Sharh Durus al-Balagha by Ibn Uthaymeen (شرح دروس البلاغة) — Page 274

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وَأَصْلُ الاسْتِعَارَةِ تَشْبِيهٌ حُذِفَ أَحَدُ طَرَفَيْهِ، وَوَجْهُ شَبَهِهِ، وَأَدَاتُهُ.

The origin of metaphor is a simile in which one of its two terms, its point of resemblance, and its particle have been omitted.

فَإِنْ قُلْتَ: رَأَيْتُ أَسَدًا يَحْمِلُ كِتَابًا تُرِيدُ بِالْأَسَدِ الرَّجُلَ الشُّجَاعَ، فَالاسْتِعَارَةُ تَصْرِيحِيَّةٌ؛ لِأَنَّكَ صَرَّحْتَ بِلَفْظِ الْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ، وَهُوَ «الْأَسَدُ»، وَأَصْلِيَّةٌ لِأَنَّ «الْأَسَدَ» اسْمٌ جَامِدٌ.

If you say, 'I saw a lion carrying a book,' intending by 'lion' a brave man, then the metaphor is explicit (tasrihiyyah), because you have explicitly stated the term for the object of comparison, which is 'the lion,' and it is primary (asliyyah) because 'the lion' is a non-derived noun.

تَقَدَّمَ أَنَّ الاسْتِعَارَةَ مَجَازٌ عَلَاقَتُهُ الْمُشَابَهَةُ، وَكَيْفِيَّةُ ذَلِكَ كَمَا قَالَ الْمُؤَلِّفُ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - هُنَا: أَنْ تَأْتِيَ بِتَشْبِيهٍ فَتَحْذِفَ أَحَدَ طَرَفَيْهِ وَوَجْهَ شَبَهِهِ وَأَدَاتَهُ، فَيَبْقَى أَحَدُ طَرَفَيِ التَّشْبِيهِ، فَتَقُولُ مَثَلًا: «هَذَا الرَّجُلُ كَالْبَحْرِ فِي الْكَرَمِ»، ثُمَّ احْذِفْ وَجْهَ الشَّبَهِ «فِي الْكَرَمِ»، وَاحْذِفْ أَدَاةَ التَّشْبِيهِ «الْكَافَ»، فَتَقُولُ: «هَذَا الرَّجُلُ بَحْرٌ»، فَبَقِيَ عِنْدَنَا طَرَفَا التَّشْبِيهِ الْمُشَبَّهُ وَالْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ احْذِفْ أَحَدَهُمَا «الرَّجُلَ» وَهُوَ الْمُشَبَّهُ، يَبْقَى عِنْدَنَا «بَحْرٌ» وَهُوَ الْمُشَبَّهُ بِهِ.

It has been established that metaphor is a figurative expression whose relationship is resemblance, and the method for that, as the author—may God have mercy on him—said here, is to present a simile and then omit one of its two terms, its point of resemblance, and its particle, so that one of the two terms of the simile remains; for example, you say, 'This man is like the sea in generosity,' then omit the point of resemblance 'in generosity,' and omit the particle of comparison 'the kaf,' so you say, 'This man is a sea.' Thus, we are left with the two terms of the simile, the object of comparison and the subject of comparison; omit one of them, 'the man,' which is the subject of comparison, and we are left with 'a sea,' which is the object of comparison.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (16 verbs · 36 nouns)

• حَذَفَ — to delete
• رَأَى — to see
• حَمَلَ — to carry
• أَصْلٌ — origin
• اِسْتِعَارَةٌ — metaphor
• تَشْبِيهٌ — simile