Facial Expressions as Paralinguistic Cues of Destiny: A Semiotic Analysis of ‎Faces in the Qurʾānic Depiction of the Day of Judgment

Gomaa, Yasser A.

doi:10.21608/jwadi.2023.308265

Facial Expressions as Paralinguistic Cues of Destiny: A Semiotic Analysis of ‎Faces in the Qurʾānic Depiction of the Day of Judgment

نوع المستند : المقالة الأصلية

المؤلف

Yasser A. Gomaa

Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Arts, Assiut University, Egypt

10.21608/jwadi.2023.308265

المستخلص

By relying on meticulous and precise readings of the Glorious Qurʾān and Al-Suyuti's (2020) ‎‎Qurʾānic ‎interpretation, this study extracts the noble verses that describe the faces of humans ‎‎on the Day of ‎Judgment. It analyzes the semiotic signs that intricately depict ‎‎human faces during this ‎crucial event, which will suddenly befall humankind. The study ‎‎identifies sixteen locations in the ‎Glorious Qurʾān that exhibit signs of faces on that inescapable ‎‎‎ day. These locations are equally ‎divided into two categories, with eight indicating blissful faces ‎‎and the remaining eight indicating ‎tormented faces. The semiotic units signifying blessed faces ‎‎display signs of felicity manifested on the ‎faces of true believers. These signs include whiteness, ‎‎radiance, clarity, laughter, and delight. On the ‎other hand, the semiotic units signifying ‎‎tormented faces reveal signs of fear, anxiety, sorrow, anger, ‎regret, and loss that appear on the ‎‎faces of disbelievers. These signs encompass darkness, frowning, ‎distortion, humiliation, ‎‎engagement in hard labor, and evident fatigue on their faces.‎

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