The Structure of al-Waḥdah al-Mawḍūʿiyyah in al-Biqāʿī’s Uṣūlī Thought: A Maqāṣidī Reading of the Linguistic Interrelations between Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and Sūrat al-Baqarah

Abstract

The study of the structural and maqāṣid-oriented relationships among the Qur’anic surahs constitutes an important methodological approach to revealing the unity of Qur’anic discourse and the coherence of its semantic and legislative structure. In this context, the specific problem addressed by the present study lies in the fact that al-Biqāʿī’s methodological mechanisms for linking Sūrat al-Fātiḥah with Sūrat al-Baqarah have remained confined to rhetorical and aesthetic description. The study aims to analyze the mechanisms of naẓm through which al-Fātiḥah is linked to al-Baqarah, to establish a maqāṣid-oriented reading of the relationship between the doctrinal concision of al-Fātiḥah and the legislative elaboration of al-Baqarah, and to evaluate the methodological rigor of al-Biqāʿī’s approach in accordance with contemporary research standards. The study employed an inductive-analytical method to trace the instances of connection between Surat al-Fatimah and Sūrat al-Baqarah in al-Biqāʿī’s exegesis. The analytical method was employed to interpret the significance of these connections and assess their methodological consistency. Tools of text linguistics were also utilized to identify manifestations of cohesion, reference, repetition, and semantic unity between the two surahs, while maqāṣid-oriented structural analysis was employed to clarify the relationship between the doctrinal objectives summarized in al-Fātiḥah and the legislative objectives elaborated in al-Baqarah. The study concluded that the relationship between the two surahs is one of functional integration, manifested through five interrelated mechanisms: concision and elaboration, response to supplication, structural symmetry, unity of discourse, and doctrinal-legislative integration. It further found that the verse, “Guide us to the straight path” (Qur’an 1:6), represents the central semantic focus linking the two surahs. The study also demonstrated points of convergence between al-Biqāʿī’s methodology and modern linguistic theories, including those of Halliday, van Dijk, and Greimas. Finally, it formulated a modern procedural exegetical model that integrates the science of naẓm and the science of maqāṣid within a unified framework applicable to the other Qur’anic surahs and employable in comparative scriptural studies.