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Оглавление

الفصل الاول

ڡي دحرجة جلمود

Chapter 1

Rolling a Boulder

2.1.1

قد القيت عنى والحمد لله الكتاب الاول وارحت يافوخى من حمله * وما كدت اصدق ان اصل الى الثانى فانى لقيت منه الدُوار * ولا سيما حين خضت البحر مشيّعا للفارياق تفضّلا وتكرما * اذ لم يكن مفروضا علىّ ان ارافقه فى كل مكان * وقد مضى علىَّ حينٌ بعد وصوله الى الاسكندرية والتقامه الحصاة من الارض ولسان قلمى يتمطّق * وثغر دواتى مطبق *

I have cast from me, thank God, Book One, and relieved my pate of its burden. I scarcely believed I’d ever get to the second book, the first made me feel so dizzy, especially when I set out upon the waves to pay the Fāriyāq a respectful and honorable farewell. Anyway, I’m under no obligation to follow him wherever he goes, and for a while, after he reached Alexandria and swallowed the pebbles off its ground, my pen just sat there smacking its lips, my inkwell closed.

2.1.2

حتى عاد الىّ نشاطى فاستانفتُ الانشآ ورايت ان ابتدى هذا الكتاب الثانى بشى ثقيل ليكون عند الناس اكثر اعتبارا * واطول اذكارا * وكما انى ابتدات الكتاب الاول بما يدل على المامى بشى من العلويات ان كنت لمّا تنسَ ما مرَّ بك * استحسنت الان ان آخذ فى شى من السفليات لاجل المطابقة * هذا ولما كان الحجر من الجواهر المنيعة المفيدة راق لى ان ادحرج منه هنا جلمودا من اعلى قنة افكارى الى اسفل حضيض المسامع * فان وقفت تنظر الى تصوّبه من دون ان تتعرض له وتحاول توقيفه مرّ بك كما تمرّ السعادة علىّ * اى من غير ان يصيبك منه شى * والّا اى ان استسهلت حبسه عن منحدره كرّ عليك ودفعك تحته * والعياذ بالله مما ورآ هذا الدفع * فانظر اليه ها هو متحرك للسقوط * ها هو متصوب * فالحذر الحذر * قف بعيدا واسمع من دويّه ما يقول * ان من نظر بعين المعقول الى هذه الدنيا والى ما اختلف فيها ائْتلف من الاحوال والاطوار * والجواهر والاعراض * والاوطار والاغراض * والعادات والمذاهب * والمراتب والمناصب * وجد ان كل شى يمرّ عليه منها يفوق كنهَه ادراكُه ويفوت تامّله * وان حواسّنا وان تكن قد اَلِفت اشيآء لم تغادر الالفة عليها محلّا للتعجّب منها * الا ان تلكم الاشيآء لا تنفك فى نفس الامر عن كونها معجبة محيّرة * ومن تبصّر فى ادنى ما يكون منها حقّ التبصّر راى نفسه كمن قد اهمل ادآ فرض تعيّن عليه *

Then my energy returned and I started writing again, thinking it best that I commence Book Two with something weighty, so that it should be given greater consideration and remain for longer a matter of cogitation, and, just as I commenced Book One with something to demonstrate my thorough knowledge of certain high matters—and I’m assuming you haven’t already forgotten what you read earlier—I thought it would be a good idea now to start with certain low matters, to keep things symmetrical. In addition, given that plain rock must be counted among the precious stones that are both hard to obtain and beneficial, it occurred to me that I should roll a boulder of that material down from the topmost peak of my thoughts to the lowest bottoms of men’s ears. Now, then, if you stand and watch its progress without getting in its way or trying to stop it, it will pass you by just as happiness has me, which is to say, without touching you. Otherwise (if you think it a simple matter to bar its descent), it will pass over you and thrust you under it, and God protect us from the consequences of such a thrust! Observe: here it is, shifting in preparation for its fall, and now it’s on its way. Beware then, and beware! Stand at a distance and hear the message in its thunder: “Who looks on this world with the eye of reason—on the diversity and convergence of its states and conditions, of what’s essential and what incidental, of objects and ambitions, of customs and schools of thought, of ranks and dispositions—will find that the quintessence of all that passes before him is beyond his comprehension and moves too fast for his discernment and that, while our senses may have become familiar with certain things, that very familiarity leaves us no room for wonder. Those same things never cease, all the same, to be amazing and puzzling and any who subjects even the least of them to proper scrutiny will realize that his failure to pay them due attention is equivalent to the omission of the performance of a religious obligation.

2.1.3

انظر مثلا الى اختلاف ضروب النبات فى الارض فكم فيه من الازهار البديعة الصنعة العجيبة الكِيْنة * من دون ان نعلم لها منفعة خصوصية * والى اختلاف انواع الحيوان من دبابات وهوامّ وحشرات وغيرها * فان منها ما هو حسن الشكل ولا فائدة منه ومنها ما هو قبيحُه والحاجة اليه ماسّة * وانظر فى السماء الى هذه النجوم درارِئها كوكب دِرّىءٌ ويضمّ متوقّد متلالئ *

وخُنَّسها	الخنَّس الكواكب كلها او السيَّارة او النجوم الخمسة الخ *
وبَيانِيّاتها	الكواكب البيانيات التى لا تنزل الشمس بها ولا القمر *
وتوائمها	توائم النجوم واللولو ما تشابك منها *
وبروجها	معروف *
وتِنّينها	التنين بياض خفى فى السمآ يكون جسده فى ستة بروج وذنبه فى البرج السابع الخ *
وَمجرّتها	باب السمآ او شَرَجها *
ورُجُمها	النجوم التى يرمى بها *
واَعْلاطها	اَعْلاط الكواكب الدرارى التى لا اسمآء لها *
واِناثها	الاناث صغار النجوم *
وخُسّانها	النجوم لا تغرب كالجدى والقطب وبنات نعش والفرقدين *
واَنْوائها	النوء النجم مال للغروب او سقوط النجم فى المغرب مع الفجر وطلوع آخر يقابله من ساعته فى المشرق *

التى يرجع البصر عنها وهو كليل *

“Observe, for example, the different types of plants there are on Earth—how many flowers of which we cannot say, brilliantly constructed and amazingly formed though they be, that they serve a specific purpose. And look at the different types of animals—reptiles, vermin, insects, and others: some are beautiful to look at but have no use and some are ugly to look at but are most urgently needed. And look at the heavens, at all their stars—

their darāriʾ,	a star that is dirrīʾ or durrīʾ is “a star that burns and flashes”
their khunnas,	“the khunnas are all stars, or the planets, or ‘the Five Stars,’”¹ etc.
their bayāniyyāt,	“those stars that neither the sun nor the moon takes down with them at their setting”
their tawāʾim	[literally, “twins”] “with reference to either pearls or stars, those that are conjoined”
their burūj	[literally, “the Houses” (of the zodiac)] “too well known to require definition”
their Tinnīn,	[literally, “the Dragon,” i.e., Draco]; “the Dragon is an obscure whiteness in the sky whose body lies in six constellations of the zodiac while its tail is in the seventh,” etc.
their Mijarrah,	[“the Milky Way”] “the gateway of the sky or its anus”²
their rujum,	[“shooting stars”] “the stars used for stoning”³
their aʿlāṭ,	“the aʿlāṭ stars are the bright ones (al-darāriʾ) that have no names”
their ināth,	[literally, “the females”] “the ināth are small stars”
their khussān,	“the stars that never set, such as Capricorn, the Pole Star, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, and the Two Calves”⁴
and their anwāʾ	“a nawʾ [singular] is a star that inclines toward its setting point or sets in the west at dawn while, at the same time, another rises opposite it in the east”

—stars so dazzling that the eye turns from them in exhaustion.

2.1.4

والى اختلاف سحَن الناس وروسهم * فانك لا تكاد ترى سحنة بشر تشبه سحنة آخر غيره * ولا تجد بين رؤسهم اى عقولهم راسا يشبه غيره * فمن عباد الله هولآء من اختار المخالطة والمقارفة * والمحاشرة والمزاحمة * والمضاغطة والمصادمة * والمباراة والمعاجمة * والملاهسة والمداحمة * والمجاحسة والمداغمة * والمزاعمة والمداهمة * والمساومة والمزاهمة * على اختلاف فيها * وذلك كالتجار والنسآ * ومنهم من قابلهم بضد ذلك فاختار العزلة والانفراد كالنساك والزهاد * ومنهم من جعل دابه التهافت على المين والافترآ * والغلو والاطرآ * كالشعرآ والمستاجرين لمدح الملوك فيما يطبعونه من هذه الوقائع الاخبارية * ومنهم من قابلهم بضده فآثر الصدق والتحرّى * والتحقيق والتروى * والقول الفصل والمطابقة بين الماضى والحاضر والاتى * وذلك كاهل الفلسفة والحكمة والرياضة *

“Observe too the differences among people’s countenances and heads, for you see scarcely one human face that resembles another or find among their heads, meaning their minds, one that is like another. There are mortals who have chosen propinquity and mixing, jostling and crowding, pressing together and colliding, vying with and trying one another, pushing and shoving, battling and butting, competing and blackening each other’s names, bargaining and chaffering, and so on, according to their different persuasions; examples are traders and women. Others provide a contrary model, having chosen isolation and withdrawal; examples are ascetics and hermits. Yet others have made it their business to fall over one another to tell lies and blather, exaggerate and flatter, such as poets and the hirelings who sing the praises of kings in all those gazettes that they print,⁵ while yet others again confront the latter with the opposite, preferring truth-telling and investigation, enquiry and careful consideration, definitive decisions and the comparison of past, present, and future; examples are the great philosophers, physicians, and scientists.

2.1.5

ومنهم من يعمل النهار كله ويكدّ بكلتا يديه وكلتا رجليه وربما لم ينطق بكلمة واحدة * وذلك كاصحاب الصنائع الشاقّة * ومنهم من لا يحرك يده ولا رجله ولا كتفه ولا راسه وانما ينطق فى بعض ايام الاسبوع بكلمات ثم يقضى سائر الايام مستريحا متنعما * مترّفها متترّفا * وذلك كالخطبآ والوعّاظ والمرشدين الى الدين * ومنهم من يفتك ويبطش ويجرح ويقتل كالجند * ومنهم من يعالج ويداوى ويشفى ويحيى كالاُساة واوليآء الله تعالى اهل الكرامات والمعجزات * ومنهم من يُستاجَر للتطليق * ومنهم للتحليل * ومنهم للايلاد * ومنهم للالحاد * ومنهم للتفريق * ومنهم للتاليف بين الآحاد * ومنهم من يتكوّى فى بيته فلا يكاد يخرج منه الّا لضرورة * ومنهم من يصعد الجبال والادقال * والمنابر والاشجار * ومنهم من يهبط الاودية والبواليع والمراحيض * ومنهم من يسهر الليالى فى تاليف كتاب * ومنهم من لا يذوق النوم حتى يحرقه * ومنهم من يسود ومن يُساد * ومنهم من يقود او يقاد * ومع هذا التنافى والتباين فمآل مساعيهم وحركاتها كلها الى شى واحد * وهو ادخال الانسان خنابتيه غداة كل يوم فى رائحة كريهة قبل ان يستنشق روائح الازهار * ويتمتّع بمتوع النهار *

“Some work all day long, toiling with both hands and both feet, quite possibly without uttering a single word; examples are those involved in arduous industries. Others move neither hand nor foot nor shoulder nor head and pronounce only a few words on certain days of the week, the rest of which they spend coddled in comfort, lolling in luxury’s lap; examples are preachers, homilists, and religious guides. Some murder, batter, wound, and kill, such as soldiers, while others treat, medicate, cure, and revive, like nurses and the Friends of God Almighty, men of extraordinary spiritual feats and miracles.⁶ One man is hired to bring about divorces,⁷ another as a ‘legitimizer,’⁸ one for impregnation and another for inhumation, one to put asunder and another to make peace between persons. Some lurk in their houses and hardly ever leave them unless obliged to do so, while others climb mountains and lateen yards, trees, and pulpits or descend into valleys, drains, and cesspits. Some stay up all night writing books, while others can’t sleep a wink till they’ve burned one. Some rule and others are ruled. Some lead and others are led. And yet, for all that contradiction and contrast, all their efforts and actions bring them to the same end, which is that, when a person gets up each morning, he sticks his nostrils into a foul smell before sniffing the scent of flowers and enjoying the pleasures of the daylight hours.”

2.1.6

واعجب من جميع ما مّر بك من هذه الاحوال حالتا اصحابنا السوقيين والخرجيين * فان حرفتهم لما كانت لا تتوقف الا على استعمال اداتين فقط * اى المخيّلة والقَسْم دون افتقار الى آلة اخرى * وكان مورد اقوالهم * ومصدر جدالهم * ومبنى انتحالهم * وجلّ راس مالهم * قولهم يحتمل ان يكون هذا الشى من باب المجاز الاسنادى او اللغوى * او من مجاز المجاز او الكناية * او من حمل النظير على النظير * او النقيض على النقيض * او من باب ذكر اللازم وارادة الملزوم او بالعكس * او من قبيل ذكر البعض وارادة الكل او بالعكس * او من نوع اسلوب الحكيم * او من باب التهكم * او من طاقة التلميح * او من كوّة الالتفات * او من خرق الحشو * او من خرت الادماج * او من خصاص الاكتفآء * او من شقّ الاحتباك * او من سَمّ عكس التشبيه * او من خلل سوق المعلوم مساق غيره * او من فتخات التجريد * او من فرجة الاستطراد * او من ثقوب التورية * لم يكن من اللائق بهم ان يخلطوا هذه الاَوّات وتلك اللَوَّات بشى

Stranger, though, than any of the situations you have just passed in review is that of our friends the Market-men and the Bag-men. Given that their trade depends on the employment of just two tools, namely surmise and assertion, and has no need of any others, and that the wellspring of their statements and source of any tirade, the basis of their claims and greater part of their stock-in-trade is to say,⁹ “It is likely that this thing to which you refer falls under the rubric either of the trope attributive or the trope lexical, or the trope tropical or the expression periphrastic, or it may be that it belongs to the category of referring like to like, or opposite to opposite, or under that of ‘expressing the intrinsic while intending the extrinsic’ (or the reverse), or belongs to the type known as ‘mentioning the part while intending the whole’ (or the reverse), or to the category known as ‘the method of the sage,’¹⁰ or is to be approached via the door of irony, or the aperture of allusion, or the peephole of person-switching,¹¹ or the rent of redundancy, or the casement of carefully crafted composition, or the inlet of implication, or the tear in ‘tight weaving,’¹² or the spiracle of the quasi-paradoxical simile, or the knot-hole of the substitution of what is known for what is not, or the toe rings of the generalization of the attribute, or the eyelet of the appositional aside, or the portholes of punning,” it is inappropriate for them to mix in among all these “ors” and “ifs” any of the following:

2.1.7

من العَرّادات	العرّادة شى اصغر من المنجنيق *
والدَبَّابات	الدَبّابة آلة تتخذ للحروب فتدفع فى اصل الحصن فينقبون وهم فى جوفها *
والدَرّاجات	الدبّابة تعمل لحرب الحصار تدخل تحتها الرجال *
المنجنيقات	المنجنيق آلة ترمى بها الحجارة كالمنجنوق معربة والمنجليق المنجنيق *
والنَفّاطات	النفّاطة اداة من نحاس يرمى فيها بالنفط *
والخَطّار	المنجنيق والذى يطعن بالرمح *
والسَبَطانات	السَبَطانة قناة جوفآ يرمى بها الطير *
والضَبْر	جلد يغشى خشبا فيها رجال تقرَّب الى الحصون للقتال *
والقَفْع	جُنَّة من خشب يدخل تحته الرجال يمشون به فى الحرب الى الحصون *
والجُلاهق	الذى يرمى به ونحوه البراقيل والبنادق *

ʿarrādāt,	“ʿarrādah [singular] is a thing smaller than a manjanīq”
or dabbābāt,	“the dabbābah [singular] is an engine of war that is pushed to the base of the [besieged] fortress, after which the men inside make a breach”
or darrājāt,	“a dabbābah made for siege warfare, which men get underneath”
or manjīqāt,	“the manjanīq is a machine with which stones are thrown; also spelled manjanūq—an Arabized word¹³—and manjalīq”
or naffāṭāt,	“the naffāṭah [singular] is a copper device with which bitumen is thrown”
or the khaṭṭār,	“the khaṭṭār is the [same as the] manjanīq”; it also means “a man who thrusts much with his spear”
or sabaṭānāt,	“the sabaṭānah [singular] is a hollow reed through which projectiles are blown”
or the ḍabr,	“the ḍabr is a leather-covered wooden structure containing men who approach fortresses in order to fight”
or the qafʿ,	“protective structures made of wood beneath which men get and which they move up to fortresses in war”
or julāhiq,	“balls that are thrown”; similar are barāqīl and banādiq

2.1.8

والحَسَك	اداة للحرب من حديد او قصب فيلقى حول العسكر تعمل على مثال الحسك المعروف *
والقُرْدُمانىّ	قبآ محشو يتخذ للحرب وسلاح كانت الاكاسرة تدّخرها فى خزائنهم والدروع الغليظة *
والتِجْفاف	آلة للحرب يلبسه الفرس والانسان *
واليَلَب	التِرَسة او الدروع من الجلود *
والسَرْد	اسم جامع للدروع *
والدَرَق	التروس من جلود بلا خشب ولا عَقَب ونحوه الحَجَف *
والحَرْشَف	الرجَّالة وما يزيَّن به سلاح *
والعَتَلات	العَتَلة العصا الضخمة من حديد لها راس مفلطح يهدم بها الحائط *
والمِنْسَفات	المِنسفة آلة يقلع بها البنآ *
والفَلَق	مقطرة السجّان وهى خشبة فيها خروق على قدر سعة الساق *

or ḥasak,	“devices of iron or reed for use in war that are thrown down around the soldiers and that work like common caltrops”¹⁴
or the qurdumānī,	“a padded outer garment used in war; also a weapon the Caesars kept in their storehouses; also thick shields”¹⁵
or the tijfāf,	“a device for war worn by horse and man alike”¹⁶
or yalab,	“shields and coats of armor made of leather”
or sard,	“a general term for armor”
or daraq,	“shields made of leather without wood or sinews; similar are ḥajaf”
or ḥarshaf,	“foot soldiers; ornaments for weapons”
or ʿatalāt,	“the ʿatalah [singular] is an enormous iron pole with a blunt head with which walls are demolished”
or minsafāt,	“the minsafah [singular] is an instrument for uprooting built structures”
or the falaq,	“the jailor’s pillory, consisting of a length of wood with holes the size of the shanks”

2.1.9

والخَنازِر	الخَنْزرة فاس عظيمة يكسّر بها الحجارة *
والعَذْرآ	شى من حديد يعذّب به الانسان لاقرار بامر ونحوه *
والمقاطِر	المقطرة خشبة فيها خروق على قدر سعة ارجل المحبوسين *
والمراديس	المِرْداس آلة يدكّ بها الحائط والارض *
والدَهَق	خشبتان يغمز بهما الساق *
والصاقور	الفاس العظيمة *
والمَلاطِس	المِلْطَس المِعْول الغليظ *
والمَقارِيص	المقراص السكين المعقرب الراس *
والملاوظ	المِلْوَظ عصا يضرب بها *

or khanāzir,	“the khanzarah [singular] is a large axe used for breaking stones”
or the ʿadhrāʾ,	“a thing made of iron with which people are tortured to make them confess, etc.”¹⁷
or maqāṭir,	“the miqṭarah [singular] is a piece of wood with holes the size of the prisoners’ legs”
or marādīs,	“the mirdās [singular] is an instrument with which a wall, or the ground, is pummeled”
or the dahaq,	“two pieces of wood with which the shanks are squeezed”
or the ṣāqūr,	“a large axe”
or malāṭis,	“the milṭas [singular] is a large miʿwal ”
or maqārīṣ,	“the miqrāṣ [singular] is a knife with a curved blade”
or malāwiẓ,	“the milwaẓ [singular] is a stick for beating”

2.1.10

والمقامع	المِقمعة خشبة يضرب بها الانسان على راسه *
والمقافع	المقفعة خشبة يضرب بها الاصابع *
والحَدَأة	الفاس ذات الراسين *
والمِنقار	حديدة كالفاس *
والمَهامِز	المِهْمزة المقرعة او العصا *
والعَرافيص	العِرْفاص السوط يعاقب به السلطان *
والمخافق	المخفقة الدِرَّة او سوط من خشب *

ولا بالرماح الطاعنات والسيوف الباترات والنبال الصاردات والنصال المدميات والمقادع المولمات والمقارع المضنيات والصُلُب المهلكات والخوازيق النافذات والاغلال المصلصلات والنيران المتاججات والغارات والغزوات والنكايات والكبسات والاستلابات والافتضاضات والاثكالات والعداوات والمشاحنات وآخر الجميع بالركاكات *

or maqāmiʿ,	“the miqmaʿah [singular] is a piece of wood with which people are beaten on their heads”
or maqāfiʿ,	“the miqfaʿah [singular] is a piece of wood with which the fingers are beaten”
or the ḥadaʾah,	“a double-headed axe”
or the minqār,	“the metal blade of the axe”
or mahāmiz,	“the mihmazah [singular] is the same as the whip (miqraʿah) or the stick (ʿaṣā)”
or ʿarāfīṣ,	“the ʿirfāṣ [singular] is the whip with which the secular power metes out punishment”
or makhāfiq	“the mikhfaqah [singular] is the whip, or a lash made of wood”

or lacerating lances or severing swords or shooting shafts or blood-letting blades or stinging sticks or weakening whips or crucifying crosses or impaling posts or chinking chains or flaming fires or invasions or raids or murderous onslaughts or surprise attacks or looting or rapine or the bereavement of mothers or feuds or grudges or, last but not least, the rough treatment of women during intercourse.

2.1.11

فكم لعمرى من دم سفكوا * وجند اهلكوا * وعرض هتكوا * وحرمة انتهكوا * وذى اهل ربكوا * وعزب همكوا * ونسآ ايّموا * واولاد يتّموا * وبيوت خرّبوا * واموال نهبوا * ومصون اذالوا * وحرز نالوا * ومستور فضحوا * وحرام اباحوا * فهل فعل ذلك من قبلهم سَدَنة *

الاَنْصاب	الانصاب حجارة كانت حول الكعبة تنصب فيهلّ عليها ويذبح لغير الله تعالى *
والكَعَبات	الكعبات او ذو الكعبات بيت كان لربيعة كانوا يطوفون فيه *
والرَبَّة	كَعْبة لمَذْحِج *
وبُسّ	بيت لغطفان بناها ظالم بن اسعد لما راى قريشا يطوفون بالكعبة ويسعون بين الصفا والمروة فذرع البيت واخذ حجرا من الصفا وحجرا من المروة فرجع الى قومه فبنى بيتا على قدر البيت ووضع الحجرين فقال هذان الصفا والمروة واجتزأ به عن الحج فاغار زهير بن جناب الكلبى فقتل ظالما وهدم بنآءه *
وعَبَدة مَرْحَب	صنم كان بحضرموت *
والعَبْعَب	صنم *
والغَبْغب	صنم *
ويَغُوث	صنم كان لمَذْحِج *
والبَجَّة والسَّجَّة	صنمان *
وسَعْد	صنم كان لبنى مِلْكان *

Dear God, how much blood they have shed! How many a soldier they have destroyed! How many a virgin’s honor they have defiled! How many a time they have violated the sanctity of the home, thrown men into confusion before their families, tormented bachelors, made wives into widows and sons into orphans, reduced houses to ruins, pillaged wealth, ripped veils from the faces of decent women, made off with treasure chests, ravished that which was protected, and violated sanctuaries! Were such things done by those who, before them, were custodians of

al-Anṣāb,	“al-Anṣāb were stones that formerly stood around the Kaaba [of Mecca] at which they used to celebrate and make sacrifice to other than God Almighty”
or al-Kaʿabāt,	“al-Kaʿabāt, or Dhū al-Kaʿabāt, was a holy house that belonged to the tribe of Rabīʿah which they used to circumambulate”
or al-Rabbah,	“a kaaba belonging to the tribe of Madhḥij”
or Buss,	“a holy house belonging to the tribe of Ghaṭafān built by Ẓālim ibn Asʿad when he saw Quraysh circumambulating the Kaaba of Mecca and running between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah: he measured the holy house [of the Kaaba], took a stone from al-Ṣafā and a stone from al-Marwah, and then returned to his people, built a holy house of the same size as the house [of Mecca], set down the two stones, and said, ‘These are al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah’ and he set up his own pilgrimage to rival that of Mecca. Then Zuhayr ibn Janāb al-Kalbī raided [Ghaṭafān] and killed Ẓālim and demolished his house”
or ʿAbdat Marḥab,	“an idol that used to be in Haḍramawt”
or al-ʿAbʿab,	“an idol”
or al-Ghabghab,	“an idol”
or Yaghūth,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Madhḥij”
or al-Bajjah and al-Sajjah,	“two idols”
or Saʿd,	“an idol belonging to the Banū Milkān”

2.1.12

ووَدّ	صنم ويضم *
وآزَر	صنم *
وباجَر	صنم عبدته الاَزْد ويكسر *
وجِهار	صنم كان لهَوازِن *
والدَوَّار	صنم ويضم *
والدار	صنم سمّى به عبد الدار أبو بطن *
وسُعَير	صنم *
والاُقَيْصِر	صنم *
وكَثْرَى	صنم لجديس وطسم كسره نهشل بن الرئيس ولحق بالنبى صلعم فاسلم *
والضِمار	صنم عبده العباس بن مرداس ورهطه *

or Wadd,	“an idol; also spelled Wudd”
or Āzar,	“an idol”
or Bājar,	“an idol worshipped by the tribe of al-Azd; also pronounced Bājir”
or Jihār,	“an idol of the tribe of Hawāzin”
or al-Dawwār,	“an idol; also pronounced al-Duwwār”
or al-Dār,	“an idol, after whom ʿAbd al-Dār, the founder of a clan [of the tribe of Quraysh], was named”
or Suʿayr,	“an idol”
or al-Uqayṣir,	“an idol”
or Kathrā,	“an idol belonging to Jadīs and Ṭasm¹⁸ that was broken to pieces by Nahshal ibn al-Raʾīs, who then attached himself to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace”
or al-Ḍimār,	“an idol worshipped by al-ʿAbbās ibn Mirdās¹⁹ and his company”

2.1.13

ونَسْر	صنم كان لذى الكِلاع بارض حمير *
والشمس	صنم قديم *
وعُمْيانِس	صنم لِخَولان كانوا يقسمون له من انعامهم وحروثهم *
والفلْس	صنم لطيّئ *
وجُرَيْش	صنم كان فى الجاهلية *
والخَلَصة	صنم كان فى بيت يدعى الكعبة اليمانية لخثعم
وعَوْض	صنم لبكر بن وائل *
واِساف	صنم وضعه عمرو^١ بن لُحَىّ على الصفا *
ونائلة	صنم آخر وضعه على المروة وكان يذبح عليهما (فى قول) *
والمُحَرِّق	صنم لبكر بن وائل *

١ كذا في القاموس وفي ١٨٥٥: عمر.

or Nasr,	“an idol of the Dhū l-Kilāʿ tribe in the land of Himyar”
or Shams,	“an ancient idol”
or ʿUmyānis,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Khawlān by whom they would swear against their flocks and their crops”
or al-Fils,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Ṭayyiʾ”
or Juraysh,	“an idol of the Days of Barbarism”
or al-Khalaṣah,	“an idol that was in a holy house called ‘the Yemeni Kaaba’ belonging to the tribe of Khathʿam”
or ʿAwḍ,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Bakr ibn Wā’il”
or Isāf,	“an idol set up by ʿAmr ibn Luḥayy²⁰ at al-Ṣafā”
or Nāʾilah,	“another idol that he set up at al-Marwah; sacrifices were made both to it and the preceding” (according to one definition)
or al-Muḥarriqah,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Bakr ibn Wāʾil”

2.1.14

والشارِق	صنم فى الجاهلية *
والبَعْل	صنم كان لقوم الياس عمٓ *
وسُواع^١	صنم عُبد فى زمن نوح عمٓ فدفنه الطوفان فاستشاره ابليس فعُبد وصار لهذيل وحُج اليه *
والكُسْعة	صنم *
والعَوْف	صنم *
وذى الكَفّين	صنم كان لدَوْس *
ومنَاف	صنم *
ويَعُوق	صنم لقوم نوح أو كان رجلا من صالحى زمانه فلما مات جزعوا عليه فاتاهم الشيطان فى صورة انسان فقال امثّله لكم فى محرابكم حتى تروه كلّما صلّيتم ففعلوا ذلك به وبسبعة من بعده من صالحيهم ثم تمادى بهم الامر الى ان اتخذوا تلك الامثلة اصناما يعبدونها *
والاَشْهَل	صنم ومنه بنو عبد الاشهل لحىّ من العرب *
وهُبَل	صنم كان فى الكعبة *

١ كذا في القاموس وفي١٨٥٥: سَواع.

or al-Shāriq,	“an idol of the Days of Barbarism”
or al-Baʿl,	“an idol that belonged to the people of Ilyās, peace be upon him²¹”
or Suwāʿ,	“an idol worshipped in the days of Nūḥ, peace be upon him; it was submerged by the Flood, then Satan made it reappear, and it was worshipped and came to belong to the tribe of Hudhayl and pilgrimage was made to it”
or al-Kusʿah,	“an idol”
or al-ʿAwf,	“an idol”
or Dhū al-Kaffayn,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Daws”
or Manāf,	“an idol”
or Yaʿūq,	“an idol belonging to the people of Nūḥ, or a righteous man of his time who died, and when they mourned for him, Satan came to them in the shape of a person and told them, ‘I shall make you a representation of him in your sanctum so that you shall see him whenever you pray’; so they did that with him and with seven of their righteous men after him, and in the end things reached a point at which they took these representations as idols and worshipped them”
or al-Ashhal,	“an idol who gave his name to the tribe of Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal Luḥayy, of the Arabs”
or Hubal,	“an idol that was in the Kaaba”

2.1.15

ويالِيْل	صنم *
والبَعيِم	صنم والتمثال من الخشب والدمية من الصِبغ *
والاَسْحم	صنم *
ونُهْم	صنم لمُزَيْنة وبه سموا عبد نهم *
وعائم	صنم *
والضَيْزَن	صنم *
والمَدان	صنم *
والجَبْهة	صنم *
واللات	صنم لثقيف سمّى بالذى كان يلتّ عنده السويق بالسمن ثم خفف وهو فى حديث عروة الرَّبَّة *
وذى الشَرَى	صنم لدَوْس *

or Yālīl,	“an idol”
or al-Baʿīm,	“an idol; also a statue made of wood and a doll made of condiment”
or al-Asḥam,	“an idol”
or Nuhm,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Muzaynah, whence the name ʿAbd Nuhm”
or ʿĀʾim,	“an idol”
or al-Ḍayzan,	“an idol”
or al-Madān,	“an idol”
or al-Jabhah,	“an idol”
or al-Lāt,	“an idol” belonging to the tribe of Thaqīf “named after a man in whose house parched barley meal used to be moistened (yulattu) with clarified butter; then the word was shortened”; it is to be found in ʿUrwah’s hadith “al-Rabbah”²²
or Dhū al-Sharā,	“an idol belonging to the tribe of Daws”

2.1.16

والعُزَّى	صنم او سَمُرَة عبدتها غطفان اول من اتخذها ظالم بن اسعد فوق ذات عِرْق الى البستان بتسعة اميال بنى عليها بيتا وسماه بُسّا وكانوا يسمعون فيها الصوت فبعث اليها رسول الله صلٓعم خالد بن الوليد فهدم البيت واحرق السمرة *
ومَناة	صنم *
والاِلاهة	الحية والاصنام والهلال والشمس ويثلث كالاليهة *
والطاغوت	اللات والعزّى والكاهن والشيطان وكل راس ضلال والاصنام وكل ما عُبد من دون الله *
والزُوْن	الصنم وما يتخذ ويعبد — والموضع تجمع فيه الاصنام وتنصب وتزيَّن *
والجِبْت	الصنم والكاهن والساحر والسحر والذى لا خير فيه وكل ما عُبد من دون الله تعالى *

او عَبَدة الشمس والقمر وزحل والمشترى والمريخ والزهرة وعطارد وفُرْدود والفرقد والذِيْخ والكَتَد والعَوائذ والحَضار والاحور والزُبْرة والاَظْفار والعُذْر والمَعَرَّة والاَعْيار والنَثْرة والجَوْزآ والبِرْجِيس والتِياسَيْن والمَيْسان والسُنَّيْق والشَرَطَين والفارِطَيْن والاثَافى والعَيُّوق والعَوْهَقَين والصَرْفة والطَرْفة والابيض والضِباع والهَقْعة والهَنْعة والرِدْف والمَعْلَف والناقة والنَسَقَين والسِماكين وشُهَيْل والشَوْلَة والعَوْكَلين والمِرْزَمَين والسُلَّم والبُطَيْن والقدْر والحَيّة والتحايى والخَراتَيْن والخِبآ وسُهَى والشاة والعَوّآء وكُوَىّ *

or al-ʿUzzā,	“an idol, or a gum-acacia tree, that was worshipped by [the tribe of] Ghaṭafān, the first to adopt it as an idol being Ẓālim ibn Asʿad; at the top of Dhāt ʿIrq,²³ nine miles from al-Bustān. He built a holy house over it and called it Buss, and they used to hear a voice inside. The Prophet (God grant him blessings and peace) sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd, and he knocked down the house and burned the tree”
or Manāh,	“an idol”
or al-Ilāhah,	[literally, “the Goddess,” means] “the serpent, or idols, or the crescent moon, or the sun; also pronounced al-Alāhah, al-Ulāhah, al-Ilayhah, al-Alayhah, and al-Ulayhah”
or al-Ṭāghūt,	“the idols al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, or a soothsayer, or Satan, or any leader in error, or any idol, or anything that is worshipped to the exclusion of God”
or a zūn,	“any idol or anything that is taken as an object of worship; also a place in which idols are gathered, erected, and adorned”
or a jibt,	“any idol, or a soothsayer or magician, or magic, or anything in which there is no good, or anything that is worshipped to the exclusion of God Almighty”

or by those who worshipped the sun or the moon or Saturn or Jupiter or Venus or Mars or Mercury or Furdūd,²⁴ Pherkad, Edasich, al-Katad, al-ʿAwāʾidh, Hadar, al-Aḥwal, al-Zubrah, al-Aẓhār, Aludra, al-Maʿarrah, al-Aʿyār, al-Nathrah, Gemini, al-Birjīs, al-Tiyāsān, Almeissan, al-Sunnayq, Sheratan, al-Fāriṭān, Alsafi, al-ʿAyyūq, al-ʿAwhaqān, al-Ṣarfah, Alterf, al-Abyaḍ, al-Ḍibāʿ, Heka, Alhena, al-Ridf, al-Maʿlaf, al-Nāqah, Nusakan, al-Simākān, Shuhayl, Shaula, al-ʿAwkalān, al-Mirzamān, al-Sullam, Botein, al-Qadr, al-Ḥayyah, al-Taḥāyā, al-Kharatān, Alchibah, Suhā, al-Shāh, Auva, and Kuwayy?

2.1.17

فكان يجب عليهم ان يجمعوا رايهم على امر واحد ويقولوا من حيث ان حرفتنا لا تحتاج بحمد الله الى قياس وعدد كحرفة الطبيعيين والمهندسين والرياضيين * فانهم ايَّان طلب المناقش منهم دليلا بادروا حالا الى البرهان بالمقادير والمساحة والحساب * فانصبوا انفسهم وانفس سائليهم * كان حقا علينا ان ننهج منهاجا مريحا يقرّبنا ومُعاملينا الى الغرض المقصود * وهو ان نيسّر اسباب تعلّم هذه الحرفة لكل مضطر اليها منهم * فمن شآ بعد ذلك ان يلبس قبآ او جبّة مع سراويلات من تحتها او تُبّان فليصنعها هو باى لون اعجبه وباى شكل راق له * اذ ليس من الرشد ان يعترض الانسان انسانا آخر فى كيفية لبسه او فى ذوقه ومنامه *

They would have done better to have reached a consensus and said, “Given that our trade requires, thank God, neither measuring nor counting—unlike that of practitioners of the natural sciences, engineers, and mathematicians, who, whenever asked for proof by an opponent in debate, immediately set about providing it through the use of quantities, areas, and arithmetic, exhausting themselves and their questioners alike—we should pursue a more restful path that will bring us and those with whom we deal closer to the desired end, which is to facilitate the learning of this trade by any who is obliged to practice it. Thereafter, anyone who wishes to wear an outer garment or robe, with drawers underneath or with wrestlers’ breeches, can make them himself of any color he pleases and of any shape he likes, for it makes no sense for one person to raise objections to how another, just like him, may dress or to his taste or to how he sleeps.”

2.1.18

لان ابن ادم من يوم يستهل بالبكآء الى ان يبلغ اربع عشرة سنة يعيش مستغنيا عنا غير مفتقر الى ما رسمنا به عليه * اذ الغريزة تهديه الى ما يلائمه ويصلح له * الا ترى ان الطفل اذا خُلِّى وطبعه لم يلبس الكتّان الرفيع فى الشتآء وان كان مطرّزا * ولا الفرو فى القيظ وان كان مزركشا * وانه متى جاع طلب الاكل * ومتى نعس نام * وان طرّبته بجميع آلات الطرب والانغام * ومتى ظمى شرب * ومتى تعب استراح فهو فى غنًى عنا من اصل الفطرة * حتى انه يمكنه بحول الله تعالى ان يعيش مائة وعشرين عاما وشهرا من دون رؤية وجه احد منا او مشاهدة تاجه وحلّته الفاخرة وخاتمه النفيس وعصاه المفضّضة *

From the day of his first cry till he reaches his fourteenth year, the human lives quite independently of us and without any need for what we plan for him. Instinct guides him to what is appropriate to and good for him. Do you not see how a child, if left to his own devices and nature, will not wear thin linen in winter even if it be embroidered, or furs in the heat of summer even if they be edged with brocade? How, when he feels hunger, he asks for food and, when he gets sleepy, sleeps, even if you seek to distract him with all the music and songs known to man? How, when he gets thirsty, he drinks and, when he gets tired, he rests? In other words, he is in no need of us because of his natural inborn disposition. He could even live, through the strength of the Almighty, for a hundred and twenty years, plus a month, without looking on the face of any one of us or setting eyes on our crowns and gorgeous robes, our signet rings of precious metal, our silvered sticks.

2.1.19

فلندَعِ الناس اذًا فى دعتهم وسلامتهم وشغلهم * ولا نتطفّل عليهم ولا نكلّفهم ما لا طاقة لهم به * اذ لو شاء الله ان يحوج الطفل الينا لاوحى اليه ان يسال ابويه من وقت ترعرعه عن اسمائنا ومقامنا * وعما نحن عليه من المماحكة والجدال * والقيل والقال * والتشاحن والتشاجر * والتناقر والتنافر * والتلاعن والتهاتر * والتدابر والتهاجر * واحسن من تركه على هذه الحالة ما اذا عُنينا بتاديبه وتربيته وتهذيبه وتعليمه صنعة تنفعه فى تحصيل معيشته ومعيشة والديه * كالقراة والخطّ والحساب والادب والطب والتصوير * وما اذا نصحنا له ان يسعى فى خير نفسه وخير ابويه ومعارفه وجنسه وكل من صدق عليه انه انسان بقطع النظر عن هيئات اللباس وتفاوت الالوان والبلاد * لان اللبيب الرشيد لا ينظر الى الانسان الا لكونه متصفا بالانسانية مثله * ومن اعتبر الامور الطارئة عليه كالالوان والطعام والزىّ فانه يتباعد عن مركز البشرية كثيرا * وانما يتم حسن صنيعنا هذا كله ما صنعناه حسبةً لوجه الله تعالى * غير طالبى الجزآ والهدايا * ولا النذور والعطايا * لان كثيرا من الاطبآ يداوون المعسرين مجّانا * فترى احدهم يغادر طعامه وفراشه ويذهب الى مريض محموم او به جُدَرى او طاعون احتسابا عند الله * اذ الناس كلهم عيال على الله * واحبّهم الى الله انفعهم لعياله *

Let us then leave people, unmolested, to their humble pursuits and to their work and not stick our noses into their business or charge them with tasks beyond their ability to perform. If God had wanted to make the child dependent on us, he would have inspired him to ask his parents, from the moment that he started to grow and flourish, their names and station and about the matters over which we wrangle and debate—all the back and forth, the mutual wretchedness and recrimination, the sniping and snippiness, the vilification and reviling, the contradicting and cutting. Better than letting him go down that path, we should concern ourselves with teaching him manners and morality, with refining him and teaching him skills that will help him to earn a living and provide for himself and his parents—such as reading, penmanship, arithmetic, letters, medicine, and painting—and in advising him to exert himself for his own good and that of his parents, his acquaintances, his community, and everyone to whom the term “human” may be applied, without regard for the styles of people’s dress or differences of color or country. The wise and well-guided man sees in others only their common humanity, and any who pays attention to incidental matters such as colors, food, and costume distances himself greatly from what is central to humanity. And all that we do in this regard will be good only if we do it for the sake of God Almighty, not as seekers after rewards or gifts, offerings and donations, but like those many physicians who treat the hard-up for free and whom you’ll see leaving their food and beds and going to a patient with a fever, or leprosy, or the plague, in anticipation of only heavenly reward. All people are God’s children, and the person God loves best is he who is of greatest benefit to His children.

2.1.20

هذا ما كان ينبغى ان يقولوه * وهذا ما اقوله انا * تامل فى خرجى اقبل يطوف البحار والامصار * ويجول فى الجبال والقفار * ويعرّض نفسه ونفس من ينحاز اليه للسبّ والقذف والعداوة والمشاحنة * وما ذلك الا ليقول للناس انه اعرف منهم باحوالهم * واذا سُئل عن دوآء لعين رمدت * او ساق قرحت * او اُدرة انتفخت * او اصبع دميت * او اذا قيل له ما ترى فى من كثرت عياله * وقلّ ماله * وعظّه زمانه * وجار عليه سلطانه * فمُنى بالجوع * وحُرم الهجوع * واصبح يمشى والناس ينظرون جَهْوته * ويتجنبون خلطته * ولا يستعملونه ولا يستخدمونه * لما تقرر فى عقولهم من ان الفقير لا يحسن عملا * وقد اصبحت اولاده يبكون ويتضورون * وامراته تشكو وتسترحم ولا راحم لها لكون شبابها قد ذهب فى تربية اولادها * او قيل له هل عندك من ماوى لضيف عرير * ما له من نصير * قال ما جئتكم لهذا وانما قدمت اليكم لانظر فى انوالكم التى تنسجون عليها بضاعتكم وفى الوانها التى لا تشاكل ما عندى فى الخرج من اللون الناصع * وما ان يهمّنى النظر فيما فيه راحتكم وانما الراحة فيما به تعبكم * ولو تعطّلت جميع معاملكم لاقتصاركم على لونى الذى ابرزه لكم راموزا وعنوانا واستوجبتم بذلك لوم التجار والحرّاث والحكام لم يكن علىّ فى ذلك من شى *

This is what they should have said and is what I say now. Take a Bag-man. He has undertaken to make the circuit of the world’s seas and metropolises, to roam its mountains and wildernesses, to expose himself and his allies to insult and abuse, hostility and hatred, all so that he can tell people that he knows better than they do what they are about. If you ask him for medication for a rheumy eye or an ulcerated leg, a swollen scrotal hernia or a finger that’s bled, or if he’s asked, “What say you to one whose litter has grown while his wealth has flown, whom Fortune has put to the test and whom by his government’s been oppressed, so that he’s afflicted with hunger and condemned to insomnia and now, wherever he walks, people, seeing his podex is bare, refuse to acknowledge that he’s there, and will not do business with him or employ him, thinking in their minds that a poor man cannot do a job well; to one whose children have started to weep and wince with pain and whose wife has begun to ask for mercy and complain, though none spare a thought for the youth she’s lost in raising her children?” or if someone says to him, “Have you any refuge for a guest who’s a stranger and has none to take his side against danger?” he’ll say, “I didn’t come to you to provide such things. I came only to inspect the looms on which you weave your goods, and their colors, which cannot rival the brilliant colors that I have in my saddlebag. It is no concern of mine to look into what might bring you ease; my ease lies in your troubles. If all your workshops fall idle because you’re incapable of producing these colors of mine that I have displayed to you in the shape of samples and specimens and you thus earn the reproof of your merchants, plowmen, and physicians, that is of no importance to me.”

2.1.21

وهذا سوقى يضع احدى عينيه على فم جاره والاخرى على عينيه * ثم يغلّ يديه ورجليه * ويقول له اليوم يجب عليك ان تتنحّس(١)(١) التنحّس ترك اكل اللحم * * لان شيخ السوق اصبح متخما يشكو وجعا فى معدته وامعائه واضراسه وهو نحس * فينبغى ان نجانسه ونمسك معه * لا يحل لك لليوم ان تنظر * لان الشيخ المشار اليه اضرّ به طوال السهر البارحة مع ندمآئه ونديماته فغدا وباحدى عينيه الكريمتين رمد او عمش * لا يحل لك اليوم ان تعمل بيديك * ولا ان تحرك رجليك * ولا ان تسمع باذنيك * او تستنشق بمنخريك لان السوق اليوم لم تقم والبياعات لم تنفق * ثم هو اذا قيل له افلا تصلح بين زيد وزوجته فقد خاصمته بالامس بعد ان جآت من حانوتك العالى وتماسكا بالشعور * وحلفت المراة لتمنينَّه بحيزبون او لتشكونه الى احد اصحابك الضواطرة الكبار * او ان عمرا التاجر قد حُبس مذ يومين لكونه دان بعض الامرآء ولم يمكن له ان يحاكمه ويستوفى منه حقه * ففلّسه القاضى واركبه حمارا فى الاسواق ووجهه الى دبر الحمار * او ان فلانا قد مرض ولزم فراشه لانه ناقش بعض خدّام الامير فنكل به الامير ضربا بالعصى على رجليه وصفعًا بالنعال على القذال * فغدا لا حراك به وقد ورمت رجلاه وانتفخ قفاه * لم يكن منه الا قوله ما دام السوق وشيخه سالمين فالدنيا كلها سالمة * والمصالح مستتبَّة والسوق مرفوعة وقائمة * والبطون ملأَى والافواه لاقمه * والاضراس خاضمه * والمِعَد هاضمه * والايدى غانمه * والافراح دائمه * والخيرات متراكمه * والرؤسآ حارمه * والعناية عاصمه * والقادمات بالنذور متزاحمه * والوقوف شاملة عامه * وثغور الامانى باسمه * والسلامة خاتمه * الى السوق * الى السوق * فهو حرز العلوق * وذخر الحقوق * فى الصندوق * فى الصندوق * فهو اولى من الصَبوح والغَبوق *

And here’s your Market-man, one eye trained on his neighbor’s mouth, the other on his eyes, who then binds him hand and foot and tells him, “Today you have to be ‘distressed’(1)(1) “To be distressed” (tatanaḥḥas) means here “to abstain from eating meat.” for the Market Boss awoke with indigestion, complaining of pains—in other words, ‘distress’—in his stomach, guts, and molars. We must therefore be as he is and abstain along with him”; or “Today you aren’t allowed to use your eyes because staying up late last night with his boon companions (male and female) has laid the aforesaid boss low, and he woke up with pus or rheum in one of his noble peepers”; or “Today you aren’t allowed to work with your hands or to move your feet, and you mustn’t listen with your ears or breathe with your nostrils because no market was held today, and no sales were made.” If someone then says to him, “Can you not make peace between Zayd and his wife, for yesterday she wouldn’t do his bidding after she came back from your most honored store, and they fell to tugging at each other’s hair, and the wife swore she’d make him wish she were an old hag, or would complain of him to one of her friends among the big-time traders?” or “The merchant ʿAmr has been in prison these last two days because he lent money to one of the emirs and couldn’t obtain a judgment against him or recover what he is owed, and the judge bankrupted him and had him mounted on a donkey and paraded through the marketplaces, facing the donkey’s rump,” or “So and so has fallen ill and taken to his bed because he got into an argument with one of the emir’s servants, so the emir punished him by beating him with sticks on his feet and slapping him with slippers on the back of his neck, and the next day he couldn’t move, and his feet swelled up, and his nape was all puffy,” all he’ll say is, “So long as the market and its boss are safe and sound, the rest of the world is too. Business is going well, and the market’s up and running, bellies are full, mouths are munching, stomachs are digesting, molars are crunching, hands are snatching, joys are everlasting, fortunes are accumulating, bosses are prohibiting, Providence is protecting, women bearing ex-votos in droves are arriving, pious bequests are all-encompassing, the mouths of the Fates are smiling, and all’s well that ends well. To market! To market! There’s the box of delights, there the trove of truths! Into the chest! Into the chest! Morning and evening, the chest is best!”

2.1.22

وقد طالما والله امتلأ هذا الصندوق ذهبا وجواهر ثم افرغ على تهاتر وترّهات ومباحث فارغة وامور سخيفة * فقد بلغنا ان بعض ضواطرة السوق انفق فى مدة ستّ سنين قضاها بالبحث والجدال على شكل قُبَّعة كذا وكذا بدرة من المال * وتفصيل ذلك انه نظر نفسه ذات يوم فى المرآة وكان قد تعلّم مبادى الهندسة والهيئة * فراى راسه مدوّرا كالبطيخة * فراق له ان يتخذ قبَّعة مدورة على هيئة راسه * لان المدوّر يلائم المدوّر كما تقرر فى الاصول * فرآه بعض مزامليه من سوق آخر وكان اعظم منه قدرا ووجاهة واوفر علما * فسخر منه وقال له مَن وسوس اليك ياابن قُبَعة(١)(١) ابن قُبَعة وقابعآ وصف بالحمق * * حتى لبست هذه القُبَّعة * مع ان شكل راسك مخروط * فقال له قد ضللت بل هو اكثر استدارة من راسك كما يشهد لى بذلك شيخ السوق * قال كذبت بل هو مخروط وان كنتَ كثير العَنَس اليه وانى اهدى من شيخك واقوم طريقا * قال كفرت وعميت عن معرفة نفسك فانَّى لك ان تعرف غيرك * قال تبدَّعت بل انت عَمِه كَمِه وقد حمقت وسفهت فى عدم قبولك النصح * فاليوم ترى الناس المدوّر من المخروط * والسارط من المسروط *

Many a time, I swear, has that chest been filled with gold and precious stones, only to be emptied again on confrontations, confabulations, pointless investigations, and foolish matters. We have been informed that one of the market traders spent a vast amount of money over a period of six years on study and debate concerning the shape of a certain hat. To be specific, he looked at himself one day in the mirror and, being somewhat acquainted with the principles of engineering and construction, noticed that his head was round, like a watermelon. It therefore seemed appropriate to him that he should adopt the use of a round hat of the same shape as his head, for round goes best with round, as good taste has long determined. One of his colleagues from another market, who was of higher standing and dignity and more learned than he, saw him and made mock of him, asking, “Who whispered in your ear, you featherbrain (Ibn Qubaʿah),(1)(1) Ibn Qubaʿah [literally, “Son of a (certain) bird (smaller than a sparrow)”] and Qābiʿā’ are epithets used to describe stupidity. that you should wear that bird’s nest of a bonnet (qubbaʿah) when your head in fact is conical?” “You are misled,” he replied. “My head is, on the contrary, rounder than yours, as the Market Boss will testify.” “You lie,” said the other. “It truly is conical, as you should know since you keep looking at it in the mirror, and I am better guided and walk a straighter path than your boss.” “You blaspheme,” said the first, “and are blind to your own self; how then can you know others?” “And you,” said the second, “are a godless innovator; nay, you are confounded and confused and have become stupid and silly in refusing to accept my advice. People today can tell the rounded from the turned, the con-man from the burned.”

2.1.23

ثم لجّ بينهما العناد وتقابضا بالازياق والجيوب والاقلاع * ثم بالجمم ثم بالاعراض * فمزق كل منهما عرض صاحبه اى عدوّه * ثم صاحا واستغاثا وتشاكيا لدى الحاكم وتباهلا وتهاترا * فلما ثبت للحاكم ان فعلهما فعل الشبازقة(١)(١) الشَبْزَق مَن يتخبطه الشيطان من المسّ * راى ان مداواتهما بغرامة رابية * اولى من حصرهما فى الزاوية * فانصرف كل منهما وقد غرم كذا وكذا بدرة * ثم ان الضوطار الاول اتخذ له بعد ذلك قبَّعة بين بين * اى نصفها مدوّر ونصفها مخروط بحيث لا يقدر على تمييزها الا الجهبذ النحرير * والناقد الخبير * وآب الى حانوته كمن قفل من غزوة * او اسر الدِحْية * (رئيس الجند) او كذلك الديك الغالب * واول ما اطلّ على السوق امر جميع القبَّعيّين ان يخرجوا لملاقاته بالتقليس لا بالتلقيس(٢)(٢) التقليس استقبال الولاة عند قدومهم باصناف اللهو وان يضع الرجل يديه على صدره ويخضع * والتلقيس مبالغة لقسه اى عابه ولقّبه * * فخرجوا على تلك الحالة وهم يضجون ويقولون * اليوم عيد القبعه * اليوم يوم الفرقعه * يااِمّعة ياامّعة * فبصر بهم اعوان الحاكم فى ذلك الصقع فظنوا انهم خلعوا ربقة الطاعه * وشقّوا عصا الجماعه * فبادروهم بالات الاَزّ والبحز والبخز والبزّ والبغز والبهز والجَرز والجلز والحزّ والحفز والخز والدغز والرزّ والرفز والززّ والشخز والشرز والشفز والشكز والضخز والضفز والطعز والعرز والقحز والقلز واللبز واللتز واللزّ واللكز واللقز واللمز واللهز والمحز والمرز والمهز والنحز والنخز والنغز والنكز والنهز والوخز والوكز والوقز والوهز والهبز والهرز والهمز والرهز * حتى جعلوهم عبرة للمعتبر *

At this, obduracy seized them in its relentless grip, and they grabbed each other by their collars, their pockets, and their shepherd’s sacks, and then by their long hair, and then by their reputations, each man tearing apart that of his friend, meaning his enemy. Next they screamed, appealed for help, and complained of each other before the ruler, each calling the other a fool and reviling him. When it became clear to the ruler that they were both acting like lunatics (shabāziqah),(1)(1) [“like lunatics”:] a shabzaq [plural shabāziqah] is one whom the Devil has afflicted with insanity. he decided it would make better sense to cure them with a heavy fine than to confine them in the pokey. Each then departed, after paying a fine of such and such a number of purses. Afterwards, the first trader adopted a hat that was half and half, that is, half round and half conical, and none but the most learned of scholars and most expert of examiners could tell which it really was, and he returned to his store like a conquering hero or one who’d captured a diḥyah (that’s an army general), or even a prize-winning cockerel. The first thing he did when he reached the edge of the marketplace was to command all the hatters to come out and receive him—with entertainment and salaams (taqlīs), not with reproaches and slams (talqīs).(2)(2) Taqlīs is receiving rulers on their arrival with various sorts of entertainment, and also a man’s placing his hands on his breast and bowing. Talqīs is reproaching someone in an exaggerated fashion, i.e., denouncing him and calling him names. So they went forth accordingly, making noise and saying, “Today is the Feast of the Hat! Today the day of the firecracker! What a twat! What a twat!” and the ruler’s henchmen, beholding them as they crowed, supposed them to have thrown off the yoke of obedience and abandoned their allegiance, so they set upon them with instruments that²⁵ hit, strike, smite, knock, belt, bat, clout, bang, slam, dash, bash, punch, jab, thwack, smack, clap, crack, swipe, whack, wham, whop, clump, bonk, clip, cut, swat, sock, slog, thump, pound, beat, maul, drub, thresh, spank, thrash, whip, slap, club, kick, stamp, stomp, push, shove, and fling, until they had made of them a warning for all who have eyes to see.

2.1.24

وفرّ الضوطار بقبعته وقد اوقع قومه فى الخزى والعار مما اصاب الرجال من الرزء ولحق النسآ من الزيادة * ومع ذلك كله فلم يُجْده شيخ السوق المستعَزّ به شيا * بل ظل مكبّا على تعاطى الافيون لطول ارقه وتبييته * وقد سدّ اذنيه ببعض اوراق دفاتر السوق لئلا يسمع صراخ المستجيرين به او يوقظه احد من سباته * فهو راقد الى هذا اليوم اى يوم تدوين هذه الواقعة * فان افاق فللقارى ان يقيد ذلك فى اخر هذا الفصل فقد تركت له محلا *

انتهت دحرجة الجلمود والحمد لواجب الوجود *

The market trader then fled with his hat, having landed his people in ignominy and disgrace, which afflicted the men with grievous loss and brought the women even greater, despite all of which the Market Boss, who was so taken with him, thought the matter of no importance. In fact, he continued to devote himself to the taking of opium because of his endless insomnia and nightly brooding; he had stuffed his ears with pages from the market ledgers so that he wouldn’t hear the screams of those who called on him for help and none should wake him from his stupor, and he’s stayed flat on his back to this very day, which is to say, up to the day of the recording of this incident. If he awakes, it will be up to the reader to enter that fact at the end of this chapter, and I have left him space to do that.

Here ends the rolling of the boulder,

praise be to the Prime Mover.

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