An example of figurative deletion is His statement, “ …and ask the town …” (Q 12:82), meaning: “ …and ask the people of the town.” The word “people” has been omitted figuratively. Many other varieties of majāz (figurative usage) are detailed in the discipline of rhetorical exposition (ʿilm al-bayān).

Only this brief mention of ḥaqīqah (literal wording) and majāz appears in legal theory because the indication conveyed by words must be either literal or figurative. Consequently, one must know each category and the ruling that applies to it. Allah knows best.

Notice:
Dividing speech into literal and figurative is the prevalent view among most later scholars with respect to the Quran and other texts. Some scholars have said that there is no majāz in the Quran, while others have argued that there is no majāz whatsoever, whether in the Quran or elsewhere. This latter opinion was held by Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī and, among recent authorities, the distinguished Shaykh Muḥammad al-Amīn al-Shanqīṭī. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciple Ibn al-Qayyim demonstrated that this division is a technical convention that emerged only after the first three preferred generations had passed. They supported that conclusion with numerous compelling proofs which, to anyone who examines them, show that this position is the correct one. (1)