The Linguistic and Semantic Coherence of Surah Al-Fatihah

Abstract

The aim of this research is to highlight some aspects of the miraculous of Surah Al-Fatihah, clarify the purposes (Maqasid) and objectives of the Surah, show the intended meaning through linguistic and semantic coherence, and illustrate its impact on contemplating the Quran. The problem of the research lies in the fact that Surah Al-Fatihah is a short surah with many meanings, and it has collected all the purposes of the Quran. It also demonstrates linguistic and semantic coherence; thus the researcher seeks to uncover and analyse these aspects. The research adopts a descriptive and semantic analysis approach where the existing phenomenon is described and analysed and its meanings are extracted. The research findings reveal that Al-Fatihah contains a great linguistic miracle where verbs and sentences are proportional and coherent. Additionally, analysis of the verses shows that they contain the two most important aspects emphasized by Islam, which are knowledge and deeds (beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds). Moreover, the research found that Surah Al-Fatihah has three parts: a section with nominal sentences to describe Allah's attributes, a section with verbal sentences to express the actions of worshipers, and a mixed section that contains both nominal and verbal sentences with the latter starting with the subject followed by its object. The researchers recommend further studies on the linguistic and semantic coherence in other chapters of Al-Quran to explore more miracles of Al-Quran.