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The Linguistic and Sociological Dimensions of the Concept of Jamʿ: A Deleuzian Approach
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Abstract
In this article, I explore the Arabic concept of jamʿ, and relate it to the Deleuzian concept of assemblage. I argue that jamʿ is central in the formation of Arabic language, Islamic theology, Islamic law, Sufism, a number of modern Islamic discourses, such as wasaṭiyyah, and several social,economic, and political formations in Arab modern states. I will limit my scope in this article to establishing the theoretical foundations of jamʿ and studying its effect on the formation of language. After defining jamʿetymologically, I will present a brief discussion of assemblage, as presented in Deleuze and Guattari, and then will divide the rest of the article into three parts, where I will discuss, first, the concept of naẓm as a type of jamʿ that aims to articulate meaning, second, the effect of jamʿ on the formation of the metaphor, and, third, the theological and philosophical foundations of jamʿ in the Deleuzian understanding of virtuality, and the Bergsonian understanding of time.
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References
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24848/islmlg.10.2.08