The characteristic features of 'the majority' in the Qur'an

In this thesis, entitled ?The characteristic features of `the majority? in the Qur?an?, aims to examine how the Qur?an sees the majority of people in general as well as the majority of specific groups of people. The work tries to answer, in a general sense, what characteristics of humankind, Ahl al-Kitab and infidels are stated in the Qur?an and whether the majority is described mainly in a positive or negative sense. In this way, it aims to present the Quran?s vision of the majority of humankind. Even though there are many aspects to the topic, this study focuses on the features of humankind in the context of the term ?kathrah?. The verses where the term kathrah and its derivations (akthar al-Nas) occur in the commentaries of the Qur?an are examined. At the end of the study, the following conclusions are reached: the Qur?an talks about the majority within the various groups such as infidels, Ahl al-Kitab and all humankind and describes their miscellaneous features. By the examining the context of the individual verses, it can be understood which group?s majority is being described by the Qur?an. The general features of the majority taken up by the Qur?an predominantly are negative characteristics. According to the Qur?an, the criterion for determining hidayah (right guidance) and dalalah (deviation or being astray) is not the opinion or behavior of the majority, but truthfulness and falseness, which are objective. The majority of many nations had gone astray. In the view of the Qur?an, throughout human history, the majority of humankind always was on the side of evil. Quran commentators have discussed words like ?akthar al-Nas? and what they mean. Sometimes the Qur?an points to the whole of the people when it takes up the majority. In many places, it refers to the majority, but makes exception for the good people who do not share the features of the majority around them. There are some commentaries that also state that these expressions refer to the majority of the behaviours of the people, but the children who are under the age of puberty are exceptions.