The Functions of ‘Surah Coherence’ in Interpretation Applied to Allameh Tabatabai’s al-Mizan and Sayyid Qutb’s Fi Zilal al-Quran

‘Surah coherence’ is an important aspect of the Quranic language, which, due to its unique role in interpretation, has been highly regarded by commentators and Quranic scholars, especially over the last half a century. According to this theory, each surah is centered around a main issue in such a way that all the topics of the surah create an all-encompassing unity. The present study intends to examine the role and effect of this theory in interpretation through a comparative study of two works of interpretation, i.e. Allameh Tabatabai’s al-Mizan and Sayyid Qutb’s Fi Zilal al-Quran, and to introduce and categorize its functions in the field of interpretation. These functions can be divided into structural, contextual, cognitive, positive, explanatory, and evaluative types. Based on the obtained results, Allameh Tabatabai has properly utilized the explanatory and evaluative functions of belief in ‘surah coherence’ in al-Mizan following a special explanatory-critical approach. Adopting a dominant positive attitude in his commentary, Sayyid Qutb has made serious attempts to prove the subject unity of surahs and illustrate the coherence and unity between their verses.