1. Introduction
Narrative research, which studies narrative structure, content and context, holds the structural study as primary
[1] | Squire, C. (February 2008). Approaches to narrative research. National Centre for Research Methods NCRM. p. 10. |
[2] | Pradl, G. (1984). Narratology: The study of story structure. ERIC Digest, n.v. (n.n.), 1- 11 p. 2. |
[1, 2]
And in considering important aspects of narrative structure, we also have to look at how the action is rendered. The choice in this consideration of how is between two basic techniques: use of a narrator to tell the story explicitly or avoidance of narrator as mediator
[3] | Fludernik, M. (2009). An introduction to narratology, trans. from the German by: Patricia Häusler-Greenfield and Monika Fludernik. Routledge. p. 35. |
[3]
. The notion of narrative mood is proposed to refer to the distance and perspective of the narrator from which the story is related, and which regulates the narrative information
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[4]
.
Structuralist narratologists’ (or discourse narratologists’) study of texts has had a remarkable influence on literary criticism, including making Quranic stories amenable to the application of the methods of narrative criticism. Quranic narrative is a “creative” nonfiction, a term which, according to Lee Gutkind, refers to a factually accurate prose about real people and events presented in a compelling, vivid and dramatic manner
[5] | Goodwin, A. (2018). The creative nonfiction genre and some connections to ELT theory. No Journal Name, 2(2), 161- 175. core.ac.uk web. pp. 163-164. |
[5]
. Generally, a nonfiction text is appreciated as a form of writing because people assume it to be factually correct and not a figment of the writer’s fantasy. This element of believability in the writing allows readers to view the book through a very different lens than they would have if it were fictional
[6] | Swamy, B. A. (Jan. 2017). A need for accuracy: The importance of truth in narrative non-fiction. Iconic Research and Engineering Journals (IRE), 1(7), 46- 49. p. 46. |
[6]
. Although Quranic stories appear to be focused more on the moral importance of events than their logical order, narrative structure, and historical details
[7] | Muhammad, S., Jaffar, S., Fatima, N., Ahmed, S. G., & Mukhtar, A. (2022). The story of Sulaiman (Solomon) and Bilquis (Sheba): Affinities in Quranic and biblical versions. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 25(S6), 1- 9. p. 2. |
[7]
, the study of how these stories are told (distance and perspective) enhances their understanding and makes them suitable for further research.
Narratological works which may be mentioned as previous studies on
Sūrah Yūsuf include Alowaimiri’s (2020/2021) Aesthetics of slowness in the narration of the holy Quran;
sūrah Yūsuf as a sample
[8] | Alowaimiri, A. A. A. (2020-2021). Aesthetics of slowness in the narration of the holy Quran; surah Yusuf as a sample. Studies in Arabic Narratology, 2(3), 173-204. https://doi.org/10.52547/san.2.1.173 |
[8]
, which examined the techniques of pause and dialogue and their use in an artistic and semantic way in the surah; Yunus, Salman A., T. M. Yaqub and Sekinat O. Arimiyau’s (2022) Time Manipulation in the Qur’anic Text: A Genettean Narratological Study of Narrative Speed in the Story of Prophet Yusuf
[9] | Yunus, S. A., Arimiyau, S. O. & Yaqub, M. T. (2022). Time manipulation in the Quranic text: A Genettean narratological study of narrative speed in the story of Prophet Yusuf. In T. M. Salisu, K. O. Paramole & O. K. Amuni (Eds), Impacting society through humanities and education (No vol., pp. 268- 283). LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. |
[9]
, which examined the efficacy of narrative speed in
Sūrah Yūsuf as a narrative technique; Kianii, Hussein, Saeed HessamPoor and Nadia DadPoor’s (1392/2013) Dirāsah naqdiyyah fī tawẓīf al- ʾistirjāʿāt fī qiṣṣah al-nabiyy yūsuf (alayhi al-salām) (dirāsah ʿalā ʾasāsi namūdhaji jīrāri janīt)
[10] | Kianii, H., HessamPoor, S. & DadPoor, N. (1392/2013). Dirāsah naqdiyyah fī tawẓīf al- ʾistirjāʿāt fī qiṣṣah al-nabiyy yūsuf (alayhi al-salām) (dirāsah ʿalā ʾasāsi namūdhaji jīrāri janīt) (A critical study of prolepses in the story of Prophet Yusuf A. S. – a study based on the approach of Gerard Genette). Majallah Dirāsāt fī al-lughah al-‘arabiyyah wa ‘ādābihā, (Journal of Studies in Aranic Language and its Literature) No vol. (14), 146-184. |
[10]
, which focused on flashback and its functions in
Sūrah Yūsuf; Amraei, Mohammad Hassan and Mohammed Taghi Zand Vakili’s (2019) The Aesthetic of the Deleted Narrative and its Rhetorical Implications in
Sūrah Yūsuf (AS) [11] | Amraei, M. H. & Vakili, M. T. Z. (Spring 2019). The aesthetic of the deleted narrative and its rhetorical implications in sūrah Yūsuf (AS). Arabic Language & Literature, 15(1), 1-8. |
[11]
, which concentrated on the aesthetic of deletion in the narrative of
Sūrah Yūsuf and its impact on configuring the story of Prophet Yusuf and Shaqrūsh, Shādiyah’s (2015) Al- ʿawāmil fī al-sīmiyāʾiyyāt al-sardiyyah
[12] | Shaqrūsh, S. (Tamuuz 2015). Al- ʿawāmil fī al-sīmiyāʾiyyāt al-sardiyyah (Actants narrative semiotics). Majallah Kulliyyah al-Tarbiyah Jāmiʿah Wāsit (Journal of College of Education, Wasit University), No vol (20), 115-146. |
[12]
,
which focused on a semiotic structuralist study of the content of
Sūrah Yūsuf.
Considering the scope of these studies, it appears no work has described how the story of Prophet Yusuf is told, the distance mode of story presentation the text adopts: whether it is less of Narrator, more of story information or vice versa and the implication thereof. To make up for this oversight, this study attempts to examine narrative distance in the Surah with the main objective of examining the story-narrative relationship of distance which manifests in the mode of presentation the text adopts to make the story accessible to the reader.
Significantly, the study makes the prospective reader aware of the quality and quantity of the story content available in the text – a discovery which is bound to have an impact on his confidence on and opinion of the text even before reading. Moreover, it partially addresses some of the possible misconceptions about the religious text
[13] | Mohammed, K. (2016). A muslim approach to western studies of Islam. Contemporary Approaches to the Quran and Sunnah ed.: Mahmoud Ayoub. The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). www.iiit.org p. 27. |
[13]
and opens it to further research.
This essentially qualitative, descriptive narratological study, which applies Genette’s linguistic category of mode (distance precisely) to examine Sūrah Yūsuf, is non-experimental as it manipulates no part of the text’s narration of events and speech. Genette’s category has the capacity to elucidate the features of distance contained in this text, which is sourced secondarily and obtained from the Quranic document. The study will determine the vividness of the text’s description of characters’ actions and the degree of dominance of its reported speech section seeking to provide an answer to the main question: what is the relationship between the story of Prophet Yusuf and the narrative text of Sūrah Yūsuf in terms of the accessibility of the story content to the reader? To arrive at a convincing answer, this investigation will briefly describe the text under study and the theoretical framework of narrative distance, examine the text’s mode of narration of events and of characters’ speech in the light of the theory, discuss the implication of the findings therefrom and then conclude.
2. Methodology
Prophet Yusuf A. S is the eleventh Messenger of Allah from among the twenty-five well-known Prophets mentioned in the Quran. He descended from the line of the Prophets, precisely from Ya’qub (Jacob), son of Ishaq (Isaac), son of Ibrahim (Abraham). One of twelve siblings from four mothers, Yusuf has the same mother, Racheal, with his younger brother, Benjamin. His proverbial good conduct and charming natural beauty made him beloved so much (himself and his full brother, Benjamin) by his father, compared to his other brothers. Besides, the sign of prophethood appearing on him earned him extra care and attention from his father. However, to become a Prophet, his life was tested with lots of challenges and tribulations, starting from having a dream which he had narrated to his father. He was victim of a plot arranged towards him by his ten half-brothers which brought him to be thrown into a well and later sold as a slave. Given sojourn in his master’s palace in Egypt, Yusuf faced seduction from his master’s wife and was later imprisoned for his innocence. Eventually, he became the Minister of Egypt and was reunited with his family, whom he brought from Can’an to live with him in Egypt
2.1. Method of Data Collection
The story is found in the twelfth chapter of the Quran
[15] | Qutub, S. (2004). Al-Taṣwīr al-fannī fī al-qur’ān. Dār al-shurūq pp. 180-183. |
[15]
. And having surveyed the surah as a whole and discovered that it embodies some phenomena of narrative distance, we dissected it into narrative units which are capable of manifesting the story-narrative relationship of distance. And for effective exploration, we regrouped these units into the two broad divisions of distance, namely: narration of events and narration of speech. Instances of the two are drawn from the surah with evidence of conformity. The study adopts Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s
The Holy Quran (Koran) - English Translation of the Meanings as its main source text.
For Genette mood refers to the distance and perspective of the narrator from which the story is related, and which regulates the narrative information
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[16] | Bampoh-Addo, R. & Mokani, J. (Dec-2017). Narrative distance in Henry James’ The portrait of a lady. Advances in Social Sciences Journal (ASSRJ Research), 4(23), 35-45. p. 38. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.423.3799 |
[17] | Özer, D. (2019). Narrative distance in advertising texts. In R. Yilmaz (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Narrative Advertising, (no vol., pp50- 56). Igi global. p. 51. |
[4, 16–17]
, (
[18] | Eisenberg, J. D. & Finlayson., M. A. (2016, November 5). Automatic identification of narrative diegesis and point ofview [Paper presentation]. Computing News Storylines of Association for Computational Linguistics 2nd Workshop, Austin, TX. 36 - 46. p. 37. |
[18]
p36). The story is the chronological sequence of events, which is not readily available to the reader. Instead, it amounts to an abstract construct
[19] | Herman, L. & Vervaeck, B. (2005). Handbook of narrative analysis, trans. by Luc Herman and Bart Vervaeck, ed.: David Herman. University of Nebraska Press. p. 42. |
[19]
.
Genette’s discussion of distance entails an extended contrast between diegesis and mimesis (
[20] | Henderson, B. (Summer 1983). Tense, mood, and voice in film: (Notes after Genette). Film Quarterly, 36(4), 4- 17. JSTOR p. 13. |
[20]
p. 68). The first term, according to Plato refers to the story constructed by the narrator and the second, speech and dialogue as a mimetic record of someone’s thoughts and opinions
. Genette marks the contrast between the two terms with a formula: information + informer = C, which implies that the quantity of information and the presence of the informer are in inverse ratio: mimesis = a maximum of information and a minimum of informer, diegesis = a minimum of information and a maximum of informer
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
. But narrative, being linguistic, can imitate directly nothing but language. Genette therefore splits narrative into two modes of distance: narrative of events and narrative of words
[23] | Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory (2nd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 151. |
[24] | Eagleton, T. (1996). Literary theory: An introduction (2nd ed.). The University of Minnesota Press. pp. 91-92. |
[25] | Currie, M. (2007). About Time - Narrative, Fiction and the Philosophy of Time. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. p. 76. |
[26] | Bertens, H. (2001). Literary theory - the basics (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 71-72. |
[23-26]
.
2.2.1. Narrative of Events
A narrative of events tells what the character is doing
Whatever its mode, it is always narrative, that is, a transcription of the (supposed) nonverbal into the verbal. Its mimesis will thus never be anything more than an illusion of mimesis (
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
p. 165),
[27] | Govindarajulu, S. K. & Koperundevi, E. (September 2016). An application of Gerard Genette’s narrative methods of mood and voice to study Somerset Maugham’s short story The Pool. International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies (IJIRAS), 3(10), 78- 84. p. 79. |
[27]
. In it, the emphasis is on telling—presenting the act of telling more than what is told. It is diegesis (
[16] | Bampoh-Addo, R. & Mokani, J. (Dec-2017). Narrative distance in Henry James’ The portrait of a lady. Advances in Social Sciences Journal (ASSRJ Research), 4(23), 35-45. p. 38. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.423.3799 |
[16]
p. 39). According to Genette, all narratives are necessarily diegesis (telling). They can never attain the illusion of mimesis (showing) by making the story real
[28] | Abirami, K. (May2014). An Application of Genette’s narrative discourse to the study of ‘Sister of my Heart’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. New Man International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(3), 95- 100. p. 97. |
[28]
.
2.2.2. Narrative of Words
Narrative of words tells what the character is saying or thinking
, (
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
p. 171). Genette advances three types of speech presentation according to the narrator’s increasing distance to the story, namely, narratized speech, transposed speech, and reported speech
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[21] | Jaafar, E. A. (2014). A stylistic analysis of Bisson’s bears discover fire. Journal of the College of Education for Women, 25(4), 1173- 1182.p. 1175 https://doi.org/10.36231/coedw.v25i4.888 |
[4, 21]
.
3. Analysis of Narrative Distance in Sūrah Yūsuf
Expectedly, the narrator, to balance between story and narration, should be vivid and exhaustive in describing the story plot, setting, characters’ speech and action as well as conflict. And while the protagonist’s report to his father in Quran verse 4 (v4)
Behold! Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me! [29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
" constitutes the basis of the prevailing consciousness of all the characters throughout the narrative, the Narrator’s introductory comment in (v7).
Verily in Joseph and his brethren are signs [or symbols] for seekers [after Truth, 29] sets the pace for the narration of the story.
3.1. Narration of Events in Sūrah Yūsuf
Narrative units which seem to conform to rules of narration of events, which is about what the characters did
include:
So they did take him away in v15 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
Then they came to their father in the early part of the night, weeping in v16 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
they stained his shirt with false blood in v18 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
the (Brethren) sold him for a miserable price -- for a few dirhams counted out in v20-21 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
sought to seduce him from his (true) self: she fastened the doors in v23 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
but that he saw the evidence of his Lord in v24 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
they both raced each other to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back they both found her lord near the door in v25 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them in v31 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109),
after they had seen the Signs, … to imprison him for a time in v35 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109),
and (Joseph) lingered in prison a few (more) years in v42 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109),
they found their stock in trade had been returned to them in v65 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 112),
And when they entered in the manner their father had enjoined in v68 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 112),
he put the dri nking cup into his brother's saddlebag in v70 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 112),
And he raised his parents high on the throne (of dignity) in v100 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 113).
Gathered above are what can be regarded as instances of narrative of events in this text. A keen look at them shows that in them setting, actions, characters and conflicts are mentioned rather than described. Elements of setting are mentioned without a vivid depiction nor sketching not to talk of their panoramic view. In the presentation of the characters, there is no introduction describing their roles, habits, mental or emotional state nor physical appearance; personal names of some of them are skipped. Characters’ actions and events are not given a graphic description which can detail their extent and manner of occurrence. And although events move on fairly logically, readers’ minds are not adequately prepared at the end of one episode for the next by way of descriptions which can raise their imagination in anticipation of the coming event.
The Narrator consistently sustains this abridged manner of narration, which rather than vividly describe things in a way that appeal to readers’ sense of sight and make them see much, presents a filtered minimum of story information to them probably because telling (or more appropriately, mentioning) rather than showing is intended.
3.2. Narration of Words in Sūrah Yūsuf
Rather than employing transposed speech type (See:
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
pp. 170-172), the means of speech presentation in
Sūrah Yūsuf according to the prominence of the Narrator or degree of His involvement are – in our opinion - narratized and reported
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[21] | Jaafar, E. A. (2014). A stylistic analysis of Bisson’s bears discover fire. Journal of the College of Education for Women, 25(4), 1173- 1182.p. 1175 https://doi.org/10.36231/coedw.v25i4.888 |
[30] | See Ribó, I. (2019). Prose fiction: An introduction to the semiotics of narrative. Open Book Publishers. p. 76 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP. 0187 |
[4, 21, 30]
. By way of clarification, it should be noted that what is intended here is narrator’s involvement as narrator, not as a character in the story. However, conspicuous in the surah is the phenomenon of Narrator’s involvement as a participating character in the story manifested by the following obvious divine intrusion in v15:
“… and We put into his heart (this Message): "Of a surety thou shalt (one day) tell them the truth of this their affair while they know (thee) not (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
" “…. Thus did We establish Joseph in the land, that We might teach him the interpretation of stories [and events]” in v21 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
“… thus [did We order] that We might turn away from him [all] evil and shameful deeds: for he was one of Our servants, sincere and purified” in v24 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108),
“Thus did We give established power to Joseph in the land, to take possession therein as, when, or where he pleased” in v56 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 110),
“… it did not profit them in the least against [the plan of] Allah: It was but a necessity of Jacob's soul, which he discharged. For he was, by our instruction, full of knowledge [and experience]: but most men know not” in v68 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 111) and
“…Thus did We plan for Joseph. He could not take his brother by the law of the king except that Allah willed it [so]” in v76 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 112).
The instances above show God as a character in the story actively participating mostly to render supportive hand to the embattled hero, Prophet Yusuf. They are reported in the first-person plural and provide germane story information to the reader, which the characters themselves might be unaware of.
A clear exception to this phenomenon is
“So his Lord heard him (in his prayer), and turned away from him their snare” in v34 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109). Here, the Narrator, who is also the Lord, though now not a character in the story, has narrated His response in the third person to a distress call in verse 33 made to Him by the oppressed Yusuf
"O my Lord! The prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me …(
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109)
". This conforms to the novelistic convention of seeking spiritual assistance from an idol or shrine by its about-to-be-overpowered devotee story character.
Back now to the intended Narrator’s involvement as narrator. Here we observe:
3.2.1. Narratized Speech in Sūrah Yūsuf
In this surah there are assumed instances of narratized speech (cf:
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
p. 170), (
[16] | Bampoh-Addo, R. & Mokani, J. (Dec-2017). Narrative distance in Henry James’ The portrait of a lady. Advances in Social Sciences Journal (ASSRJ Research), 4(23), 35-45. p. 38. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.423.3799 |
[16]
p. 39)
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[30] | See Ribó, I. (2019). Prose fiction: An introduction to the semiotics of narrative. Open Book Publishers. p. 76 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP. 0187 |
[67, 4, 30]
, in which the Narrator fully mediates by presenting only His interpretation of characters’ speech and filtering out what He considers unnecessary. These include:
”And (with passion) did she desire him” in v24 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 108), “
When he had spoken to him” in v54 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 110),
”And (Joseph) told his servants to put their stock in trade (with which they had bartered) into their saddlebags” in v62 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 111) and
”Now when they saw no hope of his (yielding)” in v80 (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 112).
The above are the Narrator’s understanding of the characters’ speech, not their exact utterances.
In all these instances, story content only, not its details, is related
[31] | Cf: Ameedi, R. T. K. al-, & Shamiri, S. M. K. al- (2018). Biblical evaluative discourse of speech and thought presentation. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(3), 223-238. p. 223 https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p223 |
[31]
. Their summarizing manner gives us essential information as efficiently as possible, without trying to create the illusion that the events are taking place before our eyes - the narrator just says what happens, without trying to show it as it happens
[23] | Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory (2nd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 151. |
[23]
. They are instances in which the Narrator is not only an information giver but also a narrative organizer, analyst, commentator and stylist
[27] | Govindarajulu, S. K. & Koperundevi, E. (September 2016). An application of Gerard Genette’s narrative methods of mood and voice to study Somerset Maugham’s short story The Pool. International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies (IJIRAS), 3(10), 78- 84. p. 79. |
[27]
, mirroring Fludernik’s notion: “Traditionally, stories are told, and a person tells them to us, so that we actually see before us a teller who mediates the story to the reader or audience (
[3] | Fludernik, M. (2009). An introduction to narratology, trans. from the German by: Patricia Häusler-Greenfield and Monika Fludernik. Routledge. p. 35. |
[3]
pp. 35-36),
[23] | Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory (2nd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 151. |
[23]
”- a practical demonstration of Genette’s “less of story information and more of narrator’s dominance (cf:
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
p. 170).” However, in this religious context the Narrator dominates to ensure the presentation of only the story information necessary for the lessons meant to be learnt.
3.2.2. Reported Speech in Sūrah Yūsuf
A striking instance of presumably immediate speech in the narration is that of Yusuf speaking not to a fellow in-story character but to God in v101– albeit a post story remark:
"O my Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on me some power, and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events, O Thou Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter, take thou my soul (at death) as one submitting to Thy Will (as a Muslim), and unite me with the righteous (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 113)."
The fact that this post-story remark came right at the completion of the story and even probably in the presence of other characters in the story makes reasonable its inclusion in our analysis. Obviously, Yusuf directed it to the Lord as thanksgiving for having made his dream come true and even to – like Oliver Twist – solicit for further grace and favour. Concerning its distance to the reader, this externalized monologue is probably an immediate speech from the character which reaches the reader without any narrator’s mediation.
However, dominant in this narrative text is non-immediate dialogic reported speech (See:
[16] | Bampoh-Addo, R. & Mokani, J. (Dec-2017). Narrative distance in Henry James’ The portrait of a lady. Advances in Social Sciences Journal (ASSRJ Research), 4(23), 35-45. p. 38. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.423.3799 |
[16]
p. 39),
[4] | Guo, H. (2017). Speech presentation: A preliminary review from multiple perspectives. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 5(1), 182- 199. Jolace De gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/jolace-2017-0011 p. 183. |
[30] | See Ribó, I. (2019). Prose fiction: An introduction to the semiotics of narrative. Open Book Publishers. p. 76 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP. 0187 |
[23] | Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory (2nd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 151. |
[4, 30, 23]
. An instance of this is the artful opening of the story in v4-6 with:
Behold, Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!" Said (the father): "My (dear) little son! Relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they concoct a plot against thee: for Satan is to man an avowed enemy! “Thus, will thy Lord choose thee and teach thee the interpretation of stories (and events) and perfect His favor to thee and to the posterity of Jacob -- even as He perfected it to thy fathers Abraham and Isaac aforetime! For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109)."
In the verses above, the Narrator has only imitated the speech of the characters (
[16] | Bampoh-Addo, R. & Mokani, J. (Dec-2017). Narrative distance in Henry James’ The portrait of a lady. Advances in Social Sciences Journal (ASSRJ Research), 4(23), 35-45. p. 38. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.423.3799 |
[16]
p. 39) - a form Genette found most superior in the view of Aristotle (
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
pp. 172-173) in which characters’ words and probably their way of projecting those words to the listener are used (
[31] | Cf: Ameedi, R. T. K. al-, & Shamiri, S. M. K. al- (2018). Biblical evaluative discourse of speech and thought presentation. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(3), 223-238. p. 223 https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p223 |
[31]
p. 224)
[32] | Park, Y. (June 2001). A discourse analysis of say versus tell in spoken American English. Language Research, 37(2), 329- 357 p. 334. |
[32]
.
In this speech type also is the narration in v8-10:
They (Joseph’s brethren) said: "Truly Joseph and his brother are loved more by our father than we: but we are a goodly body! Really our father is obviously wandering (in his mind)! "Slay ye Joseph or cast him out to some (unknown) land, that so the favor of your father may be given to you alone: (There will be time enough) for you to be righteous after that!" Said one of them: "Slay not Joseph, but if ye must do something, throw him down to the bottom of the well: he will be picked up by some caravan of travellers (
[29] | The Holy Quran (Koran) (1987). Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. p. 107. |
[29]
p. 109)."
For want of space, we rely on our reader’s ability to find other instances of this nature in the following verses of the surah: 11-14, 17-18, 23-24, 25-29, 30, 31-33, 36-42, 43-49, 50-53, 54-55, 59-62, 63-64, 65-67, 69, 70-75, 77-79, 80-87, 88-93, 94-95, 96-98, 99-100.
In each of these instances, there is discourse reported as it supposedly was uttered by the character (
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
p. 170) almost the same manner a dramatized story is represented in a 'scenic' way, with a specified setting, and making use of dialogue which contains direct speech
[23] | Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory (2nd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 151. |
[23]
. Thus, these instances should represent the minimum distance between this surah and the story of Prophet Yusuf.
However, these verses – though fairly direct to the reader making the story information to be received with remarkable degree of fulness and precision – are limited in their directness by their non-immediacy for they contain the reporting clause and quotation marks - two signs of the interference of the narrator. This interference disallows the character to interact “immediately” with readers (
[31] | Cf: Ameedi, R. T. K. al-, & Shamiri, S. M. K. al- (2018). Biblical evaluative discourse of speech and thought presentation. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(3), 223-238. p. 223 https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p223 |
[31]
p. 224) and causes breaks in the free flow of characters’ thoughts, speech and actions making impossible “staging” of the story, which produces lively interaction and reduces “the distance between story world and participant world and creates a common context to evaluate the present events (
[31] | Cf: Ameedi, R. T. K. al-, & Shamiri, S. M. K. al- (2018). Biblical evaluative discourse of speech and thought presentation. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(3), 223-238. p. 223 https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p223 |
[31]
p. 229).” This can only occur in conversational exchanges which a novel quote verbatim or in the context of drama or film (
[3] | Fludernik, M. (2009). An introduction to narratology, trans. from the German by: Patricia Häusler-Greenfield and Monika Fludernik. Routledge. p. 35. |
[3]
pp. 35-36).
Given this limitation, these verses are not like modern novel (although anticipated it through their closeness to immediate speech), some of which attain the highest level of directness in the form of immediate speech, in which the floor is given to the characters from the beginning to the end like stage performance (
[22] | Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse – an essay in method, trans. Jane E. Lewin. Cornell University Press. p. 166. |
[22]
pp. 173-174) without showing traces of the narrating instance.
4. How Narrative Distance Occurs in Sūrah Yūsuf
The Genettean modal notion “much of narrator’s presence = less of story information and less of narrator’s dominance = much of story content” comes to bear on this surah. That the Narrator mediates greatly in the narration of events and lightly in the narration of characters’ speech creates a mixed reaction. In areas of great mediation, the surah did not present much of the story to the reader, who consequently feels pushed back while in areas of less involvement it presents almost everything in that part of story to the reader making him up close with the characters, feeling as if he is experiencing the events himself or watching from inside the same room or inside the characters
, (
[17] | Özer, D. (2019). Narrative distance in advertising texts. In R. Yilmaz (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Narrative Advertising, (no vol., pp50- 56). Igi global. p. 51. |
[17]
p. 50).
On the whole, notwithstanding the dominating reported speech type, narration in this surah is essentially diegetic, not mimetic: story events are narratized and characters’ speech is not immediate but reported with the Narrator conspicuously present. This implies that the relationship between the story of Prophet Yusuf and the Surah is one of a whole and a part since the Narrator is found to have effectively mediated between the two selecting in the text only part of the story content that suits His purpose thereby distancing the readers from the story and rationing it out to them. This mediation (less of the story and more of the Narrator’s wish) may, however, be reasonably justified by the fact that the story is told mainly to teach adherents of the Islamic faith moral lessons from the story. To achieve this – it can be argued - the narration must be effectively regulated by way of filtering out certain story information considered irrelevant to the goal of narration, that is, moral orientation. Ikhwan noted that Kalner had argued that the fewer details found in the
Qur’an’s narratives is because it conveys only the information essential to make the point rather than telling a story and avoiding discussion of seemingly unrelated points
[34] | Ikhwan, M. (2010 M/1431 H). Western studies of the Qur’anic narrative: from the historical orientation into the literary analysis. Al-Jāmi‘ah, 48(2), 387- 411. P. 405. |
[34]
.
If this argument finds acceptance, one may then agree with Mieke Bal’s conclusion noted in Ikhwan that while the Bible proceeds with linearity the Quran is point-based (
[34] | Ikhwan, M. (2010 M/1431 H). Western studies of the Qur’anic narrative: from the historical orientation into the literary analysis. Al-Jāmi‘ah, 48(2), 387- 411. P. 405. |
[34]
pp. 406-407). That is, the Quran aims at message giving, not storytelling per se (
p. 65). Thus, some of the Quranic narratives are concerned with only the episodes that have to do with the religious purpose for which the narrative is employed (
[15] | Qutub, S. (2004). Al-Taṣwīr al-fannī fī al-qur’ān. Dār al-shurūq pp. 180-183. |
[15]
p. 174),
[7] | Muhammad, S., Jaffar, S., Fatima, N., Ahmed, S. G., & Mukhtar, A. (2022). The story of Sulaiman (Solomon) and Bilquis (Sheba): Affinities in Quranic and biblical versions. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 25(S6), 1- 9. p. 2. |
[7]
.
While these omissions – craftily alluded to – are tacitly understood by the reader and are designed to make the story straight-to-the-point, less boring, thought-provoking and sufficient enough for the target audience to derive a lesson from the past people; they narratologically make the story distant from this reader, who is made to read not the untainted story per se but Narrator’s interpretation of it. An assessment guided by this discovery will invariably consider
Sūrah Yūsuf as a narrative text (a literary genre) which makes the story information distant from the prospective reader. Hence, its reading has to be performed in relation to examining the Qur’anic discourse in order to grasp its particular meaning (
[34] | Ikhwan, M. (2010 M/1431 H). Western studies of the Qur’anic narrative: from the historical orientation into the literary analysis. Al-Jāmi‘ah, 48(2), 387- 411. P. 405. |
[34]
p. 402) a discourse whose philosophy is to tell not the whole of any story but only the part most germane for the targeted moral lessons, on which the reader is expected to concentrate.