Mukhtasar al-Ma'ani by al-Taftazani, Vol. 1 (مختصر المعاني) — Page 11

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

خُطْبَةُ الْكِتَابِ

The Preface of the Book.

وَجْهُ تَأْلِيفِ الْمُخْتَصَرِ

The Manner of Compiling the Summary.

ثُمَّ مَا زَادَتْهُمْ مُدَافَعَتِي إِلَّا شَغَفًا وَغَرَامًا وَظَمَأً فِي هَوَاجِرِ الطَّلَبِ وَأُوَامًا، فَانْتَصَبْتُ حُبًّا شَدِيدًا شِدَّةُ الْحِرْصِ الْعَطَشُ شِدَّةُ الْعَطَشِ وَحَرَارَتُهُ لِشَرْحِ الْكِتَابِ عَلَى وَفْقِ مُقْتَرَحِهِمْ ثَانِيًا، وَلِعِنَانِ الْعِنَايَةِ نَحْوَ اخْتِصَارِ الْأَوَّلِ ثَانِيًا مَعَ جُمُودِ الْقَرِيحَةِ بِصَرِّ الْبَلِيَّاتِ وَحُمُودِ الْفِطْنَةِ بِصَرْصَرِ النَّكَبَاتِ، وَتَرَامِي الْبُلْدَانِ الطَّبِيعَةُ وَالْعَقْلُ جَمْعُ بَلِيَّةٍ وَهُوَ الْغَمُّ الْحَذَاقَةُ الْمَصَائِبُ بِي مِنْ ثَنِيٍّ كَسَعْيٍ وَرَمْيٍ وَالْأَقْطَارِ، وَنُبُوِّ الْأَوْطَانِ عَنِّي وَالْأَوْطَارِ، حَتَّى طَفِقْتُ أَجُوبُ كُلَّ أَغْبَرَ قَاتِمِ الْأَرْجَاءِ، وَأُحَرِّرُ كُلَّ جَمْعُ وَطَنٍ جَمْعُ وَطَرٍ بِمَعْنَى حَاجَةٍ سَطْرٍ مِنْهُ فِي شَطْرٍ مِنْ مِنْ هَذَا الشَّرْحِ قِطْعَةٌ الْغَبْرَاءُ: الْأَرْضِ أَقْطَعُ مُظْلِمٍ فَيَوْمًا بِحَزْوَى وَيَوْمًا بِالْعَقِيقِ وَبِالْعُذَيْبِ يَوْمًا وَيَوْمًا بِالْخُلَيْصَاءِ

Furthermore, my resistance only increased their passion, longing, thirst, and craving during the scorching heat of the pursuit; so I set myself to explain the book according to their request a second time, and to turn the reins of care toward summarizing the first [book] again, despite the stagnation of my intuition due to the biting cold of calamities, the cooling of my wit due to the icy winds of disasters, the scattering of lands and regions, and the rejection of me by homelands and needs, until I began to traverse every dusty, dark-sided place, and to edit every line of it in a portion of the earth, being one day at Hazwa, one day at al-Aqiq, one day at al-Udhayb, and one day at al-Khulaysa'.

ثُمَّ مَا زَادَتْهُمْ: عَبَّرَ بِـ "ثُمَّ" لِإِفَادَةِ تَرَاخِي زِيَادَةِ الشَّغَفِ وَالْغَرَامِ عَنِ ابْتِدَاءِ الْمُدَافَعَةِ الَّذِي تَضَمَّنَهُ قَوْلُهُ: "وَكُنْتُ أَضْرِبُ إِلَخْ"، وَفِي التَّعْبِيرِ بِالْمُفَاعَلَةِ إِشَارَةٌ لِتَكْرِيرِ السُّؤَالِ وَتَكْرَارِ الْمُدَافَعَةِ.

"Furthermore, my resistance only increased their passion": He used 'thumma' (furthermore) to indicate the delay in the increase of passion and longing relative to the beginning of the resistance which his statement 'And I used to strike...' implied, and the expression in the form of 'mufa'ala' (reciprocal action) is an indication of the repetition of the request and the repetition of the resistance.

[الدَّسُوقِيُّ: ٢٢/١] وَظَمَأً أَرَادَ الشَّارِحُ بِالظَّمَأِ وَالْأُوَامِ لَازِمَهُمَا وَهُوَ الْمَيْلُ وَالْحُبُّ، وَإِضَافَةُ الْهَوَاجِرِ إِلَى الطَّلَبِ مِنْ إِضَافَةِ الْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ إِلَى الْمُشَبَّهِ أَيْ فِي الطَّلَبِ الَّذِي هُوَ كَالْهَوَاجِرِ، بِجَامِعِ أَنَّ فِي كُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا صُعُوبَةً عَلَى النَّفْسِ

[Al-Dasuqi: 1/22] 'Thama'an' (thirst): The commentator intended by 'thama' (thirst) and 'uwam' (craving) their necessary consequence, which is inclination and love; and the genitive construction of 'hawajir' (scorching heat) to 'talab' (pursuit) is from the category of attributing the object of comparison to the subject of comparison, meaning: in the pursuit which is like the scorching heat, by virtue of the fact that in each of them there is difficulty for the soul.

[التَّجْرِيدُ هَوَاجِرُ الطَّلَبِ [جَمْعُ هَاجِرَةٍ وَهِيَ نِصْفُ النَّهَارِ] أَيْ طَلَبُ اخْتِصَارِ الْمُطَوَّلِ، وَهَوَاجِرُ الطَّلَبِ شَابَتْهُ وَكَثْرَتُهُ. (مُلَخَّصٌ)

[Al-Tajrid] 'Hawajir al-talab' [plural of hajira, which is midday], meaning: the pursuit of summarizing the lengthy work, and the 'hawajir' of the pursuit are its difficulty and its abundance. (Summary)

فَانْتَصَبْتُ: أَيْ تَهَيَّأْتُ وَتَفَرَّغْتُ مَجَازًا عَنِ الْوُقُوفِ عَلَى وَفْقِ الْجَارِّ وَالْمَجْرُورِ صِفَةٌ لِمَحْذُوفٍ أَيْ انْتِصَابًا أَوْ شَرْحًا كَائِنًا عَلَى وَفْقِ مَطْلُوبِهِمْ. (الدَّسُوقِيُّ)

'Fantasabtu' (so I set myself): meaning I prepared and devoted myself, metaphorically for standing; the prepositional phrase is an adjective for an omitted word, meaning: a setting-to or an explanation existing according to their request. (Al-Dasuqi)

مُقْتَرَحِهِمُ الِاقْتِرَاحُ التَّحَكُّمُ، كَذَا فِي الْقَامُوسِ ثَانِيًا: صِفَةٌ لِلْمَصْدَرِ الْمُقَدَّرِ بَعْدَ نَعْتِهِ بِالْجَارِّ وَالْمَجْرُورِ أَيْ انْتِصَابًا ثَانِيًا أَوْ شَرْحًا ثَانِيًا، وَيُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ يَكُونَ ظَرْفًا أَيْ انْتَصَبْتُ لِشَرْحِ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابِ فِي ثَانٍ [الدَّسُوقِيُّ]

'Muqtarahihim' (their request): 'Iqtirah' is to impose one's will, as stated in al-Qamus. 'Thaniyan' (a second time): an adjective for the verbal noun estimated after its description by the prepositional phrase, meaning: a second setting-to or a second explanation; and it is possible that it is an adverb, meaning: I set myself to explain that book a second time. [Al-Dasuqi]

وَلِعِنَانِ الْعِنَايَةِ: شَبَّهَ الْعِنَايَةَ الَّتِي هِيَ شِدَّةُ الِاهْتِمَامِ بِالشَّيْءِ فِي التَّوَصُّلِ إِلَى الْمَرْغُوبِ بِالْفَرَسِ، فَذَكَرَ الْعِنَانَ تَخْيِيلٌ، وَثَانِيًا بِمَعْنَى صَارِفًا مِنْ ثَنَيْتُ الْفَرَسَ بِالْعِنَانِ أَيْ صَرَفْتُهُ، ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ مَا يُنَافِي الِانْتِصَابَ فَقَالَ: مَعَ جُمُودِ الْقَرِيحَةِ إِلَخْ.

'Wa li-'inan al-'inaya' (and to the reins of care): He likened 'care', which is the intensity of interest in a thing to reach the desired object, to a horse, so he mentioned the 'reins' as an imaginative device; and 'thaniyan' (turning) is in the sense of 'diverting', from the phrase 'I turned the horse with the reins', meaning I diverted it. Then he mentioned what contradicts the setting-to, saying: 'with the stagnation of intuition, etc.'

مِفْتَاحُ الْعَرُوسِ مَعَ جُمُودٍ وَالْجُمُودُ عَدَمُ سَيَلَانِ الْمَاءِ ضِدُّ ذَابَ، اسْتُعِيرَ هَهُنَا لِضَعْفِ الْقَرِيحَةِ أَيْ عَدَمِ انْبِسَاطِهَا فِي الْمَدَارِكِ، وَالْجَامِعُ قِلَّةُ الِانْتِفَاعِ إِلَّا بَعْدَ تَكَلُّفٍ. [الدَّسُوقِيُّ وَالتَّجْرِيدُ

[Miftah al-'Arus] 'Ma'a jumud' (with stagnation): 'Jumud' is the lack of flow of water, the opposite of 'melted'. It is used metaphorically here for the weakness of intuition, meaning its lack of expansion in grasping concepts, and the common factor is the lack of benefit except after great effort. [Al-Dasuqi and al-Tajrid]

بِصَرِّ الْبَلِيَّاتِ أَيْ بِسَبَبِ الْبَلِيَّاتِ الَّتِي كَالصَّرِّ، وَهُوَ بَرْدٌ شَدِيدٌ زَمَنٌ يَضُرُّ بِالنَّبَاتِ وَيُجَمِّدُ الْمَاءَ. [الدَّسُوقِيُّ:

'Bi-sarr al-baliyyat' (by the biting cold of calamities): meaning because of calamities that are like 'sarr', which is an intense cold that harms plants and freezes water. [Al-Dasuqi: 1/23]

وَحُمُودِ حَمِدَتِ النَّارُ كَنَصَرَ وَسَمِعَ لَهَبُهَا وَلَمْ يُطْفَأْ جَمْرُهَا. (الْقَامُوسُ)

'Wa humud' (and the cooling): 'Hamadat al-nar' (the fire cooled down), like 'nasara' and 'sami'a', means its flame died down but its embers were not extinguished. (Al-Qamus)

بِصَرْصَرٍ مِنْ إِضَافَةِ الْمُشَبَّهِ بِهِ لِلْمُشَبَّهِ أَيْ بِالنَّكَبَاتِ الشَّبِيهَةِ بِالرِّيحِ الْعَاصِفَةِ الْمُزِيلَةِ لِلَهَبِ النَّارِ. [الدَّسُوقِيُّ:

'Bi-sarsar' (by the icy wind): from the attribution of the object of comparison to the subject of comparison, meaning by disasters similar to the stormy wind that removes the flame of the fire. [Al-Dasuqi: 1/24]

وَتَرَامِي: رَمْيُ الْبَلَدِ لَهُ: طَرْدُهُ إِيَّاهُ، وَهُوَ كِنَايَةٌ عَنْ عَدَمِ اسْتِقْرَارِهِ فِي مَحَلٍّ لِتَلَبُّسِهِ بِالْأَسْفَارِ الدَّسُوقِيُّ)

'Wa tarami' (and the scattering): 'The land casting him' means its expelling him, and it is a metonymy for his lack of stability in one place due to his being occupied with travels. (Al-Dasuqi)

وَالْأَقْطَارِ: جَمْعُ قُطْرٍ وَهُوَ مَجْمُوعُ بِلَادٍ كَثِيرَةٍ حَتَّى غَايَةٌ لِنُبُوِّ الْأَوْطَانِ، وَطَفِقْتُ" بِمَعْنَى جَعَلْتُ، وَيُحْتَمَلُ أَنْ يَكُونَ "حَتَّى" تَفْرِيعِيَّةً عَلَى "وَتَرَامِي إِلَخْ". (الدَّسُوقِيُّ)

'Wa al-aqtar' (and regions): plural of 'qutr', which is a collection of many lands; 'hatta' (until) is a limit for the rejection of homelands; 'tafiqtu' (I began) is in the sense of 'ja'altu' (I started); and it is possible that 'hatta' is consequential to 'and the scattering, etc.' (Al-Dasuqi)

أَغْبَرَ: أَيْ كُلَّ مَكَانٍ ذِي غُبْرَةٍ. الْأَرْجَاءِ: جَمْعُ رَجَاءٍ بِالْقَصْرِ وَهُوَ النَّاحِيَةُ.

'Aghbar' (dusty): meaning every place having dust. 'Al-arja'' (sides): plural of 'raja'' (shortened), which is the side or region.

فَيَوْمًا: أَيْ وَصَارَ حَالِي فِي هَذِهِ الْأَسْفَارِ بِجَامِعِ التَّنَقُّلِ كَحَالِ الْقَائِلِ: "فَيَوْمًا بِحَزْوَى إِلَخْ"، وَالْأَرْبَعَةُ أَسْمَاءُ مَوَاضِعَ فِي الْحِجَازِ، وَالْغَرَضُ مِنْ هَذِهِ النِّسْبَةِ الِاعْتِذَارُ بِأَنَّهُ أَلَّفَ كِتَابَهُ فِي حَالَةٍ مُتْعِبَةٍ، فَإِنْ حَصَلَ مِنْهُ هَفْوَةٌ فَلَا لَوْمَ عَلَيْهِ الدَّسُوقِيُّ)

'Fa-yawman' (so one day): meaning my state in these travels, by virtue of the common factor of movement, became like the state of the one who says: 'So one day at Hazwa, etc.'; and the four are names of places in the Hijaz, and the purpose of this attribution is to apologize that he compiled his book in a tiring state, so if a slip occurred from him, there is no blame upon him. (Al-Dasuqi)

بِحَزْوَى: بِتَقْدِيمِ الْحَاءِ عَلَى الزَّاءِ اسْمُ مَوْضِعٍ.

'Bi-Hazwa': with the 'ha' preceding the 'za', it is the name of a place.

Vocabulary · المفردات (5 verbs · 38 nouns)

• زَادَ — to increase
• انْتَصَبَ — to prepare oneself
• طَفِقَ — to begin
• جَابَ — to traverse
• حَرَّرَ — to edit
• خُطْبَة — sermon
• كِتَاب — book
• وَجْه — aspect
• تَأْلِيف — compilation
• مُخْتَصَر — abridgment
• مُدَافَعَة — resistance
• شَغَف — passion
• غَرَام — love
• ظَمَأ — thirst
• هَاجِرَة — midday heat
• طَلَب — request
• أُوَام — thirst
• شَرْح — explanation
• وَفْق — accordance
• مُقْتَرَح — proposal
• عِنَان — rein
• عِنَايَة — care
• اخْتِصَار — shortening
• أَوَّل — first
• جُمُود — stagnation
• قَرِيحَة — nature
• صَرّ — intense cold
• بَلِيَّة — calamity
• حُمُود — dullness
• فِطْنَة — acumen
• صَرْصَر — violent wind
• نَكْبَة — misfortune
• بَلَد — country
• قُطْر — region
• نُبُوّ — aversion
• وَطَن — homeland
• وَطَر — need
• أَغْبَر — dusty
• قَاتِم — dark
• رَجَاء — side
• سَطْر — line
• شَطْر — part
• يَوْم — day