A Novel Approach to the Correlation Between Ḥikmah, Mawʿiẓah Ḥasanah, and Jidāl Aḥsan in Surah An-Naḥl, Verse 125 and the Logical Disciplines

According to Qur’ān 16:125, the modes of daʿwah (Arabic: دعوة, lit: religious invitation) in the Qurʾānic paradigm are Ḥikmah (Arabic: حکمة, lit: wisdom), Mawʿiẓah Ḥasanah (Arabic: موعظة حسنة, lit: good exhortation), and Jidāl Aḥsan (Arabic: جدال أحسن, lit: the most refined disputation). Some exegetes and logicians have drawn parallels between these methods and the demonstrative (Arabic: برهان, Romanized: burhān), rhetorical (Arabic: خطابة, Romanized: khiṭābah), and dialectical (Arabic: جدل, Romanized: jadal) disciplines of classical logic. Consequently, it is imperative to scrutinize the correlation between Qurʾānic methodologies of invitation and the Aristotelian and Islamic logical arts. A close examination of the lexical semantics and Qurʾānic applications of these three modes in Qur’ān 16:125 reveals that they do not necessarily correspond to the logical disciplines in a strict sense. Several fundamental distinctions exist between Qurʾānic Ḥikmah (Arabic: حکمة) and logical burhān (Arabic: برهان) in terms of origination, epistemic access, scope of applicability, range of conclusions, and human influence. Similarly, Mawʿiẓah Ḥasanah (موعظة حسنة) differs from rhetorical khiṭābah (Arabic: خطابة), particularly regarding its premises, foundational principles, intended objectives, and mechanisms of psychological effectiveness. Furthermore, Jidāl Aḥsan (Arabic: جدال أحسن), within the Qurʾānic epistemic framework, diverges from logical jadal, not only in the nature of its premises (truth-oriented vs. disputational) but also in its underlying intent and pragmatic function.