Man jiwaz al-majaz fi al-munazzal lil-taabbud wal-ijaz
- Author died
- 1393 AH
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- Dār ‘Aṭā’āt al-‘Ilm
Man jawaz al-majaz fi al-munazzal lil-taabbud wal-ijaz (Arabic: منع جواز المجاز في المنزل للتعبد والإعجاز, "The Prohibition of the Permissibility of Metaphor in That Revealed for Worship and Inimitability") is a theological and linguistic treatise by the Mauritanian scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (1325–1393 AH / 1907–1974 CE) . The work argues against the presence of figurative language (majaz) in the Quran and the Arabic language more broadly .
Background and Central Thesis
Al-Shinqiti situates his treatise within the longstanding scholarly debate over the reality and scope of majaz . Citing early figures such as Abu Ishaq al-Isfara'ini and Abu Ali al-Farisi who denied majaz in language, as well as the later elaborations of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Shinqiti maintains that metaphor does not exist in the Arabic language at all, and that what rhetoricians label as metaphor is in fact an array of genuine Arabic linguistic styles (asalib), each functioning literally (haqiqa) within its specific context and contextual indicators .
He asserts that whether one accepts or rejects the existence of metaphor in Arabic generally, attributing it to the Quran is impermissible . A primary logical proof he advances relies on the rhetoricians' consensus definition that every metaphor can be validly negated (for example, saying of a brave warrior described as a lion: "he is not a lion, but a man") . Because no part of the Quran can be validly negated, al-Shinqiti formulates a second-figure categorical syllogism concluding that nothing in the Quran is a metaphor . He also highlights that asserting metaphor in the Quran served as an avenue for theological negators (al-mu'attila) to deny divine attributes mentioned in revelation, such as the Hand (al-yad), Ascending (al-istiwa), and Descending (al-nuzul) .
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction (al-Muqaddima): Outlines the scholarly disagreements regarding the permissibility and occurrence of metaphor in Arabic and in the Quran .
- Chapter One (al-Fasl al-Awwal): Refutes the premise that "whatever is permissible in the Arabic language is permissible in the Quran," using formal dialectical and logical argumentation .
- Chapter Two (al-Fasl al-Thani): Examines and responds to the specific Quranic verses frequently cited by proponents of metaphor as textual evidence .
- Chapter Three (al-Fasl al-Thalith): Discusses and resolves potential objections and difficulties related to denying metaphor and the proofs of its prohibition .
- Chapter Four (al-Fasl al-Rabi'): Investigates the verses concerning divine attributes (ayat al-sifat) and establishes the necessity of affirming them without metaphorical interpretation .
- Conclusion (al-Khatima): Presents a dialectical debate (munazara) refuting the denial of divine attributes through formal polemical methods .
Publication and Reception
The treatise was printed as an independent work during al-Shinqiti's lifetime and was also appended to the final volumes of his Quranic commentary, Adwa al-Bayan fi Idah al-Quran bil-Quran ("Lights of Clarification in Explaining the Quran by the Quran") . It was subsequently re-edited under the supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd as part of a collected edition of al-Shinqiti's scholarly works .
The work has been utilized and praised by scholars who share al-Shinqiti's rejection of metaphor in scripture, who cite its comprehensive review of contested Quranic verses and its method of reinterpreting putative metaphors as standard Arabic linguistic idioms . Conversely, modern advocates of metaphor in Quranic rhetoric, such as Abd al-Azim al-Mat'ani, engaged the treatise critically, arguing that al-Shinqiti overextended logical formulas against the broader consensus of classical linguists and exegetes who affirmed metaphor in the Quran .
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