The Qur’ānic Revelation as a Communicative Act

In Islamic theology, divine revelation is conceived as a fundamentally linguistic act, since God “speaks” to humanity through His Word. Toshihiko Izutsu distinguishes two modes of divine-human communication: verbal (through language) and non-verbal (through natural signs and gestures). Roman Jakobson’s model of linguistic communication—comprising addresser, addressee, message, context, code, and channel—proves useful for interpreting Qur’ānic revelation. In this framework, God is the addresser, the Prophet Muḥammad the addressee, and the message is the Qur’ān itself, delivered in Arabic, the shared code of communication. The context is defined by the historical and situational circumstances of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), while the channel is embodied by the angel Gabriel, who mediates between God and the Prophet. This angelic mediation preserves divine transcendence and human limitation, as the Qur’ān itself affirms that no mortal can communicate directly with God except through revelation, a veil, or a messenger.