Auch die Engel sprachen mit Gott im Koran Die parrhesia der Engel

Abstract

One of the most striking characteristics of the quranic text is the prevalence of a permanently led dialogue. Conversations and discussions serve to lay down the teachings of Islam on the one hand and its religious principles on the other. An exemplary case of this procedure is the dialogue between God and the angels. In the course of this article the author analyses this quranic narrative. Furtheron its reception within the islamic discourse is critically reviewed by example of selected classical and modern commentaries on the quran. This analysis finally tries to determine the meaning of the dialogue between God and the angels in all its plurality and to interpret it by comprehending it as a symbol. One issue coming to the fore on the search for additional important layers of meaning is the question, if the angels can be understood as parrhesiastes during their open and honest dialogue with God. This issue is discussed in detail using the hermeneutic method which Michel Foucault (1926–1984) employed in his analysis of discourses and truth.