“fī al-shiddah aw al-ḍaʿf”
In intensity or weakness.
Hyperbole is not limited to magnifying strength, abundance or greatness. It can also intensify weakness, fear, scarcity or abasement. In either direction, the description moves beyond an ordinary degree of the relevant quality.
For illustration, “very powerful” magnifies force, while “even his shadow trembled at the name” imagines fear at an extreme degree. Both formulations show how rhetoric can intensify different aspects of a quality.
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Acceptable Hyperbole: Tablīgh, Ighrāq, Ghulūw and Effective Imagery
“fī al-shiddah aw al-ḍaʿf”
In intensity or weakness.
Hyperbole is not limited to magnifying strength, abundance or greatness. It can also intensify weakness, fear, scarcity or abasement. In either direction, the description moves beyond an ordinary degree of the relevant quality.
For illustration, “very powerful” magnifies force, while “even his shadow trembled at the name” imagines fear at an extreme degree. Both formulations show how rhetoric can intensify different aspects of a quality.