Structure of the Interrogative Structure (hamza + know / we + interrogative noun) as a Rhetorical Strategy in Sahih Muslim

Abstract

The study aimed to study the structure of the interrogative structure (hamza + know / we + interrogative noun) as a rhetorical strategy adopted by the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in his speech to teach the Companions, and after them the Islamic nation, about some important judicial issues that have a major impact on the life of the individual and the nation. The use of this structure came in two ways: the first was to inquire about issues that were not known to them before, and the second was to inquire about things that existed, but their knowledge of them was limited. Thus, Islam brought new, deeper concepts and perceptions to them that were compatible with the intentions of Sharia.

The researcher adopted the descriptive analytical approach in addition to the data of textual linguistics, specifically the two criteria of intentionality and informativeness in his treatment and analysis of texts. The study reached a number of results, the most important of which are:

• This interrogative structure contributed to achieving rhetorical intentionality and the success of the communicative process in accordance with what the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, wanted and the requirements of the discourse situation; this is because of its expressive specificity that affects the recipients and prepares them intellectually and emotionally for effective participation in the productivity of the speech.
• The dominance of the interrogative noun (ma) in the structure in most texts, due to its specificity in its grammatical function; as it is used to inquire about the truthfulness of things, and about the rational and the irrational.
• It was found that all texts have high informational efficiency, and some of them range between medium and high due to the functional performance of this synthetic structure.