symbol play and the audience’s aesthetic experience. These results open up the field of Qur’anic exegesis and Islamic theology to popular culture and also we see how sacred texts interact with what may be considered non traditional media in the digital age.