Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 2 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 110

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الْحَقِيقَةُ وَالْمَجَازُ.

Literal and figurative meaning.

عَلَى الْحَقِيقَةِ لَمَّا كَانَ لِهَذَا التَّعَجُّبِ مَعْنًى؛ إِذْ لَا تَعَجُّبَ فِي أَنْ يُظَلِّلَ إِنْسَانٌ حَسَنُ الْوَجْهِ إِنْسَانًا آخَرَ، وَالنَّهْيُ عَنْهُ أَيْ وَلِهَذَا صَحَّ النَّهْيُ عَنِ التَّعَجُّبِ فِي قَوْلِهِ: لَا تَعْجَبُوا مِنْ بِلَى غِلَالَتِهِ هِيَ شِعَارٌ تُلْبَسُ تَحْتَ الثَّوْبِ وَتَحْتَ الدِّرْعِ أَيْضًا، قَدْ زَرَّ أَزْرَارَهُ عَلَى الْقَمَرِ، تَقُولُ: زَرَرْتُ الْقَمِيصَ عَلَيْهِ أَزُرُّهُ إِذَا شَدَدْتَ أَزْرَارَهُ عَلَيْهِ فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ جَعَلَهُ قَمَرًا حَقِيقِيًّا لَمَا كَانَ لِلنَّهْيِ عَنِ التَّعَجُّبِ مَعْنًى؛ لِأَنَّ الْكَتَّانَ إِنَّمَا يُسْرِعُ إِلَيْهِ الْبِلَى بِسَبَبِ مُلَابَسَةِ الْقَمَرِ الْحَقِيقِيِّ لَا بِمُلَابَسَةِ إِنْسَانٍ كَالْقَمَرِ فِي الْحُسْنِ

Regarding the literal meaning, this expression of wonder would have no significance, for there is no cause for wonder in a handsome person shading another person; and the prohibition against it—that is, for this reason, the prohibition against wondering in his saying: 'Do not wonder at the wearing out of his undergarment' (which is a garment worn under the outer robe and also under armor), 'he has buttoned its buttons over the moon' (you say: 'I buttoned the shirt over it' when you fasten its buttons upon it)—is valid. If he had not made it a literal moon, the prohibition against wondering would have no meaning, because linen only wears out quickly due to contact with the literal moon, not due to contact with a human who is like the moon in beauty.

لَا يُقَالُ: الْقَمَرُ فِي الْبَيْتِ لَيْسَ بِاسْتِعَارَةٍ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمُشَبَّهَ مَذْكُورٌ، وَهُوَ الضَّمِيرُ فِي غِلَالَتِهِ وَأَزْرَارِهِ؛ لِأَنَّا نَقُولُ: لَا نُسَلِّمُ أَنَّ الذِّكْرَ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَجْهِ يُنَافِي الِاسْتِعَارَةَ، كَمَا فِي قَوْلِنَا: سَيْفُ زَيْدٍ فِي يَدِ أَسَدٍ، فَإِنَّ تَعْرِيفَ الِاسْتِعَارَةِ صَادِقٌ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، وَرُدَّ هَذَا الدَّلِيلُ بِأَنَّ الِادِّعَاءَ أَيْ ادِّعَاءَ دُخُولِ الْمُشَبَّهِ فِي جِنْسِ الْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ لَا يَقْتَضِي كَوْنَهَا أَيِ الِاسْتِعَارَةَ مُسْتَعْمَلَةً فِيمَا وُضِعَتْ لَهُ؛ لِلْعِلْمِ الضَّرُورِيِّ بِأَنَّ أَسَدًا فِي قَوْلِنَا: إِذْ لَا تَعَجُّبَ إِلَخْ أَيْ لِعَدَمِ الْغَرَابَةِ، بِخِلَافِ تَظْلِيلِ الشَّمْسِ الْحَقِيقِيَّةِ إِنْسَانًا مِنَ الشَّمْسِ، فَإِنَّهُ مُسْتَغْرَبٌ؛ لِاسْتِغْرَابِ كَوْنِ الشَّمْسِ الَّتِي مِنْ شَأْنِهَا طَيُّ الظِّلِّ وَإِذْهَابُهُ تُوجِبُ ظِلًّا عَلَى تَقْدِيرِ حَيْلُولَتِهَا بَيْنَ الشَّمْسِ وَبَيْنَ الْإِنْسَانِ الْمُظَلَّلِ.

It should not be said: 'The moon in the house is not a metaphor because the object of comparison is mentioned, which is the pronoun in his undergarment and his buttons,' because we say: We do not concede that mentioning it in this manner contradicts the metaphor, as in our saying: 'Zayd's sword is in the hand of a lion,' for the definition of metaphor is true in that case. This argument was refuted by the fact that the claim—that is, the claim of the inclusion of the object of comparison into the genus of the thing compared to—does not necessitate that it—the metaphor—is used for what it was originally coined for, due to the necessary knowledge that 'lion' in our saying: 'Since there is no wonder, etc.'—that is, due to the lack of strangeness—is unlike the shading of a human by the literal sun from the sun, for that is strange, because it is strange that the sun, whose nature is to fold the shadow and remove it, causes a shadow upon the assumption of its intervening between the sun and the shaded human.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (31 verbs · 44 nouns)

• ظَلَّلَ — to shade
• عَجِبَ — to wonder
• صَحَّ — to be valid
• حَقِيقَةٌ — truth
• مَجَازٌ — metaphor
• تَعَجُّبٌ — wonder