A Textual Analysis of the Lexical and Cohesive Structure of Imam Riḍā’s A.S. Tawḥīd Sermon: A Halliday and Hasan Cohesion Theory Perspective

MOLAYEM, FATEMEH

doi:10.22034/farzv.2025.496166.2061

A Textual Analysis of the Lexical and Cohesive Structure of Imam Riḍā’s A.S. Tawḥīd Sermon: A Halliday and Hasan Cohesion Theory Perspective

Document Type : Original Article

Author

FATEMEH MOLAYEM

Imam Sadiq University - Women Campus

https://doi.org/10.22034/farzv.2025.496166.2061

Abstract

Cohesion is a fundamental concept in linguistics that examines the factors of connectivity and relationships between sentence components, inter-sentential relations, and the overall text structure. This term, introduced by functional linguists in the field of discourse analysis, comprehensively studies the role of cohesive components in text formation and organization. Imam Reza’s (PBUH) monotheistic sermon is a religious text with profound monotheistic content and literary richness, in which the Imam (PBUH) has artfully and intelligently utilized cohesive elements to create a coherent and systematic structure. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and based on Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan’s textual cohesion theory, meticulously examines the conjunctive and lexical cohesion factors of this sermon. The present study, while analyzing conjunctive, lexical, and rhetorical cohesive components, systematically examines the interdiscursive relations and the role of these elements in the sermon’s structure and the transmission of philosophical concepts. The research findings indicate that among the conjunctive elements, the additive conjunction “and” has the highest frequency in the text, and at the lexical level, the Imam (PBUH) has artistically employed various lexical cohesion elements such as antonymy, opposition, and semantic fields. These lexical elements, formed based on syntagmatic relations in the speech chain, have played a more prominent and influential role in creating textual cohesion. The results of this research clearly demonstrate that using Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion theory, while identifying cohesive elements in religious texts, one can scientifically and methodically explain how these elements influence text formation and the clear, unambiguous transmission of profound philosophical and religious concepts.

Keywords

Imam Reza, Tohidiyeh Sermon, Halliday and Hasan&rsquo

s Theory, Textual Cohesion, Lexical Cohesion, Conjunctive Elements. Cite this The Author (s): Molayem, F (2026). A Textual Analysis of the Lexical and Cohesive Structure of Imam Riḍā&rsquo

s A.S. Tawḥīd Sermon: A Halliday and Hasan Cohesion Theory Perspective: Quarterly Scientific Journal of Farhang Razavi. Year 14, Issue 2, Summer 2026, Serial Number 54 &ndash

(125- 155)- DOI:10.22034/farzv.2025.496166.2061 Publisheder: Unversity of Tehran Press

Subjects

Promotion and deepening of Razavi culture and education

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