Jawahir al-Balagha by Ahmad al-Hashimi (جواهر البلاغة) — Page 14

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْفَصَاحَةِ وَالْبَلَاغَةِ.

An introduction to the knowledge of eloquence and rhetoric.

أَبُو النَّجْمِ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْأَجَلِّ الْوَاحِدِ الْفَرْدِ الْقَدِيمِ الْأَوَّلِ.

Abu al-Najm: Praise be to God, the Most High, the Most Exalted, the One, the Unique, the Eternal, the First.

فَإِنَّ الْقِيَاسَ الْأَجَلَّ بِالْإِدْغَامِ وَلَا مُسَوِّغَ لِفَكِّهِ.

For the standard rule for 'al-ajall' is with assimilation (idgham), and there is no justification for separating it.

وَكَقَطْعِ هَمْزَةِ الْوَصْلِ فِي قَوْلِ جَمِيلٍ: أَلَا لَا أَرَى اثْنَيْنِ أَحْسَنَ شِيمَةً عَلَى حَدَثَانِ الدَّهْرِ مِنِّي وَمِنْ جُمَلٍ.

And like the breaking of the hamzat al-wasl (connecting hamza) in the saying of Jamil: 'Indeed, I do not see two people better in character, through the vicissitudes of time, than me and Jumal.'

ذَلِكَ مَا ثَبَتَ اسْتِعْمَالُهُ لَدَى الْعَرَبِ مُخَالِفًا لِلْقِيَاسِ.

That is what has been established in usage among the Arabs as contrary to the standard rule.

وَيُسْتَثْنَى مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ عَنِ الْفَصَاحَةِ لَفْظَتَا الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ بِكَسْرِ الرَّاءِ وَالْقِيَاسُ فَتْحُهَا فِيهِمَا.

Excluded from this, without departing from eloquence, are the two words 'al-mashriq' (the east) and 'al-maghrib' (the west) with a kasra on the ra', whereas the standard rule is a fatha on both.

وَكَذَا لَفْظَتَا الْمُدْهُنُ وَالْمُنْخُلُ وَالْقِيَاسُ فِيهِمَا مِفْعَلٌ بِكَسْرِ الْمِيمِ وَفَتْحِ الْعَيْنِ

Likewise are the two words 'al-mudhun' (oil container) and 'al-munkhul' (sieve), whereas the standard rule for them is 'mif'al' with a kasra on the mim and a fatha on the 'ayn.

وَكَذَا نَحْوُ قَوْلِهِمْ عَوِرَ وَالْقِيَاسُ عَارَ لِتَحَرُّكِ الْوَاوِ وَانْفِتَاحِ مَا قَبْلَهَا.

And likewise is the likes of their saying 'awira', whereas the standard rule is 'ara' due to the waw being vowelled and preceded by a fatha.

الرَّابِعُ: الْكَرَاهَةُ فِي السَّمْعِ كَوْنُ الْكَلِمَةِ وَحْشِيَّةً تَأْنَفُهَا الطِّبَاعُ وَتَمُجُّهَا الْأَسْمَاعُ وَتَنْبُو عَنْهُ كَمَا يَنْبُو عَنْ سَمَاعِ الْأَصْوَاتِ الْمُنْكَرَةِ (كَالْجِرِشَى لِلنَّفْسِ) فِي قَوْلِ أَبِي الطَّيِّبِ الْمُتَنَبِّي يَمْدَحُ سَيْفَ الدَّوْلَةِ: مُبَارَكُ الِاسْمِ أَغَرُّ اللَّقَبِ كَرِيمُ الْجِرِشَى شَرِيفُ النَّسَبِ.

Fourth: Auditory unpleasantness, which is the word being barbaric, such that natures recoil from it, ears reject it, and it repels one just as one is repelled by hearing discordant sounds (such as 'al-jirasha' for the soul) in the saying of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi praising Sayf al-Dawla: 'Blessed of name, most illustrious of title, noble of soul, honorable of lineage.'

تَطْبِيقٌ: مَا الَّذِي أَخَلَّ بِفَصَاحَةِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِيمَا يَأْتِي:

Application: What is it that impaired the eloquence of the words in the following:

قَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ يَعْمَرَ لِرَجُلٍ حَاكَمَتْهُ امْرَأَتُهُ إِلَيْهِ أَبِئِنْ سَأَلَتْكَ ثَمَنَ شَكْرِهَا وَشِبْرِكِ أَنْشَأْتَ تُطِلُّهَا وَتُضْهِرُهَا.

Yahya ibn Ya'mar said to a man whose wife had brought a dispute against him to him: 'Do you, when she asks you for the price of her gratitude and your intimacy, begin to delay her and treat her harshly?'

وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أُمَرَاءِ الْعَرَبِ وَقَدِ اعْتَلَّتْ أُمُّهُ فَكَتَبَ رِقَاعًا وَطَرَحَهَا فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْجَامِعِ.

And one of the Arab princes said, when his mother fell ill, he wrote notes and threw them in the congregational mosque.

الْوَاضِعُ وَمِثْلُ (أَبَى يَأْبَى) بِفَتْحِ الْبَاءِ فِي الْمُضَارِعِ وَالْقِيَاسُ كَسْرُهَا فِيهِ لِأَنَّ فَعَلَ بِفَتْحِ الْعَيْنِ لَا يَأْتِي مُضَارِعُهُ عَلَى يَفْعَلُ بِالْفَتْحِ إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ عَيْنُ مَاضِيهِ أَوْ لَامُهُ حَرْفَ حَلْقٍ كَسَأَلَ وَنَفَعَ، فَمَجِيءُ الْمُضَارِعِ بِالْفَتْحِ عَلَى خِلَافِ الْقِيَاسِ إِلَّا أَنَّ الْفَتْحَ ثَبَتَ عَنِ الْوَاضِعِ، وَمِثْلُ (عَوِرَ يَعْوَرُ) أَيْ فَالْقِيَاسُ فِيهِمَا عَارَ يَعَارُ بِقَلْبِ الْوَاوِ أَلِفًا لِتَحَرُّكِهَا وَانْفِتَاحِ مَا قَبْلَهَا فَتَصْحِيحُ الْوَاوِ خِلَافُ الْقِيَاسِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ ثَبَتَ عَنِ الْوَاضِعِ.

The originator, and like 'aba ya'ba' with a fatha on the ba' in the imperfect tense, whereas the standard rule is a kasra in it, because 'fa'ala' with a fatha on the 'ayn does not have an imperfect tense on the pattern of 'yaf'alu' with a fatha unless the 'ayn of its past tense or its lam is a guttural letter, like 'sa'ala' and 'nafa'a'. Thus, the coming of the imperfect with a fatha is contrary to the standard rule, except that the fatha is established from the originator. And like 'awira ya'waru', the standard rule for both is 'ara ya'aru' by changing the waw into an alif due to it being vowelled and preceded by a fatha, so the preservation of the waw is contrary to the standard rule, except that it is established from the originator.

Vocabulary · المفردات (22 verbs · 76 nouns)

• ثَبَتَ — to be established
• خَرَجَ — to exit
• أَنِفَ — to disdain
• مَجَّ — to reject
• نَبَا — to recoil
• مَدَحَ — to praise
• أَخَلَّ — to impair
• حَاكَمَ — to litigate
• سَأَلَ — to ask
• أَنْشَأَ — to begin
• أَطَلَّ — to delay
• أَضْهَلَ — to show
• اعْتَلَّ — to be ill
• كَتَبَ — to write
• طَرَحَ — to throw
• أَبَى — to refuse
• أَتَى — to come
• نَفَعَ — to benefit
• عَوِرَ — to be one-eyed
• عَارَ — to be one-eyed
• قَلَبَ — to invert
• صَحَّحَ — to correct
• مُقَدِّمَةٌ — introduction
• مَعْرِفَةٌ — knowledge
• فَصَاحَةٌ — eloquence
• بَلَاغَةٌ — rhetoric
• حَمْدٌ — praise
• عَلِيٌّ — exalted
• أَجَلٌ — most majestic
• وَاحِدٌ — one
• فَرْدٌ — individual
• قَدِيمٌ — ancient
• أَوَّلٌ — first
• قِيَاسٌ — analogy
• إِدْغَامٌ — assimilation
• مُسَوِّغٌ — justifier
• فَكٌّ — untying
• قَطْعٌ — cutting
• هَمْزَةٌ — hamza
• وَصْلٌ — connection
• قَوْلٌ — saying
• اثْنَانِ — two
• حَسَنٌ — good
• شِيمَةٌ — character
• حَدَثَانٌ — vicissitudes
• دَهْرٌ — time
• اسْتِعْمَالٌ — usage
• عَرَبٌ — Arabs
• مُخَالِفٌ — contrary
• لَفْظَةٌ — word
• مَشْرِقٌ — east
• مَغْرِبٌ — west
• كَسْرٌ — kasra
• رَاءٌ — letter ra'
• فَتْحٌ — fatha
• عَيْنٌ — letter ayn
• مُدْهُنٌ — oil container
• مُنْخُلٌ — sieve
• مِفْعَلٌ — mif'al pattern
• مِيمٌ — letter mim
• عَوِرٌ — one-eyed
• عَارٌ — one-eyed
• تَحَرُّكٌ — movement
• وَاوٌ — letter waw
• انْفِتَاحٌ — openness
• رَابِعٌ — fourth
• كَرَاهَةٌ — dislike
• سَمْعٌ — hearing
• كَلِمَةٌ — word
• وَحْشِيٌّ — savage
• طِبَاعٌ — natures
• أَسْمَاعٌ — ears
• صَوْتٌ — (sound)
• مُنْكَرٌ — disapproved
• جِرِشَى — soul
• نَفْسٌ — soul
• اسْمٌ — name
• أَغَرُّ — noble
• لَقَبٌ — title
• كَرِيمٌ — generous
• شَرِيفٌ — noble
• نَسَبٌ — lineage
• تَطْبِيقٌ — application
• رَجُلٌ — man
• امْرَأَةٌ — woman
• ثَمَنٌ — price
• شُكْرٌ — gratitude
• شِبْرٌ — span
• أَمِيرٌ — prince
• رُقْعَةٌ — note
• مَسْجِدٌ — mosque
• جَامِعٌ — congregational
• وَاضِعٌ — originator
• مِثْلٌ — example
• بَاءٌ — letter ba
• مُضَارِعٌ — present tense
• حَرْفٌ — letter
• حَلْقٌ — throat