Role-Playing of the Interpretive Tradition of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) in Deepening the Semantic Meaning of the Diminution of the Earth (Nuqsan al-Ard): A Model of Civilizational Life and Death

This research employs a historical-conceptual analysis approach to examine the interpretive role of the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) in expanding and deepening the semantic meaning of the noble verse: "Afa lā yarawna annā na'tī al-arḍa nanquṣuhā min aṭrāfihā") verse 41 of Surah Ar-Ra'd(. In the first step, the article critiques purely event-based and geographical readings of this verse, such as political dominance or territorial reduction, which are incompatible with the context of the verse's Meccan revelation. In contrast to these interpretations, the present research shows that the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), acting as an active interpretive-hermeneutical factor, revive the overlooked capacities within the word "Aṭrāf" (meaning elites and notables), elevating the verse's significance from a historical-territorial threat to a universal and epistemological level. Based on this interpretive reading, the diminution of the Earth is not understood as a geographical reduction but as a sign of epistemological decay and the loss of scholars, which, as a Divine tradition, is considered a sign of the decline of civilizational life and the disruption of the knowledge system of societies. This interpretation, while consistent with the tone and content of the Meccan verses of the Quran that emphasize warning against epistemological and moral collapse, provides a conceptual framework for analyzing the relationship between civilizational life and death. The present research reveals the central role of the Thaqalayn (the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt) in explaining the esoteric and civilizational dimensions of revelation and, by deepening the semantic meaning, offers a new understanding of the Quran's epistemological dynamics.