The Pragmatics of Speech Acts in the Noble Prophetic Discourse Addressed to Children and Their Relationship to the Politeness Principle

Abstract

This research examines speech acts and their impact on the Prophetic discourse addressed to children, specifically in relation to the principle of pragmatic politeness. It aims to explore meanings lying beyond the literal sense of the Prophetic discourse to uncover the intended underlying messages—a process that requires a careful analysis of the text to identify the unique characteristics distinguishing it from other forms of discourse.

The study encompasses all Hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that involve actual communication between him and a child, as well as the contexts in which these interactions occurred. This was achieved through a comprehensive survey of authentic Hadiths found in the six major collections (*Al-Sahihayn*—Bukhari and Muslim—and the four *Sunan* collections) and the *Musnad* of Imam Ahmad.

Given the significance of the Prophetic discourse addressed to children, this research adopts a pragmatic approach, focusing on the illocutionary function of the discourse and the influence of various situational contexts on its structure. It also investigates the impact of this discourse on the recipient by analyzing "speech acts," which embody real-life instances of language use.