Ketab-E-Qayyem

Ketab-E-Qayyem

Conceptualizing "Faith" in the Syntactic Syntagmatic Relations of the Quran: A "Mental Spaces" Theory Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 Doctorate degree student, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran.
2 Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Sar.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran.
3 Department of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Science and education of the holy Quran, Faculty of Quranic Sciences Amol, Amol, Iran
10.30512/kq.2026.22986.4091
Abstract
Objective: "Faith", as a foundational concept in religious discourse, is not limited to doctrinal propositions but is cognitively shaped through syntactic patterns that guide meaning construction. This study aims to explain how "faith" is conceptualized through the syntactic organization of Quranic verses and to examine the role of syntagmatic relations—such as fronting and postponement, perspective shift, and deletion and expansion—as cognitive "space-building triggers" in shaping Quranic conceptions of faith. Fauconnier’s Mental Spaces Theory is employed as the primary cognitive framework.

Method: Adopting a descriptive–analytical approach, the study conducts a selective analysis of Quranic verses related to faith. The data are examined from a syntactic perspective, focusing on the construction and interaction of mental spaces through key components including base space, attentional focus, viewpoint, and transitions between spaces.

Findings: The analysis shows that syntactic structures function as cognitive space builders by redirecting attentional focus and reconfiguring perspective. Nominal sentences tend to evoke mental spaces of stability and permanence of faith, whereas verbal sentences conceptualize faith as a dynamic and progressive process. Perspective shifts foreground the monotheistic relational bond between God and believers by altering the addressee’s viewpoint. Deletion and expansion enable gradual movement across successive mental spaces through conceptual compression or elaboration, while fronting and postponement highlight hierarchical relations and degrees of merit within faith.

Conclusion: Through the purposeful use of syntactic structures, the Quran constructs an integrated network of mental spaces that guides the audience along a developmental trajectory of faith, from foundational belief to enacted and stabilized commitment.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 February 2026

  • Receive Date 23 September 2025
  • Revise Date 08 January 2026
  • Accept Date 23 February 2026