وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا
And my head has flared with grey hair.
Ishtiʿāl ordinarily denotes ignition and spreading flame. Applying it to the head’s greying creates an image of rapid, extensive spread rather than reporting literal combustion.
A literal paraphrase—“the head turned grey”—conveys the state but loses the energetic spatial image. Identify the ordinary source domain (flame) and the intended target (grey hair spreading).
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Practice 5: Advanced Applied Balāghah in Selected Qur’anic Passages
وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا
And my head has flared with grey hair.
Ishtiʿāl ordinarily denotes ignition and spreading flame. Applying it to the head’s greying creates an image of rapid, extensive spread rather than reporting literal combustion.
A literal paraphrase—“the head turned grey”—conveys the state but loses the energetic spatial image. Identify the ordinary source domain (flame) and the intended target (grey hair spreading).