The Semantic Plot in the Qur’anic Story of Moses and Al-Khidr: A Model Study

Abstract

The research aims to explore a criterion of contemporary linguistic theory, which is the semantic plot in the story of Moses with Al-Khidr - peace be upon them - as a model. The semantic plot means the sequential connection of textual components, through means that play a role in the cohesion of the text and make it a cohesive unit, including: semantic relationships, contextual factors, and the overall semantic structure. The study concluded that the pattern of elaboration following generalization is clearly evident in the story of Moses and Al-Khidr, and that this has brought about a high degree of  engagement between the recipient and the text of the story, and also created semantic cohesion regarding making the recipient link the subsequent detail in his mind with the previous generalization, and created a concomitant relationship between the story parts, supporting it semantically and creating a sequential connection to its events. Semantic relationships contribute to the coherence of the story, while causal relations add a sequential dimension: each action produces a result governed by logical connections. The context played a role in the plot, because it enabled the reader to understand the story and connect its events and detect its semantic coherence.

This study recommends paying attention to other theoretical textual criteria, and explaining their roles in the coherence of texts.