The Speech Act in the Books of “Al-Fara’idh wal-Hudud” from Sahih Al-Bukhari: A Pragmatic and Linguistic Study

Abstract

The research aims to reveal the Prophetic communication approach, the influential forces that the Prophet relied on, and the use of the speech acts he selected, which successfully achieved their fulfillment purposes. Its material was drawn from Sahih Al-Bukhari, the two books of “Al-Fara’idh wal-Hudud” (Obligations and Punishments), and it was divided into an introduction, two sections, and a conclusion. The first section dealt with ‘direct speech acts’ in the two books and the second section discussed ‘indirect speech acts’ in the two books. The research relied on Roman Jakobson’s theory of linguistic communication, the pragmatic approach in general, and Searle’s speech acts in particular. The research concluded that there is a diversity of speech acts between direct and indirect in the Prophet’s speech, especially in the two books of “Al-Fara’idh wal-Hudud”, and this indicates his eloquence and his knowledge of the conditions of his addressees, and the positions of speech and its various contexts. We find him being gentle in the context of encouragement and reform, being firm in the position of rebuke and deterrence, and mediating in other matters, addressing each in a way that suits him which would achieve the goal of the speech.