Problem statement: The widespread divergence of jurisprudential edicts (Fatāwā) regarding Ghinā’ is frequently attributed to conflicting evidence (Taʿāruḍ al-Adillah) or differences in fundamental principles (Mabānī Uṣūliyyah). This analysis is predicated on the assumption of the stability of the ruling’s subject matter (Mawḍūʿ al-Ḥukm), meaning that the concept of Ghinā’ refers to a single semantic reality both in the era of the texts’ issuance (ʿAṣr al-Ṣudūr) and in subsequent periods.
Research objective: By rethinking this presupposition, the present study seeks to investigate the historical evolution of the conceptual network of Ghinā’ and its impact on the formation of the jurisprudential subject matter of this ruling.
Research method: The research was conducted using a historical semantics approach based on the semantic field theory. Within this framework, the usages of the term Ghinā’ were extracted across four historical layers: pre-Islamic (Jāhilī) literature, the Quran and traditions (Aḥādīth), the musical culture of the Abbasid period, and classical jurisprudential texts. Furthermore, its syntagmatic relations with concepts such as melody (Laḥn), rapture (Ṭarab), vain amusement (Lahw), gatherings (Majālis), female singers (Mughanniyah), and rhythm (Īqāʿ) were analyzed.
Conclusion: The results indicate that Ghinā’, throughout its semantic evolution, transitioned from a descriptive meaning concerning vocal quality to a culturally evaluative meaning within the context of amusement gatherings (Majālis al-Lahw), and ultimately to a jurisprudential term denoting the subject of a prescriptive ruling (Ḥukm Taklīfī). Consequently, a portion of the divergence in jurisprudential edicts concerning Ghinā’ can be attributed to a focus on different layers of this semantic network, rather than merely a conflict of evidence. Moreover, equating Ghinā’ with the modern concept of “music” without reconstructing the historical referent (Madlūl) of the subject poses methodological challenges. In addition to revisiting the issue of Ghinā’, this study proposes a theoretical framework for analyzing evolving subjects in Islamic jurisprudence.