زَيْدٌ كَالْأَسَدِ فِي الشَّجَاعَةِ
Zayd is like a lion in courage.
“Zayd” is the compared subject, “lion” its model, kāf the comparison marker, and “courage” the shared attribute. When an element is omitted, first determine whether both sides of a comparison remain conceptually expressed or whether one name has been transferred.
An emphatic statement such as “Zayd is a lion” is not automatically a metaphor without attention to construction and context. The classification rests on the arrangement and evidence, not merely the presence or absence of a comparison particle.