تمثیل کے لسانی و بلاغتی اصول اور قرآنی اطلاقات: ایک تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Linguistic and Rhetorical Foundations of Tamtheel and its Quranic Applications: A Strategic Analytical Study

Abstract

The study presents an analytical discussion of both linguistic and rhetorical underpinnings of Tamtheel (parables or allegories) and its strategic use in the Quranic and Prophetic texts. Not aesthetic decorations, these parables are a strategic instrument to fill the gap between abstract metaphysical truths on the one hand and concrete human perception on the other hand. The paper begins with an etymological analysis of Arabic root M-Th-L (م-ث-ل), which means equality, resemblance, and moral lessons. A vital rhetorical contrast is set up between simple similes (Tashbih) and Tamtheel, which are given dynamic and holistic situations to cause psychological and philosophical changes in the reader. The paper also further classifies these parables into psychological, ideological and natural. It discusses the theatre of reality that is made by the use of parables of the fire-lighter and the rain-storm, to reveal the inner instability of hypocrites. It further examines how animal kingdom (the greed of the dog, the weight of the book-laden donkey, and the physical and social weaknesses of the spider web) can be applied in pedagogy to discuss the results of intellectual stagnation and polytheistic addictions. The study also underscores Prophetic parables, including the last brick in the palace and the single body, in describing how prophethood comes to an end and why society should be united. Finally, the paper ends by concluding that Quranic allegorical style is an all-purpose tool that can be applied to solve contemporary problems like the Google Era information overload where knowledge is sometimes available but lacking wisdom.