Kalila Wa Dimna — Page 17

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

ثَمَرَتُهَا إِذَا تُنُوِّلَتْ أَغْصَانُهَا وَجُذِبَتْ حَتَّى تُكْسَرَ وَتَفْسُدَ.

Its fruit is ruined if its branches are reached and pulled until they break.

وَالطَّاوُوسُ رُبَّمَا صَارَ ذَنَبُهُ الَّذِي هُوَ حُسْنُهُ وَجَمَالُهُ وَبَالًا عَلَيْهِ.

A peacock’s tail, for all its beauty and splendor, can become a burden to it.

فَاحْتَالَ فَإِذَا احْتَالَ إِلَى الْخِفَّةِ وَالنَّجَاةِ مِمَّنْ يَطْلُبُهُ فَيَشْغَلُهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ذَنَبُهُ.

It tries to maneuver, but when it schemes to gain agility and escape those hunting it, its tail gets in the way.

وَالْفَرَسُ الْجَوَادُ الْقَوِيُّ رُبَّمَا أَهْلَكَهُ ذَلِكَ فَأُجْهِدَ وَأُتْعِبَ، وَاسْتُعْمِلَ لِمَا عِنْدَهُ مِنَ الْفَضْلِ حَتَّى يَهْلِكَ.

A strong, noble horse may be destroyed by its own merits, driven and exhausted until it perishes from the very qualities that make it valuable.

يُرى مِمَّا قَدَّمْتُ أَنَّ كِتَابَ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ طُبِعَ طَبَعَاتٍ مَدْرَسِيَّةً كَثِيرَةً تَفِي بِتَعْلِيمِ النَّاشِئَةِ.

It is clear from what I have presented that Kalila and Dimna has been printed in many school editions sufficient for teaching the youth.

وَلَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يُطْبَعْ طَبْعَةً وَاحِدَةً يَطْمَئِنُّ إِلَيْهَا النَّاقِدُ الَّذِي يَتَحَرَّى مَا كَتَبَهُ ابْنُ الْمُقَفَّعِ.

However, it has never been printed in a single edition that a critic investigating what Ibn al-Muqaffa actually wrote can rely upon.

فَلَمْ يَكُنْ عَجِيبًا أَنْ يَطُولَ الْبَحْثُ وَالْعَنَاءُ لِيُطْبَعَ الْكِتَابُ طَبْعَةً أُخْرَى.

It is no surprise, then, that the research and effort required to produce another edition have been so extensive.

وَكَانَ مِنْ سُوءِ الِاتِّفَاقِ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْحَرْبَ الْمَاحِقَةَ الَّتِي يَصْلَى بِنَارِهَا جُنَاتُهَا وَغَيْرُ جُنَاتِهَا شَبَّتْ وَنَحْنُ نَتَأَهَّبُ لِنَشْرِ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ.

It was a stroke of bad luck that this destructive war, which burns both the guilty and the innocent, ignited just as we were preparing to publish this book.

فَلَمْ يَتَيَسَّرْ لَنَا تَحْصِيلُ الْمَخْطُوطَاتِ الَّتِي أَرَدْنَاهَا.

We were unable to obtain the manuscripts we had hoped for.

وَلَكِنْ كَانَ مِنْ حُسْنِ الْحَظِّ أَنْ عَثَرْنَا عَلَى نُسْخَةٍ فِي مَكْتَبَةِ أَيَا صُوفِيَا بِإِسْطَنْبُولَ كُتِبَتْ سَنَةَ ٦١٨هـ.

Fortunately, we found a copy in the Hagia Sophia library in Istanbul, written in 618 AH.

فَهِيَ أَقْدَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ الْمَخْطُوطَاتِ الَّتِي وَصَفَهَا الْمُسْتَشْرِقُونَ.

It is older than all the manuscripts described by orientalists.

وَأَقْدَمُ مِنْ نُسْخَةِ شَيْخُو الْمَكْتُوبَةِ سَنَةَ ٧٣٩هـ وَالَّتِي رَآهَا شَيْخُو أَقْدَمَ نُسْخَةٍ مُؤَرَّخَةٍ.

It is also older than the Cheikho copy, written in 739 AH, which Cheikho himself considered the oldest dated manuscript.

فَكَتَبَ عَلَى صَفْحَةِ الْعُنْوَانِ: أَقْدَمُ نُسْخَةٍ مَخْطُوطَةٍ مُؤَرَّخَةٍ لِكِتَابِ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ.

He even wrote on its title page: The oldest dated manuscript of Kalila and Dimna.

لَمْ يَكُنِ الْقِدَمُ وَحْدَهُ سَبَبًا لِاخْتِيَارِنَا هَذِهِ النُّسْخَةَ وَاحْتِمَالِ الْعَنَاءِ الطَّوِيلِ فِي نَشْرِهَا.

Age alone was not the reason for our choosing this copy or for our willingness to endure the long effort of publishing it.

وَلَكِنِ اجْتَمَعَتْ فِيهَا مَزَايَا ظَنَنَّا مَعَهَا أَنَّهَا جَدِيرَةٌ بِالنَّشْرِ.

Rather, it possessed merits that convinced us it was worthy of publication.

وَأَنَّ نَشْرَهَا خُطْوَةٌ سَدِيدَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ نَقْدِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَقْرِيبِهِ مِنْ أَصْلِهِ جُهْدَ الْمُسْتَطَاعِ.

Publishing it is a sound step toward critiquing the book and bringing it as close to the original as possible.

وَهَذَا وَصْفُ النُّسْخَةِ وَتَبْيِينُ مَزَايَاهَا وَعُيُوبِهَا.

The following is a description of the copy and an explanation of its merits and flaws.

عُنْوَانُ النُّسْخَةِ: كِتَابُ كَلِيلَةَ وَدِمْنَةَ مِمَّا وَضَعَتْهُ عُلَمَاءُ الْهِنْدِ عَلَى لِسَانِ الطَّيْرِ وَالْوَحْشِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ فِي الْحِكَمِ وَالْأَمْثَالِ.

Title of the copy: The Book of Kalila and Dimna, as set down by the scholars of India, using the voices of birds and beasts to convey wisdom and proverbs.

وَتَحْتَ الْعُنْوَانِ: يَثِقُ بِالْكَافِي مُحَمَّدٍ بْنِ الْحَجَّافِي.

Below the title: Trusts in the Sufficient, Muhammad ibn al-Hajjafi.

وَتَحْتَ هَذَا ثَلَاثَةُ أَسْطُرٍ مَشْطُوبَةٌ شَطْبًا يَمْنَعُ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهَا.

Underneath this are three lines, crossed out so thoroughly they cannot be read.

وَفِي آخِرِ النُّسْخَةِ: تَمَّ الْكِتَابُ بِعَوْنِ اللَّهِ وَتَوْفِيقِهِ.

At the end of the copy: The book is completed with the help and guidance of God.

وَكَانَ الْفَرَاغُ مِنْهُ فِي مُسْتَهَلِّ جُمَادَى الْآخِرِ مِنْ شُهُورِ سَنَةِ ثَمَانِيَةَ عَشَرَ وَسِتِّمِائَةٍ.

It was finished at the beginning of Jumada al-Akhir in the year 618.

غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لِكَاتِبِهِ وَلِصَاحِبِهِ وَلِمَنْ نَظَرَ فِيهِ وَلِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ الْأَحْيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْأَمْوَاتِ.

May God forgive its writer, its owner, anyone who reads it, and all Muslim men and women, both the living and the dead.

كَتَبَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ الْفَقِيرُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الْمُعْتَرِفُ بِالتَّقْصِيرِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْعُمَرِيُّ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

Written for his own use by the one who is poor before God Almighty and confesses his shortcomings, Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umari, may God pardon him.

Vocabulary · المفردات (54 verbs · 86 nouns)

• تَنَاوَلَ — to take
• جَذَبَ — to pull
• كَسَرَ — to break
• فَسَدَ — to spoil
• صَارَ — to become
• احْتَالَ — to scheme
• طَلَبَ — to seek
• شَغَلَ — to occupy
• أَهْلَكَ — to destroy
• أَجْهَدَ — to exhaust
• أَتْعَبَ — to tire
• اسْتَعْمَلَ — to use
• هَلَكَ — to perish
• رَأَى — to see
• قَدَّمَ — to present
• طَبَعَ — to print
• وَفَى — to fulfill
• عَلَّمَ — to teach
• اطْمَأَنَّ — to feel reassured, to feel assured
• تَحَرَّى — to investigate
• كَتَبَ — to write
• طَالَ — to lengthen
• صَلَى — to burn
• شَبَّ — to ignite
• تَأَهَّبَ — to prepare
• تَيَسَّرَ — to come easily
• حَصَّلَ — to obtain
• أَرَادَ — to want
• عَثَرَ — to find
• وَصَفَ — to describe
• أَرَّخَ — to date
• اخْتَارَ — to choose
• احْتَمَلَ — to bear
• اجْتَمَعَ — to gather
• ظَنَّ — to think
• قَرَّبَ — to bring closer
• بَيَّنَ — to clarify
• وَضَعَ — to place
• وَثِقَ — to trust
• شَطَبَ — to cross out
• مَنَعَ — to prevent
• تَمَّ — to conclude, to finish
• غَفَرَ — to forgive
• نَظَرَ — to look
• اعْتَرَفَ — to confess
• عَفَا — to pardon
• كَانَ — to be
• نَشَرَ — to publish
• نَقَدَ — to critique
• قَرَأَ — to read
• عَاوَنَ — to assist
• وَفَّقَ — to grant success
• فَرَغَ — to finish
• قَصَّرَ — to fall short
• نَشْر — spreading
• ثَمَرَة — fruit
• صَفْحَة — page
• عَوْن — aid
• مَخْطُوطَة — manuscript
• سَبَب — cause
• مُسْتَطَاع — possible
• وَبَال — burden
• وَاحِدَة — one (feminine)
• عَنَاء — difficulty
• مَكْتَبَة — library
• مَزَايَا — merits
• نُسْخَة — copy
• قِرَاءَة — reading
• مَدْرَسِيَّة — school (adj.)
• جَدِيرَة — worthy
• فَضْل — bounty
• خِفَّة — agility
• مُعْتَرِف — acknowledging
• عَجِيب — amazing
• حَرْب — war
• مَاحِقَة — devastating
• عُلَمَاء — scholars, learned people, scientists
• كَاتِب — writer, author
• كَثِيرَة — many
• غُصْن — branch
• طَاوُوس — peacock
• ذَنَب — tail
• حُسْن — beauty
• جَمَال — beauty
• نَجَاة — salvation
• فَرَس — horse
• جَوَاد — steed
• قَوِيّ — strong
• كِتَاب — book
• طَبْعَة — edition
• نَاشِئَة — youth
• نَاقِد — critic
• بَحْث — research
• سُوء — badness
• اتِّفَاق — coincidence
• نَار — fire
• جَانٍ — perpetrator
• حَظّ — luck
• سَنَة — year
• مُسْتَشْرِق — orientalist
• شَيْخ — sheikh
• عُنْوَان — title
• قِدَم — age/antiquity
• احْتِمَال — endurance
• مَزِيَّة — advantage
• جَدِير — worthy
• خُطْوَة — step
• سَدِيدَة — sound/correct
• سَبِيل — path
• نَقْد — critique
• أَصْل — origin
• جُهْد — effort
• وَصْف — description
• تَبْيِين — clarification
• عَيْب — defect
• عَالِم — scholar
• هِنْد — India
• لِسَان — tongue/language
• طَيْر — bird
• وَحْش — beast
• حِكْمَة — wisdom
• مَثَل — proverb
• كَافِي — sufficient
• سَطْر — line
• شَطْب — crossing out
• آخِر — end
• اللَّه — God
• تَوْفِيق — success
• فَرَاغ — completion
• مُسْتَهَلّ — beginning
• جُمَادَى — Jumada
• شَهْر — month
• صَاحِب — owner
• مُسْلِم — Muslim
• حَيّ — living
• مَيِّت — dead
• نَفْس — self
• فَقِير — poor/needy
• تَقْصِير — shortcoming
• عَبْد — servant