A Sampling of Hints and Riddles

١،٣3.1

فنرجع لما ذكرناه آنفًا من ذكر شذرة من إشاراتهم وألغازهم الظريفه * ومباحثهم المنيفة الأنيقة اللطيفه * ليكون ذلك حسن الختام

Let us then turn to our above-stated intention of presenting a sampling of their hints and witty riddles, along with their refined, elegant, and brilliant grammatical wrangles, and thus bring the book to a happy conclusion.

“O Scholars of Verse”

١،٢،٣3.2.1

فنقول ذكر العلّامة ابن هشام النحويّ في ألغازه الصغرى * الّتي^١ لم يُنسج على منوالها لا في^٢ الأولى ولا في الأخرى * في الفصل الأوّل في الألغاز المعنويّة بَيْتَيْن لم يأت أحد لهما بمثال * ولم يُنسج غيرهما على هذا المنوال * وعزاهما للعلّامة ابن^٣ عُنَيْن * ذي البراعة والبلاغة والتبيين * وهما [مخلّع البسيط]

يا عُلَمَاءَ القَرِيضِ إنّي	أَعْجَزَنِي لِلْعَوِيصِ كَشْفُ
فَخَبِّرُونِي عَنْ اِسْمِ طَيْرٍ	النِّصْفُ ظَرْفٌ وَالنِّصْفُ حَرْفُ

١ الأصل: التي التي. ٢ الأصل: افي. ٣ الأصل: بن.

Thus we declare: the learned Ibn Hishām the Grammarian quotes in the first chapter, on “Riddles of the Meaning,” of his Lesser Riddles (al-Alghāz al-ṣughrā⁸⁶) (than which naught more original was ever penned, in days either of yore or closer to this end) two verses (the equal of which none other has come up with and than which naught more original ever was penned), which he attributes to the learned Ibn ʿUnayn, that writer so possessed of skill, eloquence, and ability to explain, namely:

O Scholars of Verse, verily

there’s a knotty problem I’m unable to unfetter,

So tell me the name of a certain bird,

one half of which is an adverb, the other a letter.

٢،٢،٣3.2.2

فانظر ما أظرف وأخفّ * جمعه بين الظرف والحرف * وجواب هذا اللغز يا أخا العارفين * الطير المشهور المسمّى بالوراشين * فالنصف الأوّل ظرف وهو وَرَا * والثاني حرف وهو شين بلا مرا *

Observe how, with a wit and lightness of touch that none could better, he combines the adverb and the letter! The answer to the riddle, O brother of those who know,⁸⁷ is the well-known birds called warāshīn (“wild doves”), for the first half of the name is an adverb, namely warā,⁸⁸ the second, as may be plainly seen, a letter, namely shīn.⁸⁹

“Avoid a friend who is like mā”

١،٣،٣3.3.1

ومثلها في المعنى قول ذي التشبيهات البليغه * والتمليحات البديعه * أبي محمّد عليّ بن حزم الظاهريّ^١ شعر [طويل]

تجنَّبْ صَديقًا مِثْلَ مَا وَدَعِ الَّذِي	يَكُونُ كَعَمرْوٍ بَيْنَ عُرْبٍ وأَعْجَمِ٢
فَإِنَّ صَدِيقَ ٱلسُّوءِ يَرْدِي وَشَاهِدِي	كَمَا شَرِقَتْ صَدْرُ الْقَناةِ مِنَ ٱلدَّمِ

١ الأصل: الطاهري. ٢ الأصل: واعجمُ.

Similar in sense are the words of that master of similes telling and allusions compelling, Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Ḥazm al-Ẓāhirī:

Avoid a friend who’s like mā and leave the one

who’s like ʿAmr among men, be they of Arab or of foreign ore.

An evil friend brings destruction, and my proof lies in the words,

“Just as the front end of the lance chokes on gore.”⁹⁰

٢،٣،٣3.3.2

فما أظرف تضمينه للبيت الآخر * الّذي به حاز الرُقيّ والمفاخر * وجوابه أنّه يريد بالصديق الّذي كعمرو * المتكثّر بما ليس له وإن كان على الجمر * فإنّ عمرو قد أخذ الواو في الخطّ في الرفع والجرّ * وليست داخلة عليه في هجائه كما مرّ *

How witty his introduction into the latter verse of the quotation, through which he achieved glorious deeds, and elevation! The answer is that what he means by “a friend like ʿAmr” is one who to that which is not his right lays claim though he be forced to snatch it from the ember’s burning flame, for “ʿAmr” takes the wāw in writing when in nominative or genitive declension⁹¹ even though it isn’t integral to its spelling, as per the preceding mention.⁹²

٣،٣،٣3.3.3

ومن ثَمّ نسب الشاعر لحاقها له للظلم قال شعر [خفيف]

أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّعِي سُلَيْمًا١ سَفاهًا٢	لَسْتَ مِنْها وَلا قُلامَةَ ظَفْرِ
إِنَّما أَنْتَ مِنْ سُليمٍ٣ كَواوٍ	أُلْحِقَتْ فِي الْهِجَاءِ ظُلْمًا بِعَمْروِ

١ الأصل: سُلَيماى [؟]. ٢ الأصل: شفاها. ٣ الأصل: سُليمي.

This is why that other poet⁹³ is able to ascribe the adding of the latter to the former as an “injustice,” saying:

O you who foolishly claim descent from Sulaym,

not a nail clipping of yours is of it.

You are to Sulaym like a letter wāw

that in some spellings of ʿAmr is wrongly added to it.

٤،٣،٣3.3.4

وأمّا المشار إليه بما * فهو الصديق الناقص الّذي عَظُما^١ * وذلك على أن يريد ما الموصولة العوائد * فإنّها مفتقرة إلى صلة وعائد * أو ما الاستفهاميّه * فإنّها تنقص حرفًا إذا دخل عليها الجار إذ هو المزيّه * نحو {بِمَ يَرْ‌جِعُ ٱلْمُرْ‌سَلُونَ} {فِيمَ أَنتَ مِن ذِكْرَ‌ىٰهَآ} وغير ذلك ممّا به يستشهدون

١ عَظُما: اي عَظُمَ (للقافية).

What is indicated by mā is the friend who pretends to greatness while forever letting you down, for the poet means either definite mā, which needs a relative clause and referent noun,⁹⁴ or interrogative mā, which loses a letter if attached to a preposition,⁹⁵ the latter having the greater right, as in the case of bi-ma yarjiʿu l-mursalūn («with what my envoys will return»)⁹⁶ or fī-ma anta min dhikrāhā («what have you to do with the mentioning of it?»)⁹⁷ and other Qurʾanic verses that men cite.

٥،٣،٣3.3.5

وأمّا الشاهد الّذي أشار إليه * واعتمد في القول عليه * فهو قوله [طويل]

وتَشْرَقُ١ بِالْقَوْلِ الَّذي قَدْ أَذَعْتُهُ٢

كَمَا شَرِقَتْ صَدْرُ الْقَنَاةِ مِنَ ٱلدَّمِ

وهو من أبيات كتاب سيبويه وتقدير الشاهد من الفعل تلحقه التاء إذا كان فاعله مؤنّثًا نحو قامت هند ولا يجوز ذلك إذا كان مذكورًا نحو قال زيد فكان ينبغي أن لا يجوز على هذا الخبر * كما شرقت صدر القناة لأنّ الصدر مذكّر * ولكنّه لمّا نحا إضافة القناة لديه * سرى فيه التأنيث إليه *

١ الأصل: ويشرق. ٢ الأصل: اذعنَه [انظر ابو العباس ثعلب، كتاب الصبح المنير في شعر البصير، ص١٤، س٣٤].

The probative quotation to which he refers and on which his words are based is the verse:

And you will turn red by reason of the words I have broadcast,

just as the front end of the lance chokes on gore (ka-mā shariqat ṣadru l-qanāti mina l-damī).

The verse is cited in Sībawayh’s Book,⁹⁸ and its value as a citation lies in the verb, which, if the subject is feminine, should have a t attached to it, as in qāmat Hind (“Hind stood up”), while this will not do in the case of a masculine verb, such as qāla Zayd (“Zayd said”). Thus the attachment of a t to shariqat in ka-mā shariqat ṣadru l-qanāti ought not to be allowed, given ṣadr’s masculinity; ṣadr, however, by coming into close proximity with qanāt in a possessive construct, has become imbued with femininity.⁹⁹

“Hie thee to men in positions of eminence”

١،٤،٣3.4.1

وقريب من هذا المعنى والاستشهاد قول الآخر شعر [طويل]

عَلَيْكَ بِأَرْبَابِ ٱلصُّدُورِ فمَنْ غَدَا	مُضَافًا لِأَرْبَابِ ٱلصُّدُورِ تَصَدَّرا
وإِيَّاكَ أَنْ تَرْضَى صَحَابَةَ نَاقِصٍ	فَتَنْحَطَّ قَدْرًا مِنْ عُلَاكَ وَتُحْقَرا
فَرَفْعُ أَبُو مَنْ ثُمَّ خَفْضُ مَزَمَّلٍ	يُحَقِّقُ قَوْلِي مُغْرِيًا وَمُحَذِّرا

Close to the preceding in sense and in probative utility are the words of another poet:¹⁰⁰

Hie thee to men in positions of eminence, for he who becomes

a dependent of men of eminence himself becomes eminent,

And beware lest you accept the friendship of one who is deficient,

for then a portion of your high status will be diminished and you will be despised.

The placing in the nominative of abū man and the placing in the genitive of muzammal

prove my words, both the exhortation and the warning.

٢،٤،٣3.4.2

أمّا قوله فرفع ابو من فإنّه يشير إلى قولهم علمتُ زيدًا أبو من هو برفع الأب مع أنّ أفعال القلوب والظنّ إنّما يمتنع عملها فيما بعدها إذا كان ممّا يستوجب صدر الكلام * تقول علمت زيدًا قائمًا فلا يجوز لك الرفع على التمام * و{لِنَعْلَمَ أَيُّ الْحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَىٰ} لا يجوز إلّا الرفع لأنّ الاستفهام * حقيقةً له صدر الكلام * فيمتنع أن يعمل ما قبله فيما بعده لأنّ ذلك يُخْرجه عن الصدريّه * ولمّا جاور الأب مَن الاستفهاميّة اكتسب منها الصدريّه * بل أبلغ من هذا أنّ زيدًا لمّا كان نفس الأب المضاف لما له الصدر * أجازوا رفعه بهذا القدر *

The poet’s words “the placing in the nominative of abū man” refer to a sentence such as ʿalimtu Zaydan abū man huwa (“I learned who was Zayd’s father”), with ab (“father”) in the nominative, even though verbs of intellection and supposition¹⁰¹ are prevented from governing the words that follow them only when the latter must take precedence in a clause.¹⁰² One says ʿalimtu zaydan qāʾiman (“I learned that Zayd was standing”), and one is not allowed to use the nominative under any circumstances, while li-naʿlama ayyu l-ḥizbayni aḥṣā¹⁰³ («that We might know which of the two parties would better calculate») allows only the nominative, because the interrogative, in this case, takes literal precedence in the clause. Thus, what precedes the interrogative is not allowed to govern what follows because that would eject it from its position of precedence, and when “father” occurs adjacent to interrogative “who?” it acquires “prominence” from that. A yet more convincing argument than the foregoing is that, on this basis, they permit the use of the nominative for Zayd when it is equivalent to the ab (“the father of”) that is annexed to the word that has prominence.¹⁰⁴

٣،٤،٣3.4.3

أمّا قوله خفض مزمّل يشير إلى قول امرئ القيس شعر [طويل]

كَأَنّ ثَبِيرًا في عَرَانَينِ وَبْلِهِ

كَبِيرُ أُنَاسٍ في بِجَادٍ مُزَمَّلِ

فإنّ مُزَمَّلًا صفة لكَبِيرِ أُنَاسٍ * وهو مرفوع بلا التباس * ولكنّه لماّ جاور المخفوض المار * خفض حقًّا على الجوار *

The words of the poet “the placing in the genitive of muzammal” are an allusion to those of Imruʾ al-Qays¹⁰⁵ when he says:

Thabīr, in the first onrush of its deluge, was like

the chieftain of a tribe (kabīru unāsin) wrapped (muzammalī) in a striped mantle

because muzammalī (“wrapped”) is an adjective describing kabīru unāsin (“the chieftain of a tribe”), which is, quite clearly, in the nominative; however, given that it is, with regard to the previous (genitively declined) word, in a state of contiguity, it too, quite rightly, has been placed in the genitive, by virtue of proximity.¹⁰⁶

“What is the name of a thing?”

١،٥،٣3.5.1

وكقول ذي البلاغة الغريزيّه * والفصاحة الطبيعيّه * من هو في حماسة القريض أخو المعمار * العلّامة أبو الحسين^١ الجزّار * شعر [خفيف]

يا إِمَامًا لَهُ ضِيَاءُ ذَكَاءٍ	يَتَلاشَى بِهِ ضِيَاءُ ذُكَاءِ
مَا مُسَمًّى بِٱلرَّفْعِ يُعْرَبُ وَبِٱلنَّصْـ	ـبِ وَإِنْ كَانَ مُسْتَقْرًى بالْبِناءِ
عَلَمٌ مُفْرَدٌ فَإِنْ رَفَعُوهُ	رَفَعُوهُ عَمْدًا لِأجْلِ ٱلنِّداءِ
أَنّثُوهُ وَمِنْهُ قَدْ عُرِفَ ٱلتَّذْ	كِيرُ فَانْظُرْ تَنَاقُضَ الأَشْياءِ
وَهْوَ ظَرْفٌ فَأَيْنَ مَنْ فِيهِ ظَرْفٌ	لِيُجَلِّي عَن هَذِهِ الْعَمْيَاءِ

١ الأصل: الحسن.

It is similar, too, to the words of that master of instinctive elegance and natural eloquence, he who, in his enthusiasm for verse, is the brother of al-Miʿmār, namely the erudite Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Jazzār:¹⁰⁷

O Imam who is possessed of the lights of an intelligence

by which are extinguished the lights of the sun,

What is something with a name that may be given nominative and accusative endings,

though it be solid of construction?

A landmark standing alone it is—if they raise it,

they raise it upright for the sake of the call.

They made it feminine, yet a form of it is known to be masculine,¹⁰⁸

so behold the contradiction of things!

It is a container—now where is he who has the wit¹⁰⁹

to shine a light on this obscure thing?

٢،٥،٣3.5.2

وجوابه المأذنة لأنّها مرفوعة الأكناف * منصوبة الأركان بلا خلاف * وهي مُتْقَنة مستقرّة بالبناء وتسمّى منارًا وهو علم مفرد رفعوه أيْ مرفوع لأجل النداء الّذي هو الأذان * فتبيَّن أنّها مؤنّثة من مذكّرة وعلى هذا فهي ظَرْف مكان *

The answer is a minaret (maʾdhanah), because it has both raised sides and foundations erected (this statement cannot be contradicted) and is perfect and solid of construction.¹¹⁰ It is also called a manār,¹¹¹ which is a “landmark standing alone” that, “if they raise it, they raise it upright for the sake of the call,”¹¹² which is to say “the call to prayer.”¹¹³ Thus, it is apparent that it is a feminine that belongs to the same class as a masculine and, on top of all that, is the container of a place.¹¹⁴

“My father I would give for the suns that turn away at sunset”

١،٦،٣3.6.1

وممّا ذكر من الإشارات الخفيّه * واللطائف اللَوْذَعيّه * أنّ بعض الملوك أنعم على بعض الشعراء وقلبه إلى أهله مسرورًا مخضَّرًا مع عبدَيْن يحرسانه وأمرهما أنّهما بأمارة منه يأتيانه تكون دالّةً على سلامته فلمّا توسّطا به الطريق هَمّا بِقِتْلته فاتّفق معهما على أن يعطيهما ما معه وحلّفاه أن لا يكتب للملك بذلك * فإنّه يشير بهما من أجله إلى المهالك * ولا يرسل إليه فحلف لهما وقال إذا اجتمعتما به فقولا له أمارة سلامته التي أنقذته من قِتلته قول أبي الطيّب المتنبّي [كامل]

بِأَبِي ٱلشُّمُوسُ الْجَانِحَاتُ غَوَارِبَا

اللَّابِسَاتُ مِنَ الْحَرِيرِ جَلابِبَا

A hidden “hint” and quick-witted quip of which they tell concerns a certain king who bestowed generous favors on a certain poet and sent him home to his family joyful and blessed, along with two slaves to act as escorts, whom the king ordered to return, bearing some token that could serve as proof of the poet’s safe arrival. Now, when the slaves had brought the poet to the halfway point on the road, they set upon him as though to kill him, so the man agreed with them that he would give them all he had with him, and they made him swear that he would put nothing of what had happened in writing for the king and thus point the finger at them and get them into trouble, and that he would not write a letter later and send it to him. He swore to them he would do what they asked and said, “When you meet with him, tell him, ‘The sign of his safety, which saved him from being killed, are the words of Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī that go:

My father I’d give for the suns¹¹⁵ that turn aside at sunset

wearing shifts of silk.’”

٢،٦،٣3.6.2

فلمّا رجعا ذكرا له ذلك فقبض عليهما فسئل عن ذلك فقال إنّ هذا البيت لا مناسبة فيه فتأمّلت القصيدة فإذا فيها

أظْمَتْنِي١ ٱلدُّنْيَا فَلَمَّا جِئْتُهَا	مُسْتَسْقِيًا مَطَرَتْ عَلَيَّ مَصَائبا
كَيْفَ ٱلرَّجَاءُ مِنَ المـَنُونِ تَخَلُّصًا	مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَنْشَبْنَ فِيَّ مَخَالِبا

فقرّهما فأقرّا بما فعلا * فعاقبهما وردّ إليه المال وما حملا * فما أذوق هذا الملك حيث فهم ما أشار صاحبه في كلام المتنبّي إليه * وما أحسن ما بلغ في إعادة ما وهبه من البرّ عليه *

١ الاصل: اطمتني.

When they returned, they told this to the king, who had them seized. Asked about it, he said, “This line has no relevance, so I read the whole poem carefully and found in it:

The world made me thirst and, when I came to it

seeking water, rained disasters down upon me.

How can I expect the fates to release me,

once they have fastened in me their claws?”¹¹⁶

Then he had them put to the question, and they confessed to what they had done, so he punished them and returned to the poet the money and all that they had carried off. What a connoisseur, then, was this king to be able to understand his friend’s allusion to al-Mutanabbī’s ode, and what heights did he reach in restoring to the man the charity he had previously bestowed!

“Were it not for difficulties, all men would be lords”

١،٧،٣3.7.1

وممّا يقرب من هذا المبنى * ولا يبعد عن هذا المعنى * الّتي لا يَعْقِلها^١ إلّا العالمون * ولا يتنبّه لموقعها إلّا المخلصون * أنّ رجلاً سأله لبيبٌ حاجةً تعود عليه * فكتب كتابًا يذكر فيه إليه * لولا المشقّة أي يعتذر لولا أنّ عليّ في هذا الأمر مشقّة لفعلته فردّ عليه كتابًا فيه * ينطق بلفظ الدُرّ من فيه * لولا المشقّة ولم يزد على ذلك * فلمّا ورد عليه قضى حاجته فسئل عن ذلك * فقال إنّه يشير إلى قول أبي الطيّب حيث يقول [بسيط]

لَوْلَا المَشَقَّةُ سَادَ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمو٢

ألجُودُ يُعْدِمُ وَالإِعْدَامُ قَتَّالُ

١ الأصل: يُعقِلها. ٢ الأصل: كلهم.

Something else quite similar in form and not dissimilar in content, which “to none save those who know is intelligible”¹¹⁷ and of whose significance only the pure in heart will be mindful, is the case of a man who was asked by someone intelligent to do something that would be to the latter’s benefit and wrote a letter back to him saying, “Were it not for difficulties. . .” that is, excusing himself by saying, “Were it not that I face some difficulty with regard to the matter, I would indeed have been diligent.” The other then sent him back a letter in which he said, as one from whose mouth pearls are heard, “Were it not for difficulties. . .” and added not a word. When the letter reached the first man, he took care of the second’s business. Questioned about this, he said, “He alluded to the words of Abū l-Ṭayyib that go:¹¹⁸

Were it not for difficulties, all men would be lords.

Generosity makes destitute and destitution brings death.”

٢،٧،٣3.7.2

كيف السبيل إلى سماع غير هذا الكلام * أم كيف الخلاص إلى سَبْك غيره في قالَب سِلْك هذا النظام * والله إنّ الذوق لعزيز * وإنّ أهله لفي حِرْز حريز * فهل لبس الصباح إلّا بُرْدًا طرّزه المتنبّي بفضائله * وتقلّدت الجوزاء إلّا عِقْدًا فصَله بمآثره * واستملى الربيع إلّا ثناءً أملاه من محاسنه * وبثّ المسك إلّا حديثًا أذاعه من محامده *

How can one to verses of any other sort than these have recourse or go so far as to cast any further verses from the mold of the language of such versified discourse? I swear by God that taste is indeed a precious commodity and those who have it a well-guarded minority! Does morning wear a mantle that al-Mutanabbī has not figured with his exquisite conceits, do the Pleiades wear a necklace not fashioned by his glorious feats? For the reading of any eulogy to its charms other than one dictated by him would spring ever ask? Does musk emit aught other than a record of such of its graces as by him have been broadcast?

“O dwelling of ʿĀtikah from which I depart”

٨،٣3.8

وممّا وقع من هذه الإشارات * الّتي ألبست بالإيضاح فحوى العبارات * أنّ رجلاً كان يساير المنصور وكان لا يتكلّم إلّا إذا سئل وإذا أجاب لا يزيد في الجواب فبينما هما راكبان إذ مرّا ببيت عاتكة المصان فقال المنصور هذا بيت من فقال هذا بيت عاتكة الّذي يقول فيه الشاعر [كامل]

يَا بَيْتَ عَاتِكَةَ الَّذِي١ أَتَعَزَّلُ٢

حَذَرَ الْعِدَى وَبِهِ الْفُؤَادُ مُوَكَّلُ٣

فقال هل أخذت ما رسمنا لك به فقال لا فأمر بأن يعطاه فسئل عن ذلك فقال إنّ هذا رجل لا يتكلّم إلّا بحكمة آخرًا وأوّلًا وقد زاد على الجواب بالاستشهاد * فعلمتُ أنّه يشير إلى قول الشاعر في القصيدة من غير طراد *

وَأَرَاكَ تَفْعَلُ مَا تَقُولُ وَبَعْضُهُمْ

مَذِقُ٤ الْحَدِيثِ يَقُولُ مَا لا يَفْعَلُ

فانظر هذا اللفظ الملحوظ * المتوَّج بأنواع الحظوظ *

١ الأصل: التي. ٢ الأصل: انعزل. ٣ الأصل: وكل. ٤ الأصل: مدق.

Among further hints of this sort, which clothe with clarification what their wordings purport, is the tale of a man who used to accompany al-Manṣūr,¹¹⁹ who never spoke unless asked a question and who, when he answered, never said more than was needed. Once, when they were out riding, they passed by the dwelling of ʿĀtikah, which had been preserved, and al-Manṣūr asked, “Whose dwelling is this?” and the man replied, “This is the dwelling of ʿĀtikah, of whom the poet¹²⁰ says:

O dwelling of ʿĀtikah from which I depart

fearful of hostility, while yet the heart is with it charged.”

The caliph then asked him, “Have you received the compensation that I commanded for you?” and the man said, “No.” The caliph then ordered that it be given to him. When he was asked about this, he said, “This is a man who never speaks, under any circumstances, unless to say something pertinent, yet he added to his answer by quoting this line of verse. Thus I knew, without needing to look further afield, that to the following words of the poet in the same poem he appealed:

I see that you do what you say while others,

insincere of speech, say what they do not do.”¹²¹

Observe the man’s noteworthy articulation and how it was crowned with plentiful remuneration!

“She sent you ambergris”

٩،٣3.9

وممّا نُقل عن بعض الأدباء أنّ بعض القِيان اللطفاء أهدت إلى العزيز بن الملك الناصر صلاح الدين بن يوسف بن نجم الدين أيّوب كرة من العنبر وكانا يكتمان أمرهما خوفًا من السلطان فسيّرت له مع بعض الخدم كرة عنبر فكسرها فإذا فيها زِرّ من ذهب ولم يفهم معناه فأرسله إلى القاضي الفاضل يتمعّنه ويرسل إليه الجواب فأرسل له الجواب المستطاب [سريع]

أَهْدَتْ لَكَ الْعَنْبَرَ فِي وِسْطِهِ	زِرٌّ مِنَ ٱلتَّبْرِ رَقِيقُ ٱللِّحَامِ
فَٱلزِّرُّ وَالْعَنْبَرُ مَعْنَاهُما	زُرْ هٰكَذا مُخْتَفِيًا فِي ٱلظَّلامِ

فما أذوق * وأرقّ وأشوق * هذا الفاضل الأديب * والكامل الأريب * . . . المثمرة رياض . . . والفارق بها بـ . . . طوحنا الفضل

One report,¹²² transmitted on the authority of a certain litterateur, states that a certain refined singing girl presented a ball made of ambergris to al-ʿAzīz, son of al-Malik al-Nāṣir Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn ibn Yūsuf ibn Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb. They were keeping their liaison secret for fear of the sultan, so she sent him, by a servant, a ball of ambergris, and when he broke it open, lo and behold, he found a golden button. Not understanding what it meant, he sent it to al-Qāḍī l-Fāḍil asking him to look into the matter and reply to him with the answer, and the latter responded with the following admirable answer:

She sent you ambergris with, in its middle,

a button of gold finely soldered.

Button (zirr) and ambergris together mean

“Visit (zur), ¹²³ like this, hidden in darkness!”

How tasteful, refined, and appealing that virtuous man of letters and perfect wit . . . . ¹²⁴

“An apple wounded by her front teeth”

١٠،٣3.10

وممّا يقرُب هذا ما حُكي عن ابن^١ الجَهْم قال دخلتُ على المتوكّل وبين يديه تفاحة معضوضة أهدتها إليه بعض جواريه فقال لي قل فيها قبل جلوسك ولك بكلّ بيت ألف دينار فقال هذه الأبيات الّتي لم يكن أرقّ منها لما اتّفق من أنواع المحاسن عنها إذ هي أرقّ من الغَزْل وهي [بسيط]

تُفَّاحَةٌ جُرِحَتْ بِٱلثَّغْرِ مِنْ فِيها	أَشْهَى إِلَيَّ مِنَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيها
جَاءَتْ بِهَا ظَبْيَةٌ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَانِيَةٍ	نَفْسِي مِنَ ٱلسُّوءِ وَالآفَاتِ تَفْدِيهَا
لَوْ كُنْتُ مَيْتَا وَنَادَتْنِي بِنَغْمَتِها	إِذًا لَأَسْرَعْتُ مِنْ لحَدْيِ أُلَبِّيها
بَيْضَاءُ فِي حُمْرَةٍ عَلَّتْ بِغَالِيَةٍ	كَأَنَّهَا قُطِفَتْ مِنْ خَدِّ مُهْدِيها

قال فأمر لي بأربعة آلاف دينار

١ الأصل: بن.

Similar to this is the anecdote told concerning Ibn al-Jahm, who said, “I entered the presence of al-Mutawakkil, in whose hands was an apple that had been bitten into, given him by one of his slave girls. He said to me, ‘Say something in verse before you take your seat, and you will receive a thousand dinars for each line.’” So Ibn al-Jahm recited the following verses than which, because of their enumeration of that apple’s every charm, there are none more refined, being finer than yarn, and which go:¹²⁵

An apple wounded by her front teeth

is tastier to me than the world and all that’s in it.

It was brought by a gazelle from a belle

to ransom whom from harm and from evils I’d give my soul.

If I were dead and she called to me with her melodious voice,

verily I would hurry from my grave to do her bidding.

Whiteness in redness, enveloped in precious fragrance

—as though cut from the cheek of the one who gave it.

Ibn al-Jahm resumed, “He then ordered that I be given four thousand dinars.”

“If, in all your days, one friend you find”

١١،٣3.11

وممّا ورد في الشعر من التصاحيف الغريبه * والمُلَح المحلّاة بكلّ أعجوبة عجيبه * ما كتبه وزير عبّاد^١ * لصاحب له بين العباد * [كامل]

وإِذا صَفَا لَكَ مِنْ زَمَانِكَ وَاحِدٌ

فَهْوُ الْمُرَادُ وَأَيْنَ ذَاكَ الْوَاحِدُ

فوقّع في الكتاب (وَأَيْنَ ذَاكَ الْوَاحِدُ) صحّف تعرف فلمّا قرأه طاب سرورًا بما وُصِف لأنّ تصحيف أَيْنَ ذَاكَ أنت ذاك *

١ كذا في الأصل.

An example from poetry of the strange changes of meaning that can come about as a result of the altering of dots,¹²⁶ and of the pleasantries, embellished with every kind of marvelous marvel, that can result from such changes of spots, is what Vizier ʿAbbād¹²⁷ wrote to a friend of his, to wit:

If, in all your days, one friend you find,

then that is all that one can ask for—yet where is he (wa-ayna dhāka l-wāḥidū)?

repeating at the bottom of the letter “wa-ayna dhāka l-wāḥid—change the dots and see!” When his friend read it, he was delighted to see how he had been characterized, because, when you change the dots on ayna dhāka (“where is he?”), it becomes anta dhāka (“you are he”).

“I have not forgotten the time he visited me after his turning aside”

١،١٢،٣3.12.1

وممّا ذُكر من الألغاز اللطيفه * والنوادر الظريفه * أنّ شخصًا سأل صديقًا له كيف حالك مع محبوبك * وهل بلغت منه غاية مطلوبك * فقال إنّه أبو سُفْيان الهُمام * فقال استعنْ عليه ببنت بِسْطام * أراد الأوّل بقوله أبو سفيان أنّه صخر لا يطاوع لأنّ أبا سفيان إسمه صخر وأراد الآخر بقوله ببنت بسطام سُلافة أي اسقِها الخمر وسلافة اسم بنت بسطام

One refined riddle and amusing anecdote that people recount tells of a certain person who asked a friend of his, “How are you getting on with your beloved boy? Have you obtained from him the hoped-for joy?” to which the other replied, “He’s being Abū Sufyān al-Humām,” to which the other responded, “Then seek help from the daughter of Bisṭām!” What the first meant by referring to Abū Sufyān was that the boy was like a rock, unyielding, because Abū Sufyān’s given name was Ṣakhr (“rock”), while, by referring to Bisṭām’s daughter,¹²⁸ the other meant Sulāfah, that is, “give him wine (sulāfah) to drink,” Sulāfah being the daughter’s given name.

٢،١٢،٣3.12.2

وقد نظم ذلك بعضهم فقال [طويل]

وَلَمْ أَنْسَهُ مُذْ زَارَ بَعْدَ ازْوِرَارِهِ	فَبِتُّ نَدِيمَ الْبَدْرِ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
وَكَانَ أَبَا سُفْيَانٍ حِينَ تَوَلَّعَتْ	بِهِ بِنْتُ بِسْطَامَ فَبِتْنَا إِلَى الْفَجْرِ

فما أرقّ سبك هذا الشاعر الإمام * ذاك النثر الظريف في قالَب النظام *

A poet put this into verse, saying:

I have not forgotten him since he visited after first turning aside,

and I then spent the night as though boon companion to the full moon¹²⁹ on the Night of Power.

He was Abū Sufyān at first, then Bisṭām’s daughter caught fire

in him, and together we spent the night till dawn.

How exquisite the casting by this master poet of that witty prose into the mold of verse!

“O you, ʿAlī, who have risen to the summit of virtue”

١،١٣،٣3.13.1

وممّا وقع لي أنا مع ظريف من بعض الإخوان * من أهل الذوق والعرفان * أنّه سألني في أن أنظم له لُغْزًا في حشيش وأشير فيه بشيء من التصحيف والقلب فقلت ارتجالًا على سبيل الاستفهام [خفيف]

يَا عَلْيًّا عَلَا عَلَى ذُرْوَةِ الْفَضْـ	ـلِ يَقِينًا أَجِبْ جَوَابًا يَقِينَا
عَنْ سُؤَالٍ أَبْدَاهُ عَبْدٌ ذَلِيلٌ	ذُو هُيَامٍ بَرَاهُ فِي الْعَالَمِينَا
مَا إِسْمُ شَيْءٍ إِذَا تَصَحَّفَ مِنْهُ	نِصْفُهُ كانَ فِي الْبُطُونِ جَنِينَا
أَوْ جَمِيعًا فَذَاكَ أَمْرٌ حَقِيرٌ	حَبَّبَتْنِي بِهِ حِجَا ٱلسَّالِكِينَا
وَإِذَا مَا قَلَبْتَ مِنْها حَقِيقًا	شَطْرُهُ الأَوَّلُ الصَّحِيحُ الْمُبِينَا
كَانَ مِنْ شِيمَةِ ٱللِّئَامِ ذَوِي الْجَهْـ	ـلِ بِلا رَيْبَةٍ لَدَى الأَكْرَمِينَا
أَوْ قَلَبْتَ الأَخِيرَ مِنْهُ فنَكِّرْ	ذاكَ شَيْءٌ فِي مَذْهَبِ الْمُعْرِبينَا
فَأْتِنِي بِالْجَوَابِ مِنْ نَظْمِكَ ٱلدُّرِّ	لِكَيْمَا نَرَاهُ عِقْدًا ثَمِينَا
دُمْتَ بِالْفَضْلِ وَالْبَلاغَةِ تَرْقَى	يَا عَزِيزُ إِسْمًا وحِصْنًا حَصِينَا

Once a witty friend of mine, a brother devotee of taste and knowledge divine,¹³⁰ asked me to compose for him in verse a riddle to which the answer would be “hashish” and in which I would hint at the word using palindromes and taṣḥīf.¹³¹ So I composed the following improvisation, cast in the form of an interrogation:

O you, ʿAlī, who have risen (ʿalā) to (ʿalā) the summit of virtue

for sure (yaqīnan), give me an answer that will protect us (yaqīnā)

To a question posed by an abject slave

wandering lovelorn and exhausted through the universe!

What is the name of a thing that, should half of its letters

have their dots rearranged, would be a fetus in the bellies

Or, if those of the whole, would be a low matter of which

the sagacity of those who tread the Path has made me enamored,¹³²

And if you should reverse, for sure,

its sound, meaningful first half¹³³

Would become a trait of the vile, the devotees of ignorance

and that without a doubt in the eyes of the noble,

Or, should you reverse the last half and then make it indefinite

it is “a thing” in the eyes of those who speak Arabic featly.

Give me then the answer from your pearl-like poetry,

that it may appear to us as ’twere a precious necklace—

May you through virtue and eloquence forever ascend,

my dear one, in name and as a doughty fortress!

٢،١٣،٣3.13.2

فانظر يا من لاح فلاحه * وخفَق في الخافقَيْن جناحُه * إلى براعة استهلال أبيات الكلام * وما وقع فيها من الجناس التامّ * فالأوّل وقع في الفعل والحرف وهو علا وعلى * والثاني اتّفق في المصدر والفعل وهو يقينًا ويقينا على ما مَرَّ وحَلَا *

Observe then, O you whose success is plainly manifest and whose wings flutter in both East and West, the command of allusion displayed in the opening lines¹³⁴ and the perfect paronomasia to be found in their confines! The first example involves the verb and the preposition, namely ʿalā (“have risen”) and ʿalā (“to”), the second comes about with the verbal noun and the verb, namely yaqīnan (“for sure”) and yaqīnā (“will protect us”), in the vein of what preceded and was so sweetly pleaded.

٣،١٣،٣3.13.3

أمّا بيان اللغز فحشيش أربعة حروف فإذا صحّفتَ نصفه وهو حش تجده أربعة حروف لأنّ الشين بثلاثة حروف فصار جنينًا فإذا صحّفتَه جميعًا يصير خسيسًا وهو أمر حقير * على القول الجدير *

As far as the solution to the riddle is concerned, حشيش‎ (ḥashīsh) is four letters, and if you change the dots on half of it, that is, on حش‎ (ḥash), you will find that it is still four letters, because the shin is worth three, and as such it becomes جنين‎ (janīn: “a fetus”).¹³⁵ And if you change the dots on the word as a whole, it becomes خسيس‎ (khasīs: “vile”), which is a “low matter”, according to proper reckoning.

٤،١٣،٣3.13.4

وقولي حَبَّبَتْني تصحيف حشيشَة وإذا قلبتَ شطره الأوّل كان شُحًّا وهو من شيمة اللئام * عند ذوي المروآت والإكرام * وإن قلبتَ من الأخير على التمكين * كان شيًا وهي أنكر النَكِرات عند المعربين *

My words حبّبتني به‎ (ḥabbabatnī bi-hi: “of which . . . it has made me enamored”) are the equivalent of حشيشة‎ (ḥashīshah: “piece of hashish”) if the dots are changed,¹³⁶ and, if you read the first half backwards, it becomes شُحّ‎ (shuḥḥ: “stinginess”),¹³⁷ which is “a trait of the ignominious” in the eyes of the chivalrous and the magnanimous. Also, if you read the second half starting from the end, it becomes شي‎ (shay: “thing”),¹³⁸ which dovetails neatly, and is the most indeterminate of all indeterminates, in the eyes of those who speak Arabic featly.¹³⁹