there remains for us from the arguments of the people something about which we have not said anything which is their argument for the improvement of love with the prophets and what they were afflicted with from it. we say no one would allow love to be considered a virtue of the prophets nor a virtue of their virtues nor something that they preferred and approved of rather it is considered a slip and a mistake of their slips and errors. if that is the case then there is no point in improving it embellishing it praising it and promoting it with them at all because it is only necessary for us to urge ourselves and inspire ourselves from the actions of virtuous men to what they approved for themselves and approved of for themselves and loved to be emulated in it not to their slips and mistakes and what they repented from and regretted and wished that it had not happened to them and was from them. as for their saying that love calls for cleanliness tact appearance and adornment what can be done with the beauty of the body when the soul is ugly? who needs physical beauty and strives for it except women and effeminate men? it is said that a man invited some wise men to his house and everything he had of the household appliances was extremely pleasant and beautiful but the man himself was extremely ignorant foolish and ugly. it is said that the wise man contemplated everything in his house and then spat on the man himself. when he became furious and angry at that he said to him do not be angry for i contemplated and examined everything in your house and did not see in it anything more disgusting or vile than yourself so i made it a place for spitting as it deserved it. it is said that after that the man took lightly what he had and was keen on knowledge and contemplation.
وقد بقي علينا من حجاج القوم شئ لم نقل فيه قولا، وهو احتجاجهم لتحسين العشق بالأنبياء وما بلوا به منه. فنقول إنه ليس من أحد يستجيز أن يعد العشق منقبة من مناقب الأنبياء ولا فضيلة من فضائلهم ولا أنه شئ آثروه واستحسنوه، بل إنما يعد هفوة وزلة من هفواتهم وزلاتهم. وإذا كان ذلك كذلك فليس لتحسينه وتزيينه ومدحه وترويجه بهم وجه بتة، لأنه إنما ينبغي لنا أن نحث أنفسنا ونبعثها من أفعال الرجال الفاضلين على ما رضوه لأنفسهم واستحسنوه لها وأحبوا أن يقتدى بهم فيه، لا على هفواتهم وزلاتهم وما تابوا منه وندموا عليه وودوا أن لا يكون ذلك جرى عليهم وكان منهم. فأما قولهم إن العشق يدعو إلى النظافة واللباقة والهيئة والزينة، فما يصنع بجمال الجسد مع قبح النفس، وهل يحتاج إلى الجمال الجسداني ويجتهد فيه إلا النساء وذوو الخنث من الرجال؟ ويقال إن رجلا دعا بعض الحكماء إلى منزله، وكان كل شئ له من آلة المنزل على غاية السرور والحسن، وكان الرجل في نفسه على غاية الجهل والبله والفدامة. ويقال إن ذلك الحكيم تأمل كل شئ في منزله ثم إنه بصق على الرجل نفسه. فلما استشاط وغضب من ذلك قال له لا تغضب، فإني تأملت جميع ما في منزلك وتفقدته فلم أر فيه أسمج ولا أرذل من نفسك، فجعلتها موضعا للبصاق باستحقاق منها لذلك. ويقال إن ذلك الرجل بعد ذلك استخف بما كان فيه وحرص على العلم والنظر.