LessonsMajāz Mursal and Istiʿārah: Non-similarity Relations and Their TypesQuiz

To determine cause-to-effect versus effect-to-cause transfer, first identify the expression's ordinary referent and the sense actually intended in the sentence. Only then name the direction of the relation.

If ghayth is not recognized as rain or nabāt as vegetation, a student may rely on grammar without analyzing meaning. The associated verb—grazing, raining, producing—provides an essential contextual cue.

The same principle applies to “hand”: it may signify benefaction in one sentence and power in another. One word does not have to carry the same transferred sense everywhere.

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Do not infer the direction from grammar alone

Majāz Mursal and Istiʿārah: Non-similarity Relations and Their Types

To determine cause-to-effect versus effect-to-cause transfer, first identify the expression's ordinary referent and the sense actually intended in the sentence. Only then name the direction of the relation.

If ghayth is not recognized as rain or nabāt as vegetation, a student may rely on grammar without analyzing meaning. The associated verb—grazing, raining, producing—provides an essential contextual cue.

The same principle applies to “hand”: it may signify benefaction in one sentence and power in another. One word does not have to carry the same transferred sense everywhere.