التحليل البلاغي للتعبير القرآنى في حديثه عن ماء الدنيا

A Rhetorical Analysis of Qur'anic Expressions Regarding the Water of This World

Abstract

Water is one of the most frequently mentioned elements in the Qur'an and serves as a powerful symbol of life, mercy, purification, and divine power. The Qur’anic discourse on water does not merely describe its physical attributes or natural phenomena, but it also embeds deep rhetorical, metaphorical, and theological meanings. This research seeks to explore how the Qur’anic language utilizes rhetorical devices (balāgha) to present the concept of "mā’ al-dunyā" (the water of this world) with layered meanings—both literal and symbolic.

Understanding the rhetorical expression of water in the Qur’an is not only vital to grasping the beauty and depth of divine speech but also offers ethical and spiritual insights into man's relationship with nature, sustenance, and divine order. In today’s context of ecological crisis and spiritual confusion, revisiting the Qur’anic narrative through the lens of balāgha provides both aesthetic appreciation and moral reflection.

1. What rhetorical devices does the Qur’an employ in describing water (mā’ al-dunyā)?
2. How do Qur'anic expressions about water contribute to the broader thematic structure of verses?
3. What spiritual, ethical, or symbolic meanings are conveyed through these expressions?
4. How does the Qur’an balance between the literal and metaphoric use of water?

Objectives of the Study

• To analyze the rhetorical features of Qur’anic expressions related to water.
• To explore the multi-dimensional symbolism of water in the Qur’an.
• To identify key balāgha tools such as metaphor (istiʿāra), simile (tashbīh), emphasis (ta'kīd), and contrast (muqābala) used in such verses.
• To contribute to Qur'anic stylistic studies by focusing on environmental and metaphysical themes.

This research adopts a qualitative, descriptive, and analytical method. It uses:

• Textual analysis of selected Qur’anic verses mentioning water.
• Balāgha-based framework from classical Arabic rhetoric to identify and explain rhetorical features.

Thematic categorization of meanings—literal, ethical, symbolic, eschatological—derived from Qur’anic discourse.
The study draws upon works of classical commentators like al-Zamakhsharī, al-Rāghib al-Asfahānī, and modern scholars of Qur'anic balāgha.