Textual Expansion and Presentation Techniques in the Qur’anic Discourse (A Study on Richard Bell’s Claims concerning the Interruptedness of the Qur’ān)

In this research, it is attempted to systematically examine Bell's claims in the light of textual expansion techniques as demonstrated in the Sūras 17-20. The present approach delves into the prototypical Qur'anic feature of textual and thematic expansion in these four Sūras. It also attempts to highlight the presentation technique therein. In sum, we intend to figure out whether the outcome of this textual analysis can be applied to the Qur’ānic text as a whole.
In order to appreciate the text-linguistic component of conceptual and semantic relatedness to which the Qur’ānic discourse is concerned, the present research attempts to expound and explicate the presentation technique of the text material in the Qur'an through a cluster of four consecutive Sūras. We claim that these four Sūras constitute an interrelated group that shares intertextuality and conceptual allusions, as well as some linguistic and phonetic features. In fact, within these four Sūras, we will study the textual feature of stylistic diversity of some of the verses. The stylistic diversity will be analyzed in terms of the presentation technique in line with the textual expansion and semantic relation. Similarly, the interrelated Meccan and Medinan verses will be discussed within a single Sūra to show whether textual expansion and semantic cohesion have been preserved or not.