Pharaoh and the Divine Wont of Respiting: A Critical Analysis of Quranic Themes

Abstract

Respiting or giving extra time (imhal) is a divine wont that means postponing the punishment of wrongdoers. Although not mentioned with a specific title, this wont is explicitly noticeable in the Quran in various places, such as in the encounter of prophets with the disbelievers and oppressors, particularly in the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. An analysis of this divine wont using the critical discourse analysis method shows the use of an element of Jewish discourse and its new articulation as a central signifier in the formation of religious-Islamic identity. This belief plays a vital role in the early centuries of Islamic history in the redefinition of religious concepts, formation of political identity, antagonism, and the formation of independent social identity for Muslims and for specific groups among them.