Discourse Analysis of the “Ummah Wahidah” of the Prophet (PBUH) in the Constitution of Medina 
(Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis Theory)

baghshizadeh, somayeh; yari, siavash; Benshaghteh, Mohammad

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Volume 1, Issue 56 (winter 2024)

islamhistory 2024, 1(56): 1-16

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Discourse Analysis of the “Ummah Wahidah” of the Prophet (PBUH) in the Constitution of Medina (Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis Theory)

Somayeh Baghshizadeh

, Siavash Yari ^*

, Mohammad Benshaghteh

Abstract: (66 Views)

The prophetic mission of Muhammad (PBUH), from a social perspective, was accompanied by the introduction of a discourse aimed at creating a centralized community known as the “Ummah Wahidah” (Unified Community). This stood in contrast to the dominant discursive system of the Arabian Peninsula. The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula gathered in small social units called tribes and lived in a dispersed manner. The incompatibility between these two discourses heightened the grounds for confrontation between them and ultimately resulted in the weakening of the tribal social-system discourse and the dominance of the Ummah Wahidah discourse. The present article seeks, after identifying the signs and central signifiers of the Ummah Wahidah discourse, to answer the following question: How did the Prophet (PBUH) succeed in transforming this discourse into the superior discourse within his contemporary society? Answering this question becomes possible through an examination of the Constitution of Medina, the most important and comprehensive surviving text from that period. The analysis of this document has been conducted using Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis theory, which conceptualizes discourse beyond linguistic dimensions and extends into the political, cultural, and social domains. The findings of the study indicate that the Prophet (PBUH) sought the gradual elimination of institutionalized components within the tribal system by utilizing his position of shaykhship within that structure, while gradually establishing the components of divine governance through the dominance of divine law in society. Divine governance, whose structure is constituted by the central signifier of “the sovereignty of divine law,” is articulated around signifiers such as equality of all individuals before the law, selection of a single authority for conflict resolution, and strict confrontation with lawbreakers.

Keywords: Ummah Wahidah, discourse analysis, Constitution of Medina, Norman Fairclough, tribe.

Full-Text [PDF 1272 kb] (52 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2024/09/15 | Accepted: 2024/12/8

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baghshizadeh S, yari S, Benshaghteh M. Discourse Analysis of the “Ummah Wahidah” of the Prophet (PBUH) in the Constitution of Medina (Based on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis Theory). islamhistory 2024; 1 (56) :1-16
URL: http://journal.isihistory.ir/article-1-1464-en.html

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