Between the Age of Darkness and the Break of Dawn — Page 13

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَيْنَ عَصْرِ الظَّلَامِ وَمَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ.

Between the age of darkness and the dawn of a new era.

هَلْ قَرَأْتُمَا قَوْلَهُ وَهُوَ يُشِيرُ إِلَى صَدِيقِهِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَإِلَى أَيَّامِ الْهِجْرَةِ، مِنْ مَكَّةَ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ الْمُنَوَّرَةِ.

Have you both read his words, spoken as he gestured toward his companion Abu Bakr and recalled the days of the migration from Mecca to Medina?

مَشَقَّةُ الْهِجْرَةِ: لَقَدْ مَكَثْتُ أَيَّامًا، وَصَاحِبِي هَذَا بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً مَا لَنَا فِيهَا مِنْ طَعَامٍ إِلَّا الْبَرِيرُ فِي شِعَابِ الْجِبَالِ.

The hardship of the migration: 'I stayed for days, and this companion of mine for over ten nights, with nothing to eat but the berries found in the mountain passes.'

مَاذَا يَعْنِي بِالْبَرِيرِ؟

What does he mean by berries?

إِنَّهُ ثَمَرُ الْأَرَاكِ.

He means the fruit of the Arak tree.

وَمَا هُوَ الْأَرَاكُ يَا صَاحِبِي؟

And what is the Arak, my friend?

أَلَا تَعْرِفَانِهِ، إِنَّهُ شَجَرُ السِّوَالِ، وَثَمَرُ هَذَا الشَّجَرِ مِنَ الْأَحْمَاضِ الَّتِي لَا يُسْتَسَاغُ لَهَا طَعْمٌ.

Do you not know it? It is the Siwak tree, and its fruit is an acidic plant with a bitter, unpalatable taste.

أَيُّ شِدَّةٍ لَقِيَهَا!

What hardship he endured!

وَأَيُّ كَرْبٍ عَانَاهُ!

What distress he suffered!

فِي سَبِيلِ الدَّعْوَةِ: لَقَدْ لَقِيَ الصَّحَابَةُ أَيْضًا مِنْ أَلْوَانِ الْبَلَاءِ، مَا لَمْ يَلْقَهُ أَحَدٌ، وَرُبَّمَا اشْتَدَّ بِبَعْضِهِمُ الْجُوعُ وَأَعْوَزَهُمُ الْقُوتُ، فَكَانَ الرَّجُلَانِ مِنْهُمْ إِذَا ظَفِرَا بِثَمَرَةٍ اقْتَسَمَاهَا!

In the service of his mission: The companions also endured trials unlike any others. Hunger often grew so severe and food so scarce that if two of them managed to find a single piece of fruit, they would split it between them.

وَكَانَ أَسْعَدَهُمَا حَظًّا مَنْ يَظْفَرُ فِي قِسْمِهِ بِنَوَاةِ الْبَلَحَةِ، فَيَظَلُّ يَلُوكُهَا وَيَمْضَغُهَا يَوْمَهُ وَلَيْلَتَهُ ... ثُمَّ دَارَ الزَّمَنُ دَوْرَتَهُ؛ فَإِذَا بِهِمْ أُمَرَاءُ أَعِزَّاءُ، يَمْلِكُونَ الدُّنْيَا، وَيَتَصَرَّفُونَ فِي أَقْطَارِهَا.

The luckiest among them was the one who got the date pit, which he would chew and gnaw on all day and night. Then, time turned its wheel, and they became mighty leaders, masters of the world, governing its lands.

لَقَدْ رَوَى لَنَا أُسْتَاذُ التَّارِيخِ قِصَّةً لِلرَّسُولِ.

Our history professor once told us a story about the Messenger.

وَلَا أَذْكُرُ أَنَّنِي سَمِعْتُ - فِي حَيَاتِي كُلِّهَا – قِصَّةً تُدَانِيهَا فِي تَصْوِيرِ الثَّقَةِ بِالنَّفْسِ.

I do not recall ever hearing—in my entire life—a story that compares to it in its portrayal of self-confidence.

لَعَلَّكَ تَعْنِي قِصَّتَهُ مَعَ عَمِّهِ، حِينَ شَكَا إِلَيْهِ كُفَّارُ قُرَيْشٍ، طَالِبِينَ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَمْنَعَ ابْنَ أَخِيهِ مِنَ التَّمَادِي فِي رِسَالَتِهِ الَّتِي صَدَمَ بِهَا عَقِيدَتَهُمْ، فِيمَا يَزْعُمُونَ.

Perhaps you mean the story involving his uncle, when the Quraish disbelievers complained to him, demanding he stop his nephew from persisting in the message that, by their account, had shaken their faith.

أَتْمِمْ حَدِيثَكَ، فَإِنِّي لَا أَمَلُّ سَمَاعَ هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةِ الشَّائِقَةِ.

Go on, for I never tire of hearing this compelling story.

Vocabulary · المفردات (31 verbs · 62 nouns)

• قَرَأَ — to read
• أَشَارَ — to point
• مَكَثَ — to stay
• عَنَى — to mean
• عَرَفَ — to know
• سَاغَ — to go down well, to taste pleasant
• لَقِيَ — to encounter
• عَانَى — to suffer
• اشْتَدَّ — to intensify
• أَعْوَزَ — to lack
• كَانَ — to be
• ظَفِرَ — to win
• اقْتَسَمَ — to share
• ظَلَّ — to remain
• لَاكَ — to chew
• مَضَغَ — to chew
• دَارَ — to revolve
• مَلَكَ — to own
• تَصَرَّفَ — to act
• رَوَى — to narrate
• ذَكَرَ — to remember
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• دَانَى — to approach
• شَكَا — to complain
• طَلَبَ — to request
• مَنَعَ — to prevent
• تَمَادَى — to persist
• صَدَمَ — to shock
• زَعَمَ — to claim
• أَتَمَّ — to complete
• مَلَّ — to grow bored
• عَصْر — era
• ظَلَام — darkness
• مَطْلَع — beginning
• فَجْر — dawn
• قَوْل — saying
• صَدِيق — friend
• يَوْم — day
• هِجْرَة — migration
• مَشَقَّة — hardship
• صَاحِب — companion
• بِضْع — a few
• عَشْر — ten
• لَيْلَة — night
• طَعَام — food
• بَرِير — berry
• شِعْب — mountain pass
• جَبَل — mountain
• ثَمَر — fruit
• أَرَاك — arak tree
• شَجَر — tree
• سِوَال — siwal tree
• حِمْض — acidic plant
• طَعْم — taste
• شِدَّة — severity
• كَرْب — distress
• سَبِيل — path
• دَعْوَة — call
• صَحَابِي — companion
• لَوْن — color
• بَلَاء — affliction
• أَحَد — one
• جُوع — hunger
• قُوت — sustenance
• رَجُل — man
• ثَمَرَة — fruit
• سَعِيد — happy
• حَظّ — luck
• قِسْم — share
• نَوَاة — pit
• بَلَحَةٌ — date
• زَمَن — time
• دَوْرَة — cycle
• أَمِير — prince
• عَزِيز — mighty
• دُنْيَا — world
• قُطْر — region
• أُسْتَاذ — professor
• تَارِيخ — history
• قِصَّة — story
• حَيَاة — life
• تَصْوِير — depiction
• ثِقَة — confidence
• نَفْس — self
• عَمّ — paternal uncle
• كَافِر — disbeliever
• ابْن — son
• أَخ — brother
• رِسَالَة — message
• عَقِيدَة — belief
• حَدِيث — speech
• سَمَاع — hearing
• شَائِق — interesting