The Function of Four Elements in the Qur'anic Story of Moses (As) and Pharaoh: A Semiotic Approach

The four elements have a key position between ancient myths .Also they have gained the attention of many philosophers, physicians, and mysticians. These elements have also represented in literature, and Gaston Bachelard categorizes human material imaginations based on the elements of water, fire, soil, and wind. According to Bachelard, to recognize the original poets one should consider their closeness from these elements and their distance from these elements. He beleives that the artistic works get their dynamics from the dept of relation with four elements which widely represented in an artistic form in Surah Al-Qasas. The semiotic square depicts the dynamic verbal process and relies on the speech relation. The aim of the present research is to find the effect of four elements on semiotic transformation to discover their effects on the hidden and abstract layers of the text. In this way the authors have attempted to study the function of these natural elements within the story of Moses and Pharaoh by adopting a descriptive-analytical research methodology.The results showed that the four elements have considerable similarity to the target community of Moses Prophecy (Egyptian society). Water is the beginner of sloving humanity. Fire is a sign of change and rebirth. The highest frequency belongs to the element of soil. Also the four elements of the communication axis figure out contradiction opposition in the semiotic axis of mission and guidance.