Abstract
Thabet [2005] applied cluster analysis to the Qur’an in the hope of generating a classification of the (suras) that is useful for understanding of its thematic structure. The result was positive, but variation in (sura) length was a problem because clustering of the shorter was found to be unreliable. The present discussion addresses this problem in four parts. The first part summarizes Thabet’s work. The second part argues that unreliable clustering of the shorter is a consequence of poor estimation of lexical population probabilities in those. The third part proposes a solution to the problem based on calculation of a minimum length threshold using concepts from statistical sampling theory followed by selection of and lexical variables based on that threshold. The fourth part applies the proposed solution to a reanalysis of the Qur’an.
Published Version
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