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Al-Balagha.com. https://doi.org/10.64393/balagha.Q56", "dateModified": "2026-09-17T22:00:36+00:00", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/", "copyrightHolder": { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://marathe.org/#mandar", "name": "Dr Mandar Marathe", "url": "https://marathe.org/" }, "encoding": [ { "@type": "MediaObject", "encodingFormat": "text/html", "contentUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/html/SIMILE.html" }, { "@type": "MediaObject", "encodingFormat": "application/pdf", "contentUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/pdf/SIMILE.pdf" }, { "@type": "MediaObject", "encodingFormat": "application/ld+json", "contentUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/json/SIMILE.json" } ], "balagha:archive": { "@type": "balagha:Archive", "balagha:htmlUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/html/SIMILE.html", "balagha:pdfUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/pdf/SIMILE.pdf", "balagha:jsonUrl": "https://al-balagha.com/json/SIMILE.json" }, "balagha:contentType": "RhetoricalDevice", "balagha:categories": [ "Arabic 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shared attribute.\nThe simile element (ʾadāt al-tashbīh): the linguistic marker linking the two.", "linguisticOperation": "From the sources\nSimile establishes a comparison between two entities (the mushabbah and the mushabbah bih) on the basis of a shared attribute (wajh al-shabah).[2][4][5][6][7]\n\nThe comparison may be signalled by an explicit simile element (adāt al-tashbīh), such as a particle, noun, or verb indicating resemblance.[2][5][6]\n\nThe shared attribute may be stated explicitly or omitted and inferred from context.[1][2][4]\n\nThe simile element may likewise be present or omitted, producing recognised subtype distinctions.[1][2][4]\n\nIn standard Simile construction, the shared attribute is normally stronger or more manifest in the likened (al-mushabbah bih) than in the likened-to (al-mushabbah), since the likened functions as the clearer or stronger exemplar of the attribute.[4][6][1][8] This directionality may be reversed in certain subtypes (see Reverse Simile below).Encyclopedia Interpretation\nIn this encyclopedia, the linguistic form of Simile may vary through the presence or omission of the simile feature and simile element, or through the embedding of the comparison within a wider proposition rather than a standard simile construction.", "recognition": "From the sources\nSimile may be present when:[2][4][6]\n\nTwo entities or meanings are placed in a relation of resemblance.\n\nThe two ends of the comparison — the likened-to (al-mushabbah) and the likened (al-mushabbah bihi) — can be identified as distinct comparison poles.\n\nA shared attribute between them can be identified, whether stated explicitly or understood by implication.\n\nThe relation of resemblance may be expressed by a simile element such as kāf or kaʾanna, but the simile element may be omitted.\nEncyclopedia Interpretation\nThe following diagnostic tests aid identification:\n\nCan two distinct comparison poles be identified?\n\nIs a relation of resemblance established between them?\n\nCan a shared feature be identified or plausibly recovered?\n\nCan the expression be paraphrased as “X is like Y in respect of Z” without introducing a comparison that is not already present?", "diagnosticCommunicativeEnhancements": "From the sources\nClarification (bayān al-ḥāl) — making the state or nature of the likened-to intelligible by reference to a familiar standard.[1][6][7]\nDemonstrating possibility (bayān imkān al-mushabbah) — establishing that an attribute claimed of the likened-to is plausible by showing it is already exemplified in the likened.[6][5][7]\nEstablishing degree (bayān miqdār al-ḥāl) — specifying how strongly a quality is possessed by the likened-to through the choice of a likened that exemplifies it to a known degree.[6][5][7]\nConfirmation (taqrīr al-ḥāl) — reinforcing and fixing a quality already attributed to the likened-to.[6][5][7]\nPraise (tazyin) — elevating the likened-to by associating it with a positively valued likened.[1][2][6][7]\nDispraise (taqbīḥ) — degrading the likened-to by associating it with a negatively valued likened.[1][2][6][7]\n\nApplying the Recognition Framework\nThe information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:\n\nUse the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.\nApply the substitution test in Step 2.\nConsider contextual indicators in Step 3.\nUse the Diagnostic Communicative Enhancements section of this page in Step 4.", "compoundDevices": "Encyclopedia Interpretation -> Compound Device\nSome source-attested configurations of Simile combine the comparison operation of Simile with an additional independent Linguistic Operation. In accordance with the Encyclopedia's atomicity principle, these configurations are analysed as compounds of their constituent rhetorical devices rather than as atomic subtypes of Simile.\nFolded Simile (al-tashbīh al-malfūf)From the sources\nClassical sources describe al-tashbīh al-malfūf as a configuration in which multiple likened-to terms are first presented together, followed by their corresponding likened terms.[4][6]\nEncyclopedia Interpretation\nThe Encyclopedia analyses this as a compound configuration of Simile and Parallel/Ordered Folding and Unfolding (FOLDING-OU). Simile establishes the individual comparison relations, while Folding and Unfolding groups the first set of comparison poles and subsequently supplies the corresponding second set in matching order.\nStructure\nA₁ + A₂ + A₃ → B₁ + B₂ + B₃The addressee reconstructs the comparison pairings A₁:B₁, A₂:B₂, and A₃:B₃.\nEqualised Simile (tashbīh al-taswiya)From the sources\nIn tashbīh al-taswiya, multiple likened-to terms share a single likened term.[4][6]\nEncyclopedia Interpretation\nThe Encyclopedia analyses this as a compound configuration of Simile and Syntactic Grouping. Simile establishes the comparison relation, while Syntactic Grouping brings several likened-to terms together under the same comparison judgement.\nStructure\nA₁ + A₂ + A₃ → BThe ungrouped propositions could be expressed independently as “A₁ is like B”, “A₂ is like B”, and “A₃ is like B”; the compound configuration brings them together under one shared comparison.\nCollected Simile (tashbīh al-jamʿ)From the sources\nIn tashbīh al-jamʿ, a single likened-to term is compared with multiple likened terms.[4][6]\nEncyclopedia Interpretation\nThe Encyclopedia analyses this as a compound configuration of Simile and Syntactic Grouping. Simile establishes the comparison relations, while Syntactic Grouping brings several standards of comparison together under the same judgement.\nStructure\nA → B₁ + B₂ + B₃The ungrouped propositions could be expressed independently as “A is like B₁”, “A is like B₂”, and “A is like B₃”; the compound configuration combines the several comparison standards within one expression.\nMultiple-Feature Simile (al-tashbīh al-mutaʿaddid)From the sources\nA Multiple-Feature Simile brings several separable shared features into a single comparison.[1]\nEncyclopedia Interpretation\nThe Encyclopedia analyses this as a compound configuration of Simile and Syntactic Grouping. Simile establishes the relation between the two comparison poles, while Syntactic Grouping brings several comparison judgements together by applying multiple shared features to the same pair.\nStructure\nA ≈ B in C₁ + C₂ + C₃For example, “Sālim is like his father in manners, gait, height, and voice” can be expanded into the independent propositions “Sālim is like his father in manners”, “Sālim is like his father in gait”, “Sālim is like his father in height”, and “Sālim is like his father in voice”. The compound expression groups these comparison judgements into a single construction.", "differentFrom": "METAPH: Metaphor — Simile and Metaphor may share the same surface form when the simile element and simile feature are omitted, as in the Effective Simile (al-tashbīh al-balīgh). In such cases, the distinction depends on recoverability: if the comparison can still be analytically restored (“X is like Y in respect of Z”), the expression remains Simile; if one term fully substitutes for the other and the original term is absent, it is Metaphor (istiʿāra).[3][5][4]\nAnalogical metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-tamthīliyya) — Both Simile and Analogical Metaphor may involve composite situations or relational patterns. The distinction is not therefore between a comparison of single terms and a comparison of complex structures. In Simile, the two comparison poles remain expressed or analytically recoverable as distinct poles. In Analogical Metaphor, an entire proposition or scenario is transferred to another situation which is not itself expressed and must be inferred from context. The resemblance therefore operates through propositional substitution rather than an overt or recoverable comparison between two stated situations.[3][10]", "researchApplications": "This definition of Simile used in the Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric has been operationalised in the Arabic Metaphor Identification Procedure (AraMIP), a two-stage procedure for identifying and annotating Metaphor, Simile, and Implicit Reference in Arabic text.[12]", "seeAlso": "Disambiguation page for Figurative Speech (‘ilm al-bayān)", "notes": "The term wajh al-tashbīh (wajh al-tashbīh) is rendered throughout as simile feature. It is also translated in secondary literature as \"ground of similarity\" or \"point of resemblance.\" The choice of \"simile feature\" follows the convention of Abdul-Raof (2006).\nThe term ʾadāt al-tashbīh (ʾadāt al-tashbīh) is rendered as simile element. It is also referred to in some sources as the \"simile particle\" or \"simile instrument.\" ʿAkkāwī (1996, p. 51) distinguishes three types of simile instrument: particles (ḥarf, principally الكاف and كأنّ), nouns (ism, such as مثل، شبه، مثيل), and verbs (fiʿl, such as يشبه، يحاكي، يماثل).[13]\nThe terms mufrad and murakkab are used differently across sources. In Abdul-Raof (2006), mufrad designates a simile with a single simile feature. In Nāṣif (pp. 87–88), mufrad and murakkab designate the structural simplicity or complexity of the two ends of the simile (طرفا التشبيه) — that is, whether each term is a single entity or a composite image — which is a distinct dimension from the number of features.[6]\nAl-Mubārrad's classification of similes into four grades based on the aptness of the comparison - exaggerated (mufriṭ), apt (muṣīb), close (muqārib), and remote (baʿīd) - assesses the quality of the match between the two ends of the simile, rather than the mechanism by which the simile operates.[7] It therefore falls outside the mechanism-first typology of this encyclopedia, and is not included.\nEffective simile is considered to be the highest-ranking form of simile in terms of eloquence and expressive force.[7]", "references": [ { "@type": "balagha:Reference", "@id": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#cite_note-abdul-raof-1", "citationNumber": 1, "citationKey": "abdul-raof", "text": "Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), 198-209, ISBN 9780415386098. 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Likened-to: Muḥammad. Likened: the sea. Simile element: kāf. Simile feature: generosity.[9]" }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "constructed", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "id": "T9J93WA", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#T9J93WA", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "الطَّالِبُ كَالنَّهْرِ فِي الاسْتِمْرَارِ", "english": "The student is like a river in its constancy.", "explanation": "All four components are explicitly expressed. Likened-to: the student. Likened: a river. Simile feature: constancy. Simile element: kāf." }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "source", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "sourceReferences": [ "cite_note-abdul-raof-1", "cite_note-ghani-2" ], "id": "UTWXR8G", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#UTWXR8G", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "كَلَامُكَ كَالْعَسَل", "english": "Your speech is like honey.", "explanation": "The simile feature is omitted, but the two comparison poles and the simile element remain overt. The expression is therefore still identifiable as Simile even though the shared attribute must be inferred. Likened-to: your speech. Likened: honey. Simile feature: omitted. Simile element: kāf.[1][2]" }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "constructed", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "id": "QY48P26", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#QY48P26", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "الطَّالِبُ كَالنَّهْر", "english": "The student is like a river.", "explanation": "The simile feature is omitted, leaving multiple attributes — constancy, flow, nourishment — open to inference. Likened-to: the student. Likened: a river. Simile feature: omitted. Simile element: kāf." }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "source", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "sourceReferences": [ "cite_note-ghani-2" ], "id": "45LP89Z", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#45LP89Z", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "يَمْشِي الطِّفْلُ مَشْيَ السُّلْحَفَاة", "english": "The child's walk is that of a tortoise.", "explanation": "The simile element is omitted, but the comparison remains identifiable from the relation between the child and the tortoise. This demonstrates that an overt comparison marker is not required for Simile. Likened-to: the child. Likened: a tortoise. Simile feature: slowness (implied). Simile element: omitted.[2]" }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "constructed", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "id": "578J9GL", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#578J9GL", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "زَيْدٌ أَسَدٌ فِي الشَّجَاعَةِ", "english": "Zayd is a lion in courage.", "explanation": "The simile element is omitted, but the simile feature (courage) is explicitly stated. This distinguishes the expression from an Effective Simile (al-tashbīh al-balīgh), in which both the simile element and the simile feature are omitted. Likened-to: Zayd. Likened: a lion. Simile feature: courage (stated). Simile element: omitted." }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "source", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "sourceReferences": [ "cite_note-abdul-raof-1", "cite_note-ghani-2" ], "id": "QXU5CJ3", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#QXU5CJ3", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "فَأَنْتَ شَمْسٌ وَالْمُلُوكُ كَوَاكِبُ", "english": "You are the sun, and the kings are stars.", "explanation": "Both the simile element and the simile feature are omitted. The comparison takes the surface form of an identity statement (\"you are the sun\") while remaining recoverable as a comparison. Because no single feature is named, multiple possible attributes of the sun — brilliance, centrality, unrivalled rank — remain available for inference by the addressee. This is the most compressed form of simile. Likened-to: the addressee. Likened: the sun. Simile feature: omitted. Simile element: omitted.[1][2]" }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "constructed", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "id": "7TLB6K9", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#7TLB6K9", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "الطَّالِبُ نَهْرٌ", "english": "The student is a river.", "explanation": "Both the simile element and the simile feature are omitted. The student is identified with the river without qualification, leaving the relevant shared attribute to be inferred from context. Likened-to: the student. Likened: a river. Simile feature: omitted. Simile element: omitted." }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "source", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "sourceReferences": [ "cite_note-ghani-2" ], "id": "V8X5PLC", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#V8X5PLC", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "وَمَنْ يَهُنْ يَسْهُلُ الْهَوَانُ عَلَيْهِ — مَا لِجُرْحِ الْمَيِّتِ إِيلَامُ", "english": "For one who accepts humiliation, humiliation becomes easy — a wound does not pain the dead.", "explanation": "The comparison is not expressed in a standard simile construction. The first proposition describes the person who has become accustomed to humiliation, while the second presents the dead body that cannot feel a wound as an analogous case supporting that proposition. The comparison between the two is recoverable only by analysis. Likened-to: the one who accepts humiliation. Likened: a dead body. Simile feature: insensitivity to injury or humiliation (implied). Simile element: absent.[2]" }, { "@type": "balagha:Example", "exampleType": "constructed", "exampleOf": "SIMILE", "exampleOfName": "Simile", "id": "XST6GYK", "url": "https://al-balagha.com/wiki/SIMILE:_Simile#XST6GYK", "exampleOfEntity": { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q56" }, "inLanguage": "ar", "arabic": "لَا يَثْبُتُ الْعِلْمُ فِي قَلْبِ الْغَافِلِ — فَالنَّقْشُ عَلَى الْمَاءِ لَا يَبْقَى", "english": "Knowledge does not remain in the heart of the inattentive — an engraving on water does not endure.", "explanation": "The comparison is not expressed in a standard simile construction. The second proposition provides an analogous case supporting the first: knowledge failing to remain in an inattentive mind is implicitly compared to an engraving failing to remain on water. The comparison is therefore recoverable only by analysis. Likened-to: knowledge in the inattentive mind. Likened: an engraving on water. Simile feature: inability to retain an impression (implied). Simile element: absent." } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://marathe.org/#mandar", "honorificPrefix": "Dr", "name": "Mandar Marathe", "givenName": "Mandar", "familyName": "Marathe", "alternateName": "Dr Mandar Marathe", "url": "https://marathe.org/", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://marathe.org/" }, "identifier": [ { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ORCID", "value": "0000-0002-6927-6836", "url": "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-6836" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "Google Scholar", "value": "w-bT-iYAAAAJ", "url": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w-bT-iYAAAAJ" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-6836", "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w-bT-iYAAAAJ", "https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=38961640000", "https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/GRX-5034-2022", "https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mandar_Marathe", "https://independent.academia.edu/MandarMaratheUK", "https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Mandar-Marathe/34623281", "https://arxiv.org/a/marathe_m_1.html", "https://dblp.org/pid/413/7182", "https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/mandar-marathe", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandar-marathe-uk/", "https://x.com/DrMMarathe", "https://www.youtube.com/@drmandarmarathe", "https://balaghabase.org/entity/Q19", "https://balaghabase.org/wiki/Item:Q19" ], "affiliation": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Arabic Research Institute", "url": "https://arabicresearch.org/" } ], "owns": [ { "@id": "https://marathe.org/#website" }, { "@id": "https://rhetorical-density.com/#website" }, { "@id": "https://balaghascore.com/#website" }, { "@id": "https://project.balaghascore.com/#website" }, { "@id": "https://al-balagha.com/#website" }, { "@id": "https://balaghabase.org/#website" }, { "@id": "https://balagha-corpus.com/#website" } ] } ] }