Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
PhD graduate, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
2
Graduated from the Master's degree program, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Madani University of Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Chomsky developed his rationalist and cognitive theory, known as Generative–Transformational Grammar, in opposition to the behaviorist and structuralist approaches, which focus primarily on surface structure. He proposed a connection between the apparent and underlying relations of expressions, emphasizing the mental realities underlying linguistic performance. According to Chomsky, the relationships among the components of a text are deeper than those observable in surface structure, behind which latent meanings reside. The term generative refers to the capacity of language to produce an infinite number of distinct expressions from a finite set of elements, while transformational denotes the process of examining surface structure—the overt linguistic expressions—to arrive at deep structure, which embodies latent meanings governed by syntactic rules. These rules constitute a systematic framework based on rational principles that must be uncovered. Ayat al-Kursi is ayah 255 of Surah al-Baqarah. Surah al-Baqarah is regarded as the master surah of the Qur’an, and its master ayah is Ayat al-Kursi. This ayah was revealed in response to a false belief attributed to some Jews, who claimed that Allah had grown weary from managing the heavens and the earth and would rest on His Throne on Friday to relieve His fatigue. Ayat al-Kursi was revealed to refute this claim and to affirm Allah’s eternal power, omnipotence, and freedom from weariness. Employing a descriptive–analytical method and Chomsky’s Generative–Transformational theory, this article seeks to examine Ayat al-Kursi. In this ayah, the rhetorical style of restriction (qasr)—realized through (1) negation and exception, (2) the definite article al- (alif and lam), and (3) the fronting of a quasi-sentence—along with the interrogative style used in the sense of negation and denial, constitutes the most prominent stylistic devices. These strategies serve to refute the aforementioned false belief and to affirm Allah’s eternal power and His perpetual governance of the heavens and the earth. Furthermore, transformations based on rank and augmentation through the use of negative particles represent the most prevalent transformational features in the ayah, functioning to negate explicitly the false beliefs being addressed.
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