Kur’ân’da çokanlamlı kelimelerde anlamın tayini meselesi

As is the case in any other language, in Arabic too some words may have more than one meaning. For this reason, the meaning of these words needs to be correctly determined within the verse in which they occur. The concept of fitne (sedition) is one of the polysemy words. This word can be translated simply as sedition in reference to the verses in which the mention of war takes place, especially in some Turkish translations. In our view, this causes either the misunderstanding of the word or leaving no meaning at all. The question is, which meaning of the term “fitnah” (sedition) is meant in these verses? In this study, therefore, we shall investigate into the possible meanings of the word “fitnah” as it occurs in the verses talking about the war. In order to pursue this goal, we will focus primarily on the issue of polysemy in language and tafsir methodology. In addition, we shall draw attention to the means that are needed to identify the meaning of the words of this kind. These are mainly dictionaries, the findings o the first commentators, the historical and textual contexts and purposes.