قال سمعت أن ذئبا أبصرا — Ibn Al Habariya

قالَ سَمعتُ أن ذئباً أَبصرا

غَزالة ترضع خَشفاً أَحوَرَا

He said: I heard that a wolf saw

a doe nursing a dark-eyed fawn.

لَكنها مَريضة هَزيلة

وَساقَها مَكسورة عَليله

But she was sick and emaciated,

and her leg was broken and weak.

قَد مَسها الضر فَعادَت نضوا

يَحسبها الراؤون مِنها شلوا

Affliction had touched her, leaving her wasted;

onlookers thought her a mere shred of herself.

فَقالَ إِن أَكلَتها لَم أَشبع

وَلَيسَ لَحم مثلها بمقنع

He said: If I eat her, I shall not be full;

the flesh of one like her will not suffice.

وَالرَأي أَن أَعلفها أَياما

فَإِنَّها لا تَجد الطعاما

The wise course is to feed her for some days,

for she cannot find food.

لَعَلَها تسمن ثُم أَعمد

يَومئذ لَها وَذاك أَرشَد

Perhaps she will grow fat; then I shall turn

upon her—that would be wiser.

فَجاءَها مُسلما فَقالا

وَالذئب لا يُصادق الغَزالا

He approached her with a greeting and said—

a wolf does not befriend a gazelle

إِلا لِكَيد كامن وَمَكر

جزّ قَصير أَنفه لأَمر

except for a hidden plot and trickery;

Qasir cut off his nose for a purpose—

يا أُخت ما حالك قالَت شر

وَغَرها وَالشهم لا يغتَر

Sister, how are you? She answered: Badly.

He deceived her; the discerning are not deceived.

وَأظهر اللطف لَها وَالرفقا

فَقَد رأَتهُ للشقاء حَقا

He displayed kindness and gentleness toward her;

indeed, she had encountered him to her misfortune.

وَشَكَت الجُوع إَلَيهِ فَبَكى

وَأظهر الخُشوع وَالتنَسكا

She complained of hunger to him, and he wept,

displaying humility and pious devotion.

وَقالَ إِني تُبت مِن عداوتي

للوحش حَتّى انكسرَت ضَراوَتي

He said: I have repented of my hostility

toward wild beasts, until my ferocity has broken.

حَلفتُ لا آكل جهدَ حلف

إِلا الَّذي يَموت حتف الأَنف

I have sworn a most solemn oath not to eat

anything except what dies a natural death.

فَبئست الطبيعة القَساوة

وَالفَتك بِالنُفوس وَالضراوة

What an evil disposition is cruelty,

and killing living souls, and ferocity!

إِن لَم يَكُن جنسَهُم كَجنسي

فَإِنَّما نُفوسهُم كَنَفسي

Though their species may not be mine,

their souls are like my own.

وَإِن إِفسادي كَون صوره

لِشَهوة تعرض أَو ضَروره

Indeed, my destroying a living form

for some passing appetite or necessity

ظُلم وَجَهل لَيسَ فيهِ شَك

وَلَستُ مِن إثم بِهِ أنفك

is injustice and ignorance, beyond doubt;

I cannot escape the sin it carries.

حَتّى مَتى تَبكي العُيون فَتكى

كَم مُقلة مِن سوء فعلي تَبكي

How long must eyes weep over my slaughter?

How many eyes weep at my evil deeds!

وَكَبد أَحرَقتها بالثكل

وَولد أيتمته بِالأَكل

How many hearts have I burned with bereavement,

and children orphaned through my eating!

وَقَد عَلمت وَاللبيب يَعلم

بالطبع لا يَرحم مَن لا يرحَم

I have learned—and the wise know—

that those who show no mercy receive none.

فَتُبت مِن قَساوَتي وَصبوتي

وَقُلت أمحو حَوبَتي بِتَوبَتي

So I repented of my cruelty and wayward desires,

saying: I shall erase my sin through repentance.

وَمَر مِن ساعَتِهِ فَجاءَها

بعلف حشت بِهِ أَحشاءَها

He went away at once, then returned to her

with fodder, with which she filled her belly.

وَلَم يَزَل يعلفها وَيَجتَهد

كَيداً وَمَن يَعجَز عَن الأَمر يكد

He kept feeding her and striving,

in deceit; whoever cannot achieve a thing must toil.

وَلَم تَزَل تَدعو لَهُ وَتشكره

مُذ صدقت مِن نسكهِ ما يذكره

She kept praying for him and thanking him,

having believed his account of his devotion.

لَم تَدرِ كَيفَ قصد أَن يكيدَها

أَضحى يقوتها لِكي يَقودَها

She did not know how he intended to deceive her:

he sustained her in order to lead her away.

حَتّى إِذا ما رَجعت كَالتولب

وَأَصبَحَت مِن شحمها كَالشوقب

Until, when she had become like a donkey's foal,

and through her fatness like a great male ostrich,

عافصها بوثبة شَديده

محكماً أَنيابه الحَديده

he seized her with a mighty leap,

clamping down his iron fangs.

وَهَكَذا لَو تَفهَمون الأنس

يبركم أَرفقهم لِيَقسو

So too, if you understood, are human beings:

their gentlest treats you kindly in order to be cruel.

وَأَنتُم لِقلة الأفهام

وَسفه العُقول وَالأَحلام

But you, through scant understanding

and foolishness of mind and judgment,

تَرون سوء فعلهم عَيانا

وَلا تَرونَ ذالِكُم عُدوانا

see their evil deeds with your own eyes

yet do not regard them as aggression.

إن أَقل مَن تَرى أَذهانا

من حسب الإِساءة الإِحسانا

The least intelligent person you see

is one who mistakes ill-treatment for kindness.

قالَ أَبو أَيوب في جَوابه

قَد يغلب المَرء عَلى صَوابه

Abu Ayyub said in his reply:

A person may be deprived of sound judgment.

إِنكَ ما أنصفت في المَقال

وَلا عَدَوت زُخرف المحال

You have not spoken fairly,

nor gone beyond embellished absurdity.

لزمت للجهل قَبيح الظاهر

وَما نَظَرت حسن السَرائر

Through ignorance, you clung to the ugly exterior

without considering the goodness within.

وَذاكَ فاعلم عادة الجهال

وَسنة الأَغمار وَالأرذال

Know that this is the habit of the ignorant,

and the way of the inexperienced and base:

إن يَقصدوا ظَواهر الأَقوال

بِالطعن وَالتَزييف بِالجدال

to target the outward sense of statements

with attacks and discrediting through argument,

وَيَغفَلون عَن خَفيِّ الحكمه

وَلَو رَأوها لأَزالوا النهمه

while neglecting the hidden wisdom.

Had they seen it, they would have dispelled their craving.

كَم حسن ظاهر قَبيح

وَسمج عُنوانهُ مَليح

How many a good thing has an ugly exterior,

and an ugly thing a lovely outward sign!

وَحكمة خافية وَمصلحه

للناس في مَعارض مُستقبحه

And hidden wisdom and benefit

for people lie in forms deemed repugnant,

تخفى عَلى الجهال وَالأَغمار

لجهلهم بحكمة الجبار

concealed from the ignorant and inexperienced

through their ignorance of the Almighty's wisdom.

من عَرَفَ اللَّه أَزال التهمه

وَقال كُل فعله للحكمه

Whoever knows God casts away suspicion,

saying: Every act of His is for wisdom.

قَد تَضرب الأُم الرؤوم طِفلَها

فَهَل يَذم ذو رَشاد فعلها

A loving mother may strike her child;

would anyone of sound judgment condemn her action?

لعلمهم بِأَنَّها شَفيقه

عَلى بَنيها وَبِهم رَفيقه

They know that she is compassionate

toward her children and gentle with them.

وَإِنَّما تَضربه لنفعه

وَزَجره عَن غَيهِ وَمَنعه

She strikes him only for his benefit,

to restrain him from error and stop him,

لأَنَّها أَعلَم بِالمصالح

مِنهُ وَأَهدى للسبيل الواضِح

because she knows his interests better

than he does, and better knows the clear path.

وَإِن مَن يَقصد قَلعَ ضرسه

لَم يَعتمد إِلا صَلاحَ نَفسه

Whoever seeks to have his molar pulled

intends only his own well-being.

وَقَد تَرى شَيخاً كَبيراً فانياً

عاش عَقيماً يَرهب المواليا

You may see an aged, wasting old man

who has lived childless, fearing his kinsmen,

وَيَسأَلُ اللَّه تَعالى وَلَدا

حَتَّى إِذا رزقه ما نَشَدا

asking God Most High for a child.

Then, when He grants him what he sought,

وَجاءهُ ابن ذكر مثل القَمَر

وَالشيخ ذو مال كَثير وَبَدر

and a male child comes to him, like the moon,

while the old man has much wealth and bags of coin,

أسلمه لِقسوة المعلم

ولَم يَكُن عَلَيهِ ذا ترحم

he hands him over to the teacher's harshness,

showing him no compassion.

يَقتل في المَكتَب بِالهراجر

وَيَقطَع الليل بجفن ساهر

He is all but killed at school by harājir [unclear term],

and passes the night with sleepless eyes.

حَتّى إِذا ما أتقن الآدابا

ألزمه الدكان وَالعَذابا

Then, when he has mastered learning,

he binds him to the shop and hardship.

وَرُبَّما خاطر في البَحر بِهِ

مِن بَعدِ ما قاساه في مَكتبه

Sometimes he even risks him at sea,

after what he endured in his schoolroom.

فَهَل يَقول قائل قَد خرف

وإنَّهُ بِفعله ما أنصَفا

Would anyone say: He has grown senile,

and has acted unfairly,

إِذ هُو ذو مال كَثير العَدد

وَما أَتاهُ غَير هَذا الوَلَد

since he possesses abundant wealth

and has had no child but this one?

فلِم بِأَصناف الأَذى يعذبه

المال يَكفيهِ فَلَم يهذبه

Why torment him with kinds of harm?

His wealth suffices—why discipline him?

لِمَ لا يَكون وادِعاً في أَهله

مقتَنِعاً بِماله وَجَهله

Why should he not live at ease among his family,

content with his wealth and ignorance?

وَهَكَذا الطبيب إِذ يُداوي

بِالقَطع وَالمسهل وَالمكاوى

So too the physician, when treating,

uses cutting, purgatives, and cauteries,

وَحقنة وَكية وَقَطع

وَمنضج صَعب شَديد اللذع

an enema, cauterization, and excision,

and a harsh ripening drug that stings fiercely.

وَرَبنا قَد خَلَق السِّباعا

وَحَشَرات خبثت طِباعا

Our Lord has created beasts of prey

and creeping creatures of vicious nature.

وَفي الجَميع حكمة خَفيه

لِلَّهِ بَل ظاهِرة جَليه

In all of them lies hidden wisdom

of God's—indeed, evident and clear.

إِن الَّذي في خَلقِهِ اِستَوَينا

هُوَ الَّذي فَضلهم عَلَينا

The One in whose creation we are alike

is the One who favored them over us.

وَلَيسَ ذاكَ مِنهُم بِظلم

لأَنَّهُم يَأتونه عَن علم

Their conduct is not unjust,

because they act with knowledge.

فَقالَت العَنقاء إِن الموقا

ظَن الفَتى عَدوه صَدوقا

The Anqa said: Folly is

for a man to think his enemy sincere.

إِن الجَهول بَينَنا نعلمه

هُوَ الَّذي ينصف من يَظلمه

We know who the ignoramus among us is:

the one who treats his oppressor fairly.

فَما تَقول الخَيل فيما قَد جَرى

قُلنَ صَواب كُل ما قَد ذَكَرا

What do the horses say about what has occurred?

They said: Everything he mentioned is correct,

لأَنَّهُم ملاكنا والمالك

لَيسَ لَهُ في أَمرِهِ مُشارك

because they are our owners, and an owner

has no partner in his command.

يَفعَل ما شاءَ بِلا اِستثناء

مُختَبِراً للعبد بِالبَلاء

He does whatever he wishes, without exception,

testing the servant through affliction:

يَصبر للقَضاء أَم لا يَصبر

وَهوَ بِهِ من قَبل ذاكَ يخبر

will he endure the decree or not,

though he knows him beforehand?

قالَ لَهُ لَقَد جَمَعت كذبا

وَسَفهاً وَقَد أَتَيت عَجبا

He said to him: You have amassed lies

and folly, and produced something astonishing.

زَعمت أن الإِنس ملاكٌ لَكُم

وَمحسنون في الَّذي جاءوا بِكُم

You claimed that humans are your owners

and benefactors in what they inflict upon you,

وَإِن رَب العَرش قَد سَلطَهُم

عَلَيكُم حَقاً وَقَد بَسطهم

and that the Lord of the Throne has empowered them

over you rightfully, extending their power.

مِن أَين قُلت ذاكَ يا مَسكين

ابن لي الحَق فَما يَبين

On what grounds do you say this, poor creature?

Make the truth clear to me, for it is not clear.

أَي دَليل لَكَ في ذي الدعوى

لِتَجعل الشُكر مَكان الشكوى

What proof have you for this claim,

to put gratitude in place of complaint?

إِن قُلت قالوا قُلت دَعوى مِنهُم

مثلك يَرويها لمثلي عَنهُم

If you say: They said so, I say: That is their claim,

which one like you recounts to one like me from them.

وَأَن تَقل بِالرأي وَالعُقول

فَإِنَّهُ مُشتَرك الدليل

And if you appeal to opinion and reason,

the evidence is shared.

لَو كانَ مَعقولاً فَهمناه مَعاً

إِذ اِستَوَينا في العُقول أَجمَعا

Were it rational, we would understand it together,

since we are all alike in reason.

إِن كانَت القُدرة حَقاً فَكَذا

حق عَلَيهم ما لَقوا مِن الأَذى

If power constitutes a right, then likewise

the harm they suffer is rightful,

وَكُل ما يَجري عَلَيهم حَق

وَكُل ما يُقال فيهم صدق

and everything that happens to them is just,

and everything said about them is true.

وَلَيسَ في العالم ظلم جار

إِذ كل ما يَجري بِإذن الباري

There is no injustice occurring in the world,

since everything happens by the Creator's permission.

وَإِن يَكونوا مَلَكوا أَفهاما

وَفطنةً ساسوا بِها الأَناما

And if they have acquired understanding

and discernment with which they govern creatures,

فَذاكَ يَنهاهم عَن العُدوان

أَجَل وَيَدعوهم إِلى الإِحسان

that should restrain them from aggression

and, indeed, summon them to kindness.

وَلَيسَ مِن عَقل الفَتى وَكَرَمه

إِفساد شَخص كامل لقرمه

It does not befit a man's reason and nobility

to destroy a whole living being for his craving for meat.

وَكانَ في الخَيل حصان أَشقَر

لَهُ رواء حسن وَمَنظَر

Among the horses was a chestnut stallion

of handsome bearing and appearance.

يُدعى الصبا لرفقه وَسرعته

في جريه وَشده وَخفته

He was called al-Saba for his gentleness and speed

in running, galloping, and lightness.

فَقالَت العَنقاء قَول منكر

لِقَوله ما أَنتَ إِلا مفتر

The Anqa spoke in repudiation

of his statement: You are nothing but a fabricator,

مُكابِرٌ مُعاند محرف

وَفي الجِدال ظالم لا تنصف

an obstinate, stubborn distorter,

unjust in argument, unwilling to be fair.

هَذا جحود ظاهر للصانع

وَقَصده بِالحَق وِالشرائع

This is manifest denial of the Creator

and His purpose in truth and sacred laws.

قالَ وَما فيهِ مِن الجحود

وَالكُفر بِالرسل وَبِالمَعبود

He said: What denial does it contain,

or disbelief in the messengers and the Worshipped One?

قالَت أَما علمت أَن الصانِعا

أَجرى القَضاء مُعطياً وَمانِعا

She said: Do you not know that the Creator

ordained the decree, giving and withholding,

وَموجد الخَلق عَلى النظام

قَصداً إِلى مَصالح الأَنام

and brings creation into an ordered existence,

intending the welfare of humankind?

مِن أَجلِهم أَوجد كُل شَيء

وَكُل رُشد في الوَرى وَغى

For their sake He brought everything into being,

and every right course and error among creatures.

وَالأَرض دار لَهُم وَالفلك

سَقف لَهُم وَجوه وَالحبك

The earth is their dwelling, and the celestial sphere

their roof, with its air and woven paths.

وَكُل ما في الأَرض مِن موجود

لَهُم بِلُطف الصانع المَعبود

Everything that exists upon the earth

is theirs through the Worshipped Creator's kindness.

لَما اِرتَضى الإِنسان بِالتكليف

حَباهُ بِالإِكرام وَالتشريف

When He chose humankind for moral obligation,

He bestowed honor and distinction upon them,

وَاختَصهُ بِالسر وَالمُعامله

فَضلاً وَنَفساً للعلوم قابله

singling them out for the secret and dealings with Him,

as a favor, and a soul receptive to knowledge,

وَالوَحي وَالثَواب وَالعِقاب

وَالوَعظ وَالعِتاب وَالحِساب

and revelation, reward, and punishment,

admonition, reproach, and reckoning,

وَالعَقل وَالنطف وَحُسن السيره

وَالفَهم وَالنية وَالسريره

reason, seed-drops, and good conduct,

understanding, intention, and inward disposition.

فكانَ أَعلى العالمين رتبه

وَخَيرهم مَنزِلَة وَقربه

Thus humankind was highest among beings in rank,

and finest in station and nearness to Him.

وَلَم يَكُن مَقصوده بِالخلق

إِلا بَني آدم فَاِسمَع صدقي

His purpose in creation was none

but Adam's children—hear my truthful words—

لِيَعبُدوه وَيوحدوه

وَيَشكروه وَيُمَجِدوه

that they might worship Him and affirm His oneness,

thank Him and glorify Him.

فَكانَ كُل الخَلق عَبداً لَهُم

وَلَستُ في مَقالتَي أتهم

Thus all creation became their servant;

I am not suspect in this assertion.

وَكُل ما يَظهَر مِنهُم عَدل

لَيسَ عَلَيهم سبة وَعَذل

Everything that proceeds from them is just;

they incur no disgrace or blame.

جباههم مِن أَثر السجود

مَوسومة في خدمة المَعبود

Their foreheads, from the trace of prostration,

are marked in the service of the Worshipped One.

قَد نَحلوا بِالصوم وَالعِباده

وَرَفضوا اللذات للزهاده

They have grown thin through fasting and worship,

rejecting pleasures for asceticism.

قُلوبهُم مَعادن الإِيمان

صُدورهم خَزائن القُرآن

Their hearts are mines of faith;

their breasts are treasuries of the Quran.

وَفيهم الإِيثار وَالسخاء

وَالصبر وَالوَفاء وَالصفاء

Among them are selflessness and generosity,

patience, fidelity, and purity.

كَم دَعوات لَهُم مُجابَه

تَستَنزل القطر مِن السحابه

How many prayers of theirs are answered,

bringing rain down from the cloud!

وَمِنهُم مَن يَترُك الحَلالا

تَورعا لربِهِ تَعالى

Among them are those who forgo lawful things

out of scrupulous devotion to their Lord Most High.

وَمِنهُم من يُنفق الأَموالا

لوجهِهِ وَيلطف السُؤالا

Among them are those who spend their wealth

for His sake and treat beggars gently.

وَمِنهُم مُجاهد بِنَفسِه

هادِئَةً في الروع مثل تُرسه

Among them is one who struggles with his very life,

calm amid terror, like his shield;

وَمَن يُذيب نَفسه للحج

مِن كُل فَج شاسع وَنَهج

and one who wears himself away for pilgrimage,

coming from every distant mountain pass and path.

وَالأَنبياء مِنهُم وَالرسل

وَالمال وَالسلطان وَهوَ ظل

The prophets and messengers are among them,

and wealth and sovereign power—the latter a shade.

وَفيهم حَزم وَعَزم وَصلف

وَلَيسَ بَعدَ العَقل وَالنطق شَرَف

Among them are prudence, resolve, and pride;

no honor surpasses reason and speech.

وَلَهُم اللذات في المَطاعم

وَلبس كُل رائق وَناعم

The pleasures of food are theirs,

and wearing every fine and soft garment.

لَولا بَنو آدم بَينَ العالم

ما بانَ لِلعُقول فَضل العالم

Were Adam's children not among creation,

the world's excellence would not be apparent to minds,

وَلَم تَبن هَذي المَعالي الفاخره

فَإِنَّما الدنيا لَهُم وَالآخره

nor would these splendid excellences appear.

This world and the next are theirs.

أَنسابهم مَحفوظة مَعروفه

في صُحف مَصونة مَكنوفه

Their lineages are preserved and known

in protected, sheltered records.

أَسرارهم خافية لا تظهر

مَستورة عَن الوَرى لا تنظر

Their secrets are hidden and do not appear,

concealed from creatures, unseen.

وَفيهم العُلوم وَالآداب

وَلَهُم الأَحلام وَالأَلباب

Among them are knowledge and learning;

theirs are judgment and intellect.

قَد خلقوا في أَحسَن التقويم

وَفضلوا بِالقَدر وَالجسوم

They were created in the finest proportions,

favored in dignity and bodily form.

وَإِنَّما أَجسامهُم عَلى قَدر

لا صغرٌ يَشينها وَلا كبر

Their bodies are proportionately measured:

neither smallness nor great size mars them.

وَقامة سَوية مَنصوبه

وَصورة مَقبولة مَحبوبه

They have a well-proportioned, upright stature

and an agreeable, beloved form.

ثُم الصغير مِنهُم بِعَقله

يَقود أَلفاً مِنكُم بِحبله

Even the small among them, through his reason,

leads a thousand of you with his rope.

وَيَقهر الفيل العَظيم وَالأَسَد

بِكَيده حَتّى يَعود كَالفَهَد

He subdues the mighty elephant and the lion

through his cunning, until it becomes like a cheetah.

وَيَرصد النجوم في أَفلاكِها

وَيَحفَظ الجُسوم مِن هلاكِها

He observes the stars in their orbits

and preserves bodies from destruction

بِالطب وَالتدبير وَالمُعالجه

مِن الشكايا وَالبَلايا الهائِجَه

through medicine, regimen, and treatment

of ailments and raging afflictions.

وَإِنَّما أَنتُم بِكُفر فَضلِهم

وَذم ما لَم تَعرِفوا مِن فعلهم

By denying their merit

and censuring deeds of theirs you do not understand,

كَاِمرَأة التاجر ضعف عَقلها

وَالجَهل أَغراها بِعَيب بعلها

you are like the merchant's wife, whose mind was weak:

ignorance incited her to disparage her husband,

عابثة بِالفَضل وَالمَحاسن

لجهلها بِزائن وَشائن

mocking merit and virtues

through ignorance of what adorns and what disfigures.

فَقال من هَذي وَكَيفَ القصه

وَلم بِنا أَمثالها مُختَصه

He said: Who is this woman, and what is her story?

And why are examples like hers applied specifically to us?