Khithâb Qur'ani as a Model of Ethical Religious Communication: A Study of Linguistic–Pragmatic Development

Abstract

This study examines Qur’anic khithâb as a model of ethical religious communication through an integrative linguistic-pragmatic approach. Using a qualitative textual-pragmatic design, it draws on a corpus of 1,412 verses in the narratives of the five Ulul Azmi prophets, comprising 645 dialogic, 144 monologic, and 623 narrative verses. The analysis focuses on the dialogic corpus and proceeds through four stages: identifying dominant language functions, classifying speech acts, mapping discourse patterns, and synthesizing an explanatory model. The findings show that dialogic khithâb is shaped primarily by the referential function (336 verses; 52.09%) and the conative function (250 verses; 38.76%), followed by the metalingual function (31 verses; 4.81%), the emotive function (20 verses; 3.10%), the phatic function (5 verses; 0.78%), and the poetic function (3 verses; 0.47%). These patterns indicate that ethical communication in Qur’anic khithâb emerges from the interaction of explanatory truth-orientation, directive guidance, relational accountability, and affective support.