Statements of the Scholars on Metaphor
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Your Eminence! What is the position of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding metaphor, and may Allah reward you with good?The Shaykh: What do you mean by metaphor?The questioner: The one that is known among the experts in rhetoric, which is negation in reality.
The Shaykh: If this metaphor necessitates denying what Allah described Himself with, or distorting the texts from their meaning, then it is invalid without a doubt.Like those who said: To say that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: [Taha:39] meaning: within My sight, without affirming the eye, and that the mention of the eye is a metaphor for seeing, this is invalid and cannot be accepted.Or they said: He rose above the Throne,Meaning: He took possession of it, which is an idiom for taking possession of it, this cannot be accepted.
As for if they said: Metaphor, but they did not distort the words from their places, so there is no harm.That the stronger opinion is: That there is no metaphor in language at all, neither in language nor in the Qur'an.And the scholars differed on this in three opinions: The first opinion: that there is no metaphor in the Arabic language.
And this is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim.
The second opinion: That metaphor is established in the Qur'an and in the Arabic language, and this is the opinion of most rhetoricians and theologians.
And the third opinion: Metaphor in the Arabic language but not in the Qur'an.And this is the opinion chosen by a group of them: Al-Shanqiti, Muhammad al-Amin, the author of *Udhu' al-Bayan*.
And the correct view is: That there is no metaphor at all.Because for example if you said: I saw a lion entering with its sword, can it occur to any person that it is the known animal lion? No, so due to this context, this sentence becomes a reality in its meaning, and this reality is a reality in its meaning.
Therefore, metaphor must have a connection, and it must have a context, this context makes what was intended for a previous meaning not capable of bearing that previous meaning, and at that time it becomes a reality in its context, and this is an apparent aspect for one who reflects on it.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.
The Shaykh: If this metaphor necessitates denying what Allah described Himself with, or distorting the texts from their meaning, then it is invalid without a doubt.Like those who said: To say that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And it is made before My eyes
وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَى عَيْنِيAs for if they said: Metaphor, but they did not distort the words from their places, so there is no harm.That the stronger opinion is: That there is no metaphor in language at all, neither in language nor in the Qur'an.And the scholars differed on this in three opinions: The first opinion: that there is no metaphor in the Arabic language.
And this is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim.
The second opinion: That metaphor is established in the Qur'an and in the Arabic language, and this is the opinion of most rhetoricians and theologians.
And the third opinion: Metaphor in the Arabic language but not in the Qur'an.And this is the opinion chosen by a group of them: Al-Shanqiti, Muhammad al-Amin, the author of *Udhu' al-Bayan*.
And the correct view is: That there is no metaphor at all.Because for example if you said: I saw a lion entering with its sword, can it occur to any person that it is the known animal lion? No, so due to this context, this sentence becomes a reality in its meaning, and this reality is a reality in its meaning.
Therefore, metaphor must have a connection, and it must have a context, this context makes what was intended for a previous meaning not capable of bearing that previous meaning, and at that time it becomes a reality in its context, and this is an apparent aspect for one who reflects on it.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.