ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how metaphysical apartness of God, or écart, is articulated in the Qur'ān, and how it is realized performatively in al-Quddūs (the Holy), making this cognate the Qur'ān's most eminent signifier of transcendence. Conveying the idea of the Holy and exclusively ascribed to Allah, al-Quddūs represents a concept which has ontological validity. Its linguistic structure and semantics also convey a distinct sense of distance, or écart, which is consistent with the Qur'ānic concept of transcendence.
This chapter discusses how the metaphysical apartness of God, or écart, is articulated in the Qur'ān, and how it is realized performatively in al-Quddūs (the Holy), making this cognate the Qur'ān's most eminent signifier of transcendence. Conveying the idea of the Holy and exclusively ascribed to Allah, al-Quddūs represents a concept which has ontological validity. Its linguistic structure and semantics also convey a distinct sense of distance, or écart, which is consistent with the Qur'ānic concept of transcendence.
