Dr. Fatemah Hussain A.

Felemban ( )

Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies

Dr. Fatemah Hussain A. Felemban Ph. D. in Linguistics

Umm Al Qura University, Makkah College of Arts and Administration Sciences The English Department

Abstract This study aims at analyzing the prophetic narratives to find out its overall structure and its conversational opening strategies. Applying Labov's model of PEN with some modification, it is illustrated that the structure of prophetic narratives consists of six elements. These elements occur as follows: 1. onset 2. orientation 3. complicating action 4. evaluation 5. (resolution) (this element may or may not occur, i.e. optional) 6. coda As for the conversational opening strategies, it is illustrated that the prophet (pbuh) applies three strategies when he (pbuh) is the first speaker. These strategies are: (1) to mention a statement which seems strange or contradicting the other's (i.e. addressee) religion, (2) to mention a statement or ask a question in such a way to evoke the other's eagerness to know the answer, and (3) to ask a question to evoke the other's thinking, listen to the other's answers and then state the right answer. When the other is the first speaker, however, adjacency pairs are applied all through the conversation. The other asks a question or

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies requests for information and the prophet (pbuh) replies or provides the requested information. 0. Introduction Prophetic discourse is a unique genre which refers to the prophet's (peace be upon him, hereafter pbuh) sayings and actions. It is unique because all his sayings and actions are divinely inspired. Allah Almighty says: By the star when it goes down, your companion is neither astray nor misled, nor does he say [anything] of his [own]desire. It is no less than an inspiration sent down to him. [surat anNajm, 53:1-4]

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This study, however, is concerned with the prophet's (pbuh) sayings only. Additionally, the narrative type (cf. 4 below) of prophetic discourse is studied. This type is considered narrative since it contains the elements of narratives, i.e.: the narrator, the story and the conversation. Narrative, in linguistics, "was one of the first discourse genres to be analyzed, and it has continued to be among the most intensively studied of the things people do with talk" (Johnstone 2003: 635). One of the earliest and most influential study on narrative in linguistics was that of Labov and Waletzky (1967) and Labov (1972: 354-96). Thus, the present study draws on Labov's model to find out the overall structure of the prophetic discourse (narrative). This model is illustrated in the following section. Moreover, the present study analyzes the prophetic conversation to come up with the prophetic strategies for opening conversation. To achieve this goal, the present study draws on a general study of the characteristics of the prophetic discourse, in Arabic, by Al-Sabbagh (2003).

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1. Labov's Model of Oral Personal Experience Narrative (PEN) Labov suggested that a fully formed or proficient oral narrative of personal experience would consist of most if not all of the following six elements which occur in this order: 1. abstract 2. orientation 3. complicating action 4. evaluation 5. result or resolution 6. coda The abstract functions as a signal that a story is about to begin and consists of a short summarizing statement. Orientation introduces characters, setting and situation (i.e. the 'who, what, when, where' of the story). Complicating action reports all important and ordered events of the narrative. Result or resolution is the element that tells what finally happened. Evaluation functions as stating or underscoring what is interesting or unusual about the story. It is external or internal depending on whether it is outside or within complicating action sentences. Coda announces the end of the story, providing a short summary of it or connecting it with the present. It also supplies a moral or lesson learned by the protagonist or teller. This study examines both the prophetic structure and conversation, as shown in 2 below. 2. Objectives of the Present Study The present study aims at: 1. finding out the formal structure of prophetic narrative, 2. finding out the different strategies for opening prophetic conversation. 3. The Data The data of this study are derived from Sahih Al-Bukhari which consists of nine volumes. The examples quoted in this study are followed by the volume and the prophetic discourse numbers. 4. Types of Prophetic Discourse

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies Prophetic discourse is of two types regarding its structure. The first type consists of two elements: the abstract and the action (to borrow Labov's terms). This prophetic discourse starts with the absract which contains information about the narrators, usually in a serial form. Following the abstract is the prophet's (pbuh) action or utterance, which can be either direct, i.e. the prophet's (pbuh) own utterance, or reported, i.e. the prophet's reporting God's utterance. We can call this type nonnarrative, as in (1) and (2) below: (1) direct 'Obaidallah bin Musa told us that Al-A'mash said that Abi Wael said that 'Abdullah narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: "The first cases to be decided among people (on the Day of Resurrection) will be those of bloodshed". [IX: 6864]

We notice that the first two lines in (1) deals with the narrators, while the second two lines state the prophet's (pbuh) utterance. Thus, we have the abstract and the action. Similarly, (2) below consists of the same two elements but the difference is that the utterance is reported. (2) reported 'Omar bin Hafs said my father said Al-A'mash said I heard Aba Salih said Abi Hurairah narrated: The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e., I am Able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than them; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running'." [IX: 7405]

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The second type of prophetic discourse contains the elements of a narrative: the narrator, the story and the conversation. Therefore, it will be referred to as a narrative discourse and will be our concern in this study. It is analyzed and discussed below. 5. The Methodology Drawing on Labov's model (illustrated in 1 above (1972)), the researcher examines the prophetic narrative to come up with a schematic structure of it (cf.6). The researcher also examines the conversation in the prophetic narrative to find out the different strategies of opening the conversation in the prophetic narrative (cf.7). 6 The Structure of Prophetic Narrative The stories that are contained in the prophetic narratives can be lengthy like the story of how A-al t (the prayer) was prescribed on the night of Al-Isr ' (miraculous night journey) of the Prophet (pbuh) to Jerusalem (and then to the heaven) [349] and the story of the three Israelites: a leper, a bald man and a blind man [3464], or short like [2348] and [6009] which are discussed below. Whether lengthy or short, prophetic narratives are proved to display the elements of the Labovian narrative framework. Moreover, these stories are narrated either by a companion of the prophet (pbuh) as in (3) below or by the prophet (pbuh) himself, and in this case the story is embedded as in (4) below. (3) L.1 [Muhammad narrated that 'Abdullah bin Idris told us from Shu'bah

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies from Hisham bin Zaid bin Anas from his grandfather] Narrated Anas bin Malik : L.4 A girl wearing ornaments, went out at Al-Madina. Somebody stuck her with a stone. L.6 She was brought to the Prophet (pbuh) while she was still alive. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) asked her, "Did such and such person strike you ?" She raised her head, denying that. He asked her a second time, saying, "Did so-and-so strike you ?" She raised her head denying that. He said for the third time, "Did so-and-so strike you?" L.11 She lowered her head, agreeing. Allah's Messenger (pbuh) then sent for the killer and killed him between two stones. [IX: 6877]

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Analyzing (3), we find that five elements of the Labovian narrative framework are present. Lines 1-3 correspond to the abstract since it signals that a story is about to begin. The abstract in the prophetic narrative is unique and characterized by the name(s) of the narrator(s) in a serial form; therefore, we will refer to it as the onset instead of the abstract. The orientation of the story is shown in lines 4 and 5 through which we come to know about the place and the persons. What happened next, or the (complicating) action starts with line 6 up to line 10. The resolution, or what happened finally, comes in line 11. The last two lines -12 & 13- show the coda which signals that a story is over: how the prophet (pbuh) punished the killer. (4) L.1 [Ismail said: Malik heard from Sumai from Abi Salih AsSamman] Narrated Abu Hurairah : Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said, L.3 "While a man was walking on a road, he became very thirsty. Then he came across a well, got down into it, drank (of its water) and then came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. L.7 The man said to himself, 'This dog is suffering from the same state of thirst as I did'. So, he went down the well (again) and filled his shoe (with water) and held it in his mouth and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him." L.12 The people asked, "O Allah's Messenger! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?" He said, "(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being)". [VIII: 6009]

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies

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Considering (4), we notice that we have an embedded story narrated by the prophet (pbuh). This story is the main story so we will refer to it as S1. The prophet's companion, Abu Huraira, is renarrating S1 so his story is S2. Lines 1 & 2 show the onset that announces the beginning of a story. While lines 3 & 4 show the orientation, lines 5 & 6 show the action. Lines 7 & 8 present the evaluation that is internal since the comment comes from a character within the story itself. Lines 9 & 10 state the resolution. The coda announces the end of S1 in line 11. The reaction to S1 is the evaluation of S2 in line 12 and the coda of S2 begins in line 13. The following narrative (5) presents an example of an external evaluation: (5) L.1 [Muhammad bin Sinan told us Fulaih said Hilal heard from 'Ata' bin Yasar] Narrated Abu Huraira : Once the Prophet (pbuh) was narrating (a story), while a bedouin was sitting with him. (saying), L.5 "One of the inhabitants of Paradise will ask Allah to allow him to cultivate the land. Allah will ask him, 'Are you not living in the pleasures you like?' He will say, 'Yes, but I like to cultivate the land.' " The Prophet (pbuh)

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added, "When the man (will be permitted he) will sow the seeds and the plants will grow up and get ripe, ready for reaping and so on till it will be as huge as mountains within a wink. L. 12 Allah will then say to him, 'O son of Adam! Here you are. Take it and gather (the yield): nothing satisfies you'." L.14 On that the bedouin said, "The man must be either from Quraish (i. e., an emigrant) or an An ri, for they are farmers, whereas we are not farmers." The Prophet (pbuh) smiled (at this). [III: 2348]

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We notice in (5) the external evaluation in lines 14-16 where the comment or reaction comes from outside the story world (i.e., by the bedouin: one of the addressees listening to the story). However, (5) begins with the onset as illustrated in lines 1 & 2. The orientation of S1 comes in lines 5 & 6, but of S2 in 3 & 4. The complicating action

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies extends from lines 7-11. Lines 12 & 13 present the resolution or what finally happened. The last line 17 closes the story; thus it is the coda. We notice that the coda sometimes supplies a moral or a lesson explicitly as in (6) below: (6) L.1 [Yahya bin Bukair told us: Al-Laith heard from `Uqail from Ibn Shihab] Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit: Umm Al-`Ala', an Anari woman who gave the Bai`ah (pledge) to the Prophet (pbuh) said to me, "The emigrants were distributed amongst us by drawing lots and we got in our share `Uthman bin Ma`un. L.6 We made him stay with us in our house. Then he suffered from a disease which proved fatal. When he died and was given a bath and was shrouded in his, Allah's Messenger (pbuh) came, L.9 I said, 'May Allah be Merciful to you, O Abu As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honoured you'. The Prophet (pbuh) said, 'How do toy know that Allah has honoured him?' I replied, 'O Allah's Messenger! Let my father be sacrificed for you! On whom else shall Allah bestow His Honour?' The Prophet (pbuh) said, 'No doubt, death came to him. By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I L.16 am Allah's Messenger'. She said, 'By Allah, I will never attest the piety of anyone after that'." [II: 1243]

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Considering (6) above, we find that it follows the same structure as narratives (3)-(5). It starts with the onset (LL.1- 3) followed by the orientation (LL.4&5). The action extends from lines 6-16 except lines 9 & 10 which express the evaluation. The last line (L.17) expresses the coda. What makes (6) different from (3)-(5) is two matters. First, it does not contain the element of resolution, thus resolution is optional. Second, the coda supplies a moral or a lesson explicitly. This lesson is learned by the woman in the story; however, it is a lesson for Muslims living everywhere at any time. Moreover, all prophetic discourse narrative or non-narrative- provide a moral, for the prophet's (pbuh) mission is to teach us all about our lives and religion, as Allah Almighty says: He rehearses unto them His revelations, purifies them and Teaches them the Book and wisdom. [surat Ali`Imran, 3:164]

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies

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7 Opening Strategies for Prophetic Conversation Since the prophet's (pbuh) sayings and actions are intended to teach his addressees, he (pbuh) uses conversation as a means of teaching by which he can convey knowledge and information to his hearers. Conversations in prophetic narratives are of two types: face-to-face and narrated conversations. This study, however, deals with face-to-face conversations where the prophet (pbuh) converses with his companions, wives and other people around him. Narrated conversations are excluded from this study because they go on amongst characters of stories that the prophet (pbuh) narrated to his listeners for morals and lessons. These stories vary in length: some are lengthy like the story of Abu Sufyan bin Harb and Heraclius when the latter asks the former about Islam and the prophet [I: 7] and the story of a leper , a bald man and a blind man [IV: 3464]; others are short like the story of the prophet Ayyub [IX: 7493] and the story of the Rahm (womb) [IX: 7502]. In face-to-face conversations, we have either the prophet (pbuh) or the other is the first speaker. The prophet (pbuh) uses three strategies to open his conversations. These strategies, as mentioned earlier, can be considered as teaching strategies since the prophet (pbuh) applies them for the sake of teaching Muslims/his followers. The first strategy is to give a statement which seems either strange, at first sight, or contradictory to the companions' knowledge about the Islamic religion. Thus, he (pbuh) evokes their wonders and queries as in (7) below. Notice that the opening structure of the narrative (i.e. the onset and orientation) which contains information about the narrator(s) and context of situation is omitted for the analysis of the conversation.
(7) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one". People asked: "O Allah's Messenger! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor ?" The Prophet (pbuh) said: "By preventing him from oppressing others." [III: 2444]

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The prophet's first turn statement contradicts Muslims' understanding of Islamic principles which reject and fight against oppression; thus, eliciting the other's first turn. Then comes the prophet's second turn which explicates the other's query. Consequently, this explication will be kept in the minds and will never be forgotten. Another example is (8) below:
(8) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "When two Muslims fight (meet) each other with their swords, both the murderer as well as the murdered will go to the Hell-fire". I said*: Oh Allah's Messenger ! It is alright for the murderer but what about the murdered one ? Allah's Messenger (pbuh) replied: "He surely had the intention to kill his companion." [I: 31] * the speaker is the narrator: Abu Bakrah

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Stating that the murdered will go to the Hell-fire, the prophet (pbuh) evokes his companion's wonder and elicits his turn; thus, generating this attentive conversation.

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies The second strategy the prophet (pbuh) applies in opening conversations is to mention a statement or a question in such a way that makes his companions eager to know the answer. For instance, the prophet (pbuh) may refer to a great matter to attract their attention. Consider the following examples: (9) The Prophet (pbuh) said thrice: "Should I inform you about the greatest of the great sins ?" They said: "Yes, O Allah's Messenger!" He said: "To join others in worship with Allah, and to be undutiful to one's parents." (The Prophet (pbuh) then sat up after he had been reclining (on a pillow) and said) "And I warn you against giving a lying speech (false statement." (and he kept on saying that warning ) [III: 2654]

The prophet (pbuh) asks and repeats a question about a great and terrifying matter, i. e. the greatest of the great sins. In so doing, he (pbuh) attracts his companions' attention and prepares listeners to receive the answer. On the same line, the prophet (pbuh) opens his conversation, in (10) below, with a repetition of a terrifying warning. (10) The Prophet (pbuh) said: "By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe! [They] said: "Who is that, O Allah's Messenger?" He said:"That person whose neighbour does not feel safe from his evil." [VIII: 6016]

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Instead of giving a lesson in the abstract, the prophet (pbuh) creates a context to convey this lesson so as to be engraved in the minds of his listeners and thus can be easily recalled. In the third strategy, the prophet (pbuh) asks his companions a riddle-like question, listens to their answers and then states the answer, as in (11). This strategy is used to test the addressees' knowledge and stimulate their thinking. (11) Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: "Amongst the trees, there is a tree, the leaves of which do not fall and is like a Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree." (Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I* thought of the date-palm tree but felt shy to answer.) The others then asked : "Please inform us, what is that tree, O Allah's Messenger?" He (pbuh) replied: "It is the date-palm tree." [I: 61] * the narrator: Abdullah bin 'Umar

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies The second type of face-to-face conversation is when the other initiates a question. The prophet (pbuh) welcomes such questions since they give him the chance to respond or teach his listeners, at his time, or any other time, all about life and religion, as seen in (12) and (13) below: (12) I* asked the Prophet (pbuh): Which deed is the dearest to Allah ? He replied, "To perform the (daily compulsory) Salat (prayers) at their (early) stated fixed times." I asked, "What is the next (in goodness) ?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I again asked, "What is the next (in goodness) ?" He replied, "To participate in Jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's Cause." [I: 527] * The narrator: 'Abdullah

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We notice here that adjacency pairs are used in this type of conversational exchange. As for the type of the pair, it is question-answer or more precisely request (for information)-providing the requested item (information). In (13) below, an insertion sequence is used for clarity by the prophet (pbuh) before providing the requested information. (13) A man asked the Prophet (pbuh): "Shall I participate in Jihad?" The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Are your parents living?"

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The man said, "Yes." The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Do Jihad for their benefit." [VIII: 5972]

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The prophet (pbuh) does not answer the other's first pair part until his own first pair part is answered. Thus, the prophet's (pbuh) reply (second pair part) provides the other with the requested information which means that serving our parents and doing our best to satisfy their needs will be a substitute for fighting in Allah's Cause. 8. Conclusion This study illustrates that the structure of the prophetic narratives consists of six elements: (1) onset, (2) orientation, (3) complicating action, (4) evaluation, (5) resolution, and (6) coda. However, (5) is optional and (4) can be internal or external, depending on whether the comment comes from a character within the main story (S1) as in example (4) or outside (S1) as in example (5) above (cf. pp 8-10). As for the opening strategies of prophetic conversation, this study deals with the prophet's (pbuh) first turn in face-to-face conversation within the third element, i.e. the complicating action. This study illustrates that the prophet (pbuh) applies three strategies for opening a conversation: (1) to give a statement which seems strange or contradicting our Islamic religion, (2) to give a statement or a question in such a way which makes his listeners eager to know the answer and (3) to give a question to evoke the addressees' thinking then he would listen to answers and then state the answer. However, when the other opens the conversation, the adjacency pairs are applied. The structure of prophetic narratives and the opening strategies of prophetic conversation can be summarized and schematized as follows:

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Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies Onset Orientation Complication Evaluation internal Prophetic external Narratives

Structure action

(Resolution) Coda

Face-to Prophet Strange/contradictory face (1st speaker) Evoke eagerness Conversation Evoke thinking Other (1st speaker) Adjacency pairs

Narrated

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources Fath Al-Bari Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari www.al-eman.com Khan, M. M. (1974) The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih AlBukhari (Arabic- English) 9 volumes, Riyadh: Darussalam. Sahih Al-Bukhari The Islamic Library (electronic) Binothaimeen Charity Organization. The Qur' n: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings (1997). Jeddah: Abul-Qasim Publishing House Secondary Sources Gumperz, J. and Hymes, D. (eds.) (1972) Directions in Sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Johnstone, B. (2003) Discourse Analysis and Narrative. In D. Schiffrin et al (eds) .pp 635-49 Labov, W. (1972) Language in the Inner City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsyl-vania Press. Labov, W. and Waletzky, J. (1967) Narrative analysis: Oral versions of personal ex-perience. Sabbagh- Al, M. L. (2003) Al Hadith Al Nabawi: Mustalahu, Balaghatu, Kutubu. The Islamic Office. Sacks, H. (1992) Lectures on Conversation (ed. Gail Jefferson) 2 vols. Oxford:Black-well. Schegloff, E. A. (1972) "Sequencing in conversational openings" In J. Gumperz and D. Hymes (eds.) pp. 346-80. Schiffrin, D. et al (eds) (2003) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Black-well.

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 Prophetic Discourse: Structure And Conversation Opening Strategies

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