Discourse Analysis of Surah Yusuf with Emphasis on the Word “Taʾwīl” Based on Norman Fairclough’s Model

Analyzing Quranic concepts is a way to correctly understand Quranic verses. In this study, considering the frequency of the word Taʾwīl in Surah Yusuf, a descriptive-analytical method is used to examine this word based on Fairclough's critical discourse analysis approach. This is done to achieve a new understanding of the concept of Taʾwīl in Surah Yusuf through a systematic reading, taking into account social, cultural, and value structures. The research results indicate that the central signifier of the Taʾwīl discourse in Surah Yusuf is the teaching of the science of interpreting events (Taʾwīl al-aḥādīth), which itself sets the stage for the discourse of divine guardianship (wilāyat ilāhī). The science of Taʾwīl possessed by Prophet Yusuf (AS), both in terms of its scope and comprehensiveness of events and its divine source, is a factor in his superiority over other interpreters and in changing the existing value system. This led to a disruption in the power relations of the target society, to the extent that Yusuf was able to direct actions and engage the opposing group in implementing a fourteen-year strategic plan after interpreting the Egyptian king's dream. These actions, at a higher level, provided the necessary groundwork for outlining the main binary system. By creating a dichotomy between “I” (possessor of divine knowledge of Taʾwīl) and “those who do not believe in Allah and deny the Hereafter,” two perspectives on existence are presented. One view sees the world as belonging to a Lord who is the main reference for all actions, in contrast to a view that disbelieves in these matters. This paradigmatic distinction provides the basis for reproducing a new value system.