Is there metaphor in the Qur'an...?

Q: A questioner from al-Qassim sent me a message saying: I often read in books of tafsir and others that this letter is extra, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah al-Shura: 11]. They say that the (kaf) in "kamithlihi" is extra. One of the teachers told me that there is nothing in the Qur'an called extra or missing or metaphor. If that is the case, what is the ruling on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah Yusuf: 82] and the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah al-Baqarah: 93]?

A: The correct view held by the meticulous scholars is that there is no metaphor in the Qur'an in the sense known by the specialists in the art of rhetoric. Everything in it is literal in its place. The meaning of some mufassirs saying that this letter is extra is from the perspective of the rules of grammar, not that it is extra in meaning. Rather, it has its known meaning among those who converse in the Arabic language. This is because the Noble Qur'an was revealed in their language. As in the saying of His Lord, the Exalted: [Surah al-Shura: 11], which conveys an exaggeration in negating a like, and it is more eloquent than saying: "There is nothing like Him." And so is the saying of His Lord, the Exalted: [Surah Yusuf: 82]. The intended meaning is the inhabitants of the town and the owners of the caravan. It is the custom of the Arabs to use "town" for its people and "caravan" for its owners. This is due to the breadth of the Arabic language and its abundance of variation in speech. It is not from the category of metaphor known in the terminology of the people of rhetoric, but it is from the metaphor of the language, meaning what is permissible in it and not prohibited. It is a verbal noun with a mim prefix, like "al-maqam" and "al-maqal." And so is the saying of His Lord, the Exalted: [Surah al-Baqarah: 93], meaning their love. This was used because this word conveys the meaning among the people of the language who converse in it. It is from the category of conciseness and abbreviation due to the clarity of the meaning. And success is from Allah.