Sharh Durus al-Balagha by Ibn Uthaymeen (شرح دروس البلاغة) — Page 246

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

تُميلُها هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا، يَمِينًا وَيَسَارًا، وَقَدْ جَرَى: الْوَاوُ لِلْحَالِ، وَذَهَبَ الْأَصِيلُ: أَيْ آخِرُ النَّهَارِ؛ إِذْ يَكُونُ أَصْفَرَ كَالذَّهَبِ.

You tilt it this way and that, to the right and to the left, and it has occurred: the 'waw' is for the circumstantial state, and 'dhahab al-asil' means the end of the day, as it becomes yellow like gold.

فَقَوْلُهُ: ذَهَبُ الْأَصِيلِ عَلَى لُجَيْنِ الْمَاءِ أَيْ أَصِيلٌ كَالذَّهَبِ، عَلَى مَاءٍ كَاللُّجَيْنِ، أَيْ كَالْفِضَّةِ.

So his saying: 'the gold of the late afternoon upon the silver of the water' means a late afternoon like gold, upon water like 'lujayn', that is, like silver.

إِذَنْ فَمِنَ الْمُؤَكَّدِ مَا أُضِيفَ فِيهِ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ إِلَى الْمُشَبَّهِ، وَالْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ هُنَا الذَّهَبُ، وَكَذَلِكَ اللُّجَيْنُ وَالْمُشَبَّهُ هُوَ الْأَصِيلُ، وَأَيْضًا الْمَاءُ؛ لِأَنَّ الْأَصِيلَ تَصْفَرُّ بِهِ الشَّمْسُ فَتَكُونُ كَالذَّهَبِ عَلَى لُجَيْنِ الْمَاءِ، وَالْمَعْنَى عَلَى مَاءٍ كَاللُّجَيْنِ، فَهُوَ أَبْيَضُ صَافٍ كَالْفِضَّةِ فَهُنَا أُضِيفَ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ إِلَى الْمُشَبَّهِ فَصَارَ بَلِيغًا.

Therefore, among the confirmed similes is that in which the object of comparison is added to the subject of comparison; the object of comparison here is gold, and likewise 'lujayn', while the subject of comparison is the late afternoon, and also the water, because the late afternoon is made yellow by the sun, so it becomes like gold upon the silver of the water, and the meaning is 'upon water like silver', for it is white and clear like silver, so here the object of comparison was added to the subject of comparison, and it became eloquent.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (10 verbs · 30 nouns)

• مَالَ — to incline
• جَرَى — to happen
• ذَهَبَ — to go
• يَمِينٌ — right side
• يَسَارٌ — left
• وَاوٌ — letter waw