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

When examining Qurʾānic instances, intended meaning, contextual action and figurative relation should be kept distinct. Naming a category does not by itself exhaust the passage's interpretation.

“They put their fingers in their ears” — fingertips carry out the physical act, while the whole fingers are named.
“Let him call his nādī” — people can be summoned, although the word refers to an assembly place.
“I see myself pressing wine” — the present substance receives the name of its future product.

Each has its own semantic relation and contextual clue. None is automatically a metaphor of resemblance.

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Analyzing Quranic examples without flattening their meaning

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

When examining Qurʾānic instances, intended meaning, contextual action and figurative relation should be kept distinct. Naming a category does not by itself exhaust the passage's interpretation.

“They put their fingers in their ears” — fingertips carry out the physical act, while the whole fingers are named.
“Let him call his nādī” — people can be summoned, although the word refers to an assembly place.
“I see myself pressing wine” — the present substance receives the name of its future product.

Each has its own semantic relation and contextual clue. None is automatically a metaphor of resemblance.