{"id":30695,"date":"2026-08-28T13:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=30695"},"modified":"2026-06-28T13:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T13:27:36","slug":"parables-in-the-holy-quran-are-a-source-of-divine-guidance-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/parables-in-the-holy-quran-are-a-source-of-divine-guidance-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Parables in the Holy Quran are a source of divine guidance. 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

**(14)**<\/h4>\n

\u201c\u2026so that it follows it in what it requires and accompanies it even to what it might not otherwise accept. For this reason, parables have become widespread in the Divine Books and Prophetic sayings, and have flourished in the expressions of the eloquent and the insights of the wise.<\/h4>\n

Representation (*tamth\u012bl*) is the subtlest means of subjugating imagination to reason and bringing it down from its resistance and obstinacy toward it. It is the strongest method for instructing the ignorant and dull-minded, and for restraining the rebellion of the stubborn and defiant. How could it be otherwise, when it lifts the veil from the faces of hidden intellectual realities and presents them in the form of clear sensory images\u2014portraying what is denied in the form of what is acknowledged, and showing what is strange in the form of what is familiar?\u201d (1)<\/h4>\n

Perhaps these words suffice, and there is no need to prolong the discussion. However, one point must be noted: al\u2011Suy\u016b\u1e6d\u012b \u0646\u0642\u0644 in *Al\u2011Muzhir* from Ab\u016b \u02bfUbayd that he said:<\/h4>\n

\u201cParables are the wisdom of the Arabs in pre\u2011Islamic and Islamic times. By them they would respond to one another\u2019s speech and achieve their purposes in discourse through indirect expression.\u201d (2)<\/h4>\n

It is clear, however, that parables are not exclusive to the Arabs. Every people possesses proverbs and maxims through which they convey their intentions and communicate their aims to listeners. Sometimes a single proverb is shared among different peoples and becomes universal. At times, the brilliance of a proverb so astonishes a poet that he casts its meaning into poetic form.<\/h4>\n

Al\u2011\u1e6cabar\u012b narrated from al\u2011Muhallab ibn Ab\u012b \u1e62ufra that he gathered his sons and brought some arrows tied together, saying: \u201cDo you think you could break them while they are bundled?\u201d They replied, \u201cNo.\u201d He then untied them and said: \u201cCould you break them when separated?\u201d They said, \u201cYes.\u201d He said: \u201cSuch is unity.\u201d (3)<\/h4>\n

Al\u2011Muhallab was not the first to utter this example. Ab\u016b Hil\u0101l al\u2011\u02bfAskar\u012b narrated from Qays ibn \u02bf\u0100\u1e63im al\u2011Tam\u012bm\u012b (d. 20 AH) verses expressing the same proverb in poetry:<\/h4>\n

> By mending bonds among you is your long survival,
\n> Whether my life be prolonged or not.
\n> Until your hearts and skins soften
\n> Toward both noble and humble among you.
\n> Arrows, when gathered, if one enraged
\n> Seeks to break them with force of hand,
\n> They resist and do not break; but if scattered,
\n> Weakness and breaking belong to the divided. (1)<\/h4>\n

Al\u2011Mas\u02bf\u016bd\u012b, in his account of \u02bfAbd al\u2011Malik ibn Marw\u0101n, mentioned that al\u2011Wal\u012bd used to recite verses written by \u02bfAbd al\u2011Malik in his testament, including:<\/h4>\n

> Cast away rancor from among you,
\n> In absence and in presence alike.
\n> For arrows, when gathered, if one enraged
\n> Seeks to break them with force of hand,
\n> They resist and do not break; but if scattered,
\n> Weakness and breaking belong to the divided. (2)<\/h4>\n

—<\/h4>\n

### Books Authored on Arabic Proverbs<\/h4>\n

Many books\u2014ancient and modern\u2014have been written on Arabic proverbs. The most comprehensive among them is *Majma\u02bf al\u2011Amth\u0101l* by A\u1e25mad ibn Mu\u1e25ammad al\u2011N\u012bs\u0101b\u016br\u012b al\u2011Mayd\u0101n\u012b (d. 518 AH), containing over six thousand proverbs. (1)<\/h4>\n

—<\/h4>\n

### Fourth: Qur\u2019anic Parables<\/h4>\n

Numerous Qur\u2019anic verses indicate that the Qur\u2019an contains parables, and that God sets them forth for people so that they may reflect and take heed:<\/h4>\n

> *\u201cIf We had sent down this Qur\u2019an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and splitting apart from fear of Allah. And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will reflect.\u201d* (2)<\/h4>\n

Other verses likewise affirm the presence of parables in the Qur\u2019an. The Trustworthy Spirit brought them down; they were parables at the moment of revelation upon the heart of the Messenger before being circulated among people.<\/h4>\n

On the other hand, a \u201cproverb\u201d (*mathal*) in the conventional sense is speech uttered in a specific incident and then circulated over time in similar situations. By this definition, such proverbs do not exist in the Qur\u2019an, because their defining feature is popular circulation\u2014a feature not present in Qur\u2019anic verses at the moment of revelation.<\/h4>\n

Therefore, the \u201cparable\u201d in the Qur\u2019an must mean something else: namely, rhetorical representation (*tamth\u012bl qiy\u0101s\u012b*), discussed by scholars of rhetoric under simile, metaphor, and figurative expression. Al\u2011Qazw\u012bn\u012b called it \u201ccompound metaphor.\u201d (1)<\/h4>\n

Thus, most Qur\u2019anic \u201cparables\u201d belong to the category of representation, not to the technical \u201cproverb\u201d as defined in common usage.<\/h4>\n

\u0100l\u016bs\u012b stated that *mathal* originally derives from \u201cstanding upright\u201d (*muth\u016bl*), and later came to denote eloquent and widely known speech containing simile, metaphor, wisdom, admonition, or concise expression. (1)<\/h4>\n

The Qur\u2019anic parable, however, was not borrowed from a prior event nor repeated from an earlier model; it is a new artistic expression uniquely innovated by the Qur\u2019an in structure and indication.<\/h4>\n

Hence, the Qur\u2019anic *mathal* is not the conventional proverb known in literary terminology. It is a distinct genre designated by the Qur\u2019an itself before literary scholars defined \u201cproverb\u201d as a category of prose. (2)<\/h4>\n

—<\/h4>\n

### Fifth: Types of Representation (*Tamth\u012bl*)<\/h4>\n

Representation is assigning one thing the status of another through simile, metaphor, or other figurative means. It has several types:<\/h4>\n

#### 1. Symbolic Representation
\nThis is expression through the tongues of birds, plants, or stones in symbolic form, alluding to subtle meanings. This style abounds in *Kal\u012bla wa Dimna* and in \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r\u2019s *Conference of the Birds*.<\/h4>\n

Some have attempted to interpret all Qur\u2019anic narratives as symbolic in this sense, denying their historical reality. However, this contradicts the explicit Qur\u2019anic text:<\/h4>\n

> *\u201cIndeed, in their stories there is a lesson for those of understanding. It is not fabricated speech\u2026\u201d* (Y\u016bsuf 111)<\/h4>\n

Thus, the Qur\u2019anic stories recount real, unseen truths.<\/h4>\n

#### 2. Narrative Representation
\nThis relates the conditions of past nations to draw lessons from similarities, such as:<\/h4>\n

> *\u201cAllah presents an example for those who disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot\u2026\u201d* (al\u2011Ta\u1e25r\u012bm 10)<\/h4>\n

#### 3. Natural Representation
\nThis compares the intangible with the tangible, such as:<\/h4>\n

> *\u201cThe example of the worldly life is like rain We send down from the sky\u2026\u201d* (Y\u016bnus 24)<\/h4>\n

Qur\u2019anic parables revolve mainly around narrative and natural representation.<\/h4>\n

—<\/h4>\n

### Sixth: Qur\u2019anic Parables in Hadith<\/h4>\n

The Imams of Ahl al\u2011Bayt emphasized reflection upon Qur\u2019anic parables. Among their statements:<\/h4>\n

– Imam \u02bfAl\u012b (as): \u201cYou have been admonished through those before you, and parables have been set forth for you\u2026\u201d
\n– \u201cThe Book of your Lord is among you\u2026 containing its lessons and its parables.\u201d
\n– \u201cThe Qur\u2019an was revealed in four parts: one quarter about us, one about our enemies, one about parables and traditions, and one about legal rulings.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Imam al\u2011\u1e62\u0101diq narrated that Imam \u02bfAl\u012b asked a judge whether he understood the Qur\u2019an\u2019s parables; when he said no, he replied: \u201cThen you are ruined and have ruined others.\u201d<\/h4>\n

Imam \u02bfAl\u012b ibn al\u2011\u1e24usayn, in his supplication upon completing the Qur\u2019an, asked God to grant understanding of its wonders and the admonitions of its parables.<\/h4>\n

—<\/h4>\n

### Statements of Scholars on Qur\u2019anic Parables<\/h4>\n

– **\u1e24amza al\u2011I\u1e63fah\u0101n\u012b (d. 351 AH):** Parables reveal hidden realities and present the imagined as tangible.
\n– **Al\u2011M\u0101ward\u012b (d. 450 AH):** \u201cAmong the greatest sciences of the Qur\u2019an is the science of its parables.\u201d
\n– **Al\u2011Zamakhshar\u012b (d. 538 AH)** and **al\u2011R\u0101z\u012b (d. 606 AH):** Parables affect the heart more profoundly than abstract description, because they make the unseen visible and the abstract concrete.
\n– **\u02bfIzz al\u2011D\u012bn \u02bfAbd al\u2011Sal\u0101m (d. 660 AH):** Qur\u2019anic parables serve as reminders and admonitions and often indicate legal or moral rulings.
\n– **Al\u2011Zarkash\u012b (d. 794 AH):** The purpose of parables is to clarify the hidden through the evident and to refute opponents effectively.<\/h4>\n

However, it may be observed that what these scholars describe relates primarily to rhetorical representation rather than to the conventional circulating proverb.<\/h4>\n

***
\n(References correspond to those cited in the original text.)<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

**(14)** \u201c\u2026so that it follows it in what it requires and accompanies it even to what it might not otherwise accept. For this reason, parables have become widespread in the Divine Books and Prophetic sayings, and have flourished in the expressions of the eloquent and the insights of the wise. Representation (*tamth\u012bl*) is the subtlest …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1498],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-koran-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30696,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30695\/revisions\/30696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}