A comprehensive understanding of the world is vital for humans, significantly influencing both individual and societal survival and development. Consequently, presenting this concept in a tangible and accessible manner has been a priority in Islamic sacred texts. One of the most effective strategies for this purpose is to employ concrete or less abstract domains—a principle central to what is now known as Conceptual Metaphor Theory (understanding one domain in terms of another). Nahj al-Balāghah, as a comprehensive humanistic encyclopedia, conceptualizes the world with precision, drawing upon multiple source domains. Among these, the domain of “home” plays a prominent role. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical method with qualitative content analysis grounded in cognitive semantics to examine how the source domain “home” is projected onto the target domain “world.” It investigates which features and elements are mapped and how this cognitive metaphor shapes human understanding of the world. The findings reveal those specific characteristics—such as entanglement with calamity, susceptibility to betrayal, hardship, and changeability—are effectively mapped from the source domain “home” onto the target domain “world”, highlighting aspects of worldly experience that are often overlooked in everyday cognition.
Zare A. The World” in the Frame of “Home”: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis in Nahj al-Balāghah Based on
Conceptual Metaphor Theory. 3 2025; 18 (36) :347-370 URL: http://pnmag.ir/article-1-2162-en.html