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

is not nice,” replied the man, “for it is mixed with filth!” Then the king emptied the cup and rinsed it. He cleaned the vessel, sweetened it with honey, and filled it with wine. He offered it to his drinking companions. All now were happy to drink from it—who would loathe a vintage wine? “It is thus,” he then said, “with Shīrīn. So do not rush into impudence!”⁶

      21.2

      كم من شِبل نافَق أَسَدا، وأضمر له غِلاًّ وحسَدا! ولَبُوءةٍ تُداجي هِرْماسا، تنبِذ إليه المِقةَ وتُبغض له لِماسا! وضيغمٍ نقم على فُرْهود، وودَّ لو دفنه بالوهود! والفرهود ولدُ الأسد بِلُغة أسدِ شَنوءةَ، وهو، آنس الله الإقليمَ بقُربه، أجلُّ من أن يُشرح له مثلُ ذلك، وإنما أفرَقُ من وقوع هذه الرسالة في يد غلامٍ مترعرعٍ، ليس إلى الفهم بمتسرِّع، فتستعجم عليه اللفظة، فيظلُّ معها في مثل القيْد، لا يقدر على العَجَل ولا الرُّويد.

      وكم خالبت الذِّئابَ السِّلَقُ، وفي الضمائر تُكَنُّ الفِلَقُ، أي الدواهي، ومنه قول خَلَفٍ:

      موتُ الإمام فِلْقةٌ من الِفلَقْ

      والسِّلَق: جمع سِلْقةٍ، وهي أُنثى الذئب.

      وملكٍ سانى ملكةً، ثمَّ صنعتْ له مَهلكةً! يقول القائل: بأبي أنت، جادَ عملُك وأتقنتَ! ولو قدر لبتَّ الوَدَج، وإنما جامَل وسَدَج.

      ولعل بعض العتارف يلفِظ إلى البائضة حَبّة البُرِّ، ويأنس بها في حَرٍّ وقُرّ، وفي فؤاده من الضِّغْن أعاجيبُ، وتكثر وتقِلّ المناجيب، والمناجيب هاهنا تحتمل أمرين: أحدهما من النَّجابة، والآخر من قولهم: مناجيب أي ضِعافٌ، من قول الهُذَليّ:

بعثتُه في سواد اللَّيل يرقُبني

إذ آثَر النَّومَ والدِّفْءَ المناجيبُ

      والمعنى: أنّ المناجيب من النَّجابة تقِلُّ، والمناجيب من الوَهن تكثُر.

      ولعلّ ذلك الصّاقع يرقُب لأُمّ الكيْكة حِماما، ولا يرقب لها ذِماما. يقول في النفس المتحدِّثة: ليت الذابح بَكّر على المُنْقِضة، فإنها عين المُبْغِضة. أو يقول: لو أني جُعلت في قِدْر، أو بعضِ الوُطُس فلحقتُ بالهِدْر، لتزوَّجتْ هذه من الدِّيَكة شابًّا مقتبَلا، يُحسن لها حبًّا قَبَلا.

      Many a lion cub dissimulates towards a lion, secretly harboring rancor and envy. Many a lioness flatters the male, liberally displaying her affection but loath to touch him. Many a lion has vented his rage on a whelp, wishing he could bury it in a deep place (“whelp” is a lion’s cub in the language of the tribe of Asad Shanūʾah).⁷ But the Sheikh—may God cheer this region with his vicinity!—is above being in need of such explanations. However, I fear that this letter may fall into the hands of a young servant boy, who is not very quick of understanding, so some expressions may be like a foreign tongue to him and he will be as if fettered by it, unable to proceed swiftly or slowly.

      Many wolves have been beguiled by she-wolves, while calamities were hidden in their hearts!

      “Calamities” (filaq) means misfortunes; compare the verse by Khalaf:⁸

      The death of the imam is a calamity (filqatun mina l-filaq).

      The word silaq (“she-wolves”) is the plural of silqah, meaning a female wolf.

      Many a king has treated his queen with a gentle disposition, after which she prepared his perdition. Someone may say, “I would give my own father to ransom you, you have done well, you acted perfectly!” But if he could he would cut his jugular vein, for all he did was flatter and feign. A cockerel will sometimes spit out for a hen a grain of wheat, being friendly to her in the cold or the heat, while extraordinary rancor rankles his heart. Manājīb are many and few.

      The word manājīb can here be interpreted in two different ways: firstly, it means “those who have noble sons,” from najābah (“nobility”), and secondly it means “weaklings,” as in the verse by the poet of the tribe of Hudhayl:⁹

      I sent him off into the blackness of the night, while he was watching me;

      for only weaklings would prefer to sleep and to keep warm.

      What I mean is therefore: manājīb meaning “those who have noble sons” are few and manājīb meaning “weaklings” are many.

      Perhaps that deceitful fowl wishes the mother-of-eggs to die, rather than wanting to protect her. He says to himself with his inner voice, “I wish the slaughterer would come in the morning to this cackling hen, for she is utterly hateful!” Or he will say, “If I were put into a cauldron or into an oven, so that I would meet my end for nothing,¹⁰ then this hen would marry a cockerel in the prime of youth who would properly love her henceforth.”

      21.3

      وأنا أذاكره بالكلمة العارضة، إذ كان قد بدأ بالإيناس، وترك مَكايد الناس: ألا يعجب من قول العرب: فِداءٍ لك، بالكسر والتنوين كما قال الراجز:

ويْهًا فداءٍ لك يا فَضالَهْ

أَجِرَّه الرُّمحَ ولا تُبالهْ

      ويروى تهالَه. وذكر أحمد بن عُبيد بن ناصحٍ، وهو المعروف بأبي عَصيدة، أنّ قولهم فداءٍ لك بالكسر، إذا كان لها مُرافعٌ لم يجُزْ فيها الكسرُ والتنوين. ولا ريب أنه يحكي ذلك عن العلماء الكوفيّين. وعيَّنه في قول النابغة:

مهْلاً فداء لك الأقوامُ كلُّهُمُ

وما أُثمِّر من مالٍ ومن وَلَدِ

      فأمّا البصريّون فقد روَوْا في هذا البيت: فداءٍ لك.

      I shall remind the Sheikh of that expression that occurred (in his letter),¹¹ since he began with such friendly words, and distanced himself from the malicious wiles of mankind.