A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF SURAH AL-IKHLAS (A STUDY OF MA’ᾹNIL-QUR’AN)

Abstract

This study examines Surah al-Ikhlāṣ as a discourse on tawhid through a stylistic approach integrated with ma‘āni al-Qur’ān from a pragmatic perspective. The main focus of this study is to explain how the linguistic structure of Surah al-Ikhlāṣ at the phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic levels works systematically to construct, affirm, and finalize the concept of the oneness of Allah, both in the context of the theological polemics of the Meccan Arab community and in the context of modernity. This study is a qualitative research using a descriptive-analytical approach based on library research. The data were analyzed using content analysis by integrating classical exegetical traditions, Arabic and Western stylistic theories, and the concept of ma‘āni al-Qur’ān. Stylistics was employed as an epistemological bridge to trace the relationship between linguistic form and semantic function, while the pragmatic approach was directed toward uncovering the communicative purpose and illocutionary force of the revelation. The results of the study indicate that Surah al-Ikhlāṣ is structured through a highly rigorous and functional linguistic design. The predominance of nominal sentence structures, the precision of lexical choices such as aḥad and ṣamad, and the strategy of layered negation form a mechanism of semantic control that closes off space for deviant theological interpretations. Pragmatically, this surah functions as a corrective and polemical divine declaration against polytheistic discourse, with strong illocutionary force and a clear communicative orientation