A pragmatic Analysis of the Imperative Speech Acts with Reference to Arabic Text of Surah Luqman in the Holy Qur’ān

Abstract

This study investigates the illocutionary speech acts of imperative utterances in Surah Luqman of the Holy Qur’ān, examining their correspondence with Searle's (1976) classifications. Since Qur’ānic imperatives often convey pragmatic meanings beyond their literal sense, their interpretation and translation can pose problems and cause misunderstanding.
This research analyzes 16 imperative verbs from 10 verses in Surah Luqman using qualitative content analysis, consulting classical and modern books of exegesis (Tafsîr) to determine the pragmatic functions of the collected data. The study proves that all examined imperatives in Surah Luqman perform indirect illocutionary acts not explicitly stated in the text. These pragmatic meanings are challenge and incapacitation, disdain and sarcasm, continuation and excitation, advice and guidance, warning, gratitude, and giving instructions.  
Five of these acts align with two of Searle’s categories: directives and expressives. The findings confirm that the functions of these Qur’ānic imperatives are determined by their situational context, making them pragmatically, rather than semantically or syntactically, driven. Consequently, the study strongly recommends employing Speech Act Theory for analyzing and interpreting Qur’ānic imperatives and other related speech acts