Journal of Arabic Language & Literature

Abstract Palestinian poetry serves as a vital cultural instrument that has significantly contributed to the preservation of national identity and the articulation of collective consciousness amid the political and social challenges confronting Palestine. This study examines a contemporary poetic work titled ‘Jerusalem, Capital of Heaven, Jerusalem, Capital of Roots’, authored by the poet Izz al-Din al-Manasirah, with an emphasis on the semantic and linguistic dimensions that embody the elements of Palestinian identity and expressions of resilience. The research posits that poetic texts transcend mere aesthetic considerations to function as vehicles for cultural and political discourse, reflecting social practices and the collective Palestinian psyche. Employing an analytical framework that integrates literary theory with textual analysis, this study draws upon the principles of critical discourse analysis as articulated by Teun A. Van Dijk to investigate the linguistic representation of identity and resistance within al-Manasirah’s poem. The significance of this research lies in its capacity to establish connections between the poem's textual structures and its historical and political contexts, thereby elucidating the mechanisms through which the poet conveys messages of resilience and defiance. The analysis demonstrates that the text employs a variety of linguistic structures and interconnected semantic layers, enhancing the portrayal of Jerusalem and Palestinian identity as pivotal symbols. Furthermore, it underscores the role of poetry in shaping a collective consciousness that mirrors the cultural, social, and political values inherent in Palestinian society. This research aims to explore how resistance poetry aids in the preservation of identity and fosters cultural communication, while also illuminating the literary strategies that render poetic texts a platform for expressing belonging and steadfastness in the face of multifaceted challenges.    

Abstract Phonetics is an indispensable branch of Arabic linguistics. Ancient and modern scholars authored works in this field, though it did not emerge as a distinct science. Nevertheless, phonetic concepts abound in linguistic literature, explaining how speech sounds interact based on articulation points (makhārij) and phonetic attributes (ṣifāt). This research highlights the significance of phonetics, specifically phonetic cohesion, in enhancing textual coherence. Phonetic cohesion represents a distributional process of formal phonetic elements across letters, words, and syntactic structures. It functions as an intrinsic textual property that remains latent until a reader or listener perceives its internal cohesion and harmony with the overall text. The importance of this phenomenon, alongside the lack of prior systematic studies, motivated this investigation.Accordingly, this study addresses two questions: How does phonetic cohesion highlight the phonetic and semantic aesthetics of the Qur’anic text? What are its manifestations in the 30^th Part (Juz’ ‘Amma) of the Qur’an?Adopting a descriptive-analytical methodology, the findings indicate that phonetic cohesion acts as a mechanism preventing mispronunciation, thereby significantly impacting textual coherence. Furthermore, it highlights the phonetic and semantic beauty of 30^th Part (Juz’ ‘Amma) on a structural basis. Its primary elements manifest through rhymed prose (Saj‘), pun/alliteration (Jinās), and intonation (Tanghīm). Specifically, Saj‘ demonstrates phonetic congruence with the horrors in Surah At-Takwir, abundance in Surah Al-Kawthar, and subtlety in Surah An-Nas, whereas Jinās and intonation contribute to vivid imagery and semantic coherence.

Abstract Decentralization is a mental ability that allows a child’s mind to detach from a specific phenomenon and settle on another. As a cornerstone of children’s literature, this construct plays a vital role in cognitive development and mental blossoming, paving the way for creative thinking and the formation of identity and personality. This qualitative study explores the decentralization strategies in the collection ‘Yuhka Anna’ by contemporary Lebanese author Amal Nasser. The collection consists of thirteen instructive short stories that target children’s mental realms through a child-friendly narrative style. Utilizing her constant ingenuity, Amal Nasser employs metaphors to simplify novel concepts for children. This research aims to identify the deep structures of decentralization techniques used in this collection and to uncover the author’s objectives in applying these methods. Adopting an interpretative-abstract approach, the findings reveal that Nasser creatively employs decentralization strategies; she sometimes simplifies complex concepts to match children’s comprehension, and at other times, fosters creativity, inquiry, and questioning. To achieve these goals, the author conveys societal realities through symbolic language. Furthermore, the study shows that most of these techniques trigger decentralization through narrative movement, with transformation being the most frequently used method, inducing mental fluidity in the audience. This fluidity provides a deeper understanding of the narrative progression and leads the reader toward the author’s intended goals. Through in-depth analysis, two new techniques were identified: ‘Transformation via Optical Illusion’ and ‘The Dilemma of Expectation’, which can be added to existing decentralization strategies.

Abstract This study examines the phenomenon of alienation in the poetry of Ghazi Al-Gosaibi through the analytical framework of sociologist Anthony Davids, employing a descriptive-analytical methodology. Alienation, a pervasive psychological and social condition in modern life, reflects the growing disconnection between individuals and their societies, and literature serves as a faithful mirror of this crisis. Davids’ approach identifies five axes of alienation, all of which are traced in Al-Gosaibi’s poetic corpus, though with varying intensity and frequency. The analysis reveals that egotism permeates Al-Gosaibi’s work, marked by self-withdrawal, meticulous narration of personal daily details, emotional detachment, and the use of obscure language that signals unfulfillment and a fractured self, increasingly distanced from communal cultural norms. Pessimism dominates his dark, bleak imagery, employing themes of lost satisfaction and frustrated desires to articulate the suffering of the Arab individual. His poems also express anxiety from a deeply personal perspective, rendering subjective inner experiences with honesty and emotional depth. Recurrent discontent is intertwined with persistent questions of both personal and collective identity, reflecting the cultural, political, and social marginalization that shattered the poet’s sense of self and undermined his belonging. The research concludes that Al-Gosaibi’s poetry embodies all five dimensions of Davids’ model, offering a poignant artistic testimony to modern alienation. His verse not only documents individual psychic fragmentation but also critiques broader societal structures that engender estrangement. Ultimately, this study underscores the relevance of sociological frameworks in literary analysis and affirms poetry’s power to give voice to existential and societal crises in the contemporary Arab world.

Abstract The Fadak Sermon is one of the most significant sources of the intellectual and literary heritage of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) in the early Islamic period. In this sermon, Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) defended her usurped rights and addressed fundamental issues, including the Imamate, the Prophetic heritage, and the status of Ahl al-Bayt. She also articulated the foundations of authentic Muhammadan Islam brought by her father, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Through a sophisticated rhetorical structure, she employed rhythmic, semantic, and syntactic devices to enrich the text and convey her profound grief following her father’s death and the confiscation of Fadak. This study provides a stylistic analysis of the renowned Fadak Sermon to examine its structural organization and reveal aspects of its artistic and stylistic aesthetics. The research adopts a stylistic analytical approach, focusing on the textual structure of the sermon and its artistic and stylistic potential. It examines Fatimah al-Zahra’s perspective as reflected in the sermon and explores how its stylistic features express the usurpation of her rights in the immediate aftermath of the Prophet’s death. The findings show that Fatimah al-Zahra employed both verbal and nominal sentences in her argumentative discourse, while predominantly relying on verbal sentences. The sermon contains 318 verbal sentences compared with 126 nominal sentences. Furthermore, past-tense verbs constitute approximately 73.60% of the text, reflecting a distinctive retrospective strategy. This prominent use of verbal sentences corresponds to the sermon’s communicative purposes and overall atmosphere, particularly exhortation, guidance, protest, and argumentation supported by Qur’anic evidence. Thus, the sermon effectively integrates linguistic form with rhetorical purpose, reinforcing both its argumentative force and emotional impact.

Abstract The political media discourse of the Al-Alam news network is a form of media discourse characterized by diverse semantic and ideological strategies, particularly in light of Teun van Dijk’s socio-cognitive theory, one of the prominent approaches in critical discourse analysis. From this perspective, media discourse is not limited to the transmission of information and events; rather, as a communicative practice, it plays a role in directing audience attention, shaping patterns of reception and public perception, and preparing audiences to accept the ideologies promoted by the media outlet. Media texts are highly complex, incorporating explicit and implicit messages through precise linguistic mechanisms. Accordingly, this study analyzes the discourse of Al-Alam based on van Dijk’s ‘Ideological Square’ model, focusing on the role of linguistic techniques in meaning construction and the representation of ‘Self’ and ‘Other’. The study is based on the premise that media discourse is not neutral but an ideological practice founded on four strategies: emphasizing the positive aspects of the Self, emphasizing and exaggerating the negative aspects of the Other, mitigating the negative aspects of the Self, and mitigating the positive aspects of the Other. Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach, the study examines a purposive sample of the network’s news coverage from January to November 2024. The findings indicate that Al-Alam employs various linguistic techniques, including nominal sentences, devices of emphasis and negation, fronting and postponement, figurative language, and the present tense, to construct ideologically charged discourse and reinforce the ‘Us/Them’ dichotomy. The findings further demonstrate that the network’s news discourse reproduces political reality within a directed interpretive framework, using language not merely as a means of informing but also as a tool of persuasion and influence.