ISLAMIC REALISM AND THE CONCEPT OF PRENATAL EXISTENCE IN JĀMI‟AT ALARWĀH

Abstract

Islamic realism, a philosophical approach that emphasises the interpretation reality of Islam from an Islamic perspective, is usually portrayed by Nigerian Arabic fiction writers, including Adam Yahya al-Fulāni. Previous studies on Adam Yahya al-Fulāni‟s works have focused mainly on rhetorical and stylistic analyses, with scant attention paid to Islamic realism in his works. This study was, therefore, designed to examine Islamic realism in Adam Yahya al-Fulāni‟s novels to identify the principles of Islam as guidance to every area of lives including the human prenatal stage. Abdul-Qāhir al-Jurjānī‟s Theory of Maʿnā al- Maʿnā (Meaning of the Meaning) was adopted as the framework. An interpretive design was employed. Jāmiʿat al-Arwāḥ was purposively selected based on its thematic relevance. The text was subjected to literary analysis. The novel revealed that Islamic realism has fundamental principles to navigate different worlds where human beings exist including the human prenatal stage. Human prenatal stage in the realism of Islam begins in a world that is unknown to human beings and follows by the existence in a stage of water.