she had a child with whom she was afflicted and she had been waiting to approach her husband for fear that she might be blessed with a child who would be afflicted with the same affliction as her. and because the existence of the beloved is in harmony with nature and his loss is contrary to it and hostile to it she began to feel from the pain of the loss of the beloved what she does not feel from the pleasure of his existence. for this reason a person may be healthy for a long time and not feel any pleasure from his health. if one of his limbs becomes ill he feels severe pain in that place. likewise all beloved things for a person if he finds them or their association with him is prolonged fall away from him the pleasure of their existence as long as they are present to him and the severe pain of their loss occurs to him if he loses them. for this reason if a man enjoyed a family and children for a long time and then was afflicted by their loss he would feel from the pain in a single day and a single hour what is greater and more than the pleasure of his enjoyment he had with them. this is because nature considers and regards all that long enjoyment as a right due to it rather it considers it less than its right. this is because in that state it is not devoid of independence from what it is in the increase of which is always without end out of love for pleasure and longing for it. and if the matter is like this i mean that the pleasure and enjoyment of the beloveds in the case of their presence is needy obliterated independent and neglected and the grief burning and scorching upon their loss is clear abundant painful and destructive then the opinion is nothing but to abandon them completely or to be independent from them so that their bad consequences that bring about harmful exhausting sorrows are eliminated or reduced. this is the highest level in this matter and the most enthusiastic of the materials of sorrows. and what follows in that is that the man imagines and visualizes the loss of his beloveds and establishes them in his soul and imagination and knows that they are not among what is possible.
ولد لها أصيبت به وأنها توقت الدنو من زوجها خوفا من أن ترزق ولدا تبلى فيه بمثل بلائها. ومن أجل أن وجود المحبوب موافق ملائم للطبيعة وفقده مخالف منافر لها صارت تحس من ألم فقد المحبوب ما لا تحس من لذة وجوده. ولذلك صار الإنسان يكون صحيحا مدة طويلة فلا يحس لصحته بلذة، فإن اعتل بعض أعضائه أحس على المكان فيه بألم شديد. وكذلك تصير المحبوبات كلها عند الإنسان إذا وجدها أو طالت صحبتها له في سقوط لذة وجودها عنه ما دامت موجودة له وحصول شدة ألم فقدها عليه إذا فقدها ومن أجل هذا لو أن رجلا استمتع دهرا طويلا بأهل وولد ثم بلى بفقدهما لأحس من التألم في يوم واحد وساعة واحدة ما يفضل ويأتي على لذة إمتاعه كان بهما. وذلك أن الطبيعة تحسب وتعد ذلك الاستمتاع الطويل كله حقا واجبا لها، بل تعده دون حقها. وذلك أنها لا تخلو في تلك الخالة أيضا من استقلال ما هي فيه الزيادة منه دائما بلا نهاية حبا منها للذة واشتياقا إليها. وإذا كان الأمر على هذا أعني أن يكون التلذذ والاستمتاع بالمحبوبات في حال وجودها معوزا منطمسا مستقلا مغفلا، والحزن والتحرق والتلظي عند فقدها متبينا مستكثرا مؤلما متلفا فما الرأي إلا طرحها بتت أو الاستقلال منها لتعدم أو تقل عواقبها الرديئة الجالبة للغموم المؤذية المضنية. فهذه أعلى المراتب في هذا الباب وأحمسها لمواد الغموم. ويتلوه في ذلك أن يتمثل الرجل ويتصور فقد محبوباته ويقيمها في نفسه ووهمه ويعلم أنها ليس مما يمكن