Al-Balagha al-Wadiha by al-Jarim & Amin (البلاغة الواضحة) — Page 15

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الْبَلَاغَةُ الْوَاضِحَةُ

Clear Rhetoric.

فَإِنَّ الضَّمِيرَ فِي ”مَجْدِهِ رَاجِعٌ إِلَى مُطْعِمٍ“ وَهُوَ مُتَأَخِّرٌ فِي اللَّفْظِ كَمَا تَرَى، وَفِي الرُّتْبَةِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ مَفْعُولٌ بِهِ، فَالْبَيْتُ غَيْرُ فَصِيحٍ.

For the pronoun in 'his glory' refers back to Mut'im, while it is delayed in wording, as you can see, and in rank; because it is an object, so the verse is not eloquent.

وَيُشْتَرَطُ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ التَّرْكِيبُ مِنْ تَنَافُرِ الْكَلِمَاتِ، فَلَا يَكُونُ اتِّصَالُ بَعْضِهَا بِبَعْضٍ مِمَّا يُسَبِّبُ ثِقَلَهَا عَلَى السَّمْعِ، وَصُعُوبَةَ أَدَائِهَا بِاللِّسَانِ، كَقَوْلِ الشَّاعِرِ:

2 - It is required that the composition be free from the dissonance of words, so that the connection of some to others does not cause heaviness to the ear and difficulty in articulating them with the tongue, like the poet's saying:

وَقَبْرُ حَرْبٍ بِمَكَانٍ قَفْرِ وَلَيْسَ قُرْبَ قَبْرِ حَرْبٍ قَبْرُ

And Harb's grave is in a desolate place, and near Harb's grave there is no grave (1).

قِيلَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتَ لَا يَتَهَيَّأُ لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يُنْشِدَهُ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ مُتَوَالِيَاتٍ دُونَ أَنْ يَتَتَعْتَعَ (٢)؛ لِأَنَّ اجْتِمَاعَ كَلِمَاتِهِ وَقُرْبَ مَخَارِجِ حُرُوفِهَا يُحْدِثَانِ ثِقَلًا ظَاهِرًا، مَعَ أَنَّ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ مِنْهُ لَوْ أُخِذَتْ وَحْدَهَا مَا كَانَتْ مُسْتَكْرَهَةً وَلَا ثَقِيلَةً.

It is said: It is not possible for anyone to recite this verse three consecutive times without stammering (2); because the gathering of its words and the proximity of their points of articulation create an apparent heaviness, even though if each word of it were taken alone, it would not be repulsive or heavy.

وَيَجِبُ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ التَّرْكِيبُ مِنَ التَّعْقِيدِ اللَّفْظِيِّ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْكَلَامُ خَفِيَّ الدَّلَالَةِ عَلَى الْمَعْنَى الْمُرَادِ بِسَبَبِ تَأْخِيرِ الْكَلِمَاتِ أَوْ تَقْدِيمِهَا عَنْ مَوَاطِنِهَا الْأَصْلِيَّةِ، أَوْ بِالْفَصْلِ بَيْنَ الْكَلِمَاتِ الَّتِي يَجِبُ أَنْ تَتَجَاوَرَ وَيَتَّصِلَ بَعْضُهَا بِبَعْضٍ، فَإِذَا قُلْتَ: "مَا قَرَأَ إِلَّا وَاحِدًا مُحَمَّدٌ مَعَ كِتَابًا أَخِيهِ كَانَ هَذَا الْكَلَامُ غَيْرَ فَصِيحٍ لِضَعْفِ تَأْلِيفِهِ؛ إِذْ أَصْلُهُ "مَا قَرَأَ مُحَمَّدٌ مَعَ أَخِيهِ إِلَّا كِتَابًا وَاحِدًا"، فَقُدِّمَتِ الصِّفَةُ عَلَى الْمَوْصُوفِ، وَفُصِلَ بَيْنَ الْمُتَلَازِمَيْنِ، وَهُمَا أَدَاةُ الِاسْتِثْنَاءِ وَالْمُسْتَثْنَى، وَالْمُضَافُ وَالْمُضَافُ إِلَيْهِ، وَيُشْبِهُ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ أَبِي الطَّيِّبِ الْمُتَنَبِّي

3 - The composition must be free from verbal complexity, which is for the speech to have obscure indication of the intended meaning due to delaying or advancing words from their original positions, or by separating words that must be adjacent and connected to one another; so if you say: 'Did not read except one Muhammad with a book his brother,' this speech would be ineloquent due to the weakness of its composition; for its origin is 'Muhammad did not read with his brother except one book,' so the adjective was advanced before the noun, and a separation was made between the inseparable elements, which are the exception tool and the exception, and the genitive and the genitive possessor, and similar to that is the saying of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (3):

أَنَّى يَكُونُ أَبَا الْبَرِيَّةِ آدَمُ وَأَبُوكَ وَالثَّقَلَانِ (٤) أَنْتَ مُحَمَّدُ؟

How can Adam be the father of mankind, while you are Muhammad, and your father, and the two heavy ones (4)?

وَالْوَضْعُ الصَّحِيحُ أَنْ يَقُولَ: كَيْفَ يَكُونُ آدَمُ أَبَا الْبَرِيَّةِ، وَأَبُوكَ مُحَمَّدٌ، وَأَنْتَ الثَّقَلَانِ؟

The correct arrangement is for him to say: How can Adam be the father of mankind, and your father be Muhammad, and you be the two heavy ones?

يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ قَدْ جَمَعَ مَا فِي الْخَلِيقَةِ مِنَ الْفَضْلِ وَالْكَمَالِ، فَقَدْ فَصَلَ بَيْنَ الْمُبْتَدَأِ وَالْخَبَرِ وَهُمَا "أَبُوكَ مُحَمَّدٌ"، وَقَدَّمَ الْخَبَرَ عَلَى الْمُبْتَدَأِ تَقْدِيمًا قَدْ يَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّبْسِ فِي قَوْلِهِ "وَالثَّقَلَانِ أَنْتَ"، عَلَى أَنَّهُ بَعْدَ هَذَا التَّعَسُّفِ لَمْ يَسْلَمْ كَلَامُهُ مِنْ سُخْفٍ وَهَذَرٍ.

He means that he has gathered what is in creation of virtue and perfection, for he separated between the subject and the predicate, which are 'your father Muhammad,' and he advanced the predicate over the subject in an advancement that might lead to confusion in his saying 'and the two heavy ones you are,' even though after this forced construction, his speech was not free from absurdity and nonsense.

وَيَجِبُ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ التَّرْكِيبُ مِنَ التَّعْقِيدِ الْمَعْنَوِيِّ، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَعْمِدَ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ إِلَى التَّعْبِيرِ

4 - The composition must be free from semantic complexity, which is for the speaker to intend to express

وَمَعْنَى الْبَيْتِ أَنَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ مَجْدُ الْإِنْسَانِ أَوْ شَرَفُهُ سَبَبًا لِطُولِ حَيَاتِهِ وَخُلُودِهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، لَكَانَ مُطْعِمُ بْنُ عَدِيٍّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِالْخُلُودِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ حَازَ مِنَ الْمَجْدِ وَالسُّؤْدَدِ مَا لَمْ يَحُزْهُ غَيْرُهُ.

And the meaning of the verse is that if a person's glory or honor were a cause for the length of his life and his immortality in the world, then Mut'im ibn 'Adi would be the most deserving of people for immortality; because he attained of glory and nobility what no one else attained.

قَبْرُ حَرْبٍ: قَبْرُ الْبَيْتِ مِنَ الرَّجَزِ، وَلَا يُعْرَفُ قَائِلُهُ، وَلَعَلَّهُ مَصْنُوعٌ.

(1) Harb's grave: The grave is a verse from the Rajaz meter, and its author is unknown, and perhaps it is fabricated.

أَنْ يَتَتَعْتَعَ: تَتَعْتَعَ فِي الْكَلَامِ: تَرَدَّدَ فِيهِ مِنْ حَصْرٍ أَوْ عَيٍّ.

(2) To stammer: To stammer in speech: to hesitate in it due to speechlessness or inability.

أَبُو الطَّيِّبِ الْمُتَنَبِّي: هُوَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ الشَّاعِرُ الطَّائِرُ الصِّيتِ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُطَّلِعِينَ عَلَى غَرِيبِ اللُّغَةِ، وَشِعْرُهُ غَايَةٌ فِي الْجَوْدَةِ، يَمْتَازُ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَضَرْبِ الْأَمْثَالِ وَشَرْحِ أَسْرَارِ النُّفُوسِ، وُلِدَ بِالْكُوفَةِ فِي مَحَلَّةٍ تُسَمَّى "كِنْدَةَ" سَنَةَ ٣٠٣هـ، وَتُوُفِّيَ سَنَةَ ٣٥٤هـ.

(3) Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi: He is Ahmad ibn al-Husayn, the famous poet. He was one of those well-versed in the rare vocabulary of the language, and his poetry is the pinnacle of excellence, distinguished by wisdom, the use of proverbs, and the explanation of the secrets of the soul. He was born in Kufa in a neighborhood called 'Kinda' in the year 303 AH, and died in the year 354 AH.

الثَّقَلَانِ: الْإِنْسُ وَالْجِنُّ وَالْبَيْتُ مِنْ قَصِيدَةٍ طَوِيلَةٍ فِي مَدْحِ شُجَاعِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الطَّائِيِّ.

(4) The two heavy ones: Mankind and Jinn. And the verse is from a long poem in praise of Shuja' ibn Muhammad al-Ta'i.

Vocabulary · المفردات (23 verbs · 80 nouns)

• رَجَعَ — to return
• رَأَى — to see
• اِشْتَرَطَ — to stipulate
• سَلِمَ — to be safe
• كَانَ — to be
• سَبَّبَ — to cause
• قَالَ — to say
• تَهَيَّأَ — to be possible
• أَنْشَدَ — to recite
• تَتَعْتَعَ — to stutter
• أَحْدَثَ — to cause
• أَخَذَ — to take
• وَجَبَ — to be necessary
• تَجَاوَرَ — to be adjacent
• اِتَّصَلَ — to connect
• قَرَأَ — to read
• قَدَّمَ — to place before
• فَصَلَ — to separate
• أَشْبَهَ — to resemble
• جَمَعَ — to gather
• دَعَا — to call
• عَمَدَ — to intend
• حَازَ — to possess
• ضَمِير — pronoun
• مَجْد — glory
• مُطْعِم — male name
• لَفْظ — wording
• رُتْبَة — rank
• مَفْعُول — object
• بَيْت — verse
• فَصِيح — eloquent
• تَرْكِيب — structure
• تَنَافُر — incompatibility
• كَلِمَة — word
• اتِّصَال — connection
• سَمْع — hearing
• صُعُوبَة — difficulty
• أَدَاء — performance
• لِسَان — tongue
• شَاعِر — poet
• قَبْر — grave
• حَرْب — war
• مَكَان — place
• قَفْر — desert
• قُرْب — proximity
• مَرَّة — time
• مُتَوَالِيَة — consecutive
• اجْتِمَاع — gathering
• مَخْرَج — exit
• حَرْف — letter
• ثِقْل — heaviness
• ظَاهِر — apparent
• مُسْتَكْرَه — disliked
• ثَقِيل — heavy
• تَعْقِيد — complexity
• لَفْظِي — verbal
• كَلَام — speech
• خَفِي — hidden
• دَلَالَة — indication
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• مُرَاد — intended
• تَأْخِير — delay
• تَقْدِيم — advancement
• مَوْطِن — location
• أَصْلِي — original
• فَصْل — separation
• وَاحِد — one
• كِتَاب — book
• أَخ — brother
• ضَعْف — weakness
• تَأْلِيف — composition
• أَصْل — origin
• صِفَة — adjective
• مَوْصُوف — described
• مُتَلَازِم — inseparable
• أَدَاة — tool
• اسْتِثْنَاء — exception
• مُسْتَثْنَى — excepted
• مُضَاف — genitive
• بَرِيَّة — creation
• ثَقَلَان — mankind and jinn
• وَضْع — position
• صَحِيح — correct
• خَلِيقَة — creation
• فَضْل — virtue
• كَمَال — perfection
• مُبْتَدَأ — subject
• خَبَر — predicate
• لَبْس — confusion
• تَعَسُّف — arbitrariness
• سُخْف — absurdity
• هَذَر — nonsense
• مَعْنَوِي — semantic
• مُتَكَلِّم — speaker
• تَعْبِير — expression
• إِنْسَان — human
• شَرَف — honor
• سَبَب — reason
• طُول — length
• حَيَاة — life
• خُلُود — eternity
• دُنْيَا — world
• سُؤْدَد — sovereignty