Verbal Signs’ Role in the Thematic Division of the Quranic Surahs, Case Study: Surah Ḥujurāt

The surahs of the Qur'an, as a continuous unit, have a coherent and regular structure, and each of them consists of various topics and themes, which, contrary to the scattered appearance of the topics, are not unrelated, rather, as structural components, they are necessary and important to ensure the purpose and central theme of the Surah and bring the reader one step closer to a more complete understanding of the main theme of the Surah. One of the basic steps to reach the structure of the surah is to divide it into semantic and thematic parts. Contrary to the methods of commentators and Quran scholars who have divided the Surah into parts and sections using spiritual evidence, the present research seeks to divide the topics and themes by using evidence and verbal signs. In this regard, by studying some surahs, some verbal evidences and signs including oaths, Allah's addresses to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and others, and Allah's speech, etc., have been compiled, and some rules have been extracted, and by using them, Surah Ḥujurāt is divided into sections. Then, using the content of the sections that have a common theme, it has been divided into chapters, and finally, by using the contents of the chapters, the central topic of the surah has been extracted. By applying the rules of this method, in most cases, it is possible to divide the Surah by thematic division without considering the content of the verses.