Dunya

Dunyā (Arabic: دُنْيا‎ [ˈdʊnjæː]) is originally an Arabic word that was passed to many other languages such as Persian, Dari, Pashto, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Assamese, Sylheti, Javanese, Kurdish, Nepali, Turkish, Arumanian, North-Caucasian languages, Malay, Swahili, and Indonesian. It derives from the root word "dana" that means to bring near. In that sense, "dunya" is "what is brought near".[1] It refers to the temporal world—and its earthly concerns and possessions—as opposed to the hereafter (ʾākhirah). In the Qur'an, dunyā and ākhira are sometimes used dichotomously, other times complementarily. Islam does not a priori dismiss the world as "evil". Instead, this world is defined as "the field of ākhira" and the place of examination. Two Qur'anic ayat (verses) show that dunyā and ākhira are not considered as alternatives to each other per se:

  • "Ordain for us the good in this world [al-dunyā] and in the hereafter [al-ākhira]." (Surah Al A'râf 7:156)
  • "You are my friend in this world [al-dunyā] and the next [al-ākhira]." (Surah Yusuf 12:101)

What the Qur'an condemns is too much attention to the earthly life at the cost of forgetting the eternal life. For this purpose, Muslims are encouraged in the Qur'an 47:24 to ponder the verses of the Qur'an itself, and to do their best to not get too attached to this temporal existence and its trappings. In Islam, dunyā is a test; success and failure lead to paradise and hell respectively Quran 57:20.

Modern usage

The word Dunya is being used today by all Arabic speaking nations as well as other languages that borrowed it from Arabic.

For example;

  • Donya/Denya [ˈdonjæ, ˈdenjæ] in Egyptian Arabic
  • Dünya in Turkish
  • Dinya in Kurdish
  • दुनिया (Duniya) in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali
  • দুনিয়া (Duniẏā) in Bengali and Assamese
  • ਦੁਨੀਆ (Dunī'ā) in Punjabi
  • دنیا (Dunya) in Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi and Persian
  • (Dunway) in Sylheti
  • Duniya in Hausa
  • Dunia in Malay, Swahili and Indonesian
  • Donya in Javanese

It is also a common Middle Eastern feminine name.

References

  1. ↑ Attas, Islam and Secularism, p.
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