“Fa-adhāqahā Allāhu libāsa al-jūʿi wa-al-khawf”
“God made it taste the garment of hunger and fear.” (al-Naḥl 16:112, excerpt)
The verb “made [it] taste” evokes one sense, while “garment” evokes another. Hunger and fear are depicted as both deeply felt and all-enveloping. Explaining the “garment” through the felt effect or taste of deprivation can illuminate the image.
The original metaphor is richer than a literal list of symptoms. The city’s loss of security and provision provides the setting for the vivid expression.
Ibdāl here points to semantic transfer; the commentary should preserve the force of the image rather than reducing it to a bland replacement.