Mechanisms of Syntactic Cohesion in Surah Al-Inshiqaq: A Textual Study

Abstract

       Textual studies of literary texts began in the mid-twentieth century, revealing textual cohesion in both its syntactic and lexical aspects. Among the texts examined were verses from the Holy Qur'an that prompt my desire to contribute to these studies through this current study. The study opens with a brief introduction to textual studies and their significance, followed by the rationale for selecting this topic, the research problem, objectives, and methodology. It then provides a preliminary overview of Surah Al-Inshiqaq, including its name and verses. The first section addresses the theoretical framework of cohesion and text, while the second section examines the mechanisms of syntactic cohesion in Surah Al-Inshiqaq. The study employed the descriptive analytical approach to highlight these mechanisms and elucidate their meanings in a clear and accessible manner. The study concludes with key findings, most notably: cohesion consists of interconnected words and meanings within a text or discourse; a text is a spoken or written linguistic sequence forming a communicative unit, whether composed of multiple sentences, a single sentence, or even part of a sentence. Cohesion represents a new direction in text linguistics, investigating sentence structure, the interrelationship between sentences, and the interconnection of sentence parts through devices such as pronominal and conjunctive reference, substitution, ellipsis, and foregrounding/backgrounding (presentation and delay). Surah Al-Inshiqaq contains various forms of textual references that reveal the Qur'anic miraculous nature through textual coherence and interconnectedness, with implicit pronominal reference comprising the largest portion. Additive conjunction using "waw" (and) frequently occurs between verbal sentences due to the abundance, succession, and continuity of events. Ellipsis contributes to Qur'anic textual cohesion through conciseness and the avoidance of repetition, while also stimulating the mind and provoking thought through specific wording. Foregrounding and backgrounding contribute to phonetic cohesion, taking into account verse endings (fawasil), achieving brevity, emphasis, suspense, and wisdom. The study has several recommendations, among which is the completion of a study on lexical textual cohesion in Surah Al-Inshiqaq.