Between the Age of Darkness and the Break of Dawn — Page 11

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَيْنَ عَصْرِ الظَّلَامِ وَمَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ

Between the age of darkness and the break of dawn.

وَلَا تَزَالُ تَتَّسِعُ حَتَّى تَمْتَدَّ مِنَ الْكُنْغُو إِلَى التُرْكُسْتَانِ، وَمِنَ الصِّينِ إِلَى تَطْوَانَ.

It continues to expand, stretching from the Congo to Turkestan, and from China to Tetouan.

لَعَلَّكَ تَذْكُرُ الْمَثَلَ الْقَائِلَ: إِنَّ جَيْشًا مِنَ الْغِزْلَانِ يَقُودُهُ أَسَدٌ، يَغْلِبُ جَيْشًا مِنَ الْأُسُودِ يَقُودُهُ غَزَالُ!

Perhaps you remember the proverb: An army of gazelles led by a lion defeats an army of lions led by a gazelle!

لَقَدْ تَابَعْتُ مُطَالَعَةَ الْخُلَاصَةِ التَّارِيخِيَّةِ الَّتِي أَهْدَاهَا إِلَيَّ رَشَادٌ، وَهِيَ الَّتِي لَخَّصَهَا لَهُ وَالِدُهُ، وَفِيهَا وَجَازَةٌ بَارِعَةٌ تُلَخَّصُ جَانِبًا مِنْ حَيَاةِ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ أَبْرَعَ تَلْخِيصٍ.

I have finished reading the historical summary Rashad gave me—the one his father condensed for him. It is brilliantly concise, summarizing a portion of the Prophet’s life with remarkable skill.

مَطْلَعُ الْفَجْرِ

The Break of Dawn.

وَهَاكَ الْفَصْلَ الثَّانِيَ مِنَ الْخُلَاصَةِ التَّارِيخِيَّةِ، وَعُنْوَانُهُ مَطْلَعُ الْفَجْرِ.

Here is the second chapter of the historical summary, titled 'The Break of Dawn'.

مَا أَجْمَلَهُ عُنْوَانًا!

What a beautiful title!

إِنَّهُ لَيُذَكِّرُنَا بِتِلْكَ الْأَضْوَاءِ الْمُشْرِقَةِ الَّتِي بَدَّدَتْ سُحُبَ الْجَهَالَةِ الْمُسْتَحْكِمَةِ، كَمَا تُبَدِّدُ أَضْوَاءُ الْفَجْرِ ظُلُمَاتِ اللَّيْلِ الْحَالِكَةَ.

It reminds us of those bright lights that dispersed the clouds of entrenched ignorance, just as the light of dawn scatters the pitch-black darkness of night.

مَا كَانَ أَمْجَدَهَا صَفْحَةً فِي تَارِيخِ الْعَرَبِ!

What a glorious page in Arab history!

لَقَدْ أَشْرَقَ هَذَا النُّورُ فِي أَحْرَجِ وَقْتٍ شَهِدَتْهُ جَزِيرَةُ الْعَرَبِ.

This light shone at the most critical time the Arabian Peninsula had ever witnessed.

تَعْنِي عَصْرَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْمُظْلِمَ؟

Do you mean the dark era of Jahiliyyah?

أَعْنِي أَنَّ شَمْسَ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ أَشْرَقَتْ فِي أَحْرَجِ عَهْدٍ شَهِدَهُ عَصْرُ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ.

I mean that the sun of the Prophet rose during the most critical period of the Jahiliyyah.

أَيَّ حَرَجٍ تَعْنِي؟

What kind of crisis do you mean?

أَلَا تَذْكُرُ أَنَّ وِلَادَةَ الرَّسُولِ كَانَتْ فِي عَامِ الْفِيلِ؟

Do you not remember that the Prophet was born in the Year of the Elephant?

صَدَقْتَ يَا رَشَادُ. الْآنَ فَهِمْتُ مَا تَعْنِيهِ، فَقَدْ كَانَ الْعَامُ أَحْرَجَ وَقْتٍ مَرَّ بِجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِ.

You are right, Rashad. Now I understand what you mean; that year was indeed the most critical time the Arabian Peninsula had ever endured.

فَكَانَ مَوْلِدُ الرَّسُولِ بَشِيرًا بِالْفَرَجِ، بَعْدَ أَنْ ضَاقَتْ حَلَقَاتُهُ، وَاسْتَحْكَمَتْ أَزَمَاتُهُ.

The Prophet’s birth was a harbinger of relief, coming just as the walls were closing in and crises had reached their peak.

وَكَانَتْ وِلَادَتُهُ بَشِيرًا لَهُمْ بِالْخَلَاصِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ، وَلَوْلَا عِنَايَةُ اللَّهِ لَهُدِّمَتِ الْكَعْبَةُ، وَهَلَكَ أَهْلُ مَكَّةَ.

His birth promised them salvation from the evils of the People of the Elephant. Had it not been for God’s protection, the Kaaba would have been destroyed and the people of Mecca would have perished.

وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ كَرَّمَهُمْ بِمَوْلِدِهِ، فَشَتَّتَ أَصْحَابَ الْفِيلِ.

Yet God honored them with his birth, scattering the People of the Elephant.

وَجَعَلَ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ!

He brought their schemes to nothing!

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ!

And He sent against them birds in flocks,

Vocabulary · المفردات (25 verbs · 59 nouns)

• زَالَ — to cease
• اِتَّسَعَ — to expand
• اِمْتَدَّ — to extend
• ذَكَرَ — to remember
• قَادَ — to lead
• غَلَبَ — to defeat
• تَابَعَ — to follow up
• أَهْدَى — to gift
• لَخَّصَ — to summarize
• بَدَّدَ — to disperse
• أَشْرَقَ — to shine
• شَهِدَ — to witness
• عَنَى — to mean
• كَانَ — to be
• صَدَقَ — to tell the truth
• فَهِمَ — to understand
• مَرَّ — to pass
• ضَاقَ — to narrow
• اِسْتَحْكَمَ — to intensify
• هَدَمَ — to demolish
• هَلَكَ — to perish
• كَرَّمَ — to honor
• شَتَّتَ — to scatter
• جَعَلَ — to make
• أَرْسَلَ — to send
• عَصْر — era
• ظَلَام — darkness
• مَطْلَع — beginning
• فَجْر — dawn
• مَثَل — proverb
• قَائِل — speaker
• جَيْش — army
• غَزَال — gazelles
• أَسَد — lion
• أَسَد — lion
• غَزَال — gazelle
• مُطَالَعَة — reading
• خُلَاصَة — summary
• تَارِيخِيّ — historical
• وَجَازَة — conciseness
• بَارِع — skillful
• جَانِب — aspect
• حَيَاة — life
• رَسُول — messenger
• تَلْخِيص — summarization
• فَصْل — chapter
• ثَانِي — second
• عُنْوَان — title
• ضَوْء — lights
• مُشْرِقَة — bright
• سَحَابٌ — clouds
• جَهَالَة — ignorance
• مُسْتَحْكِم — entrenched
• ظُلْمَة — darknesses
• لَيْل — night
• حَالِك — pitch-black
• صَفْحَة — page
• تَارِيخ — history
• عَرَب — Arabs
• نُور — light
• حَرِج — most critical
• وَقْت — time
• جَزِيرَة — island
• جَاهِلِيَّة — pre-Islamic era
• مُظْلِم — dark
• شَمْس — sun
• عَهْد — period
• حَرَج — criticality
• وِلَادَة — birth
• عَام — year
• فِيل — elephant
• بَشِير — bringer of good news
• فَرَج — relief
• حَلَقَة — ring
• أَزْمَة — crisis
• خَلَاص — salvation
• شَرّ — evil
• صَاحِب — companion
• عِنَايَة — care
• كَعْبَة — Kaaba
• أَهْل — people
• طَيْر — bird
• إِبَّاوَل — flocks
• كَيْد — cunning