The Myth of Innate Righteousness: A Qurʾānic Semiotic Analysis of Ziyārat Wārith of Imam Ḥusayn

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Corresponding Author, Faculty of Communication, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran:

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Theology and Islamic Studies, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran:

Abstract

Objective: Research in cultural and communication studies opens a wide horizon of interdisciplinary inquiry. Religion, culture, and communication constitute central domains within this field. Among the pivotal axes of religious studies is the analysis of sacred texts, including the Qur'an, transmitted traditions, and devotional visitations (ziyārāt) associated with the Prophet’s Household. The present study offers a semiotic analysis of Ziyārat Wārith of Husayn bin Ali.
Method: Adopting a descriptive-analytical method and purposive sampling, selected passages of the text are examined in depth.
Results: The article draws upon: (1) the Qurʾānic foundations of Ziyārat Wārith as articulated by Mohsen Gharati and Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi; (2) Musa al-Sadr’s interpretation of the perpetual struggle between truth and falsehood as reflected in the text; (3) scholarly perspectives on material and spiritual inheritance in the ziyārah; and (4) theoretical frameworks derived from structuralism, including the semiotics of Ferdinand de Saussure, the mythology theory of Roland Barthes, and Michel Foucault’s discourse analysis. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that: (1) Ziyārat Wārith lends itself to a coherent semiotic reading; (2) the inheritance of Imam Ḥusayn signifies the custodianship of the content, purposes, virtues, and salvific mission of previous prophets; (3) this notion of inheritance possesses explicit Qurʾānic foundations; (4) the mythic mode of expression in certain passages confers a transhistorical and eternal dimension upon the uprising of Imam Ḥusayn; and (5) through the construction of binary oppositions, the ziyārah generates a distinctly religious discourse within the consciousness of its adherents

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 08 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 07 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 04 December 2025

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