Etymology of a word

The roots of language are irrational and of a
magical nature.

___ Jorge Luis Borges↓1

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. By an extension, the term “etymology (of a word)” means the origin of a particular word.

__ wikipedia

To trace this history etymologists look into previous texts to glean former meanings and usages. They also examine word roots to trace the origins. Word root is the most basic part of the word necessary for the word’s meaning. Many more words are derived by adding suffixes or prefixes to the root word.

Metaphoric applications of Qur’anic roots

In the Arabic language, the root of a word typically consists of three, four, or five letters↓2. There may not only be suffixes or prefixes to make words from the root, there are often ‘infixes’, i.e. letter(s) inserted between the root words. For instance, consider the following two ayahs:

 وَالَّذِينَ هُم مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّهِم مُّشْفِقُونَ

 And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord; [Al-Ma’arij 27]

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ

 So I swear by the twilight glow; [Al-Inshiqaq 16]

The highlighted words both share the same root – Sha-Fa-Qa, but very different meanings. The most literal meaning of the root-letters (the one associated with the basic derivation from root words), according to Lane Lexicon are: “being niggardly of provision” and “being fearful and cautious on account of it”. By metaphoric association, the word, especially in its form in the first ayah, has come to mean: being ‘apprehensively fearful’, ‘tender’, ‘compassionate’, and ‘cautious’.

The form used in the second example above is a noun. It refers to “the redness in the horizon from sunset until the time of nightfall”. While the extension of meaning as in the above example is obvious, the one in this later example is not so obvious. It is understandably probable that the same metaphoric process of meaning-extension worked in this case, as well.

Below, I attempt to gather several Qur’anic examples where comparison of a word’s usage with the basic root meaning reveals the application of a metaphor.

Fa-Ra-Qaf

وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ

AND we parted the sea for you. [Al-Baqarah 50]

Over here the root-letters appear in their most basic form: past tense (plural subjective). Their meaning is literal: to divide or separate something physical into two (or more) portions.

وَقُرْآنًا فَرَقْنَاهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍ

AND [it is] a Qur’an which We have separated [by intervals] that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. [in Al-Isra 106]

The ayah above carries the same word with the same meaning but in a less literal sense. The division mentioned here is not in a physical sense but in the sense of time.

فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ

Above is the present tense (singular subjective) version of the same basic form utilised in even less literal sense. Speaking of the one blessed night in which God determines every matter of the world that is to take place till the next occurence of the night↓3. When each matter has been ordained, it is as if everything has been ‘clearly seperated’ from every other thing. The metaphorical extension of meaning is clear. Examples of other extensions follow:

 وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا

AND hold fast to the Bond of Allah, together, and do not scatter. [in Al-i-Imran 103] 

The Qur’anic version of “united we stand; divided we fall”. The word used in a prohibitive version of a derived form signifies both physical, mental and psychosocial lack of unison that results when small disagreements in a group/nation carry more weiht than the major unifying principles.

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا

 BLESSED is He who has sent down the Criterion to His worshiper (Prophet Muhammad), that he is a warner to all mankind; [Al-Furqan 1]

Finally, the most metaphorical application of the root is this noun-form that is used for things carrying a superlative degree of a property. Al-Qur’an is called as The One that divides the wrong from right; that makes everything clear and distinguishable from one another↓4.  

Da-Ra-Kaf

فَلَمَّا تَرَاءَى الْجَمْعَانِ قَالَ أَصْحَابُ مُوسَىٰ إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ

This ayah illustrates this root’s most literal meaning: ‘to be physically overtaken’. The word here is in the noun (plural) form of a derivative version of the root↓. The ayah is from the story when Moses’ companions were afraid they will be caught by Pharoah’s troops when they were stopped by the sea while fleeing from Egypt. In fact, the most literal sense of the root’s simplest derivative is, according to Lanes’s Lexicon, “the dropping of rain with close consecutiveness as though one portion thereof overtook another.” Thus it seems, that the basic meaning from above ayah might itself be a metaphorical extension of rain droplets closely following each other. An even lesser literal application is as follows:

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ادَّارَكُوا فِيهَا جَمِيعًا قَالَتْ أُخْرَاهُمْ لِأُولَاهُمْ رَبَّنَا هَٰؤُلَاءِ أَضَلُّونَا

 WHEN they are all gathered there, the last of them will say of the first, “Our Lord, it was they who led us astray:…” [in Al-A’raf 38]

Speaking of groups of the punished on the Judgment Day entering hell-fire, the application of da-ra-kaf is in the sense that they all followed each other into hell, as if one party overtook another into the hell-fire.

إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الْأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا

THE Hypocrites will be in the lowest reach (depth) of the Fire: [An-Nisa 145]

Here it seems that the sense of  ‘overtaking’ is extended into that of ‘reaching over’ and the word used in the sense of ‘bottom’.

بَلِ ادَّارَكَ عِلْمُهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِنْهَا بَلْ هُم مِّنْهَا عَمُونَ

Here ‘overtook’ has been metaphorically extended into ‘failure’. Other meanings according to other standard translations include ‘their knowledge’ being ‘lost’ (Maududi) and ‘arrested’ (Sahih International). A sportsman usually ‘fails’ when they are overtaken by another, hence the metaphor. Or, since the root is also extended into ‘reaching over’, the meaning is in the sense: ‘doth their knowledge reach to the hereafter?’ (Pickthall)↓5.

Shim-Jim-Ra

The word shajar is commonly known to Arabic-Urdu-Hindi speaking people as ‘tree’. Indeed that is the common usage in which it is utilised in the Quran as well (See the pertinent Quranic Arabic Corpus page for comparison). However, that is not its literal meaning. The true literal meaning is used in the Qur’an only once, in the following ayah.

فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ

 BUT nay, by thy Lord, they will not believe (in truth) until they make thee judge of what is in dispute between them; [in An-Nisa 65]

The literal meaning of shajara (here appearing in its most basic form: past tense singular subjective), according to Lane’s Lexicon, is “being or becoming intricate, complicated, perplexed, confused, or intricately intermixed.” When it is used with baina-hum (‘between them), as above, it is meant as: “an occasion of contention, or dispute, or of disagreement, or of difference…”. The Lexicon cites “intermixing, or confusion of the branches” as the reason for the word’s application to trees.

Ra-Ain-Ya

Consider the following pairs of ayahs:

كُلُوا وَارْعَوْا أَنْعَامَكُمْ

YOU eat and let your cattle graze’… [in Surah Ta-Ha 54]

أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا 

and

 فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا

 … THEN they did not observe it as it ought to have been observed; [in Al-Hadid 27]

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ

The first two ayahs represent the literal sense of the root-word: to pasture cattle. The first word is in imperative and the second is the derivative noun. The second pair represents the metaphorical extension: tending to, observing, keeping one’s charges.

…

These examples illustrate in detail how well-integrated metaphors are into language and it’s history and usage.

Notes

1. Prologue to “El otro, el mismo”. Taken from Introduction and Abbreviation, Online Etymological Dictionary, Retrieved Online at http://www.etymonline.com/abbr.php?allowed_in_frame=0

 2. Several resources on the internet give a good introduction to Qur’anic language or the Arabic language in general. Examples include the Project Root List, and the http://arabic.tripod.com/

3. Popularly known as the Lailat-ul-Qadar; reference: Surah Al-Qadar.

4. According to Ma’ariful Qur’an (English pdf, Vol. 1, p. 213, under 2:53): “In the language of the Holy Qur’an, al-Furqan is a term signifying something that separates truth from falsehood or distinguishes the one from the other.” Retrieved from: http://www.maarifulquran.net/data/maarifulquran-english-pdf/pdf/Maarifulquran%20English%20PDF%20-%20Vol%201%20-%20Page%20185-234%20by%20Mufti%20Shafi%20Usmani%20Rah.pdf

5. For all translations refer to the Tanzil site linked above.

Some metaphors are such an integral part of our conceptual system that we do not easily notice them, or understand them plainly. Some others are different in the sense that they are less frequent, unique, unfamiliar, or present new connections between ideas. The former were termed as conventional, while the latter was termed as novel by George Lakoff↓2. He and subsequent research identified several neural and cognitive differences between the two. On the other hand, both are basically a part of the same system (i.e. conceptul system) and arise from the same process (metaphorical thinking).

In this post we focus only on conventional metaphors since they are more frequent and we will move on to special cases of conventional metaphor.

Examples of conventional metaphors

Nearly all the Qur’anic examples of conceptual metaphors in the last post were conventional. Here we consider more examples, highlighting their familiarity and salience. This way, there will be appropriate contrast to novel metaphors when they are presented later in the anthology.

إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ

Verily you and the gods you worshipped beside Allah are the fuel of Hell. [in Al-Anbiya 98]

 Since hell is supposed to burn those put into it as punishment, calling those fuel is an obvious metaphor.

وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ الْكِتَابُ أَجَلَهُ

 And  do not resolve on the knot of marriage until the waiting term expires; [in Al-Baqarah 235]

This ayah on guidance for another wedlock after the previous one has ended terms it as a ‘knot’. This metaphor calls to mind its English correspondent: the bond (in addition to ‘knot’ which itself is a metaphor’. Since a knot ties two things together and so does marriage in the psychosocial sense, the metaphor is obvious.

وَزَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَحِفْظًا

And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and as protection. [in Sura Fussilat 12]

Stars, while performing their astronomical functions (one of which is hinted in this ayah), also look beautiful from earth because of their twinkling. Hence the metaphorical rendering ‘adorned’ or ‘decorated’ is understandable.

قَالَ سَنَشُدُّ عَضُدَكَ بِأَخِيكَ

[Allah] said, “We will strengthen your arm through your brother…” [in Al-Qasas 35]

A man performs most of his actions with his arm. Sometimes the task is so big, he needs another’s help. A helping hand is, thus, a common universal metaphor. Here God speaks of strengthening Prophet Moses’ (alaihi-s-salaam) arm by bestwoing his brother Haroon (alaihi-s-salaam) with prophethood as well.

 فَأَذَاقَهُمُ اللَّـهُ الْخِزْيَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا

So Allah made them taste disgrace in worldly life. [in Az-Zumar 26]

Expressing different experiences in life as ‘food’ is a common conceptual metaphor across cultures. Tasting the flavor of success, failure; acquiring the fruit of labor, patience; and so forth. 

هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا

 There the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking. [Al-Ahzab 11]

 The metaphor here is an expression of the conceptual metaphor: “emotion is physical force”.  Allah speaks here of the time when Non-believing tribes have gathered around Madina from all over Arab and Muslims had to defend themselves by constructing a big trench on Madina’s front (ghazwa-e-ahzab). At that time some inside groups of hypocrites, and of Jews who were living in Madina had also started brewing trouble, causing Muslims a jolt of worry. Hence the metaphoric image applied is that of an earthquake’s shake to paint the picture of the extreme emotional turbulence the Muslims found themselves in.

Conclusion 

This study makes us realize that metaphors are salient and easily understandable when the metaphoric image (the vehicle) shares an obvious connection with the meaning (target/source). Both the aspects of the metaphor (vehicle and target) are familiar to us through our day-to-day observations and experiences. It is these that are termed as ‘conventional’ and many more examples exist in the Qur’an.

Notes

1. The topic was covered with detail in the previous series on metaphors.

 2. Such as in Lakoff, G. 1993. The contemporary theory of metaphor. in Metaphor and Thought, 2nd ed. Ed. by Andrew Ortony. New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved Online: http://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~coulson/203/lakoff_ps.pdf

Qur’an is an inexhaustible resource whether analysed from literary, philosophical or mathematical points of view or more. There are many aspects of the Qur’an that a current reader might immerse in and glean countless gems for close study. In the current thread of posts, I have been focusing on Qur’anic metaphors, following on from a previous series of posts in which theory and literature on the topic were explored.

In this thread of posts, so far, I have been discussing examples of metaphors in Qur’an as they appear in various forms (such as similie and allegory). Closely related forms which are not exactly metaphors were also considered (such as metonymy).

In the current section I will consider examples from another angle: I came across various ‘types’ of metaphors during my literature search for the previous series of posts. There is no theme uniting these various ‘types’ into a common group. Rather they could not be categorized under any other typology we will be going through in this anthology. We will go through the various types in alphabetical order.

Abstract metaphors↓1

Metaphors typically rely on a concrete sensation to draw it’s vehicle. Such as ‘the rose’ of love, in which the visual beauty, tactile softness, and the ethereal perfume are drawn for their likeness to the beautiful sensations of love. Sometimes, however, the vehicle itself is an abstract noun, such as ‘the force’ of love in which force _ a hypothetical construct in physics__ is equated with the emotional pull of love.

Examples from the Qur’an follow:

يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّـهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ  

O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. [in An-Nisa 171]

In this ayah, Hazrat Isa (alaihi-s-salaam) has been identified as a Word of God. This ayah is meant to persuade Christians and Jews about the truth of Hazrat Isa’s birth. His birth was extraordinary in an earthly son since he was born without a father. “Word of God’ is, of course, an abstract concept. It means the will, the command, and the decree of Allah. The birth of Prophet Isa occured the way it died because Allah had ordained it to be so. Moreover, its being no different from any human birth is referenced in ayah 59 of Surah Al-i-Imran↓2.

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ 

And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.

 A classic Qur’anic idiom regarding ‘personal responsibility’, the phrase appears in several places throughout the Qur’an, such as Al-An’am 164, Al-Isra 15, and Surah Fatir 18. It is about the Day of Judgment when every person will be judged on their acts alone. Burden, again, is an abstract noun. The quote below from English Tafhim-yul-Qur’an succintly provides its interpretation.

… everyone is responsible and accountable for his own deeds and this responsibility can, on no account, be shifted from one to another.

This same (or similar) metaphor has been employed with other words too, examplified in the following quotations:

 وَسَاءَ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ حِمْلًا

and evil it is for them on the Day of Resurrection as a load [in Sura Ta’Ha 101]

 وَلَيَحْمِلُنَّ أَثْقَالَهُمْ وَأَثْقَالًا مَّعَ أَثْقَالِهِمْ ۖ وَلَيُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ

 But they will surely carry their [own] burdens and [other] burdens along with their burdens, [in Al-Ankabut 13]

 وَقَدِمْنَا إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَّنثُورًا 

And We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed. [Al-Furqan 23]

 The first two of these, himla and athwqal (plural for thaqal) are plain synonyms for wizr. The meaning of the second of those ayah references ayah 85 of An-Nisa↓3: Additional burdens are those incurred by one’s influences on other people’s character and behavior. The third might be viewed as a different metaphoric image (‘dust dispersed); but, has been drawn from the same abstract category: weight.

Conceptual metaphors

While abstract metaphors are typically cited in literary resources, conceptual metaphors is a popular cognitive theory of metaphorical thinking. In the simplest terms:

 conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another

__ wikipedia

[Note that this definition essentially posits metaphor as a case of isomorphism.] This general theory basically encompasses all metaphors, but here some illustrative examples from the Qur’an are provided. Note that Lakoff and Johnson identified three types of conceptual metaphor. The definitions with proper citing has been covered in one of the previous sets of posts on metaphor. 

نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ  

We raise by degrees whom We will. [in Al-An’am 83]

A typical example of a conceptual metaphor, the imagery of the metaphor is not immediately obvious. The use of word ‘raise’ in the sense of qualifying /promoting something to its better or higher value is so common, we don’t realize that the literal meaning of word raise is only in the sense of physically lifting something up. Lakoff and Johnson called this is as an orientational metaphor: in which different gradations of non-physical phenomenon are presented as lined up on a linear up-down (higher/lower) continuum. Another metaphor from the lower end of the continuum is as follows, whereby God refers to the highest and lowest possible states of man in the Surah:

ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ 

Now consider the following examples:

وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ 

But for every matter is a [time of] place. [in Al-Qamar 3]

وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَىٰ

And indeed, We have for him a nearness… [in Surah Saad 25]

وَلَـٰكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ  

…but what reaches Him is piety from you. [in Al-Hajj 37]

All these examples treat an abstract noun (respectively, ‘matter/issue’, ‘nearness’, and ‘piety’ as if it’s concrete. Literally, a matter cannot have a physical place, a nearness is not a possession to be had, and piety is not a parcel. Regarding them as such shows the inherent metaphor. A metaphor in which non-matter is treated as a substance is called ontological metaphor. Two more examples in the same category occur in the following classic proclamation from the Qur’an:

وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

 The third category involves expressing one kind of experience/activity in terms of another. These are called structural metaphors and involve the kind of structural mapping we have already illustrated in this series such as in the very previous post. In fact, the majority of metaphors incuding those considered literary, are based on such a structural map. Other examples that may be outlined through maps have been covered in previous posts on the simple metaphor, personification, and metaphoric symbols.

Notes

1. As in Shelestiuk, H. V. (2006). Approaches to metaphor: Structure, classifications, cognate phenomenon. Semiotica, 161 (1/4), 333-343.

2. The ayah was quoted as an example of isomorphism in a post of the previous section of this anthology.

 3. Translation of the referenced ayah from the source linked above: “Whoever intercedes for a good cause will have a reward therefrom; and whoever intercedes for an evil cause will have a burden therefrom. And ever is Allah, over all things, a Keeper.”

Of Allegories and Parables…

Kulikovsky (1997)↓1 cites authentic sources in defining parables. The descriptions also clarify each of their relationship to metaphor:

Parables are short stories that are told in order to get a point across… The word “parable” (Gk. parabole) was generally used in reference to any short narrative that had symbolic meaning (Louw & Nida 1989, p. 391)… A true parable … may be regarded as an extended simile (Blomberg 1990, p. 32). It is a story that resembles real-life natural situations and does not contain any mythical or supernatural elements (Kuske 1995, p. 97)… C. H. Dodd (1961, p.16) defines a parable as: “a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.”

Allegory, as will be clear, is essentially an extended metaphor.

According to grammar.com:

The rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.

 According to wikipedia and TheFreeDictionary, respectively:

Allegory is a device in which characters or events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concepts.

and

The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.

Examples of Allegory and Parable from the Qur’an 

Consider the following two ayahs:

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ ۖ

قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِن ۖ قَالَ بَلَىٰ وَلَـٰكِن لِّيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي ۖ

قَالَ فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِّنَ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِّنْهُنَّ جُزْءًا

ثُمَّ ادْعُهُنَّ يَأْتِينَكَ سَعْيًا ۚ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

AND when Abraham said, “My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead.” Allah said, “Have you not believed?” He said, “Yes, but [I ask] only that my heart may be satisfied.” Allah said, “Take four birds and commit them to yourself. Then [after slaughtering them] put on each hill a portion of them; then call them – they will come [flying] to you in haste. And know that Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” [Al-Baqara 260]

and:

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًا فَلَمَّا أَضَاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ ذَهَبَ اللَّـهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ

Their example is that of one who kindled a fire, but when it illuminated what was around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darkness [so] they could not see. [Al-Baqara 17]

 According to the definitions, the first example is a parable as it recounts an incident involving Hazrat Ibrahim (alaihi-salaam) to moralize about the prowess of Allah in creation. According to the ayah, Prophet Ibrahim requested Allah ta’ala to illustrate re-creation (or life after death) to him. Allah ta’ala instructed him to tame a bird and then to kill and place its different parts on foud different locations. Then, upon injuction from God, when the prophet called the bird’s name it came flying back to him, alive and whole.

This is a parable since it recounts an actual incidence, based on its similarity to the target problem in question: resurrection. The metaphoricity of the parable thus lies in the semblance of the story-events to the subject matter intended to be illustrated by it.

The second ayah is an allegory since a) it does not recount an actual incidence, b) each specific detail of the story can be mapped on to a concept/item of the specific subject that it illustrates. This ayah occurs in the very beginning of Surah Baqarah when after describing the Faithful people, God proceeds to describe the Hypocrites through several allegories. Above is the first of those. Below, the sturctural map is presented:

Ayah (allegory)                                  :                              Tafseer (target/meaning)

The man who kindled fire                :             Prophet Mohummad (salla-Allahu-alaihi-wasallam)

Fire                                            :                            God’s guidance in the form of Qur’anic verses

Illuminating the surroundings           :             Throwing light on the ignorant lifestyles OR lightening up the straight lifestyle

God snatching away their light            :              God interrupted their ability to perceive the message as it is

Their being left in darkness            :             Their inability to accept Islam

This is the common exegesis of the ayah then, embodied in this English translation of Tafhim-ul-Qur’an:

This means that two opposite effects emerged when a true servant of God radiated the light which made it possible to distinguish true from false and right from wrong, and made the straight way distinct from the ways of error. To those endowed with true perception, all truths became evident. But those who were almost blinded by the worship of their animal desires perceived nothing. 
      The expression, ‘Allah took away the light of their perception’ should not create the impression that these people were not responsible for their stumbling into darkness. Only those who do not seek the Truth, who prefer error to guidance and who are adamantly disinclined to pursue the Truth despite its luminosity, are deprived, by God, of the light of their perception. God simply enables such people to do what they wish.

Typically, allegories are the most vivid, beautiful, visual and literary of the Qur’anic metaphors, hence many more will be presented in a future section. Parables with prominent metaphorical content might also be discussed in various sections.

 In the next post, we move onto another typology of Qur’anic metaphors, InshaAllah.

Notes

1. Kulikovsky, A. S. (1997). The interpretation of parables, allegories and types. Accessed online at:

http://www.kulikovskyonline.net/hermeneutics/parab.htm

Thus, whereas in case of metaphors similarity lies in between one piece to another piece of information (source and target), isomorphism is more broad-scale with likenings (or, structural mappings, using Lakoff’s terms) between two series of information.

Evidence of isomorphism in the Qur’an

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّنَ الْبَعْثِ

فَإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ مِن مُّضْغَةٍ مُّخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ لِّنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ ۚ

وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ۖ

وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِن بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا ۚ

وَتَرَى الْأَرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ 

1.  development of the embryo inside the mother’s womb,
2. progression of the born human from birth till senile age, and,
3. the blossoming of foliage from barren earth into beautiful grass.

The common thread between all three types of growths is the fruition from a non-existent or immature stage to the fully developed stage. The wilting of luscious grass into brown hay is not mentioned here but has been mentioned in similar vein otherwise. Each living thing’s cycle of growth infact shows similar progression with basically the same two end-points: a) beginning of life and b) reversal of prime followed by death. The ayah thus succintly points out that no matter which stage or whose growth one might look at they all mirror the same pattern. This isomorphism in turn strongly suggests the sameness of the penultimate source of this cycle, in contrast to ‘random mistakes’ as suggested by the evolutionists.

 وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُم مَّا خَوَّلْنَاكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ 

“AND you have certainly come to Us alone as We created you the first time, and you have left whatever We bestowed upon you behind you.” [in Al-An’am 94]

As per the above ayah, the two end-points of the cycle of growth themselves mirror each other: a progression from nothing to nothing. We are born empty-handed. Whaterver we acquire during our lifetimes (money, property, skills) is a part of the process of growing up in the world. In the end we leave empty-handed again. This mirroring was also catptured in the second example of the above ayah: God reminded there that after our birth we progress until old age where we become ignorant and unaware just as we were when we were born. The special aspect of the particular ayah now referred is that the sameness of the two unobserved phases of human existence has been implied: the phase before our birth and the phase after our deaths. We came from nothing (nothing here means only in the ‘physical sense’) and we return to nothing: matter and material are a midway stage observed only in this finite world.

إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ اللَّـهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ ۖ خَلَقَهُ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ

Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was. [Al-i-Imran 59]

On a theological subject, the Quran here points out the inherent sameness in the birth of Hazrats Adam and of Isa (alaihima-s-salaam). The Christian tendency is to regard Isa as (na-‘uzubi-Allah) Son of God on account of his fatherless birth to Bibi Maryam. Allah (subhanahu ta’ala) here gently points out how Hazrat Adam was created from scratch without a father or a mother. Birth to all sorts of creation in this world, of indeed the whole universe, and of the universe of heaven and hell that is invisible to us, is by virtue of God’s powers. It is after having descended Hazrat Adam onto earth with wife Hawwa that the familiar system of human reproduction was put in place. However, it goes without saying, that the Creator can re-create another sample of any being in whatever manner He wishes as a miraculous reminder of His Great Powers. Thus the birth of all human beings, indeed all living beings in this world are isomorphic to each other. This agains points to the unity of the Source of all this creation.

Usage of isomorphism in the Qur’an

The three examples we have considered are sufficient to illustrate how isomorphism differs from metaphors in their more narrowed, literary sense. Isomorphisms point out the correspondence and basic sameness of apparently different phenomenae. They seem to be more factual, used to point out big cosmic realities. On the other hand, literary metaphors might be used more often as examples and illustration.

Notes

All exposition regarding the ayahs relies on basic exegises as found in Maulana Maududi’s Tafheem-ul-Qur’an and Mir Taqi Uthmani’s Ma’ariful Qur’an.

A symbol is something that represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for “STOP”. On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for numbers. Personal names are symbols representing individuals. A red rose symbolizes love and compassion. [wikipedia]

Symbols are more general and widely renown and referred-to than metaphors. They might be concrete images or objects, or they might be scribblings created purposely to denote something (numerals and alphabets are obvious examples). Symbols when used as means of expression, however, are derived as metaphors, whereas others may be derived as metonymies.

Symbols that work as metaphors

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّـهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ حُطَامًا ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

إِذْ قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ

Personification

In an example from a previous post, stones were mentioned by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala as falling down due to fear of Allah. When things are described as having animate properties__ trees whistling, daffodils dancing __ it is said to be personification.

Example #1:

إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا

وَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا

وَقَالَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا لَهَا

 يَوْمَئِذٍ تُحَدِّثُ أَخْبَارَهَا

When the earth will be shaken with a mighty shaking,

Personification by the Almighty

In Qur’an a different, interesting case of personification occurs. Consider the following examples:

بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ

In Your Hand is all good [In Al-i-Imran 26]

وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّـهَ رَمَىٰ

and it was not you [o prophet Muhammed] when you threw [sand at them], but it was Allah Who threw it, [In Al-Anfal 17]

In both these examples, personification occurs by crediting a human feature or action with the God Almighty. Of course Allah Sub’hana’hu wa Ta’ala is above any literal comparisons to any creature of His own. However, for ease of communication and translability to His human subjects, He makes ample use of personification in the Qur’an and applies it to His own case.

The first instance here is a common proverbial expression in this case applied to God. In the second instance, there is a very deliberate personification by attributing an act by the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wasallam) to His ownself. This technique achieves particular effects in meaning. For one it suggests that all rightful action by His subjects, in particular, by His prophets, represent the authority and decree of His Lordship. For another, it shows that great courageous acts performed under devotion to one’s God are appreciated and endearing so that God Himself attaches His name and agency to those deeds; thus, declaring the high status of such actions in God’s reckoning. Note that these effects are not particular to the Last Prophet as might be suggested by the wording of the above ayah. In the opening section of this ayah (right before the quoted one), Allah Ta’ala attributes the general actions of the Muslim army against the enemy to Himself in the same manner.

Conclusions about personification in the Qur’an

The above study leads to two clear conclusions about the way personification is employed in the Qur’an:

1. Applied to earth and the heavens, personification brings to our grasp great metaphysical facts of God’s created universe. As such, personification clothes and translates literal truths about the universe while also helping bridge the gap inthe ‘form’ of human vs inanimate spirituality.

2. Allaha ta’ala applies personification to His own case by using human action/body parts idioms to His own doings. This certainly broadens the usage of personification and its definition: Personification is a metaphor wherein an event caused by any non-human entity is described using words that literally show human agency.

Catachresis

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

But in fact We hurl the truth upon falsehood, so it scatters its brains – thereupon it vanishes; [In Al-Anbiya 18]

Catachresis is a deliberate or accidental mispplication of a word giving rise to a mixing up of meanings/senses that reads absurd at the literal level. The metaphor it creates is called as mixed (relevant wikipedia sections will be helpful). In the above example, Truth and Falsehood are abstract nouns given to concepts, on the other hand, ‘hammering away one’s brains’, ‘striking something with something else’ are clearly physical and concrete events.

The general meaning of the Quranic statement (also corroborated by other tafseers) is well captured by Maulana Maududi as follows:

“The object for which this world has been created is to stage a conflict between the Truth and falsehood. And you yourselves know that in this conflict falsehood has always been defeated and destroyed: You should, therefore, consider this reality seriously, for, if you build the system of your life on the false presumption that it is mere fun, you will meet with the same consequences as the former people did, who presumed that the world was a mere show and pastime. Therefore you should reconsider your whole attitude towards the Message which has come to you. Instead of making fun of it and scoffing at the Messenger, you should take a warning from the fate of the former peoples.”

The catachresis employed towards this ends certainly adds intensity and forcefulness to the Quranic claim. Falsehood would be destroyed as definitiely and as powerfully as a large stone taking out brains when thrown on a head. Truth being ‘thrown’ at the falsehood not only implies the ‘high/righteous’ vs. ‘low/wrongful’ designation of truth vs falsehood,  it also implies a clear out-in-the-open type of strategy of coming up against the former.

Thus the catachresis not only makes the claim more memorable and striking, it actually contributes a dimension of meaning to the interpretation.

This posts contrasts metaphor with another of its close relation: metonymy.

Metonymies

وَيَبْسُطُوا إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ

AND they will extend against you their hands… [in Al-Mumtahna 2]

When Quran mentions enemies’ hands stretching against you, the meaning of course includes a full-bodied and fully armored attack. Obvious, right? Metonymies are usually that obvious. When a part of the concept or something closely associated with that object is used to refer to the object, we call it a metonymy.

The word metonymy is Greek and means ‘a change of name’, which it is. The attribute selected for reference (or as the new name) might literally be a part of the object (such as hands in the above ayah are a body part of the enemies). This particular way, by the way, is also called a synecdoche.

Or, as in the following ayah, it might be an associated property:

وَالْأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا ۗ لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ

AND the cattle, He has created them for you; in them there is warmth (warm clothing), and numerous benefits, and of them you eat. [An-Nahl 5]

For us there is warmth in the cattle by dint of their skins; we use those for winter clothing.

Conversely, the referent might be behavior, such as in:

التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ الْآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللَّـهِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

THOSE who repent, those who worship Allah and praise (Him); those who journey, those who bow, those who prostrate themselves; those who order righteousness and forbid evil, and those who observe the limits of Allah give glad tidings to the believers. [At-Tawba 112]

In short whenever a part or portion of the overall idea of something is used to refer to it, it will be a metonymy. The literal meaning shows the part; the real meaning extends to the whole. As such it is very common throughout language, thought processes and, of course, the Holy Book. Below are some ways it has been utilized:

Exemplification

Source

وَهُوَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ الْبَحْرَ لِتَأْكُلُوا مِنْهُ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُوا مِنْهُ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا

AND He it is Who has subjected the sea (to you), that you eat thereof fresh tender meat (i.e. fish), and that you bring forth out of it ornaments to wear. [in An-Nahl 14]

Above, out of the general topic of ocean’s services to us, a few select ones have been mentioned.

وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ

AND refuses to give even utensils (for neighbourly assistance). [Al-Ma’un 7]

This whole Surah consists of select behaviors of a particular brand of unbelievers. This brand, though might pass as the faithful ones, actually refute in their hearts the idea of the Day of Judgment. It shows through their treatment of orphans and the indigent (ayah 2-3), their dilly-dallying in the way of salat (ayah 5). and their indifference from even basic help to their neighbors in the simplest of needs. Thus we can see tha by selecting behaviors from the societal, the formal religious, and the personality domains of a Muslim’s lifestyle, a whole pattern of life has been highlighted.

Oaths

Qur’an takes exemplificaion to a level of beauty and significance in form of oaths. Particularly in the shorter Surahs, choice pointers from the Universe of the Lord have been selected and Qur’an’s statements vouchsafed by them. Consider the following beautiful examples:

وَالضُّحَىٰ

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ

BY the glorious morning light;

AND by the night when it grows still; [Ad-Dhuha 1-2]

وَالْعَادِيَاتِ ضَبْحًا

فَالْمُورِيَاتِ قَدْحًا

فَالْمُغِيرَاتِ صُبْحًا

فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعًا

  فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعًا

BY the chargers that run panting, 

Titles

Titles are typically metonymic. They refer to salient features, prominent qualities, or other associated stuff. Consider the following examples:

وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ

AND with Pharaoh of the tent pegs. [Al-Fajr 10]

يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ

O THE one who has wrapped himself up with a mantle, [Al-Muzzammil 1]

وَذَا النُّونِ

AND the Man of the Whale.. [Al-Anbiya 87]

In all of these, one item of interest associated with the subject has been abstracted as a title. The Pharoah of Moses’ times was known to vicitimize peope by putting them on stakes (tent-poles). In Al-Muzzammil, a very early Surah↓ in the prophetic tradition, the early ayahs descended at a time when the Prophet (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) had wrapped himself in a sheet to go to sleep. As for the last example, the story of Prophet Younus (alaihi-s-salaam; Jonah in the Christian tradition) and the Whale is well-known↓.

Metonymy, Symbolism and Metaphor

We began this post with a metonymy of ‘hands’. The mention of hands recurs below, though in a hugely different way:

دَاوُودَ ذَا الْأَيْدِ

Dawood, He of Two Hands [in Surah Saad 17]

To think that out of many remarkable qualities Prophet Dawood (alaihi-s-salaam) is being remembered for his two hands might have seemed plausible if there was a supporting back-story (such as in the case of Pharoah’s title above); but there is none. Hence the typical translation for this phrase across 14 different translators↓1 tends to be strength/might/power.

The above is therefore not an obvious metonymy. It would be a metaphor if there was some basis for similarity between ‘hands’ and ‘power/strength’; or, is there? Its easy to think that hands symbolize strength or might, since, at the human level hands perform all sorts of jobs for their owners. Nearly all the survival skills of mankind depend on hands. All cultural endeavors began and flourished through hands. A man without hands is literally and figuratively powerless.

So are hands merely a ‘symbol’:  something associated with the concept of power; a ‘metaphor’: by virtue of their functional similarity with the concept; or, a ‘metonymy’, because they are literally a part of all human endeavours which ultimately bring them power? Probably the answer is ‘yes’ to all of these.

Symbolical and Metaphorical metonymies

Let us consider a few more examples like that and then we return to some of those already presented and refer to tafseer for their shades of symbolism and metaphoricity.

وَأَن لَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُم مَّاءً غَدَقًا

IF they (non-Muslims) had believed in Allah, and went on the Right Way (i.e. Islam) We should surely have bestowed on them water (rain) in abundance. [Al-Jinn 16]

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

AND from the evil of darkness when it settles. [Al-Falaq 3]

In the first example here, abundant water is can be viewed as a symbol for prosperity for two reasons: It is actually a major prerequisite for good harvests and consequent well-being and wealth for all agricultural societies; and, it is similar to that abundance itself by immediately quenching and thoroughly satisfying a bunch of human needs thus also directly eliciting the feeling of contentmet and happiness associated with prosperity. The relationship between rains and prosperity is, hence both metonymical and metaphorical.

In the second example, the use of ‘darkness’ to refer to ‘night’ is almost a universal trope. But is it metaphorical or metonymical? While night literally is dark (making the reference metonymical), the association carries more meaning than that especially as the addition of the word شَرِّ (evil) suggests. Evil actions are labelled as dark, whereas light tends to be associated with goodness. Infact Quran makes ample usage of these metaphors as we will see in the subseqent sections of this anthology.

Among the examples already presented, the tent-poles of Pharoah are also interpreted as power and might↓2. The basis for reference to the Prophet’s wrap in Surah Muzzammil seems straightforwardly metonymical as he had it on when those lines descended upon him. However, the following tafseer↓3 by Maulana Maudui calls to mind the metaphorical underspinnings:

Here, to address him with “O you who sleeps covered up” instead of with “O
Prophet, or O Messenger”, is a fine way of address, which by itself gives the
meaning: “Gone is the time when you used to enjoy peaceful sleep at will; now
you lie under the burden of a great mission, whose demands and duties are
different as well as onerous.

Similarly, recall that in Al-Adiyat 1-5, oaths by the charging battle-horses of Arab have been taken to verify the subsequent claim:

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ

Verily man is most ungrateful to his Lord; [Al-Adiyat 6]

Now Maudidi sees the oaths as a metonymic reminder of how Allah protected the Meccan population day after day where any dawn could bring upon their heads an army of charging horses as depicted in the anthology example; yet they remain ungrateful. On the other hand, Mufti Shafi views the same as a reverse metaphor: contrasting the subjugating gratefulness of horses under their masters’ little caretaking with the stubborn indifference of those masters to their All-providing God.

Conclusion

Although metonymies are created in a manner different from metaphors, the symbolism underneath many of them imbues them with  metaphorical significance. The literature on the topic is still trying to figure out how or why they run together↓4. For our purposes, in the other sections of this anthology we encounter many metaphors that have a metonymical construction.

Notes

1. Browse through the translators on the linked page on tanzil.net.

2. Same as above.

3. Online English translation of Tafhim ul Quran, at: http://www.quranenglish.com/tafheem_quran/073.htm

4. For instance see Radden, 2002, How metonymic are metaphors? In Metaphor and Metonymy: In comparison and contrast, (Eds.) R. Dirven and R. Porings, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 407-33.

Source

مَّوْجٌ كَالظُّلَلِ

…waves like shades [in Surah Luqman, 32]

The above is a typical example of a similie: a figure of speech that directly compares two different things by using words ‘like’ or ‘as’ between its two subjects.

Metaphor and Similie

Metaphor is traditionally contrasted with similie: the commonality between the compared entities is more explicitly stated in a similie by adding the terms ‘is like’ or ‘as’. Reseaerch papers have pondered the question how the two are different in effect and import and which of the two is stronger↓1.

The relationship between simile and metaphor is close, metaphor often being defined as a condensed simile, that is, someone who runs like lightning can be called a lightning runner. Sometimes, simile and metaphor blend so well that the join is hard to find . . .

__Tom MacArthur↓2

Metaphor conveys a relationship between two things by using a word or words figuratively, not literally; that is, in a special sense which is different from the sense it has in the contexts noted by the dictionary.
“By contrast, in simile, words are used literally, or ‘normally.’ This thing A is said to be ‘like’ that thing, B. The description given to A and to B is as accurate as literal words can make it, and the reader is confronted by a kind of fait accompli, where sense-impressions are often the final test of success. Thus ‘my car is like a beetle’ uses the words ‘car’ and ‘beetle’ literally, and the simile depends for its success on the literal–even visual–accuracy of the comparison.

__Terence Hawkes↓3

Let us continue the discussion with the help of anthology examples:

Plain similies

وَمَا أَمْرُنَا إِلَّا وَاحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ الْجَوَارِ فِي الْبَحْرِ كَالْأَعْلَامِ

Source

In the above two ayahs the following comparisons are made:

Commencement of Doomsday ≈ Batting of an eye-lid

Ships in the ocean ≈ Huge signs/ landmarks

Both seem to be rather straightforward similies where A is directly likened to B based on an attribute they share. Batting of an eye-lid is a split-second occurence and so will be God’s final order for this world. The two share the commanility of ultra-quickness. Landmarks on earth usually rise high above ground level and their hugeness can be seen from distance — so do the ships on sea.

Stronger similies

On the other hand, the following example is not only variously stated, it is also broader in scope:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ كَمَثَلِ الْعَنكَبُوتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا ۖ وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنكَبُوتِ ۖ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

THE example of those who take guardians besides Allah is as the example of the spider that makes for itself a house; and most surely the frailest of the houses is the spider’s house did they but know. [Al-Ankabut, 41]

Source

The meaning of the above example can be best summarized as in Tafhimul Quran:

The reality of the toy-house of expectations that you have built on your faith in the powerless servants and imaginary deities, apart from the real Master and Ruler of the universe, is no more than the cobweb of a spider. Just as a cobweb cannot stand the slightest interference by a finger, so will the toy-house of your expectations collapse in its first clash with the scheme of Allah. It is nothing but ignorance that you are involved in the web of superstition. Had you any knowledge of the Reality you would not have built your system of life on baseless props. The fact is that none other than the One Lord of the worlds in this universe is the Owner of power and authority, and His support is the only support which is reliable.

__ Maulana Maududi↓4

This tafseer is in concurrence with Maulana Taqi Uthmani, and Ibne Kathir.

Although it has been stated as a similie (كَمَثَلِ = ‘like/as the example of’), the reason why it seems more of a metaphor is its scope. The subject is not a single feature of an object. A whole system of thought (idol worship / shirk) has been compared with an instance from the natural world based on multiple tapped (and potentially untapped) comparisons. A spider weaves its web with a very fine type of silk which has almost no weight and can be blown away by the slightest of breezes. Thus it is ‘without weight’, ‘is barely suspended in thin air’, ‘falls through at the slightest of disturbances’, hence ‘unreliable as a base or support’ __ all attributes that alternative systems of belief carry.

Hence the structure of the above statement is just like a similie; still, it’s the import that makes it a metaphor. If there are degrees of metaphoricity, than the above similie is clearly more metaphorical than the previous two examples.

Here is another example:

وَلَن تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَن تَعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَمِيلُوا كُلَّ الْمَيْلِ فَتَذَرُوهَا كَالْمُعَلَّقَةِ

YOU will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them (by giving her more of your time and provision) so as to leave the other hanging (i.e. neither divorced nor married). [in An-Nisa, 129]

The above example is again broader in scope, hence stronger as a similie: If a husband of two wives leans towards only one of them, than the other wife remains stuck in an uncomfortable position. By law she is a wife, but actually not treated as one. She is not getting her rightful needs met with her husband, nor can she currently expect them to be met by anybody else: like someone literally hanging on a hook: static, unable to move to any position of comfort, not moving anywhere in life. A whole life situation is captured through the use of one apt image.↓5

.

Similies as strong as metaphors

ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً

ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الْأَنْهَارُ

ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَاءُ

ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّـهِ

ۗ وَمَا اللَّـهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

This is the first, and the most imaginative, of 6 different occasions on which Al-Qur’an depicts a particular state of unbelief as the heardness of heart. According to the Quran, hardness of the heart is a result of repeated digression from major pacts with Allah ta’ala (see Al-Ma’ida 13), usually happens with loss of perseverence and patience following the termination of Allah’s prohpecies through the prophet (see tafseer ibne kathir for Al-Hadeed 16, both in urdu and in english), takes away the ability to learn lessons from Allah’s warnings (in Al-An’am, 43), and the capacity to remember God (Az-Zumar 22), and makes it easier to turn away from God following trials and tribulations (in Al-Hajj 53).

All that has been catpured pictorially by association in the anthology selection from Surah Baqarah. Stones are known for their hardness, but not all stones are hard enough to capture the unmoving stubbornness of those unbelieving hearts. For stones are known to have cloven apart making way for beautiful life-giving flowing water, and stones do not remain high up in the air, defiant in their solidity against gravity; they stumble and crash down before the decree of God. They are not as rigid and as indifferent to the inspiring, softening yet, awe-inducing power of God’s messages as some hearts be..

For a concept illustrated on different occasions in the Quran and using terms other than the one used here (of hardness: Qaf-Sin-Wao), the image of life-carrying and humble yielding stones reaches metaphorical heights, only that the real comparison is by contrast: hard hearts are harder than these stones. In the different examples of the stones, we can read how the deeply sentient and emotional states of belief and realization of the truth are mapped.

In short, although similies may be supposed to be literal, direct and weaker compared with metaphor, they have been used to amazing metaphorical effects in Al-Quran. Regular similies as well as more divergent versions appear numerously in future sections of this anthology.

Till next form, fi Aman-Allah.

Notes

1. Previously referenced The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought contains essays on metaphor understanding and category creation comparing it to similies.

2. Tom McArthur, The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992; found on About.com.

3. Metaphor. Methuen, 1972; found as above.

4. Online Tafhim ul Quran, English version.

5. For instance see Tafhim ul Quran, and M’ariful Quran, both English versions.

A metaphor can come as a part of a simple sentence, or it can be used in various devices. In this section of the thread we consider examples of the various forms.

The simple metaphor

Consider these examples:

وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ وِلْدَانٌ مُّخَلَّدُونَ إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ حَسِبْتَهُمْ لُؤْلُؤًا مَّنثُورًا

IMMORTAL youths will go about them; when you see them, you would suppose them to be scattered pearls. [Al-Insan, 19]

أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ الْأَرْضَ مِهَادًا

وَالْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ 

The second instance includes two simple metaphors put inside a question. The vehicles are objects of the word ‘make’, only put down in a query. This type of question is actually rhetorical, as it is meant as a persuasive argument, rather a real query. The metaphors are as follows:

earth ≈ cradle/spread

mountains ≈ pegs

The arabic word for the first metaphor,  مِهَادًا, means something that is spread or made even/smoothed out↓2. Thus the translation of both ‘expanse’ and ‘cradle’ is correct as well as is the more general ‘resting-place’ which highlights the ground between earth and cradle. The upper layer of the earth (called ‘crust’) is spread out well enough for us to be used as a place to lie down by homeless people and tentless travelers. It’s expanse figuratively holds enough room for the world’s populace and by nature allows both humblest and grandest of abodes to be made upon it↓3. It is also supposed to be the literal cradle for our bodies when we die. Geologically, this upper layer consists of huge expanse of plates made up of soil and rock laid around the inner layers of the earth. Thus the metaphor scores from various angles, and seems to be a good example of how a metaphor is a conceptual web holding together related pieces of knowledge, potentially fueling further understanding (see Illuminating Metaphors Part II).

Mountain ranges typically form when crust plates jam into each other causing one to be forced upwards and the other to slide downwards (subduction). Thus mountains can be imagined as a series of pegs going throug both the inner and upper sides of the earth’s expanse, holding the plates together↓4. Al-Qur’an itself states:

وَأَلْقَىٰ فِي الْأَرْضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِكُمْ وَأَنْهَارًا

AND He placed mountains as anchors in the earth so that it may not shake along with you, [An-Nahl, 15]

The metaphor thus holds both functional and visual commonality between vehicle and target.

The third instance above illustrates plain metaphor in a unique way: negation. The negative metaphor is لَاعِبِينَ – a noun with many meanings, the apt one here being ‘a plaything’,’game’, or ‘sport’. The only truly intelligent being on earth – humans – have used all sorts of naturally occuring phenomenae and facts inventively for their sport, entertainment and pastime. From national parks to ski resorts to playfields through to the virtual realities in electronic media are pointers that natural potentiality discovries and inventions of the world are all available for recreation. Philosophers have puzzled for centuries over the possibility that whether God has similarly created this universe as mere pastime. The commonality beween target (universe) and vehicle (all means of recreation in the world) is plausible, but here expressly denied by God in order to invite man to ponder more meaningful reasons behind the creation of universe.

Altogether these examples show how even the simple metaphor is used creatively and performs essential functions in the discourse. We move on with other forms of metaphors in the next post, InshaAllah.

Notes

1. See Tafseer Ibne Kathir, specifically Urdu version for the referred ayah.

2. Project Root List: Mim-Ha-Dal

3. For concordance see Tafsir Ibne Kathir

4. For relevant geography, see Mountain Formation on wikipedia.