A Semantic Analysis of the Relation of Possession in the Holy Qurʾan Based on the Theory of Conceptual Metaphor

Possession is a one-way relationship between the owner and the owned, in which the owned existence always depends on the owner. The diversty of debate has prompted scientists of different fields to address it from different approaches. Cognitive semantics is a vital science in this domain, which can facilitate the understanding of this relationship using cognitive patterns of language. It seems that ownership in the language of Qurʾan follows the metaphorical model in which an objective concept matches its characteristics to an abstract idea to facilitate understanding. Therefore, the theoretical framework of conceptual metaphor has been used to analyse ownership relations in the Qurʾanic language. The purpose of using a conceptual metaphor is to measure and evaluate the metaphorical function of the original words in the conceptualisation and description of the ownership domain in the Holy Qurʾan to show the cognitive and explanatory function of metaphor in understanding the relationship of ownership on the one hand and on the other hand, to draw the process of making secondary meanings and the dimensions of this abstract relationship through metaphors. To this end, all the ayahs with keywords related to ownership in the lexical and grammatical unit were identified, extracted and analysed based on Lakoff and Johnson's theory of conceptual metaphor and within the framework of cognitive linguistics. The results indicated that metaphors have an explanatory function, are systematic and have been formed based on human experiences; among which are the empirical relationships and cultural foundations. We can achieve a more accurate understanding of the conceptual domain of ownership by discovering new semantic layers regarding a conceptual metaphor, which is impossible without using cognitive analysis.