The Causes of the Qur’anic Fasilah Between Verbal Structure and Shariʿah Wisdom: An Analytical Foundational Study in the Light of Rhetoric and Usul al-Fiqh

Abstract

This study aims to take an integrative approach to the causes of the Qur’anic fasilah, moving beyond the traditional rhetorical treatment which confined the interpretation of this phenomenon to its phonetic and rhythmic dimensions. Instead, it discloses a network of interrelated causes in which verbal, semantic, contextual and purposive dimensions overlap. The study is based on the hypothesis that the Qur’an’s selection of the fasilah is governed by a precise system that strikes a balance between the requirements of Qur’anic expressive arrangement and the demands of the Shari’ah objective, resulting in the aesthetic and legislative functions converging in the production of meaning.

The research employs an inductive approach to trace selected models from verses concerning legal rulings, narratives and jihad. The rhetorical-analytical method is also employed to examine the phonological and morphological structures, while the purposive method clarifies the relationship between the fasilah and the Shari‘ah ruling. Modern discourse analysis tools are also employed. 

The study concludes that the Qur’anic fasilah constitutes a mechanism of semantic framing that plays a decisive role in establishing meaning and linking it to its doctrinal referent. It also concludes that restricting interpretation to a rhythmic explanation is incomplete and does not capture the phenomenon’s full dimensions.

The study proposes the concept of ‘rhetorical Shari‘ah causation’ as an inclusive theoretical framework for explaining the interplay between eloquent expression and Shari‘ah purpose. This framework enables a renewed, integrative reading of the Qur’anic fasilah, bringing together the sciences of rhetoric, Usul al-Fiqh (Principles/Jurisprudential Foundations of Islamic Law) and purposive theory.