References and Methods in the Syntactic Analysis of the Prophetic Discourse: A Traditional - Linguistic and Functional Approach to the ‘FarewellSermon’ as Recorded in its Major Narratives

Abstract

This article investigates the syntactic, textual, and functional organisation of the Prophetic Farewell Sermon through an analytical framework combining classical Arabic grammatical thought with modern textual and functional linguistics. The study is grounded particularly in ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī’s concept of al-Naẓm, according to which meaning emerges from the organisation and interdependence of linguistic elements rather than from isolated lexical units. The analysis examines attribution, fronting and postponement, omission, reference, conjunction, sentence patterns, cohesion, and rhetorical modes in order to determine how grammatical structures contribute to textual coherence, persuasive force, and the value-oriented purposes of the sermon. The extended narration transmitted by Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim is adopted as the principal textual corpus, while complementary narrations from major hadith collections are used comparatively to assess the grammatical and semantic implications of textual variation. Methodologically, the study employs a descriptive, analytical, and comparative approach supported by systematic segmentation and grammatical tagging of the corpus and a reliability check between independent coders. The analysis demonstrates that the integration of traditional Arabic grammatical concepts with functional and textual linguistic approaches provides a more comprehensive interpretation of Prophetic discourse than either framework can offer independently. Referential coherence, connective structures, sentence patterns, omission, syntactic ordering, and variations in directive forms emerge as essential mechanisms in the organisation of meaning and the construction of argumentative and persuasive force. The study consequently highlights the continuing analytical relevance of the Arabic grammatical heritage while demonstrating the methodological value of integrating it with contemporary linguistic approaches to the study of coherent religious discourse.

Keywords: Prophetic discourse; Farewell Sermon; Syntactic analysis; al-Naẓm; ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī; Textual linguistics; Functional linguistics; Grammatical cohesion; Discourse analysis.

Received Date: December 20, 2025

Accepted Date: January 12, 2026

Published Date: February 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/882