Ta‘āruf and Its Relevance to Interreligious Dialogue

This article discusses interreligious dialogue as expressed in the Qur’ān, namely al-Ḥujurāt (49) verse 13. Expressed with the term “ta‘āruf” (to know one another), this concept can be interpreted as a foundation for modern interreligious discourse, promoting peaceful coexistence and harmony within the Islamic worldview. In this case, the worldview approach serves as a semantic framework to reconstruct conceptual meaning embedded in the Qur’ānic verse, delivering the reader a deeper apprehension of how Muslims should engage with other religions. This article concludes that ta‘āruf conveyed the message of interreligious dialogue in Islam built on interrelated conceptions of words based on the root ‘a-r-f, resulting in three primary reflections: first, the Qur’ānic verse demands Muslims and all of humanity to carry out dialogue; second, the verse hints that proper knowledge and piety are required before commencing the dialogue, denoting theological and epistemological needs for an interfaith conversation; and third, the verse acknowledges the nature of human creation in diverse social and cultural backgrounds, signifying the foundation of Islamic ethics (akhlāq), which is essential to dialogue.