The Semantic Structure of Fewness and Plurality in Broken Plurals: Between Form and Context and its Role in Meaning Construction An Analytical Study of Selected Examples from Sahih Muslim

Abstract

Prophetic ḥadīth constitutes a significant linguistic source and an important field for linguistic inquiry. Among its notable features is the Prophet’s use of broken plural forms (jamʿ al-taksīr), whose diverse morphological patterns and semantic nuances reflect a deliberate and meaningful linguistic choice. The alternation between patterns traditionally associated with paucity and those associated with abundance represents a particularly significant phenomenon within ḥadīth discourse.

This study examines selected examples within an integrated linguistic framework that brings together morphology, syntax, rhetoric, and semantics. The analysis is guided by contextual meaning, speaker intention, and the role of interpretive indicators (qarāʾin) in directing understanding.

Entitled “The Architecture of Semantic Alternation between Paucity and Abundance in Broken Plurals: Form, Context, and Their Role in Meaning Construction — An Analytical Study of Selected Models from Sahih Muslim,” the study argues that morphological variation is not merely formal, but functions as a strategic mechanism in the construction of meaning within Prophetic discourse.