The Plot in Surat Ghafir: An Analytical Study of Textual Structure and Relationships

Abstract

In recent years, textual linguistics has received numerous studies due to its effective importance in understanding, analyzing, and interpreting texts, particularly in analyzing and understanding the texts of the Holy Qur'an, the composition of their textual units, and the methods of their composition, weaving, and structure, which have been carefully combined and harmonized to reveal the central structures and demonstrate their linguistic miracle, represented by the interconnectedness of the smallest units and their cohesion within the surahs. This research paper seeks to reveal the plot and textual relationships in Surah Ghafir and the extent to which the latter contributes to confirming the structure of Surah Ghafir, as well as to test linguistic theories and their applications to the Qur'anic text, as well as paving the way for understanding and recognizing the miraculous nature of the Qur'an by employing the descriptive-analytical approach. Among the most important results we have reached at the level of plot and its relationships (generality and detail - causality - contrast - good beginning) is that it signifies coherence, unity, and continuity between the concepts of the text, as it is based on intangible rules and structures within the textual structure (abstract conceptual). It constitutes the logical and objective dimension of the central structures. In Surah Ghafir, it was through the employment of the stories of the people of Noah, the parties, Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, Aad, and Thamud, and then extracting a single result, which is entering (the Fire) for the same behaviors (disbelief, arrogance, argumentation, and ingratitude), as they formed minor structures to confirm the connotations of the major ones in Surah Ghafir. By combining form (textual relationships) and content (central meaning), textual coherence is achieved to the fullest extent in Surah Ghafir.