Sindbad the Sailor (السندباد البحري) — Page 9

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

مُقَدِّمَةٌ.

Introduction.

بِقَلَمِ كَامِلٍ كِيلَانِي.

By Kamil Kilani.

سَنَةَ ١٩٢٨ دِيسَمْبَر.

December 1928.

كِتَابُ أَلْفِ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ مِنْ أَنْفَسِ الذَّخَائِرِ الْأَدَبِيَّةِ، وَلَهُ أَثَرٌ كَبِيرٌ فِي تَنْمِيَةِ خَيَالِ الْكَثِيرِينَ مِنْ مُفَكِّرِي الشَّرْقِ وَالْغَرْبِ.

One Thousand and One Nights is among our most precious literary treasures, having profoundly shaped the imaginations of thinkers across both East and West.

وَلَكِنَّهُ – عَلَى نَفَاسَتِهِ - لَمْ يَلْقَ شَيْئًا مِمَّا هُوَ جَدِيرٌ بِهِ مِنَ الْعِنَايَةِ فِي الشَّرْقِ، وَلَعَلَّ إِهْمَالَهُ عِنْدَنَا رَاجِعٌ إِلَى أَسْبَابٍ ثَلَاثَةٍ وَهِيَ: (١)

Yet, for all its value, it has not received the attention it deserves in the East. This neglect likely stems from three factors:

(١) رَكَاكَةُ الْأُسْلُوبِ فِي أَكْثَرِ قِصَصِهِ.

(1) The clumsy prose found in most of the stories.

(٢) ضَعْفُ الْخَيَالِ وَسُخْفُهُ فِي الْقَلِيلِ مِنْهَا.

(2) The weak or absurd imagination in a few of them.

(٣) عَدَمُ تَحْلِيَتِهِ بِالصُّوَرِ الَّتِي تُجَلِّي أَغْرَاضَهُ وَمَعَانِيَهُ كَمَا يَفْعَلُ الْفِرِنْجَةُ.

(3) The absence of illustrations to clarify the themes and meanings, as is common practice among Europeans.

وَلَمَّا كَانَ أَطْفَالُنَا فِي حَاجَةٍ إِلَى كُتُبٍ عَرَبِيَّةٍ تُحَبِّبُ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمُطَالَعَةَ وَتَجْعَلُهُمْ يُقْبِلُونَ عَلَيْهَا بِشَغَفٍ، انْتَهَزْتُ فُرْصَةَ مَيْلِهِمُ الْغَرِيزِيَّ هَذَا إِلَى سَمَاعِ الْأَقَاصِيصِ، فَشَرَعْتُ فِي نَشْرِ طَائِفَةٍ صَالِحَةٍ مِنَ الْقَصَصِ الْمُخْتَارِ مِنْ أَلْفِ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ وَغَيْرِهَا.

Our children need Arabic books that make reading a joy and inspire a genuine passion for literature. Capitalizing on their natural love for stories, I have begun publishing a curated selection from One Thousand and One Nights and other sources.

وَقَدْ عُنِيتُ بِاخْتِيَارِ الصُّوَرِ عِنَايَتِي بِاخْتِيَارِ الْقِصَصِ، بَاذِلًا كُلَّ مَا فِي وُسْعِي فِي انْتِقَاءِ أَسْهَلِ الْأَسَالِيبِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ الَّتِي يَفْهَمُهَا الْمُبْتَدِئُ بِنَفْسِهِ، أَوْ مَعَ قَلِيلٍ مِنَ الشَّرْحِ الَّذِي نَكِلُهُ إِلَى حَضَرَاتِ الْمُعَلِّمِينَ أَوِ الْآبَاءِ.

I have been as meticulous in choosing the illustrations as I have been with the stories, striving to use the simplest Arabic prose. Beginners should be able to understand these texts on their own, or with minimal guidance from teachers or parents.

Vocabulary · المفردات (12 verbs · 44 nouns)

• لَقِيَ — to receive
• جَلَّى — to clarify
• فَعَلَ — to do
• كَانَ — to be
• حَبَّبَ — to make beloved
• جَعَلَ — to make
• أَقْبَلَ — to approach
• انْتَهَزَ — to seize
• شَرَعَ — to begin
• عَنِيَ — to care for
• فَهِمَ — to understand
• وَكَلَ — to entrust
• مُقَدِّمَةٌ — introduction
• قَلَمٌ — pen
• سَنَةٌ — year
• كِتَابٌ — book
• لَيْلَةٌ — night
• ذَخِيرَةٌ — treasure
• أَثَرٌ — effect
• تَنْمِيَةٌ — development
• خَيَالٌ — imagination
• مُفَكِّرٌ — thinker
• شَرْقٌ — east
• غَرْبٌ — west
• نَفَاسَةٌ — preciousness
• شَيْءٌ — thing
• عِنَايَةٌ — care
• إِهْمَالٌ — neglect
• سَبَبٌ — reason
• رَكَاكَةٌ — weakness
• أُسْلُوبٌ — style
• قِصَّةٌ — story
• ضَعْفٌ — weakness
• سُخْفٌ — absurdity
• تَحْلِيَةٌ — adornment
• صُورَةٌ — picture
• غَرَضٌ — purpose
• مَعْنًى — meaning
• طِفْلٌ — child
• حَاجَةٌ — need
• مُطَالَعَةٌ — reading
• شَغَفٌ — passion
• فُرْصَةٌ — opportunity
• مَيْلٌ — inclination
• سَمَاعٌ — hearing
• أُقْصُوصَةٌ — short story
• نَشْرٌ — publishing
• طَائِفَةٌ — group
• اخْتِيَارٌ — selection
• وُسْعٌ — capacity
• انْتِقَاءٌ — selection
• مُبْتَدِئٌ — beginner
• نَفْسٌ — self
• شَرْحٌ — explanation
• حَضْرَةٌ — presence
• مُعَلِّمٌ — teacher