Literal and figurative; one meaning and many

Signification and expressions · al-ḥaqīqa wa-l-majāz wa-l-mushtarak wa-l-mutarādif · pp. 53–54

الحَقِيقَةُ وَالمَجازُ وَالمُشْتَرَكُ وَالمُتَرادِفُ

مسوّدة · بانتظار المراجعة

Persian text after the print of Kanpur 1279/1862–63 · translation by The Mantiqi, draft

About this text

al-Kubrā الكُبْرَى

al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 816/1413)

Text: Persian, transcribed by The Mantiqi from the lithograph, without its marginal glosses: Majmūʿa-yi manṭiq, Maṭbaʿ-i Alṭāfī, Kanpur 1279/1862–63, pp. 1–42 View the scan
Lessons follow: al-Manṭiq al-manhajī li-l-mubtadiʾīn: al-Ṣughrā wa-l-Awsaṭ wa-l-Kubrā, Arabic version and arrangement by Muḥammad Anwar al-Badakhshānī (Jāmiʿat al-ʿUlūm al-Islāmiyya, ʿAllāma Banūrī Town), Islam Insight, Karachi 1420/1999, pp. 42–86. The lessons are The Mantiqi's own explanations in the order of this edition; its text is under copyright and is not reproduced.
Translation: The Mantiqi's own, into English and into vocalised Arabic; a draft. The Arabic is translated from the Persian, not taken from a printed Arabic version.
Review: Draft, awaiting review by Ustadh Muhammad Yusuf.

The text

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Persian original, Majmūʿa-yi manṭiq, Kanpur 1279/1862–63

فصل. لفظ را چون در موضوع له خود استعمال کنند آن را حقیقت خوانند، و چون در جزو موضوع له یا در خارج وی استعمال کنند مجاز خوانند، و اینجا احتیاج بقرینه باشد. فصل. لفظ را چون یک موضوع له باشد آن را مفرد خوانند، و اگر زیاده باشد آن را مشترک خوانند و در هر معنی محتاج بقرینه باشد چون لفظ عین، و اگر دو لفظ از برای یک معنی موضوع باشد آن را مترادفان خوانند چون انسان و بشر، و اگر هر یکی را موضوع له دیگر باشد آن را متباینان خوانند چون انسان و فرس.

Section. When a word is used for what it was assigned to, it is called literal; when it is used for a part of what it was assigned to, or for something outside it, it is called figurative, and here a contextual sign is needed. Section. When a word has one assigned meaning it is called single in meaning; if more, it is called equivocal, and for each meaning it needs a contextual sign, like the word “ʿayn”. If two words are assigned to one meaning, they are called synonyms, like “insān” and “bashar” (man); and if each has another assigned meaning, they are called distinct, like “man” and “horse”.

Arabic translation

فَصْلٌ. اللَّفْظُ إِذَا اسْتُعْمِلَ فِيمَا وُضِعَ لَهُ سُمِّيَ حَقِيقَةً، وَإِذَا اسْتُعْمِلَ فِي جُزْءِ مَا وُضِعَ لَهُ أَوْ فِي الْخَارِجِ عَنْهُ سُمِّيَ مَجَازًا، وَهُنَا يُحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْقَرِينَةِ. فَصْلٌ. اللَّفْظُ إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ مَوْضُوعٌ لَهُ وَاحِدٌ سُمِّيَ مُفْرَدًا، وَإِنْ كَانَ أَكْثَرَ سُمِّيَ مُشْتَرَكًا، وَيَحْتَاجُ فِي كُلِّ مَعْنًى إِلَى قَرِينَةٍ، كَلَفْظِ الْعَيْنِ. وَإِنْ وُضِعَ لَفْظَانِ لِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ سُمِّيَا مُتَرَادِفَيْنِ، كَالْإِنْسَانِ وَالْبَشَرِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لِكُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا مَوْضُوعٌ لَهُ آخَرُ سُمِّيَا مُتَبَايِنَيْنِ، كَالْإِنْسَانِ وَالْفَرَسِ.

Google Translate ↗p. 12

The lesson

A word used for what it was assigned to is literal (ḥaqīqa): “lion” for the animal. A word used for something other than what it was assigned to, or for a part of it, or for what is bound to it, is figurative (majāz): “lion” for a brave man; “man” for animal alone, for rational alone, or for being able to learn and to write. A figurative use always needs a contextual sign (qarīna).

A word with one meaning, like “Zayd”, is single in meaning (mufrad). A word with several meanings, like “ʿayn” (eye, spring, …), is equivocal (mushtarak). Two words with one meaning, like “quʿūd” and “julūs” (sitting) or “layth” and “asad” (lion), are synonyms (mutarādif). Two words with different meanings, like “man” and “horse”, are distinct (mutabāyin).

These distinctions matter for definitions: as the Kubrā will say, a figurative or equivocal word may not be used in a unless a clear sign shows the meaning intended.

Terms

الحَقِيقَةُ al-ḥaqīqa: literal: used for what it was assigned to
المَجازُ al-majāz: figurative: used for something else, with a sign
القَرِينَةُ al-qarīna: contextual sign
المُشْتَرَكُ al-mushtarak: equivocal: one word, several meanings
المُتَرادِفُ al-mutarādif: synonyms: several words, one meaning
المُتَبايِنُ al-mutabāyin: distinct: different words, different meanings

Examples

الأَسَدُ
“lion”: literal for the animal, figurative for a brave man
العَيْنُ
“ʿayn”: an equivocal word
القُعُودُ وَالجُلُوسُ
“quʿūd” and “julūs”: synonyms

اخْتَبِرْ نَفْسَك

3 questions on this lesson. With 6 out of 10 or more (two stars) the next lesson opens.

السؤال 1
“ʿAyn”, meaning eye, spring and essence, is…
السؤال 2
What does a figurative use always need?
السؤال 3
“Layth” and “asad”, both meaning lion, are…

الدَّرْسُ التّالِي: The single expression and its kinds

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