قرآن میں قسم کا اسلوب: بلاغی، موضوعاتی اور سیاقی مطالعہ

The Style of Oaths in the Qur’an: A Rhetorical, Thematic, and Contextual Study

Abstract

The Qur’anic style of oath (qasam) represents one of the most significant rhetorical and semantic devices through which fundamental truths of faith, revelation, human accountability, and the Hereafter are emphasized. Qur’anic oaths frequently establish a meaningful relationship between the object by which an oath is taken (al-muqsam bihi) and the proposition affirmed by it (al-muqsam ʿalayhi or jawāb al-qasam). This relationship transforms the oath from a simple linguistic form of emphasis into a sophisticated mode of argumentation, reflection, and persuasion. The present study examines the Qur’anic style of oath from rhetorical, thematic, and contextual perspectives. It first investigates the linguistic and technical meaning of qasam and analyzes its principal structural components, including the formula of oath, the object of oath, and its response. It then explores major rhetorical functions of Qur’anic oaths, particularly emphasis, glorification, warning, attention, and evidentiary reasoning. The thematic dimension of the study examines oaths associated with revelation and the Qur’an, cosmic phenomena, time and space, the human self, prophethood, resurrection, and recompense. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the selected objects of oath and the central themes of their respective passages. The study further considers the contextual role of oaths within Makkan and Madinan discourse and their contribution to the coherence and thematic organization of Qur’anic surahs. It argues that Qur’anic oaths should not be approached as isolated rhetorical embellishments; rather, they constitute an integrated discourse strategy in which linguistic form, context, imagery, argument, and theological meaning reinforce one another. The study finally highlights the intellectual and communicative relevance of this Qur’anic style for contemporary Qur’anic studies.