Abstract

In the Qoran, commands are commonly used by the devine speaker to address Mohammed and further addressees. The imperative mode is used frequently, especially the imperative “say!” (qul). The imperative is a linguistic devise which is specific to discourses. Hence it will be argued that the Qoran is a discourse rather than a text in the proper sense. The qul-speech is closely related to the unwillingness of the addressees who do not believe in the prophethood of Mohammed. In German there are three lexicalized verbs for Arabic qul: sagen, sprechen, reden. These verbs differ semantically form each other: sagen puts the focus on the addressee, sprechen puts the focus on the proposition, and reden indicates a bidirectional communication. It will be shown how the Qoranic imperative qul is translated into German.