A sufi interpretation of silence in the stories of the Prophets

The elements of riyāḍa (spiritual discipline) that a person employs in the struggle against the self, motivated by the aim of attaining the state of ihsān (spiritual excellence), serve as a preparatory stage on the path toward achieving ma'rifatullāh (gnosis of God) and reaching the station of witnessing the Truth (mushāhada al-Ḥaqq). At the core of the various forms of riyāḍa practiced on the journey toward becoming the insān al-kāmil (perfected human) lies the concept of silence, either as a preparatory phase or as an ultimate outcome. The teachings of the Qur'an provide a broad field of study concerning the journey toward human perfection. In this context, the stories of the prophets are divine messages that summarize this journey, the difficulties encountered along the way, and the methods for overcoming them in the most concise and effective manner. In the first section of this study, the semantic field of silence in Arabic lexicology is examined, and through the analysis of terms such as samt, sukūt, and insāt, it is demonstrated that silence does not merely signify the absence of speech. Following the evaluation of silence as an element of communication, the study examines the meanings of the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) silence, as he is the insān al-kāmil and the first source to teach the subtleties of communication in the Islamic framework. The second part of the study offers a general assessment of the Qur'anic narratives. After outlining the main characteristics of the prophetic narratives, these narratives are analyzed through the lens of silence, based on both classical tafsir and implicit interpretation The primary sources of the research are the Qur'an and its commentaries, along with the corpus of ḥadīth. The main findings of the study indicate that silence represents various spiritual states within the prophetic narratives. Consequently, the study demonstrates that within the sufi tradition, the concepts of sukūt and ṣamt are not merely moral virtues but multidimensional means of divine communication and spiritual maturation that lead to ma'rifatullāh and the station of divine contentment (riḍā). By grounding this understanding in the prophets' journey of tawḥīd, the study aims to contribute theoretical diversity to the discipline of sufism.