nor that of “in a dream.” Each of these three expressions is literal in its respective meaning. The statement “I saw him in the mirror” has a literal, apparent meaning; it is neither figurative nor contrary to its apparent meaning. Likewise, “I saw him in a dream” has an apparent meaning, which is also the literal sense of this expression. Yet it is understood that the apparent meaning of the first expression is that the person himself was in his house, whereas the apparent meaning of the other two is not that the person himself was in the mirror or within the observer himself. It is also understood that his being seen in the mirror and his presence in it are not equivalent to his being seen in a dream or his presence within the observer himself.

This is because the receptacles differ in their natures, as does the relation to them of what is present in them: these are the meanings conveyed by the expression denoting a container. A house is not like a mirror, nor is a mirror like the observer himself; likewise, Zayd’s presence in a house is not like his presence in a mirror or within the observer himself.

Once this is understood, the word ʿinda (“at” or “with”) is among the expressions grammarians call spatial containers. Its meaning varies according to the meaning of the noun or verb that they describe as being contained within it, and also according to the term to which it is annexed