A Study of Semitic Rhetoric and Rules of Symmetrical Order in Surah As-Saf

One of the theories about the Holy Qur’an is the theory of Michel Cuypers. He believes that by using Semitic rhetoric and symmetrical and reverse orders, he has taken a new approach to the the Qur’anic text. Using the Semitic rhetoric, he divides the text into different levels, then presents and studies different forms of symmetry consisting of synonymous parallel, antonymous parallel, evolutionary parallel, order-based or circular composition, reverse order or mirror-like composition by means of the writing indicators of proximity, binarism, synonymy, antonymy, similarity, tautology, consonance, syntactic similarities, and the use of same syntactic structures. This article aimed to study the rules of Semitic rhetoric presented by Cuypers with the method of applying these rules in Sura As-Saf. Following an explanation of the above-mentioned theory, its comprehensiveness and function was analyzed. It was found that the rules of Semitic rhetoric in this surah are applicable at the level of maqta', the chain, but at the level of articulation, branch, qism, and juz', they are not applicable in a number of ayahs.