Interpretation of Quranic Narratives from a Linguistic and Rhetorical Perspective

The Interpretation of Qur'anic Narratives from Linguistic and
Rhetorical Perspectives
-With Special Reference to al-Zamakhsharī's al-Kashshāf-
This study examines how Qur'anic narratives are interpreted in al-Zamakhsharī's
al-Kashshāf, with particular reference to language, rhetoric,
and context. Its primary aim is to identify the methodological
principles underlying al-Zamakhsharī's approach to Qur'anic narratives
and to determine the roles of wording, meaning, textual composition,
variant readings, and modes of address in the construction of
meaning Adopting a text-centered and descriptive method, the study
analyzes selected narratives concerning Adam, Idrīs, Noah, Abraham,
Moses, and Jesus, together with several Qur'anic passages related to
the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The findings indicate that al-Zamakhsharī
does not treat these narratives merely as chronological
accounts of past events. Rather, he interprets them as multilayered
discourses of guidance whose meanings emerge through the interaction
of wording, context, and audience. His interpretations demonstrate
that lexical choice, sentence structure, pronominal reference,
particles, ellipsis, word order, shifts in address, repetition, dialogue,
question-and-answer patterns, metaphor, indirect expression, representation,
and contrast function as constitutive elements of meaning.
Variant readings are similarly employed as interpretive data that reveal
semantic possibilities, grammatical relations, and shifts of emphasis
within the narrative. Although al-Zamakhsharī does not exclude historical
reports or occasions of revelation, he generally employs them
as secondary materials supporting linguistic and contextual analysis.
The study also concludes that his Muʿtazilite and theological commitments
influence certain interpretive choices; nevertheless, his readings
cannot be reduced solely to sectarian affiliation. In al-Kashshāf, form
and content remains inseparable, since theological, ethical, and
pedagogical messages of the narratives are constructed through their
modes of expression. The study therefore highlights the sophisticated
linguistic, semantic, and rhetorical dimensions of classical Qur'anic exegesis
and presents al-Zamakhsharī's interpretation of Qur'anic narratives
as a coherent, independent, and interdisciplinary field of inquiry.
Keywords: Qur'anic Exegesis; Quran; Narrative; al-Kashshāf; Language;
Rhetoric; Context