Repetition and Its Mechanisms in the Blessed Alawite Scroll

Abstract

Repetition is a prominent linguistic phenomenon in the Arabic language, reflecting both its structural richness and rhetorical depth. It has long been a subject of scholarly inquiry, attracting attention from classical and contemporary linguists alike. While many early scholars focused primarily on the aesthetic and rhetorical dimensions of repetition—often categorizing it as a stylistic embellishment or a form of verbal ornamentation—only a select few, such as Al-Jurjani and Al-Sijilmasi, recognized its deeper functional role in textual cohesion. These scholars argued that the recurrence of specific lexical items is not merely decorative but essential for maintaining the consistency of meaning and the coherence of discourse. Their insights laid the groundwork for a more nuanced understanding of repetition as a structural device that contributes to the unity and flow of the text. In contrast, the majority of classical treatments tended to overlook this functional aspect, thereby limiting the scope of analysis to its artistic value rather than its communicative necessity.

Repetition refers to the recurrence of a word or expression multiple times within a single context for a specific rhetorical purpose. This may serve to emphasize a point, intensify a metaphor, or amplify a sense of grandeur or exaggeration. While repetition bears resemblance to the stylistic device of emphasis, it is considered more potent in effect. Verbal emphasis is, in fact, a subset of repetition; thus, every instance of verbal emphasis constitutes repetition, but not every repetition qualifies as verbal emphasis.

Recently, in the field of text linguistics, repetition has garnered significant scholarly attention as a crucial element in textual cohesion. Researchers Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan have identified repetition as one of the key mechanisms for constructing textual unity. Their classification of repetition has been widely adopted by scholars in text linguistics, dividing it into four types: exact lexical repetition, synonymy, superordinate terms, and general words.

From the perspective of modern text linguistics, researchers find in rhetorical and stylistic analysis a fertile ground for linguistic exploration. Among the prominent features that manifest clearly in the supplicatory texts of (Imam Ali peace be upon him) is repetition—a rhetorical phenomenon that plays a central role in shaping the text, generating meaning, and producing emotional impact. Through its various forms, repetition reinforces and affirms meanings within the psyche, while also imparting a distinctive rhythm to the text that enhances semantic clarity and evokes the emotional resonance of the audience.