Investigating Mood Structure in Chapter ۵۵ of the Qur’an (a-Rahman) Based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Approach

Modern linguistics and particularly textual and semiotic approaches to structure and functions of texts have provided researchers with important theoretical tools and concepts for modern textual studies of the Qur'an. One of these important approaches that seems useful in studying different types of text is Halliday’s systemic functional grammar. For him, language has three main functions including ideational metafunction which enables us to talk about things in the world, textual metafunction which is responsible for making coherent communicative texts, and interpersonal metafunction according to which we interact with one another through language. Each of the three functions is realized linguistically by three lexico-grammatical structures, that is, the transitivity structure, the thematic structure, and the  mood structure which is itself made of two main elements: the subject and finite. Having analyzed the mood structure in the selected Qur’anic text consisting of ۷۸ verses and ۹۹ clauses, it was concluded that the present tense and indicative mood are the dominant tense and mood respectively in this chapter. This has resulted in a largely spoken style directed toward the audience which is in line with the main function of this sacred text which is to link God and men.