The attribution itself can be figurative even when its predicate and subject of attribution are each literal. The text distinguishes four combinations.
Nature of the two termsExample
Both lexically literalأَنْبَتَ الرَّبِيعُ الْبَقْلَ
Both lexically figurativeأَحْيَا الْأَرْضَ شَبَابُ الزَّمَانِ
Literal predicate, figurative subjectأَنْبَتَ الْبَقْلَ شَبَابُ الزَّمَانِ
Figurative predicate, literal subjectأَحْيَا الْأَرْضَ الرَّبِيعُ
“Shabāb al-zamān” (the youth of time) figuratively denotes spring; reviving the earth can figuratively refer to vegetation returning. Lexical figurativeness and figurative predication remain two distinct analytical layers.