A Study of Time Element from the Perspective of Narrationology in the Plots of the Stories of Surah al-Kahf

A major part of the Quranic teachings and commands, which is a collection of advice, lessons, precise verses and ambiguous verses, has been transmitted through literary devices, especially through story-telling and fable techniques. Using such narrationology issues as narration levels, the plot, the story, time and its types, narration text, narration manner of the stories and principles is considered an efficient method for understanding and analyzing the Quranic stories. The main hypothesis is that, from the perspective of narrationology, the element of narration time and its types are among the important elements in narrating the stories of the Quran, especially those of Surah al-Kahf. A further attempt is made to answer these questions: How is the element of time best used in shaping the plots of the stories of Surah al-Kahf? How do such narration time elements as order, continuity, narration speed and frequency in relation to historical fiction advance the stories with an artistic arrangement? In this article, narration time is examined on the basis of the views and opinions of Gérard Genette. Narration texts deal with two main elements: the story and the plot and it is delineated in the conclusion of the present article that time element has plays the main role in the stories and the plots of the tales of Moses’s (a.s.) meeting Khadhir, the Men of the Cave and Zul-Qarnein.