The Epistle of Forgiveness. Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri

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СКАЧАТЬ am truly amazed that a society is colluding in something that is neither good nor pious; something that has no firm ground of certainty, but is polished and made to look good by a skilled artisan! I had almost joined the company of non-existence,⁴⁹ without sorrow or remorse, but I feared to appear before the Almighty without having set my palm grove in order by pollinating it. Someone said to a certain sage, “So-and-so has employed subtle means to kill himself; he was unable to detain himself in the Passing Abode, loath to commit novel deeds of evil, and wanted to move on to the Dwellings of Joy.” Thereupon the sage spoke, saying words to the effect that this person, still in the prime of his life, committed a sin; it were better for him and his mother if she had lost him as a child. Why did he not suffer with fortitude the vagaries of Time, until Destiny would afflict him? He had no inkling of what he was recklessly undertaking. Every house will come to ruin. But for the wisdom of God (great is His omnipotence), and His holding back men from death through fear of its agony and of annihilation, then everyone who is on fire with anger, or whose sword⁵⁰ is too blunt to strike, would wish cups of death to be filled for him. God knows how He will recompense.

      23.3.1

      وأمَّا أبو القَطِران الأسديُّ، وأيُّ البَشَر من الخطوب مَفْديّ، فصاحب غزلٍ وتبطُّل، وتوفُّرٍ على الخُرَّد وتعطُّل، وما أشكُّ أنّ الشيخ، أقرّ الله عينَ الأدب بالزيادة في عمره، أشدُّ شوقًا إلى أحمد بن يحيى مع صَمَمه، وأبي الحسن الأثرم مع ثَرَمه، من المرّار بن سعيد عند رجاء العِدَة وخوف الوعيد، وهو ذلك المتهيّم إلى وحشيّةَ، وإن فقد لِبينها الحشيّة، وادّكر ثغرًا كالإغريض، وخدًّا يعدل بلون الإحريض. وإنما ودُّ الغانية خِلابٌ وخِداعٌ، وللكمد في هواه ابتداعٌ. ولو هلكت تلك المرأة والمرّار يعيش، لَعَدّ أنه بتَلَفها نعيش، ولا سيَّما بعد السّنّ العالية، وقوَّة النّفس الآلية. ولعلّ أبا القطران لو مُتّع بهذه المذكورة ما يكون قدْره مائة حِقبة، على غير الجزع والرِّقبة، لجاز أن يغرَض من الوِصال، إذا علم أنّ حبْله في اتِّصال. ولو نزل بها شيءٌ تتغيَّر به عن العهد، لتمنَّى أن تُقذَف إلى غير المهد، لأنّ ابن آدم بخيلٌ مَلول، تسري به إلى المنيَّة أَمونٌ ذَلول. ولو أصابها العَوَر، بعد أن سكن عينَها الحَوَر، لظنَّ أن ذلك نبأٌ لا يُغفَر ولا يكفَّر، فكيف يُعتَب على الفاهين، ويُنتقم من القوم السّاهين؟ والله سبحانه قد رفع ذلك عن ساهٍ ما علِم، ونائمٍ إذا أحسّ بالمؤلم ألِم.

      Abū l-Qaṭirān al-Asadī—which human being is ever set free from misfortunes?—was a poet of love lyrics and futile themes, dedicating himself to pretty maidens and idleness. I have no doubt that the Sheikh—May God delight literature by lengthening his life!—yearns more strongly for Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, in spite of his deafness, or for Abū l-Ḥasan al-Athram, in spite of his broken tooth, than al-Marrār ibn Saʿīd yearned, hoping for a promise and fearing a threat. That man was madly in love with Waḥshiyyah, though he had to forgo a soft bed, being separated from her. He thought of a mouth with teeth white like the flowers of a palm tree, a cheek that could be compared to the color of safflower. But the love of a beautiful woman is deceptive and delusive. In his passion he suffered ever-new miseries. If this woman had died while Marrār was still alive, he would have thought himself as carried upon her bier,⁵¹ particularly in old age, with his soul’s strength in decline. Perhaps, if Abū l-Qaṭirān had been able to enjoy this woman for a hundred epochs, without anxiety or being spied upon, it is possible that he would have tired of being united with her, knowing that his bond was lasting. If something had happened to her that had made her change her loyalty, he would have wished that she were cast into something other than a cradle,⁵² because a human being is miserly and easily bored; a trusty, docile she-camel⁵³ will bring him to his death. If she had lost an eye, which once was black and lustrous, he would have thought this was an unforgiveable incident, beyond expiation. But how can someone who has been careless be rebuked, or revenge taken on the neglectful? God—glorified be He—has kept this away from someone who has forgotten and does not know, or from a sleeper who feels pain when perceiving something that hurts.⁵⁴

      23.3.2

      ومن أين لذلك الشّخص الأسَديّ، ما وهبه الله للشيخ من وفاءٍ لو علم به السّموْءَل لاعترف أنه من الغادرين، أو الحارثُ بن ظالم لَشهد أنه من السّادرين! من قولهم فعل كذا وكذا سادرًا، أي لا يهتمُّ لشيء، وإنما عاشَر أبو القطران أعبُدًا في الإبل وآميا، ونظر إلى عقِبه داميا، ممَّا يطأ على هَراسٍ، ومن له في المكْلأة بالفَراس؟ وهو التَّمر الأسود، ومن أبيات المعاني:

إذا أكلوا الفَراس رأيتَ شامًا	على الأنباث منهمْ والغيوبِ
فما تنفكُّ تسمع قاصفاتٍ	كصوت الرّعد في العام الخصيبِ

      ولعلّه لو صادف غانيةً تزيد على وحشيّةَ بشِقِّ الأَبلُمة، لسَلاها غير المؤلمة، وإنَّما ديْدنُ ذلك الرّجل ونُظرائه صفةُ ناقةٍ أو رَبْع، وما شجرُه المغترَس بالنَّبْع. إذا جنى الكَمْأة بَجَح، وخال أنه قد نجح! ولو حضر أخْوِنةً حضرها الشّيخ لعاد كما قال القائل:

فلو كنتَ عُذْريَّ العلاقة لم تبِتْ

بطينًا وأنساك الهوى كثرةَ الأكلِ

      How could the loyalty of this man from the tribe of Asad be compared with the great loyalty that God has bestowed on the Sheikh? If al-Samawʾal had known of it, he would have acknowledged that he had been a traitor; if al-Ḥārith ibn Ẓālim had known of it, he would have testified that he had been insouciant (sādir). This is from the expression “he СКАЧАТЬ