Jawahir al-Balagha by Ahmad al-Hashimi (جواهر البلاغة) — Page 17

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْفَصَاحَةِ وَالْبَلَاغَةِ

An introduction to the knowledge of eloquence and rhetoric.

الْجُرْدَخْلُ :

Al-Jurdakhl:

[الطَّوِيلُ]

[Al-Tawil meter]

فَإِنْ يَكُ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ سَيْفًا لِدَوْلَةٍ فَفِي النَّاسِ بُوقَاتٌ لَهَا وَطُبُولُ

If some people are a sword for a state, then among people there are trumpets and drums for it (1).

[الطَّوِيلُ]

[Al-Tawil meter]

نَقِيٌّ تَقِيٌّ لَمْ يُكَثِّرْ غَنِيمَةً بِنُكْهَةِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَلَا يَحْقَلَّدِ

Pure and pious, he did not increase spoils through the influence of kin, nor did he act greedily.

[الرَّجَزُ]

[Al-Rajaz meter]

إِنَّ بَنِيَّ لَـلِـتَامٌ زَهَدَهُ مَالِي فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ مَوَدَّدَهْ

My sons are indeed complete, yet my wealth has made them indifferent in their hearts to affection.

[الطَّوِيلُ]

[Al-Tawil meter]

رَمَتْنِي مَيٌّ بِالْهَوَى رَمْيَ مُمْضِغٍ مِنَ الْوَحْشِ لَوْظٍ لَمْ تَعِقْهُ الْأَوَالِسُ

Mayy struck me with love, like the strike of a wild beast that is persistent, which the she-camels did not hinder (3).

بِعَيْنَيْنِ نَجْلَاوَيْنِ لَمْ يَجْرِ فِيهِمَا ضَمَانٌ وَجِيدٌ حَلَّى الدُّرَّ شَامِسُ

With two wide eyes in which no weakness flowed, and a neck that adorned pearls, radiant (4).

عِلْمِي إِلَى عِلْمِكَ كَالْقَرَارَةِ فِي الْمُثْعَنْجَرِ

My knowledge compared to your knowledge is like a small pool in a vast, surging sea.

[الْخَفِيفُ]

[Al-Khafif meter]

إِنَّ بَعْضًا مِنَ الْقَرِيضِ هُراءٌ لَيْسَ شَيْئًا وَبَعْضُهُ أَحْكَامُ

Indeed, some poetry is nonsense that is nothing, and some of it is wisdom.

فِيهِ مَا يَجْلِبُ الْبَرَاعَةَ وَالْفَهْـ مَ وَفِيهِ مَا يَجْلِبُ الْبِرْسَامَ

In it is what brings brilliance and understanding, and in it is what brings pleurisy (6).

[الْخَفِيفُ]

[Al-Khafif meter]

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ تَجُوزُ عَلَيْهِمْ شُعَرَاءُ كَأَنَّهَا الْخَازَبَازُ

And among people are those upon whom poems pass as if they were the buzzing of flies (7).

تَطْبِيقٌ (٢)

Application (2)

مَا الَّذِي أَخَلَّ بِفَصَاحَةِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِيمَا يَلِي

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

[مُخَلَّعُ الْبَسِيطِ]

[Mukhalla' al-Basit meter]

يَا نَفْسُ صَبْرًا كُلُّ حَيٍّ لَاقٍ وَكُلُّ اثْنَيْنِ إِلَى افْتِرَاقِ

O soul, have patience; every living being will meet [its end], and every two will eventually part.

[الْبَسِيطُ]

[Al-Basit meter]

أَبْعِدْ بَعِدْتَ بَيَاضًا لَا بَيَاضَ لَهُ لَأَنْتَ أَسْوَدُ فِي عَيْنِي مِنَ الظُّلَمِ

Be gone, you have gone, O whiteness that has no beauty; you are blacker in my eyes than the darkness (8).

بُوقَاتٌ مَزَامِيرُ وَالْقِيَاسُ فِي جَمْعِهِ أَبْوَاقٌ

(1) Buqat means flutes, and the standard form for its plural is Abwaq.

الْقِيَاسُ مَوَدَّةٌ بِالْإِدْغَامِ

(2) The standard form is Mawadda with assimilation.

لَوْظٌ لَازِقٌ وَالْأَوَالِسُ النِّيَاقُ

(3) Lawz means sticking, and al-awalis are the she-camels.

ضَرْبٌ مِنَ الْقَلَائِدِ وَالْأَبْيَاتُ لِلْمُتَنَبِّي فِي دِيوَانِهِ

(4) A type of necklace, and the verses are by al-Mutanabbi in his Diwan.

الْمُثْعَنْجَرُ لَفْظَةٌ مُتَنَافِرَةٌ - وَالْمَعْنَى إِنَّ عِلْمِي مُقِيسٌ إِلَى عِلْمِكَ كَالْغَدِيرِ الصَّغِيرِ مَوْضُوعًا فِي جَانِبِ الْبَحْرِ.

(5) Al-muth'anjar is a discordant word; the meaning is that my knowledge compared to your knowledge is like a small pond placed beside the sea.

الْقَرِيضُ الشِّعْرُ وَالْهُرَاءُ الْكَلَامُ الْفَاسِدُ الَّذِي لَا نِظَامَ لَهُ، وَأَحْكَامٌ جَمْعُ حُكْمٍ وَالْمُرَادُ الْحِكْمَةُ، وَالْبِرْسَامُ بِفَتْحِ الْبَاءِ وَكَسْرِهَا الْتِهَابُ الصَّدْرِ وَالْبَيْتَانِ لِلْمُتَنَبِّي فِي دِيوَانِهِ

(6) Al-qarid is poetry, al-hura' is corrupt speech that has no order, ahkam is the plural of hukm and the intended meaning is wisdom, and al-birsam, with the ba' opened or broken, is inflammation of the chest; the two verses are by al-Mutanabbi in his Diwan.

الْخَازَبَازُ صَوْتُ الذُّبَابِ - وَتَجُوزُ تَرُوحُ وَتُقْبِلُ، وَالْبَيْتُ لِلْمُتَنَبِّي

(7) Al-khazabaz is the sound of flies, and tajuzu means it goes and comes; the verse is by al-Mutanabbi.

الظُّلَمُ اللَّيَالِي الثَّلَاثُ آخِرُ الشَّهْرِ. وَلَا بَيَاضَ لَهُ لَا حُسْنَ لَهُ قَالَهُ الْمُتَنَبِّي يُخَاطِبُ الشَّيْبَ لَهُ

(8) Al-zulam are the three nights at the end of the month. And 'la bayada lahu' means it has no beauty; al-Mutanabbi said it addressing gray hair...

Vocabulary · المفردات (13 verbs · 53 nouns)

• كَانَ — to be
• أَكْثَرَ — to increase
• حَقَّلَ — to be stingy
• زَهَّدَ — to cause to dislike
• رَمَى — to throw
• عَاقَ — to hinder
• جَرَى — to flow
• حَلَّى — to adorn
• جَلَبَ — to bring
• جَازَ — to be accepted
• أَخَلَّ — to impair
• لَقِيَ — to meet
• بَعُدَ — to be far
• مُقَدِّمَة — introduction
• مَعْرِفَة — knowledge
• فَصَاحَة — eloquence
• بَلَاغَة — rhetoric
• بَعْض — some
• نَاس — people
• سَيْف — sword
• دَوْلَة — state
• بُوق — trumpet
• طَبْل — drum
• نَقِيّ — pure (male)
• تَقِيّ — pious (male)
• غَنِيمَة — booty
• نَهْكَة — weakness
• قُرْبَى — kinship
• لَئِيم — mean person (male)
• مَال — wealth
• صَدْر — chest
• مَوَدَّة — affection
• هَوَى — passion
• رَمْي — throwing
• مُمْضِغ — chewer (male)
• وَحْش — wild animal
• لَوْظ — sticky
• أَوَالِس — she-camels
• عَيْن — eye
• نَجْلَاء — wide-eyed
• ضَمَان — guarantee
• جِيد — neck
• دُرّ — pearl
• شَامِس — sun-like (male)
• عِلْم — knowledge
• قَرَارَة — bottom
• مُثْعَنْجَر — vast sea
• قَرِيض — poetry
• هُرَاء — nonsense
• شَيْء — thing
• حُكْم — wisdom
• بَرَاعَة — skill
• فَهْم — understanding
• بِرْسَام — pleurisy
• شَاعِر — poet
• خَازَبَاز — buzzing sound
• تَطْبِيق — application
• نَفْس — soul
• صَبْر — patience
• حَيّ — living (male)
• لَاقٍ — meeting (male)
• اثْنَان — two
• افْتِرَاق — separation
• بَيَاض — whiteness
• أَسْوَد — black
• ظُلَم — darkness