Preserving Textual Meaning by Substituting the Explicit for the Implicit in Surat al Baqarah and Its Social Impact: A Rhetorical Study

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the rhetorical feature of preserving textual meaning in Surat al‑Baqarah through the substitution of explicit nouns for implicit pronouns and explores its impact on society. Clarifying meaning requires precision of intent and avoidance of error, achieved by eliminating ambiguity, obscurity, and misinterpretation. Such precaution arises from the circumstances of discourse, ensuring that meaning remains clear, purposeful, and free from confusion.

The importance of this study lies in its demonstration of the Qur’an’s meticulous attention to meaning—its precision, purification from misleading possibilities, and protection against deviant interpretations or distorted understandings. This research adopts a descriptive‑analytical method, tracing occurrences of this device in Surat al‑Baqarah, analyzing them, uncovering their rhetorical secrets, and highlighting their role both in textual context and in society. The findings reveal that preserving textual meaning is a stylistic practice employed by the Arabs to achieve multiple purposes; that substituting explicit nouns for pronouns is one of the principal means of this precaution; and that this device serves diverse rhetorical functions, including reinforcing meaning, emphasizing humility, removing ambiguity, conveying generality, and indicating causal relationships.