From the Hermeneutics of Silence to the Theology of Stillness
This philosophical and theological study of the ethical aspects of silence and listening is not only relevant in the context of interreligious dialogue between Christianity and Islam, but also in contemporary society due to the emergence of digital voice simulacra. This gives rise to a dangerous trend of virtualising spiritual and moral values. Drawing on the cognitive resources of classical and contemporary hermeneutic, phenomenological and postmodernist approaches, the work aims to understand listening, silence and muteness in their ethical and apophatic aspects, and to analyse and reflect on the dialectic of silence and sound. In the second part of the article, an attempt is made to formulate prolegomena to an Islamic theology of silence based on the systematisation of information from the Islamic tradition regarding the importance of listening, speech, and silence. The ethical and apophatic aspects of hearing and silence are examined, along with a theoretical classification of specific, religion-based practices for maintaining a balance between them. As a result, the deeper (apophatic) meanings of these phenomena, which were almost lost, are formulated.
While nobody left any comments to this publication.
You can be first.
‘Abd al-Karim, B. (2022), Terminologiya Korana: lingvisticheskiy i semanticheskiy analiz [Terminology of the Quran: linguistic and semantic analysis], Transl. by Kovalenko, S. M., Peterburgskoe Vostokovedeniye, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Abu Bakr Kalandar Rumi (2017), Kalandar-name: izbrannoe [Qalandar-name: favorites], Transl. by Gibadullin, I. R., Shamsimuhametovа, M. R., in Gibadullin, I. R. (ed.), Publishing House of the Sh. Maryani Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, Russia (in Russ.).
Abu Hamid al-Gazali (2007), Vozrozhdenie religioznyh nauk. Vol. 1 [Revival of religious sciences. Vol. 1], Transl. by Nasyrov, I. R. Atsaev, A. S., Nurul Irshad, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Abu Hamid al-Gazali (2018), Eleksir schastya. Vol. 3 [The Elixir of Happiness. Vol. 3], Transl. by Gibadullin, I. R., Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie, Saint Petersburg; Kazan, Russia (in Russ.).
Achillis Bocchii Bonon (1555), Symbolicarum quaestionum de universo genere quas serio ludebat libri quinque Italy (1555), [Online], available at: https://archive.org/details/bocchiibononsymb00bocc/page/132/mode/2up/ (Accessed 1 August 2025) (in Lat.).
Akyda as-Sanusiya s kommentariyami sheikha Abu Adama an-Naruidzhi (2012) [Akida al-Sanusiyah with commentary by Sheikh Abu Adam al-Naruiji], 1st edition, Makhachkala, Russia (in Russ.).
As-Saadi Abd ar-Rakhman bin Nasir (2012), Tolkovanie Svyashchennogo Korana “Oblegcheniye ot Velikodushnogo i Milostivogo”. Smyslovoy perevod Korana na russkiy yazyk s kommentariyami Abd ar-Rakhmana as-Saadi: V 3 t. Vol. 1 [Interpretation of the Holy Quran “Relief from the Magnanimous and Merciful”: Semantic translation of the Quran into Russian with comments by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa‘di: In 3 vols. Vol. 1.], Transl. by Kuliev, E., 2nd ed., Umma Press, Моscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Bladel, K. van (2022), Arabskiy Germes: ot yazycheskogo mudretsa do proroka nauki [Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science], Transl. by Rozov, V. A. and Khasanov, M. M., in Rozov, V. A. and Dvinyaninov, B. K. (eds), Akademiya issledovaniy kul'tury, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Borodovskaya, L. Z. (2024), “Abu Bakr Qalandar Rumi's poem ‘Qalandar-nameh’ as a source of information on Sufi ritual music”, Golden Horde Review, 12 (3), 512-528 (in Russ.), DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2024-12-3.512-528, EDN: AVKGDF
Caputo, J. D. (2006), The Weakness of God: a theology of event, Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
Chittik, U. K. (1995), V poiskakh skrytogo smysla. Dukhovnoe ucheniye Rumi [In Search of the Hidden Meaning. Rumi's Spiritual Teachings], Transl. by Smirnov, A. V., Ladomir, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Corbin, Henry (2010), Istoriya islamskoy filosofii [The History of Islamic Philosophy (Histoire de la philosophie islamique)], Transl. from French by Kuznetsov, A., Progress-Traditsiya, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Corbin, Alain (2020), Istoriya tishiny: ot epokhi Vozrozhdeniya do nashikh dney [The History of Silence: from the Renaissance to the present day (Histoire du silence de la Renaissance à nos jours)], Transl. from French by Polyak, O., Tekst, Моscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Daftari, F. (2004), Kratkaya istoriya ismailizma: Traditsii musulmanskoy obshchiny [A brief history of Islamism: Traditions of the Muslim community], Transl. by. Dodykhudoeva, L. R., Dodhudoeva, L. N., AST, Ladomir, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Daimi, T. (2023), Ot Kulta k Kulture. Vvedenie v vizualnuyu antropologicheskuju praktiku [From Cult to Culture. Introduction to visual anthropological practice], EkoPrint, Baku, Azerbaijan (in Russ.).
Derrida, J. (1998), Esse ob imeni [Essays on Name], Transl. by Shmatko, N. A., Aleteya, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Derrida, J. (2000a), O grammatologii [On Grammatology], Transl. by. Avtonomova, N. S., Ad Marginem, Моscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Derrida, J. (2000b), Pismo i razlichie [Writing and Difference], Transl. by Lapitskiy, V., Garadzhi, A. and Fokin, S., Akademicheskiy proekt, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Dzhemal, H. D. (2020), Novaya teologiya. Izbrannye lektsii. [The New Theology. Selected Lectures], Eksmo, Моscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Entsiklopediya islamskoy etiki. (2020), Chast 1. Vvedenie. Vol. 8. [Encyclopedia of Islamic Ethics. Part 1. Introduction. Vol. 8], 44-50. [Online], available at: https://archive.org/details/akhlaq01 (Accessed 1 August 2025) (in Arab.).
Fevr, A. (2024), Vechnyy Germes: ot grecheskogo boga do alkhimicheskogo maga [Eternal Hermes: from the Greek God to the Alchemical Magician], Transl. by Nikulina, A. S., in Dvinyaninov, B. K. (ed.), AIK, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Girgas, V. F. (2006), Arabsko-russkiy slovar k Koranu i khadisam (Kazan. Tipografiya imperskogo universiteta, 1881) [Arabic-Russian Dictionary to the Quran and Hadith (Kazan. Imperial University Press, 1881)], Dilya Press, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Gottwald, I. F. (1863), Opyt arabsko-russkogo slovarya na Koran, sem moallakat i stikhotvoreniya Imrulkeysa [The experience of the Arabic-Russian dictionary on the Quran, seven Mu‘allaqat and poems by Imru al-Qays], University Press, Kazan, Russia (in Russ.).
Heidegger, M. (2013), Chto takoe metafizika? [What is metaphysics?], Transl. by Bibikhin, V. V., Akademicheskiy Proyekt, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Knysh, A. D. (2004), Musulmanskiy mistitsizm. Kratkaya istoriya [Muslim mysticism. Short story], Transl. by Romanov, M. G., Dilya Press, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Kolesnikov, S. A. (2024), “Metaphysics and Apophatics of digital voices: possibilities of philosophical and religious understanding”, Proceedings of the Department of Theology, 3 (23), 129-142 (in Russ.), DOI: 10.47132/2541-9587_2024_3_129, EDN: QHBWVT
Konacheva, S. A. (2025), “On the Possibility of Christian Ontology after Heidegger: Phenomenology as a Way of Rethinking the Eastern Christian Tradition”, Horizon. Studies in Phenomenology, 14 (1), 93-114 (in Russ.).
Loginova, M. V. and Prokaeva, O. N. (2023), “Culture's Sound code: the phenomenon of silence”, Sphere of culture, 2 (12), 13-19, DOI: 10.48164/2713-301X_2023_12_13, EDN: EGIPLU
Manussakis, J. P. (2014), Bog posle metafiziki. Bogoslovskaya estetika [God after metaphysics. Theological aesthetics], DUKH I. LITERA, Kiev, Ukraine (in Russ.).
Mirzhakyp, D. (2022), “Didn't We open your chest to you?”, Po tu storonu neba bez zvezd: pamyati Geydara Dzhemalya [Beyond the sky without stars: in memory of Heydar Dzhemal], YASK, Gnozis, Моscow, Russia, 247-283 (in Russ.).
Osborn, G. R. (2009), Germenevticheskaya spiral: obshcheye vvedeniye v bibleyskoye tolkovaniye [The Hermeneutic Spiral: A General Introduction to Biblical Interpretation], Transl. by Serikova, N., Publishing House of the Euro-Asian Accreditation Association, Odessa, Ukraine (in Russ.).
Petrukhin, S. S. (2024), “Antuan Fevr. Iskusstvo prohozhdeniya granic”, Fevr A. Vechnyy Germes: ot grecheskogo boga do alkhimicheskogo maga, Transl. by. Nikulina, A. S., in Dvinyaninov, B. K. (ed.), AIK, St. Petersburg, Russia, 7-25 (in Russ.).
Ricoeur, P. (1969), Germenevtika i psikhoanaliz. Religiya i vera [Hermeneutics and psychoanalysis. Religion and Faith], Transl., afterword and note by Vdovina, I. S., Iskusstvo, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Rumyantsev, S. Yu. (2003), Kniga tishiny. Zvukovoy obraz goroda [The Book of Silence. The sound image of the city], Publishing House of the Institute of Russian Literature, St. Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
Sadykov, I. M. (2025), Summa ratsionalnogo bogosloviya. Akida: obshchiye osnovaniya veroubezhdeniya [The sum of rational theology. Akida: common grounds for religious beliefs], Islam Nury, Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia (in Russ.).
Sedankina, T. E. (2022), Svyashchennaya kniga (Koran) kak rechevoe sobytie: germenevticheskiye podkhody [The Holy Book (the Quran) as a speech event: hermeneutic approaches], Research Result. Social Studies and Humanities, 8 (3), 58-76 (in Russ.), DOI: 10.18413/2408-932X-2022-8-3-0-5, EDN: WKSKWG
Serrano, M. (2012), Zmey Raya [Snakes of Paradise], Ex Nord Lux, Tambov, Russia (in Russ.).
“Simvoly i emblematy ot Dzhulio Bonasone” (2020), Litfond, Auction house [Online], available at: https://www.litfund.ru/news/7830/ (Accessed 1 August 2025) (in Russ.).
Solonchenko, A. A. (2020), “Orthodox thought in postmodern conditions and the theological and philosophical context of its formation”, Ph.D. Thesis, Sergiev Posad, Russia (in Russ.).
Tafsir al-Koran. Al-Muntakhab (2003) [al-Quran. Al Muntahab], Umma Press, Моscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Temnov, G. (2020), “An Appeal to the Abyss”, Temnov, G. and Sinenko, G., Posledniy chertog [The Last Hall], Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Wittgenstein, L. (2018), Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, transl. from German by Dobroselsky, L., AST Publishing House, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).