The divine dialectic in metaphor: a cognitive analysis of the conceptual network for ALLAH in the English Qur’an

This study employs Conceptual Metaphor Theory from cognitive linguistics to analyze the metaphorical construction of ALLAH in the English Qur’an. It identifies nine core conceptual metaphors out of 2,188 instances, categorized into a transcendence-oriented cluster (MASTER, KING, CREATOR, JUDGE, UP) and an immanence-oriented cluster (GUIDE, MERCHANT, PATRON, LIGHT). A three-dimensional functional analysis reveals how these metaphors structure divine understanding, elicit specific emotions, and serve rhetorical purposes. The findings demonstrate that these metaphors form a dynamic network where cognitive tensions between authority and intimacy, distance and proximity function as a constitutive engine, sustaining a complex, dialectical sacred concept. The study concludes that the theological dialectic of Allah’s immanence and transcendence is cognitively grounded in this synergistic metaphor network.