The Metaphorical Representation of Negative Emotions: Fear, Anger, and Sadness in Al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya Based on the Cognitive Approach

Conceptual metaphors have introduced a new mechanism into the field of cognitive linguistics, enabling the understanding of one conceptual domain through another. In this approach, language is not merely a tool for expression; rather, it reflects the way thought structures and makes concepts comprehensible. Metaphorical mappings create a bridge between familiar domains and complex ones, allowing for a more precise understanding, interpretation, and categorization of meaning. In religious texts, conceptual metaphors play a fundamental role in making abstract concepts and spiritual experiences understandable. By employing metaphorical mappings, these texts express complex themes in the form of more tangible images. From this perspective, the analysis of conceptual metaphors can elucidate how religious texts organize spiritual realities and convey them to the reader. This study aims to employ a descriptive-analytical method, based on the theory of Lakoff and Johnson, to explore the role of conceptual metaphors in representing three negative emotions—fear, anger, and sadness—in Al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya. The findings indicate that structural and ontological metaphors play a more prominent role in reflecting and depicting these three components: fear is predominantly conceptualized in terms of danger and threatening situations, anger as an aggressive and eruptive force, and sadness as an oppressive burden and consuming darkness.