Equating and Contrasting in Religious Contexts: A Critical Stylistic Study 

Dr. Wafa' Abbas Sahan & Dr. Mostafa A. S. Rosheed

Department of English, College of Education for Humanities, University of Karbala, Karbala, Iraq

Abstract

In this study ‘equating and contrasting’ as a textual-conceptual tool of analysis within the frame of critical stylistics is utilized. It is aimed at demonstrating the textual triggers which reflect equating and contrasting in religious texts in order to extract the implied ideologies. The data consists of selected religious discourses from the Prophet Mohammed’s tradition regarding his Household. The study concludes that there are certain textual triggers reflecting equating as well as contrasting in the Prophet Mohammed’s sayings about his Household. Equating is utilised to reflect the state in which the Household is made identical to the Prophet Mohammed. The ideological implications of equating are textually produced through a number of textual triggers such as: Intensive relational equivalence, Appositional equivalence, Metaphorical equivalence, and Parallel Structure. Contrasting, on the other hand, reveals the exclusivity of salvation to the Household excluding any other possible pathways. The ideological implications of contrasting are textually produced through two textual triggers only: Parallelism and Transitional structure.

Keywords: Critical Stylistics, Equating and Contrasting, Ideology, Religious Discourse