Al-Balagha al-Wadiha by al-Jarim & Amin (البلاغة الواضحة) — Page 97

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَلَاغَةُ التَّشْبِيهِ: تَنْشَأُ بَلَاغَةُ التَّشْبِيهِ مِنْ أَنَّهُ يَنْتَقِلُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّيْءِ نَفْسِهِ إِلَى شَيْءٍ طَرِيفٍ يُشْبِهُهُ، أَوْ صُورَةٍ بَارِعَةٍ تُمَثِّلُهُ، وَكُلَّمَا كَانَ هَذَا الِانْتِقَالُ بَعِيداً قَلِيلَ الْخُطُورَةِ بِالْبَالِ، أَوْ مُمْتَزِجاً بِقَلِيلٍ أَوْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْخَيَالِ، كَانَ التَّشْبِيهُ أَرْوَعَ لِلنَّفْسِ وَأَدْعَى إِلَى إِعْجَابِهَا وَاهْتِزَازِهَا.

The Eloquence of Simile: The eloquence of a simile arises from the fact that it transports you from the thing itself to a novel thing that resembles it, or to a brilliant image that represents it; and the more distant this transition is, the less it occurs to the mind, or the more it is blended with a little or a lot of imagination, the more magnificent the simile is to the soul and the more it invites its admiration and excitement.

فَإِذَا قُلْتَ فُلَانٌ يُشْبِهُ فُلَاناً فِي الطُّولِ، أَوْ إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ تَشْبِهُ الْكُرَةَ فِي الشَّكْلِ، أَوْ إِنَّ الْجُزُرَ الْبَرِيطَانِيَّةَ تَشْبِهُ بِلَادَ الْيَابَانِ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِهَذِهِ التَّشْبِيهَاتِ أَثَرٌ لِلْبَلَاغَةِ؛ لِظُهُورِ الْمُشَابَهَةِ وَعَدَمِ احْتِيَاجِ الْعُثُورِ عَلَيْهَا إِلَى بَرَاعَةٍ وَجُهْدٍ أَدَبِيٍّ، وَلِخُلُوِّهَا مِنَ الْخَيَالِ.

If you say that so-and-so resembles so-and-so in height, or that the Earth resembles a sphere in shape, or that the British Isles resemble the country of Japan, these similes have no effect of eloquence, because the resemblance is obvious and finding it does not require ingenuity or literary effort, and because they are devoid of imagination.

وَهَذَا الضَّرْبُ مِنَ التَّشْبِيهِ يُقْصَدُ بِهِ الْبَيَانُ وَالْإِيضَاحُ وَتَقْرِيبُ الشَّيْءِ إِلَى الْأَفْهَامِ، وَأَكْثَرُ مَا يُسْتَعْمَلُ فِي الْعُلُومِ وَالْفُنُونِ.

This type of simile is intended for clarity, explanation, and bringing a concept closer to understanding, and it is most often used in the sciences and arts.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 80 nouns)

• نَشَأَ — to originate
• انْتَقَلَ — to move
• شَبَهَ — to resemble
• بَلَاغَة — eloquence
• تَشْبِيه — simile
• شَيْء — thing