his ewes; the point is not that he merely asked for your ewe together with his own. In other words, ilā does not mean “with.” The same applies to the verse, “Who are my helpers toward Allah?” (3:52). Some take it to mean: “Who are my helpers with Allah?”—that is, who will stand with me alongside Allah. This, however, is not the sense intended. Rather, it means: Who will turn with me toward Allah? For “my helpers toward Allah” denotes those who repentantly return to Him, just as the Almighty says: “turning to Him penitently and fear Him” (30:31).

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In the same way, His words, “They were almost about to lure you away from what We revealed to you” (17:73) contain the meaning of leading you astray and diverting you. His statement, “We helped him against the people who had denied Our signs” (21:77) implicitly means: We rescued and delivered him. Likewise, “from it the servants of Allah will drink” (76:6) carries the sense: they will be quenched by it. Many other examples could be cited.

Explanation
Why do we say that investing the verb with an additional meaning is preferable to claiming that the preposition is being used figuratively? Because charging the verb with a further meaning yields something extra beyond the verb’s basic sense. If, on the other hand, we treat the preposition figuratively, the verb remains limited to its primary signification and we are forced to adjust the preposition’s meaning so that it accords with the verb’s wording. Tad­mīn, therefore, is clearer and more appropriate.

Consider the Almighty’s words: “A questioner asked for a punishment bound to fall” (70:1). According to those who see a figurative usage in the preposition, the verse would mean: a questioner asked about a punishment bound to fall. According to the second view, however, it means: a questioner eagerly sought a punishment bound to fall; thus the verb implicitly