The Concept of "Bashar" in the Qur’an: From a Flesh-Bearing Being to a Consciousness that Receives Revelation
The Concept of "Bashar" in the Qur’an: From a Flesh-Bearing Being to a Consciousness that Receives Revelation
1. Introduction
One of the terms the Qur’an uses to describe human beings is “bashar”. This term refers not merely to a creature of flesh and bone, but to a being grounded in the earth on one hand, and capable of receiving divine revelation on the other. While emphasizing the physical and biological aspects of the human, it simultaneously implies the divine responsibility and transformative potential placed upon this material foundation.
2. Bashar: Word and Root Meaning
The word “bashar” (بَشَر) in Arabic signifies “the outer surface of something, upper skin, visible part,” especially denoting “hairless skin, fair complexion, beauty.”
-
🔹 “بَشَر” conveys the idea of something being exposed or made visible.
-
🔹 The verb “بَشَرَ” means “to peel, to strip the outer layer, to expose.”
-
🔹 “بَشِير (bashīr)”: One with a beautiful face, bearer of good news.
-
🔹 “بَشَارَة (bashārah)”: Good news, joyful announcement.
-
🔹 “مُبَشِّر (mubashshir)”: A prophetic figure who brings glad tidings.
All words derived from this root center around the themes of appearance, visibility, radiance of the face, and the bodily surface exposed to the outside world.
📌 In this light, “bashar” refers to:
A being whose skin is visible (unlike animals with thick fur),
With a prominent physical existence,
A creature with earthly origins.
3. Use of the Concept of Bashar in the Qur’an
The word “bashar” appears 36 times in the Qur’an, and it is mostly used to describe the physical, biological traits of humans—such as eating, drinking, sexuality, birth, and death.
🔸 In the Context of Physical Creation:
Al-Hijr 28–29:
"Your Lord said to the angels: 'I will create a bashar from dry clay shaped like pottery. When I have breathed into him of My spirit, fall down in prostration to him.'"
Sad 71:
"Your Lord said to the angels: 'I am creating a bashar from clay.'"
In these verses, bashar refers to the human being in their material and unconscious state—before receiving the breath of the divine.
🔸 As a Recipient of Revelation and Human Astonishment:
The Qur’an also shows how certain communities rejected prophets simply because they were bashar.
Al-Kahf 110:
"Say: I am only a bashar like you. It is revealed to me that your God is One God..."
Al-Muddaththir 24–25:
"He said: This is nothing but magic from the past. This is just the word of a bashar!"
Al-Qamar 24:
"They said: Shall we follow a single bashar from among us?!"
Here, people scorn the idea of God choosing a bashar—a human being who eats, shops, gets hungry, and dies—as His messenger.
4. The Difference Between Bashar and Insān
In the Qur’an, “bashar” and “insān” are not synonymous.
| Term | Meaning | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Bashar | Physical being, biological structure | Material aspect |
| Insān | Conscious, rational being | Spiritual-intellectual aspect |
Bashar is the raw, clay-based creation of humankind; insān is the morally responsible and consciously aware being endowed with intellect and free will.
5. Symbolic Reading: From Bashar to Insān
In the Qur’an, bashar represents the raw, unrefined side of the human being—open to growth and development. Thus, bashariyyah is not a deficiency, but a starting point.
Just like a seed planted in soil:
-
Bashar is the material being born from earth.
-
Revelation is the consciousness breathed into this being.
-
Insān is the result of bashar evolving through conscious awakening.
The Bashar:
Eats, drinks, mates, multiplies, fears, flees, forgets…
The Insān:
Questions, understands, faces reality, believes, assumes responsibility.
In this sense, the Qur’an’s call is not to deny bashariyyah, but to transcend it—transforming it into insāniyyah.
6. Conclusion: The Meaning of Bashar in the Qur’an
The term bashar in the Qur’an represents the initial stage of human existence in a vertical journey from the earth upward. Any human being who has not encountered revelation, who does not engage their reason or cultivate their heart, may remain merely a bashar.
The Qur’an’s message is clear:
-
Do not reduce humanity to the level of mere bashar.
-
Recognize the divine weight of the message borne by a bashar-prophet.
-
Do not limit yourself to “human weaknesses”; become truly human through revelation.
Yorumlar
Yorum Gönder