Syntactic Variables and Semantic Expansions in Nahj al-Balagha Sermons (Case Study: Sentence Component Reordering)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The relationship between syntax and semantics has been a contentious issue among linguists. Although there are two opposing views on style, "ornamental" and "organic," one cannot ignore the relationship between syntactic aspects and the speaker's position and approach to the subject. This means that the use of specific grammatical structures, as opposed to "basic order" or "standard syntax," not only serves as a basis for identifying the speaker's style but also contributes to semantic expansion and diversification of discourse implications. In this regard, syntactic manipulations and unusual arrangements in the text of Nahj al-Balagha, especially "reordering of sentence components" or "word displacement," as one of the most frequent tools, in addition to strengthening the aesthetic aspects of language, fully characterizes its meaning-conveying role. Due to the breadth of the topic, the present research, using a descriptive-analytical method in the two fields of "syntax" and "semantics," based solely on examining evidence of purposeful fronting and postponement in Nahj al-Balagha in the contexts of "condition," "conjunction," "descriptive phrases," and "agent and patient," seeks to introduce syntactic reorderings that affect the expansion and production of meaning in the mentioned contexts and to interpret the semantic achievements resulting from word displacement. The research results indicate that the normal arrangement of words and the usual order of many syntactic structures in Nahj al-Balagha have been altered in connection with the thoughts of Imam Ali (AS). Adopting such a style, in addition to its necessary efficiency at rhetorical levels, also leads to semantic expansion of language in various ways.

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References

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Journal of Islamic Literary Studies
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 9
November 2025
Pages 213-239

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History

  • Receive Date: 01 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 26 August 2025
  • Accept Date: 13 September 2025

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