Abstract
This study employs Norman Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis to examine how the concept of resurrection is represented in the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balagha, focusing on its ideological and political functions. The primary research question investigates how resurrection is used as a discursive mechanism to shape social order, moral power, and political legitimacy in Qur’anic and Alavid discourses. Using a qualitative method, the study analyzes selected verses and sermons on resurrection across descriptive and explanatory levels. Findings reveal that the Qur’an emphasizes divine authority and individual discipline through vivid imagery and assertive language, while Nahj al-Balagha links resurrection to political ethics and social responsibility. Ultimately, both texts utilize the discourse of resurrection not merely as a theological tenet but as a tool for legitimizing moral and political authority in Islamic societies.
Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Resurrection, Representation, Qur’an, Nahj al-Balagha, Norman Fairclough, Political Legitimacy.
 
Introduction
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary method that focuses on the interplay between language, power, and ideology. As articulated by Norman Fairclough, CDA views language as a form of social practice that both reflects and reproduces power structures. Within this framework, religious texts can be analyzed not merely for their theological content but for their role in shaping social and political norms. The Qur’an and Nahj al-Balagha are foundational texts in Islamic discourse, both emphasizing resurrection (Ma’ad) as a core tenet. This study seeks to analyze the discourse surrounding resurrection in these texts to understand its role in shaping political legitimacy and moral authority.
 
Materials & Methods
This research is qualitative and utilizes Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of CDA: description, interpretation, and explanation. However, the focus is mainly on interpretation and explanation, as the fixed linguistic structure of sacred texts limits the descriptive layer. Selected verses from the Qur’an and sermons from Nahj al-Balagha that discuss resurrection were analyzed. The Qur’anic discourse emphasizes certainty, divine omnipotence, and the inevitability of accountability through vivid imagery and syntactic techniques such as passive voice and oath structures. Nahj al-Balagha, conversely, employs rhetorical reasoning and moral exhortation to associate resurrection with political conduct and leadership ethics.
 
Discussion & Result
The Qur’anic discourse on resurrection responds directly to the denial of the afterlife in pre-Islamic Arabia. It frames resurrection not only as a divine promise but as a mechanism to discipline belief and behavior. Verses such as “La uqsimu bi-yawm al-qiyama” (Q75:1) and “Innama tu’adoona la-sadiq” (Q51:5) illustrate how divine authority is reinforced through linguistic structures like oaths and imperative mood, establishing fear and awe to prompt social conformity. Nahj al-Balagha adapts this discourse for a different sociopolitical context. Imam Ali (A) uses the concept of resurrection as a moral compass for rulers and the public. In his letter to Malik Ashtar (Letter 53), resurrection is invoked to reinforce accountability and justice. Imam Ali repeatedly warns that every ruler will be held responsible before God. In various sermons, resurrection is described through powerful imagery to shake complacency and revive collective conscience. This form of discourse transitions the concept of resurrection from a metaphysical doctrine to a political instrument. At the explanatory level, the discourse of resurrection operates as a tool for ideological reproduction. In the Qur’an, it establishes a moral order in response to jahiliyyah beliefs that negated accountability and ethical living. In Nahj al-Balagha, it is mobilized to challenge corrupt power structures and establish a new order based on divine justice and human responsibility. Through this lens, resurrection becomes a discursive resource for constructing political legitimacy: rulers are not answerable to tribal custom or personal will but to a higher, divine accountability. A comparative table in the study reveals that while the Qur’an targets polytheists and deniers of resurrection, Nahj al-Balagha addresses believers whose practical conduct undermines their professed beliefs. The Qur’anic text emphasizes the necessity of belief; the Alavid text emphasizes the consequences of ethical and political conduct under that belief. Both, however, align in presenting resurrection as a mechanism to discipline, warn, and structure social behavior.
 
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that the discourse of resurrection in the Qur’an and Nahj al-Balagha transcends its theological dimension to serve as a framework for social order and political legitimacy. In the Qur’an, resurrection is a response to disbelief and a call to divine justice; in Nahj al-Balagha, it becomes a rhetorical tool to foster ethical governance, social justice, and accountability. The use of linguistic strategies, intertextual references, and socio-political framing in both texts reveals that religious discourse in Islam is deeply intertwined with the management of power. By applying Fairclough’s CDA model, the study illustrates how sacred language is deployed not only to inspire belief but to establish ideological hegemony, reinforce ethical conduct, and regulate authority. The discourse of resurrection, therefore, is not merely about the afterlife but about life, governance, and justice in the here and now.