Images of Self-Efficacy in Imam Ali's Sheqsheqiya Sermon (Peace Be Upon Him): A Semiotic Analysis

Abstract

A prose text is one of the literary genres with a direct effect on social and cultural realities as such a text is often characterized by its focus on the personal experience of both the writer and the audience. It delves into the individual's relationship with their psychological reality, especially when the text originates from the master of eloquence, Imam Ali (Peace be upon him), whose attributed text, "Sheqsheqiya Sermon", stands out for its captivating style and cohesive, symbol-laden structure. This sermon vividly expresses Imam’s emotional state, addressing feelings of sorrow, pain, oppression, betrayal, injustice, etc. These emotions are meticulously disseminated within a rich linguistic context, with carefully selected words and structures.

The study concentrates on four main aspects of self-efficacy: the semiotics of injustice, the semiotics of sorrow, the semiotics of anger, the semiotics of unusual terms and linguistic structures. The significance of these images in semiotic studies lies in their powerful implications within the studied text. For the sermon captivates the reader from the opening phrase ("أما" (as for) with emphasis) to its ending (again, using "أما" (as for) with emphasis and an oath), an echoing aesthetic in the text. The study concludes that, in the semiotics of sorrow, Imam Ali uses emphasis, oaths, and pronouns to convey his emotions. In the semiotics of anger, patience symbolizes his restraint, revealing his preference for patience over bloodshed due to the lack of support and the betrayal by some of his followers. The semiotics of injustice includes emphasis, oaths, and the use of disapproving terms to criticize the unjust reality and confirm his rightful claim for the Caliphate. In the interim, the semiotics of unique words and structures feature metaphors, allegories, hints, and allusions, which add a unique beauty to the sermon.