Taghut (, ṭāġūt; pl. ṭawāġīt (); broadly: "to go beyond the measure") is Islamic terminology denoting the worship of another deity besides God.Dmitriev, K., & Toral-Niehoff, I. (Eds.). (2017). Religious culture in late antique Arabia: selected studies on the late antique religious mind. Gorgias Press. p. 55 In traditional theology, the term often connotes idols or demons drawn to blood of pagan sacrifices. They appear wherever a person has been murdered.Zbinden, Ernst A.. Die Djinn des Islam und der altorientalische Geisterglaube. Deutschland, P. Haupt, 1953. p. 36 The pre-Islamic deities al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, later also Satan, are associated with that term."ṭāg̲h̲ūt". In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Glossary and Index of Terms, (Brill, 2012) doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei2glos_SIM_gi_04636
In modern times, the term is also applied to earthly tyrannical power.Momen, Moojan. (1995). "Țāghūt". In John L. Esposito. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The modern Islamic philosopher Abul A'la Maududi defines taghut in his Quranic commentary as a creature who not only rebels against God but transgresses his will.Mawdudi, 1988, vol.1, pp.199-200 Due to these associations, in contemporary political discourse, the term is used to refer to people considered anti-Islamic and agent of Western cultural imperialism. The term was introduced to modern political discourse since the usage surrounding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, through accusations made both by and against Khomeini.
Etymology The Arabic word is commonly seen as derived from the three-letter verbal root of , which means to "cross the limits, overstep boundaries," or "to rebel." From this, Taghut denotes one who exceeds their limits.
Manfred Kropp traced it to the Ge'ez (Old Ethiopian) ጣዖት ta'ot, meaning false idol.
Taghut is used together with jibt in surah al-Nisa 4:51. Wahib Atallah says that these words are of Egyptian origins and explains these words as Hejazi pronunciations of Copt and Thoth.H. Rahman, “Jibt, Taghut and the Tahkim of the Umma”, Arabica, 29/1 (February 1982), 57
In the Quran The term taghut occurs eight times in the Quran. In Pre-Islamic Arabia referring to pagan deities such as Al-Lat and Al-Uzza. 1960-2007
This is taken to refer to an actual event in which a group of disbelieving Meccans went to two eminent Jewish figures for counsel on the truth of Muhammad's teachings and were told that the pagans were more rightly guided than Muslims.See Abdel Haleem Oxford Translation p.87 notes
The Arabic taghut is variously interpreted to refer to idols, a specific tyrant, an oracle, or an opponent of the Prophet.See Abdel Haleem Oxford Translation of the Qur'an p.89Abdel Haleem Oxford Translation p.91
Again, this term taghut has been used here to designate a demon worshipped by the Quraysh.Dr. Shmuel Bar Lebanese Hizballah – Political, Ideological and Organizational Highlights 29 October 2006 p. 6
See also Ifrit Jinn Munafiq Mumin Shirk Tawhid
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