The Rhetorical Predicate in Surah Merriam

Abstract

This research aims  at clarifying the rhetoric of predicate with reference to what is mentioned by rhetorists   such as Abdulqahir al-Jarjani, Abu HilalAlaskari, Sakaki and others in their writings about  semantic, types of predicate, and the rhetorical as well as metaphorical purposes of the predicate  aimed at in Surah Merriam. The research, moreover, sheds the light on  the number of verses in that particular Surah that uses single predicate,  predicate of verbal sentence, predicate of the nominal sentence, predicate of semi-sentence, as well as the predicate of adverbs  of place and time. It is discerned that most of the predicates used are confirmed by tools of affirmation such as  "That" and "L. " This is due to the fact that the holy Qur'an  speaks of the stories of the first two prophets, starting with messenger  Zacharias (peace be upon him) and his imploring to the  Almighty God at the request of a child. The story of messenger Zacharias is a preface to a more strange and miraculous stories that violate human nature.  Such stories entail that one of Mary (peace be upon her), the birth of the fatherless messenger, namely Jesus the Christ (peace be upon him), presenting Jesus as prophet while he is just an infant in the cradle,  other  subsequent stories of other messengers,  and news of the future, which include the tools of rhetorical assertion of the predicate.  The research concludes with a table containing the predicates in the holy verses that the researcher does not examine.