Ilm Bayan
Tashbih
1.Arkan
Al-Maʿarri says:
You are like the sun in splendor and as if you surpass Jupiter in the loftyness of your posistion
Someone else said:
You are like the lion in bravery and steadfastness, and a sword in handling affairs
Someone else said:
As if your character in its gentleness and softness is the morning wind
Someone else said:
As if the water in its purity and how it flows is like flowing silver
In the first line of poetry the poet recognizes that the person he is trying to praise(mamduh) is clear faced and has a very beautiful appearance(both words used are typical arabic words of praising beauty meaning glittery or bright). So he wants to bring an example that can really highlight that quality The quality he chooses is brightness and radiance and it is impossible to find anything more radiant than the sun. So he uses it as his example and to show that it is being used as an example he used the particle Kaf
In the second line, the poet saw that his mamduh has two qualities. They are his bravery and his courage. He therefore had to search for two things that embodied those things strogly. He used the lion in the first, and the sword in the second. Once again, to show that a comparison is being made he used Kaf.
In the third line the poet found the character of his friend to be gentle and kind and always generous. So he worked to bring an example to embody and eximplify this quality. He saw that the Morning wind is like this and set out to make a comparison between them and he showed his comparison using Kanna.
In the Fourth Example the poet worked to find an example for clear water that could better convey the meaning of purity. So he found that quality in liquid silver so he brought the comparison. He showed the comparison using Kanna.
So you see in every line of poetry that something is made the equivalent of something in a quality that the two share. You should also notice that there is a tool that shows this equivalency be it Kaf or Kanna. This process is called Tashbih. You should notice that there are 4 parts to the tashbih: The thing that the tashbih is brought to describe, Mushabbah. The thing that is brought to be compared, the Mushabbah bihi (Together these are called the Tarafayn of Tashbih). The quality that is shared between the Tarafayn, Wajh Shibh. It is necessary that the quality is stronger or more famously known in the Mushbbah bihi than in the Mushabbah as you’ve seen in the examples.Lstly is the Adah al-Tashbih, which is kaf, kanna or something similar.
Every single Tashbih must have its Tarafayn. Howver sometimes you wont find them explicitly mentioned. Sometimes even the Mushabbah can be deleted or hidden like you find when asking someone “How is Ali?” and they reply Like a wilting flower. Like a flower is khabr for mubtada mahduf. The wajh shibh is also deleted as the adah, and the reasons for this will be explained in following lessons inshallah.
