The Semiotics of Qur’anic Discourse Isotopy and Contrast in the Adamic Narrative
Keywords:
Semiotics, Qur’anic Discourse, The Adamic Narrative, The Semiotic Squar, Semantic Isotopy and ContrastAbstract
This study examines the Adamic narrative in the Qur’an as
a model for analyzing semantic structure within Qur’anic discourse. Drawing on semiotic tools, particularly isotopy, contrast, and the semiotic square, it traces the narrative’s structural transformations from creation and vicegerency to instruction and trial. The analysis explores how recurrent signs, oppositional relations, and semantic correspondences generate deep meaning and textual
coherence across the dispersed Qur’anic scenes of the Adam narrative. Particular attention is given to central semantic pairings, including the angels and Iblis, command and prohibition, knowledge and naming, and obedience and disobedience. The study argues that these units do not function as isolated narrative elements, but as interrelated signs that organize meaning and guide interpretation within the Qur’anic narrative system.
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