Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 2 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 62

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الْفَنُّ الثَّانِي التَّشْبِيهُ

The Second Art: Simile (Tashbih).

إِذَا هَطَلَ وَأَسْبَلَتِ السَّمَاءُ، فَالْبَاءُ فِي قَوْلِهِ: "أَبِالْخَمْرِ" لِلتَّعْدِيَةِ وَلَيْسَتْ بِزَائِدَةٍ كَمَا تَوَهَّمَ سَالَ كَثِيرًا بِالْمَطَرِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَمْ مِنْ عَبْرَتِي كُنْتُ أَشْرَبُ لَمَّا اعْتَقَدَ التَّسَاوِيَ بَيْنَ الدَّمْعِ وَالْخَمْرِ تَرَكَ التَّشْبِيهَ إِلَى بِالْفَتْحِ الدَّمْعُ وَبِالْكَسْرِ الِاعْتِبَارُ فِي الْحُمْرَةِ التَّشَابُهِ، وَيَجُوزُ عِنْدَ إِرَادَةِ الْجَمْعِ بَيْنَ شَيْئَيْنِ فِي أَمْرِ التَّشْبِيهِ أَيْضًا؛ لِأَنَّهُمَا وَإِنْ تَسَاوَيَا فِي مُقَابِلٌ لِقَوْلِهِ: فَالْأَحْسَنُ كَمَا يَجُوزُ التَّشَابُهُ وَهُمَا الْمُشَبَّهُ وَالْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ هُوَ وَجْهُ الشَّبَهِ وَجْهُ الشَّبَهِ بِحَسَبِ قَصْدِ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يَجُوزُ لَهُ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ أَحَدَهُمَا مُشَبَّهًا وَالْآخَرَ مُشَبَّهًا بِهِ لِغَرَضٍ مِنَ الْأَغْرَاضِ وَبِسَبَبٍ مِنَ الْأَسْبَابِ، مِثْلَ زِيَادَةِ الِاهْتِمَامِ وَكَوْنِ الْكَلَامِ فِيهِ، كَتَشْبِيهِ غُرَّةِ الْفَرَسِ بِالصُّبْحِ وَعَكْسِهِ أَيْ تَشْبِيهِ الصُّبْحِ بِغُرَّةِ الْفَرَسِ مَتَى أُرِيدَ ظُهُورُ مُنِيرٍ فِي مُظْلِمٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُ أَيْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْمُنِيرِ مِنْ غَيْرِ قَصْدٍ إِلَى الْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي وَصْفِ غُرَّةِ كَالْغُرَّةِ وَالْبَيَاضِ لِلصُّبْحِ كَاللَّيْلِ وَالْفَرَسِ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِـ"أُرِيدَ" الْفَرَسِ بِالضِّيَاءِ وَالِانْبِسَاطِ وَفَرْطِ التَّلَأْلُؤِ وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ؛ إِذْ لَوْ قُصِدَ ذَلِكَ لَوَجَبَ جَعْلُ الْغُرَّةِ الِاتِّسَاعُ شِدَّةُ اللَّمَعَانِ الْمُبَالَغَةُ مُشَبَّهًا وَالصُّبْحُ مُشَبَّهًا بِهِ وَهُوَ أَيِ التَّشْبِيهُ بِاعْتِبَارِ الطَّرَفَيْنِ الْمُشَبَّهِ وَالْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَقْسَامٍ؛ إِفْرَادًا وَتَرْكِيبًا أَنَّهُ كَمَا تَوَهَّمَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِيهِ وَرَدَّ اسْتِعْمَالَهُ مُتَعَدِّيًا بِنَفْسِهِ وَاسْتِعْمَالَهُ لَازِمًا، فَفِي الْقَامُوسِ أَسْبَلَ الدَّمْعَ بِمَعْنَى أَرْسَلَهُ، وَفِي الصِّحَاحِ: أَسْبَلَ الدَّمْعُ بِمَعْنَى هَطَلَ فَعَلَى الْأَوَّلِ الْبَاءُ الْوَاقِعَةُ فِي حَيِّزِهِ زَائِدَةٌ، وَعَلَى الثَّانِي لِلتَّعْدِيَةِ، فَجَعَلَ الشَّارِحُ الزِّيَادَةَ وَهْمًا وَهَمَّ مِنْهُ الدَّسُوقِيُّ: ٤١٤/٣] وَيَجُوزُ الْجَوَازُ مُسْتَفَادٌ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ فَالْأَحْسَنُ، وَكَأَنَّهُ تَعَرَّضَ لَهُ؛ لِيُوَضِّحَهُ بِالتَّمْثِيلِ.

When the sky pours down and lets fall [rain], the 'ba' in his saying 'Is it with wine?' is for transitivity and is not redundant as some have imagined, or [is it] from my tears that I was drinking? When he believed in the equality between the tear and the wine, he abandoned simile (tashbih) in favor of mutual resemblance (tashabuh), and it is permissible when intending to combine two things in the matter of simile as well; because even if they are equal in resemblance, just as mutual resemblance is permissible, and they are the 'musabbah' (the likened) and the 'musabbah bihi' (the object of comparison), it is the 'wajh al-shabah' (the point of resemblance) according to the speaker's intention, except that it is permissible for him to make one of them the 'musabbah' and the other the 'musabbah bihi' for one of the purposes and for one of the reasons, such as increased emphasis and the discourse being centered upon it, like the comparison of the horse's blaze to the dawn and its reverse, i.e., the comparison of the dawn to the horse's blaze, whenever the appearance of something luminous in something dark is intended, more so than that luminous thing, without intending exaggeration in describing the horse's blaze with brightness, expansion, excessive shimmering, and the like; for if that were intended, it would be necessary to make the blaze the 'musabbah' and the dawn the 'musabbah bihi'. It—that is, simile—with regard to the two sides, the 'musabbah' and the 'musabbah bihi', has four divisions; that it is as some have imagined regarding it, and he refuted its usage as transitive by itself and its usage as intransitive. In the 'Qamus', 'asbala al-dam'a' means he sent it forth, and in the 'Sihah', 'asbala al-dam'u' means it poured down. So, according to the first, the 'ba' occurring in its scope is redundant, and according to the second, it is for transitivity. Thus, the commentator considered the redundancy a delusion, and Al-Dasuqi was concerned with it [3/414]. The permissibility is derived from his saying 'the best', and it is as if he addressed it to clarify it with an example.

التَّجْرِيدُ [٣٣٢] وَإِنْ تَسَاوَيَا وَالْحَاصِلُ أَنَّ وَجْهَ الشَّبَهِ إِنْ كَانَ مُسَاوِيًا فِي اسْمَيْنِ فَالْأَحْسَنُ التَّشَابُهُ، وَالتَّشْبِيهُ خِلَافُ الْأَصْلِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ مُتَفَاوِتًا، فَإِنْ لَمْ يُقْصَدِ التَّفَاوُتُ جَازَ التَّشَابُهُ وَإِنْ قُصِدَ التَّفَاوُتُ تَعَيَّنَ التَّشْبِيهُ. [الْعَرُوسُ:

Abstraction [332]: And if they are equal, the conclusion is that if the point of resemblance is equal in two nouns, the best is mutual resemblance (tashabuh), and simile (tashbih) is contrary to the original principle. If it is unequal, then if inequality is not intended, mutual resemblance is permissible, and if inequality is intended, simile is mandatory. [Al-Arus: 3/415]

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Vocabulary · المفردات (10 verbs · 46 nouns)

• هَطَلَ — to rain
• أَسْبَلَ — to let flow
• تَوَهَّمَ — to imagine
• فَنٌّ — art
• تَشْبِيهٌ — simile
• سَمَاءٌ — sky