A COGNITIVE STUDY OF EMBODIMENT: THE USE OF HUMAN ORGANS IN QUR'ANIC VERSES

Many people face difficulties in understanding Holy Qur'anic expressions, especially those of body organs asking about the purpose of using such words in a specific context where they are said. The study examines the usage of human body parts as a source domain in which they have been bodily metopharized or embodied metaphorically to facilitate our mental processes in comprehending the glorious Qur'anic conceptual meanings (the target domain). These parts are separated into internal body parts, such as the heart and vein, and external body parts, such as the head parts, hands, and feet. Each linguistic word might be mapped on more than one conceptual meaning according to the context where the verse is been said. The data were collected utilizing observation. It was analyzed cognitively using Lakoff and Johnson's embodiment as a model of analysis. Finally, the study revealed the significance of using body metaphors in perceiving body parts expressions used in Quranic verses.