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The Application of Narrative Suspension Theory and the Management of Knowledge Gaps in the Aesthetics of Information Presentation in Qur’anic Discourse
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Rasoul Behnam Gharajlar1   , Mohammad Majidpour Khoi |
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Abstract: (1 Views) |
| The main objective of this study is to explain the cognitive and educational function of the strategy of information delay in the narrative structure of Sūrah Baqarah. The central problem of the research is to examine how knowledge gaps are managed in the two major narratives of the creation of Adam (peace be upon him) and the cow of the Children of Israel, where the text disrupts the linear distribution of information by creating ambiguity concerning the source of the angels’ knowledge and the reason for the command to slaughter the cow. Using a descriptive-analytical method and an interdisciplinary approach, this study combines the foundations of contextual Qur’anic exegesis with narrative-theoretical concepts such as suspense and gap construction. Previous studies have mostly treated these narratives in a monographic or purely exegetical manner, while comparative examination of the pattern of knowledge management as a coherent intra-sūrah strategy has remained largely neglected. The findings show that both narratives, despite their content differences, follow the same four-stage narrative pattern: an initial shock of ambiguity, suspense through the characters’ questioning, gradual and piecemeal injection of information, and the final disclosure of truth. The result is that ambiguity in these narratives is not the product of rhetorical deficiency, but rather a guiding ambiguity that challenges the audience’s assumptions, elevates them from passive listeners to active discoverers, and prepares the ground for a transition from superficial knowledge to monotheistic insight. |
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| Keywords: Qur’anic Narratology, Information Delay, Guiding Ambiguity, Sūrah Baqarah, Story of Adam (peace be upon him), Story of the Cow of the Children of Israel. |
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Full-Text [PDF 441 kb]
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/07/1 | Accepted: 2026/07/1 | Published: 2026/07/1
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