LessonsAl-Sakkaki on Derivative Metaphor, Implicit Metaphor, and the Role of Imaginative CluesQuiz

يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ
They break the covenant of God.

The expression occurs in Qur’an 2:27. Naqd can describe undoing or breaking a material bond, while a covenant is not a physical rope or wall. The covenant may therefore be represented as a strong binding object capable of being broken.

The issue is whether the verb “break” has transferred its sense or the covenant is implicitly compared to a breakable bond, with “break” serving as the clue. Both explanations preserve the sense of violating a covenant, but they analyze the figurative act at different locations.

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The clue in “they break God’s covenant”

Al-Sakkaki on Derivative Metaphor, Implicit Metaphor, and the Role of Imaginative Clues

يَنْقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ
They break the covenant of God.

The expression occurs in Qur’an 2:27. Naqd can describe undoing or breaking a material bond, while a covenant is not a physical rope or wall. The covenant may therefore be represented as a strong binding object capable of being broken.

The issue is whether the verb “break” has transferred its sense or the covenant is implicitly compared to a breakable bond, with “break” serving as the clue. Both explanations preserve the sense of violating a covenant, but they analyze the figurative act at different locations.