Elucidating the Cohesion among the Verses of Sūrat al-Ḥadīd Based on Neal Robinson’s Mirror Effect

Unveiling the cohesion among verses has been one of the main concerns throughout history. In agreement with the attempts by the Qur’an scholars, some western researchers who approved the proportion in the text of the Qur’an, tried to prove the continuous aspect of the Qur’an by applying a new approach. Using his own model based on the theory of Semitic rhetoric, Neal Robinson, as the main figure of this trend, proceeded to prove the structural coherence of Medinan sūras. By examining the connection between the verses of these sūras, Robinson revealed the verbal and semantic connection within them, while proving their orderliness and coherent structure. This model is based on repetition of words. First, the verses are divided and then, using the hooked keywords, two adjacent sections are interconnected together like a chain. With the method of content analysis based on Neal Robinson’s mirror-effect, this research has detected the cohesion of Sūrat al-Ḥadīd. After determining the sections of the sūra, the connection between the sections was examined by means of the hooked keywords and finally, a symmetrical structure from the first section to the last section and from the second section to the previous section was presented in a mirror-effect form. The purpose of the sūra, according to the pattern, is to encourage alms-giving.