مثلThe correspondence of one thing to another, such that one may stand for or depict the … (root mthl)

Al-mathal (المثل): the thing struck as a similitude for another thing, making it its like. Al-mathal is also the narrative/statement itself. Most of what occurs of it in the Qur'an is like His saying, Exalted and Glorious: 'mathalu al-jannati allatī wu'ida al-muttaqūn' (مثل الجنة التي وعد المتقون) — 'therein are rivers...' — so the mathal is the report about it. Likewise His saying: 'ḍuriba mathalun fa-istami'ū lahu' (ضرب مثل فاستمعوا له), then He reports: 'inna alladhīna tad'ūna min dūni Allāh...' — so His report about that thing itself became the mathal; these words and the like were not a mathal struck for something else, unlike His saying: 'ka-mathali al-ḥimāri yaḥmilu' (كمثل الحمار يحمل) and 'ka-mathali al-kalb' (كمثل الكلب). Al-mathal: the resemblance of a thing in shape, measure, and the like, even in meaning. One says: 'mā li-hādhā mathīl' (ما لهذا مثيل) — this has no equal. Al-mithāl: what is made a standard/measure for something else, plural muthul (مثل), and 'thalāthatu amthilah' (ثلاثة أمثلة) — three patterns. Al-muthūl (المثول): standing erect; the verb is 'mathala yamthulu' (مثل يمثل). Labīd said: 'Then We led the two of them back from a watering-place — going and coming — while their guide-marks stood erect.' Al-tamthīl (التمثيل): depicting a thing as though one were looking at it. Al-timthāl (التمثال): the name for the thing that is depicted, fashioned after the shape of something else; the tā' is given kasrah when made a noun, on the pattern of tijfāf and the like — had it been a maṣdar it would have fatḥah. The pattern tif'āl occurs in few words, such as tirmād and tilqā'; tilqā' became a noun because it came to be used in the manner of ladun and of ḥiyāl. Whatever is a maṣdar keeps the tā' with fatḥah, following the pattern of the maṣdar in Arabic — it is neither pluralized nor given a diminutive. And 'hādhā amthalu min dhālika' (هذا أمثل من ذلك) means 'this is better than that.'

Mathal (مثل): a word of equivalence. One says 'hādhā mithluhu' (هذا مثله) and 'mithīluhu' (مثيله), just as one says shibhuhu and shabīhuhu, with the same meaning. The Arabs say 'huwa mathīlu hādhā' (هو مثيل هذا) and 'hum amthīluhum' (هم أميثالهم), meaning that the thing likened to is contemptible, just as this one is contemptible. Al-mathal: what is cited as proverbs (al-amthāl, الأمثال). Mathalu al-shay' (مثل الشيء) also means its description. Al-mithāl (المثال): the mat/mattress, plural muthul (مثل), or, if you wish, lightened. Al-mithāl in the well-known sense, plural amthilah (أمثلة) and muthul. 'Maththaltu lahu kadhā tamthīlan' (مثلت له كذا تمثيلا) — I depicted for him such-and-such by writing or otherwise. Al-timthāl: the image/figure, plural al-tamāthīl (التماثيل). 'Mathala bayna yadayhi muthūlan' (مثل بين يديه مثولا) — he stood erect before him. From this the minaret of a lit lamp is called māthilah (ماثلة). [Also] mathala means 'it clung to the ground,' being one of the contronyms (al-aḍdād, الأضداد). He said: 'Traces — some of them clear, some faded away.' Al-mustabīn: the visible ruins. Al-māthil: the faded traces. 'Mathala bihi yamthulu mathlan' (مثل به يمثل مثلا) — he mutilated him; the noun is al-muthlah (المثلة), with ḍammah. 'Mathala bi-l-qatīl' (مثل بالقتيل) — he mutilated the slain man. Al-mathulah (المثلة), with fatḥah on the mīm and ḍammah on the thā': punishment, plural al-mathulāt (المثلات). 'Amthalahu' (أمثله) — he made it a punishment. One says 'amthala al-sulṭānu fulānan' (أمثل السلطان فلانا) — the ruler killed so-and-so in legal retaliation. One says to a judge: 'amthilnī' (أمثلني), 'aqiṣnī' (أقصني), 'aqidnī' (أقدني) — grant me retaliation. 'Fulān amthalu Banī Fulān' — so-and-so is nearest of Banu so-and-so to goodness. 'These are amāthil al-qawm' — the best of the people. 'Mathula al-rajulu' (مثل الرجل), with ḍammah, mathālah (مثالة) — he became excellent. Al-muthlā (المثلى) is the feminine of al-amthal (الأمثل), like al-quṣwā is the feminine of al-aqṣā. 'Tamāthala min 'illatihi' (تماثل من علته) — he began to recover from his illness. 'Tamaththala bi-hādhā al-bayt' (تمثل بهذا البيت) and simply 'hādhā al-bayt' have the same meaning [reciting a verse in apt comparison]. 'Imtathala amrahu' (امتثل أمره) — he followed/obeyed his command. Dhū al-Rummah said, describing the wild ass and the she-asses: 'A four-year-old she-ass, for whom — since the stick/staff put forth its shoots — there are the scratches of an old grudge whose retaliation is not sought/matched.'

Mīm, thā', and lām (م ث ل) is a sound root indicating the resemblance (munāẓarah) of one thing to another: 'this is mithl (مثل) of this' means its counterpart. Al-mathal (المثل) and al-mithāl (المثال) have one meaning, and sometimes they say mathīl (مثيل) like shabīh. The Arabs say 'amthala al-sulṭānu fulānan' (أمثل السلطان فلانا) — the ruler killed so-and-so in retaliation (qawad) — the meaning being that he did to him the like of what he had done. Al-mithl also means 'like,' as shibh and shabah do. The proverb (al-mathal al-maḍrūb, المثل المضروب) is taken from this, because it is cited to symbolize something resembling it in meaning. Their saying 'muththila bihi' (مثل به), meaning he mutilated [the corpse], is likewise from this, because the sense is that by mutilating him he made that an example for anyone who does, or intends to do, that same deed. They say 'mathala bi-l-qatīl' (مثل بالقتيل) — he mutilated the slain man. Al-mathulāt (المثلات) is also from this; God Most High said: 'wa-qad khalat min qablihim al-mathulāt' (وقد خلت من قبلهم المثلات) [al-Ra'd 13:6] — 'and there had already passed away before them [similar] punishments' — meaning the punishments that deter from the like of what occasioned them; its singular is mathulah (مثلة), like samurah and ṣadaqah. It is also possible that it means what befalls a person, making him an example by which others are deterred and restrained. 'Mathala al-rajulu qā'iman' (مثل الرجل قائما) — he stood erect — the sense being that he is, as it were, an erected model. The plural of mithāl is amthilah (أمثلة). Al-mithāl also means the mat/mattress, plural muthul (مثل), being something resembling what is beneath or above it. 'Fulān amthal Banī Fulān' (فلان أمثل بني فلان) — so-and-so is the nearest of Banu so-and-so to goodness, i.e. he resembles the people of virtue and good. 'These are amāthil al-qawm' (أماثل القوم) — the best of the people.

The basic sense of al-muthūl (المثول) is standing erect, and al-mumaththal (الممثل) is what is depicted after the pattern of something else. One says 'mathala al-shay'' (مثل الشيء), meaning it stood erect and was depicted. From this comes his saying, peace be upon him: 'Whoever loves that men should stand erect before him (yumaththala lahu al-rijāl, يمثل له الرجال), let him take his seat in the Fire.' Al-timthāl (التمثال): the depicted thing; 'tamaththala kadhā' (تمثل كذا) — it took shape/was depicted. God Most High said: 'fa-tamaththala lahā basharan sawiyyan' (فتمثل لها بشرا سويا) [Maryam 19:17] — 'so he appeared to her as a well-proportioned man.' Al-mathal (المثل) is an expression for a statement about something that resembles a statement about something else, there being a resemblance between the two so that one clarifies and depicts the other — as in their saying: 'al-ṣayfa ḍayya'ta al-laban' (الصيف ضيعت اللبن) — 'In summer you wasted the milk' — for this saying resembles: 'You neglected your affair when it was still possible [to attend to it].' In this manner are the parables (al-amthāl) that God Most High strikes, as He said: 'wa-tilka al-amthālu naḍribuhā li-l-nāsi la'allahum yatafakkarūn' (وتلك الأمثال نضربها للناس لعلهم يتفكرون) [al-Ḥashr 59:21] — 'These are the parables We strike for mankind, that they may reflect' — and in another: 'wa-mā ya'qiluhā illā al-'ālimūn' (وما يعقلها إلا العالمون) [al-'Ankabūt 29:43] — 'and none grasps them but those who know.' Al-mathal is used in two senses: one, in the sense of al-mithl (المثل), like shabah and shabah, naqḍ and naqḍ. Some said it may also be used to express the description of a thing, as in His saying: 'mathalu al-jannati allatī wu'ida al-muttaqūn' (مثل الجنة التي وعد المتقون) [al-Ra'd 13:35]. Second: an expression for resemblance to something else in any respect whatsoever, and it is the most general of the terms coined for resemblance — for al-nidd (الند) is used only where things share in substance (jawhar) alone; al-shabah where they share only in quality (kayfiyyah); al-musāwī where they share only in quantity (kammiyyah); al-shakl where they share only in measure and extent (miqdār wa-misāḥah); while al-mathal is general, covering all of that. For this reason, when God Most High wished to negate resemblance in every respect, He singled out this term, saying: 'laysa ka-mithlihi shay'' (ليس كمثله شيء) [al-Shūrā 42:11] — 'there is nothing like unto Him.' As for the combination of kāf and mithl in this verse, it has been said: this is to emphasize the negation, alerting that it is not valid to apply either mithl or kāf to Him, so 'laysa' (there is not) negates both together. And it has been said: mathal here bears the sense of 'attribute' (ṣifah), meaning: there is no attribute like His attribute — alerting that, although He is described by many things by which humans are described, those attributes do not belong to Him in the way they apply to humans. And His saying Most High: 'li-lladhīna lā yu'minūna bi-l-ākhirati mathalu al-saw'i wa-lillāhi al-mathalu al-a'lā' (للذين لا يؤمنون بالآخرة مثل السوء ولله المثل الأعلى) [al-Naḥl 16:60] — meaning: theirs are the blameworthy attributes, and His are the loftiest attributes. God Most High has forbidden the striking of parables for Him, saying: 'fa-lā taḍribū lillāhi al-amthāl' (فلا تضربوا لله الأمثال) [al-Naḥl 16:74], then alerted that He may Himself strike a parable for Himself, though it is not for us to imitate Him in this, saying: 'inna Allāha ya'lamu wa-antum lā ta'lamūn' (إن الله يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون) [al-Naḥl 16:74]. Then He struck a parable for Himself, saying: 'ḍaraba Allāhu mathalan 'abdan mamlūkan' (ضرب الله مثلا عبدا مملوكا) [al-Naḥl 16:75]. In this is an alert that he [entry continues]

Mathal (مثل): a word of equivalence. One says 'hādhā mithluhu' (هذا مثله) and 'mithluhu' just as one says shibhuhu and shabīhuhu, with the same meaning. Ibn Barrī said: the difference between al-mumāthalah (المماثلة) and al-musāwāh (المساواة) is that al-musāwāh occurs both between things differing in kind and things agreeing in kind, since equality is parity in measure, neither more nor less; whereas al-mumāthalah occurs only between things agreeing [in kind]. You say: 'its manner is as its manner' (naḥwuhu ka-naḥwihi), 'its grammar as its grammar' (fiqhuhu ka-fiqhihi), 'its color as its color,' 'its taste as its taste.' So if one says 'huwa mithluhu' (هو مثله) absolutely, the meaning is that it can fully take its place; and if one says 'huwa mithluhu fī kadhā' (هو مثله في كذا), then it is equal to it in one respect but not another. The Arabs say 'huwa mathīlu hādhā' (هو مثيل هذا) and 'hum amthīluhum' (هم أميثالهم), meaning the thing likened to is contemptible, just as this one is contemptible. Al-mathal: resemblance (al-shabah); one says mithl and mathal, shibh and shabah, with one meaning. Ibn Jinnī said, regarding His saying, Mighty and Majestic: 'fa-wa-rabbi al-samā'i wa-l-arḍi innahu la-ḥaqqun mithlu mā annakum tanṭiqūn' (فو رب السماء والأرض إنه لحق مثل ما أنكم تنطقون) — he made mithl and mā one single noun, so the first part was built with fatḥah, and the two together are, in his view, in the position of raf' (nominative), being a description of ḥaqq; if it is asked, what then is the position of 'annakum tanṭiqūn'? the answer is that it is genitive by the addition of 'mithlu mā' to it. If one objects, 'but do you not know that mā is indeclinable, being two letters the second of which is a weak letter — how then can addition to an indeclinable word be valid?' — the answer is: it is not mā alone that is the muḍāf (the annexed term), but rather the noun joined with mā; mā here is no more than [an extra element], like the tā' of feminization in 'jāriyatu Zayd' (جارية زيد), or the alif and nūn in 'sarḥān 'Amr' (سرحان عمرو), or the yā' of annexation in 'Baṣrī al-qawm' (بصري القوم), or the alif of feminization in 'Ṣaḥrā' Zamm' (صحراء زم), or the alif and tā' in his saying: 'fī ghā'ilāti al-ḥā'iri al-mutawwah' (في غائلات الحائر المتوه). And His saying Most High: 'laysa ka-mithlihi shay'un' (ليس كمثله شيء) — He meant simply 'there is nothing like Him' — it cannot be otherwise, for if this were not meant, one would be affirming for Him a mithl — God is exalted above that. Its parallel is what Sībawayh cited: 'lawāḥiqu al-aqrābi fīhā ka-l-maqaq' (لواحق الأقراب فيها كالمقق) [i.e. meaning ka-maqaq]. And His saying: 'fa-in āmanū bi-mithli mā āmantum bihi' (فإن آمنوا بمثل ما آمنتم به) — Abū Isḥāq said: if someone asks, 'does faith have a mithl other than faith itself?' the answer is: the meaning is clear, and its interpretation is: if they bring a belief like your belief in your faith in the prophets, and an affirmation [of God's oneness] like yours, then they are guided, i.e. they have become Muslims like you. In the ḥadīth of al-Miqdām, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings upon him, said: 'Indeed, I have been given the Book, and its like (mithluhu) along with it' (ألا إني أوتيت الكتاب ومثله معه). Ibn al-Athīr said this may bear two interpretations: one, that he was given, of the hidden, unrecited revelation, the like of what he was given of the outward, recited [revelation]; the second, that he was given the Book as revelation, and was given, of clarification (al-bayān), its like — i.e. he was permitted to [entry continues]