By Dr Hasanuddin Ahmad

A word or group of words used in any composition to give particular emphasis to an idea or sentiment is termed as figure of speech. If instead of a literal meaning a word borrows a new meaning it is called a figurative use of the word.

The whole realm of figurative languages looms large in any consideration of the Quran as literature. Figurative language in the Quran includes almost all the figures of speech used in any language (Presently only 15 have been discussed). It is hard to find a 'ruku' in the Quran that does not contain figurative language.

Abu Bakr Muhammed-al-Baqillani (d. 403/1013) demonstrated the occurrence in the Quran of the figures of speech used by the Arab poets. He identified not less than 34 different figures of speech in his monumental treatise Ijaz al-Quran.

In sharp contrast to the use of the figures of speech by the pre-Islamic Arab poets, which at times appear to be a poor trick, the Quran employs the same figures of speech in a most magnificent way. It is more important as the Quran is the un-mediated word of God.

The Quran is basically a book of guidance. Even though words used in the Quran are as a rule, taken in their literal meaning, some words have been used in different figures of speech to enable the addressee to fully understand some of the concepts of the Quran.

Thus we find a number of figures of speech, also called tropes, in the Quran. The Quran, for example, has used figurative language to explain certain concepts such as al-jannah, al-naar, al-aakhirah, al-arsh, al-kursi, al-sa'at etc. which are beyond the range of human perception. The concepts behind these terms cannot be fully understood by the human mind, and therefore such concepts have been explained through expressions which the human mind can comprehend.

1. Simile

When one thing is compared to another because of mutual resemblance, it is called a simile.

The Quran has very frequently used this figure of speech to convey its message.

The literal meaning are negated by prefixing the Arabic alphabet 'Kaf'' (meaning similar or like) such as

"Then your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder" (Quran 2:74)

Here the literal meaning of the word 'rocks' is negated by prefixing with the word 'like'

2. Metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech in which words are used to indicate something different from its literal meaning. It is an implied simile. It does not, like the simile, state that the thing is like another or acts as another, but takes that for granted and proceeds as if the two things were one.

The Quran has used metaphors to convey its message.

The Quran says:

"......it is they who carry the shackles (of their own making) around their necks; and it is they who are destined for the fire, therein to abide." (Quran 13:5)

Here 'shackles' is "a metaphor of man's willful self abandonment to false values and evil ways, and of the resulting enslavement of the spirit (of Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi)". [1]

3. Symbolism

In the simplest sense, a symbol is "something that stands for, represents or denotes something else (not by exact resemblance, but by vague suggestion, or by some accidental or conventional relation) especially a material object representing or taken to represent something immaterial or abstract." [2]

The Quran had the problem of presenting its universal message keeping in view eternal realities, wisdom and mental background and the limitations of the addressee.

The vast vocabulary of the Arabic language was incapable of expressing certain concepts; therefore Allah created the necessary atmosphere for comprehending them through the medium of symbols.

For example, the Quran