Al-Balagha al-Wadiha by al-Jarim & Amin (البلاغة الواضحة) — Page 111

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

إِلَّا الضَّلَالُ، وَلَا يُرَادُ بِالثَّانِيَةِ إِلَّا الْهُدَى وَالْإِيمَانُ وَالْعَلَاقَةُ الْمُشَابَهَةُ وَالْقَرِينَةُ حَالِيَّةٌ، وَبَيْتُ الْمُتَنَبِّي يَحْتَوِي عَلَى مَجَازَيْنِ هُمَا «الْبَحْرُ» الَّذِي يُرَادُ بِهِ الرَّجُلُ الْكَرِيمُ لِعَلَاقَةِ الْمُشَابَهَةِ، وَالْقَرِينَةُ «تُعَانِقُهُ» وَالْبَيْتُ الثَّالِثُ يَحْتَوِي عَلَى مَجَازٍ هُوَ «تَصَافَحَتْ» الَّذِي يُرَادُ مِنْهُ تَلَاقَتْ لِعَلَاقَةِ الْمُشَابَهَةِ، وَالْقَرِينَةُ «بِيضُ الْهِنْدِ وَاللِّمَمُ».

except misguidance, and nothing is intended by the second except guidance and faith, the relationship is resemblance, and the contextual clue is situational; Al-Mutanabbi's verse contains two metaphors: 'the sea,' by which a generous man is intended due to the relationship of resemblance, and the contextual clue is 'embraces him,' and the third verse contains a metaphor, which is 'shook hands,' by which 'met' is intended due to the relationship of resemblance, and the contextual clue is 'the white Indian swords and the locks of hair.'

وَإِذَا تَأَمَّلْتَ كُلَّ مَجَازٍ سَبَقَ رَأَيْتَ أَنَّهُ تَضَمَّنَ تَشْبِيهًا حُذِفَ مِنْهُ لَفْظُ الْمُشَبَّهِ وَاسْتُعِيرَ بَدَلَهُ لَفْظُ الْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ لِيَقُومَ مَقَامَهُ بِادِّعَاءِ أَنَّ الْمُشَبَّهَ بِهِ هُوَ عَيْنُ الْمُشَبَّهِ، وَهَذَا أَبْعَدُ مَدًى فِي الْبَلَاغَةِ، وَأَدْخَلُ فِي الْمُبَالَغَةِ، وَيُسَمَّى هَذَا الْمَجَازُ «اسْتِعَارَةً»، وَلَمَّا كَانَ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ مُصَرَّحًا بِهِ فِي هَذَا الْمَجَازِ سُمِّيَ اسْتِعَارَةً تَصْرِيحِيَّةً.

If you contemplate every metaphor that preceded, you will see that it includes a simile from which the word for the subject of the simile (the musabbah) was deleted, and the word for the object of the simile (the musabbah bihi) was borrowed in its place to stand in its stead by claiming that the object of the simile is the very subject of the simile; this is the furthest extent in eloquence and the most profound in hyperbole, and this metaphor is called a 'metaphor' (isti'arah), and since the object of the simile is explicitly stated in this metaphor, it is called an explicit metaphor (isti'arah tasrihiyyah).

نَرْجِعُ إِذًا إِلَى الْأَمْثِلَةِ الثَّلَاثَةِ الْأَخِيرَةِ، وَيَكْفِي أَنْ نُوَضِّحَ لَكَ مِثَالًا مِنْهَا لِتَقِيسَ عَلَيْهِ مَا بَعْدَهُ، وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الْحَجَّاجِ فِي التَّهْدِيدِ: «إِنِّي لَأَرَى رُؤُوسًا قَدْ أَيْنَعَتْ»، فَإِنَّ الَّذِي يُفْهَمُ مِنْهُ أَنَّهُ يُشَبِّهُ الرُّؤُوسَ بِالثَّمَرَاتِ، فَأَصْلُ الْكَلَامِ إِنِّي لَأَرَى رُؤُوسًا كَالثَّمَرَاتِ قَدْ أَيْنَعَتْ، ثُمَّ حُذِفَ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ فَصَارَ إِنِّي لَأَرَى رُؤُوسًا قَدْ أَيْنَعَتْ عَلَى تَخَيُّلِ أَنَّ الرُّؤُوسَ قَدْ تَمَثَّلَتْ فِي صُورَةِ ثِمَارٍ، وَرُمِزَ لِلْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ الْمَحْذُوفِ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ لَوَازِمِهِ وَهُوَ أَيْنَعَتْ، وَلَمَّا كَانَ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ فِي هَذِهِ الِاسْتِعَارَةِ مُحْتَجِبًا سُمِّيَتِ اسْتِعَارَةً مَكْنِيَّةً، وَمِثْلُ ذَلِكَ يُقَالُ فِي «امْتَطَيْنَا الْخُطُوبَا» وَفِي كَلِمَةِ «الْمَجْدِ» فِي الْبَيْتِ الْأَخِيرِ.

We return, then, to the last three examples, and it suffices to clarify one example for you so that you may measure what follows against it, which is the saying of Al-Hajjaj in a threat: 'I see heads that have ripened,' for what is understood from it is that he likens heads to fruits; the origin of the speech is 'I see heads like fruits that have ripened,' then the object of the simile was deleted, so it became 'I see heads that have ripened' based on the imagination that the heads have taken the form of fruits, and the deleted object of the simile was symbolized by one of its requirements, which is 'ripened,' and since the object of the simile in this metaphor is hidden, it is called an implied metaphor (isti'arah makniyyah), and the same is said regarding 'we rode the calamities' and the word 'glory' in the last verse.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (33 verbs · 63 nouns)

• يُرَادُ — to be intended
• احْتَوَى — to contain
• تَصَافَحَ — to shake hands
• ضَلَال — misguidance
• هُدًى — guidance
• إِيمَان — faith