A Structural Analysis of Sūrat Maryam, Verses 1–58

Abstract

This article takes a structural approach to the stories told in Q. 19:1–58. Relying on the theoretical ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes, and Wayne Booth, and focusing primarily on the Qur'anic text itself while referring to classical and modern Qur'an commentaries, it uses structural analysis as a tool with which to analyse the theme of secrets that is prominent throughout the various stories told in this section of Sūrat Maryam. In the course of this analysis this paper explores how structure is first established in this sura, and how it changes as the section progresses. It then goes on to discuss the narrative techniques through which the story presents metaphysical beliefs of God's centrality while moving from narrative to metanarrative. It addresses the ways in which the dramatic tension and irony inherent to the subtextual juxtaposition of the signs for secrets maintained and secrets revealed are expressed in the stories told within the text; by signifying God's omniscience, these signs thus serve to further the Qur'an's expression of metaphysical beliefs about God.