Jawahir al-Balagha by Ahmad al-Hashimi (جواهر البلاغة) — Page 20

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةٌ فِي مَعْرِفَةِ الْفَصَاحَةِ وَالْبَلَاغَةِ.

An introduction to the knowledge of eloquence and rhetoric.

وَقَالَ الْمُتَنَبِّي: يُوَسِّطُهُ الْمَفَاوِزَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ طِلَابُ الطَّالِبِينَ لَا الِانْتِظَارُ.

3 - Al-Mutanabbi said: The pursuit of seekers, not waiting, takes him through the middle of the deserts every day.

تَدْرِيبٌ (٢): مَا الَّذِي أَخَلَّ بِفَصَاحَةِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِيمَا يَأْتِي:

Exercise (2): What is it that impaired the eloquence of the words in the following:

لَمْ يَلْقَهَا إِلَّا بِشِكَّةٍ بَاسِلٍ يَخْشَى الْحَوَادِيَ حَازِمٌ مُسْتَعِدُّ.

1 - He did not meet her except with a brave warrior in full armor, cautious, fearing the calamities, resolute, and prepared.

وَأَصْبَحَ مَبْيَضُّ الضَّرِيبِ كَأَنَّهُ عَلَى سَرَوَاتِ الْبَيْتِ قُطْنٌ مُنْدِفُ.

2 - The whiteness of the likeness became as if it were carded cotton upon the tops of the house.

فَأَيْقَنْتُ أَنِّي عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ ثَائِرٌ غَدَاتَئِذٍ أَوْ هَالِكٌ فِي الْهَوَالِكِ.

3 - So I became certain that at that moment I would be an avenger that morning, or perish in the places of destruction.

وَمَلْمُومَةٍ سَيْفِيَّةٍ رَبَعِيَّةٍ يَصِيحُ الْحَصَا فِيهَا صِيَاحَ اللَّقَالِقِ.

4 - And a gathered army, belonging to Sayf al-Dawla and the Rabia tribe, in which the pebbles cry out like the crying of storks.

وَأَلْقَى بِصَحْرَاءِ الْغَبِيطِ بَعَاعَهُ نُزُولَ الْيَمَانِيِّ ذُو الْعِيَابِ الْمُحَمَّلِ.

5 - And it cast its heavy rain in the desert of al-Ghabit, like the arrival of the Yemeni man with his loaded saddlebags.

لَيْسَ التَّعَلُّلُ بِالْآمَالِ مِنْ أَرَبِي وَلَا الْقُنُوعُ بِضَنْكِ الْعَيْشِ مِنْ شِيَمِي.

6 - Distracting myself with hopes is not my desire, nor is begging for a meager life among my traits.

الشِّكَّةُ: الْخَصْلَةُ. الْبَاسِلُ: الشُّجَاعُ.

(1) Al-shikka: the equipment/armor. Al-basil: the brave.

قَائِلُهُ الْفَرَزْدَقُ. الضَّرِيبُ: الشَّبِيهُ وَالْمَثِيلُ. سَرَوَاتُ الْبَيْتِ: أَعَالِيهِ. مُنْدِفٌ: مَنْدُوفٌ مِنْ قَوْلِهِمْ نَدَفَ الْقُطْنَ ضَرَبَهُ بِالْمِنْدَفِ.

(2) Its author is Al-Farazdaq. Al-darib: the likeness and the peer. Sarawat al-bayt: its tops. Mundif: carded, from their saying 'nadafa al-qutn' (he carded the cotton), meaning he struck it with the carding bow.

الثَّائِرُ: الَّذِي لَا يُبْقِي عَلَى شَيْءٍ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَ ثَأْرَهُ.

(3) Al-tha'ir: the one who does not spare anything until he attains his vengeance.

قَائِلُهُ الْمُتَنَبِّي. مَلْمُومَةٌ: كَتِيبَةٌ مُجْتَمِعَةٌ. سَيْفِيَّةٌ: نِسْبَةٌ لِسَيْفِ الدَّوْلَةِ. رَبَعِيَّةٌ: نِسْبَةٌ إِلَى رَبِيعَةَ قَبِيلَتِهِ. اللَّقَالِقُ: جَمْعُ لَقْلَقٍ. صِيَاحُ اللَّقَالِقِ: وَهِيَ صَوْتُ اللَّقْلَاقِ (طَائِرًا) أَوْ هِيَ كُلُّ صَوْتٍ فِي اضْطِرَابٍ وَحَرَكَةٍ.

(4) Its author is Al-Mutanabbi. Malmuma: a gathered battalion. Sayfiyya: attributed to Sayf al-Dawla. Rab'iyya: attributed to Rabia, his tribe. Al-laqaliq: plural of laqlaq (stork). Siyah al-laqaliq: it is the sound of the stork (the bird), or it is any sound characterized by agitation and movement.

قَائِلُهُ امْرُؤُ الْقَيْسِ. الْغَبِيطُ: الْأَرْضُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ وَقِيلَ الْوَاسِعَةُ الْمُسْتَوِيَةُ يَرْتَفِعُ طَرَفَاهَا. الْبَعَاعُ: ثِقَلُ السَّحَابِ مِنَ الْمَطَرِ يُقَالُ بَعَّ السَّحَابُ يَبُعُّ بَعًّا وَبَعَاعًا إِذَا أَلَحَّ بِمَكَانٍ وَأَلْقَى عَلَيْهِ بَعَاعَهُ أَيْ ثِقْلَهُ. الْعِيَابُ: جَمْعُ عَيْبَةٍ وَهِيَ مَا يُجْعَلُ فِيهِ الثِّيَابُ يُقَالُ جَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ خَيْرَ مَتَاعِهِ فِي عَيْبَتِهِ. وَالْمُحَمَّلُ: يُرْوَى بِكَسْرِ الْمِيمِ عَلَى جَعْلِ الْيَمَانِيِّ رَجُلًا وَبِفَتْحِهَا عَلَى جَعْلِهِ جَمَلًا وَالْمَعْنَى أَنَّ هَذَا الْمَطَرَ نَزَلَ بِهَذَا الْمَكَانِ وَلَمْ يَبْرَحْ كَمَا نَزَلَ الرَّجُلُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَوْضِعِ وَضَمِيرُ أَلْقَى يَرْجِعُ إِلَى السَّحَابِ فِيمَا قَبْلَهُ.

(5) Its author is Imru' al-Qais. Al-Ghabit: the low-lying land, and it is said to be the wide, level land whose two ends rise. Al-ba'a': the heaviness of the clouds from rain; it is said 'ba'a al-sahab' (the clouds became heavy) when it persists in a place and casts its 'ba'a' (heaviness) upon it, meaning its weight. Al-'iyab: plural of 'ayba, which is what clothes are placed in; it is said that a man put his best belongings in his 'ayba. Al-muhammal: it is narrated with a kasra on the mim, treating the Yemeni as a man, and with a fatha, treating it as a camel. The meaning is that this rain descended on this place and did not depart, just as the man descended in that location. The pronoun in 'alqa' (he/it cast) refers to the clouds mentioned before it.

الْقُنُوعُ: الْمَسْأَلَةُ يُقَالُ قَنَعَ قُنُوعًا إِذَا سَأَلَ وَالْمُرَادُ الْقَنَاعَةُ وَالْبَيْتُ لِلْمُتَنَبِّي.

(6) Al-qunu': begging/asking; it is said 'qana'a qunu'an' when one asks, and the intended meaning is contentment. The verse is by Al-Mutanabbi.

Vocabulary · المفردات (21 verbs · 77 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• وَسَّطَ — to place in the middle
• أَخَلَّ — to impair
• لَقِيَ — to meet
• خَشِيَ — to fear
• أَصْبَحَ — to become
• نَدَفَ — to card
• ضَرَبَ — to strike
• أَيْقَنَ — to be certain
• صَاحَ — to shout
• أَلْقَى — to throw
• بَعَّ — to rain heavily
• أَلَحَّ — to persist
• بَقِيَ — to remain
• أَدْرَكَ — to reach
• جَعَلَ — to make
• بَرِحَ — to leave
• نَزَلَ — to descend
• رَجَعَ — to return
• قَنِعَ — to ask
• سَأَلَ — to ask
• مُقَدِّمَةٌ — introduction
• مَعْرِفَةٌ — knowledge
• فَصَاحَةٌ — eloquence
• بَلَاغَةٌ — rhetoric
• مَفَازَةٌ — desert
• يَوْمٌ — day
• طِلَابٌ — seeking
• طَالِبٌ — seeker
• انْتِظَارٌ — waiting
• تَدْرِيبٌ — exercise
• كَلِمَةٌ — word
• شِكَّةٌ — armor
• بَاسِلٌ — brave
• حَادِيَةٌ — driver
• حَازِمٌ — resolute man
• مُسْتَعِدٌّ — prepared man
• مَبْيَضٌّ — whitening
• ضَرِيبٌ — likeness
• سَرَوَاةٌ — top
• بَيْتٌ — house
• قُطْنٌ — cotton
• مُنْدِفٌ — carded
• ثَائِرٌ — avenger
• غَدَاةٌ — morning
• هَالِكٌ — perishing man
• هَالِكَةٌ — destruction
• مَلْمُومَةٌ — gathered (army)
• سَيْفِيَّةٌ — sword-related
• رَبَعِيَّةٌ — spring-related
• حَصَاةٌ — pebble
• صِيَاحٌ — shouting
• لَقْلَقٌ — stork
• صَحْرَاءُ — desert
• غَبِيطٌ — plain
• بَعَاعٌ — heavy rain
• نُزُولٌ — descent
• يَمَانِيٌّ — Yemeni
• عَيْبَةٌ — bag
• مُحَمَّلٌ — loaded
• تَعَلُّلٌ — diversion
• أُمْنِيَّةٌ — hope
• أَرَبٌ — need
• قُنُوعٌ — begging
• ضَنْكٌ — hardship
• عَيْشٌ — life
• شِيمَةٌ — trait
• خَصْلَةٌ — habit
• شُجَاعٌ — brave
• شَبِيهٌ — likeness
• مَثِيلٌ — peer
• أَعَالِي — tops
• مَنْدُوفٌ — carded
• ثَأْرٌ — vengeance
• كَتِيبَةٌ — battalion
• مُجْتَمِعَةٌ — gathered
• نِسْبَةٌ — attribution
• قَبِيلَةٌ — tribe
• صَوْتٌ — (sound)
• اضْطِرَابٌ — disturbance
• حَرَكَةٌ — movement
• أَرْضٌ — land
• مُطْمَئِنَّةٌ — calm
• وَاسِعَةٌ — wide
• مُسْتَوِيَةٌ — level
• طَرَفٌ — side
• ثِقَلٌ — weight
• سَحَابٌ — cloud
• مَطَرٌ — rain
• مَكَانٌ — place
• مَتَاعٌ — goods
• رَجُلٌ — man
• جَمَلٌ — camel
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• مَوْضِعٌ — location
• ضَمِيرٌ — pronoun
• مَسْأَلَةٌ — question
• قَنَاعَةٌ — contentment