نزجي دماء النفس من بعد إمضاض — Abu Hayyan Al Andalusi

نُزَجي دِماء النَفسِ مِن بَعدِ إِمضاضٍ

وَيَجذِبُنا يَومٌ فَيَومٌ بأَمراض

We urge on the blood of the soul after torment,

And day after day draws us along with illnesses.

وَكانَ لَنا فَضلٌ مِن العُمرِ سابِقٌ

قَطَعناهُ في لَهوٍ وَفي نَيلِ أَغراضِ

We once had a surplus of life in earlier days,

Which we spent in amusement and attaining our aims.

مَلِلنا وَمَلَّتنا الحَياةُ فَلو أَتَت

شعوبُ استَرحنا مِن مُقاساةِ أَعراضِ

We grew weary, and life grew weary of us; if there came

Shu‘ub, Death, we would rest from enduring afflictions:

تقارب خَطو وَاِنحِناء وَشَيبَة

وَضَعف لحاظٍ وَاِنتِهاض كمنهاضِ

Shortened steps, stooping, and gray hair,

And weakened sight, and rising like one with broken bones.

وَكُنتُ اِمرَأً لي بِالعُلومِ عَلاقَةٌ

سَراتي مِن تَكليفِها ذات اِنقاضِ

I was a man with a bond to the sciences;

My back creaks beneath the burdens they impose.

عُنيتُ بِها إِحدى وَسَبعينَ حِجَّةً

نَهاراً وَلَيلاً في اِجتِهادٍ وَتنهاضِ

I devoted myself to them for seventy-one years,

By day and night, in diligence and exertion.

فَأكتب في التَفسيرِ أَشعارَ حِكمَةٍ

أَقَرَّ لَها الحُسّادُ قَسراً بِأَنغاضِ

So in exegesis I write verses of wisdom,

Which the envious reluctantly acknowledged with nods.

نَضَوا هِمماً في نَيلِ دُنيا عَريضَةٍ

فَنالوا وَإِنّي للذي نُوِّلُوا ناضِ

They unsheathed their ambitions to gain vast worldly prosperity;

They gained it, while I divest myself of what they were granted.

أَحَبُّوا دَناياها فَصارُوا عَبيدَها

وَإِنّي حُرٌّ في اِتِّراكٍ وَإِبغاضِ

They loved its baseness and became its slaves,

While I am free in renunciation and loathing.

إِذا وَرَدوا قَلتاً مِن العلمِ آجِناً

وَرَدت نِطافا غربةً ملءَ أَحواضِ

When they drew from a stagnant rock-pool of knowledge,

I drew copious clear waters, enough to fill basins.

ثَلَلتُ بعَضبِ الحَزمِ عَرشَ فَضائِلٍ

وَهُم ثَلمُوا فيها يَسيراً بِمِقراضِ

With resolve's keen sword I toppled the throne of excellence,

While they made only a small nick in it with scissors.

وَلَما تَناضَلنا لِنَقنِص شارِداً

أَصَبتُ بِحَدٍّ إِذ أَصابُوا بِمِعراضِ

And when we competed as archers to hunt a fleeing quarry,

I struck with a sharp point, while they struck with a blunt shaft.

فَصارَ لَنا حَظٌ مِن العلمِ وافِرٌ

وَهُم قَد رَضُوا مِنهُ بِإدراكِ أَبعاضِ

Thus we gained an abundant share of knowledge,

While they were content to grasp mere portions of it.

وَما الفَضلُ إِلا أَن يرى المَرءُ أُمةً

فَريداً تَهادى ذكرَهُ كُلُّ رَكّاضِ

Excellence is only that a man be seen as a whole community,

Unique, his fame passed on by every galloping rider,

يَطوفُ عَلى الآفاقِ ينشُرُ فَضلَهُ

ثَناءً كَمثلِ المِسكِ فُتَّ بِمِرضاضِ

Who roams the horizons, spreading his excellence,

In praise like musk crushed with a pestle.

وَإِنَّ اِمرأً قَد حازَ علماً وَلَم يَكُن

يَجودُ بِهِ كَالفَأرِ عاشَ بِمِرحاضِ

A man who has acquired knowledge, yet does not

Give it freely, is like a mouse living in a privy.

تَرى الشَيخَ مِنهُم شاتِماً لِذَوي النُهى

تَسَلُّطَ كَلبٍ كاشِرِ النابِ مِعضاضِ

You see their elder reviling men of understanding,

With the bullying of a biting dog that bares its fang.

وَأَقرَضَهُم قَرضاً قَبيحاً حَياتَهُ

فإذا ماتَ جازَوهُ بِأَقبح إِقراضِ

Throughout his life he lent them a foul loan of abuse,

Then, when he died, they repaid him with yet fouler abuse.

فَذَلِك إِن يَهلَك فَلا ذاكِرٌ لَهُ

بِخَيرٍ وَلا ناسيهِ مِن شَرِّ قَرّاضِ

If such a man dies, no one remembers him

For good, nor does a malicious reviler forget him.

وَقالوا أَبو حَيان كانَ معلِّما

بِخَلقٍ رَضِيٍّ لِلتَلاميذِ مُرتاضِ

And they said: Abu Hayyan was a teacher,

With a pleasing disposition, disciplined in dealing with pupils.

فَما كانَ نَجاهاً وَلا شاتِماً لِمَن

يَعلِّمُه بَل خُلقُه طيِّبٌ راضِ

He was no scolder, nor did he revile those

He taught; rather, his disposition was kindly and agreeable.

لَقَد فُجِعَ الأَصحابُ مِنهُ بِأَوحَدٍ

بِبَحرٍ زَخورٍ بِالفَضائلِ فيّاضِ

His companions were bereaved of a peerless man,

A surging sea, overflowing with virtues,

أَليفٍ لِقُرآنٍ حَليفٍ لسُنةٍ

عَن الشَرِّ مِبطاءٍ إِلى الخَيرِ نَهّاضِ

A companion of the Qur'an, an ally of the Sunnah,

Slow toward evil, swift to rise toward good,

عليمٍ بِتَنقادِ الكَلامِ وَصوغِهِ

إِلى كُلِّ مُعتاصٍ عَن الفَهمِ خَوّاضِ

Well-versed in criticizing speech and crafting it,

Plunging into every difficulty that eludes understanding.

فَسَل فسر كَشّافٍ وَفسرَ وَجيزِهم

لَقَد أَدجَيا مِن نَقدِه بَعدَ إِيماضِ

Ask the exegesis of Kashshaf and the exegesis of their Wajiz:

His criticism made both grow dark after their flashes of light.

وَتَسهيلُهُم قَد راضَهُ ناقِداً لَهُ

فَيا حِذقَ نقّادٍ وَيا رِفقَ روّاضِ

Their Tashil, too, he tamed as its critic—

What skill in a critic, and what gentleness in a trainer!

وَمَن يَعنَ بِالتَسهيلِ يَرأس بِفَهمِهِ

وَقاري سِواهُ في عَناءٍ وَإِحراضِ

Whoever attends to Tashil gains mastery by understanding it,

While the reader of anything else meets toil and exhaustion.

كِتابٌ نَفيسٌ لَم يُؤلَّف نَظيرُهُ

غَدا زُبدةً في النَحوِ مِن بعدِ تَمخاضِ

A precious book, whose equal has never been composed,

It became grammar's butter after churning.

بِهِ نُسِخت كُتبُ النَحاةِ وَمُزِّقَت

فَصارَت هَباءً طارَ في كُلِّ أَراضِ

Through it the grammarians' books were superseded and torn apart,

Becoming dust that flew across every land.

وَما النَحوُ إِلا ما جَمَعنا بِشَرحِهِ

لحازَ الَّذي قالوهُ في العصر الماضي

Grammar is nothing but what we gathered in our commentary on it;

It surely embraced what they said in the bygone age,

وَفاقَ بِتَنقيحٍ وَتَفصيلِ مُجمَلٍ

وَتَرتيبِ تَخليطٍ وَتَصحيحِ مِمراضِ

And surpassed them by refinement and expounding the condensed,

By ordering confusion and correcting the unsound,

وَإِيجادِ مَعدومٍ وَإِيجازِ مُسهَب

وَتَعيينِ إِبهامٍ وَتَوضيحِ إِغماضِ

By supplying the missing and abridging the verbose,

By specifying the vague and clarifying the obscure.

وَإِن كِتابَ الارتشافِ لَزائِدٌ

عَلَيهِ بِأَحكامٍ غَدَت طَوعَ نَفّاضِ

And the book Irtishaf indeed adds

To it rules brought under a tireless sifter's command.

نَفَضتُ عَلَيهِ لُبَّ ما قَد كَتَبتُهُ

بِتذكِرَتي فَاختالَ زَهواً بِتَنفاضي

Onto it I shook out the essence of what I had written

In my Tadhkirah; it strutted proudly at my sifting.

وَرتَّبتُهُ بِالعَقلِ وَاختَرتُ لَفظهُ

وَمَثَّلتُهُ كَي يُستفادَ بِإِيقاضِ

I arranged it rationally and chose its wording,

And illustrated it, so it might give benefit by awakening insight.

وَزادَ عَلى التَسهيلِ مثليهِ فَازدَهى

عَلى كُلِّ تَأليفٍ طوالٍ وَعرّاضِ

It exceeded Tashil by twice its measure, and stood proud

Over every composition, however long or broad.

فَجاءَ غَريبَ الوَضعِ لَم يَأتِ عالمٌ

لَهُ بِنَظيرٍ بلهَ عَصريَ أَو ماضِ

It came forth uniquely arranged; no scholar had brought

Its equal—let alone a contemporary or a scholar of the past.

وَمَن لَم يَكُن في العلمِ مُنتَمياً لَنا

فَذاكَ دَعِيٌّ فيهِ حُكماً مِن القاضي

Whoever, in learning, is not affiliated with us,

Is an impostor in it, by the judge's ruling.

وَيا عَجَباً مِن مُدَّعِينَ فَضيلَةً

بِنزرٍ مِن الأَوراقِ ذاتِ إِنقاضِ

How strange are those who claim distinction

Through a scant few crackling sheets!

رَأَوا سيبويهِ تِلكَ الأَوراقَ فَاِكتَفَوا

بِها كَظِماءٍ حينَ بلّةَ أَبراضِ

They took those sheets for Sibawayh, and were content

With them, like thirsty she-camels given only scant moisture.

فَما رَوِيَت مِنها وَأَلقَت أَجِنَّةً

لِغَيرِ تَمامٍ قَد رَغَونَ لإِجهاضِ

They were not quenched by them, and cast out fetuses

Before full term, bellowing at their miscarriage.

وَكانوا كَتُرّاكٍ لَذيذ حلاوَةٍ

وَقَد آثَروا مَضغاً لِدِفلى وَحُمّاضِ

They were like men forsaking delicious sweetness,

Preferring to chew oleander and sorrel.

وَلَما غَنُوا عَن سيبويهِ تَعوَّضوا

بكُنّاشَةٍ جَدّاءَ مِن شَرِّ أَعواضِ

And when they dispensed with Sibawayh, they substituted

A barren little compendium, one of the worst replacements.

وَما وارِدُ البَحرِ المُحيطِ كَلاجئٍ

إِلى ثَمَدٍ نَزرِ البَلالَةِ غَيّاضِ

One who comes to the encompassing ocean is not like one seeking refuge

In a dwindling pool with meager moisture.

لَسَهَّلتُ هَذا العلمَ حَتّى لَقَد غَدا

كَشَربَةِ ماءٍ قَد جَرى علوَ رَضراضِ

I have indeed made this science so easy that it became

Like a draught of water that has flowed over pebbles,

مَشُوبا بشَهدٍ فَهوَ يَنساغ في اللُهى

وَللقلبِ يَسري في صَفاءٍ وَتَمحاضِ

Mixed with honey, passing smoothly through the throats,

And flowing to the heart in clarity and purity.

فَإِن أُمسِ قَد أَقوَت مِن العلم حَضرَتي

وَأَصبَحتُ نَفضاً هامِداً بَينَ أَنقاضِ

If evening finds my abode deserted of knowledge,

And morning finds me spent and lifeless among ruins,

فَما ماتَ مَن أَبقى تَآليفَ زانَها

تَلاميذُ كُلٌّ في مباحيثِهِ ماضِ

He has not died who leaves writings adorned

By pupils, each pressing onward in his investigations.

لِيَهنا بَنو الأَعرابِ أَن كُنتُ شَيخَهُم

وَأنهضتُهم في عِلمِهِ أَيّ إِنهاضِ

Let the sons of the Bedouins rejoice that I was their teacher,

And raised them in its science—what a raising!

فَصارُوا رُؤوساً يُقتَدى بِأَتباعِهِم

كُسُوا مِن دُروعِ الفَضلِ أَكمَل فَضفاضِ

They became leaders whose followers are themselves emulated,

Clothed in excellence's most complete and ample coats of mail.

حَوَوا قَصَباتِ السَبقِ علماً وَسُؤدداً

فَما فَاضِلٌ عَما حَوَوهُ بِمعتاضِ

They won the race's prize-reeds in learning and leadership;

No man of merit would take a substitute for what they attained.

إِذا باحِثٌ وَافى يخبِّطُ قابَلُوا

تَخابيطَهُ صَفحاً بِتَركٍ وَإعراضِ

If a disputant arrives blundering, they meet

His blunders with forbearance, leaving him aside and turning away.

وَإِن كانَ ذا فهمٍ وَعِلمٍ وَإِن هَفا

فَيُغضُونَ عَنهُ في وِدادٍ وَإحماضِ

But if he has understanding and learning, even if he errs,

They overlook his faults with affection and lighthearted diversion.

وَإِن لجَّ في بَحثٍ لَهُ فاسِدٍ غَدا

كَعُروة دمّى رَأسَه فَتكُ برّاضِ

But if he persists in a faulty argument of his, he becomes

Like Urwah, whose head Barrad's treacherous attack bloodied.

جَهابِذُ نَقّادُونَ يَجرحُ نَقدُهُم

كَحيَّة لِصبٍ هامزِ النابِ نَضناضِ

Master scholars and acute critics, whose criticism wounds

Like a crevice-dwelling snake, piercing with its fang, flicking its tongue.

يَفوقُونَ نَحوي الوجود بِفطنَةٍ

لِسُرعَةِ إِدراك وَسُرعَةِ إِنباضِ

They surpass the world's grammarians in discernment,

Through swift understanding and swift twanging of the bowstring.

فَلا مَغرِبٌ كلا وَلا مَشرِقٌ حَوى

كَأَمثالِهِم في عَصرِنا ذا وَلا الماضي

Neither West—no indeed—nor East has held

Any like them, in this age of ours or in the past.