A Linguistic Study of Islamic Religious Discourse: Conceptual Metaphors in the Prophetic Tradition Ahmad El-Sharif PhD Thesis 2011 1 Declaration I hereby confirm that the thesis entitled “A Linguistic Study of Islamic Religious Discourse: Conceptual Metaphors in the Prophetic Tradition” represents my own work. Ahmad El-Sharif 2 Abstract This study examines the emergence of metaphorical language in the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and tradition. It principally argues that the selection of metaphors in the Prophetic discourse is chiefly governed by the rhetorical aim of persuasion. Additionally, the Prophetic metaphors are discursively used to express a distinctive Islamic doctrine and ideology that embody the laws, principles, and beliefs of Islam. The study is anchored by the theoretical framework provided by the cognitive theory of metaphor developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and corpus-assisted and critical metaphor analysis approaches introduced by Jonathan Charteris-Black. The critical analysis of the Prophetic metaphors acknowledges the impact of the most frequent and significant metaphoric source domains appearing in a corpus compiled from the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and tradition. These metaphors are introduced to an audience on the basis of Islamic religious beliefs in addition to the socio-cultural experiences and knowledge of pre-Islamic Arabs and early Muslims of the time. This study demonstrates the Prophet Muhammad’s reliance on metaphorical language in introducing unfamiliar Islamic notions such as Islam and faith, rulership and Islamic laws, and rituals and unlawful practices among many other notions. The abstract nature of these concepts necessitates the use of conventional metaphors which provide epistemic and ontological information about the topics in hand. In addition, the study argues that behind his didactic discourse, the Prophet Muhammad’s selection of metaphors reflects a distinctive ideological perspective by which Muslims and non-Muslims are distinguished within the realm of spiritual life. Finally, the study establishes the persuasive impact of the Prophetic metaphors with reference to the three Aristotelian propositions: the ethical, emotional, and logical. The study provides the first effort to analyse conceptual metaphors used in the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and tradition on the basis of modern cognitive and critical approaches to metaphor analysis. Furthermore, this study builds upon the findings of previous studies on critical metaphor analysis of metaphors employed in other religious discourses, such as the Bible and the Qur’an; so, it draws attention to the need for more study of metaphors in Islamic religious discourse. Ahmad El-Sharif Queen Mary-University of London September 2011 3 Acknowledgments Grace to almighty God, and as I finally put the finishing touches on this thesis, I want to express my huge gratitude to many important people and institutions who have contributed directly and indirectly in accomplishing this modest work. First, to my considerate supervisor: Professor Felicity Rash, from the first day we met, has given me invaluable career advice on how to pursue this research efficiently. Felicity has supported me in everything I have achieved with unparalleled diligence and generosity. I am also grateful to the genuine co-supervision I received from Dr. Peter Orton whose meticulous comments and feedback were of great significance in organising my ideas and arguments. To say that they both have just taught me how to write a thesis would be a great understatement. What I have mostly learned by working under Felicity and Peter’s supervision is their resolve and patience to make me produce the best work I could. I admit that I have sometimes found it frustrating and annoying to be over-estimated by them, but the gratification is immense and I am proud of the result. Even with all of that, I am inclined to make it clear that all that is good in this thesis has emerged as a result of their guidance, but any errors are my own, and I completely bear its ethical and academic responsibility. I am also indebted to Al-alBayt University/Jordan for their generous financial support that has enabled me to study full-time and to undertake three years of research in London. My deepest gratitude is due to all my professors (and future colleagues) at Al- alBayt for their continuous encouragement, especially during the early stages of my study, and I want to state my special gratitude to Professor Fawwaz Abdul-Haq for his infinite support and to Dr. Amer AlRashid for being in instantaneous contact during the last year of this research. During the research period in London, I have enjoyed the special companionship of the most wonderful people and helpful staff in the School of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Film at Queen Mary-University of London (QMUL). More precisely, I owe the deepest recognition to Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem (SOAS) and Dr. Erez Levon (QMUL) for their insightful recommendations during the early stages of my research. In addition, I want to express my greatest gratitude to my dearest colleagues all 4 post-graduate students in the department of Linguistics at QMUL (aka: ‘the Labbers’), who have certainly been waiting to read this page for a long time. They have always shown a great deal of enthusiasm for my thesis – at times, more than I have myself! Now, all are much better “metaphorists” than I am, and have also become experts at discussing the art of talking metaphorically! My brothers and sisters have also been a source of inspiration, humour, and love. I am also very lucky to have wonderful brothers and sisters-in-law who have shown much support, consideration and pride. And I want to thank all my relatives and friends everywhere and who have remained in direct contact with me in the past three years. Without their confidence and encouragement, none of this would have been possible. Saving the best for last, I want to thank both of my parents for their everlasting love and care. I thank my father most for his huge support and infinite confidence. Sending me to London as a doctoral student was probably a risk, and more than he bargained for. Although he showed some reluctance at the beginning, he has shown me later a great deal of confidence and satisfaction; to him, I am proud to dedicate this thesis. Ahmad El-Sharif Queen Mary, University of London September 2011 5 Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 LIST OF FIGURES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11 TYPOGRAPHY CONVENTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11 LIST OF ARABIC PHONETIC SYMBOLS* USED IN TRANSLITERATION ---------------------------- 12 VOWEL ENDINGS AND LONG VOWELS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12 TERMINOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 1.1. THE STUDY AND ITS STRUCTURE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 1.2. BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT OF THE STUDY ---------------------------------------------------------------- 22 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 1.4. CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 1.4.2. The Prophetic Tradition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 1.4.3. Key Themes in Islamic Religious Discourse -------------------------------------------------------------- 34 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LINGUISTIC RESEARCH ON DISCOURSE AND METAPHOR-- 42 2.1. INTRODUCING “DISCOURSE” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 2.2. THE FUNCTIONS OF RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE --------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 2.3. THE STUDY OF METAPHOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 2.3.1. Introducing Metaphor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 2.3.2. Metaphorical Language and its Use in Discourse ------------------------------------------------------- 53 2.3.3. Metaphor and Islamic Religious Discourse --------------------------------------------------------------- 58 2.4. THE COGNITIVE APPROACH TO METAPHOR --------------------------------------------------------------------- 61 2.4.1. Ivor A. Richards’ View of Metaphor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 2.4.2. Max Black’s View of Metaphor ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 2.4.3. The Interpretation of Metaphor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 65 2.5. CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR THEORY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 69 2.5.1. The Key Tenets of Conceptual Metaphor Theory -------------------------------------------------------- 69 2.5.2. Development of Conceptual Metaphor Theory -----------------------------------------------------------