Jawahir al-Balagha by Ahmad al-Hashimi (جواهر البلاغة) — Page 19

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْفَصَاحَةِ وَالْبَلَاغَةِ

An Introduction to the Knowledge of Eloquence and Rhetoric.

وَقَالَ ابْنُ جَحْدَرٍ

1 - Ibn Jahdar said:

[الطَّوِيلُ]

[Al-Tawil Meter]

حَلَفْتُ بِمَا أَرْقَلَتْ حَوْلَهُ هَمَرْجَلَةٌ خَلْقُهَا شَيْظَمُ

I swore by that around which a swift, tall-statured she-camel hastened.

وَمَا شَبْرَقَتْ مِنْ تَنُوفِيَّةٍ بِهَا مِنْ وَحِيِّ الْجِنِّ زَيْزَيْزَمُ

And what she traversed of a desert, in which there is the whispering sound of jinn.

وَقَالَ ذُو الرُّمَّةِ

2 - Dhu al-Rummah said:

[ الْبَسِيطُ]

[Al-Basit Meter]

حَتَّى إِذَا الْهَيْقُ أَمْسَى شَامَ أَفْرُخَهُ وَهُنَّ لَا مُؤْيِسٌ نَأْيًا وَلَا كَتَبُ

Until when the male ostrich looked at his chicks, and they were neither despairing of distance nor [yet] able to fly. (2)

وَقَالَ أَبُو نُوَاسٍ

And Abu Nuwas said:

يَا مَنْ جَفَانِي وَمَلَّا

O you who have shunned me and grown weary.

تَدْرِيبٌ (١)

Exercise (1)

[الْمُجْتَثُّ]

[Al-Mujtathth Meter]

سِيتَ أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا

You have been greeted with 'welcome and ease'.

مَا الَّذِي أَخَلَّ بِفَصَاحَةِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِيمَا يَلِي

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

قَالَ النَّابِغَةُ الذُّبْيَانِيُّ

Al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani said:

[ الْكَامِلُ]

[Al-Kamil Meter]

أَوْ دُمْيَةٍ فِي مَرْمَرٍ مَرْفُوعَةٍ - بُنِيَتْ بِآجُرٍّ يُشَادُ بِقَرْمَدِ

1 - Or a statue in marble, elevated, built with bricks reinforced with baked clay. (3)

وَقَالَ أَبُو تَمَّامٍ

2 - And Abu Tammam said:

[ الْكَامِلُ]

[Al-Kamil Meter]

لَكَ هَضْبَةُ الْحِلْمِ الَّتِي لَوْ وَازَنَتْ أَجَأً إِذَا ثَقُلَتْ وَكَانَ خَفِيفَا

You possess a mountain of forbearance that, if it were to weigh against Mount Aja, would be heavy while it [the mountain] would be light.

وَحَلَاوَةُ الشِّيَمِ الَّتِي لَوْ مَازَجَتْ خُلُقَ الزَّمَانِ الْقَدْمِ عَادَ ظَرِيفَا

And a sweetness of character that, if it were to mingle with the coarse nature of time, it would become refined. (4)

الْإِرْقَالُ : الْإِسْرَاعُ. الْهَمَرْجَلَةُ : النَّاقَةُ السَّرِيعَةُ. الشَّيْظَمُ: الطَّوِيلُ الْجِسْمِ مِنَ الْإِبِلِ وَالْخَيْلِ.

(1) Al-Irqal: Speeding. Al-Hamrajala: The swift she-camel. Al-Shayzam: The tall-bodied among camels and horses.

شَبْرَقَتْ - قَطَعَتْ - التَّنُوفِيَّةُ وَالتَّنُوفَةُ : الْمَفَازَةُ. الْوَحِيُّ: الصَّوْتُ الْخَفِيُّ - زَيْزَيْزَمُ: حِكَايَةُ أَصْوَاتِ الْجِنِّ.

Shabraqat: Traversed. Al-Tanufiyyah and Al-Tanufah: The desert. Al-Wahiyy: The faint sound. Zayzayzam: An imitation of the sounds of the jinn.

الْهَيْقُ: الظَّلِيمُ (ذَكَرُ النَّعَامِ). شَامَ الْبَرْقَ: نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ أَيْنَ يَقْصِدُ وَأَيْنَ يُمْطِرُ وَاسْتُعْمِلَ هُنَا لِلنَّظَرِ إِلَى الْأَفْرُخِ. النَّأْيُ: الْبُعْدُ.

(2) Al-Hayq: The male ostrich. Shama al-barq: He looked at the lightning to see where it was heading and where it would rain; it is used here for looking at the chicks. Al-Na'y: Distance.

الدُّمْيَةُ: الصُّورَةُ الْمَنْقُوشَةُ الْمُزَيَّنَةُ فِيهَا حُمْرَةٌ كَالدَّمِ تُضْرَبُ مَثَلًا فِي الْحُسْنِ، الْمَرْمَرُ: الرُّخَامُ.

(3) Al-Dumyah: The decorated, engraved image that has a redness like blood, used as a metaphor for beauty. Al-Marmar: Marble.

الْآجُرُّ: مَا يُبْنَى بِهِ - الْقَرْمَدُ : بِفَتْحِ الْقَافِ مَا يُطْلَى بِهِ لِلزِّينَةِ وَقِيلَ حِجَارَةٌ لَهَا خُرُوقٌ يُوقَدُ عَلَيْهَا فَتَنْضَجُ وَيُبْنَى بِهَا. وَقِيلَ الْخَزَفُ الْمَطْبُوخُ.

Al-Ajurr: What one builds with. Al-Qarmad: With a fatha on the Qaf, what is coated for decoration; it is also said to be stones with holes that are fired until they harden and are used for building. It is also said to be fired pottery.

الْهَضْبَةُ: الرَّابِيَةُ. أَجَأُ: جَبَلٌ. الْقَدْمُ - الْغَلِيظُ الْجَافِي - وَصْفُ الشِّيَمِ بِالْحَلَاوَةِ وَهِيَ خَاصَّةٌ بِالْعَيْنَيْنِ - وَخُلُقُ الزَّمَانِ بِالظَّرْفِ وَهُوَ خَاصٌّ بِالنُّطْقِ.

(4) Al-Hadbah: The hill. Aja': A mountain. Al-Qadm: The coarse and rough. Describing character with 'sweetness' is specific to the eyes, and describing the nature of time with 'refinement' is specific to speech.

Vocabulary · المفردات (15 verbs · 33 nouns)

• حَلَفَ — to swear
• أَرْقَلَ — to hasten
• شَبْرَقَ — to cut
• أَمْسَى — to become in the evening
• شَامَ — to look at
• جَفَا — to shun
• مَلَّ — to be bored
• سَاءَ — to be bad
• أَخَلَّ — to impair
• بَنَى — to build
• أَشَادَ — to raise
• وَازَنَ — to weigh
• ثَقُلَ — to be heavy
• مَازَجَ — to mix
• عَادَ — to become
• مُقَدِّمَةٌ — introduction
• مَعْرِفَةٌ — knowledge
• فَصَاحَةٌ — eloquence
• بَلَاغَةٌ — rhetoric
• حَوْلٌ — surroundings
• هَمَرْجَلَةٌ — fast she-camel
• خَلْقٌ — creation
• شَيْظَمٌ — tall creature
• تَنُوفِيَّةٌ — desert
• وَحْيٌ — sound
• جِنٌّ — jinn
• زَيْزَيْزَمٌ — chatter
• هَيْقٌ — ostrich
• أَفْرُخٌ — chicks
• مُؤْيِسٌ — despairing
• نَأْيٌ — distance
• كَتَبٌ — writing
• أَهْلٌ — family
• سَهْلٌ — ease
• تَدْرِيبٌ — exercise
• كَلِمَةٌ — word
• دُمْيَةٌ — statue
• مَرْمَرٌ — marble
• آجُرٌ — brick
• قَرْمَدٌ — pottery
• هَضْبَةٌ — plateau
• حِلْمٌ — forbearance
• خَفِيفٌ — light
• حَلَاوَةٌ — sweetness
• شِيمَةٌ — trait
• زَمَانٌ — time
• قَدْمٌ — coarseness
• ظَرِيفٌ — witty