Qur’an and Social Sciences

Qur’an and Social Sciences

A Cognitive-Textual Approach to the Social Verses of the Qurʾan Based on John Searle’s Speech Act Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
zohreh babaahmadi milani 1
abdolvahid navidi 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Qur’an and Hadiht Sciences, Faculty of Theology, shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran. (Corresponding Author)
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
10.22034/arq.2025.525441.1481
Abstract
The social verses of the Qurʾan, as a significant part of the revealed teachings, play a foundational role in explaining human relations, organizing society, and guiding collective conduct. The importance of these verses has become all the more evident, particularly in the contemporary age, wherein societies are confronted with multiple challenges. Analyzing such verses is crucial not only for a more precise understanding of the Qurʾan’s social teachings but also for enhancing human interactions and realizing social justice. On the other hand, John Searle’s Speech Act Theory, with its emphasis on the functional dimensions of language and the manner in which speech influences behavior and social relations, provides a novel framework for a deeper comprehension of the Qurʾan’s social messages. Accordingly, this study, to conduct a cognitive-textual analysis of 120 randomly selected social verses of the Qurʾan, endeavors—through an interdisciplinary perspective and employing a descriptive-analytical method—to examine the various dimensions of the Qurʾanic social message from the standpoint of speech act functions. The findings indicate that the social verses, in addition to presenting foundational social concepts through diverse linguistic structures and speech acts, function to guide, exhort, reform, and direct individual and collective behavior. Each of these speech acts in the social verses of the Qurʾan has been employed with specific aims and functions. Assertive acts (35.71%) are utilized for articulating religious and doctrinal truths, explicating rulings, and describing the condition of the believers and the disbelievers. Directive acts (34.59%) are manifested through imperative verbs, prohibitive sentences, warnings, as well as rhetorical and reproachful interrogatives, inviting the audience to perform or abstain from particular actions. Expressive acts (13.16%) appear in verses that convey divine emotions such as anger, aversion, love, or sympathy with the servants, serving to exert a deeper influence upon the audience and stir their emotions. Declarative acts (9.77%) are employed for describing divine and social realities and play a role in explicating social truths and teachings. Commissive acts (6.77%), in the form of oaths, promises, and divine threats in the social verses of the Qurʾan, express the guarantee and commitment to the fulfillment of an action
Keywords
Social Verses of the Qurʾan
Cognitive-Textual Analysis
Speech Act Theory
John Searle

Subjects

Holy Qurʾan
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  • Receive Date 24 May 2025
  • Revise Date 10 July 2025
  • Accept Date 18 August 2025