Cognitive metaphors of heart in Nahj al-Balagha

Metaphor in religious discourse is a dynamic tool for organizing abstract concepts. The language of religion is a metaphorical language, because religious thought has a metaphorical character. Actually, conceptual metaphor provides proper hospitalization in expressing intuitive perceptions and understanding the conceptual layers of abstract concepts. The "heart" is one of the abstract concepts which has been explained in many verses and traditions. Due to the importance and position of the heart, this study has investigated Imam Ali's viewpoint on the concept of "Heart" and aimed to describe the cognitive dimensions and conceptual structure of the "heart" to integrate the conceptual system of the audience. The results show that cognitive realm of the "heart" in Nahj al-Balagha is vast. The Imam has used a variety of ontological metaphors to explain the cognitive meaning of the "heart". The metaphors of "heart" in Nahj al-Balagha are more based on the domain of "heart is human" and "The heart is the container".