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

له عند الإلمام.

      When Islam established itself and its empire rested on its cornerstones in good order, the Arabs came to mix with other nations. They heard what was said by physicians, astronomers, and logicians, and a large group of them felt inclined towards them.¹⁴² Unbelief has always existed among mankind throughout the ages, to the extent that historians maintain that when Adam (God bless him) sent for his children and warned them about the Hereafter, filling them with fear of torment, they called him a liar and rejected his words. And thus it continues until today. Some scholar says that the leaders of Quraysh were heretics. And it is very likely that they were, too! A poet of theirs said the following lines, lamenting those killed at Badr; they are attributed to Shaddād ibn al-Aswad al-Laythī:¹⁴³

      Umm Bakr paid a visit, greeting (us);

      so return the greeting to Umm Bakr!

      So many, in the brick-covered well, the well of Badr,

      good reputations and noble men!

      So many, in the brick-covered well, the well of Badr,

      bowls that are crowned with camel-hump!¹⁴⁴

      O Umm Bakr, do not hand to me, again,

      the cup, after the death of Hishām’s brother,

      And of his father’s brother. He was a leader

      of men, drinkers of vintage wine.

      Ah, who will bear my message to the Merciful

      that I renounce the month of fasting!¹⁴⁵

      When the head has left its shoulders

      the cheerful companion has had his fill of food.

      Does Kabshah’s son promise us that we shall live?¹⁴⁶

      But what kind of life has a screech owl?¹⁴⁷

      Will you omit to hold death away from me

      but revive me when the bones have decayed?

      Assertions such as these are made only by someone who seeks nothing further than a reckless death in battle and who has no regrets about it when it happens.

      Stories About al-Mutanabbī

      26.5

      وحُدّثتُ أن أبا الطيّب أيامَ كان إقطاعه بصَفّ رُئيَ يصلّي بموضع بمعرّة النُّعمان يقال له كنيسة الأعراب وأنه صلّى ركعتين، وذلك في وقت العصر، فيجوز أن يكون رأى أنه على سَفَر، وأن القصْر له جائز.

      وحدثني الثقة عنه حديثًا معناه أنه لما حصل في بني عَديّ وحاول أن يخرج فيهم، قالوا له وقد تبيّنوا دعواه: هاهنا ناقةٌ صعبة، فإن قدرت على ركوبها أقررنا أنك مُرسَل. وأنه مضى إلى تلك الناقة وهي رائحة في الإبل، فتحيّل حتى وثب على ظهرها، فنفرتْ ساعةً وتنكّرت بُرهةً، ثم سكن نِفارُها ومشت مَشْيَ المُسْمِحة، وأنه ورد بها الحِلّة وهو راكب عليها، فعجبوا له كل العَجَب، وصار ذلك من دلائله عندهم.

      وحُدّثتُ أيضاً أنه كان في ديوان اللاذقيّة، وأن بعض الكتّاب انقلبت على يده سكّينُ الأقلام فجرحته جُرحًا مفْرطًا، وأن أبا الطيّب تفل عليها من رِيقه، وشدّها غير منتظر لوقته، وقال للمجروح: لا تحُلَّها في يومك. وعدّ له أيّامًا وليالي، وأن ذلك الكاتب قبِل منه، فبرىء الجرح، فصاروا يعتقدون في أبي الطيّب أعظمَ اعتقاد، ويقولون: هو كمُحْيي الأموات.

      وحدّث رجل: كان أبو الطيّب قد استخفى عنده في اللاذقية أو في غيرها من السواحل، أنه أراد الانتقال من موضع إلى موضع، فخرج بالليل ومعه ذلك الرجل، ولقيهما كلبٌ ألحّ عليهما في النُّباح ثم انصرف، فقال أبو الطيب لذلك الرجل وهو عائد: إنك ستجد ذلك الكلبَ قد مات. فلما عاد الرجل ألفى الأمر على ما ذكر. ولا يمتنع أن يكون أعدّ له شيئًا من المطاعم مسمومًا وألقاه له وهو يُخفي عن صاحبه ما فعل. والخَرْبَق سمّ الكلاب معروف.

      I was told that, in the days when he had an estate in Ṣaff, Abū l-Ṭayyib¹⁴⁸ was seen to perform the ritual prayer at a place in Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān, called “the Bedouins’ Church,” and that he performed two “bows,” which was at the time of the afternoon prayer.¹⁴⁹ It is possible, therefore, that in his view he was traveling and that shortening was permissible.

      A reliable person told me a story about him to the intent that when he had arrived at the Banū ʿAdī and attempted to raise a rebellion among them, they understood his claim and said to him:¹⁵⁰ “Here is a refractory she-camel. If you are able to ride her we will attest that you are sent by God.” He went toward that camel as she was returning home in the evening with the other camels. Cleverly he managed to jump on her back. She bolted for a bit and resisted him for a moment. But then she stopped bolting and she began to walk like a docile animal. He rode her, it is said, to the tribal settlement. They were much amazed and this became one of his prophetic signs for them.

      I was also told that he was in the administrative department in Latakia, when a pen-knife cut the hand of one of the scribes, wounding him severely. Abū l-Ṭayyib spat on it and bandaged it without delay. “Do not undo it today,” he told the wounded man. He told him to wait a number of days and nights. The scribe accepted the advice and the wound healed. Then they started to form the strongest beliefs about Abū l-Ṭayyib, saying, “It is as if he can revive the dead!”

      A man at whose place Abū l-Ṭayyib had been hiding in Latakia, or some other place on the coast, told that he wanted to go from one place to another. He left at night, in the man’s company. They came across a dog that pestered them with its barking and then went away. Abū l-Ṭayyib said to that man as he was returning, “You will find that that dog has died.” When the man returned he found that it was as he had said. It is not impossible that he had prepared some poisoned food and thrown it to the dog, hiding his action from his companion. Hellebore is a well-known poison for dogs.

      On Collaborative Authorship

      26.6

      وأما القطربُّلي وابن أبي الأزهر فمن الزوْل اجتماعُهما على تأليف كتابٍ، وقلّ ما يُعرف مثلُ ذلك. ونحوٌ منه قصةُ الخالدييْن اللذيْن كانا في الموصل وهما شاعران، وقد