METAPH: Metaphor

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METAPH: Metaphor
Category	Figurative Speech (‘ilm al-bayān)
Subcategory	Conceptual Transfer
Balagha-Corpus.com
Corpus data	See examples
Balaghascore.com
Code	B-2
BalaghaBase.org
Code	Q57
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ID	W4415329821
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🔗 DOI	10.64393/balagha.Q57
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Taxonomy
ARDT	v0.1.0, v0.1.1

Definition

From the sources

Metaphor (al-istiʿāra) is an Arabic rhetorical device where a word is used in place of another word with which it shares a quality or point of resemblance (wajh al-shabah), with one of the two terms of the underlying comparison omitted, and with a contextual indicator (al-qarīna) that blocks the literal meaning of the transferred word.

Some sources present Metaphor as rhetorically stronger than simile (al-tashbīh), because rather than merely asserting resemblance between two things, it can enact a claim of identity (iddiʿāʾ) that the compared thing has entered the genus of the thing it is compared to.

Mechanism

From the sources

• Metaphor consists of three components:
  • The borrowed-from (al-mustaʿār minhu) — the source of the transferred word, equivalent to the mushabbah bihi (the likened) in simile.
  • The borrowed-to (al-mustaʿār lahu) — the target to which the word is transferred, equivalent to the mushabbah (the likened-to) in simile.
  • The borrowed word (al-mustaʿār) — the lexical item taken from the borrowed-from and applied to the borrowed-to.
• The transfer is grounded in a shared quality or point of resemblance (wajh al-shabah, also called al-jāmiʿ) between the two terms.
• One of the two poles of the underlying simile is omitted from the surface of the utterance: either the mushabbah (likened-to) or the mushabbah bihi (likened) is absent.
• A contextual indicator (al-qarīna) must be present to block the literal meaning of the transferred word and signal the figurative reading. This indicator may be verbal (al-qarīna al-maqāliyya) or situational (al-qarīna al-ḥāliyya).

For example, in raʾaytu asadan (I saw a lion), the word lion is the borrowed word (mustaʿār); the lion is the borrowed-from (mustaʿār minhu); the brave man — absent from the utterance — is the borrowed-to (mustaʿār lahu); courage is the shared quality (jāmiʿ); and the context blocks the literal reading of lion.

Recognition

From the sources

Metaphor may be present when:

• A word is used in a context where its literal meaning is blocked by a verbal or situational indicator (al-qarīna).
• The blocked literal meaning and the intended figurative meaning share a recognisable point of resemblance (wajh al-shabah / al-jāmiʿ) that motivates the transfer.
• Only one of the two poles of the underlying simile is present in the utterance: either the mushabbah (likened-to) or the mushabbah bihi (likened) is absent.

Encyclopedia Interpretation

Diagnostic tests

The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

• Test 1 — Is the literal meaning blocked? Ask whether the word can be read literally in its context. If the literal reading is fully plausible, the expression is probably not Metaphor.
• Test 2 — Is there a qarīna? Identify a word, phrase, or situational factor that forces a figurative reading. If none can be found, the expression may be literal.
• Test 3 — Is there a similarity? Determine whether the literal meaning and the intended meaning share a recognisable quality (wajh al-shabah). If no meaningful similarity can be identified, the expression is not Metaphor.
• Test 4 — Is one pole of the comparison omitted? Check whether only one of the two comparison terms appears in the utterance:
  • If only the borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) appears (e.g. asad used for a person), the candidate is an explicit Metaphor (taṣrīḥiyya).
  • If the borrowed-to (mushabbah) remains with a concomitant of the omitted borrowed-from (e.g. roaring attributed to a person), the candidate is an implicit Metaphor (makniyya).
  • If both poles are explicitly stated without a particle of comparison (e.g. zaydun asadun, Zayd is a lion), most classical rhetoricians classify this as a tashbīh balīgh (compressed simile) rather than Metaphor, because the explicit naming of both terms prevents the full claim of identity (iddiʿāʾ) that characterises Metaphor.
• Test 5 — Is there a metaphorical transfer? Confirm that a word is being used in place of another on the basis of similarity (mushābaha), with the literal meaning blocked by a qarīna — rather than being a literal description or a non-figurative extension of meaning.

Decision rule

To determine whether an expression is a Metaphor (al-istiʿāra), apply the following steps in order:

1) Is the usage non-literal?

• Ask whether a word is being used in a way that conflicts with its literal meaning in the given context.
• If the literal meaning is fully plausible, the expression is not a Metaphor.

 

2) Is there a qarīna?

• Identify a word, phrase, or situational factor (al-qarīna) that blocks the literal interpretation and forces a figurative reading.
• If no such indicator is present, the expression may be literal rather than figurative.

 

3) Is there an underlying similarity?

• Determine whether the literal meaning and the intended meaning share a recognisable quality or point of resemblance (wajh al-shabah).
• If no meaningful similarity can be identified, the expression is not a Metaphor.

 

4) Is one pole of the comparison omitted?

• Check whether only one side of an underlying comparison is expressed:
  • If only the borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) appears (e.g. asad for a person), the Metaphor is explicit (taṣrīḥiyya).
  • If the borrowed-to (mushabbah) remains with a concomitant of the omitted borrowed-from (e.g. roaring), the Metaphor is implicit (makniyya).
  • If both poles are explicitly stated without a particle of comparison (e.g. zaydun asadun), the expression is treated as a tashbīh balīgh (compressed simile) in classical analysis, not as Metaphor, because the presence of both terms weakens the claim of identity.

 

5) Confirm metaphorical transfer.

• Confirm that a word is being used in place of another on the basis of similarity (mushābaha), with its literal meaning blocked by a qarīna, resulting in a figurative identification rather than a literal description.

 

Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects

From the sources

• Greater force than simile: Metaphor surpasses the effective simile in rhetorical power because it does not merely assert resemblance but enacts a claim of identity (iddiʿāʾ) between the two terms, producing a bolder and more striking effect.
• Intensification (al-mubālagha): The identification of two unlike things carries greater emphasis than a hedged simile.
• Vividness: Abstract or cognitive qualities are rendered concrete and perceptible — capable of being felt, seen, or experienced — through their association with a familiar image.
• Personification and embodiment (al-tashkhīṣ, al-tajsīm): Metaphor can animate inanimate things and render abstract meanings as perceptible forms.
• Strangeness and elevation (al-gharāba): The substitution of one term for another creates strangeness (gharāba), which can heighten rhetorical effect and strengthen the sensory and emotional force of the expression.
• Concision: Simon (2011) reports that al-Jurjānī identifies increased conciseness as one of the purposes served by Metaphor, alongside intensity.

Applying the Recognition Framework

The 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:

• Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
• Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
• Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
• Use the Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects section of this page in Step 4.

Types of Metaphor

From the sources

The classical sources divide Metaphor according to several intersecting classification criteria. The primary divisions are by which pole of the comparison is stated (taṣrīḥiyya / makniyya), and by the nature of the accompanying additions (murashshaḥa / mujarrada / muṭlaqa). A further type, istiʿāra tamthīliyya, operates at the level of a whole proposition rather than a single word.

Type 1: Explicit metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-taṣrīḥiyya)

From the sources

In the explicit metaphor, the mushabbah (likened-to / borrowed-to) is omitted and only the mushabbah bihi (likened / borrowed-from) is explicitly stated. The name of the borrowed-from is placed in a context belonging to the borrowed-to, and the qarīna signals the figurative reading.

Source Example

جَاءَنَا بَحْرٌ يُنْفِقُ وَلَا يَخَافُ الْفَقْرَ.

A sea came to us, spending freely and fearing no poverty.

Explanation

The word sea (mushabbah bihi, the likened) is stated; the generous man (mushabbah, the likened-to) is omitted. The verbs spending and fearing no poverty are contextual indicators (qarāʾin) that block the literal reading of sea.

Constructed Example

تَكَلَّمَ أَسَدٌ فَوْقَ الْمِنْبَرِ.

A lion spoke from the pulpit.

Explanation

The word lion (mushabbah bihi) is stated; the courageous orator (mushabbah) is omitted. The phrase from the pulpit (fawqa al-minbar) acts as the qarīna, blocking the literal reading of lion and establishing the figurative transfer on the basis of shared courage.

Type 2: Implicit metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-makniyya)

From the sources

In the implicit metaphor, the mushabbah bihi (likened / borrowed-from) is omitted and not named. Instead, one of its characteristic concomitants (lawāzim) is attributed to the retained mushabbah (likened-to), functioning as an indicator of the suppressed comparison. In the canonical system, this type is often signalled by the presence of an istiʿāra takhyīliyya — the attribution of an imagined or impossible property of the suppressed source to the retained target.

Encyclopedia Interpretation

The concomitant attributed to the retained mushabbah need not be something that could literally belong to it — it may be an imagined or impossible property, which is itself a signal that a figurative transfer is underway.

Source Example

وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ.

And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy. (Qur'an 17:24)

Explanation

Humility (the mushabbah, likened-to) is retained; the bird (the mushabbah bihi, likened) is omitted, but its concomitant wing is attributed to humility, serving as the indicator of the suppressed comparison.

Constructed Example

مَدَّ الْمَوْتُ مَخَالِبَهُ إِلَى الْقَرْيَةِ.

Death extended its claws towards the village.

Explanation

Death (mushabbah, likened-to) is retained; the beast of prey (mushabbah bihi, likened) is omitted, but its concomitant claws is attributed to death. The claws are an istiʿāra takhyīliyya — an imagined property of the suppressed source domain attributed to the retained target.

Type 3: Enhanced metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-murashshaḥa)

From the sources

An enhanced metaphor is one in which the communicator adds items that suit (yulāʾimu) the mushabbah bihi (the borrowed-from / source), thereby reinforcing the metaphorical image. These additions belong to the world of the borrowed-from and strengthen the identification.

Source Example

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَارَتُهُمْ.

Those are the ones who have purchased error in exchange for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit. (Qur'an 2:16)

Explanation

Purchasing (ishtaraw) is the metaphorical word; transaction (tijāra) and profit (rabiḥat) are additions that suit the borrowed-from domain (commerce), reinforcing and sustaining the metaphorical image. This is a murashshaḥa.

Constructed Example

رَأَيْتُ أَسَدًا يَخْطُبُ وَلَهُ مَخَالِبُ حَادَّة.

I saw a lion giving a speech, and it had sharp claws.

Explanation

The word lion (mushabbah bihi) is stated; the orator (mushabbah) is omitted. Claws (makhālib) belongs to the domain of the lion (borrowed-from), reinforcing and sustaining the animal image. This makes the metaphor murashshaḥa.

Type 4: Stripped metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-mujarrada)

From the sources

A stripped metaphor is one in which the communicator adds items that suit (yulāʾimu) the mushabbah (the borrowed-to / target), grounding the metaphorical expression in the domain of the thing being described. These additions belong to the world of the borrowed-to.

Source Example

فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ.

So Allah made them taste the garment of hunger and fear. (Qur'an 16:112)

Explanation

Garment (libās) is the metaphorical word (mustaʿār). The additions hunger and fear suit the human target (mushabbah, the borrowed-to), grounding the metaphor in the human experience being described rather than reinforcing the clothing image. This makes the metaphor mujarrada.

Constructed Example

دَخَلَ أَسَدٌ الِاجْتِمَاعَ وَهُوَ يَحْمِلُ مَلَفَّاتِهِ.

A lion entered the meeting, carrying his files.

Explanation

Lion (mushabbah bihi) is stated; the manager (mushabbah) is omitted. Carrying his files belongs to the domain of the manager (borrowed-to), grounding the image in the human target rather than reinforcing the lion image. This makes the metaphor mujarrada.

Type 5: Absolute metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-muṭlaqa)

From the sources

An absolute metaphor is one that contains neither additions suiting the borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) nor additions suiting the borrowed-to (mushabbah) — that is, it is neither murashshaḥa nor mujarrada.

Encyclopedia Interpretation

Simon (2011) notes that in later compendiums the term muṭlaqa is also applied to cases where both types of addition are simultaneously present. This encyclopedia treats that as an alternative reported usage, while keeping the main subtype definition aligned with the explicit formulation found in the Arabic teaching sources surveyed here.

Source Example

يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ.

They break the covenant of God. (Qur'an 2:27)

Explanation

Break (yanquḍūna) transfers the image of physically breaking an object to the moral act of violating a covenant. No additions suit either the physical object (borrowed-from) or the moral act (borrowed-to); the metaphor stands unaugmented. This is a muṭlaqa.

Constructed Example

رَأَيْتُ أَسَدًا يَخْطُبُ.

I saw a lion giving a speech.

Explanation

Lion (mushabbah bihi) is stated; the orator (mushabbah) is omitted. No additions favour either the lion domain or the human domain; the metaphor stands without reinforcement or grounding. This is a muṭlaqa.

Type 6: Analogical metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-tamthīliyya)

From the sources

The analogical metaphor differs structurally from the single-word types: it operates at the level of a whole proposition or construction (tarkīb) rather than a single transferred word. The expression is used for one situation and then applied to another situation on the basis of resemblance between the two overall cases.

Abdul-Raof (2006) notes that unlike other metaphor types, the analogical metaphor does not rely on an explicit lexical clue; the addressee infers the figurative application through the cognitive faculty and contextual understanding.

The term tamthīl is used in the classical tradition to refer to what this encyclopedia treats as Analogical Metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-tamthīliyya). Heinrichs (1998) notes that when the subject of comparison in a tamthīl is suppressed, the result is a sentence metaphor — and that this suppressed form is actually the more common use of the term tamthīl in classical sources. Heinrichs further notes that the analogy is sometimes deliberately weak, exaggerated, or invalid — producing a mock analogy (al-tamthīl al-mukhtalaʿ) in which the insinuated point of resemblance does not genuinely hold.

Source Example

لَا يُلْدَغُ الْمُؤْمِنُ مِنْ جُحْرٍ مَرَّتَيْن.

A believer is not stung from the same hole twice. (Hadith, reported in Bukhari and Muslim)

Explanation

The entire proposition — a creature avoiding a source of harm it has already experienced — is applied figuratively to any situation where a person refuses to be deceived or harmed by the same means twice. The resemblance is relational, not reducible to a single shared quality between two words.

Source Example

أَلَمْ تَجْعَلْنِي فِي يَمِينِكَ؟ فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فِي شِمَالِكَ!

Had you not placed me into your right hand? So do not place me after that into your left!

— Ibn Mayyāda

Explanation

The entire figurative scenario — of being held in the right hand (honour) versus the left hand (diminishment) — is applied to an unstated situation of favour and disfavour. The addressee must infer the intended application; only the vehicle is stated. Heinrichs (1998) identifies this as the dominant and more common form of tamthīl, where the subject of comparison is suppressed and the result is a sentence metaphor.

Constructed Example

مَنْ بَنَى عَلَى شَفَا جُرُفٍ هَارٍ فَبِنَاؤُهُ مُنْهَار.

Whoever builds on the edge of a crumbling bank — his building will collapse.

Explanation

The entire scene of a structure built on unstable ground is applied figuratively to any endeavour built on weak or corrupt foundations. The resemblance is structural and relational, operating across the whole proposition rather than through a single transferred word.

Comparison table

Encyclopedia Interpretation

The following comparison illustrates the structural differences between the six subtypes of Metaphor by applying each to a single base scenario: a manager is represented through the image of a lion. The terminology borrowed-from and borrowed-to correspond to mushabbah bihi and mushabbah respectively in the Arabic rhetorical tradition. The literal baseline is given first, followed by each metaphor type, so that the structural change in each type can be seen clearly.

Baseline (Literal Expression)

دَخَلَ الْمُدِيرُ الِاجْتِمَاعَ.

The manager entered the meeting.

Explanation

This sentence is literal and contains no metaphor. It serves as a neutral baseline from which the different metaphor types can be generated by systematic transformation.

Type	Arabic Example	English Gloss	What is stated?	What is added?	Mechanism
Baseline (literal)	dakhala al-mudīru al-ijtimāʿa	The manager entered the meeting.	The borrowed-to (mushabbah) only: the manager	Nothing	Literal expression; no metaphor
1) Explicit metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-taṣrīḥiyya)	dakhala al-asadu al-ijtimāʿa	The lion entered the meeting.	The borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) only: the lion	Nothing	The manager (mushabbah) is omitted and replaced by the lion (mushabbah bihi); the context blocks the literal reading
2) Implicit metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-makniyya)	dakhala al-mudīru al-ijtimāʿa wa-zaʾara fī al-ḥuḍūr	The manager entered the meeting and roared at those present.	The borrowed-to (mushabbah) only: the manager	A concomitant of the omitted lion (roaring), functioning as the indicator of the suppressed comparison	The lion (mushabbah bihi) is omitted, but one of its characteristic concomitants (lawāzim) is attributed to the retained manager, signalling the suppressed comparison
3) Enhanced metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-murashshaḥa)	dakhala al-asadu al-ijtimāʿa wa-kashshara ʿan anyābihi	The lion entered the meeting and bared its fangs.	The borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) only: the lion	Additions that suit the borrowed-from: fangs (belonging to the lion)	The metaphor is reinforced by additions that suit the borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi), strengthening the metaphorical image
4) Stripped metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-mujarrada)	dakhala al-asadu al-ijtimāʿa wa-huwa yaḥmilu malaffātihi	The lion entered the meeting carrying his files.	The borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) only: the lion	Additions that suit the borrowed-to: files (belonging to the manager)	The expression is grounded in the borrowed-to (mushabbah) by additions that suit it, without reinforcing the borrowed-from image
5) Absolute metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-muṭlaqa)	dakhala al-asadu al-ijtimāʿa wa-taḥaddatha	The lion entered the meeting and spoke.	The borrowed-from (mushabbah bihi) only: the lion	Nothing that suits the borrowed-from or borrowed-to exclusively	The metaphor contains neither additions suiting the borrowed-from nor additions suiting the borrowed-to; it is neither murashshaḥa nor mujarrada
6) Analogical metaphor (al-istiʿāra al-tamthīliyya)	idhā ḥaḍara al-asadu ṣamitat al-ghāba	When the lion is present, the forest falls silent.	A whole propositional structure (tarkīb)	A relational scene rather than a single transferred word	The entire situation — authority causing silence — is applied figuratively to another structurally parallel situation; the resemblance is relational and operates across the whole proposition

Observations

• All of the metaphorical examples above are built from the same underlying mapping: the manager is represented as a lion.
• The difference between the types does not lie in the core comparison but in the mechanism by which the metaphor is formed and extended.
• In the explicit metaphor, the borrowed-to (manager) is omitted and the borrowed-from (lion) is stated directly.
• In the implicit metaphor, the borrowed-to (manager) remains, while one of the concomitants of the omitted borrowed-from (roaring) signals the suppressed comparison.
• In the enhanced metaphor, the borrowed-from image is strengthened by adding elements that belong to the borrowed-from (fangs belonging to the lion).
• In the stripped metaphor, the expression is grounded in the borrowed-to by adding elements that suit it (files belonging to the manager), without reinforcing the borrowed-from image.
• In the absolute metaphor, no additions suit either the borrowed-from or the borrowed-to exclusively; the metaphor stands unaugmented.
• In the analogical metaphor, the metaphor does not operate through a single substituted word but through a whole propositional structure whose relational pattern is applied to another situation.
• The literal baseline helps show that each metaphor type can be understood as a controlled transformation of an ordinary non-metaphorical sentence.

Different From

From the sources

• SIMILE: Simile (al-tashbīh): In simile, both the mushabbah (likened-to) and the mushabbah bihi (likened) are stated, and a particle of comparison (adāt al-tashbīh) typically marks the resemblance. In Metaphor, one of the two poles is omitted, and the communicator enacts a claim of identity (iddiʿāʾ) rather than merely asserting resemblance. The effective simile (tashbīh balīgh) — which omits the particle and the wajh al-shabah but retains both poles (e.g. zaydun asadun, Zayd is a lion) — is still classified by most classical rhetoricians as Simile rather than Metaphor, because the explicit naming of both terms prevents full identification.
• TRANSFR: Relational Transfer (al-majāz): Metaphor falls within the broader category of majāz (trope / figurative use of language), but it is specifically the form of majāz whose motivating relationship (ʿalāqa) is similarity (mushābaha). Other forms of majāz rest on different relationships such as contiguity or part-for-whole.
In Metaphor, the relationship motivating the transfer is specifically one of similarity (mushābaha), which distinguishes Metaphor from other forms of Relational Transfer whose motivating relationships are different.

See Also

• Disambiguation page for Figurative Speech (‘ilm al-bayān)

Notes

• The term istiʿāra literally means borrowing. The rhetorical term is explained through the analogy of borrowing: a word is taken from its original or conventional use and applied to another meaning on the basis of similarity.
• The English rendering metaphor is the standard translation used in Western scholarship on Arabic rhetoric in Abdul-Raof (2006), Heinrichs (1998), and Simon (2011).
• The subtypes taṣrīḥiyya and makniyya are rendered here as explicit and implicit, following Abdul-Raof’s English terminology.
• The subtype mujarrada is rendered here as stripped rather than naked. Abdul-Raof uses naked metaphor, but this encyclopedia uses stripped as a clearer English rendering of the Arabic sense of tajrīd.
• The term istiʿāra takhyīliyya is mentioned in connection with the implicit metaphor (makniyya) because the sources describe it as involving the attribution of something belonging to the omitted source domain to the retained target.
• Some sources further classify Metaphor according to whether its two poles (mustaʿār minhu and mustaʿār lahu) and the shared quality (al-jāmiʿ) are sensory (maḥsūs) or rational (maʿqūl).
• The typology presented in here reflects the subtypes most consistently attested across the sources surveyed. Some larger reference works present considerably more subdivisions, organised according to different classificatory axes.

Page history

• 2026-02-10 - Migration to Semantic Device Identifiers: Renamed from B-2: Metaphor to METAPH: Metaphor.
• 2025-11-20 - Page incorporated into the Arabic Rhetorical Device Taxonomy (v0.1.1).
• 2024-04-22 - Page created: Metaphor.

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