An Analysis of speeches of Hussein ibn Ali (AS) in the first step toward the incident of Karbala (Departing Medina to Mecca) based on John Searle’s Speech Acts

Linguistic theories can open new doors to historical analysis. This paper seeks to analyze the speeches of Hussein ibn Ali in the first step toward the incident of Karbala which was his departure from Medina to Mecca. The Speech Acts theory which roots in Discourse Analysis focuses on the role of language. It sees speech as an act that brings about actions in this world. Searle introduces only five illocutionary acts, namely: assertive, directive, expressive, commissive and declaratory. The application of Speech Acts theory not only helps to study the different layers of speech in a work, it also allows us to unveil the hidden attributes. The analysis of Imam Hussein’s speeches in Medina all the way to Mecca based on Speech Acts theory shows that the number of assertive illocutionary acts are significantly more that other acts which Imam Hussein has used in introducing himself, explaining the situation and his intention. The number of Directive, Expressive and Declaratory acts are far below that of assertive. There is no trace of directive act in Imam Hussein’s speeches indicating that he never tried to make people accompany him in his journey to Karbala, nor is there a sign that he tried to incite people to support him or invite them implicitly. The study on the situational contexture of the speeches reveals that Imam Hussein (AS) in this stage had no intention of inciting a riot or arrangements to establish a rule. His actions were thoroughly reactive, not initiative.