This study investigates conversational implicature in contemporary religious discourse through a comparative pragmatic analysis of two prominent Islamic thinkers: Muhammad Husayn Tabataba’i and Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. Grounded in Paul Grice’s theory of conversational implicature and the Cooperative Principle, the research explores how meaning extends beyond literal expression through intentional or context-driven violations of conversational maxims.
The study adopts a comparative analytical methodology, examining selected textual examples from Qur’anic exegesis and religious-political discourse. It demonstrates that al-Tabataba’i employs conversational implicature primarily as an interpretive tool within a philosophical and exegetical framework, where implicatures arise from textual structure and contextual reading of the Qur’an. In contrast, al-Sadr utilizes implicature as a persuasive and directive communicative strategy aimed at influencing audiences within socio-political and religious contexts.
Findings reveal that violations of Gricean maxims (Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner) function not as communicative failures but as deliberate pragmatic strategies for generating implicit meaning. The study concludes that conversational implicature plays a crucial role in constructing meaning in religious discourse and highlights the importance of pragmatic approaches in bridging linguistic theory with Islamic intellectual traditions.
DOI: 10.59324/ejahss.2026.3(3).26
Publication Date: 2026-06-14