Sol 6.1

  1. اللَفظ إِن أريدَ مِنهُ الظاهِرُ

    حَقيقة مجازُه مغاير

    An expression, if its apparent meaning is intended,

    is literal; its figurative meaning differs.

  2. لا بُدّ مِن عَلاقةٍ تَكون

    بَينَهما تقرب أَو تَبين

    There must be a relationship

    between the two, whether close or remote.

  3. مثالُه مقال بعض العُربان

    صارَ الثَريدُ في رُؤوس العيدان

    For example, the saying of some Bedouins:

    “Tharīd is now atop the stalks.”

  4. أَرادَ بِالثَريدِ حَبَّ السُنبُلَه

    سَماه بِالشَيءِ الَّذي يَؤولُ لَه

    By “tharīd” he meant the grain in the ear;

    he named it after what it would become.

  5. وَفي الأَعمِّ جعلوا مَدارَه

    كِنايةً تَمثيلاً اِستعارَه

    And, in the broader sense, they made it encompass

    indirect expression, analogical representation, and metaphor.

  6. كِناية أَن تثبت المَعنى لَما

    يَكونُ عَن وجوهِهِ قَد لزما

    Indirect expression is to ascribe a meaning to something

    from whose aspects it necessarily follows.

  7. كَقولهم يتعبُ هنداً رِدفُها

    كَمثل ما يريح دَعداً عِطفُهما

    as in their saying, “Hind's buttocks tire her,”

    just as the flank of both of them gives Daʿd relief.

  8. وَذا رَمادُ قَدره جَليلُ

    وَذا نجادُ سيفِهِ طَويل

    And this man's cooking-pot ashes are plentiful,

    and this man's sword-baldric is long.

  9. دَلا عَلى الجودِ وَطولِ القامه

    كِلاهُما لذا وَذا علامه

    The two indicate generosity and tall stature,

    each a sign of its corresponding trait.

  10. وَرُبما يُنسَبُ ما يرادُ

    لشاملٍ لِمَن لَهُ المراد

    And sometimes the intended quality is ascribed

    to something enclosing the person who possesses it.

  11. نَحوَ رقاشُ الحُسن في بُردَيها

    وَحَبَّذا التُفاحُ في خَدّيها

    as in: “Raqāsh—beauty is in her two cloaks,”

    and “How lovely are the apples in her cheeks!”

  12. وَالنَحوُ وَاللُغى لسيبويه

    في قُبةٍ مَضروبةٍ عَلَيه

    And, for Sībawayh, grammar and languages

    are in a tent pitched over him.

  13. تَمثيله كَنحو إِنّ بشرا

    مُقَدِّمٌ رجلاً مُؤخر أُخرى

    Its analogical representation is as in: “Indeed, Bishr

    puts one foot forward and draws the other back,”

  14. إِذا يَكونُ فعلُه تردُّدا

    في فعلهِ أَو تَركه ما قَد بَدا

    when his conduct is hesitation

    over doing or leaving undone what has arisen.

  15. وَنَحو لَم يَبرح أَبو المَناقِب

    يفتل في ذروته والغارب

    And as in: “Abū al-Manāqib kept

    twisting at his hump's crest and withers,”

  16. إِذا غَدا مُستسهلاً ما استصعبا

    كَيما يَنال مِنه ما قَد طَلَبا

    when he sets about easing what he found difficult,

    so as to gain from it what he sought.

  17. وَجَعلك اسم مُشبِه عباره

    عَن مشبه ذَلِكَ الاستعاره

    And your using the name of a similar thing as an expression

    for the thing compared—that is metaphor,

  18. بِشَرط فقدانِ أَداةٍ للشَّبه

    وَجَعلك الشَيء لشيء لَيسَ لَه

    provided that no marker of likeness is used;

    and your assigning something to a thing that does not possess it,

  19. نَحو محت خُطا الدُجى كَف الصَباح

    وَقَد جَرى ريق النَدى عَلى الأَقاح

    as in: “Morning's palm erased the footprints of darkness,”

    and “The saliva of dew has flowed over the daisies.”