Figurative Attribution — "Ask the Village" — Rational Metaphor

Rational metaphor (majaz aqli):
Attributing an action or quality to something other than what actually performs it — not in the word but in the attribution itself. The relation may be: of place, time, cause, or other.

Quranic example: "And ask the village in which we were." (Surah 12:82)

The beauty:
The verb "ask" is attributed to the "village" which cannot be asked — the intent is: ask its people. The attribution is rational metaphor by locative relation (place for its inhabitants). This is not a linguistic error — it is among the most eloquent styles because it simultaneously abbreviates (fully omitting "people of") and embodies (the village itself becoming the witness). Al-Zamakhshari: "Deleting the annexed noun and substituting it with the annexed-to is among the eloquent Arabic methods that give speech strength and concision."