LessonsIstiʿārah: Definition, Figurative Identification and the Linguistic–Intellectual DebateQuiz

بِطَرِيقِ التَّأْوِيلِ قِسْمَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا الْمُتَعَارَفُ
An exemplary name may be considered in two interpretive modes, beginning with the familiar instance.

One reading keeps the well-known original individual in mind as the standard of the trait. Another uses the salient property to present a second, unfamiliar individual as falling under the same rhetorical designation.

The case of Ḥātim demonstrates this distinction. The historical person is still a definite individual, but extraordinary generosity can make another person a candidate for that name in figurative speech. The resemblance lies in the characteristic, not in replacing the original person's identity.

Opening interactive controls...

Two modes of interpreting an exemplary name

Istiʿārah: Definition, Figurative Identification and the Linguistic–Intellectual Debate

بِطَرِيقِ التَّأْوِيلِ قِسْمَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا الْمُتَعَارَفُ
An exemplary name may be considered in two interpretive modes, beginning with the familiar instance.

One reading keeps the well-known original individual in mind as the standard of the trait. Another uses the salient property to present a second, unfamiliar individual as falling under the same rhetorical designation.

The case of Ḥātim demonstrates this distinction. The historical person is still a definite individual, but extraordinary generosity can make another person a candidate for that name in figurative speech. The resemblance lies in the characteristic, not in replacing the original person's identity.