Cultivating the Earth, Harvesting the Soul: An Ecological Reading of Al-Harth and Al-Mizan

Abstract

The term al-ḥarṯ (الحرث) is one of the Qur’anic expressions that possesses rich meanings, both lexically and contextually. In general, it refers to cultivated plants or agricultural land; however, in its Qur’anic usage, the term is also employed metaphorically to describe human deeds and their consequences in both worldly life and the Hereafter. This study aims to analyze the meaning of al-ḥarṯ using a semantic approach by examining its lexical meaning through classical dictionaries and its contextual meaning through Qur’anic verses in which the term occurs. The findings indicate that al-ḥarṯ has two main contexts: a worldly context (agriculture and progeny) and an eschatological context (deeds and reward). In addition, this term shows semantic relations with several other words, such as az-zar‘, ‘amal, and an-nitāj, thus functioning as a universal metaphor for the law of cause and effect in human life.