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وزممت كل ما سبرت من ذلك بهذا الكتاب لينفع الله به من يشاء من عباده ممن يصل إليه ما أتعبت فيه نفسي، وأجهدتها فيه وأطلت فيه فكري فيأخذه عفوًا، وأهديت إليه هنيئًا، فيكون ذلك أفضل له من كنوز المال وعقد الأملاك إذا تدبره ويسره الله تعالى لاستعماله.,"I have gathered together all my observations into this book in the hope that the Almighty may allow it to benefit whichever of His servants He wishes who has access to [is capable of understanding] my book, in the matters over which I have slaved, devoting all my efforts to them and reflecting at length upon them. I hope that it will be well received, and I present it with good intentions and blessings [with a good heart]. This book will benefit a person more than financial treasures and possessions of property, if he meditates upon it, and if Allâh enables him to make good use of it."
وأنا راجٍ في ذلك من الله تعالى، أعظم الأجر لنيتي في نفع عباده وإصلاح ما فسد من أخلافهم، ومداواة علل نفوسهم، وبالله تعالى أستعين.,"As for myself, my hope in this enterprise is to win the greatest reward from Allâh, since my intention is to help His servants, to remedy whatever is corrupt in their character, and to heal the sickness of their souls. I beseech the assistance of Allâh [Almighty, we wish only for God, the best of defenders]."
[فصل في] مداواة النفوس وإصلاح الأخلاق [الذميمة],"I) The Treatment to be given to Souls, and the Reform of Vicious Characters"
لذة العاقل بتمييزه ولذة العالم بعلمه ولذة الحكيم بحكمته ولذة المجتهد لله عز وجل باجتهاده أعظم من لذة الآكل بأكله والشارب بشربه والواطئ بوطئه والكاسب بكسبه واللاعب بلعبه والآمر بأمره.,"The pleasure which a prudent man has from his own good sense, a scholar from his knowledge, a wise man from his wisdom, the pleasure of anyone who works hard in ways pleasing to Almighty God, is greater than the pleasure which the gourmet has from his food, a drinking man from his tipple, a lover from the act of love, a conqueror from his conquest, a reveller from his amusements [the player from his game] or a commander from giving orders."
وبرهان ذلك أن الحكيم العاقل والعالم والعامل واجدون لسائر اللذات التي سمينا كما يجدها المنهمك فيها ويحسونها كما يحسها المقبل عليها [وقد تركوها وأعرضوا عنها وآثروا طلب الفضائل عليها] وإنما يحكم في الشيئين من عرفهما لا من عرف أحدهما ولم يعرف الآخر.,"The proof of this is that the wise man, the prudent man, the scholar, the practising Muslim and all those that we have mentioned are capable of enjoying these pleasures as much as the man who indulges in them. They have the same feelings, desires as those who hasten to satisfy them. But they have deliberately refrained and turned away from them, preferring to seek after moral excellence. None can judge these two [kinds of pleasure] except someone who has known both, not someone who has known one and not the other."
وآثرت تقييد ذلك بالمطالعة [له] والفكرة فيه على جميع اللذات التي تميل إليها أكثر النفوس، وعلى الازدياد من فضول المال.,"I have chosen to master these problems by study and contemplation, rather than throw myself into the various sensual pleasures which attract most souls on this earth, and rather than amass unnecessary wealth."
إذا تعقبت الأمور كلها فسدت عليك وانتهيت في آخر فكرتك -باضمحلال جميع أحوال الدنيا- إلى أن الحقيقة إنما هي العمل للآخرة فقط لأن كل أمل ظفرت [به فعقباه] حزن، إما بذهابه عنك وإما بذهابك عنه، ولا بد من أحد هذين الشيئين، إلا العمل لله عز وجل، فعقباه على كل حال سرور في عاجل وآجل.,"[As things happen one after the other] If you look deeply into worldly matters you will become melancholy and will end by reflecting upon the ephemeral nature of everything here below, and the fact that truth lies only in striving for the hereafter, since every ambition to which you might cling will end in tears; either the goal is snatched from you, or you have to give the attempt up before you reach it. One of these two endings is inevitable except in the search for God the Almighty and Powerful. Then the result is always joy, both immediate and eternal."
أما العاجل فقلة الهم بما يهتم به الناس وإنك به معظَّم من الصديق والعدو، وأما في الآجل فالجنة.,The immediate joy is because you stop worrying about the things which usually worry people; this leads to an increase in the respect paid to you by friends and enemies alike. The eternal joy is the joy of Paradise.
تطلبت غرضًا يستوي الناس كلهم في استحسانه وفي طلبه فلم أجده إلا واحدًا وهو طرد الهم فلما تدبرته علمت أن الناس كلهم لم يستووا في استحسانه فقط ولا في طلبه فقط ولكن رأيتهم على اختلاف أهوائهم ومطالبهم [وتباين هممهم] وإراداتهم، لا يتحركون حركة أصلًا إلا فيما يرجون به طرد الهم، ولا ينطقون بكلمة أصلًا إلا فيما يعانون به إزاحته عن أنفسهم، فمن مخطئ وجه سبيله، ومن مقارب للخطأ، ومن مصيب وهو الأقل [من الناس في الأقل من أموره].,"I have tried to find one goal which everyone would agree to be excellent and worthy of being striven after. I have found one only: to be free from anxiety. When I reflected upon it, I realized that not only do all agree in valuing it and desiring it, but I also perceived that, despite their many different passions and aspirations and preoccupations and desires, they never make the slightest gesture unless it is designed to drive anxiety far away. One man loses his way, another comes close to going wrong, finally another is successful – but he is a rare man, and success is rare, [O, all-knowing God]."
فطرد الهم مذهب قد اتفقت الأمم كلها مذ خلق الله تعالى العالم إلى أن يتناهى عالم الابتداء ويعاقبه عالم الحساب على أن لا يعتمدوا بسعيهم شيئًا سواه وكل غرض غيره ففي الناس من لا يستحسنه إذ في الناس من لا دين له فلا يعمل للآخرة وفي الناس من أهل الشر من لا يريد الخير ولا الأمن ولا الحق وفي الناس من يؤثر الخمول بهواه وإرادته على بعد الصيت.,"Dispelling anxiety is a goal upon which all nations agree from the time when the Almighty created the world until the day when this world will pass away and be followed by the Day of Judgment – and their actions are directed to this goal alone. In the case of every other objective there will always be some people who do not desire it. For example, some people are not religious and do not take eternity into account. There are some who by nature and inclination prefer obscurity to fame [the obscurity of satisfied passion]."
وفي الناس من لا يريد المال ويؤثر عدمه على وجوده ككثير من الأنبياء عليهم السلام ومن تلاهم من الزهاد والفلاسفة.,"There are some who have no interest in amassing a fortune, preferring abstinence to ownership; this was the case with many of the Prophets. God’s peace be upon them – and those who followed their example, ascetics and philosophers."
وفي الناس من يبغض اللذات بطبعه ويستنقص طالبها كمن ذكرنا من المؤثرين فقد المال على اقتنائه وفي الناس من يؤثر الجهل على العلم كأكثر من ترى من العامة.,"There are some who by nature dislike sensual pleasures and scorn those who seek after them, such as those men we have just mentioned, and who prefer to lose a fortune rather than gain one. Some prefer ignorance to knowledge, in fact most of the people that you see in the street are like this."
وهذه هي أغراض الناس التي لا غرض لهم سواها.,These are the objectives of people who have no other aim in life.
فلما استقر في نفسي هذا العلم الرفيع وانكشف لي هذا السر العجيب وأنار الله تعالى لفكري هذا الكنز العظيم بحثت عن سبيل موصلة [على]الحقيقة إلى طرد الهم الذي هو المطلوب للنفس الذي اتفق جميع أنواع الإنسان-الجاهل منهم والعالم والصالح والطالح-على السعي له فلم أجدها إلا التوجه إلى الله عز وجل بالعمل للآخرة.,"When I had arrived at this great piece of wisdom, when I had discovered this amazing secret, when Allâh the Almighty had opened the eyes of my mind [spirit] to see this great pleasure, I began to search for the way which would truly enable me to dispel anxiety, that precious goal desired by every kind of person, whether ignorant or scholarly, good or evil. I found it in one place alone, in the action of turning towards God the Almighty and Powerful, in pious works performed with an eye to eternity."
وإلا فإنما طلب المال طلابه ليطردوا به هم الفقر عن أنفسهم وإنما طلب الصوت من طلبه ليطرد به عن نفسه هم الاستعلاء عليها.,Thus the only reason that someone chases after riches is to dispel the anguish of poverty. The only reason that someone seeks fame is to dispel the anxiety of seeing someone else outdo him.
وإنما طلب اللذات من طلبها ليطرد بها عن نفسه هم فوتها وإنما طلب العلم من طلبه ليطرد به عن نفسه هم الجهل وإنما هش إلى سماع الأخبار ومحادثة الناس من يطلب ذلك ليطرد بها عن نفسه هم التوحد ومغيب أحوال العالم عنه.,The only reason that someone chases after pleasures is to dispel the anxiety of missing them. The only reason someone chases after knowledge is to dispel the anxiety of being ignorant about something. People enjoy listening to other people’s conversation and gossip only because it dispels the anxiety of being alone and isolated.
وإنما أكل من أكل وشرب من شرب ونكح من نكح ولبس من لبس ولعب [من لعب] [واكتن من اكتن] وركب من ركب ومشى من مشى وتودع من تودع ليطردوا عن أنفسهم أضداد هذه الأفعال وسائر الهموم.,"People eat, drink, make love, wear clothes, play games, build a shelter, mount a horse, go for a walk, only in order to avoid the reverse of all these actions and every other kind of anxiety."
[وفي كل] ما ذكرنا لمن تدبره هموم حادثة لا بد لها من عوارض تعرض في خلالها وتعذر ما يتعذر منها وذهاب ما يوجد منها والعجز عنه لبعض الآفات الكائنة، وأيضًا [نتائج سوء تنتج] بالحصول على ما حصل عليه من [كل] ذلك من خوف منافس أو طعن حاسد أو اختلاس راغب أو اقتناء عدو مع الذم والإثم وغير ذلك.,"In all the actions listed here, anyone who pauses to reflect will see that anxieties inevitably occur, such as problems which arise in the course of the action, the impossibility of performing the impossible, the fleeting nature of any achievements, and the inability to enjoy something because of some difficulty. There are also bad consequences which arise from every success: fear of one’s rival, attacks by the jealous, theft by covetous, loss to an enemy, not to mention criticism, sin and such things."
ووجدت للعمل للآخرة سالمًا من كل عيب خالصًا من كل كدر موصلًا إلى طرد الهم على الحقيقة ووجدت العامل للآخرة أن امتحن بمكروه في تلك السبيل لم يهتم بل يسر إذ رجاؤه في عاقبة ما ينال به عون [له] على ما يطلب وزايد في الغرض الذي [إياه] يقصد.,"On the other hand, I have found that actions performed with an eye on eternity are free from * every kind of * fault, free from every stain, and a true means of dispelling anxiety. I have found that the man who is striving for eternity may be sorely tested by bad fortune on his way but does not worry; on the contrary, he is glad, because the trial to which he is subjected gives rise to hope, which aids him in his endeavour and sets him the more firmly on the path towards his true desire."
ووجدته إن عاقه عما هو بسبيله عائق لم يهتم إذ ليس مؤاخذًا بذلك فهو غير مؤثر في ما يطلب.,"I have found that, when he finds his way blocked by an obstacle, he does not worry, because it is not his fault, and he did not choose the actions that he will have to answer for."
ورأيته إن قصد بالأذى سر وإن نكبته نكبة سر وإن تعب فيما سلك فيه سر فهو في سرور متصل أبدًا وغيره بخلاف ذلك أبدًا. فاعلم أنه مطلوب واحد وهو طرد الهم وليس إليه إلا طريق واحد وهو العمل لله تعالى فما عدا هذا فضلال وسخف.,"I have seen such a man be glad, when others have wished evil upon him, and be glad when has undergone some trial, and be glad, always [living] in a permanent state of joy while others are permanently the opposite. You should therefore understand that there is only one objective to strive for, it is to dispel anxiety; and only one path leads to this, and that is the service of the Most High God. Everything else is misguided and absurd."
لا تبذل نفسك إلا فيما هو أعلى منها وليس ذلك إلا في ذات الله عز وجل في دعاء إلى حق وفي حماية الحريم وفي دفع هوانٍ لم يوجبه عليك خالقك تعالى وفي نصر مظلوم.,"Do not use your energy except for a cause more noble than yourself. Such a cause cannot be found except in * Almighty * God Himself: to preach the truth, to defend womanhood, to repel humiliation which your Creator has not imposed upon you, to help the oppressed."
وباذل نفسه في عرض دنيا كبائع الياقوت بالحصى.,Anyone who uses his energy for the sake of the vanities of the world is like someone who exchanges gemstones for gravel.
لا مروءة لمن لا دين له.,There is no nobility in anyone who lacks faith.
العاقل لا يرى لنفسه ثمنًا إلا الجنة.,The wise man knows that the only fitting price for his soul is a place in Paradise.
لإبليس في ذم الرياء حبالة، وذلك أنه رب ممتنع من فعل خير خوف أن يظن به الرياء.,"Satan sets his traps, under the cover of finding fault with hypocrisy. It can happen that someone refrains from doing a good deed for fear of being thought a hypocrite. [If Satan whispers such an idea in your ear, take no notice; that will frustrate him.]"
باب عظيم من أبواب العقل والراحة، وهو اطراح المبالاة [بكلام الناس واستعمال المبالاة] بكلام الخالق عز وجل بل [هذا باب] العقل والراحة كلها.,II) The Mind and Repose Do not listen to what other people say. Listen only to the Words of the Creator. That is the way to a completely sound mind and to perfect repose.
من قدّر أنه يسلم من طعن الناس وعيبهم فهو مجنون.,Anyone who believes himself safe from all criticism and reproach is out of his mind.
من حقق النظر وراض نفسه على السكون إلى الحقائق وإن آلمتها في أول صدمة كان اغتباطه بذم الناس إياه أشد وأكثر من اغتباطه بمدحهم إياه لأن مدحهم إياه إن كان بحق وبلغه مدحهم له أسرى ذلك فيه العجب فأفسد بذلك فضائله وإن كان بباطل فبلغه فسره فقد صار مسرورًا بالكذب وهذا نقص شديد.,"Anyone who studies deeply and disciplines his soul not to rest until it has found the truth, even if it is painful at first, will take more pleasure in criticism than in praise. Indeed, if he hears people praise him, even if it is well-deserved, he will become proud, and his virtue will be corrupted. If he hears people praise him and the praise is undeserved, he will be pleased, but wrongly so, and this is a serious fault."
وأما ذم الناس إياه فإن كان بحق فبلغه فربما كان ذلك سببًا إلى تجنبه ما يعاب عليه وهذا حظ عظيم لا يزهد فيه إلا ناقص.,"On the other hand, if he hears people criticize him and it is deserved, he might be led to correct the behaviour that led to it. This criticism would be a piece of considerable good luck that only a fool would ignore."
وإن كان بباطل وبلغه فصبر اكتسب فضلًا زائدًا بالحلم والصبر وكان مع ذلك غانمًا لأنه يأخذ حسنات من ذمه بالباطل فيحظى بها في دار الجزاء أحوج ما يكون إلى النجاة بأعمال لم يتعب فيها ولا تكلفها وهذا حظ عظيم لا يزهد فيه إلا مجنون.,"If someone is criticized unjustly and he controls himself, he will gain merit by his meekness and patience. Furthermore, all the good works ever done by his critic will be credited to him, and he will gain the benefit of them on Judgment Day when they will stand him in very good stead when he needs them, although they were not a result of his own efforts. And this is a supreme piece of good luck which it would be mad to disdain."
وأما إن لم يبلغه مدح الناس إياه فكلامهم وسكوتهم سواء وليس كذلك ذمهم إياه لأنه غانم للأجر على كل حال بلغه ذمهم أو لم يبلغه.,"If he does not hear people’s praise, what they say or do not say makes no difference to him. But it is a different matter with their criticism, he wins either way, whether he hears their criticism or does not hear it."
ولولا قول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في الثناء الحسن: ذلك عاجل بشرى المؤمن” لوجب أن يرغب العاقل في الذم بالباطل أكثر من رغبته في المدح بالحق ولكن إذا جاء هذا القول فإنما تكون البشرى بالحق لا بالباطل، فإنما تجب البشرى بما في الممدوح لا بنفس المدح.,"If it were not for the words of the Prophet (may Allâh be pleased with him) about “good praise” which “brings to the believers the express good news of the happiness which has been promised”, it might have been a sign of wisdom to prefer being criticized even unjustly to being praised with good reason. But these words were spoken. The promised happiness “will always arise from merit, not from absence of merit; it will reward only the object of praise, not merely the fact that praises were uttered”."
وليس في العالم مذ كان إلى أن يتناهى أحد يستحسن الهم ولا يريد طرده عن نفسه.,"Nobody in the whole world, from the time of its creation until its end, would deliberately choose anxiety, and would not desire to drive it far away."
ليس بين الفضائل والرذائل ولا بين الطاعات والمعاصي إلا نفار النفس وأنسها فقط.,"There is no difference between the virtues and the vices, between the acts of devotion and acts of rebellion, except in as far as the soul feels attracted or repelled."
فالسعيد من أنست نفسه بالفضائل والطاعات ونفرت من الرذائل والمعاصي والشقي من أنست نفسه بالرذائل والمعاصي ونفرت من الفضائل والطاعات وليس هاهنا إلا صنع الله تعالى وحفظه.,"Happy the man whose soul finds pleasure in virtue and good deeds, fleeing vice and rebellion. And unhappy the man whose soul finds pleasure in vice and rebellion, fleeing virtue and good deeds. This is nothing less than the sacred order of things ordained by the providence of Almighty Allâh."
طالب الآخرة ليفوز في الآخرة متشبه بالملائكة وطالب الشر متشبه بالشياطين وطالب الصوت والغلبة متشبه بالسباع وطالب اللذات متشبه بالبهائم،,Anyone who strives after eternity is on the side of the angels. Anyone who strives after evil is on the side of the demons. Anyone who seeks fame and victory is on the side of the tigers. Anyone who seeks sensual pleasures is on the side of the [dumb] beasts.
وطالب المال لعين المال لا لينفقه في الواجبات والنوافل المحمودة أسقط وأرذل من أن يكون له في شيء من الحيوان شبه ولكنه يشبه الغدران التي في الكهوف في المواضع الوعرة لا ينتفع بها شيء من الحيوان.,"Anyone who seeks money for its own sake, not for spending on pious obligations and praiseworthy acts of charity, is too base, too vile to be compared with a beast. He resembles rather the waters which gather in caves in inaccessible places: no animal profits at all from them, [except now and then a bird; then the wind and the sun dry up what is left. And the same thing happens to possessions which are not consecrated to pious works]."
فالعاقل لا يغتبط بصفه يفوقه فيها سبع أو بهيمة أو جماد وإنما يغتبط بتقدمه في الفضيلة التي أبانه الله تعالى بها عن السباع والبهائم والجمادات وهي التمييز الذي يشارك فيه الملائكة.,"A wise man has no satisfaction is a quality which sets him below tigers, dumb beasts and inanimate objects. He rejoices only in his progress in that virtue by which Allâh distinguishes him from these same tigers, dumb beasts and inanimate objects: this is the virtue of intelligence which he shares with the angels."
فمن سر بشجاعته التي يضعها في غير موضعها لله عز وجل فليعلم أن النمر أجرأ منهن وأن الأسد والذئب والفيل أشجع منه ومن سر بقوة جسمه فليعلم أن البغل والثور والفيل أقوى منه جسمًا ومن سر بحمله الأثقال فليعلم أن الحمار أحمل منه،,"Anyone who feels proud of courage which is not applied in its normal directions, the service of the Almighty God, let him understand that the tiger is braver than him, that the lion, the wolf and the elephant are braver than him. Anyone who glories in his own physical strength, let it be known to him that the mule, the ox and the elephant are physically stronger than him. Anyone who glories is his ability to carry heavy weights, let it be known to him that the donkey can carry greater weights."
ومن سر بسرعة عدوه فليعلم أن الكلب والأرنب أسرع عدوًا منه ومن سر بحسن صوته فليعلم أن كثيرًا من الطير أحسن صوتًا منه وأن أصوات المزامير ألذ وأطرب من صوته فأي فخر وأي سرور في ما تكون فيه هذه البهائم متقدمة عليه؟,"Anyone who glories in his ability to run, let it be known to him that the dog and the hare are faster runners than he. Anyone who glories in the sound of his voice, let it be known to him that many of the birds have sweeter voices than he, and the sound of the flutes is more exquisite and charming than the sound of his voice. How can anyone take pride or satisfaction in qualities in which these animals are superior?"
لكن من قوى تمييزه واتسع علمه وحسن عمله فليغتبط بذلك فإنه لا يتقدمه في هذه الوجوه إلا الملائكة وخيار الناس.,"But a man whose intellect is strong, whose knowledge is extensive and whose deeds are good, he should rejoice because only the angels and the best of men are superior to him in these matters."
قول الله تعالى: {وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنْ الْهَوَى فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى} [النازعات: 40-41].,"Allâh says “Anyone who fears the majesty of God, and controls himself against passion, he shall have Paradise for his refuge.” [79:40]"
جامع لكل فضيلة لأن نهي النفس عن الهوى هو ردعها عن الطبع الغضبي وعن الطبع الشهواني لأن كليهما واقع تحت موجب الهوى فلم يبق إلا استعمال النفس للنطق الموضوع فيها الذي به بانت عن البهائم والحشرات والسباع.,"These words encapsulate all virtue: to control oneself against passion means in fact to turn away from one’s natural tendency towards anger and lust, things which are both under the dictates of passion. Then all that is left for the soul to use is the intellect which God has given it, the good sense which distinguishes it from the beasts, from insects or vermin and from tigers."
قول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم للذي استوصاه: «لَا تَغْضَبْ»، وأمره عليه السلام «أن يحب المرء لغيره ما يحب لنفسه» جامعان لكل فضيلة لأن في نهيه عن الغضب ردع النفس ذات القوة الغضبية عن هواها وفي أمره عليه السلام أن يحب المرء لغيره ما يحب لنفسه ردع النفس عن القوة الشهوانية وجمع لأزمة العدل الذي هو فائدة النطق الموضوع في النفس الناطقة.,"“Never lose your temper,” as Allâh’s Prophet (peace be upon him) said to a man asking advice, and, as he also said commanding him, “Do as you would be done by”, together encapsulate the whole of virtue. Indeed, the fact that the Prophet forbade all anger implies that although the soul has been given the ability to be angry, it should refrain from this passion, and the [Prophet’s] commandment to do as you would be done implies that the souls should turn away from the strong force of greed and lust and should uphold the authority or the means of justice which springs from the rationality which is part of the reasonable soul."
رأيت أكثر الناس إلا من عصم الله تعالى وقليل ما هم يتعجلون الشقاء والهم والتعب لأنفسهم في الدنيا ويحتقبون عظيم الإثم الموجب للنار في الآخرة بما لا يحظون معه بنفع أصلًا من نيات خبيثة يضبون عليها من تمني الغلاء المهلك للناس وللصغار ومن لا ذنب له وتمني أشد البلاء لمن يكرهونه وقد علموا يقينًا أن تلك النيات الفاسدة لا تعجل لهم شيئًا مما يتمنونه أو يوجب كونه. وإنهم لو صفوا نياتهم وحسنوها لتعجلوا الراحة لأنفسهم،,"I have seen the majority of people – except those who God the Almighty has protected, and they are few – throw themselves into the miseries, the worries and fatigues of this world, and pile up a mountain of sin which will mean that they enter hellfire in the Hereafter and will have no advantage from the perfidious intentions which they nurse so carefully, such as wishing for an inflation of prices which would bring disaster upon the children, the innocent, or wishing the worst trials upon those they hate. They know very well that these bad intentions will not necessarily bring about what they desire or guarantee its advent, and if they clarified and improved their intentions they would hasten the repose of their spirits."
وتفرغوا بذلك لمصالح أمورهم ولا قتنوا بذلك عظيم الأجر في المعاد من غير أن يؤخر ذلك شيئًا مما يريدونه أو يمنع كونه.,"They would then have the time to devote themselves to their own business and would thus profit a great deal in addition to the return of their souls to God, and all this without having at all hastened or delayed the realization of their desires."
فأي غبن أعظم من هذه الحال التي نبهنا عليها وأي سعد أعظم من التي دعونا إليها؟,"Is there any worse deception than the attitude which we warn against here, and is there any greater happiness than the one which we are promoting?"
وأما ما مضى وما لم يأت فمعدومان كما لم يكن، فمن أضل ممن يبيع باقيًا خالدًا بمدة هي أقل من كرّ الطرف؟!,The past and the future are as meaningless as if they did not exist. Is anyone more misguided than the man who barters an eternal future for a moment which passes quicker than the blink of an eye?
إذا نام المرء خرج عن الدنيا ونسي كل سرور وكل حزن فلو رتب نفسه في يقظته على ذلك أيضًا لسعد السعادة التامة.,"When a man is asleep, he leaves the world and forgets all joy and all sorrow. If he kept his spirit in the same state on waking, he would know perfect happiness."
من أساء إلى أهله وجيرانه فهو أسقطهم.,A man who harms his family and his neighbors is viler than them.
ومن كافأ من أساء إليه منهم فهو مثلهم.,Anyone who returns evil for evil is as bad as them.
ومن لم يكافئهم بإساءتهم فهو سيدهم وخيرهم وأفضلهم.,"Anyone who refrains from returning evil is their master, their superior and the most virtuous among them."
لو لم يكن من فضل العلم إلا أن الجهال يهابونك ويجلونك وأن العلماء يحبونك ويكرمونك لكان ذلك سببًا إلى وجوب طلبه فكيف بسائر فضائله في الدنيا والآخرة؟!,"If knowledge had no other merit than to make the ignorant fear and respect you, and scholars love and honour you, this would be good enough reason to seek after it. Let alone all its other merits in this world and the next!"
ولو لم يكن من نقص الجهل إلا أن صاحبه يحسد العلماء ويغبط نظراءه من الجهال لكان ذلك سببًا إلى وجوب الفرار عنه فكيف بسائر رذائله في الدنيا والآخرة؟!,"If ignorance had no other fault than to make the ignorant man jealous of knowledgeable men and jubilant at seeing more people like himself, this by itself would be a reason enough to oblige us to flee it. Let alone the other bad results of this evil in this world and the next!"
لو لم يكن من فائدة العلم والاشتغال به إلا أنه يقطع المشتغل به عن الوساوس المضنية ومطارح الآمال التي لا تفيد غير الهم وكفاية الأفكار المؤلمة للنفس لكان ذلك أعظم داع إليه فكيف وله من الفضائل ما يطول ذكره؟! ومن أقلها ما ذكرنا مما يحصل عليه طالب العلم.,"If knowledge and the action of devoting oneself to it had no purpose except to free the man who seeks it from the exhausting anxieties and many worries which afflict the mind, that alone would certainly be enough to drive us to seek knowledge. But what should we say of the other benefits too numerous to list, the least of which are the above-mentioned, and all of which accrue to the knowledgeable man."
وفي مثله أتعب ضعفاء الملوك أنفسهم فتشاغلوا عما ذكرنا بالشطرنج والنرد والخمر والأغاني وركض الدواب في طلب الصيد وسائر الفضول التي تعود بالمضرة في الدنيا والآخرة وأما فائدة فلا فائدة.,"In search of benefits as small as these the petty kings have worn themselves out in seeking distraction from their anxieties in game of chess, dicing, wine, song, hunting expeditions and other pastimes which bring nothing but harm in this world and the next and absolutely no benefit."
لو تدبر العالم في مرور ساعاته ماذا كفاه العلم من الذل بتسلط الجهال ومن الهم بمغيب الحقائق عنه ومن الغبطة بما قد بان له وجهه من الأمور الخفية عن غيره لزاد حمدًا لله عز وجل وغبطة بما لديه من العلم ورغبة في المزيد منه.,"If the scholar who has spent long peaceful hours [at his studies] stopped to think how his knowledge has protected him against humiliation at the hands of the ignorant, and against anxiety about unknown truths, and what joy it has brought him by enabling him to solve problems which others find insoluble, he would certainly increase his expressions of gratitude to Allâh and rejoice more in the knowledge that he has and desire even more to add to it."
من شغل نفسه بأدنى العلوم وترك أعلاها وهو قادر عليه كان كزارع الذرة في الأرض التي يجود فيها البر وكغارس الشعراء حيث يزكو النخل والزيتون.,"Anyone who spends his time studying something inferior, abandoning higher studies of which he is capable, is like someone who sows corn in a field capable of growing wheat, or who plants bushes in a soil which could support palm trees and olives."
نشر العلم عند من ليس من أهله مفسد لهم كإطعامك العسل والحلواء من به احتراق وحمى، أو كشميمك المسك والعنبر لمن به صداع من احتدام الصفراء.,"To spread knowledge among those incapable of understanding it would be as harmful as giving honey and sugary confections to someone with a fever, or giving musk and amber to someone with a migraine caused by an excess of bile."
الباخل بالعلم ألأم من الباخل بالمال لأن الباخل بالمال أشفق من فناء ما بيده والباخل بالعلم بخل بما لا يفنى على النفقة ولا يفارقه مع البذل.,"A man who is a miser with his knowledge is worse than a man who is a miser with his money, for the money-miser is afraid of using up what he possesses but the knowledge-miser is being mean with something which does not get used up and is not lost when it is given away."
من مال بطبعه إلى علم ما وإن كان أدنى من غيره فلا يشغلها بسواه فيكون كغارس النارجيل بالأندلس وكغارس الزيتون بالهند وكل ذلك لا ينجب.,"Anyone who has a natural inclination towards a branch of knowledge, even if it is inferior to other branches, should not abandon it, or he would be like someone who plants coconuts in al-Andalus or olive trees in India where neither would produce fruit."
أجل العلوم ما قربك من خالقك تعالى وما أعانك على الوصول إلى رضاه.,The most noble branches of knowledge are those which bring you close to the Creator and help you to be pleasing to Him.
انظر في المال والحال والصحة إلى من دونك، وانظر في الدين والعلم والفضائل إلى من فوقك.,"When you compare yourself with others in matters of wealth, position, and health, you should look at people less favoured than yourself. When you compare yourself with others in matters of religion, knowledge and virtue, look at people who are better than yourself."
العلوم الغامضة كالدواء القوي يصلح الأجساد القوية ويهلك الأجساد الضعيفة.,The mysterious branches of knowledge are like a strong drug which benefits a strong body but damages a weak one.
وكذلك العلوم الغامضة، تزيد العقل القوي جودة وتصفية من كل آفة وتهلك ذا العقل الضعيف.,"In the same way, the esoteric branches of knowledge enrich a strong mind, and refine it, purifying it of its flaws, but destroy a weak mind."
من الغوص على الجنون ما لو غاصه صاحبه على العقل لكان أحكم من الحسن البصري وأفلاطون الأثيني وبزرجمهر الفارسي.,"If a madman threw himself as deeply into good sense as he throws himself as deeply into madness, he would surely be wiser than al-Hasan al-Basrî, Plato of Athens and Vuzurgmihr the Persian."
وقف العقل عند أنه لا ينفع إن لم يؤيد بتوفيق في الدين أو بسعد في الدنيا.,Intelligence has its limits; it is useless unless it is based upon the guidance of religion or on good fortune in this world.
لا تضر بنفسك في أن تجرب بها الآراء الفاسدة لتري المشير بها فسادها فتهلك فإن ملامة ذي الرأي الفاسد لك على مخالفته وأنت ناج من المكاره خير لك من أن يعذرك ويندم كلاكما وأنت قد حصلت في مكاره.,"Do not harm your soul by experimenting with corrupt views in order to demonstrate their corruption to someone who has consulted you, otherwise you will lose your soul. If you shield yourself from acting in a detestable way, any criticism that can be thrown at you by a man of corrupt beliefs because you disagree with him is better than his respect and better than the bad effect on both of you if you committed these detestable acts."
إياك وأن تسر غيرك بما تسوء به نفسك فيما لم توجبه عليك شريعة أو فضيلة.,Guard against taking pleasure in any way that will harm your soul and is not required of you by the religious law nor by virtue.
وقف العلم عند الجهل بصفات الباري عز وجل.,Knowledge no longer exists if one has ignored the attributes of the Almighty Great Creator.
لا آفة على العلوم وأهلها أضر من الدخلاء فيها وهم من غير أهلها فإنهم يجهلون ويظنون أنهم يعلمون ويفسدون ويقدرون أنهم يصلحون.,There is no worse calamity for knowledge and for scholars than when outsiders intrude. They are ignorant and think they are knowledgeable; they ruin everything and believe that they are helping.
من أراد خير الآخرة وحكمة الدنيا وعدل السيرة والاحتواء على محاسن الأخلاق كلها واستحقاق الفضائل بأسرها فليقتد بمحمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وليستعمل أخلاقه وسيره ما أمكنه أعاننا الله على الاتساء به بمنّه، آمين.,"Anyone who is seeking happiness in the Hereafter, wisdom in this world, the best way to behave, the sum of all moral qualities, the practice of all the virtues, should take as his model Muhammad, the Prophet of God – God grant him blessings and peace – and emulate as far as possible the Prophet’s morals and behaviour. May God help us to take him as an example, by His grace, amen [amen]!"
غاظني أهل الجهل مرتين من عمري:,The ignorant have annoyed me on two occasions in my lifetime.
أحدهما: بكلامهم فيما لا يحسنونه أيام جهلي. والثاني: بسكوتهم عن الكلام بحضرتي، فهم أبدًا ساكتون عما ينفعهم ناطقون فيما يضرهم.,"First, when they spoke of things they did not know, at a time when I was equally ignorant; the second time when they kept silent in my presence [in the days when I had learnt something]. In the same way they were always silent about matters which would have benefited them to speak about, and spoke about matters which brought them no benefit."
وسرني أهل العلم مرتين من عمري: أحدهما: بتعليمي أيام جهلي. والثاني: بمذاكرتي أيام عملي.,"Scholars have brought me pleasure on two occasions in my lifetime: first, they taught me when I was ignorant; the second time was when they conversed with me after I had been taught."
من فضل العلم والزهد في الدنيا أنهما لا يؤتيهما الله عز وجل إلا أهلهما ومستحقهما ومن نقص علو أحوال الدنيا من المال والصوت أن أكثر ما يقعان في غير أهلهما وفيمن لا يستحقهما.,"One of the merits of religious knowledge and asceticism in this world is that Almighty God does not put it within the reach of anyone except those who are worthy of it and deserve it. One of the disadvantages of the great things of this world, wealth and fame, is that they mostly fall to the lot of people who are unworthy of them and do not deserve them."
من طلب الفضائل لم يساير إلا أهلها ولم يرافق في تلك الطريق إلا أكرم صديق من أهل المواساة والبر والصدق وكرم العشيرة والصبر والوفاء والأمانة والحلم وصفاء الضمائر وصحة المودة.,"Anyone who is seeking after virtue should keep company with the virtuous and should take no companion with him on his way except the noblest friend, one of those people who is sympathetic, charitable, truthful, sociable, patient, trustworthy, loyal, magnanimous, pure in conscience and a true friend."
ومن طلب الجاه والمال واللذات لم يساير إلا أمثال الكلاب الكلبة والثعالب الخلبة ولم يرافق في تلك الطريق إلا كل عدو المعتقد، خبيث الطبيعة.,"Anyone who is seeking fame, fortune and pleasure will keep company only with those people who resemble mad dogs and sly foxes: they will take for their travelling companions only people [inimical to his belief] who are cunning and depraved in nature."
منفعة العلم في استعمال الفضائل عظيمة وهو أنه يعلم حسن الفضائل فيأتيها ولو في الندرة ويعلم قبح الرذائل فيجتنبها ولو في الندرة ويسمع الثناء الحسن فيرغب في مثله والثناء الرديء فينفر منه،,"The usefulness of the knowledge [of good] in the practice of virtue is considerable: anyone who knows the beauty of virtue will practise it, though it may be rarely. Knowing the ugliness of vice, he will avoid it, though it may be rarely. The man with knowledge of good will listen to soundly-based praise and desire it for himself. He will listen to talk of evil and desire to avoid it."
وقد رأيت من غمار العامة من يجري من الاعتدال وحميد الأخلاق إلى ما لا يتقدمه فيه حكيم عالم رائض لنفسه ولكنه قليل جدًا.,"It is true that I have seen among the common people some who, by their excellent behaviour and morals, were not surpassed by any wise man, any scholarly, self-controlled man. But this is very rare."
ورأيت ممن طالع العلوم وعرف عهود الأنبياء عليهم السلام ووصايا الحكماء وهو لا يتقدمه في خبث السيرة وفساد العلانية والسريرة شرار الخلق وهذا كثير جدًا فعلمت أنهما مواهب وحرمان من الله تعالى.,"And I have seen men who have studied the different branches of knowledge, who have a good knowledge of the messages of the Prophets – peace be upon them – and the advice of the philosophers and who nevertheless surpass the most wicked in their bad behaviour, their depravity, both internal and external. * These are the worst of all creatures.* This is very common and I therefore perceive that these two [moral attitudes] are a favour which is granted or withheld by Allâh the Almighty."
فصل في الأخلاق والسير,IV) Morals and Behaviour
احرص على أن توصف بسلامة الجانب وتحفظ من أن توصف بالدهاء فيكثر المتحفظون منك حتى ربما أضر ذلك بك وربما قتلك.,Take care to have a reputation of being a man of good intention. Beware of gaining reputation of being devious or people will avoid you more and more and you will finish by being harmed or even lost.
وطّن نفسك على ما تكره يقل همك إذا أتاك ويعظم سرورك ويتضاعف إذا أتاك ما تحب مما لم تكن قدرته.,"Train yourself to think about the things that frighten you. If they come to pass, you will not be so worried by them. You will not lose anything by growing accustomed to the thought of them, and your pleasure will be greater or even doubled if something nice or unexpected happens."
إذا تكاثرت الهموم سقطت كلها.,"When worries multiply, they will all fall to the ground."
الغادر يفي للمجدود والوفي يغدر بالمحدود والسعيد كل السعيد في دنياه من لم يضطره الزمان إلى اختبار الإخوان.,"A deceitful man may occasionally keep his word to a lucky man, and a faithful man may occasionally betray an unlucky man. Happy is he who in this world is not obliged by fate to put his friends to the test."
لا تفكر فيمن يؤذيك فإنك إن كنت مقبلًا فهو هالك وسعدك يكفيك وإن كنت مدبرًا فكل أحد يؤذيك.,Do not worry about a man who wishes you ill. If fortune favours you he is lost and your luck will protect you. If fortune does not favour you then anyone can harm you.
طوبى لمن علم من عيوب نفسه أكثر مما يعلم الناس منها.,Blessed is the man who knows his own faults better than others know them.
الصبر على الجفاء ينقسم ثلاثة أقسام: فصبر عمن يقدر عليك ولا تقدر عليه وصبر عمن تقدر عليه ولا يقدر عليك وصبر عمن لا تقدر عليه ولا يقدر عليك.,Patience in the face of others’ insolence is of three kinds: patience with someone who has power over you when you have none over him; patience with someone you have power over when he has none over you; finally patience with someone when neither of you has power over the other.
فالأول ذل ومهانة وليس من الفضائل.,The first kind is humiliating and degrading; it is not a virtue.
والرأي لمن خشي ما هو أشد مما يصبر عليه المتاركة والمباعدة.,The advice for someone who is afraid of such an intolerable situation would be to abandon everything and run away.
إما أن يكون الجفاء ممن لم يقع منه إلا على سبيل الغلط ويعلم قبح ما أتى به ويندم عليه فالصبر عليه فضل وفرض وهو حلم على الحقيقة.,"The insolence may arise from a misunderstanding or from fear, and the one at fault may realize the ugliness of his act and regret it."
وأما من كان لا يدري مقدار نفسه ويظن أن لها حقًا يستطيل به فلا يندم على ما سلف منه فالصبر عليه ذل للصابر وإفساد للمصبور عليه لأنه يزيد استشراء والمقارضة له سخف والصواب إعلامه بأنه كان ممكنًا أن ينتصر منه وإنه إنما ترك ذلك استرذالًا له فقط وصيانة عن مراجعته ولا يزاد على ذلك.,"To be patient with him would be a virtue and an obligation; this is true magnanimity. But with a person who overestimates his own value and is proud and arrogant and feels no regret for his action, to tolerate this is humiliating, it encourages the wrongdoer in his wrongdoing, because he will act even more violently and it would be stupid to respond in the same way. The wisest course of action is to let him know that you could fight back but that you are refraining from doing so because he is beneath contempt and unworthy of your attention. No more is necessary."
وأما جفاء السفلة فليس جزاؤه إلا النكال وحده.,"As for the insolent behaviour of the lower classes, the only remedy is to punish it."
من جالس الناس لم يعدم همًا يؤلم نفسه وإثما يُندم عليه في معاده وغيظًا ينضج كبده وذلًا ينكس همته فما الظن بعد بمن خالطهم وداخلهم والعزة والراحة والسرور والسلامة في الانفراد عنهم ولكن اجعلهم كالنار تدفأ بها ولا تخالطها.,"Anyone who mingles with the crowd is never short of worries to pain him, or sins to regret on the day when he will return to God, or anger to give him a pain in the liver [heart], or humiliation to make him hang his head. Then what shall I say about someone who is intimate with people and always in their company? Solitude is where you will find dignity, repose, happiness and security. You should treat company like a fire: warm yourself but do not fall in. [“You may draw near but without going right in.”]"
لو لم يكن في مجالسة الناس إلا عيبان لكفيا: أحدهما: الاسترسال عند الأنس وبالأسرار المهلكة القاتلة التي لولا المجالسة لم يبح بها البائح.,"If the company of the people had only two following faults, that would be enough to keep us away: the first is letting out vital secrets during a friendly meeting, secrets which otherwise would never have been revealed."
إذا حققت مدة الدنيا لم تجدها إلا الآن الذي هو فصل الزمانين فقط.,"When we contemplate the duration of this universe, we see it limited to the present moment, which is nothing but the point which separates two infinities of time."
فعلى هذه المقدمات يجب أن يكون للعلم حصة في كل فضيلة وللجهل حصة في كل رذيلة ولا يأتي الفضائل ممن لم يتعلم العلم إلا صافي الطبع جدًا فاضل التركيب وهذه منزلة خص بها النبيون عليهم الصلاة والسلام لأن الله تعالى علمهم الخير كله دون أن يتعلموه من الناس.,"From this premise it necessarily follows that knowledge has a part in every virtue, and ignorance has a part in every vice. A man who has had no instruction in the knowledge [of good] will not practise virtue unless he has an extremely pure nature, a virtuous constitution. It is the particular state of the Prophets (peace and the blessings of God be upon them!) for God has taught them virtue in its entirety, without them having learnt it from men."
والثاني: مواقعة الغلبة المهلكة في الآخرة فلا سبيل إلى السلامة من هاتين البليتين إلا بالانفراد عن المجالسة جملة.,"The second is showing off, putting our immortality in mortal peril. There is no other escape from these two trials than to withdraw into absolute solitude, far from people altogether."
لا تحقر شيئًا من عمل غد أن تحققه بأن تعجله اليوم وإن قل فإن من قليل الأعمال يجتمع كثيرها وربما أعجز أمرها عند ذلك فيبطل الكل.,"Do not put off to tomorrow what you can do today. If you recognize this obligation you will make haste to do today even very small preparations for tomorrow, for if a small number of tasks are left to mount up they become a great number. In fact they have become too many to do and the whole enterprise will be wrecked."
لا تحقر شيئًا مما ترجو به تثقيل ميزانك يوم البعث إن تعجله الآن وإن قل فإنه يحط عنك كثيرًا لو اجتمع لقذف بك في النار.,"Do not despise any of the actions that you hope to see counted in your favour on the Day of Resurrection. By doing them now, even in small measure, these actions will eventually outweigh the number of your sins which would otherwise add up to sufficient reason to throw you into hellfire."
الوجع والفقر والنكبة والخوف لا يحسن أذاها إلا من كان فيها ولا يعلمه من كان خارجًا عنها.,"With depression, poverty, misfortune and fear, the pain is only felt by the sufferer. People looking at them from the outside have no idea what they are like."
وفساد الرأي والعار والإثم لا يعلم قبحها إلا من كان خارجًا عنها وليس يراه من كان داخلًا فيها.,"On the other hand, with false judgment, shame and sin, only the onlooker sees how horrible they are! The person who is sunk deep in them does not perceive this."
الأمن والصحة والغنى لا يعرف حقها إلا من كان خارجًا عنها وليس يعرف حقها من كان فيها.,"Security, health and wealth are only appreciated by a person who does not have them. Anyone who has them does not appreciate them."
وجودة الرأي والفضائل وعمل الآخرة لا يعرف فضلها إلا من كان من أهلها ولا يعرفه من لم يكن من أهلها.,"On the other hand, a sound judgment and virtue, working towards eternity, their value is known only to those who share in them. Anyone who has no share in them has no knowledge of what they are like."
أول من يزهد في الغادر من غدر له الغادر وأول من يمقت شاهد الزور من شهد له به وأول من تهون الزانية في عينه الذي يزني بها.,The first person to break with a deceiver is the one who the deceiver has deceived. The first person to detest a false witness is the person whom the false witness supported. The first person to despise an adulterous woman is the man who caused her to commit adultery.
ما رأينا شيئًا فسد فعاد إلى صحته إلا بعد لأي فكيف بدماغ يتوالى عليه فساد السكر كل ليلة.,"As far as we know, nothing can be degraded and then resume its natural state without a great trouble and difficulty. What can we say about the man whose head is poisoned by intoxication every night."
وإن عقلا زين لصاحبه تعجيل إفساده كل ليلة لعقل ينبغي أن يتهم.,"Indeed, a mind which drives its master towards its own deprivation every night must be a mind condemned."
الطريق تبرم والزرايا تكرم وكثرة المال ترغب وقلته تقنع.,"The highway [or a long journey] is fatiguing, a quiet retreat is restorative. Too much wealth makes for greed. A small fortune makes for contentment."
قد ينحس العاقل بتدبيره ولا يجوز أن يسعد الأحمق بتدبيره.,The plans of an intelligent man may go wrong. The plans of a stupid man never go right.
لا شيء أضر على السلطان من كثرة المتفرغين حواليه فالحازم يشغلهم بما لا يظلمهم فيه فإن لم يفعل شغلوه بما يظلمونه فيه.,"Nothing is more harmful to a governor than to be surrounded by a great number of unemployed people. A prudent ruler knows how to keep them busy without being unfair to them, otherwise they will overwhelm him with petty matters."
وأما مقرب أعدائه فذلك قاتل نفسه.,Anyone who invites his enemies to come closer to him is suicidal.
كثرة وقوع العين على الشخص يسهِّل أمره ويهوِّنه.,Anyone who sees an important person too often regards him as less eminent and less important.
التهويل بلزوم زي ما والاكفهرار وقلة الانبساط ستائر جعلها الجهال الذين مكنتهم الدنيا أمام جهلهم.,"Parading, putting on, for example, a severe and discontented air, this is the veil with which ignorant people who have risen in the world try to cover their ignorance."
لا يغتر العاقل بصداقة حادثة له أيام دولته فكل أحد صديقه يومئذ.,"A wise man should not delude himself about friendship which started when he was in power, because everyone was his friend then."
اجهد في أن تستعين في أمورك بمن يريد منها لنفسه مثل ما تريد لنفسك ولا تستعن فيها بمن حظه من غيرك كحظه منك.,The best person to help you in your affairs is someone with equal interest in their success. Do not get anyone to help you who would be just as well off elsewhere.
لا تجب عن كلام نقل إليك عن قائل حتى توقن أنه قاله فإن من نقل إليك كذبًا رجع من عندك بحق.,"Do not respond to talk which is brought by someone on the part of a third person, unless you are sure that the latter did say it, because the one who brought lies to you will go away carrying the truth [the unpleasant truth which you will have told him and which he will hawk around]."
ثق بالمتدين وإن كان على غير دينك ولا تثق بالمستخف وإن أظهر أنه على دينك.,"Put your trust in a pious man, even if the religion that he practises is a different one from your own. Do not put your trust in anyone who scorns sacred things, even if he claims to belong to your own religion."
من استخف بحرمات الله تعالى فلا تأمنه على شيء مما تشفق عليه.,"As for a man who defies the commandments of the Almighty, do not ever trust him with anything you care greatly about."
وجدت المشاركين بأرواحهم أكثر من المشاركين بأموالهم.,I have noticed that people are more generous with their opinions than with their pennies.
هذا شيء طال اختباري إياه ولم أجد قط على طول التجربة سواه فأعيتني معرفة العلة في ذلك حتى قدرت أنها طبيعة في البشر.,"In my long study of this matter, this has never been disproved despite of countless observations. Since I cannot understand the cause of this, I suppose it must be innate in human nature."
من قبيح الظلم الإنكار على من أكثر الإساءة إذا أحسن في الندرة.,It is the height of injustice to deny to habitual wrongdoer the opportunity of doing an occasional good deed.
من استراح من عدو واحد حدث له أعداء كثيرة.,When you get rid of one enemy you see a great many others advancing.
أشبه ما رأيت بالدنيا خيال الظل وهي تماثيل مركبة على مطحنة خشب تدار بسرعة فتغيب طائفة وتبدو أخرى.,I have never seen anything more lifelike than the shadow-theatre with its little actors mounted on wooden handles that are turned rapidly so that some disappear and others appear.
طال تعجبي في الموت وذلك أني صحبت أقوامًا صحبة الروح للجسد من صدق المودة فلما ماتوا رأيت بعضهم في النوم ولم أر بعضهم،,"For a long time I have been thinking about death. I had certain dear friends, as closely bound to me by the bonds of sincere affection as the soul is bound to the body. After they died, some of them appeared to me in dreams. Others did not."
فصل في العلم,III) Knowledge
غفلة النفس ونسيانها ما كانت فيه في دار الابتلاء قبل حلولها في الجسد كغفلة من وقع في طين غمر عن كل ما عهد وعرف قبل ذلك، ثم أطلت الفكر أيضًا في ذلك فلاح لي شعب زائد من البيان وهو أني رأيت النائم إذ همت نفسه بالتخلي من جسده وقوي حسها حتى تشاهد الغيوب قد نسيت ما كان فيه قبيل نومها نسيانًا تامًا البتة على قرب عهدها به وحدثت لها أحوال أخر وهي في كل ذلك ذاكرة حساسة متلذذة آلمة ولذة النوم محسوسة في حاله لأن النائم يتلذ ويحتلم ويخاف ويحزن في حال نومه.,"The oblivion of the soul who forgets the state it was in in the world of temptation [its first abode] while waiting for the resurrection of the body [to enter the body] is like the oblivion of someone who has fallen into mud and has sunk [all his promises] together with everything which he knew before and which was familiar to him. I have also reflected for a long time about this matter, and it seems to be that there is another possible explanation in addition to the one just mentioned. I have studied a sleeping person at the moment when his soul leaves his body, and his senses sharpen to the point of being able to see the unseen; the soul forgets completely, absolutely, the state which it was in just a moment before falling asleep, although it was so recent. The soul knows other states in which it is endowed with memory and feelings, it can be pleased, it can be hurt. The joys of sleep are felt even during the sleep, for the sleeper feels happy, he dreams, he is afraid, he is sad even in his sleep."
وقد كنت عاهدت بعضهم في الحياة على التزوار في المنام بعد الموت إن أمكن ذلك فلم أره في النوم بعد أن تقدمني إلى دار الآخرة فلا أدري أنسي أم شُغِل؟,"While one of the latter was alive, we had each promised to visit the other in a dream after we had died, if at all possible. But I have not seen him at all since he preceded me into the other world. I do not know whether he has forgotten or been engaged."
إنما تأنس النفس بالنفس فأما الجسد فمستثقل مبروم به ودليل ذلك استعجال المرء بدفن جسد حبيبه إذا فارقته نفسه وأسفه لذهاب النفس. وإن كانت الجثة حاضرة بين يديه.,"The soul is not happy except in the company of a soul. The body is heavy and wearying. This is proved by the haste with which one buries the body of a loved one when the soul has departed from it, and by the sorrow caused by the disappearance of the soul although the corpse is still there."
لم أر لإبليس أصيد ولا أقبح ولا أحمق من كلمتين ألقاهما على ألسنة دعاته:,"I have never seen Satan use a worse trick, or an uglier or a more foolish one, than when he puts two phrases onto the tongues of those who follow him."
إحداهما: اعتذار من أساء بأن فلانًا أساء قبله,The first is when someone excuses his own evil deed by alleging that someone has done the same to him.
والثانية: استسهال الإنسان أن يسيء اليوم لأنه قد أساء أمس أو أن يسيء في وجه ما لأنه قد أساء في غيره فقد صارت هاتان الكلمتان عذرًا مسهلتين للشر ومدخلتين له في حد ما يعرف ويحمل ولا ينكر.,"The second is when someone makes light of doing evil today because he did evil yesterday, or he does wrong in one sense because he has already done it in another. These two phrases excuse and facilitate evil-doing; they bring it into the arena of what is acceptable, tolerable and not to be criticized."
استعمل سوء الظن حيث تقدر على توفيته حقه في التحفظ والتأهب واستعمل حسن الظن حيث لا طاقة بك على التحفظ فتربح راحة النفس.,"Be mistrustful if you are able to be sufficiently careful and cautious, but if you cannot check on them you will have to trust people. This will bring you peace of mind."
حد الجود وغايته أن يبذل الفضل كله في وجوه البر وأفضل ذلك في الجار المحتاج وذي الرحم الفقير وذي النعمة الذاهبة والأحضر فاقة.,"The definition of generosity, the supreme objective of generosity, is to give away the entire surplus of your possessions in charitable works. The best charitable work is to bring relief to a neighbour in need, a poor relation, a man who has lost his own possessions and is close to ruin."
ومنع الفضل من هذه الوجوه داخل في البخل وعلى قدر التقصير والتوسع في ذلك يكون المدح والذم وما وضع في غير هذه الوجوه فهو تبذير وهو مذموم.,"Anyone who holds on to this superfluous money without spending it in one of these ways is an example of miserliness. And he should be praised and criticized in proportion to whether he is more or less generous in this way. Anything given to causes which are not these charitable ones is squandered, and the action is blameworthy."
وما بذلت من قوتك لمن هو أمس حاجة منك فهو فضل وإيثار وهو خير من الجود وما منع من هذا فهو لا حمد ولا ذم وهو انتصاف.,It is virtuous to give to someone in greater need part of what you need to keep alive; this is a nobler act of self sacrifice than plain generosity is. To keep what you need is neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy but simply fair.
بذل الواجبات فرض وبذل ما فضل عن القوت جود والإيثار على النفس من القوت بما لا تهلك على عدمه فضل ومنع الواجبات حرام.,To carry out one’s obligations is a duty; to give away surplus food is generosity. To forget yourself and to give away food as long as you will not starve yourself is a virtue. To hinder anyone against performing his duty is against the Law.
ومنع ما فضل عن القوت بخل وشح والمنع من الإيثار ببعض القوت عذر ومنع النفس أو الأهل القوت أو بعضه نتن ورذالة ومعصية.,"To refuse to give away the leftovers of our food is greedy and extremely miserly. To refuse to deprive yourself in order to give away part of your food which you need is excusable. To deprive yourself of food, and to deprive your family to any extent, is ignoble, vile and criminal."
والسخاء بما ظلمت فيه أو أخذته بغير حقه ظلم مكرر والذم جزاء ذلك لا الحمد لأنك إنما تبذل مال غيرك على الحقيقة لا مالك.,"To be generous with property which you have acquired by unfair means is to aggravate the evil already committed, and it should be rewarded with criticism, not praise, since you are in fact giving away someone else’s property, not your own."
وإعطاء الناس حقوقهم مما عندك ليس جودًا ولكنه حق.,To give people their rightful part of your possessions is not generosity; it is a duty.
حد الشجاعة بذل النفس للموت عن الدين والحريم وعن الجار المضطهد وعن المستجير المظلوم وعن الهضيمة ظلمًا في المال والعرض وفي سائر سبل الحق سواء قل من يعارض أو كثر.,"The definition of courage is to fight to the death in defense of religion, in defense of womanhood, of ill treated neighbours, of the oppressed who seek protection, or in defense of a lost fortune, honour which has been attacked, and other rights, against all adversaries, whether they be few or many."
والتقصير عما ذكرنا جبن وخور وبذلها في عرض الدنيا تهور وحمق.,To do less than this would be cowardliness and weakness. To use up one’s courage in fighting for the vanities of the world would be stupid recklessness.
وأحمق من ذلك من بذلها في المنع عن الحقوق الواجبات قبلك أو قبل غيرك وأحمق من هؤلاء كلهم قوم شاهدتهم لا يدرون فيما يبذلون أنفسهم فتارة يقاتلون زيدًا عن عمرو وتارة يقاتلون عمرًا عن زيد ولعل ذلك يكون في يوم واحد فيتعرضون للمهالك بلا معنى فينقلبون إلى النار أو يفرون إلى العار.,"But it is even more stupid to devote your courage to fighting against right and duty, either in your own interest or for others. And even more stupid than all these, there are men whom I have seen who do not know to what cause to devote themselves; sometimes they fight Zayd on Amr’s account, and sometimes they fight Amr on Zayd’s account, sometimes both in the same day, exposing themselves needlessly to danger, hurtling towards hellfire or running towards dishonour."
وقد أنذر بهؤلاء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في قوله: «يَأْتِيَ عَلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمٌ لَا يَدْرِي الْقَاتِلُ فِيمَ قَتَلَ وَلَا الْمَقْتُولُ فِيمَ قُتِلَ».,"About such people the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) has warned: “There will come a time for men when the one who kills will not know why he has killed, and his victim will not know why he was killed.”"
حد العفة أن تغض بصرك وجميع جوارحك عن الأجسام التي لا تحل لك فما عدا هذا فهو عهر وما نقص حتى يمسك عما أحل الله تعالى فهو ضعف وعجز.,"The definition of continence is to turn away one’s glance and all one’s organs of sense from forbidden objects. Everything other than this is debauchery. Anyone who goes further, and forbids himself what the Almighty has made lawful, is weak and powerless."
حد العدل أن تعطي من نفسك الواجب وتأخذه.,The definition of justice is to give spontaneously what is due and to know how to take what is your right.
وحد الجور أن تأخذه ولا تعطيه.,The definition of injustice is to take one’s due and not to give others their due.
وحد الكرم أن تعطي من نفسك الحق طائعًا وتتجافى عن حقك لغيرك قادرًا وهو فضل أيضًا وكل جود كرم وفضل وليس كل كرم وفضل جودًا.,"The definition of nobility of soul is to give spontaneously and with a good heart what is due to others, and to allow them their rights willingly; this is also virtue. All generosity is noble and virtuous, but not every noble act and every virtue is generous."
فالفضل أعم والجود أخص إذ الحلم فضل وليس جودا، والفضل فرض زدت عليه نافلة.,Virtue is a more general term; generosity is more specific. Magnanimity is a virtue without being generosity. Virtue is a general prescription to which one adds a specific action.
إهمال ساعة يفسد رياضة سنة.,One hour of neglect can undo a year of pious effort.
خطأ الواحد في تدبير الأمور خير من صواب الجماعة التي لا يجمعها واحد لأن خطأالواحد في ذلك يستدرك وصواب الجماعة يضري على استدامة الإهمال وفي ذلك الهلاك.,"In the course of affairs, a mistake made by an individual is better than a just policy followed by the whole assembly of Muslims if they are not grouped under the leadership of one man. This is because the individual’s mistake can be put right, but the correct views of the Muslim assembly will lead them to ignore something that may have been wrong, and they will be lost because of it."
نوار الفتنة لا يعقد.,"In times of civil war, the blossom does not set fruit."
كانت في عيوب فلم أزل بالرياضة وإطلاعي على ما قالت الأنبياء صلوات الله عليهم والأفاضل من الحكماء المتأخرين والمتقدمين في الأخلاق وفي آداب النفس أعاني مداواتها حتى أعان الله عز وجل على أكثر ذلك بتوفيقه ومنه.,"I myself had faults, and I tried continually to correct them, by discipline, by studying the words of the Prophets (may they be blessed) and also the words of the most virtuous sages among the ancients who are more advanced in morality and self-discipline, until God helped me overcome most of my faults, thanks to His guidance and grace."
وتمام العدل ورياضة النفس والتصرف بأزمة الحقائق هو الإقرار بها ليتعظ بذلك متعظ يومًا إن شاء الله.,"It is an act of perfect virtue, of self-discipline, a sign that one controls the truth, to confess such faults in order that one day someone may learn from them, if God wills."
فمنها كلف في الرضاء وإفراط في الغضب فلم أزل أداوي ذلك حتى وقفت عند ترك إظهار الغضب جملة بالكلام والفعل والتخبط وامتنعت مما لا يحل من الانتصار وتحملت من ذلك ثقلًا شديدًا،,"One of my faults was that I tended to an extreme of self-satisfaction when I was in the right and an extreme bad temper when I was in the wrong. Ever seeking to cure myself of this, I decided that I would never again display any irritations in my remarks, my actions or my discussions. I renounced every kind of triumph that is not permitted, and I suffered under the heavy burden of this decision."
وصبرت على مضض مؤلم كان ربما أمرضني وأعجزني ذلك في الرضا وكأني سامحت نفسي في ذلك لأنها تمثلت أن ترك ذلك لؤم.,"I had enough patience to bear a dreadful affliction which nearly made me sick and an invalid. But I was not capable of overcoming my passion always to be in the right. It almost seemed that I did not really think this a fault, that I did not really think I should give up this attitude."
ومنها دعابة غالبة فالذي قدرت عليه فيها إمساكي عما يغضب الممازح وسامحت نفسي فيها إذ رأيت تركها من الانغلاق ومضاهيًا للكبر.,"Another fault I had was an ungovernable propensity for sarcasm. What I decided to do about this was to refrain from anything that might irritate the person I was talking to. But I did allow myself to crack jokes, feeling that not to do so would have been narrow-minded and almost arrogant."
ومنها عجب شديد فناظر عقلي نفسي بما يعرفه من عيوبها حتى ذهب كله ولم يبق له والحمد لله أثر بل كلفت نفسي احتقار قدرها جملة واستعمال التواضع.,"Another fault: extreme pride. My mind wrangled with my soul, knowing my defects, and argued so long and so successfully that my pride vanished completely, leaving no trace, thanks be to God. Moreover, I set myself to despise myself absolutely and to be a model of humility."
ومنها حركات كانت تولدها غرارة الصبا وضعف الإغضاء فقصرت نفسي على تركها فذهبت.,"Another of my defects was that I suffered from trembling caused by my youthfulness and the weakness of my limbs. I forced myself to make it stop, and it disappeared."
ومنها محبة في بعد الصيت والغلبة فالذي وقفت عليه من معاناة هذا الداء الإمساك فيه عما لا يحل في الديانة والله المستعان على الباقي مع أن ظهور النفس الغضبية إذا كانت منقادة للناطقة فضل وخلق محمود.,"Another fault: a love of great fame and glory. To deal with this defect. I decided to renounce everything which is forbidden by religion, God helping with the rest, since if the soul remains under the control of reason even its irritability can become a virtue and be regarded as a praiseworthy disposition."
ومنها إفراط في الأنفة بغضت إلي إنكاح الحرم جملة بكل وجه وصعبت ذلك في طبيعتي وكأني توقفت عن مغالبة هذا الإفراط الذي أعرف قبحه لعوارض اعترضت علي والله المستعان.,"I used to feel extreme repugnance for the company of women on any occasion, and this made me difficult to get on with. I seem to have been struggling for ever against this immoderate feeling, which I know to be bad from the problems it has caused me. God help me."
ومنها عيبان قد سترهما الله تعالى وأعان على مقاومتهما وأعان بلطفه عليهما فذهب أحدهما ألبتة ولله الحمد وكأن السعادة كانت موكلة بي فإذا لاح منه طالع قصدت طمسه وطاولني الثاني منهما فكان إذا ثارت منه مدوده نبضت عروقه فيكاد يظهر ثم يسر الله تعالى قدعه بضروب من لطفه تعالى حتى أخلد.,"I had two faults which the Almighty has kept private and helped me to fight and overcome by His goodness. One has completely disappeared, all praise to Him for this. In this case, good luck seems to have been on my side: as soon as this fault rears its head I hasten to stifle it. But the other fault has tormented me for a long time. When its waves came sweeping over me, my veins would throb and this fault would be on the point of reappearing; but God has allowed me to hold back by one of the manifestations of His goodness and it has now disappeared."
ومنها حقد مفرط قدرت بعون الله تعالى على طيه وستره وغلبته على إظهار جميع نتائجه وأما قطعه ألبتة فلم أقدر عليه وأعجزني معه أن أصادق من عاداني عداوة صحيحة أبدًا.,"I used to persist in bearing extreme grudges; I have been enabled to conceal and hide this with the help of the Almighty and to avoid the manifestation of all its effects. But I have never been able to stamp it out completely, nor have I ever found it possible to make friends with anyone who has acted in a truly hostile way towards me."
وأما سوء الظن فيعده قوم عيبًا على الإطلاق وليس كذلك إلا إذا أدى صاحبه إلى ما لا يحل وأما الذي يعيبني به جهال أعدائي من أني لا أبالي فيما أعتقده حقًا عن مخالفة من خالفته ولو أنهم جميع من على ظهر الأرض وإني لا أبالي موافقة أهل بلادي في كثير من زيهم الذي قد تعودوه لغير معنى فهذه الخصلة عندي من أكبر فضائلي التي لا مثيل لها ولعمري لو لم تكن في وأعوذ بالله لكانت من أعظم متمنياتي وطلباتي عند خالقي عز وجل.,"Mistrust itself is regarded by some as an absolute fault. This is not so, unless it leads the person who feels it to commit deeds not allowed by religion, or to adopt behaviour which is unsocial. In other cases mistrust can be steadfastness, and steadfastness is a virtue. As for the reproach made to me by ignorant adversaries who say that I put no value on anyone who disagrees with me when I believe that I am in the right, and that I would never act in concert with the ones I contradict even if they amounted to the entire human population on the face of the earth, and that I place no value on conforming with the people of my country in many of the customs or costume which they have adopted for no particular reason – this independence is a quality which I regard as one of my most important virtues. There is nothing equal to it, and, upon my life, if I did not possess it (God forbid), it would be this that I most longed for, and hoped for, and prayed for to God Almighty."
وأنا أوصي بذلك كل من يبلغه كلامي فلن ينفعه اتباعه الناس في الباطل والفضول إذا أسخط ربه تعالى وغبن عقله أو آلم نفسه وجسده وتكلف مؤونة لا فائدة فيها.,"In fact, my advice to all who may hear my words is to behave in the same way. There is no benefit to be had from copying other people if their actions are vain and pointless. By doing so one annoys the Almighty, and disappoints one’s mind [deludes oneself], causes suffering to one’s soul and body, and takes upon one’s shoulders an unnecessary yoke."
وقد عابني أيضًا بعض من غاب عن معرفة الحقائق أني لا آلم لنيل من نال مني وأني أتعدى ذلك من نفسي إلى إخواني فلا أمتعض لهم إذا نيل منهم بحضرتي وأنا أقول إن من وصفني بذلك فقد أجمل الكلام ولم يفسره.,"A man who knows nothing of the truth has reproached me for not caring about wrongs done to me, or even wrongs done to my friends, so that I do not even get annoyed if they are wronged in my presence. My reply would be that anyone who has described me like that was speaking too hastily and needs to be more precise."
والكلام إذا أجمل أندرج فيه تحسين القبيح وتقبيح الحسن. ألا ترى لو أن قائلًا قال: إن فلانًا يطأ أخته لفحش ذلك ولاستقبحه كل سامع له حتى إذا فسر فقال: هي أخته في الإسلام ظهر فحش هذا الإجمال وقبحه.,"When one speaks hastily one slips into using language that makes the bad not so bad and the good not so good: for example, “So-and-so is sleeping with his sister,” would be an abominable thing to say and would horrify everyone who heard it, but if you explained that it is a matter of “his sister in Islâm”, it would be clear that it was hasty speaking that created the indecent and ugly aspect of the matter."
وأما أنا فإني إن قلت لا آلم لنيل من نال مني لم أصدق فالألم في ذلك مطبوع مجبول في البشر كلهم لكني قد قصرت نفسي على أن لا أظهر لذلك غضبًا ولا تخبطًا ولا تهيجًا فإن تيسر لي الإمساك عن المقارضة جملة بأن أتأهب لذلك فهو الذي أعتمد عليه بحول الله تعالى وقوته.,"For myself, if I pretended not to feel hurt when I am attacked by someone, I should not be telling the truth, for it is natural to feel hurt in such a case, it is only human. But I have forced myself to show neither anger nor bad temper nor fury. I manage to hold back an angry answer by preparing myself in advance, then I do so, thanks to the strength and power of Almighty God."
وإن بادرني الأمر لم أقارض إلا وبالجملة فإني كاره لهذا إلا لضرورة داعية إليه مما أرجو به قمع المستشري في النيل مني أو قدع الناقل إلي إذ أكثر الناس محبون لإسماع المكروه من يسمعونه إياه عن ألسنة غيرهم ولا شيء أقدع لهم من هذا الوجه فإنهم يكفون به عن نقلهم المكاره على ألسنة الناس إلى الناس وهذا شيء لا يفيد إلا إفساد الضمائر وإدخال التمائم فقط.,"But if I have no time to prepare myself, I restrict myself to retaliating with cutting phrases, but not insults, and I attempt to say only what is true, and to express myself without anger or cruelty. I detest doing even this, except when it is absolutely necessary, for example when I wish to stop the spread of a false rumour, for most people love to pass on, to anyone who will listen, hateful tidbits of gossip (which they attribute to a third person), and nothing will stop them so effectively as this course of action. It stops them touting around calumnies which they attribute to others, and which serve no purpose except to corrupt consciences and to spread slander only."
ثم بعد هذا فإن النائل مني لا يخلو من أحد وجهين لا ثالث لهما:,"Furthermore, as for the man who is wronging me, there are two possibilities and two only."
إما أن يكون كاذبًا وإما أن يكون صادقًا.,Either he is lying or telling the truth.
فإن كان كاذبًا فلقد عجل الله لي الانتصار منه على لسان نفسه بأن حصل في جملة أهل الكذب وبأن نبه على فضلي بأن نسب إلي ما أنا منه بريء العرض وما يعلم أكثر السامعين له كذبه إما في وقته ذلك وإما بعد بحثهم عما قال.,"If he is lying, then God will surely make haste to allow me to refute him by his own tongue, for this man will go the way of all liars and will draw attention to my merit by falsely imputing bad things to me – for, late or soon, this will become clear to most of those who listen to him."
وإن كان صادقًا فإنه لا يخلو من أحد ثلاثة أوجه:,"If he is telling the truth, there are three possibilities and only one can be true."
إما أن أكون شاركته في أمر استرحت إليه استراحة المرء إلى من يقدر فيه ثقة وأمانة فهذا أسوأ الناس حالة وكفى به سقوطًا وضعة.,"Perhaps I had been his associate in some business and had confided in him as one does with someone one relies on and trusts, and he would then be the most despicable sneak: I hardly need say more about such base villainy."
وإما أن يكون عابني بما يظن أنه عيب وليس عيبًا فقد كفاني جهله شأنه وهو المعيب لا من عاب,"Or, perhaps he may be criticizing in me something which he regards as a fault and which in fact is not. His ignorance is enough to make this oblivious; it is he who should be accused, and not the one who he has criticized."
وأما أن يكون عابني بعيب هو في على الحقيقة وعلم مني نقصًا أطلق به لسانه فإن كان صادقًا فنفسي أحق بأن ألوم منه وأنا حينئذ أجدر بالغضب على نفسي مني على من عابني بالحق.,"Or, finally, he may be accusing me of a fault which I really do have. Having perceived one of my faults, he has let his tongue wag about it. If he is telling the truth, I deserve more blame than he does. In that case, I should be angry with myself, not with my critic, who is justified in his criticism."
وأما أمر إخواني فإني لست أمسك عن الامتعاض لهم لكني أمتعض امتعاضًا رقيقًا لا أزيد فيه أن أندم القائل منهم بحضرتي وأجعله يتذمم ويعتذر ويخجل ويتنصل وذلك بأن أسلك به طريق ذم من نال من الناس وأن نظر المرء في أمر نفسه والتهمم بإصلاحها أولى به من تتبع عثرات الناس وبأن أذكر فضل صديقي فأبكته على اقتصاره على ذكر العيب دون ذكر الفضيلة وأن أقول إنه لا يرضى بذلك فيك فهو أولى بالكرم منك فلا ترض لنفسك بهذا أو نحو هذا من القول.,"As for my friends, I have not forbidden myself to defend them. But I do it gently, contenting myself with persuading the person who has slandered them in my presence to repent, urging him to reproach himself, to apologize, to feel ashamed, to take back what he said. I achieve this my following the method which consists of blaming the slanderers and telling them that it would be better to mind their own business and put their own houses in order rather than track down the faults of others; I go to recall the merits of my friend, reproaching the critic for limiting himself to recalling his faults without mentioning his virtues, and saying to him, “He would never speak like that about you. He has a more generous spirit than you, and that is what you would not accept,” or something similar."
وأما أن أهارش القائل فأحميه وأهيج طباعه وأستثير غضبه فينبعث منه في صديقي أضعاف ما أكره فأنا الجاني حينئذ على صديقي والمعرض له بقبيح السب وتكراره فيه وإسماعه من لم يسمعه والإغراء به وربما كنت أيضًا في ذلك جانبًا على نفسي ما لا ينبغي لصديقي أن يرضاه لي من إسماعي الجفاء والمكروه وأنا لا أريد من صديقي أن يذب عني بأكثر من الوجه الذي حددت فإن تعدى ذلك إلى أن يساب النائل مني حتى يولد بذلك أن يتضاعف النيل وأن يتعدى أيضًا إليه بقبيح المواجهة وربما إلى أبويّ وأبويه على قدر سفه النائل ومنزلته من البذاءة وربما كانت منازعة بالأيدي فأنا مستنقص لفعله في ذلك زارٍ عليه متظلم منه غير شاكر له.,"As for attacking the speaker, annoying him, irritating him, making him angry, in this way pushing him to increase the insults to my friend which I so dislike, this would make me guilty towards my friend because it would expose him to coarse and repeated insults which would be spread to the ears of those who had not heard them before and would give rise to further slander. Perhaps this would make me just as guilty towards myself, which would not suit my friend, because I should suffer insult and injury. For myself, I would not want my friend to defend me beyond the limits I have outlined. If he goes further, to attack him, or even my father, my mother and his own parents, depending on how insolent and impudent the one who started it is. They might even come to blows, I should scorn him, because he had brought this upon me; I certainly would not be grateful to him."
لكني ألومه على ذلك أشد اللوم وبالله تعالى التوفيق.,On the contrary I should be extremely cross with him. God help us!
وذمني أيضًا بعض من تعسف الأمور دون تحقيق بأني أضيع مالي وهذه جملة بيانها:,"A man of prejudice who never stops to think has accused me of squandering my fortune. This is more hasty talk, which I would explain as follows:"
أني لا أضيع منه إلا ما كان في حفظه نقص ديني أو إخلاق عرضي أو إتعاب نفسي فإني أرى الذي أحفظ من هذه الثلاثة وإن قلَّ أجلّ في العوض مما يضيع من مالي ولو أنه كل ما ذرت عليه الشمس.,"I only squander the portion which it would be against my religion to keep or would cast aspersion on my honour or would fatigue me. I consider that what I avoid of these three evils, however small, far outweighs the amount of fortune lost, even if it amounted to everything that the sun shines on."
والثاني فضل وبر وهو الحلم على الحقيقة وهو الذي يوصف به الفضلاء.,"The second kind is a virtue, it is charitable, it is the true meekness which characterizes virtuous souls."
والثالث ينقسم قسمين:,The third sort consists of two kinds.
ووجدت أفضل نعم الله تعالى على المرء أن يطبعه على العدل وحبه وعلى الحق وإيثاره فما استعنت على قمع هذه الطوالع الفاسدة وعلى كل خير في الدين والدنيا إلا بما في قوتي من ذلك ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله تعالى.,"The best gift that God can give His servant is to endow him with justice and a love of justice, with truth and a love of truth [equity] above all else. To stamp out my evil tendencies, to do everything which is good according to religion and to the world, I have done only what I could. There is no strength and power except in God the Almighty."
وأما من طبع على الجور واستسهاله وعلى الظلم واستخفافه فلييأس من أن يصلح نفسه أو يقوم طباعه أبدًا وليعلم أنه لا يفلح في دين ولا في خلق محمود.,"On the other hand, a man who has a natural tendency towards injustice and who finds it easy to act unjustly, a man who has tendency to transgress and enjoys doing it, let him despair of ever improving or of amending his nature. Let him realize that he will not succeed, either in religion or in good conduct."
وأما الزهو والحسد والكذب والخيانة فلم أعرفها بطبعي قط وكأنني لا حمد لي في تركها لمنافرة جبلتي إياها والحمد لله رب العالمين.,"As for vanity, envy, falsehood and treachery, I have absolutely no experience of them from my nature. It seems that I have no merit for avoiding them since all my being spurns them. Thanks for this be rendered to God, Lord of the Worlds."
من عيب حب الذكر أنه يحبط الأعمال إذا أحب عاملها أن يذكر بها فكاد يكون شركًا لأنه يعمل لغير الله تعالى وهو يطمس الفضائل لأن صاحبه لا يكاد يفعل الخير حبًا للخير لكن ليذكر به.,"One of the defects of the love of renown is that it cancels out the value of good deeds, if the man performing them likes them to be spoken of. This makes him almost impious because he is working for something other than for God. This defect removes all the value from virtues because the man affected by it is hardly trying at all to do good for the sake of good, but for love of renown."
أبلغ في ذمك من مدحك بما ليس فيك لأنه نبه على نقصك وأبلغ في مدحك من ذمك بما ليس فيك لأنه نبه على فضلك ولقد انتصر لك من نفسه بذلك وباستهدافه إلى الإنكار واللائمة.,"There is no worse blame than that of a man who praises a quality in you that you do not have, thereby drawing closer to its absence. There is no better praise than that of a man who reproaches you for a fault that you do not have, thereby drawing attention to your merit, and he gives you your revenge on him by exposing himself to rebuttal and the reproach of having slandered you."
لو علم الناقص نقصه لكان كاملًا.,If one knew one’s imperfections one would be perfect.
لا يخلو مخلوق من عيب فالسعيد من قلت عيوبه ودقت.,"Since no creature is exempt from faults, happy the man whose defects are few and unimportant."
أكثر ما يكون ما لم يظن فالحزم هو التأهب لما يظن فسبحان من رتب ذلك ليري الإنسان عجزه وافتقاره إلى خالقه عز وجل.,"The thing that happens most often is something unexpected. Steadfastness consists of preparing yourself for as much as can be foreseen. Glory be to the One who has so arranged it in order to show to mankind man’s powerlessness and his need for his Creator, the Almighty."
استبقاك من عاتبك وزهد فيك من استهان بسيئاتك.,Anyone who criticizes you cares about your friendship. Anyone who makes light of your faults cares nothing about you.
العتاب للصديق كالسبك للسبيكة فأما تصفو وإما تطير.,Criticizing a friend is like melting an ingot: it will either become refined or it will disappear.
من طوى من إخوانك سره الذي يعنيك دونك أخون لك ممن أفشى سرك لأن من أفشى سرك فإنما خانك فقط ومن طوى سره دونك منهم فقد خانك واستخونك.,"A friend who conceals a secret which concerns you is more disloyal towards you than one who tells a secret of yours. For the one who tells your secret is simply betraying you, but the one who conceals one from you is betraying you and also mistrusting you."
لا ترغب فيمن يزهد فيك فتحصل على الخيبة والخزي.,Do not try to be friends with those who scorn you. You will gain nothing from it but deception and shame.
لا تزهد فيمن يرغب فيك فإنه باب من أبواب الظلم وترك مقارضة الإحسان وهذا قبيح.,"Do not scorn those who try to be friends with you; to do so is a form of injustice and it would be failing to respond to their kindness, and this is bad."
من امتحن بأن يخالط الناس فلا يلق بوهمه كله إلى من صحب ولا يبن منه إلا على أنه عدو مناصب ولا يصبح كل غداة إلا وهو مترقب من غدر إخوانه وسوء معاملتهم مثل ما يترقب من العدو المكاشف فإن سلم من ذلك فلله الحمد. وإن كانت الأخرى أُلفي متأهبًا ولم يمت همًا.,"Anyone who is forced to mix with men should on no account tell his companion everything that passes through his mind. When he leaves him, he must always behave as if he were a desperate enemy. When he wakes up each morning he should always expect his friends to betray him and do evil, expect them to behave exactly like his sworn enemies. If nothing of the sort happens, he should praise God; if it does, then at least he will prepared and the shock will be less."
وأنا أعلمك أن بعض من خالصني المودة وأصفاني إياها غاية الصفاء في حال الشدة والرخاء والسعة والضيق والغضب والرضى تغير علي أقبح تغير بعد اثني عشر عامًا متصلة في غاية الصفاء ولسبب لطيف جدًا ما قدرت قط أنه يؤثر مثله في أحد من الناس وما صلح لي بعدها ولقد أهمني ذلك سنين كثيرة همًا شديدًا.,"For myself, I tell you I had a friend who had sworn friendship, sincere pure friendship, for bad times or good, for richer or poorer, in anger and in satisfaction. This friend changed his attitude towards me, in a most hateful way, after twelve years of perfect friendship, and for an absolutely futile reason which I would never have believed could influence such a man. He has never been reconciled with me since, and this has made me very sad for many years."
ولكن لا تستعمل مع هذا سوء المعاملة فتلحق بذوي الشرارة من الناس وأهل الحب منهم.,"However, one should not do bad things and follow the example of wicked men and traitors."
ولكن ها هنا طريق وعرة المسلك شاقة المتكلف يحتاج سالكها إلى أن يكون أهدى من القطا واحذر من العقعق حتى يفارق الناس راحلًا إلى ربه تعالى وهذه الطريق هي طريق الفوز في الدين والدنيا يجوز صاحبها صفاء نيات ذوي النفوس السليمة والعقود الصحيحة البرآء من المكر والخديعة.,"On the contrary, we should learn from this example the path that we should take. It is perilous and difficult to follow and a man would do well to advance as carefully as the pintailed grouse, more cautiously than the magpie, until he turns off the road trodden by mankind and makes his way towards his Lord. This road leads to victory, so we are told by religion and also by the world. The man who follows it will keep the pure intention of healthy souls who are true to their promises, men without guile and trickery."
ويحوي فضائل الأبرار وسجايا الفضلاء ويحصل مع ذلك على سلامه الدهاة وتخلص الخبثاء ذوي النكراء والدهاء.,"He will possess the virtues of the elect, the character of the virtuous. And, moreover, he will feel as safe as the worst deceivers, as free from care as the evildoers, as the most wicked and cunning people."
وهي أن تكتم سر كل من وثق بك وأن لا تفشي إلى أحد من إخوانك ولا من غيرهم من سرك ما يمكنك طيه بوجه ما من الوجوه وإن كان أخص الناس بك وأن تفي لجميع من أئتمنك ولا تأمن أحدًا على شيء من أمرك تشفق عليه إلا لضرورة لا بد منها فارتد حينئذ واجتهد وعلى الله تعالى الكفاية.,"You should keep any secret that is confided to you, and not reveal it to any friend or stranger, even the man closest to you, if you are at all able to keep it. You should be true to everyone who trusts you, and do not yourself trust in anyone in affairs which you want to succeed except when absolutely necessary, and even then you should stop and think again and make a personal effort and draw strength from God."
وابذل فضل مالك وجاهك لمن سألك أو لم يسألك ولكل من احتاج إليك وأمكنك نفعه وإن لم يعتمدك بالرغبة ولا تشعر نفسك انتظار مقارضة على ذلك من غير ربك عز وجل ولا تبن إلا على أن من أحسنت إليه أول مضر بك وساع عليك فإن ذوي التراكيب الخبيثة يبغضون لشدة الحسد كل من أحسن إليهم إذا رأوه في أعلى من أحوالهم.,"Be generous with your superfluous possessions and strength to help others, whether they ask you or not, and to help anyone who needs you and whom you are able to help, even if he does not expressly come to you for help. Do not expect any help in return from anyone except God the Almighty and Great. As you go on your way always remember that the first person you help will be the first to do harm and turn against you. Indeed, because of their profound jealousy, men of bad character detest those that help them when they see that the latter are better off."
وعامل كل أحد في الأنس أحسن معاملة وأضمر السلو عنه إن فات ببعض الآفات التي تأتي مع مرور الأيام والليالي تعش مسالمًا مستريحًا.,"[In your social life] treat every human being as graciously as you can. If someone comes to you with defects and problems such as arise in the normal course of life, do not let them know that you do not like them. In this way you shall live in peace and quiet."
لا تنصح على شرط القبول ولا تشفع على شرط الإجابة ولا تهب على شرط الإثابة لكن على سبيل استعمال الفضل وتأدية ما عليك من النصيحة والشفاعة وبذل المعروف.,"When you give advice, do not give it only on condition that it will be taken. Do not intercede only on the condition that your intercession is accepted; do not make a gift only on the condition that you will be recompensed. Do it only in order to practise virtue, and to do what you should do when giving advice, interceding and being generous."
حد الصداقة الذي يدور على طرفي محدوده هو أن يكون المرء يسوءه ما يسوء الآخر ويسره ما يسره فما سفل عن هذا فليس صديقًا ومن حمل هذه الصفة فهو صديق،,The definition of friendship: [it is the middle point] between two extremes. What makes one friend sad makes the other sad too. What makes one happy makes the other happy too. Any relationship less than this is not friendship. Anyone who answers to this description is a friend.
وقد يكون المرء صديقًا لمن ليس صديقه. وأما الذي يدخل في باب الإضافة فهو المصادق فهذا يقتضي فعلا من فاعلين إذ قد يحب الإنسان من يبغضه وأكثر ذلك في الآباء مع الأبناء وفي الإخوة مع إخوتهم وبين الأزواج وفيمن صارت محبته عشقًا.,"A man may be the friend of someone who is not his friend for a man can love someone who hates him. This is the case above all with fathers and their sons, brother and brother, husband and wife, and all those in whom friendship has become burning love."
وليس كل صديق ناصحًا لكن كل ناصح صديق فيما نصح فيه.,"Not every friend is a counsellor although every counsellor, by giving advice shows himself to be a friend."
وحد النصيحة هو أن يسوء المرء ما ضر الآخر ساء ذلك الآخر أو لم يسؤه وإن يسره ما نفعه سر الآخر أو ساءه فهذا شرط في النصيحة زائد على شروط الصداقة.,"The definition of advice is that the man giving it feels bad about what harms his friend, whether the latter feels good or bad about it, and he feels happy about what is good for him, whether his friend is happy or unhappy about it. This is the added factor which a counsellor has which goes beyond the limit of simple friendship."
وأقصى غايات الصداقة التي لا مزيد عليها من شاركك بنفسه وبماله لغير علة توجب ذلك وآثرك على من سواك.,"The highest aim of friendship, and there is nothing higher than this, is to have all things in common, one’s own person, one’s belongings, without any constraint, and to prefer one’s friend to every other being."
ولولا أني شاهدت مظفرًا ومباركًا صاحبي بلنسية لقدرت إن هذا الخلق معدوم في زماننا ولكني ما رأيت قط رجلين استوفيا جميع أسباب الصداقة مع تأتي الأحوال الموجبة للفرقة غيرهما.,"If I had not known Muzaffar and Mûbârak, the two masters of Valencia, I should have thought that such a sentiment had disappeared in our times. But I have never seen any two other men draw so deeply on all the joys of friendship, despite events which would have separated other men."
ليس شيء من الفضائل أشبه بالرذائل من الاستكثار من الإخوان والأصدقاء فإن ذلك فضيلة تامة متركبة لأنهم لا يكتسبون إلا بالحلم والجود والصبر والوفاء والاستضلاع والمشاركة والعفة وحسن الدفاع وتعليم العلم وبكل حالة محمودة.,"There is no virtue which so much resembles a vice as the faculty of having many friends and acquaintances. But it is really a perfect virtue, made up of various qualities, since friends are only gained by tolerance, generosity, patience, loyalty, signs of affection, shared feelings, and moderation. It is important to protect one’s friends, teach them what one knows, and to win over them by every kind of praiseworthy action."
ولسنا نعني الشاكرية والأتباع أيام الحرمة فأولئك لصوص الإخوان وخبث الأصدقاء والذين يظن أنهم أولياء وليسوا كذلك.,"We do not mean mercenaries, or those who follow us in our days of glory. They are thieves of the title of friendship, they deceive friendship. You think that they are friends and they are not."
ودليل ذلك انحرافهم عند انحراف الدنيا.,The proof is that they abandon you when fortune abandons you.
ولا نعني أيضًا المصادقين لبعض الأطماع ولا المتنادمين على الخمر والمجتمعين على المعاصي والقبائح والمتألفين على النيل من أعراض الناس والأخذ في الفضول وما لا فائدة فيه فليس هؤلاء أصدقاء.,"Nor do we mean those who make friends for a particular purpose, nor do we mean drinking companions, not those who gang together to commit crimes, or villainy, to attack people’s honour, to satisfy their unhealthy curiosity or for any other useless objective. These are not friends at all."
ودليل ذلك أن بعضهم ينال من بعض وينحرف عنه عند فقد تلك الرذائل التي جمعتهم.,"The proof is that they speak evil of each other, and that they disperse as soon as the evil interests which brought them together are finished."
وإنما نعني إخوان الصفاء لغير معنى إلا لله عز وجل إما للتناصر على بعض الفضائل الجدية وإما لنفس المحبة المجردة فقط.,"We only mean to speak of those pure friends who unite only in the love of God, either to help each other to make some real virtue triumph or to taste the pleasures of the only true kind of friendship."
ولكن إذا أحصيت عيوب الاستكثار منهم وصعوبة الحال في إرضائهم والغرر في مشاركتهم وما يلزمك من الحق لهم عند نكبة تعرض لهم فإن غدرت بهم أو أسلمتهم لؤمت وذممت وإن وفيت أضررت بنفسك وربما هلكت وهذا لا يرضى الفاضل بسواه إذا تنشب في الصداقة وإذا تفكرت في الهم بما يعرض لهم وفيهم من موت أو فراق أو غدر من يغدر منهم كاد السرور بهم لا يفي بالحزن الممض من أجلهم.,"If one commits the fault of having too many friends, there is the difficulty of keeping them all happy, the dangers of associating with them, the duties which fall on us when they are subjected to trials (for if you betray them or let them down, you will be criticized and blamed; but if on the other hand you are true to them, you will harm yourself to the extent that you could lose your own life, and this choice is the only one acceptable to the virtuous man if he wishes to be true to his friendship); if one thinks of the worries which we have from the misfortunes which come upon them or which come upon us because of them: death, separation, betrayal of one among them, one will see that the joy brought by these friends is outweighed by the painful sadness which they cause."
وليس في الرذائل أشبه بالفضائل من محبة المدح ودليل ذلك أنه في الوجه سخف ممن يرضى به وقد جاء في الأثر في المداحين ما جاء إلا أنه قد ينتفع به في الإقصار عن الشر والتزيد من الخير وفي أن يرغب في ذلك الخلق الممدوح من سمعه.,"There is nothing among the vices which is so like a virtue as the desire to be praised. Indeed, if someone sings our praises in our presence, we would be silly to believe it, knowing everything that the Tradition has taught us about flatterers. However, praise may be useful in encouraging someone to do fewer bad things and more good things. It may lead the person who hears it to desire to have a character similar to the one who has been praised."
ولقد صح عندي أن بعض السائسين للدنيا لقي رجلًا من أهل الأذى للناس وقد قلد بعض الأعمال الخبيثة فقابله بالثناء عليه وبأنه قد سمع شكره مستفيضًا ووصفه بالجميل والرفق منتشرًا فكان ذلك سببًا إلى إقصار ذلك الفاسق عن كثير من شره.,"Thus I feel that rulers of the world met one of those people who spread evil wherever they go and who are said to have done evil things, and he received him with praise. He had heard his praises sung on everywhere, he said; on every side people spoke of nothing but his good deeds and his generosity. After this the criminal could not possibly do wrong!"
بعض أنواع النصيحة يشكل تمييزه من النميمة لأن من سمع إنسانًا يذم آخر ظالمًا له أو يكيده ظالمًا له فكتم ذلك عن المقول فيه والمكيد كان الكاتم لذلك ظالمًا مذمومًا.,"Certain kinds of advice are difficult to distinguish from slander for anyone who hears a man criticising someone else unjustly or unfairly and conceals it from the person who is the object of this unjust and wicked statement, by doing this is so unjust and to be blamed."
ثم إن أعلمه بذلك على وجهه كان ربما قد ولد على الذام والكائد ما لم يبلغه استحقاقه بعد من الأذى فيكون ظالمًا له.,"Moreover, if he breaks it to him bluntly, he may bring more trouble upon the spiteful critic than the latter really deserved."
وليس من الحق أن يقتص من الظالم بأكثر من قدر ظلمه فالتخلص من هذا الباب صعب إلا على ذوي العقول.,"This would be unfair to him, for it is not fair to punish ill-doers beyond the measure of their unjust deed. It is difficult for anyone except a very intelligent man to cope with this situation."
والرأي للعاقل في مثل هذا إن يحفظ المقول فيه من القائل فقط دون أن يبلغه ما قال لئلا يقع في الاسترسال زائد فيهلك.,"The solution to be adopted by the intelligent man is such a situation is to protect the victim against the slanderer, and no more, not inform him what the latter said; this is to prevent him going to the slanderer and getting into more trouble."
وأما في الكيد فالواجب أن يحفظه من الوجه الذي يكاد منه بألطف ما يقدر في الكتمان على الكائد وأبلغ ما يقدر في تحفيظ المكيد ولا يزد على هذا شيئًا.,"As for sly tricks, one should protect the victim, but nothing more than that."
وأما النميمة فهي لما سمع مما لا ضرر فيه على المبلغ إليه وبالله التوفيق.,"Giving information consists of reporting to someone something one has heard which in no way harms the person one tells it o, strength is from God."
النصيحة مرتان:,Advice can be given twice.
فالأولى فرض وديانة والثانية تنبيه وتذكير وأما الثالثة فتوبيخ وتقريع وليس وراء ذلك إلا التركل واللطام اللهم إلا في معاني الديانة فواجب على المرء تزداد النصح فيها رضي المنصوح أو سخط تأذى الناصح بذلك أو لم يتأذ.,"The first time is as prescribed as a religious duty. The second time is a reminder and a warning. If you repeat the advice a third time it becomes a remonstrance and a reprimand. After that you have to slap and punch and perhaps try even more serious methods which may cause harm and damage. Certainly, it is only in questions of religious practices that it is permissible to repeat advice incessantly, whether the listener accepts it or gets irritated, whether the advisor suffers from it or not."
وإذا نصحت فانصح سرًا لا جهرًا وبتعريض لا تصريح إلا أن لا يفهم المنصوح تعريضك فلا بد من التصريح.,"When you give advice, give it softly, do not shout it out; use hints, do not speak openly unless you are advising someone who is determined not to understand. Then explanations would be essential."
ولا تصرح على شرط القبول منك.,Do not give advice only on condition that it is followed.
فإذا تعديت هذه الوجوه فأنت ظالم لا ناصح وطالب طاعة وملك لا مؤدي حق أمانة وأخوة.,"Otherwise you are a tyrant, not an adviser; you are demanding obedience, you are not allowing religious feeling and brotherly spirit their due."
وليس هذا حكم العقل ولا حكم الصداقة لكن حكم الأمير مع رعيته والسيد مع عبيده.,Neither reason nor friendship gives you the right to insist. It is rather the right that a ruler has over his subjects or a master over his slaves.
لا تكلف صديقك إلا مثل ما تبذل له من نفسك فإن طلبت أكثر فأنت ظالم.,Do not ask of your friend more than you yourself are prepared to give. To ask for more is to abuse his friendship.
ولا تكسب إلا على شرط الفقد. ولا تتول إلا على شرط العزل وإلا فأنت مضر بنفسك خبيث السيرة.,Do not gain except when you will harm yourself and your behaviour will be detestable.
مسامحة أهل الاستئثار والاستغنام والتغافل لهم ليس مروءة ولا فضيلة بل هو مهانة وضعف وتضرية لهم على التمادي على ذلك الخلق المذموم وتغبيط لهم به وعون لهم على ذلك الفعل السوء وإنما تكون المسامحة مروءة لأهل الإنصاف المبادرين إلى الإنصاف والإيثار فهؤلاء فرض على أهل الفضل أن يعاملوهم بمثل ذلك لا سيما إن كانت حاجتهم أمس وضرورتهم أشد.,"If you find excuses for selfish and greedy men and shut your eyes to their faults, you are not displaying humanity or virtue. On the contrary, it is a base and feeble thing to do which encourages them to continue in their bad attitudes, it applauds and supports them in their wicked actions. Such indulgence would only be humane when displayed towards the just who are quick to pardon and to act unselfishly. In that case it is an obligation for a good man to behave in the same way towards them, above all if they have an urgent need of such tolerance, and if it is more necessary for them."
فإن قال قائل: فإذا كان كلامك هذا موجبًا لإسقاط المسامحة والتغافل للإخوان فيه استوى الصديق والعدو والأجنبي في المعاملة فهذا فساد ظاهر.,"One might retort, “According to what you say, we should stop being tolerant, we should stop turning a blind eye when it is a question of our friends. Friends, enemies, strangers would all be treated exactly the same; this cannot be right.”"
فنقول: وبالله التوفيق كلامًا لا يحض إلا على المسامحة والتغافل والإيثار ليس لأهل التغنم ولكن للصديق حقًا فإن أردت معرفة وجه العمل في هذا الوقوف على نهج الحق فإن القصة التي توجب الأثرة من المرء على نفسه صديقه ينبغي لكن واحد من الصديقين أن يتأمل ذلك الأمر فأيهما كان أمس حاجة فيه وأظهر ضرورة لديه فحكم الصداقة والمروءة تقتضي للآخر وتوجب عليه أن يؤثر على نفسه في ذلك.,"Our reply would be – and may God help us succeed – nothing but encouragement towards tolerance and unselfishness. You should turn a blind eye not on [the faults of] the greedy but only on [those of] a true friend. If you wish to know how you should act in this matter, how you can keep on the path of truth: if there is a situation where one of two friends needs to be unselfish for the other’s sake, each of two friends should examine the problem and see which of them is in the most urgent need, the most pressing circumstances. Friendship and humanity then impose on the other the obligation to be unselfish."
فإن لم يفعل ذلك فهو متغنم مستكثر لا ينبغي أن يسامح ألبتة إذ ليس صديقًا ولا أخًا.,"If he does not, he is greedy, avid, and deserves no indulgence since he is acting neither like a friend nor like a brother."
فأما إذا استوت حاجتهما واتفقت ضرورتهما فحق الصداقة ها هنا أن يسارع كل واحد منهما إلى الأثرة على نفسه فإن فعلا ذلك فهما صديقان وإن بدر أحدهما إلى ذلك ولم يبادر الآخر إليه فإن كان عادته هذه فليس صديقًا ولا ينبغي أن يعامل معاملة الصداقة وإن كان قد يبادر هو أيضًا إلى مثل ذلك في قصة أخرى فهما صديقان.,"If the two find themselves in equal need, in equal straits, true friendship would require that they race each other to be the more unselfish. If they behave like this, they are both friends. If one of them hastens to be unselfish and the other does not, and if this is what usually happens, the second is not a friend and there is no need to be friendly towards him. But if he would hasten to sacrifice himself in other circumstances then this is a pair of true friends."
من أردت قضاء حاجته بعد أن سألك إياها أو أردت ابتداءه بقضائها فلا تعمل له إلا ما يريد هو لا ما تريد أنت وإلا فأمسك فإن تعديت هذا كنت مسيئًا لا محسنًا ومستحقًا للوم منه ومن غيره لا للشكر ومقتضيًا للعداوة لا للصداقة.,"If there is someone in need whom you wish to help, whether the initiative came from him or from you, do no more than he expects of you, not what you might personally wish to do. If you overstep the mark, you will deserve not thanks but blame from him and from others, and you will attract hostility, not friendship."
لا تنقل إلى صديقك ما يؤلم نفسه ولا ينتفع بمعرفته فهذا فعل الأرذال.,Do not repeat to your friend things that will make him unhappy and which it would not benefit him to know. That would be the action of a fool.
ولا تكتمه ما يستضر بجهله فهذا فعل أهل الشر ولا يسرك أن تمدح بما ليس فيك بل ليعظم غمك بذلك لأنه نقصك ينبه الناس عليه ويسمعهم إياه وسخرية منك وهزؤ بك ولا يرضى بهذا إلا أحمق ضعيف العقل.,"Do not hide from him anything that would cause him loss not to know. That would be the action of a wicked person. Do not be pleased if someone praises you for quality which you do not have; on the contrary, be very sorry because it will bring to public attention that you lack them. To sing such praises is to mock and poke fun, and only an idiot or an imbecile would be pleased."
ولا تأس إن ذممت بما ليس فيك بل إفرح به فإنه فضلك ينبه الناس عليه ولكن إفرح إذا كان فيك ما تستحق به المدح وسواء مدحت به أو لم تمدح واحزن إذا كان فيك ما تستحق به الذم وسواء ذممت به أو لم تذم.,"Do not be sorry if someone criticizes you for a fault that you do not have; on the contrary, you should be pleased because your merit will be brought to public attention. On the other hand, you should be pleased to possess a praiseworthy quality, whether anyone actually praises you for it or not, and you should be sorry to have a blameworthy fault, whether anyone actually criticizes you for it or not."
من سمع قائلًا يقول في امرأة صديقه قول سوء فلا يخبره بذلك أصلًا لا سيما إذا كان القائل عيابة وقاعًا في الناس سليط اللسان أو دافع معرة عن نفسه يريد أن يكثر أمثاله في الناس وهذا كثير موجود.,"Anyone who hears bad things said about the wife of his friend must on no account tell him, particularly if the person who said them was a slanderer or libeller or notorious gossip, one of those people who try to draw attention away from their own faults by increasing the number of people like themselves; this often happens."
وبالجملة فلا يحدث الإنسان إلا بالحق وقول هذا القائل لا يدري أحق هو أم باطل إلا أنه في الديانة عظيم.,"As a general rule, it is best to stick to the truth. Now, in this case, you cannot know whether the statements are true or false, but you do know that it is a grave sin against your religion to hold such opinions."
فإن سمع القول مستفيضًا من جماعة وعلم أن أصل ذلك القول شائع وليس راجعًا إلى قول إنسان واحد أو إطلع على حقيقته إلا أنه لا يقدر أن يوقف صديقه على ما وقف هو عليه فليخبره بذلك بينه وبينه في رفق وليقل له: النساء كثير أو حصن منزلك وثقف أهلك أو اجتنب أمرًا كذا وتحفظ من وجه كذا.,"However, if you perceive that the same thing is being said from several gossips, not just one, or if you are able to verify that the statement is well founded, even if you cannot put your friend in a position to observe what you have observed, then you should tell him everything, privately and tactfully.You should say something like “There are many women…” or “Look after your house, teach your family, avoid this, mind that…”"
فإن قبل المنصوح وتحرز فحظ نفسه أصاب وإن رآه لا يتحفظ ولا يبالي أمسك ولم يعاوده بكلمة وتمادى على صداقته إياه فليس في أن لا يصدقه في قوله ما يوجب قطيعته.,"If he takes your advice and is put on his guard, he will have profited from the chance. If you notice that he takes no precautions and does not worry about anything, you must control yourself, not say a word, and remain friends, for the fact that he has not believed what you have told him does not oblige you to break with him."
فإن اطلع على حقيقة وقدر أن يوقف صديقه على مثل ما وقف عليه هو من الحقيقة ففرض عليه أن يخبره بذلك وأن يوقفه على الجلية.,"But if, having been in a position to observe some definite proof, you are able to put your friend in a position to see some identical proof, it is your duty to tell him and to make him face the whole truth."
فإن غير فذلك وإن رآه لا يغير اجتنب صحبته فإنه رذل لا خير فيه ولا نقية.,"If he changes his attitude, that is good. But if he will not change his attitude, you should shun his friendship, because this would be vile man with no virtue and no noble aspirations."
ودخول رجل متستر في منزل المرء دليل سوء لا يحتاج إلى غيره. ودخول المرأة في منزل رجل على سبيل التستر مثل ذلك أيضًا.,The fact that a man enters a house secretly is proof enough that he means ill. The same is true of a woman who enter a man’s house secretly.
وطلب دليل أكثر من هذين سخف.,It would be stupid to require further proof.
وواجب أن يجتنب مثل هذه المرأة وفراقها على كل حال، وممسكها لا يبعد عن الدياثة.,You should run from such a woman or at least separate. Anyone who kept her with him would be a virtual go-between.
الناس في أخلاقهم على سبع مراتب:,Men can be divided into seven categories according to certain traits of their characters.
فطائفة تمدح في الوجه وتذم في المغيب وهذه صفة أهل النفاق من العيابين وهذا خلق فاش في الناس غالب عليهم.,"Some praise you to your face and criticize you behind your back. This is the characteristic feature of hypocrites and slanderers; it is common, mostly among men."
وطائفة تذم في المشهد والمغيب وهذه صفة أهل السلاطة والوقاحة من العيابين.,Others criticize you to your face and behind your back. This is characteristic of slanderers who are powerful and insolent.
وطائفة تمدح في الوجه والمغيب وهذه صفة أهل الملق والطمع,Some men flatter you to your face and behind your back. This is the mark of flatterers and social climbers.
وطائفة تذم في المشهد وتمدح في المغيب وهذه صفة أهل السخف والنواكة.,Others again criticize you to your face and praise you behind your back. This is characteristic of fools and imbeciles.
وأما أهل الفضل فيمسكون عن المدح والذم في المشاهدة ويثنون بالخير في المغيب أو يمسكون عن الذم.,"Virtuous people take care neither to praise nor to criticize you in your presence. Either they praise you in your absence, or they refrain from criticizing you."
وأما العيابون البرآء من النفاق والقحة فيمسكون في المشهد ويذمون في المغيب.,Slanderers who are not hypocrites or ignorant say nothing to your face and criticize you in your absence.
وأما أهل السلامة فيمسكون عن المدح وعن الذم في المشهد والمغيب.,"As for those who want a quiet life, they take care that they neither praise you nor criticize you, whether you are present or absent."
ومن كل من أهل هذه الصفات قد شاهدنا وبلونا.,"We have seen these different types of individuals for ourselves, and we have tested the categories and found them to be true."
إذا نصحت في الخلاء وبكلام لين ولا تسند سب من تحدثه إلى غيرك فتكون نمامًا فإن خشنت كلامك في النصيحة فذلك إغراء وتنفير وقد قال الله تعالى: {فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَيِّنًا} [طه: 44].,"When you give advice, find a private place and speak gently. Do not say that somebody else has said the criticisms that you address to your companion, that would be to speak ill. If your phrase your advice bluntly, you will annoy and discourage. “Speak to him courteously,” the Almighty has said: “And speak unto him a gentle word.” [Qur’ân 20:44]"
وَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا تُنَفِّرُوا».,And the Prophet – peace be upon him – said: “Do not discourage him.”
وإن نصحت بشرط القبول منك فأنت ظالم ولعلك مخطئ في وجه نصحك فتكون مطالبًا بقبول خطئك وبترك الصواب.,"If you are advising someone, and you insist on seeing your advice taken, you are doing wrong since you could be mistaken and you would be insisting on him accepting your error and rejecting the truth."
لكل شيء فائدة ولقد انتفعت بمحك أهل الجهل منفعة عظيمة وهي أنه توقد طبعي واحتدم خاطري وحمي فكري وتهيج نشاطي فكان ذلك سببًا إلى تواليف لي عظيمة المنفعة ولولا استثارتهم ساكني واقتداحهم كامني ما انبعثت لتلك التواليف.,"Everything has its use. Thus, I have profited greatly from mixing with the ignorant. This has inspired my inward self, it has sparked off my spirit, it has sharpened my mind, it has driven me to action. It has given rise to written works of some value. If the ignorant had not roused something deep within myself, if they had not woken something that lay hatching in me, I should not have thrown myself into writing these works."
لا تصاهر إلى صديق ولا تبايعه فما رأينا هذين العملين إلا سببًا للقطيعة وإن ظن أهل الجهل أن فيهما تأكيدًا للصلة فليس كذلك لأن هذين العقدين داعيان كل واحد إلى طلب حظ نفسه.,"Do not blind yourself to a friend by taking a wife from his family; do not sign a contract with him. We have never known these two acts to result in anything but rupture, where ignorant people would expect the ties of friendship to be strengthened. Not so, and the reason is that the two acts force each party to press his own interests to the advantage of others."
والمؤثرون على أنفسهم قليل جدًا فإذا اجتمع طلب كل امرئ حظ نفسه وقعت المنازعة، ومع وقوعها فساد المروءة وأسلم المصاهرة مغبة مصاهرة الأهلين بعضهم بعضًا لأن القرابة تقتضي العدل وإن كرهوه لأنهم مضمرون إلى ما لا انفكاك لهم منه من الاجتماع في النسب الذي توجب الطبيعة لكل أحد الذب عنه والحماية له.,"When there is a clash of individual interests, quarrels result, quarrels bring about an alteration in affections. The firmest alliance is one between two people who are already related, because the fact that they are already related forces them to bear the union, even if they are very unhappy, since they are joined by an unbreakable tie, that of their common origin, which nature obliges them to defend and protect."
فصل في المحبة وأنواعها,VI) The Different Kinds of Love
المحبة كلها جنس واحد ورسمها أنها الرغبة في المحبوب وكراهة منافرته والرغبة في المقارضة منه بالمحبة وإنما قدر الناس أنها تختلف من أجل اختلاف الأغراض فيها وإنما اختلفت الأغراض من أجل اختلاف الأطماع وتزايدها وضعفها أو انحسامها فتكون المحبة لله عز وجل وفيه وللأتفاق على بعض المطالب وللأب والابن والقرابة والصديق وللسلطان ولذات الفراش وللمحسن وللمأمول وللمعشوق فهذا كله جنس واحد اختلفت أنواعه كما وصفت لك على قدر الطمع فيما ينال من المحبوب،,"I have been asked to focus on what there is to say about love, and the different kinds of love. All the different kinds of love belong to the same family. Love is characterized by longing for the loved one, horror of separation, hope of having one’s love reciprocated. It has been suggested that the sentiment varies according to its object. But the object varies only according to the lover’s desires, according to whether they are on the increase, the decrease, or are vanishing altogether. Thus, love felt for God Almighty is perfect love; that which unites beings in the quest for the same ideal, the love of a father, a son, parents, a friend, a sovereign, a wife, a benefactor, a person in whom one has placed one’s hopes, a lover, all is generally the same, all is love, but there are different species as I have just listed, differing by the amount of love inspired by what the loved one is able to give of itself."
فلذلك اختلفت وجوه المحبة. وقد رأينا من مات أسفًا على ولده كما يموت العاشق أسفًا على معشوقه.,Thus love can take different forms: we have seen men die broken-hearted because of their sons exactly as a lover might have his heart broken by his loved one.
وبلغنا عمن شهق من خوف الله تعالى ومحبته فمات.,"We have heard of a man who burnt with such fear of God, with such love, that he died of it."
ونجد المرء يغار على سلطانه وعلى صديقه كما يغار على ذات فراشه وكما يغار العاشق على معشوقه.,We know that a man can be as jealous of them as a lover is of his mistress.
فأدنى أطماع المحبة ممن تحب الحظوة منه والرفعة لديه والزلفة عنده إذا لم تطمع في أكثر.,"The least that the lover can desire of the loved one is to win her esteem, her attention, to approach her – not daring to expect more."
وهذه غاية أطماع المحبين لله عز وجل.,This is how far those aspire who love each other in God Almighty.
ثم يزيد الطمع في المجالسة ثم في المحادثة والموازرة وهذه أطماع المرء في سلطانه وصديقه وذوي رحمه.,"The next stage is when desire grows as time is spent together, in conversation, and interest is shown by one to another. This is the level of the love of a man towards his prince, his friend or his own brother."
وأقصى أطماع المحب ممن يحب المخالطة بالأعضاء إذا رجا ذلك ولذلك تجد المحب المفرط المحبة في ذات فراشه يرغب في جماعها على هيئات شتى وفي أماكن مختلفة ليستكثر من الاتصال.,"But the height of what a lover may wish from the loved one is to take her in his arms when he desires her. That is why we see a man who is passionately fond of his wife trying different positions in making love, and different places, so as to feel that he possesses her more completely."
ويدخل في هذا الباب الملامسة بالجسد والتقبيل وقد يقع بعض هذا الطمع في الأب في ولده فيتعدى إلى التقبيل والتعنيق.,It is in this category that we should put caresses and kisses. Some of these desires may arise in a father towards his child and may drive him to [express them] in kisses and caresses.
وكل ما ذكرنا إنما هو على قدر الطمع.,Everything that we have just mentioned is uniquely the function of [extreme] desire.
فإذا انحسم عن شيء ما لبعض الأسباب الموجبة له مالت النفس إلى ما تطمع فيه.,"When for some reason, the desire for some object is suppressed, the soul is driven towards a different object of desire."
ونجد المقر بالرؤية لله عز وجل شديد الحنين إليها عظيم النزوع نحوها لا يقنع بدرجة دونها لأنه يطمع فيها.,"Thus we find that the man who believes in the possibility of seeing God Almighty longs for it, has a great yearning for it and will never be satisfied with anything less since it is that which he desires."
وتجد المنكر لها لا تحن نفسه إلى ذلك ولا يتمناه أصلًا لأنه لا يطمع فيه وتجده يقتصر على الرضا والحلول في دار الكرامة فقط لأنه لا تطمع نفسه في أكثر.,"On the other hand, a man who does not believe in it does not aspire to this ecstasy and does not wish for it, having no desire for it. He is content to bow to divine will and to go to the mosque. He has no other ambition."
ونجد المستحل لنكاح القرائب لا يقنع منهن بما يقنع المحرم لذلك ولا تقف محبته حيث تقف محبة من لا يطمع في ذلك فتجد من يستحل نكاح ابنته وابنة أخيه كالمجوس واليهود لا يقف من محبتهما حيث تقف محبة المسلم بل نجدهما يتعشقان الابنة وابنة الأخ كتعشق المسلم فيمن يطمع في مخالطته بالجماع.,"We have observed that a man who is legally able to marry his close relatives is not satisfied with favours which would satisfy someone who is not permitted to marry them. His love does not stop at the same point as the love of a man who is forbidden by law to love them. Those, such as Magians and Jews, who are permitted to marry their own daughters and nieces, do not curb their love at the same point as a Muslim does. On the contrary, they feel the same love to their daughters or to their nieces as a Muslim does to a woman he will sleep with."
ولا نجد مسلمًا يبلغ ذلك فيهما ولو أنهما أجمل من الشمس وكان هو أعهر الناس وأغزلهم فإن وجد ذلك في الندرة فلا تجده إلا من فاسد الدين قد زال عنه ذلك الرادع فانفسح له الأمل وانفتح له باب الطمع.,"One never sees a Muslim desiring his close relatives in this way, even if they are more beautiful than the sun itself, even if he is the most debauched and the most amorous of men. And if, very exceptionally, it should happen, it would be only among the impious, who do not feel the constraint of the religion, and who allow themselves every lustful thought, and who find every gate of desire open to them."
ولا يؤمن من المسلم أن تفرط محبته لابنة عمه حتى تصير عشقًا وحتى تتجاوز محبته لها محبته لابنته وابنة أخيه، وإن كانتا أجمل منها.,"It cannot be guaranteed that a Muslim might not love his cousin so excessively that his love became a passion and overstepped the affection which he bore towards his daughter and niece, even if the cousin was not so beautiful as they."
لأنه يطمع من الوصول إلى ابنة عمه حيث لا يطمع من الوصول إلى ابنته وابنة أخيه.,In fact he might desire favours from his cousin which he would never expect from his daughter or his niece.
وتجد النصراني قد أمن ذلك من نفسه في ابنة عمه أيضًا لأنه لا يطمع منها في ذلك ولا يأمن ذلك من نفسه في أخته من الرضاعة لأنه طامع بها في شريعته.,"On the other hand, a Christian will treat his cousin with equal respect, for he is not permitted to desire her. But [unlike a Muslim] he does not have to restrain himself with anyone who shared a wet nurse with him, since he may desire her without offending the laws of his religion."
فلاح بهذا عيانًا ما ذكرنا من أن المحبة كلها جنس واحد لكنها تختلف أنواعها على قدر اختلاف الأغراض فيها وإلا فطبائع البشر كلهم واحدة إلا أن للعادة والاعتقاد الديني تأثيرًا ظاهرًا.,"We now see the truth of what we said earlier: love in all its manifestations forms one single generic family, but its species vary according to the different objects of its desire. Having said this, human nature is the same every where but different customs and religious beliefs have created apparent differences."
ولسنا نقول إن الطمع له تأثير في هذا الفن وحده لكنا نقول إن الطمع سبب إلى كل هم حتى في الأموال والأحوال فإننا نجد الإنسان يموت جاره وخاله وصديقه وابن عمته وعمه لأم وابن أخيه لأم وجده أبو أمه وابن بنته فإذْ لا مطمع له في ماله ارتفع عنه الهم لفوته عن يده وإن جل خطره وعظم مقداره فلا سبيل إلى أن يمر الاهتمام لشيء منه بباله حتى إذا مات له عصبة على بعد أو مولى على بعد وحدث له الطمع في ماله حدث له من الهم والأسف والغيظ والفكرة بفوت اليسير منه عن يده أمر عظيم.,"We do not say that desire has an influence only on love. We would say that is the cause of all kinds of cares, even those which concern one’s fortune and social position. Thus it may be observed that a man who sees the death of his neighbour, or of his maternal uncle, his friend, his cousin, his great-uncle, his nephew, his maternal grandfather or his grandson, having no claim on their property, does not fret because it has escaped him, however large and considerable their fortunes might be, because he had no expectation of them. But as soon as a distant member of his father’s family dies, or one of his remotest clients, he begins to covet their belongings. And with the coveting comes crowding in anxiety, regret, anger and great sorrow if some tiny part of their fortune escapes him."
وهكذا في الأحوال فنجد الإنسان من أهل الطبقة المتأخرة لا يهتم لإنفاذ غيره أمور بلده دون أمره ولا لتقريب غيره وإبعاده حتى إذا حدث له مطمع في هذه المرتبة حدث له من الهم والفكرة والغيظ أمر ربما قاده إلى تلف نفسه وتلف دنياه وأخراه.,"It is the same with one’s position in society: a man who belongs to the lowest social class does not fret if he is not consulted when someone else is given charge of the affairs of the land. He does not fret if someone else is promoted or demoted. But as soon as he begins to feel an ambition to better himself, it provokes so much worry, anxiety and anger that it could make him lose his soul, his world and his position in the hereafter [lose his soul here and in the hereafter]."
فالطمع إذًا أصل لكل ذل ولكل هم وهو خلق سوء ذميم.,Thus covetousness is the cause of all humiliation and every kind of anxiety. It is a wicked and despicable kind of behaviour.
وضده نزاهة النفس وهذه صفة فاضلة مركبة من النجدة والجود والعدل والفهم لأنه رأى قلة الفائدة في استعمال ضدها فاستعملها وكانت فيه نجدة انتجت له عزة نفسه فتنزه وكانت فيه طبيعة سخاوة نفس فلم يهتم لما فاته وكانت فيه طبيعة عدل حببت إليه القناعة وقلة الطمع.,"The opposite of covetousness is disinterest. This is a virtuous quality which combines courage, generosity, justice and intelligence. A disinterested man is truly intelligent because he understands the vanity of covetousness and prefers disinterest. His courage gives birth to a greatness of spirit which makes him disinterested. His natural generosity stops him fretting about property which is lost to him. His equitable nature makes him love reserve and moderation in his desires."
فإذن نزاهة النفس متركبة من هذه الصفات. فالطمع الذي هو ضدها متركب من الصفات المضادة لهذه الصفات الأربع وهي الجبن والشح والجور والجهل.,"Thus disinterest is composed of these four qualities, just a covetousness, its opposite, is composed of the four opposite faults, that is, cowardice, greed, injustice and ignorance."
والرغبة طمع مستوفى متزايد مستعمل ولولا الطمع ما ذل أحد لأحد.,"Greed is a kind of covetousness which would like to possess everything; it is insatiable and ever increasing in its demands. If there were no such thing as covetousness, nobody would ever humiliate himself to anybody else."
وأخبرني أبو بكر بن أبي الفياض قال: كتب عثمان بن مُحامس [توفي رحمه الله تعالى عام 356هـ] على باب داره:يا عثمان! لا تطمع.,Abû Bakr ibn Abû ibn al-Fayyâd has told me that ‘Uthmân bin Muhâmis [died 356 AH; 966 CE] inscribed upon the door of his house in Ecija [in Seville] “‘Uthmân covets nothing”.
فصول في المحبة,Other species of this kind
من امتحن بقرب من يكره كمن امتحن ببعد من يحب ولا فرق.,A man made unhappy by the presence of a person he detests is like a man made unhappy by the absence of the person he loves. There is nothing to choose between them.
إذا دعا المحب في السلو، فإجابته مضمونة ودعوته مجابة.,"When a lover wishes to forget, he is sure to be able to do so. This wish is always granted."
إقنع بمن عندك يقنع بك من عندك.,"If you treat the person you live with with respect, he will treat you with respect."
السعيد في المحبة هو من ابتلي بمن يقدر أن يلقي عليه قفله ولا تلحقه في مواصلته تبعة من الله عز وجل ولا ملامة من الناس وصلاح ذاك أن يتوافقا في المحبة وتحريره أن يكونا خاليـين من الملل فإنه خلق سوء مبغض وتمامه نوم الأيام عنهما مدة انتفاع بعضهما ببعض وأنَّى بذلك إلا في الجنة.,"The man who is unhappy in love is the one who is racked by a passion for one whom he can keep locked away and with whom he may be united without incurring the wrath of God or the criticism of his fellow-men. All is well when the two lovers agree in loving each other. For love to run its course freely, it is essential that the two do not feel bored, for that is a bad feeling which gives rise to hatred. Perfect love would be if destiny forgot the two lovers while they were enjoying each other. But where could that happen except in Paradise?"
وأما ضمانه بيقين فليس إلا فيها فهي دار القرار وإلا فلو حصل ذلك كله في الدنيا لم تؤمن الفجائع ولقطع العمر دون استيفاء اللذة.,"Only there can love be sure of shelter, for that is the home of everlasting stability. Otherwise, in the world, such feelings are not protected from misfortunes, and we go through life without ever tasting pleasure to the full."
إذا ارتفعت الغيرة فأيقن بارتفاع المحبة.,"When jealousy dies, you may be sure that love has also died."
الغيرة خلق فاضل متركب من النجدة والعدل لأن من عدل كره أن يتعدى إلى حرمة غيره وإن يتعدى غيره إلى حرمته ومن كانت النجدة طبعًا له حدثت فيه عزة ومن العزة تحدث الأنفة من الاهتضام.,"Jealousy is a virtuous feeling which is made of courage and justice; truly, a just man hates to infringe the sacred rights of others, and hates to see others infringe his own sacred rights. When courage is inborn in a person, it gives rise to a grandeur of spirit which abhors injustice."
أخبرني بعض من صحبناه في الدهر عن نفسه أنه ما عرف الغيرة قط حتى ابتُلي بالمحبة فغار.,A man whose fortunes I have followed during these times told me once that he himself had never known jealousy until he was racked by love. Only then did he feel jealous.
وكان هذا المخبر فاسد الطبع خبيث التركيب إلا أنه كان من أهل الفهم والجود.,"This man was corrupt by nature, he was a bad character, but nevertheless he was perspicacious and generous."
درج المحبة خمسة: أولها الاستحسان وهو أن يتمثل الناظر صورة المنظور إليه حسنة أو يستحسن أخلاقه وهذا يدخل في باب التصادق.,"There are five stages in the growth of love: first is to think someone pleasant, that is, someone thinks of someone else as being nice or is charmed by their character. This is part of making friends."
ثم الإعجاب به وهو رغبة الناظر في المنظور إليه، وفي قربه.,Then there is admiration; that is the desire to be near the person that one admires.
ثم الألفة وهي الوحشة إليه إذا غاب.,Then there is close friendship when you miss the other one terribly when they are absent.
ثم الكلف وهو غلبة شغل البال به وهذا النوع يسمى في باب الغزل بالعشق.,"Then there is amorous affection when you are completely obsessed with the loved one. In the special vocabulary of love this is called ‘ishq, “the slavery of love”."
ثم الشغف وهو امتناع النوم والأكل والشرب إلا اليسير من ذلك وربما أدى ذلك إلى المرض أو إلى التوسوس أو إلى الموت وليس وراء هذا منزلة في تناهي المحبة أصلًا.,"Finally, there is passion, when one can no longer sleep, eat or think. This can make you ill to the point of delirium or even death. Beyond this, there is absolutely no place where love ends."
فصل في صباحة الصور وأنواعها,VII) Different Kinds of Physical Beauty
وقد سئلت عن تحقيق الكلام فيها فقلت:,"When I was asked to examine this matter, this is how I responded:"
الحلاوة: رقة المحاسن ولطف الحركات وخفة الإشارات وقبول النفس لأعراض الصور وإن لم تكن ثم صفات ظاهرة.,"Gracefulness consists of delicate features, supple movements, graceful gestures, a soul in harmony with the form which fate has given it, even where there is no visible beauty."
القوام: جمال كل صفة على حدتها ورب جميل الصفات على انفراد كل صفة منها بارد الطلعة غير مليح ولا حسن ولا رائع ولا حلو.,"Allure is beauty of each feature regarded separately. But someone whose features are beautiful when considered separately can still appear cold and be without piquantness, charm, seductiveness or grace."
الروعة: بهاء الأعضاء الظاهرة [مع جمال فيها] وهي أيضًا الفراهة والعتق.,Seductiveness is the aura of the visible parts; it also goes by the name of elegance and attractiveness.
الحسن: هو الشيء ليس له في اللغة اسم يعبر به عنه ولكنه محسوس في النفوس باتفاق كل من رآه وهو برد مكسو على الوجه وإشراق يستميل القلوب نحوه فتجتمع الآراء على استحسانه وإن لم تكن هناك صفات جميلة فكل من رآه راقه واستحسنه وقبله حتى إذا تأملت الصفات إفرادًا لم تر طائلًا وكأنه شيء في نفس المرئي يجده نفس الرائي وهذا أجل مراتب الصباحة.,"Charm is a certain something which has no other name to explain it. It is the soul which perceives it, and everyone knows what it is as soon as they see it. It is like a veil covering the face, a shining light which draws all hearts to it so that all agree that it is beautiful, even if it is not accompanied by beautiful features. Anyone who sees it is seduced, charmed, enslaved, and yet if you looked at each feature separately you would find nothing special. It might be said that there is a certain unknown something which you see when you look into the soul. This is the supreme kind of beauty."
ثم تختلف الأهواء بعد هذا فمن مفضل للروعة ومن مفضل للحلاوة.,"However, tastes do differ. Some prefer seductiveness, others prefer gracefulness."
وما وجدنا أحدًا قط يفضل القوام المنفرد.,But I have never met anyone who preferred allure as such.
الملاحة: اجتماع شيء فشيء مما ذكرنا.,We call beauty piquant when there is a combination of some of these qualities.
فصل فيما يتعامل الناس به في الأخلاق,VIII) Practical Morality
التلون المذموم هو التنقل من زي متكلف لا معنى له إلى زي آخر مثله في التكلف وفي أنه لا معنى له ومن حال لا معنى لها إلى حال لا معنى لها بلا سبب يوجب ذلك.,"Fickleness, which is a fault, consists of switching from one way of life which is forced and senseless, to another way of life which is equally forced and senseless from one absurd state to an equally absurd state for no good reason."
وأما من استعمل من الزي ما أمكنه مما به إليه حاجة وترك التزيد مما لا يحتاج إليه فهذا عين من عيون العقل والحكمة كبير.,"But a man who will adopt habits which suit his capabilities and his needs, and who will reject everything that is of no use to him [will be drawing on] one of the best sources of good sense and wisdom."
وقد كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو القدوة في كل خير والذي أثنى الله تعالى على خلقُه والذي جمع الله تعالى فيه أشتات الفضائل بتمامها وأبعده عن كل نقص يعود المريض مع أصحابه راجلًا في أقصى المدينة بلا خُفٍ ولا نعل ولا قلنسوة ولا عمامة ويلبس الشعر إذا حضره وقد يلبس الوشي من الحبرات إذا حضره ولا يتكلف ما لا يحتاج إليه ولا يترك ما يحتاج إليه ويستغني بما وجد عما لا يجد.,"The Prophet (Allâh grant him blessing and greeting), the model of all goodness, whose character was praised by God, in whom God gathered together the most diverse and perfect virtues, and whom He kept from sin – the Prophet was in the habit of visiting the sick, accompanied by his friends. They went to the boundaries of Medina on foot, wearing neither boots nor sandals, hat nor turban. He wore clothes woven from the hair of wild beasts when he had them, or he might equally likely be wearing embroidered cloth if he had it, never wearing anything unnecessary and never forgetting anything necessary, content with what he had and doing without whatever he did not have."
ومرة يمشي راجلًا حافيًا ومرة يلبس الخف ويركب البغلة الرائعة الشهباء ومرة يركب الفرس عريًا ومرة يركب الناقة ومرة يركب حمارًا ويردف عليه بعض أصحابه ومرة يأكل التمر دون خبز والخبز يابسًا ومرة يأكل العناق المشوية والبطيخ بالرطب والحلواء. يأخذ القوت ويبذل الفضل ويترك ما لا يحتاج إليه ولا يتكلف فوق مقدار الحاجة ولا يغضب لنفسه ولا يدع الغضب لربه عز وجل.,"Sometimes he would ride a fine mule or he would ride a horse bareback or a camel or a donkey, with a friend riding behind him. Sometimes he ate dates without bread, sometimes dry bread, sometimes he ate roast lamb, fresh melon, or halwa, taking as much as needed and sharing out the surplus, or leaving what he did not need and not forcing himself to take more than he needed. He was never angry when he found himself alone fighting for a cause, and he let nothing prevent him from anger when it was a question of God, the Almighty."
الثبات الذي هو صحة العقد والثبات الذي هو اللجاج مشتبهان اشتباهًا لا يفرق بينهما إلا عارف بكيفية الأخلاق.,The perseverance which consists of keeping one’s word and the perseverance which is nothing but obstinacy are so alike that they can only be told apart by someone who knows what different characters are like.
والفرق بينهما أن اللجاج هو ما كان على الباطل أو ما فعله الفاعل نصرًا لما نشب فيه وقد لاح له فساده أو لم يلح له صوابه ولا فساده وهذا مذموم وضده الإنصاف.,"The difference between the two kinds of perseverance is that obstinacy clings to error. Its actions are the actions of someone who persists in doing what he has decided upon when he knows that he is wrong, or when he does not know for sure whether he is right or wrong. Such obstinacy is wrong. The opposite of obstinacy is fairness."
وأما الثبات الذي هو صحة العقد فإنما يكون على الحق أو على ما اعتقده المرء حقًا ما لم يلح له باطله وهذا محمود وضده الاضطراب.,"As for the kind of perseverance which consists of keeping one’s word, its actions are the actions of someone who is right, or who believes himself to be right, not having seen any reason not to believe this. This quality is worthy of praise, and its opposite is inconstancy."
وإنما يلام بعض هذين لأنه ضيع تدبر ما ثبت عليه وترك البحث عما التزم أحق هو أم باطل!,"Only the first of the two kinds of perseverance [obstinacy] is wrong, because it makes you lose the habit of thinking about a matter once it has been decided, and you stop wondering whether the decision is right or wrong."
حد العقل استعمال الطاعات والفضائل.,Good sense is defined as the practise of obedience to God and the practice of piety and the virtues.
وهذا الحد ينطوي فيه اجتناب المعاصي والرذائل.,This definition implies avoidance of rebellion and vices.
وقد نص الله تعالى في غير موضع من كتابه على أن من عصاه لا يعقل.,"God has stated this clearly more than once in His holy book (the Qur’ân), emphasizing that anyone who disobeys Him is acting unreasonably."
قال الله تعالى حاكيًا عن قوم: {وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ} ثم قال الله تعالى مصدقا لهم: {فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ} [الملك: 10-11].,"Speaking of certain people, the Almighty has said, “They will say: if we had listened, if we had understood, we would not be among the damned”, [67:10] and He has confirmed their words as true by saying, “They have recognized their own sins, so misfortune be to the damned.” [67:11]"
وحد الحمق استعمال المعاصي والرذائل.,Stupidity is defined as the practice of disobedience to God and the practice of vices.
وأما التعدي وقذف الحجارة والتخليط في القول فإنما هو جنون ومرار هائج.,"As for going wild, throwing stones at people, not knowing what one is saying, that is lunacy and excess of bile."
وأما الحمق فهو ضد العقل وهما ما بينا آنفًا ولا واسطة بين العقل والحمق إلا السخف.,"Stupidity is opposite of good sense, as we have shown above; and there is no middle point between good sense and stupidity unless it is ineptitude."
وحد السخف هو العمل والقول بما لا يحتاج إليه في دين ولا دنيا ولا حميد خلق مما ليس معصية ولا طاعة ولا عونًا عليهما ولا فضيلة ولا رذيلة مؤذية ولكنه من هذر القول وفضول العمل.,"The definition of ineptitude is to work and speak in a way that neither serves religion nor the world nor a healthy morality. This is neither disobedience to God not obedience, it does not bring anybody else to such acts, it is neither a virtue nor a harmful vice. It consists only of drivelling and rambling about doing pointless things."
فعلى قدر الاستكثار من هذين الأمرين أو التقلل منهما يستحق المرء اسم السخف.,"According to whether these actions are frequent or rare, the person should be treated as more or less inept."
وقد يسخف المرء في قصة ويعقل في أخرى ويحمق في ثالثة.,"Moreover he may be inept in one matter, sensible in another, stupid in a third."
وضد الجنون تمييز الأشياء ووجود القوة على التصرف في المعارف والصناعات وهذا الذي يسميه الأوائل النطق ولا واسطه بينهما.,The opposite of madness is the ability to discern and the ability to make free use of sciences and technical knowledge. It is what the ancients called the “faculty of reasoning”. There is no middle point between these two extremes.
وأما إحكام أمر الدنيا والتودد إلى الناس بما وافقهم وصلحت عليه حال المتودد من باطل أو غيره أو عيب أو ما عداه والتحيل في إنماء المال وبعد الصوت وتسبيت الجاه بكل ما أمكن من معصية ورذيلة فليس عقلًا. ولقد كان الذين صدقهم الله في أنهم لا يعقلون وأخبرنا بأنهم لا يعقلون سائسين لدنياهم مثمرين لأموالهم مدارين لملوكهم حافظين لرياستهم.,"As for the art of conducting one’s affairs and flattering people by means that might win their good will and save a situation, such as false dealing, perversion or any other bad practices, and as for the tricks which allow one to amass a fortune or to increase one’s reputation or to achieve glory by means of a crime or every kind of base behaviour, these are avowed that they had lost their senses and whose words of God confirmed as true when He said that they had lost their senses, knew very well how to conduct their worldly affairs, own standing."
لكن هذا الخلق يسمى الدهاء وضده العقل والسلامة.,"This characteristic is called astuteness, and the opposite of it is intelligence and honesty."
وما إذا كان السعي فيما ذكرنا بما فيه تصاون وأنفة فهو يسمى الحزم وضده المنافي له التضييع.,"However if, in order to achieve these same ends, someone acted with reserve and dignity, this would be firmness. Its opposite is weakness or wasting."
وأما الوقار ووضع الكلام موضعه والتوسط في تدبير المعيشة ومسايرة الناس بالمسالمة فهذه الأخلاق تسمى الرزانة وهي ضد السخف.,"To be serious, to know how to put each word in the right place, to preserve moderation in the way that you conduct your life, to show courtesy towards anyone who comes to you, that is called steadiness and is the opposite of ineptitude."
والوفاء مركب من العدل والجود والنجدة لأن الوفي رأى من الجور أن لا يقارض من وثق به أو من أحسن إليه فعدل في ذلك.,"The virtue of keeping one’s word is made up of fairness, generosity and courage."
ورأى أن يسمح بعاجل يقتضيه له عدم الوفاء من الحظ فجاد في ذلك ورأى أن يتجلد لما يتوقع من عاقبة الوفاء فشجع في ذلك.,"Because a trustworthy man thinks it is unfair to deceive anyone who has put his trust in him or anyone who has done him a good deed, he acts with fairness. Because he wishes to help to repair the injustices of fate as quickly as possible, he acts with generosity. Because he has decided to bear without flinching all the likely consequences of his fidelity, he is courageous."
أصول الفضائل كلها أربعة عنها تتركب كل فضيلة وهي: العدل والفهم والنجدة والجود.,"The virtues have four roots which form all virtue. They are: fairness of justice, intelligence, courage and generosity."
أصول الرذائل كلها أربعة عنها تتركب كل رذيلة وهي أضداد الذي ذكرنا وهي: الجور والجهل والجبن والشح.,"The vices have four roots which are the basis of all faults and which are the opposite of the constituents of the virtues. They are: unfairness, ignorance, cowardice and greed."
الأمانة والعفة نوعان من أنواع العدل والجود.,Honesty and temperance are two kinds of fairness and generosity.
ومما قلته في الأخلاق:,Here are some lines of my poetry dealing with morals.
قال أبو محمد علي بن أحمد:,Abû Muhammad Alî ibn Ahmad says:
إنما العقل أساس فوقه الأخلاق سور فحلِّ العقل بالعـــــلم وإلا فهو بور جاهل الأشياء أعمى لا يرى كيف يدور وتمام العلم بالعدل وإلا فهو زور وزمام العدل بالجـــــود وإلا فيجور وملاك الجود بالنجــــدة والجبن غرور عف إن كنت غيورًا، ما زنى قط غيور وكمال الكل بالتقوى، وقول الحق نور ذي أصولُ الفضل عنــها، حدثت بعد البذور,The spirit is the foundation morals build the fortress upon it. If the spirit does not adorn itself with knowledge it will surely find itself in distress. An ignorant person is surely blind and does not see where he is going. If knowledge is not paired with justice it is deceitful. If justice is not paired with generosity it is oppressive. Generosity depends on courage. Cowardice is deceitful. Keep yourself in check if you are jealous A jealous person has never yet committed adultery. All these virtues are sublimated in piety. Truth spreads light when it is spoken. It is from the roots of Good that springs vows [that bring us neared to God].
ومما قلته أيضًا:,And here some other lines of poetry in my style:
زمام أصول جميع الفضائل … عدل وفهم وجود وبأس,"The reins which control all the virtues are Justice, intelligence, generosity and strength."
فمن هذه ركبت غيرها فمن … حازها فهو في الناس رأس,The other virtues are composed of these four. Anyone who possesses them is at the head of his people.
كذا الرأس فيه الأمور التي … بإحساسها يكشف الالتباس,Likewise it is in the head that one finds The qualities of good sense that enable one to resolve all difficulties.
النزاهة في النفس فضيلة تركبت من النجدة والجود وكذلك الصبر.,Disinterest as a human quality is a virtue which is made up of courage and generosity. The same is true of patience.
الحلم نوع مفرد من أنواع النجدة.,Magnanimity is one kind of courage. It does not have an opposite.
القناعة فضيلة مركبة من الجود والعدل.,Moderation is a virtue which is made up of generosity and fairness.
والحرص متولد عن الطمع والطمع متولد عن الحسد ويتولد من الحرص رذائل عظيمة منها الذل والسرقة والغصب والزنا والقتل والعشق والهم بالفقر.,"Ruthlessness arises from covetousness, and covetousness arises from envy. Envy arises from desire, and desire arises from injustice, greed and ignorance. Ruthlessness gives rise to great vices, such as servility, theft, anger, adultery, murder, passions and fear of poverty."
والمسألة لما بأيدي الناس تتولد فيما بين الحرص والطمع وإنما فرقنا بين الحرص والطمع لأن الحرص هو بإظهار ما استكن في النفس من الطمع.,"To beg for something that belongs to someone else stems from a tendency which is midway between ruthlessness and covetousness. If we make a distinction between ruthlessness and covetousness, it is only because ruthlessness reveals the covetousness that is hidden in the soul."
والمداراة فضيلة متركبة من الحلم والصبر.,The art of dealing with people is a quality composed of magnanimity and patience.
الصدق مركب من العدل والنجدة.,Truthfulness is composed of justice and courage.
من جاء إليك بباطل رجع من عندك بحق وذلك أن من نقل إليك كذبًا عن إنسان حرك طبعك فأجبته فرجع عنك بحق فتحفظ من هذا ولا تجب إلا عن كلام صح عندك عن قائله.,"Anyone who comes to you with lies will go away with truths; that is to say, anyone who repeats to you lies which he attributes to a third person will make you beside yourself with rage; you will respond to him, and your response is the truth that he will carry away. Therefore be careful not to behave like this, and only answer when you are certain about the provenance of the lies."
لا شيء أقبح من الكذب وما ظنك بعيب يكون الكفر نوعًا من أنواعه فكل كفر كذب فالكذب جنس والكفر نوع تحته.,There is nothing worse than falsehood. For how do you regard a vice which has as one of its varieties disbelief or impiety itself? For all disbelief is falsehood. Falsehood is the genus and disbelief is one of its species.
والكذب متولد من الجور والجبن والجهل لأن الجبن يولد مهانة النفس والكذاب مهين النفس بعيد عن عزتها المحمودة.,"Falsehood arises from wickedness, cowardice and ignorance. Truly, cowardice debases the soul. A liar has a vile soul which is far away from achieving a greatness worthy of praise."
رأيت الناس في كلامهم الذي هو فصل بينهم وبين الحمير والكلاب والحشرات ينقسمون أقسامًا ثلاثة: أحدها: من لا يبالي فيما أنفق كلامه فيتكلم بكل ما سبق إلى لسانه غير محقق نصر حق ولا إنكار باطل وهذا هو الأغلب في الناس.,"If we categorize people by the way of their speaking – and, remember, it is speech that distinguishes mankind from donkeys, dogs and vermin – we can divide them into three groups: the first kind do not worry about what they pass on, they say everything that comes into their heads, without keeping to the truth or correcting mistakes, and this is the case with the majority of people."
والثاني: أن يتكلم ناصرًا لما وقع في نفسه أنه حق ودافعًا لما توهم أنه باطل غير محقق لطلب الحقيقة لكن لجاجًا فيما التزم وهذا كثير وهو دون الأول.,"Another group speak in order to defend their own fixed opinions, or to protest against what they believe to be false, without trying to establish the truth, merely holding their ground. This is frequently the case, but it is not so serious as the first group."
والثالث: واضع الكلام في موضعه، وهذا أعز من الكبريت الأحمر.,The third group makes use of language in the way of God intended and this is more precious than red sulphur.
لقد طال هم من غاظه الحق.,Endless anxiety awaits a man who is goaded or irritated by justice.
اثنان عظمت راحتهما: أحدهما: في غاية المدح والآخر في غاية الذم وهما مطرح الدنيا ومطرح الحياء.,"Two kinds of people live a life without care: one kind are extremely worthy of praise, the other kind are those who care nothing for the pleasures of this world, and those who care nothing for haya’, modesty."
لو لم يكن من التزهيد في الدنيا إلا أن كل إنسان في العالم فإنه كل ليلة إذا نام نسي كل ما يشفق عليه في يقظته وكل ما يشفق منه وكل ما يشره إليه.,"To distance ourselves from the vanities of the world it should suffice to remember that every night every man alive, in his sleep, forgets everything that worried him during the day, all his fears, all his hopes."
فتجده في تلك الحال لا يذكر ولدًا ولا أهلًا ولا جاهًا ولا خمولًا ولا ولاية ولا عزلة ولا فقرًا ولا غنى ولا مصيبة وكفي بهذا واعظًا لمن عقل.,"He no longer remembers his children or his parents, glory or obscurity, high social responsibilities or unemployment, poverty or riches, nor catastrophes. Such a lesson should be sufficient for a thoughtful person."
من عجيب تدبير الله عز وجل للعالم أن كل شيء اشتدت الحاجة إليه كان ذلك أهون له وتأمل ذلك في الماء فما فوقه.,"One of the most marvellous arrangements in God’s world is that He has made the thing that are most necessary also the most easily attainable, as can be seen in the case of water and the thing which is even more necessary."
وكل شيء اشتد الغنى عنه كان ذلك أعز له وتأمل في الياقوت الأحمر فما دونه.,"(i.e. air) And the less essential a thing is, the rarer it is, as can be seen in the case of sapphires and things which are even less useful."
الناس فيما يعانونه كالماشي في الفلاة كلما قطع أرضًا بدت له أرضون وكلما قضى المرء سببًا حدثت له أسباب.,"With all the worries, a man is like someone walking across a desert. Every time that he crosses a certain area, he sees other areas opening in front of him. Likewise, every time that a man gets something done, he finds other tasks piling up."
صدق من قال: إن العاقل معذب في الدنيا.,That man was right who said that the good have a hard time in this world.]
وصدق من قال إنه فيها مستريح.,But the man who said that the good are at rest was also right.
فأما تعبه ففيما يرى من انتشار الباطل وغلبة دولته وبما يحال بينه وبينه من إظهار الحق وأما راحته فمن كل ما يهتم به سائر الناس من فضول الدنيا.,"The good do suffer from all the evil that they see spread over everything, dominating it, and all the appearances of justice which rear up between true justice and themselves. But their calmness comes from [their indifference to] all the vanities of this world which so worry the rest of mankind."
إياك وموافقة الجليس السيء ومساعدة أهل زمانك فيما يضرك في أخراك أو في دنياك وإن قل فإنك لا تستفيد بذلك إلا الندامة حيث لا ينفعك الندم ولن يحمدك من ساعدته بل يشمت بك. وأقل ما في ذلك وهو المضمون أنه لا يبالي بسوء عاقبتك وفساد مغبتك.,"Take care not to agree with a wicked speaker, not to help your contemporaries by doing anything which might harm you in this world or the next – however little – for you will reap nothing but regret, at a time when regret will not help you at all. The man you helped will not thank you. On the contrary, he will rejoice at your misfortune, or, at least – you may be certain – he will be indifferent to the bad results [of your action] and your sad ending."
وإياك ومخالفة الجليس ومعارضة أهل زمانك فيما لا يضرك في دنياك ولا في أخراك، وإن قل.,"But guard against contradicting the speaker and opposing your contemporaries to the extent that you harm yourself in this world or the next, however little."
فإنك تستفيد بذلك الأذى والمنافرة والعداوة وربما أدى ذلك إلى المطالبة والضرر العظيم دون منفعة أصلًا.,"You will reap only loss, hostility and enmity. You may even allow yourself to take sides, and you may suffer considerable trials which will be of no benefit [to you] whatsoever."
إن لم يكن بد من إغضاب الناس أو إغضاب الله عز وجل ولم يكن لك مندوحة عن منافرة الخلق أو منافرة الحق فاغضب الناس ونافرهم ولا تغضب ربك ولا تنافر الحق.,"If you have to choose between annoying people or annoying the Almighty, and if there is no way out except either to run away from the right or to run away from the people, you should choose to annoy the people and run away from them, but do not annoy your God, do not run away from injustice."
الاتساء بالنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في وعظ أهل الجهل والمعاصي والرذائل واجب فمن وعظ بالجفاء والاكفهرار فقد أخطأ وتعدى طريقته صلى الله عليه وسلم وصار في أكثر الأمر مغريًا للموعوظ بالتمادي على أمره لجاجًا وحردًا ومغايظة للواعظ الجافي فيكون في وعظه مسيئًا لا محسنًا.,"You should imitate the Prophet – peace be upon him – when he preached to the ignorant, the sinful and the wicked. Anyone who preaches drily and cheerlessly is doing wrong and is not applying the Prophet’s method. Such preaching would usually only drive his audience to persist in their wicked ways, from obstinacy, anger and rage against the insolent sermonizer. He would then have done bad with his talk, not good."
ومن وعظ ببشر وتبسم ولين وكأنه مشير برأي ومخبر عن غير الموعوظ بما يستفتح من الموعوظ فذلك أبلغ وأنجع في الموعظة.,"But a man who exhorts in a friendly fashion, with a smile and with gentleness, putting on the appearance of offering advice and seeming to be speaking of a third person when he criticizes the faults of the one he is speaking to, then his words reach farther and have more effect."
فإن لم يتقبل فلينتقل إلى الموعظة بالتحشيم وفي الخلاء فإن لم يقبل ففي حضرة من يستحي منه الموعوظ فهذا أدب الله في أمره بالقول واللين.,"But if they are not well received, he should go on to exhort or to appeal to the man’s sense of shame, but only in private. And if [his advice] is still not taken, he should speak in the presence of someone who will make the sinner change. This is the practice which God ordains when He commands the use of “courteous terms”."
وكان صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يواجه بالموعظة لكن كان يقول: «ما بال أقوام يفعلون كذا».,"The Prophet used not to address his listeners directly; instead, he would say to them “What are they thinking of, the people who do such thing?…” Peace be upon him!"
وقد أثنى عليه الصلاة والسلام على الرفق. وأمر بالتيسير ونهى عن التنفير.,"He praised gentleness, commended us to be tolerant and not to argue."
وكان يتخول بالموعظة خوف الملل.,He varied his sermons so as not to be boring.
وقال تعالى: {وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ} [آل عمران: 159].,"And God has said, “If you are harsh, and hardhearted, they would have scattered from about you.” [Qur’ân 3:159.]"
وأما الغلطة والشدة فإنما تجب في حد من حدود الله تعالى فلا لين في ذلك للقادر على إقامة الحد خاصة.,Severity and hardness should not be used except to inflict the punishment ordained by God. A man who has been given special authority to inflict such punishment must not be gentle.
ومما ينجع في الوعظ أيضًا الثناء بحضرة المسيء على من فعل خلاف فعله فهذا داعية إلى عمل الخير.,"Something which can also have a good effect in a sermon is to praise, in the presence of a wrongdoer, somebody who has acted differently. This is an incitement to behave better."
وما أعلم لحب المدح فضلًا هذا وحده وهو أن يقتدي به من يسمع الثناء.,I know no other benefit of the love of praise: a person who hears another being praised models himself on him.
ولهذا يجب أن تؤرخ الفضائل والرذائل لينفر سامعها عن القبيح المأثور عن غيره ويرغب في الحسن المنقول عمن تقدمه ويتعظ بما سلف.,"It is for this reason that we should tell stories of virtue and vice, so that anyone who hears them may turn away from the wicked deed that he hears others have done and accomplish the good deeds that he hears that others have done, so learning from history."
فصل في الإخوان والصداقة والنصيحة,"V) Friends, Close Friends, and the Exchange of Advice"
تأملت كل ما دون السماء وطالت فيه فكرتي فوجدت كل شيء فيه من حي وغير حي من طبعه إن قوي أن يخلع عن غيره من الأنواع كيفياته ويلبسه صفاته فترى الفاضل يود لو كان الناس فضلاء وترى الناقص يود لو كان الناس نُقَصاء.,"I have considered everything that lives beneath the skies, I have reflected long upon it, and I have observed that everything that exists, whether animate or inanimate, has a natural tendency to build itself up by divesting the other species of their characteristics and investing them with his own. Thus, a virtuous man hopes that all mankind will become virtuous and the sinner hopes that all mankind will become sinful."
وترى كل من ذكر شيئًا يحض عليه يقول: وأنا أفعل أمرًا كذا. وكل ذي مذهب يود لو كان الناس موافقين له وترى ذلك في العنصر إذا قوي بعضها على بعض أحاله إلى نوعيته وترى ذلك في تركيب الشجر وفي تغذي النبات والشجر بالماء ورطوبة الأرض وإحالتهما ذلك إلى نوعيتهما فسبحان مخترع ذلك ومدبره لا إله إلا هو.,"One may observe that everybody who recalls a past action of their own which they incite others to imitate says, “I always do such and such”; someone with a doctrine wishes that everybody would agree with him. This phenomenon can also be seen among the elements: when some become strong than others, they change them to their own substance: you can see how trees are formed, and how plants and trees are nourished by transforming water and the moisture in the soil to their own substance. For this may glory be given to Him who created and organized all things, the is no other God but He."
من عجيب قدرة الله تعالى كثرة الخلق ثم لا ترى أحدًا يشبه آخر شبهًا لا يكون بينهما فيه فرق.,"One of the most astonishing manifestations of God’s power is that [despite] the great number of creatures that exist, you never see one so alike another that there is no difference between them."
وقد سألت من طال عمره وبلغ الثمانين عامًا: هل رأى الصور في ما خلا مشبهة لهذه شبهًا واحدًا فقال لي: لا بل لكل صورة فرقها.,"I asked a man who was very old and had reached his eighties whether he had ever seen in the past any form that resembled somebody nowadays to the point of being identical. “No,” he replied, “on the contrary, every form has something distinctive about it.”"
وهكذا كل ما في العالم يعرف ذلك.,The same is true of everything that exists in the world.
من تدبر الآلات وجميع الأجسام المركبات وطال تكرر بصره عليها فإنه حينئذ يميز ما بينها ويعرف بعضها من بعض بفروق فيها تعرفها النفس ولا يقدر أحد يعبر عنها بلسانه فسبحان العزيز الحكيم الذي لا تتناهي مقدوراته.,"Whoever makes a study of various objects and of the bodies they make up, whoever makes a long and frequent examination of them, knows this, and is able to discern the differences and to distinguish one object from another thanks to the nuances which the soul can perceive but words cannot express. Glory then to the Almighty, the Omniscient, whose power is infinite."
من عجائب الدنيا قوم غلبت عليهم آمال فاسدة لا يحصلون منها إلا على إتعاب النفس عاجلًا ثم الهم والإثم آجلًا كمن يتمنى غلاء الأقوات التي في غلائها هلاك الناس.,"A curious thing in this world is to see people allow themselves to be dominated by perverse hopes which will bring them nothing but trouble in the short term and anxiety and sin in the long term. For example, one person will hope for a rise in the price of foodstuffs, a rise which might be fatal for some people."
وكمن يتمنى بعض الأمور التي فيها الضرر لغيره وإن كانت له فيها منفعة فإن تأميله ما يؤمل من ذلك لا يعجل له ذلك قبل وقته ولا يأتيه من ذلك بما ليس في علم الله تعالى تكونه.,"But, even if one has a certain interest in something happening, the fact that one hopes for it does not make it happen before its time, and nothing will happen that God has not decided."
فلو تمنى الخير والرخاء لتعجل الأجر والراحة والفضيلة ولم يتعب نفسه طرفة عين فما فوقها فاعجبوا لفساد هذه الأخلاق بلا منفعة.,"If he had wished for the good and the prosperity of other people, we would have speeded his own reward, achieved peace of mind and virtue, without fatiguing himself at all. Be amazed at the useless corruption of these characters!"
فصل في أدواء الأخلاق الفاسدة ومداواتها,IX) Treatment of Corrupt Character
من امتحن بالعجب فليفكر في عيوبه فإن أعجب بفضائله فليفتش ما فيه من الأخلاق الدنيئة فإن خفيت عليه عيوبه جملة حتى يظن أنه لا عيب فيه فليعلم أن مصيبته إلى الأبد وأنه لأتم الناس نقصًا وأعظمهم عيوبًا. وأضعفهم تمييزًا.,"A man who is subject to pride should think of his faults. If he is proud of his virtues, he should seek out what is mean in his character. And if his faults are so well hidden from him that he thinks he has none, let him know that his misfortune will last for ever, that he is the worst of men, that he has the worst faults of all and is the least perceptive."
وأول ذلك أنه ضعيف العقل جاهل,"In the first place, he is weak in mind and ignorant."
ولا عيب أشد من هذين لأن العاقل هو من ميز عيوب نفسه فغالبها وسعى في قمعها والأحمق هو الذي يجهل عيوب نفسه إما لقلة علمه وتمييزه وضعف فكرته وإما لأنه يقدر أن عيوبه خصال وهذا أشد عيب في الأرض.,"No fault is worse then these two, for a wise man is one who sees his own faults, fights against them and tries to overcome them. A fool ignores them because he has little knowledge and discernment and his thoughts are feeble, possibly because he takes his faults to be good qualities, and there is nothing on earth worse than this."
وفي الناس كثير يفخرون بالزنا واللياطة والسرقة والظلم فيعجب بتأتي هذه النحوس له وبقوته على هذه المخازي.,"There are many who boast of having committed adultery, homosexuality [acts of child abuse], theft, and other sins, and are proud of these stains and of the aptitudes that they deployed in these shameful acts."
واعلم يقينًا: أنه لا يسلم إنسي من نقص حاشا الأنبياء صلوات الله عليهم فمن خفيت عليه عيوب نفسه فقد سقط وصار من السخف والضعة والرذالة والخسة وضعف التمييز والعقل وقلة الفهم بحيث لا يتخلف عنه مختلف من الأرذال وبحيث ليس تحته منزلة من الدناءة فليتدارك نفسه بالبحث عن عيوبه والاشتغال بذلك عن الإعجاب بها وعن عيوب غيره التي لا تضره في الدنيا ولا في الآخرة.,"Know well nobody upon earth is free of all faults except the Prophets, may God bless them. A man who does not see his own faults is a fallen being; he comes to be so from baseness, turpitude, stupidity and feebleness of intelligence, lack of discernment and understanding, to such a point that he is no different from vile men and it is not possible to drop lower into degradation than he has. Let him save his soul by seeking out his own faults and turning attention upon them instead of his pride and the faults of others, the doing of which harms him neither in this world or the next."
وما أدري لسماع عيوب الناس خصلة إلا الاتعاظ بما يسمع المرء منها فيجتنبها ويسعى في إزالة ما فيه منها بحول الله تعالى وقوته.,"I do not know of any benefit to be drawn from hearing about the faults of other people except that he who hears about them may learn the lesson, avoid them and seek to cure himself of them with God’s assistance and might."
وأما النطق بعيوب الناس فعيب كبير لا يسوغ أصلًا.,To speak of the faults of others is a serious shame which is absolutely not acceptable.
والواجب اجتنابه إلا في نصيحة من يتوقع عليه الأذى بمداخلة المعيب أو على سبيل تبكيت المعجب فقط في وجهه لا خلف ظهره ثم يقول للمعجب ارجع إلى نفسك فإذا ميزت عيوبها فقد داويت عجبك.,"One should avoid doing it except when one wishes to advise someone whom one fears to fall into the clutches of the person who is criticising or when one only wishes to reprimand a boastful person, which should be done to his face and not behind his back. Then you should say to the boastful man, “Turn round and look at yourself. When you have perceived your own faults you will have found the cure for your pride."
ولا تمثل بين نفسك وبين من هو أكثر عيوبًا منها فتستسهل الرذائل وتكون مقلدًا لأهل الشر وقد ذم تقليد أهل الخير فكيف تقليد أهل الشر!,"Do not compare yourself with someone who has more faults than you do *so that you find it easy to commit faults and to imitate wicked people* [Do not allow yourself to commit vile things and to imitate wicked people]. We have already criticized people who imitate good actions slavishly, what should we say of people who imitate evil actions slavishly?"
لكن مثل بين نفسك وبين من هو أفضل منك فحينئذ يتلف عجبك وتفيق من هذا الداء القبيح الذي يولد عليك الاستخفاف بالناس وفيهم بلا شك من هو خير منك.,"On the contrary, you should compare yourself with someone who is more virtuous than you, then your pride will fade away. Then you will be cured of this hateful disease which gave birth in you to scorn of other people when there are doubtless better people then you among them."
فإذا استخففت بهم بغير حق استخفوا بك بحق لأن الله تعالى يقول: {وَجَزَاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِثْلُهَا} [الشورى: 40].,"If you scorn them with no cause, they will have cause to scorn you, for the Almighty says [“To condone an evil is to commit the same evil.”] (Qur’ân 42:20) “The reward of an evil is an evil like it.”"
فتولد على نفسك أن تكون أهلًا للاستخفاف بك بل على الحقيقة مع مقت الله عز وجل وطمس ما فيك من فضيلة.,"So you will expose yourself to scorn, even to deserved disdain, and the anger of God and the loss of every trace of virtue that there may have been in you."
فإن أعجبت بعقلك ففكر في كل فكرة سوء تحل بخاطرك وفي أضاليل الأماني الطائفة بك فإنك تعلم نقص عقلك حينئذ.,"If you are proud of your intelligence, remember all the bad thoughts that come into your mind, the deceitful hopes which assail you, then you will realize how feeble your intelligence is."
وإن أعجبت بآرائك فتفكر في سقطاتك واحفظها ولا تنسها وفي كل رأي قدرته صوابًا فخرج بخلاف تقديرك وأصاب غيرك وأخطأت أنت.,"If you are proud of your personal ideas remember your mistakes, keep them in your memory, do not forget them: think of all the times you have believed yourself right and you have been right and you have been wrong."
فإنك إن فعلت ذلك فأقل أحوالك أن يوازن سقوط رأيك بصوابه فتخرج لا لك ولا عليك والأغلب أن خطأك أكثر من صوابك وهكذا كل أحد من الناس بعد النبيين صلوات الله عليهم.,"If you do this, you will see that in most cases you have been wrong about as often as right. The score will come out about equal. But it is more likely that your mistakes will be more numerous because this is the case with every human being except the Prophets, the peace of God be upon them!"
وإن أعجبت بعملك فتفكر في معاصيك وفي تقصيرك وفي معاشك ووجوهه فو الله لتجدن من ذلك ما يغلب على خيرك ويعفي على حسناتك فليطل همك حينئذ وأبدل من العجب تنقصًا لنفسك.,"If you are proud of your good works, remember your times of rebellion, your faults, your life in all its aspects. Ah, by God, then you will find that they outnumber your good works and it will make your good deeds forgotten. So you should worry about this for a long time and replace your pride with self-disdain."
وإن أعجبت بعلمك فاعلم أنه لا خصلة لك فيه وأنه موهبة من الله مجردة وهبك إياها ربك تعالى فلا تقابلها بما يسخطه فلعله ينسيك ذلك بعلة يمتحنك بها تولد عليك نسيان ما علمت وحفظت.,"If you are proud of your knowledge, you should know that it is no credit to you, it is a pure gift that God has granted you. Do not receive it in a way that would anger the Almighty because He might wipe it from you by subjecting you to an illness which would make you forget all that you have learned and stored in your memory."
ولقد أخبرني عبد الملك بن طريف وهو من أهل العلم والذكاء واعتدال الأحوال وصحة البحث أنه كان ذا حظ من الحفظ عظيم لا يكاد يمر على سمعه شيء يحتاج إلى استعادته وأنه ركب البحر فمر به فيه هول شديد أنساه أكثر ما كان يحفظ وأخل بقوة حفظه إخلالًا شديدًا لم يعاوده ذلك الذكاء بعد.,"I have been told that this happened to ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Tarif [d.400 AH, 1009 CE], who was a scholar, intelligent, moderate, exact in his researches, who had been allotted by fate such a prodigious memory that virtually nothing reached his ears that had to be said to him twice. Now he undertook a journey by ship and experienced such a terrible storm at sea that he lost the memory of most of what he had learnt and suffered considerable upset to his mind. He never recovered his full intelligence."
وأنا أصابتني علة فأفقت منها وقد ذهب ما كنت أحفظ إلا ما لا قدر له فما عاودته إلا بعد أعوام.,I myself have been struck by illness. When I got up from it I had forgotten all my knowledge except for a few ideas of little value. I did not recover it until several years later.
واعلم أن كثيرًا من أهل الحرص على العلم يجدون في القراءة والإكباب على الدروس والطلب ثم لا يرزقون منه حظًا.,"You should also know that there are many people greedy for knowledge, who devote themselves to reading, to study and to research but do not reap any benefit from it."
فليعلم ذو العلم أنه لو كان بالإكباب وحده لكان غيره فوقه فصح أنه موهبة من الله تعالى فأي مكان للعجب ها هنا!,"A scholar should realize that it is enough to pursue knowledge, many others will rank higher than him. Knowledge is truly a gift from God. So what place is there for pride?"
ما هذا إلا موضع تواضع وشكر لله تعالى واستزادة من نعمه واستعاذة من سلبها.,"One can only feel humble, give thanks to God Almighty and beg Him to increase His gifts not to withhold them."
ثم تفكر أيضًا في أن ما خفي عليك وجهلته من أنواع العلم ثم من أصناف علمك الذي تختص به. فالذي أعجبت بنفاذك فيه أكثر مما تعلم من ذلك فاجعل مكان العجب استنقاصًا لنفسك واستقصارًا لها فهو أولى وتفكر فيمن كان أعلم منك تجدهم كثيرًا فلتهن نفسك عندك حينئذ وتفكر في إخلالك بعلمك وأنك لا تعمل بما علمت منه فلعلمك عليك حجة حينئذ ولقد كان أسلم لك لو لم تكن عالمًا.,"You should also remember that everything that remains hidden from you, everything that you do not know of the different branches of knowledge, the aspects that you have specialized in, and that you are proud to have penetrated [nevertheless what you do not know] is greater than what you do know. You should therefore replace your pride with scorn and self disdain, that would be better. Think of those who are more knowledgeable than you – you will find that there are many of them – and may your spirit be humble in your own sight. You should also remember that you may be deceived by knowledge, for if you do not put into practice what you know your knowledge will be a testimony against you and it would have been better for you if you had never been a scholar."
واعلم أن الجاهل حينئذ أعقل منك وأحسن حالًا وأعذر فليسقط عجبك بالكلية.,"For you should remember that an ignorant man is wiser than you, he is in a better position, he is more excusable. May your pride then completely disappear."
ثم لعل علمك الذي تعجب بنفاذك فيه من العلوم المتأخرة التي لا كبير خصلة فيها كالشعر وما جرى مجراه فانظر حينئذ إلى من علمه أجل من علمك في مراتب الدنيا والآخرة فتهون نفسك عليك.,"Moreover, the knowledge that you are so proud of having penetrated is perhaps one of the less important branches of knowledge, of no great value, such as poetry or suchlike. You should then remember the man whose branch of study is more noble than yours on the scale of this world and the next, and your soul should become humble in your own sight."
وإن أعجبت بشجاعتك فتفكر فيمن هو أشجع منك.,"If you are proud of your courage, remember those who are more valiant than you."
ثم انظر في تلك النجدة التي منحك الله تعالى فيم صرفتها فإن كنت صرفتها في معصية فأنت أحمق لأنك بذلت نفسك فيما ليس ثمنًا لها وإن كنت صرفتها في طاعة فقد أفسدتها بعجبك.,"Then examine what you do with your courage that God has granted you. If you waste it in rebellion against God, you are a fool for you are losing your soul by committing acts of no value to it. If you use your courage in obedience to God, you are spoiling it by your pride."
ثم تفكر في زوالها عنك بالشيخوخة وأنك إن عشت فستصير من عدد العيال وكالصبي ضعفًا.,"You should also remember that your courage will fall away as you grow old and if you live so long you will become dependent, as weak as a baby."
على أني ما رأيت العجب في طائفة أقل منه في أهل الشجاعة فاستدللت بذلك على نزاهة أنفسهم ورفعتها وعلوها.,"It is true that I have never seen less pride than among the brave, and to my mind that proves the purity, greatness and majesty of their spirits."
وإن أعجبت بجاهك في دنياك فتفكر في مخالفيك وأندادك ونظرائك ولعلهم أخساء وضعفاء سقاط، فاعلم أنهم أمثالك فيما أنت فيه، ولعلهم ممن يستحيا من التشبه بهم لفرط رذالتهم وخساستهم في أنفسهم وأخلاقهم ومنابتهم،,"If you are vain because you are strong remember those who may rise against you, your peers, your equals, men who may be perverse, feeble and vile. But you should remember that they are equal to you in strength you possess even if you would be ashamed to be like them because of their extreme baseness, ignominy of the souls, their morals, their origins."
فاستهن بكل منزلة شاركك فيها من ذكرتُ لك. وإن كنت مالك الأرض كلها ولا مخالف عليك -وهذا بعيد جدًا في الإمكان فما نعلم أحدًا ملك معمور الأرض كله على قلته وضيق ساحته بالإضافة إلى غامرها فكيف إذا أضيف إلى الفلك المحيط؛ فتفكر فيما قال ابن السماك للرشيد وقد دعا بحضرته بقدح فيه ماء ليشربه فقال له: يا أمير المؤمنين فلو منعت هذه الشربة بكم كنت ترضى أن تبتاعها؟,"You should despise any honours which make you the colleague of such men as I have just described, even if you owned the whole world and you had no opponent – something that is far from likely, since no one has ever heard tell of one man owning the whole inhabited world, even when it was still small and of limited dimensions compared with the uninhabited areas. And just think how tiny it is compared with the celestial sphere that surrounds the universe! Remember what was said by Ibn al Sammâk [Abû al-‘Abbâs Muhammad Ibn Subayh, d. 183 AH; 799 CE] to al-Rashîd when the latter asked to be brought a cup of drinking water: “Commander of the faithful, if this drink were refused you, how much would you offer to get it?”"
فقال له الرشيد: بملكي كله.,"“My entire kingdom,” replied al-Rashîd."
قال: يا أمير المؤمنين فلو منعت خروجها منك بكم كنت ترضى أن تفتدي من ذلك؟,"“Commander of the faithful,” continues the other, “if you found that you could not pass water from you body, how much would you sacrifice to able to do so?”"
قال: بملكي كله.,“My entire kingdom.”
قال يا أمير المؤمنين أتغتبط بملك لا يساوي بولة ولا شربة ماء!,"“O lord of the Believers, how can you boast of a kingdom which is not worth as much as a little urine and a few mouthfuls of water?”"
وصدق ابن السماك رحمه الله.,"Ibn al-Sammâk was right, Allâh grant him peace."
وإن كنتَ مَلِكَ المسلمين كلهم فاعلم أن ملك السود -وهو رجل أسود رذل مكشوف العورة جاهل- يملك أوسع من ملكك.,"If you were king of all the Muslims, you should remember that the king of Sudan, a disreputable black man, an ignorant man who does not cover his private parts, has a larger kingdom than yours."
فإن قلت أنا أخذنه بحق فلعمري ما أخذته بحق إذا استعملت فيه رذيلة العجب وإذا لم تعدل فيه، فاستحي من حالك فهي حالة رذالة لا حالة يحب العجب فيها.,"If you say, “I have taken it by right”, [no], upon my life, you have not taken it by right if it is a source of arrogance in you and you do not use your position to bring justice. You should be ashamed of your position; it is a state of turpitude, not a state to feel proud of."
وإن أعجبت بمالك فهذه أسوأ مراتب العجب فانظر في كل ساقط خسيس فهو أغنى منك فلا تغبط بحالة يفوقك فيها من ذكرت.,"If you take pride in your wealth, that is the worse degree of pride. Think of all the vile and debauched men who are richer than you and do not take pride in something in which they outdo you."
واعلم أن عجبك بالمال حمق لأنه أحجار لا تنتفع بها إلا أن تخرجها عن ملكك بنفقتها في وجهها فقط والمال أيضًا غاد ورائح وربما زال عنك ورأيته بعينه في يد غيرك. ولعل ذلك يكون في يد عدوك فالعجب بمثل هذا سخف والثقة به غرور وضعف.,"You should realize that it is stupid to take pride in possessions; riches are burdens which bring no benefit until you dispose of them and spend them according to the law. Wealth is also ephemeral and fleeing. It can escape, and you can find it again anywhere, perhaps in someone else’s hands, perhaps in the hands of your enemy. To take pride in your wealth is stupid, to put your trust in good fortune is a trap and a weakness."
وإن أعجبت بحسنك ففكر فيما يولد عليك مما نستحي نحن من إثباته وتستحي أنت منه إذا ذهب عنك بدخولك في السن وفيما ذكرنا كفاية.,"If you take pride in your beauty, think of the harm it gives rise to, which we would be ashamed to put into words. You yourself will be ashamed of it when your beauty disappears with age. But in saying this we have said enough."
وإن أعجبت بمدح إخوانك لك ففكر في ذم أعدائك إياك فحينئذ ينجلي عنك العجب.,"If the praises heaped on you by your friends make you vain, think of the criticism that your enemies direct at you. Then your pride will melt away."
فإن لم يكن لك عدو فلا خير فيك ولا منزلة أسقط من منزلة من لا عدو له فليست إلا منزلة من ليس لله تعالى عنده نعمة يحسد عليها عافانا الله.,"And if you have no enemies than you have no good in you at all, for there is nothing lower on the scale of values than the man who has no enemies. That position is reserved for people who have not received from God a single favour worth envying (God preserve us from being in this position!)"
فإن استحقرت عيوبك ففكر فيها لو ظهرت إلى الناس وتمثل إطلاعهم عليها فحينئذ تخجل وتعرف قدر نقصك إن كانت لك مُسكة من تمييز.,"If you think that your faults are slight, imagine someone else looking at them and think what he would say about them. Then you will feel shame and will know the measure of your faults, if you have the slightest discernment."
واعلم بأنك إن تعلمت كيفية تركيب الطبائع وتولد الأخلاق من امتزاج عناصرها المحمولة في النفس فستقف من ذلك وقوف يقين على أن فضائلك لا خصلة لك فيها وأنها منح من الله تعالى لو منحها غيرك لكان مثلك وأنك لو وكلت إلى نفسك لعجزت وهلكت فاجعل بدل عجبك بها شكرًا لواهبك إياها وإشفاقًا من زوالها فقد تتغير الأخلاق الحميدة بالمرض وبالفقر وبالخوف وبالغضب بالهرم.,"If you study the laws that regulate human nature and the development of different characters according to the mixture of elements rooted in their souls, you will surely become convinced that you have no merit from your own virtues, that they are only gifts from the Almighty, which, if He had granted to another, would have made him just like you, and you will realize that, left to your own devices, you would collapse and die. You would replace your pride that you take in your virtues with acts of grace towards the One who gave them to you, and with the fear of losing them, for even the most admirable characters can be altered by illness, poverty, fear, anger or the decrepitude of old age."
وارحم من منع ما مُنِحتَ ولا تتعرض لزوال ما بك من النعم بالتعاصي على واهبها تعالى وبأن تجعل لنفسك فيما وهبك خصلة أو حقًا فتقدر أنك أنك استغنيت عن عصمته فتهلك عاجلًا وآجلًا.,"Show compassion towards those who lack the gifts that you have received, and do not risk losing them by seeking to raise yourself above the One who gave them by claiming merit for yourself or rights in what He has granted to you, or by thinking that you can dispense with His protection, for without it you would perish at once and for ever."
ولقد أصابتني علة شديدة ولدت علي ربوًا في الطحال شديدًا فولد ذلك علي من الضجر وضيق الخلق وقلة الصبر والنزق أمرًا حاسبت نفسي فيه إذ أنكرت تبدل خلقي واشتد عجبي من مفارقتي لطبعي وصح عندي أن الطحال موضع الفرح إذا فسد تولد ضده.,"[For example,] I once suffered a severe illness that caused enlargement of the spleen. I became anguished, peevish, impatient and touchy, and I reproached myself for this, not being willing to face the fact that my character had changed. I was extremely surprised that I had lost my good characteristics. In this way I had good proof that the spleen is the centre of good temper, and that when it is diseased bad temper is the result."
وإن أعجبت بنسبك فهذه أسوأ من كل ما ذكرنا لأن هذا الذي أعجبت به لا فائدة له أصلًا في دنيا ولا آخرة.,"If you take pride in your ancestry, that is even worse than everything we have mentioned so far, since it is pride in something that has no real usefulness for you in this world or the next."
وانظر هل يدفع عنك جوعة. أو يستر لك عورة أو ينفعك في آخرتك.,"Just ask yourself whether your ancestry protects you against hunger, or dishonour, or whether it does you any good in the next world."
ثم انظر إلى من يساهمك في نسبك وربما فيما أعلى منه ممن نالته ولادة الأنبياء عليهم السلام ثم ولادة الخلفاء ثم ولادة الفضلاء من الصحابة والعلماء ثم ولادة ملوك العجم من الأكاسرة والقياصرة ثم ولادة التبابعة وسائر ملوك الإسلام.,"Next, consider those who are equally well descended, or even better, those who are descended from the Prophets [peace be upon them] or their successors, from the virtuous companions of Muhammad or from scholars; then remember those who are descended from non-Arab kings, the Khosrau and Caesars, those who are descended from the Tubba’ and the various kings of Islâm."
فتأمل غبراتهم وبقاياهم.,Consider what remains of them and what has survived.
ومن يدلي بمثل ما تدلي به من ذلك تجد أكثرهم أمثال الكلاب خساسة وتلفهم في غاية السقوط والرذالة والتبدل والتحلي بالصفات المذمومة فلا تغتبط بمنزلة هم فيها نظراؤك أو فوقك.,"Observe those who boast of their ancestry as you do of yours, and you will that most of them are as ignoble as dogs. You will find that they are low, extremely vile, unreliable; you will find that they are adorned with the very worst characteristics. Therefore, you should not boast of something in which such people are your equals or even superior to you."
ثم لعل الآباء الذين تفخر بهم كانوا فساقًا وشربة خمور ولاطة ومتعبثين ونوكى أطلقت الأيام أيديهم بالظلم والجور فأنتجوا ظلمًا وآثارًا قبيحة تبقي عارهم بذلك الأيام ويعظم إثمهم والندم عليها يوم الحساب.,"The ancestors which make you so proud may have been debauched, drunken, licentious, frivolous and stupid. Circumstances allowed them to become despots and tyrants; they left an infamous record which will perpetuate their shame for ever. Their crime is immense and their repentance shall be immense on the day of the Last Judgment."
فإن كان كذلك فاعلم أن الذي أعجبت به من ذلك داخل في العيب والخزي والعار والشنار لا في الإعجاب.,"Since this is the case, remember that you are taking pride in something that shares in vice, ignominy, shame and dishonour; it is not something to be admired."
فإن أعجبت بولادة الفضلاء إياك فما أخلى يدك من فضلهم إن لم تكن أنت فاضلًا وما أقل غناهم عنك في الدنيا والآخرة إن لم تكن محسنًا!,"If you are proud of your descent from virtuous ancestors, how empty their virtue will leave your hands if you yourself are not virtuous! How little pride your ancestors will have in you in this world and the next if you do no good!"
والناس كلهم أولاد آدم الذي خلقه الله بيده وأسكنه جنته وأسجد له ملائكته.,"Al men are children of Adam whom God created by His own Hand, giving him Paradise for a dwelling place and letting His angels bow down before him."
ولكن ما أقل نفعه لهم وفيه كل معيب وكل فاسق وكل كافر.,But how little is the advantage they have since all the vices dwell in mankind and all the wicked impious people in the world are among their number.
وإذا فكر العاقل في أن فضل آبائه لا يقربه من ربه تعالى ولا يكسبه وجاهة لم يحزها هو بسعده أو بفضله في نفسه ولا مالًا فأي معنى الإعجاب بما لا منفعة فيه؟!,"When the wise men considers that the virtues of his ancestors do not bring him any closer to his Lord the Almighty and do not win him any favour which he could not have gained by luck in a competition or by his own virtue, not by his wealth, what sense is there in taking pride in a descent which is of no use to him?"
وهل المعجب بذلك إلا كالمعجب بمال جاره وبجاه غيره وبفرس لغيره سبق كأن علي رأسه لجامه؟!,"Someone who feels proud of it, is he not like someone who feels proud of his neighbour’s wealth, or a third person’s glory, or another’s horse because it once wore a bridle that had been his property?"
وكما تقول العامة في أمثالها: كالغبي يزهي بذكاء أبيه.,"It is, as people say, “like eunuch who takes pride in his father’s potency.”"
فإن تعدى بك العجب إلى الامتداح فقد تضاعف سقوطك لأنه قد عجز عقلك عن مقاومة ما فيك من العجب هذا إن امتدحت بحق فكيف إن امتدحت بالكذب؟!,"If your pride leads you to boast, you will be doubly guilty, because your intelligence will have shown that it is incapable of controlling your pride. This would be true if you had a good reason to boast, so imagine what it is like if you have no good reason."
وقد كان ابن نوح وأبو إبراهيم وأبو لهب عم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أقرب الناس من أفضل خلق الله تعالى وممن الشرف كله في اتباعهم فما انتفعوا بذلك.,"Noah’s son, Abraham’s father, and Abû Lahab, the uncle of the Prophet – may God grant him blessings, as also to Noah and Abraham – these were the closest relations of God’s most virtuous creatures out of all the sons of Adam. To achieve nobility it would have been enough to follow in their footsteps. But they drew no benefit from it."
وقد كان فيمن ولد لغير رشدة من كان الغاية في رياسة الدنيا كزياد وأبي مسلم ومن كان نهاية في الفضل على الحقيقة كبعض من نُجِلُّه عن ذكره في مثل هذا الفصل ممن يتقرب إلى الله تعالى بحبه والاقتداء بحميد آثاره.,"Among those who have been born illegitimate, some have risen to the highest positions in control of the world’s affairs, for example Ziyâd [ibn Abihi d. 53 AH; 672 CE] and Abû Muslim al-Kurasânî [d.129 AH; 746 CE]. There have been others who have attained supreme virtue, like those whom we respect too highly to name them in this context. We come nearer to God if we love them and model our lives on their glorious achievements."
وإن أعجبت بقوة جسمك فتفكر في أن البغل والحمار والثور أقوى منك وأحمل للأثقال.,"If you take pride in your physical strength, remember that the mule, the donkey, and the bull are stronger than you, and better suited to carrying heavy loads."
وإن أعجبت بخفتك فاعلم أن الكلب والأرنب يفوقانك في هذا الباب فمن العجب العجيب إعجاب ناطق بخصلة يفوقه فيها غير ناطق.,"If you feel vain about the lightness of your running style, remember that the dog and hare surpass you in this field. It is extremely curious that rational beings feel proud of something in which they are surpassed by dumb animals."
واعلم أن من قدر في نفسه عجبًا أو ظن لها على سائر الناس فضلًا فلينظر إلى صبره عندما يدهمه من هم أو نكبة أو وجع أو دمل أو مصيبة فإن رأى نفسه قليلة الصبر فليعلم أن جميع أهل البلاء من المجذومين وغيرهم الصابرين أفضل منه على تأخر طبقتهم في التمييز.,"You should know that a man who has pride or a feeling of superiority buried deep in his soul should measure how well he tolerates anxieties, adversity, pain, toil or the worries and misfortunes which plague him. If he realizes that he tolerates them with a bad grace, he should remember that all those who are subjected to trials, those who are starving and have nothing to eat for example, all those who suffer patiently, they have more merit than he does, despite their weaker understanding."
وإن رأى نفسه صابرة فليعلم أنه لم يأت بشيء يسبق فيه على ما ذكرنا بل هو إما متأخر عنهم في ذلك أو مساوٍ لهم ولا مزيد.,"However, if he finds that he is capable of endurance, let him remember that this makes him no more exceptional that those we have just mentioned; he may be inferior to them, or their equal, but he is not their superior."
ثم لينظر إلى سيرته وعدله أو جوره فيما خوله الله من نعمة أو مال أو خول أو أتباع أو صحة أو جاه فإن وجد نفسه مقصرة فيما يلزمه من الشكر لواهبه تعالى ووجدها حائفة في العدل فليعلم أن أهل العدل والشكر والسيرة الحسنة من المخولين أكثر مما هو فيه أفضل منه.,"Next, let him consider his conduct. Does he act fairly or unfairly when he makes use of the gifts which God has granted him, money, power, slaves, health or fame? If he finds that he has failed in his obligation to feel grateful towards the Almighty Benefactor, if he finds that he is at the extreme edge of fairness, bordering on injustice, he should remember that people who are just and grateful and honest have been more favoured then he and are more virtuous than he."
فإن رأى نفسه ملتزمة للعدل فالعادل بعيد عن العجب ألبتة لعلمه بموازين الأشياء ومقادير الأخلاق والتزامه التوسط الذي هو الاعتدال بين الطرفين المذمومين فإن أعجب فلم يعدل بل قد مال إلى جنبة الإفراط المذمومة.,"If he considers that he does love justice let him remember that a just man if far from proud because he knows the real importance of things, the real value of characters, and he loves the happy medium which is the balance between two bad extremes; on the contrary, he must incline towards one of these bad extremes."
واعلم أن التعسف وسوء الملكة لمن خولك الله تعالى أمره من رقيق أو رعية يدلان على خساسة النفس ودناءة الهمة وضعف العقل لأن العاقل الرفيع النفس العالي الهمة إنما يغلب أكفاءه في القوة ونظراءه في المنعة. وأما الاستطالة على من لا يمكنه المعارضة فسقوط في الطبع ورذالة في النفس والخلق وعجز ومهانة.,"You should remember that if you oppress or maltreat beings whose fate has been entrusted to you by God as slaves or subjects, this shows that you have an ignoble soul, a vile spirit, a weak intelligence. Indeed, a wise man with his noble spirit, his elevated thoughts, fights only against people as strong as himself, his peers in potency; but to attack those who cannot defend themselves is the sign of a vile nature, a depraved soul and character, it shows you to be incapable and dishonorable."
ومن فعل ذلك فهو بمنزلة من يتبجح بقتل جرذ أو بقتل برغوث، أو بفرك قملة، وحسبك بهذا ضعة وخساسة.,"A man who behaved like this would descend to the level of someone who was pleased to have killed a rat, to have exterminated a flea or to have squashed a louse. There is nothing more base or vile."
واعلم أن رياضة الأنفس أصعب من رياضة الأُسْدِ لأن الأُسْد إذا سُجِنت في البيوت التي تتخذ لها الملوك أمن شرها والنفس وإن سجنت لم يؤمن شرها.,"Remember that it is harder to tame the self than to tame wild beasts. In fact, when wild beasts are shut inside cages ordered for them by kings, they cannot harm you. But the self, even if it were put in a prison, could not be guaranteed to do you no harm."
العجب أصل يتفرع عنه التيه والزهو والكبر والنخوة والتعالي وهذه أسماء واقعة على معان متقاربة. ولذلك صعب الفرق بينها على أكثر الناس.,"Pride is like a tree trunk; its branches are complacency, presumptuousness, haughtiness, arrogance and superiority. These terms refer to concepts that are very similar to each other and hard for most people to tell apart."
فقد يكون العجب لفضيلة في المعجب ظاهرة فمن معجب بعلمه فيكفهر ويتعالى على الناس ومن معجب بعمله فيرتفع ومن معجب برأيه فيزهو على غيره ومن معجب بنسبه فيتيه ومن معجب بجاهه وعلو حاله فيتكبر ويتنخى.,"A proud man becomes proud because of an obvious merit: one man may be vain about his own scholarship, and be haughty and scornful towards others another may be vain about his man is proud of his own judgment and becomes arrogant; another is self-satisfied and becomes complacent. Another, full of his own reputation and high standing, becomes self-important and haughty."
وأقل مراتب العجب أن تراه يتوفر عن الضحك في مواضع الضحك وعن خفة الحركات وعن الكلام إلا فيما لا بد له من أمور دنياه.,The lowest degree of pride is when you refrain from laughing when laughter is not out of place; you avoid quick movements and responses except when it is unavoidable in daily life.
وعيب هذا أقل من عيب غيره ولو فعل هذه الأفاعيل على سبيل الاقتصار على الواجبات وترك الفضول لكان ذلك فضلًا وموجبًا لحمده ولكن إنما يفعل ذلك احتقارًا للناس وإعجابًا بنفسه فحصل له بذلك استحقاق الذم. و«إنما الأعمال بالنيات ولكل امرئ ما نوى».,"However, such a fault is very serious. To behave in this way in order to get on with one’s work and to avoid timewasting nonsense would even be a praiseworthy virtue. But these people only behave like this out of disdain for others and from pride in themselves, and so they deserve only blame, for deeds are of value according to the intentions of the doer, and every being shall be rewarded according to what he intended to do."
حتى إذا زاد الأمر ولم يكن هناك تمييز يحجب عن توفية العجب حقه ولا عقل جيد حدث من ذلك ظهور الاستخفاف بالناس واحتقارهم بالكلام وفي المعاملة حتى إذا زاد ذلك وضعف التمييز والعقل ترقى ذلك إلى الاستطالة على الناس بالأذى بالأيدي والتحكم والظلم والطغيان واقتضاء الطاعة لنفسه والخضوع لها إن أمكنه ذلك، فإن لم يقدر على ذلك امتدح بلسانه واقتصر على ذم الناس والاستهزاء بهم.,"Next, a more serious case is when you are not clever enough to keep pride within its rightful limits, when your spirit is too weak, and you reach the point of showing disdain and scorn towards other people by your words and deeds. Then, going even further, when your sense and your spirit are even weaker, you reach the point of desiring to harm people with words and with blows, to give them orders, to commit abuses, to tyrannise them to exact where possible, obedience and submission from them. When he is unable to do this, the proud man sings his own praises and contents himself with criticizing other people and mocking them."
وقد يكون العجب لغير معنى ولغير فضيلة في المعجب وهذا من عجيب ما يقع في هذا الباب وهو شيء يسميه عامتنا “التمترك” وكثيرًا ما نراه في النساء وفيمن عقله قريب من عقولهن من الرجال. وهو عجب من ليس فيه خصلة أصلًا لا علم ولا شجاعة ولا علو حال ولا نسب رفيع ولا مال يطغيه.,"Pride can also exist for no good reason and where there is no merit in the proud person; this is the strangest thing about it. The popular phrase for it is “Mutamandil discernment”. It is often found in women or in men who has absolutely no good quality: neither knowledge, nor courage, not high social standing, nor noble descent, nor fortune, which might give him abusive authority."
أو له شيء من فروسية فهو يقدر أنه يهزم عليًا ويأسر الزبير ويقتل خالدًا رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُم.,"If he has some value as a warrior he thinks he can put ‘Alî [ibn Abî Tâlib] to flight, capture al-Zubayr [ibn al-‘Awwâm] and slay Khâlid [ibn al-Walîd]."
أو له شيء من جاه رذل فهو لا يرى الإسكندر على حال.,"If he is at all notorious, he holds Alexander the Great in small esteem."
أو يكون قويًا على أن يكسب ما يتوفر بيده مُوَيْل يفضل عن قوته فلو أخذ بقرني الشمس لم يزد على ما هو فيه.,"If he is capable of gaining a little money and to obtain a little more than the absolute necessities of life, he is as proud of it as if he had got hold of the sun by its horns."
وليس يكثر العجب من هؤلاء -وإن كانوا عجبا-ً لكن ممن لا حظ له من علم أصلًا ولا نسب البتة ولا مال ولا جاه ولا نجدة، بل تراه في كفالة غيره مهتضمًا لكل من له أدنى طاقة وهو يعلم أنه خالٍ من كل ذلك وأنه لا حظ له في شيء من ذلك ثم هو مع ذلك في حالة المزهو التياه.,"However, pride among such men, even if they are admirable fellows, is not common. However, if it is common among those who have a iota of knowledge, nobility, fortune, reputation or courage. They are dragged along by others, and they trample on those who are weaker than themselves. Although they are perfectly aware that they themselves are lacking in all good qualities and have none whatsoever, they are still haughty and insolent."
ولقد تسببت إلى سؤال بعضهم في رفق ولين عن سبب علو نفسه واحتقاره الناس فما وجدت عنده مزيدًا على أن قال لي: أنا حر لست عبد أحد.,"I took the opportunity of asking one such man – gently and tactfully – what was the cause of his sense of superiority and his disdain of others. The only answer I could get was this: “I am a free man”, he said, “I am nobody’s slave.”"
فقلت له: أكثر من تراه يشاركك في هذه الفضيلة فهم أحرار مثلك إلا قومًا من العبيد هم أطول منك يدًا وأمرهم نافذ عليك وعلى كثير من الأحرار.,"I replied “Most people that one meets share this same quality with you. Like you, they are free men, except for a certain number of slaves who are more generous than you and who give orders to you and to many other free men.”"
فلم أجد عنده زيادة.,I could not get anything else out of him.
وهو يعلم مع ذلك أنه صفر من ذلك كله لأن هذه الأمور لا يغلط فيها من يقذف بالحجارة وإنما يغلط فيها من له أدنى حظ منها فربما يتوهم-إن كان ضعيف العقل- أنه قد بلغ الغاية القصوى منها كمن له حظ من علم فهو يظن أنه عالم كامل أو كمن له نسب معرق في ظلمة وتجدهم لم يكونوا أيضًا رفعاء في ظلمهم فتجده لو كان ابن فرعون ذي الأوتاد ما زاد على إعجابه الذي فيه.,"And, what is more, such a man knows that he is a nonentity in every way, for even the idiot that has stones thrown at him knows this. The only person who can deceive himself is one who has a small part of some good qualities. For example, a man who is endowed with a little brain might imagine himself to have reached the extreme limits of intelligence; someone with a little scientific knowledge might imagine himself to be a perfect expert. Someone whose genealogy has [obscure] bad origins and whose ancestors were not even great tyrants is more infatuated with himself than if he were the sons of the [mighty] Pharaoh of the forces."
فرجعت إلى تفتيش أحوالهم ومراعاتها ففكرت في ذلك سنين لأعلم السبب الباعث لهم على هذا العجب الذي لا سبب له فلم أزل أختبر ما تنطوي عليه نفوسهم بما يبدو من أحوالهم ومن مراميهم في كلامهم فاستقر أمرهم على أنهم يقدرون أن عندهم فضل عقل وتميز رأي أصيل لو أمكنتهم الأيام من تصريفه لوجدوا فيه متسعًا ولأداروا الممالك الرفيعة ولبان فضلهم على سائر الناس ولو ملكوا مالًا لأحسنوا تصريفه.,"I returned to consideration of their case, going into the matter deeply. I thought about it for years on end, trying to find the reasons which drove them to pride that was so unjustified. I searched the recesses of their souls incessantly, on the basis of what their words reflected of their situation and their intentions. I came to the conclusion that they imagined themselves to have a superior intelligence and perception and a good sense of judgment. [They believed that] if fate had allowed them to make use of these talents, they would have had immense possibilities, they would have known how to direct powerful kingdoms and their merit would have appeared superior to that of other men. If they had had a fortune they would have been very good at spending it."
فمن ها هنا تسرب التيه إليهم وسرى العجب فيهم.,And this is the angle by which vanity has taken possession of them and pride has penetrated their souls.
وهذا مكان فيه للكلام شعب عجيب ومعارضة معترضة.,Here one might make curious digressions and [point out] certain paradoxes.
وهو أنه ليس شيء من الفضائل كلما كان المرء منه أعرى قوي ظنه في أنه قد استولى عليه واستمر يقينه في أنه قد كمل فيه إلا العقل والتمييز.,"It is a fact that no virtue except that of intelligence and perception allows one to believe that one is a past master in it, and the more one is completely sure that one has attained perfection in it, the more one lacks it."
حتى إنك تجد المجنون المطبق والسكران الطافح يسخران بالصحيح؛ والجاهل الناقص يهزأ بالحكماء وأفاضل العلماء؛ والصبيان الصغار يتهكمون بالكهول؛ والسفهاء العيارون يستخفون بالعقلاء المتصاونين؛ وضعفة النساء يستنقصن عقول أكابر الرجال وآراءهم.,"This is so much the case that one will see a raving lunatic or an inveterate sot making fun of a sane man. A mentally deficient person will mock men who are wise, virtuous and knowledgeable. Little boys shout after grown men. Men who are stupid and insolent disdain men who are intelligent and reserved. Even the weakest women think that the spirit and opinions of great men lack vigour."
وبالجملة فكلما نقص العقل توهم صاحبه أنه أوفر الناس عقلًا وأكمل تمييزًا.,"In sum, the weaker the intelligence the more the man imagines himself well endowed and in possession of excellent powers of perception."
ولا يعرض هذا في سائر الفضائل فإن العاري منها جملة يدري أنه عارٍ منها وإنما يدخل الغلط على من له أدنى حظ منها وإن قل فإنه يتوهم حينئذ إن كان ضعيف التمييز أنه عالي الدرجة فيه.,"This is not at all the case with other qualities: someone who has none of them knows that he lacks them. Error only arises in a man who has a small portion, even if it is tiny, because he then imagines, if he has limited powers of perception, that he possesses this quality to the highest degree."
ودواء من ذكرنا الفقر والخمول فلا دواء لهم أنجع منه وإلا فداؤهم وضررهم على الناس عظيم جدًا فلا تجدهم إلا عيابين للناس وقاعين في الأعراض مستهزئين بالجميع مجانبين للحقائق مكبين على الفضول.,"The cures for pride among such people are poverty and obscurity; there is nothing more effective, for if not awed they are bad and a considerable nuisance to other men. You find them doing nothing but discrediting people, attacking their reputations, mocking at everybody, scorning all rights and permitting themselves every indiscretion."
وربما كانوا مع ذلك متعرضين للمشاتمة والمهارشة وربما قصدوا الملاطمة والمضاربة عند أدنى سبب يعرض لهم.,"They go to the limit, to the point of risking injury to themselves, and entering into dispute, they even come to blows and punches for the most futile cause that presents itself."
وقد يكون العجب كمينًا في المرء حتى إذا حصل على أدنى مال أو جاه ظهر ذلك عليه وعجز عقله عن قمعه وستره.,It can happen that pride lies hidden in the depths of a man’s heart and does not appear until he meets with some success or acquires some fortune and his good sense can neither control nor conceal this feeling.
ومن ظريف ما رأيت في بعض أهل الضعف أن منهم من يغلبه ما يضمر من محبة ولده الصغير وامرأته حتى يصفها بالعقل في المحافل وحتى إنه يقول: هي أعقل مني وأنا أتبرك بوصيتها.,"Something that I have seen that is very curious, among certain weak creatures, is that they are so dominated by a deep love for their grandchild or their wife that they describe them in public as extremely intelligent. They go as far as to say, “She is more intelligent than me and I regard her advice as a blessing.”"
وأما مدحه إياها بالجمال والحسن والعافية فكثير في أهل الضعف جدًا حتى كأنه لو كان خاطبها ما زاد على ما يقول في ترغيب السامع في وصفها ولا يكون هذا إلا في ضعيف العقل عارٍ من العجب بنفسه.,"They praise her beauty, her charm, her vivacity – this often happens with very feeble men – and do it so much and so well that if they wished to find her a husband they need say nothing more in order to make someone desire her from their description. Such behaviour is only found among souls which are weak and lacking in all self-esteem."
إياك والامتداح فإن كل من يسمعك لا يصدقك وإن كنت صادقًا بل يجعل ما سمع منك من ذلك في أول معايبك.,"Take care not to boast, because nobody will believe you, even if you are telling the truth. On the contrary, they will take everything that you have said when boasting about yourself and use it as the basis of their criticism of you."
وإياك ومدح أحد في وجهه فإنه فعل أهل الملق وضعة النفوس.,Take care not to praise someone to his face; this would be to behave like a vile flatterer.
وإياك والتفاقر فإنك لا تحصل من ذلك إلا على تكذيبك أو احتقار من يسمعك ولا منفعة لك في ذلك أصلًا إلا كفر نعمة ربك تعالى أو شكواه إلى من لا يرحمك.,"Also take care no to pretend to be poor. You will not gain anything except to be treated as a liar or to be scorned by anyone who listens to you. You will have no benefit from it except that you will fail to recognize the gifts you have from the Lord, and if you complain about it to anyone they will have no pity on you."
وإياك ووصف نفسك باليسار فإنك لا تزيد على إطماع السامع فيما عندك ولا تزد على شكر الله تعالى وذكر فقرك إليه وغناك عمن دونه فإن هذا يكسبك الجلالة والراحة من الطمع فيما عندك.,"You should also take care not to display your wealth for all that you will achieve is that those who hear you will covet what you possess. Be content to offer thanks to the Almighty, to confide your needs to Him, and to take notice of those who are inferior to Him. In this way you will keep your dignity, and those who envy you will leave you alone."
العاقل هو من لا يفارق ما أوجبه تمييزه.,A wise man is one who does not neglect the duties imposed upon him by intelligence.
من سبب للناس الطمع فيما عنده لم يحصل إلا على أن يبذله لهم ولا غاية لهذا أو يمنعهم فيلؤم ويعادونه فإذا أردت أن تعطي أحدًا شيئًا فليكن ذلك منك قبل أن يسألك فهو أكرم وأنزه وأوجب للحمد.,"Anyone who tempts others with his riches has no choice but to share them out – and there would be no end to this – or to refuse them which would make him seem mean and would attract universal hostility. If you wish to give something to somebody, do it of your own initiative and before he asks for it; this is more noble, more disinterested and more worthy of praise."
من بديع ما يقع في الحسد قول الحاسد إذا سمع إنسانًا يغرب في علم ما: هذا شيء بارد لم يتقدم إليه ولا قاله قبله أحد.,"Something peculiar about envy is when you hear a jealous person say, when someone has done original work in some branch of science, “What a silly person! Nobody has ever put forward that hypothesis before and nobody has ever believed that.”"
فإن سمع من يبين ما قد قاله غيره قال: هذا بارد وقد قيل قبله.,"But if the same person hears someone expound an idea which is not new, he exclaims. “What a silly person! This is not a new idea!”"
وهذه طائفة سوء قد نصبت أنفسها للقعود على طريق العلم يصدون الناس عنها ليكثر نظراؤهم من الجهال.,"This sort of person is harmful because he is bent of obstructing the path of knowledge and turning people away from it in order to increase the number of his own sort, the ignorant."
إن الحكيم لا تنفعه حكمته عند الخبيث الطبع بل يظنه خبيثًا مثله وقد شاهدت أقوامًا ذوي طبائع رديئة وقد تصور في أنفسهم الخبيثة أن الناس كلهم على مثل طبائعهم لا يصدقون أصلًا بأن أحدًا هو سالم من رذائلهم بوجه من الوجوه وهذا أسوء ما يكون من فساد الطبع والبعد عن الفضل والخير.,"The wisdom of the wise man brings him no profit in the eyes of a wicked man; the latter thinks that he is as wicked as himself. Thus I have seen vile creatures imagine in their vile souls that everybody was like themselves; they would never believe that it was possible, in one way or another, not to have their faults. There is no character more corrupt, there is none more remote from being virtuous and good."
ومن كانت هذه صفته لا ترجى له معافاة أبدًا وبالله تعالى التوفيق.,Anyone who is in this state cannot hope to be cured at all. Allâh help us in all matters.
العدل حصن يلجأ إليه كل خائف وذلك أنك ترى الظالم وغير الظالم إذا رأى من يريد ظلمه دعا إلى العدل وأنكر الظلم حينئذ وذمه ولا ترى أحدًا يذم العدل.,"Justice is a fortress in which all who are frightened take refuge. In fact, if a tyrant feels oppressed, does he not call for justice and scorn and condemn injustice? But you never see the opposite, someone condemning justice."
فمن كان العدل في طبعه فهو ساكن في ذلك الحصن الحصين.,Therefore a man who is equitable by nature can rest at peace in this impregnable fortress.
الاستهانة نوع من أنواع الخيانة إذ قد يخونك من لا يستهين بك ومن استهان بك فقد خانك الانصاف فكل مستهين خائن وليس كل خائن مستهينًا.,"Scorn is a variety of treachery, for someone can be disloyal towards you without scorning you, but if he scorns you he is betraying the impartiality he should show towards you. Therefore every scornful man is disloyal, but not every disloyal man is scornful."
الاستهانة بالمتاع دليل على الاستهانة برب المتاع.,If you scorn a thing it shows that you scorn the man who possesses it.
حالان يحسن فيهما ما يقبح في غيرهما: وهما المعاتبة والاعتذار فإنه يحسن فيهما تعديد الأيادي وذكر الإحسان وذلك غاية القبح في ما عدا هاتين الحالتين.,"There are two circumstances in which it is good to do something which would otherwise be bad: it is when one wishes to reproach someone or to present excuses to someone. In these two cases, it is permissible to list past benefits and recall gifts. In all cases except these two it would be in the worst possible taste."
لا عيب على من مال بطبعه إلى بعض القبائح ولو أنه أشد العيوب وأعظم الرذائل ما لم يظهره بقول أو فعل بل يكاد يكون أحمد ممن أعانه طبعه على الفضائل ولا تكون مغالبة الطبع الفاسد إلا عن قوة عقل فاضل.,"We should not criticise someone who has a natural tendency towards a vice – even if it were the worst possible fault, the greatest of vices – as long as he does not let it appear in anything he says or does. He would almost deserve more commendation than someone who naturally inclines towards virtue, for it takes a strong and virtuous mind to control a corrupt natural inclination."
الخيانة في الحرم أشد من الخيانة في الدماء.,To attack a man’s conjugal honour is worse than to attack his life.]
العرض أعز على الكريم من المال.,"To a well-born man, honour is dearer than gold."
ينبغي للكريم أن يصون جسمه بماله ويصون نفسه بجسمه ويصون عرضه بنفسه ويصون دينه بعرضه ولا يصون بدينه شيئًا أصلًا.,"A well-born man should use his gold to protect his body, his body to protect his soul, his soul to protect his honour, and his honour to defend his religion. But he must never sacrifice his religion his defense of anything whatsoever."
الخيانة في الأعراض أشد من الخيانة في الأموال وبرهان ذلك أنه لا يكاد يوجد من لا يخون في العرض وإن قل ذلك منه وكان من أهل الفضل وأما الخيانة في الأموال- وإن قلت أو كثرت- فلا تكون إلا من رذل بعيد عن الفضل.,"To attack a man’s honour is more serious than to steal from his property. The proof of this is that almost nobody, not even the most virtuous, can say that he has never attacked anyone’s honour, though it may have been only rarely. But to have stolen someone’s property, whether on a small scale or a large scale, is definitely the deed of a vile person and far from virtue."
القياس في أحوال الناس قد يكذب في أكثر الأمور ويبطل في الأغلب واستعمال ما هذه صفته في الدين لا يجوز.,Drawing analogies between different situations is mostly deceptive and it can be quite false. This form of argument is not acceptable in problems which concern religion.
المقلد راض أن يغبن عقله ولعله مع ذلك يستعظم أن يغبن في ماله فيخطئ في الوجهين معًا؛ لأنه لا يكره الغبن في ماله ويستعظمه إلا لئيم الطبع دقيق الهمة مهين النفس.,"A man who blindly follows another slavishly is asking to be cheated out of his own thoughts when he would consider it the greatest crimes to be cheated out of his money. He is equally wrong in both cases. A man who considers it hateful to be tricked out of his fortune, and regards it as the worst of crimes, must have an ignoble character, a mean spirit, and a soul worthy of disdain."
من جهل معرفة الفضائل فليعتمد على ما أمره الله والرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم فإنه يحتوي على جميع الفضائل.,Anyone who does not know where to find virtue should rely on the commandments of God and His Prophet – peace of Allâh be upon him. All the virtues are contained in these commandments.
رب مخوف كان التحرز منه سبب وقوعه.,It is possible to bring about something dangerous by trying to guard against it.
ورب سر كانت المبالغة في طيه سبب انتشاره.,It is possible to let out a secret by trying to hard to keep it.
ورب إعراض أبلغ في الاسترابة من إدامة النظر.,Sometimes it is better to avoid a subject to raise doubts by dwelling on it.
وأصل ذلك كله الإفراط الخارج عن حد الاعتدال.,In each of these cases the harm comes from overdoing it and going beyond the boundaries of the happy medium.
الفضيلة وسيطة بين الإفراط والتفريط فكلا الطرفين مذموم والفضيلة بينهما محمودة حاشا العقل فإنه لا إفراط فيه.,"Virtue is the medium between the two extremes [the “too much” and the “too little”]. These two extremes are to be criticised – and virtue, lying between them, is to be praised – except when it is a question of intelligence, and then there can be no excess."
الخطأ في الحزم خير من الخطأ في التضييع.,It is better to sin by being too strict than by being too soft.
من العجائب أن الفضائل مستحسنة ومستثقلة والرذائل مستقبحة ومستخفة.,"It is astonishing to see that virtue is regarded as lovely but difficult, and vice as awful but easy to commit."
من أراد الإنصاف فليتوهم نفسه مكان خصمه فإنه يلوح له وجه تعسفه.,A person who wishes to be fair should put himself in his adversary’s position. He will then see the unfairness of his own behaviour.
حد الحزم معرفة الصديق من العدو وغاية الخرق والضعف جهل العدو من الصديق.,The definition of strictness consists of being able to distinguish a friend from an enemy. The height of stupidity and weakness is the inability to distinguish one’s enemy from one’s friend.
لا تسلم عدوك لظلم ولا تظلمه وساو في ذلك بينه وبين الصديق وتحفظ منه وإياك وتقريبه وإعلاء قدره فإن هذا من فعل النوكى.,"Do not deliver your enemy to an oppressor, and do not oppress him yourself. Treat him as you would treat your friend, except for trusting him. Be careful not to mix with him or help him rise socially; that would be the behaviour of a fool."
من ساوى بين عدوه وصديقه في التقريب والرفعة فلم يزد على أن زهد الناس في مودته وسهل عليهم عداوته ولم يزد على استخفاف عدوه له وتمكنه من مقاتله وإفساد صديقه على نفسه وإلحاقه بجملة أعدائه.,"Anyone who treats his enemy as equal to his friend in closeness and in promoting his position only succeeds in making people avoid his friendship and they find it just as easy to be his enemies. He will only win the disrespect of his enemy by handing him his vulnerable places, and he will lose his friend, since the latter will join the ranks of his adversaries."
غاية الخير أن يسلم عدوك من ظلمك ومن تركك إياه للظلم وأما تقريبه فمن شيم النوكى الذين قد قرب منهم التلف.,"The greatest of good deeds is to refrain from punishing your enemy and from handing him over to an oppressor. As for mixing with him, that is the mark of fools who will soon be lost."
وغاية الشر أن لا يسلم صديقك من ظلمك وأما إبعاده فمن فعل من لا عقل له ومن كتب عليه الشقاء.,"The worst evil is to oppress your friend. As for keeping him away from yourself, that would be the action of a man without spirit and destined to misfortune."
ليس الحلم تقريب الأعداء ولكنه مسالمتهم مع التحفظ منهم.,Magnanimity consists not of mingling with our enemies but of showing mercy to them while still not trusting them.
كم رأينا من فاخر بما عنده من المتاع فكان ذلك سببًا لهلاكه فإياك وهذا الباب الذي هو ضر محض لا منفعة فيه أصلًا.,"How many men have we not seen take pride in their possessions and so be lost! Guard against this attitude, it is really harmful and completely useless."
كم شاهدنا ممن أهلكه كلامه ولم نر قط أحدًا ولا بلغنا أنه أهلكه سكوته فلا تتكلم إلا بما يقربك من خالقك فإن خفت ظالمًا فاسكت.,"How man men we have seen lost because of something they said. But we have never heard of anyone being lost because he kept silent. Therefore you should speak only to please your Creator; and if you fear that what you say will be abused, then keep silent."
قلما رأيت أمرًا أمكن فضُيِّع إلا وفات فلم يمكن بعد.,I have rarely seen a lost opportunity ever reoccur.
محن الإنسان في دهره كثيرة وأعظمها محنته بأهل نوعه من الإنس.,"A man undergoes many trials during his life, but the worst are those inflicted by his fellow man."
داء الإنسان بالناس أعظم من دائه بالسباع الكلبة والأفاعي الضارية لأن التحفظ من كل ما ذكرنا ممكن ولا يمكن التحفظ من الإنس أصلًا.,The harm done by man to man is worse than the harm done by furious beasts and poisoned vipers for you cannot protect yourself at all against the human race.
الغالب على الناس النفاق ومن العجب أنه لا يجوز مع ذلك عندهم إلا من نافقهم.,"Hypocrisy is the thing which is most widespread among people and it is amazing to see that, despite this, people only like those who treat them hypocritically."
لو قال قائل: إن في الطبائع كُرِّيَّة لأن أطراف الأضداد تلتقي لم يبعد من الصدق.,"If we said that characters are round like a globe because their extremes meet, we should not be far from the truth."
وقد نجد نتائج الأضداد تتساوى: فنجد المرء يبكي من الفرح ومن الحزن ونجد فرط المودة يلتقي مع فرط البغضة في تتبع العثرات. وقد يكون ذلك سببًا للقطيعة عند عدم الصبر والإنصاف.,"Indeed we see that the consequences of the two cries for sorrow; too much love makes one commit as many successive faults as excessive hatred does, and can cause estrangement if the loved one lacks patience and fairness."
كل من غلبت عليه طبيعة ما فإنه وإن بلغ الغاية من الحزم والحذر مصروع إذا كويد من قبلها.,"If a man is dominated by a natural passion, then, however firm and sensible he is in other ways, he can be overcome if you attack this weak point."
كثرة الريب تعلم صاحبها الكذب لكثرة ضرورته إلى الاعتذار بالكذب فيضرى عليه ويستسهله.,An over-suspicious mind learns to tell lies: since he often needs to excuse himself by lying he is practised in it and finds it easy.
أعدل الشهود على المطبوع على الصدق وجهُه لظهور الاسترابة عليه إن وقع في كذبة أو هم بها.,The most impartial witness against a man who is given to sincerity is his face; it clouds over as soon as he tells a lie or is about to do so.
وأعدل الشهود على الكذاب لسانه لاضطرابه ونقض بعض كلامه بعضًا.,The most implacable witness against a liar is his own tongue; it gets twisted and contradicts itself.
المصيبة في الصديق الناكث أعظم من المصيبة به.,It is a greater catastrophe to have an unfaithful friend than to lose him.
أشد الناس استعظامًا للعيوب بلسانه هو أشدهم استسهالًا لها بفعله ويتبين ذلك في مسافهات أهل البذاء ومشاتمات الأرذال البالغين غاية الرذالة من الصناعات الخسيسة من الرجال والنساء كأهل التعيش بالزمر وكنس الحشوش والخادمين في المجازر وكساكني دور الجمل المباحة لكراء الجماعات والساسة للدواب؛ فإن كل من ذكرنا أشد الخلق رميًا من بعضهم بالقبائح وأكثرهم عيبًا بالفضائح وهم أوغل الناس فيها وأشهرهم بها.,"Those who show most horror when speaking out loud of shameful acts are those who are most apt to commit them. This can clearly be seen in the insolence offered by guttersnipes and the insults of vile men who have reached the nadir of vileness in practising vile professions. For example, those men and women who earn a living by playing the flute, sweeping out farmyards, workings as servants in abattoirs, those who frequent the [drinking houses] brothel authorized as meeting places of people of the lowest class or stable boys. Nobody abuses them more than they abuse themselves. More than anybody else they cry scandal when they wallow in it in the first place and have acquired the worst of reputations by it."
اللقاء يذهب بالسخائم فكأن نظر العين للعين يصلح القلوب فلا يسوؤك التقاء صديقك بعدوك فإن ذلك يفتر أمره عنده.,"Meetings make grudges melt away. One would think that when glances meet, hearts grow peaceful. Do not torture yourself if your friend meets your enemy, for the meeting will lessen the latter’s hatred towards you."
أشد الأشياء على الناس الخوف والهم والمرض والفقر وأشدها كلها إيلامًا للنفس الهم، للفقد من المحبوب وتوقع المكروه ثم المرض ثم الخوف ثم الفقر.,"The worst misfortunes that can come upon men are fear, anxiety, sickness and poverty. But the thing that makes the soul suffer most cruelty is the anxiety of losing what one loves and to see something happen that one hates. After this comes sickness, then fear, then poverty."
ودليل ذلك أن الفقر يستعجل ليطرد به الخوف فيبذل المرء ماله كله ليأمن والخوف والفقر يستعجلان ليطرد بهما ألم المرض فيغرر الإنسان في طلب الصحة ويبذل ماله فيها إذا أشفق من الموت ويود عند تيقنه به لو بذل ماله كله ويسلم ويفيق.,The proof of this is that people would willingly accept poverty to avoid the pains of illness. For a man quests ardently after health and does not count what he spends to recover it when he fears death. When his end is certain he would like to be able to give his entire fortune to be saved and cured.
والخوف يستسهل ليطرد به الهم فيغرر المرء بنفسه ليطرد عنها الهم.,"Fear is bearable when it drives off anxiety, for a man seeks with all his soul to drive away anxiety."
وأشد الأمراض كلها ألمًا وجع ملازم في عضو ما بعينه.,"The worst of all illnesses is pain that persists in one organ, always the same."
وأما النفوس الكريمة فالذل عندها أشد من كل ما ذكرنا وهو أسهل المخوفات عند ذوي النفوس اللئيمة.,"But to be a well born spirit, humiliation is less bearable than all the misfortunes we have described. On the other hand, it is the one that knavish spirits fear the least."
فصل: من غرائب أخلاق النفس,X) Curious Particularities of the Characteristics of the Soul
ينبغي للعاقل أن لا يحكم بما يبدو له من استرحام الباكي المتظلم وتشكيه وشدة تلويه وتقلبه وبكائه.,"A wise man should not judge by appearances when a sniveller cries for mercy, pretends that he is oppressed, complains, twists and turns and laments."
فقد وقفت من بعض من يفعل هذا على يقين أنه الظالم المعتدي المفرط الظلم.,With a man who behaves like this I have become certain that he was the oppressor who went over the limit and committed excessive abuses.
ورأيت بعض المظلومين ساكن الكلام معدوم التشكي مظهرًا لقلة المبالاة فيسبق إلى نفس من لا يحقق النظر أنه ظالم وهذا مكان ينبغي التثبت فيه ومغالبة ميل النفس جملة وإن لا يميل المرء مع الصفة التي ذكرنا ولا عليها ولكن يقصد الإنصاف بما يوجبه الحق على السواء.,"And likewise I have seen a man bearing an injustice speak calmly without complaining and only displaying a little anxiety. At first glance, without further examination, you would have taken him for the oppressor. In cases such as this it is important to establish the facts, fight resolutely against our inclination to take sides, not incline towards or against such attitudes as we have described, and seek to be impartial to all, as we are obliged to by justice."
من عجائب الأخلاق أن الغفلة مذمومة وإن استعمالها محمود وإنما ذلك لأن من هو مطبوع على الغفلة يستعملها في غير موضعها وفي حيث يجب التحفظ وهو مغيب عن فهم الحقيقة فدخلت تحت الجهل فذمت لذلك.,"A curious thing about human nature is that carelessness is bad when it is good to know how to make use of it sometimes. This can only be explained by the fact that a man who is naturally inclined to carelessness, makes use of it when he should be vigilant. It is absentmindedness with no sense of reality. His carelessness belongs under the heading of ignorance and that is why it is bad."
وأما المتيقظ الطبع فإنه لا يضع الغفلة إلا في موضعها الذي يذم فيه البحث والتقصي والتغافل فهمًا للحقيقة وإضرابًا عن الطيش واستعمالًا للحلم وتسكينًا للمكروه فلذلك حمدت حالة التغافل وذمت الغفلة.,"On the other hand, a spirit which is vigilant by nature only makes use of carelessness for a good purpose when he should not study or research deeply into the subject. To pretend to ignore something in this case means to understand reality, to refuse to act precipitously, to use moderation and to prevent the worst happening. Thus it is praiseworthy to know how to pretend not to be listening, and bad to be naturally inattentive."
وكذلك القول في إظهار الجزع وإبطانه وفي إظهار الصبر وإبطانه فإن إظهار الجزع عند حلول المصائب مذموم لأنه عجز مظهره عن ملك نفسه فأظهر أمرًا لا فائدة فيه بل هو مذموم في الشريعة وقاطع عما يلزم من الأعمال وعن التأهب لما يتوقع حلوله مما لعله أشنع من الأمر الواقع الذي عنه حدث الجزع.,"The same could be said about admitting one is afraid or concealing the fact. To make it obvious that one is troubled as soon as one begins to have difficulties is bad, because it means that you cannot control yourself and your display of emotion serves no useful purpose. Indeed, divine law counsels against it; it stops you doing what has to be done and to make the necessary arrangements in view of the events which one foresees and which may be more terrible than the present situation which has given risen to this fear."
فلما كان إظهار الجزع مذمومًا كان إظهار ضده محمودًا وهو إظهار الصبر لأنه ملك للنفس واطراح لما لا فائدة فيه وإقبال على ما يعود وينتفع به في الحال وفي المستأنف.,"Now, given that it is wrong to let your fear be seen, the opposite is good, that is, to display patience, because that means you are in control of yourself, you have turned away from useless actions and towards actions which are profitable and useful both immediately and in the future."
وأما استبطان الصبر فمذموم لأنه ضعف في الحس وقسوة في النفس وقلة رحمة وهذه أخلاق سوء لا تكون إلا في أهل الشر وخبث الطبيعة وفي النفوس السبعية الرديئة.,"As for hiding your patience, that is wrong too, since it would look as if you were unfeeling, hardhearted and lacking in mercy. These faults are found only among wicked people, vicious natures, cruel and vile souls."
فلما كان ما ذكرنا يقبح كان ضده محمودًا وهو استبطان الجزع لما في ذلك من الرحمة والشفقة والفهم بقدر الرزية فصح بهذا أن الاعتدال هو أن يكون المرء جزوع النفس صبور الجسد بمعنى أنه لا يظهر في وجهه ولا في جوارحه شيء من دلائل الجزع.,"All this being very ugly, the opposite, which consists of concealing the fact that you are troubled, is praiseworthy because it is a mark of pity, gentleness, charity and compassion. Thus one can say that the happy medium, for a man, is to have a sensitive soul but an impassive body, that is to say that neither on his face or in his comportment should there be any sign that he is troubled."
ولو علم ذو الرأي الفاسد ما استضر به من فساد تدبيره في السالف لأنجح بتركه استعماله فيما يستأنف وبالله التوفيق.,"If a man whose own judgement is poor only knew what harm his false calculations had brought upon him so far, he would find success in the future if he stopped relying on his own judgement, Allâh guide us."
فصل في تطلع النفس إلى ما يستر عنها من كلام مسموع أو شيء يدني إلى المدح وبقاء الذكر,"XI) A Man’s Desire to Know, What you Should Tell Him and Not Tell Him, and How to be Praised and Renowned"
هذا أمران لا يكاد يسلم منهما أحد إلا ساقط الهمة جدًا أو من راض نفسه الرياضة التامة وقمع قوة نفسه الغضبية قمعًا كاملًا أو عانى مداواة شره النفس إلى سماع كلام تستر به عنها أو رؤية شيء أكتم به دونها أن يفكر فيما غاب عنها من هذا النوع في غير موضعه الذي هو فيه بل في أقطار الأرض المتباينة.,"There are longings from which hardly anyone is exempt, except a man whose thoughts are completely vile or one who has trained himself by a perfect system of discipline and has completely tamed the power of his angry soul. In order to cure the avid desire that the soul feels to seize information that one wants to conceal from it or to see an object that one wants to hide from him, you should think of all the things of the same kind which escape him in places where he has not been, let alone the most distant areas of the earth."
فإن اهتم بكل ذلك فهو مجنون تام الجنون عديم العقل ألبتة.,If the person worries about them he is completely mad and totally lacking in reason.
وإن لم يهتم لذلك فهل هذا الذي اختفي به عنه إلا كسائر ما غاب عنه منه سواء بسواء ولا فرق.,"[On the other hand] if he is not worried about these other things, is the thing hidden from him not the same as these things that do not worry him, absolutely identical in fact?"
ثم لنزد احتجاجًا على هواه فليقل بلسان عقله لنفسه: يا نفس أرأيت إن لم تعلمي أن ههنا شيئًا أخفي عليك أكنت تطلعين إلى معرفة ذلك أم لا فلا بد من لا.,"He should multiply the arguments directed against his passion, and he should speak to his soul with the voice of reason, “O my soul, if you did not know that there was something there being hidden from you, do you think that you would worry about getting to know it?” There is no doubt that the answer would be “No.”"
فليقل لنفسه: فكوني الآن كما كنت تكونين لو لم تعلمي بأن ههنا شيئًا ستر عنك فتربحي الراحة وطرد الهم وألم القلق وقبح صفة الشره وتلك غنائم كثيرة وأرباح جليلة وأغراض فاضلة سنية يرغب العاقل فيها. ولا يزهد فيها إلا تام النقص.,"Then he should say to his soul, “Act as if you did not know that there was something there being hidden from you. Then you can relax and you will be able to drive away your anxiety and calm your painful agitation and your hateful greed.” These are numerous victories, considerable gains, and noble ambitions to which a wise man aspires and which only someone totally lacking disdains."
وأما من علق وهمه وفكره بأن يبعد اسمه في البلاد ويبقى ذكره على الدهر فليفكر في نفسه وليقل لها:,"As for the man who has the ambition and the obsession to spread his fame to every country and to be remembered throughout the centuries, let him reflect and say to his soul:"
يا نفس أرأيت لو ذكرت بأفضل الذكر في جميع أقطار المعمور أبد الأبد إلى انقضاء الدهر ثم لم يبلغني ذلك ولا عرفت به أكان لي في ذلك سرور أو غبطة أم لا؟,"“O my soul, if you were gloriously famous in all the countries of the world, for all eternity and to the end of time, but if I was not told about it about it and if I knew nothing about it, do you think I would be happy or satisfied about it, yes or not?”"
فلا بد من لا، ولا سبيل له إلى علم أنه يذكر أو أنه لا يذكر وكذلك إن كان حيًا إذا لم يبلغه.,"There is no doubt that the answer would be “No”, for any other answer would be impossible. Having convinced himself of this truth, the man must understand that when he is dead he will have no possibility of knowing whether he is famous or not. Moreover he would not know while he was still alive if nobody told him."
ثم ليتفكر أيضًا في معنيين عظيمين:,He should also consider two important points.
أحدهما كثرة من خلا من الفضلاء من الأنبياء والرسل صلى الله عليهم وسلم أولًا، للذين لم يبق لهم على أديم الأرض عند أحد من الناس اسم ولا رسم ولا ذكر ولا خبر ولا أثر بوجه من الوجوه.,"First, that there have been in earlier times a great number of virtuous Prophets and Messengers of God – God grant them His blessing – of whom nobody on the surface of the earth remembers the name, nor any trace, nor any memory, nor their history, nor the slightest thing about them."
ثم من الفضلاء الصالحين من أصحاب الأنبياء السالفين والزهاد ومن الفلاسفة والعلماء والأخيار وملوك الأمم الدائرة وبناة المدن الخالية وأتباع الملوك الذين أيضًا قد انقطعت أخبارهم ولم يبق لهم عند أحد علم ولا لأحد بهم معرفة أصلًا ألبتة فهل ضر من كان فاضلًا منهم ذلك أو نقص من فضائلهم أو طمس من محاسنهم أو حط درجتهم عند بارئهم عز وجل؟,"Secondly, there have been, among the good and virtuous men who were the companions of the Prophets in ancient times, ascetics, philosophers, scholars, excellent men, kings of nations which have disappeared, founders of cities which are now deserted, courtesans of princes whose history has also not come down to us. Nobody knows anything about them nowadays and nobody has the slightest knowledge that they existed. Has that fact harmed any of them that were virtuous? Has it diminished their merit, destroyed their good deeds, has it lowered them in the eyes of their Almighty Creator?"
ومن جهل هذا الأمر فليعلم أنه ليس في شيء من الدنيا خبر عن ملوك من ملوك الأجيال السالفة أبعد مما بأيدي الناس من تاريخ ملوك بني إسرائيل فقط ثم ما بأيدينا من تاريخ ملوك اليونان والفرس وكل ذلك لا يتجاوز ألفي عام فأين ذكر من عمر الدنيا قبل هؤلاء أليس قد دثر وفني وانقطع ونسي ألبتة.,"Let me tell anyone who did not already know it that there does not exist anywhere in the world the smallest scrap of information about any of the earthly sovereigns or the ancient generations who preceded men’s historical knowledge, which begins with the kings of Israel. And everything that we know of the history of the sovereigns of Greece and of Persia does not go back further than two thousand years. Where is the remembrance of the men who peopled the earth before them? Is it not, in fact, totally wiped out, disappeared, vanished, forgotten?"
وكذلك قال الله تعالى: {وَرُسُلًا لَمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ} [النساء: 164]. وقال تعالى: {وَقُرُونًا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيرًا} [الفرقان: 38]. وقال تعالى: {وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّهُ} [إبراهيم: 9].,"This is why the Almighty has spoken of “Messengers of whom We have not told you the history at all” [Qur’ân 4:164] and God also said: “Many centuries in between,” [Qur’ân 25:38] and God also said: “Those who came after and who are known only to God” [Qur’ân 14:9]."
فهل الإنسان وإن ذكر برهة من الدهر إلا كمن خلا قبل من الأمم الغابرة الذين ذكروا ثم نسوا جملة؟,"Even if the memory of a man persists for a short period of time, would that in itself make him any different from those who lived in olden times in nations that have disappeared and of which the memory also persisted a short while before being completely lost?"
ثم ليتفكر الإنسان في من ذكر بخير أو بشر هل يزيده ذلك عند الله عز وجل درجة أو يكسبه فضيلة لم يكن حازها بفعله أيام حياته فإذا كان هذا كما قلناه فالرغبة في الذكر رغبة غرور ولا معنى له ولا فائدة فيه أصلًا.,"We should also think of those who were famous for their good deeds or their bad deeds; did their fame raise them one single degree in the sight of God? Did it win them a reward that they had not already won by their actions during their life? Since this is so, the desire to be famous is nothing but the desire for something absolutely senseless and useless."
لكن إنما ينبغي أن يرغب الإنسان العاقل في الاستكثار من الفضائل وأعمال البر التي يستحق من هي فيه الذكر الجميل والثناء الحسن والمدح وحميد الصفة. فهي التي تقر به من بارئه تعالى وتجعله مذكورًا عنده عز وجل الذكر الذي ينفعه ويحصل على بقاء فائدته ولا يبيد أبد الأبد وبالله تعالى التوفيق.,"On the contrary, a wise man should aspire only to multiply his virtues and good deeds, which make the one who applies himself to them merit a good reputation, praise, commendation and a praiseworthy reputation which will bring him nearer to his Creator and will be useful in remembering him to the Almighty. He will keep himself in this beneficial state and will never be lost for all eternity; assistance is from God."
شكر المنعم فرض واجب وإنما ذلك بالمقارضة له بمثل ما أحسن فأكثر ثم بالتهمم بأموره وبالتأتي بحسن الدفاع عنه ثم بالوفاء له حيًا وميتًا ولمن يتصل به من ساقة وأهل كذلك؛ ثم بالتمادي على وده ونصيحته ونشر محاسنه بالصدق وطي مساويه ما دمت حيًا وتوريث ذلك عقبك وأهل ودك.,"Gratitude towards a benefactor is a necessary obligation. To fulfill it, you should at least render to him the good that he had done to you, and more. Afterwards you should show interest in his affairs, protect him as much as possible, keep faithfully to promises you have made him, in his life or after his death, and to his relations, both distant and close. Thus you should continue to show affection to him, to give him advice. You should make his good qualities known truthfully and you should conceal his faults. [These obligations lie upon you] for the rest of your life and should be handed down to your descendents and to those you love."
وليس من الشكر عونه على الآثام وترك نصيحته فيما يوتغ به دينه ودنياه بل من عاون من أحسن إليه على باطل فقد غشه وكفر إحسانه وظلمه وجحد إنعامه.,"However, it is no part of gratitude to assist someone is committing sin and not to advise him in the cases where he doing himself harm in this world and the next. On the deceiving him, denying his benefactions, acting unjustly in his respect and failing to recognize his goodness."
وأيضًا فإن إحسان الله تعالى وإنعامه على كل حال أعظم وأقدم وأهنأ من نعمة كل منعم دونه عز وجل فهو تعالى الذي شق لنا الأبصار الناظرة وفتق فينا الآذان السامعة ومنحنا الحواس الفاضلة ورزقنا النطق والتمييز اللذين بهما استأهلنا أن يخاطبنا وسخر لنا ما في السموات وما في الأرض من الكواكب والعناصر. ثم ولم يفضل علينا من خلقه شيئًا غير الملائكة المقدسين الذين هم عمار السموات فقط فأين تقع نعم المنعمين من هذه النعم!,"Moreover, the goodness and benefactions of God towards each one of His creatures are much more considerable, more longstanding, more salutary than those of any other benefactor. Indeed, it is the Almighty who has opened our eyes to see, who has pierced our ears to hear, it is He who has granted us the other excellent senses and has endowed us with speech and discernment, two benefits by grace of which we have been made able to hear His words. He has subjected to our service everything which exists in the skies and upon the earth – stars and elements – and has placed none of His creatures above us, except only His holy angels, the inhabitants of the heavens. What are the gifts of men compared with these!"
فمن قدر أنه يشكر محسنًا إليه بمساعدته على باطل أو بمحاباته فيما لا يجوز فقد كفر نعمة أعظم المنعمين وجحد إحسان أجل المحسنين إليه ولم يشكر ولي الشكر حقًا ولا حمد أهل الحمد أصلًا وهو الله عز وجل ومن حال بين المحسن إليه وبين الباطل وأقامه على مر الحق فقد شكره حقًا وأدى واجب حقه عليه مستوفى ولله الحمد أولًا وآخرًا وعلى كل حال.,"Anyone who imagines that he is thanking a benefactor by helping him to do evil, or by taking his side when he should not, would be denying the gifts of the greatest of his benefactors, whose gifts he would be failing to recognize. He would not be rendering thanks to Him to whom all thanks truly belong, he would not be praising Him who is the essence of praiseworthiness, that is to say, Allâh the Almighty. Anyone who steps between his benefactor and evil, leading him back to the bitter truth, would be showing true gratitude and would be fulfilling perfectly his obligation towards him. Praises be to God at first and at last and in all circumstances!"
فصل في حضور مجالس العلم,XII) On the Way to Attend Study-Sessions
إذا حضرت مجلس علم فلا يكن حضورك إلا حضور مستزيد علمًا وأجرًا لا حضور مستغن بما عندك طالبًا عثرة تشيعها أو غريبة تشنعها فهذه أفعال الأرذال الذين لا يفلحون في العلم أبدًا.,"If you attend a study-session, behave only like someone who wishes to increase his knowledge and to win greater recompense from God. Do not behave like someone who is content with what he has, who is looking for some fault to criticise or a curious detail to hawk around. This would be the behaviour of vile men who never succeed in their studies."
فإذا حضرتها على هذه النية فقد حصلت خيرًا على كل حال وإن لم تحضرها على هذه النية فجلوسك في منزلك أروح لبدنك وأكرم لخلقك وأسلم لدينك.,"If you come to it with good intentions, you will always obtain the best results. Otherwise, to stay at home would be less tiring for your body, more worthy of your moral conduct and more salutary for your religious life."
فإذا حضرتها كما ذكرنا فالتزم أحد ثلاثة أوجه لا رابع لها وهي:,"If you do attend under the conditions that we have indicated, take care to adopt one of these three attitudes and there cannot be a fourth:"
إما أن تسكت سكوت الجهال فتحصل على أجر النية في المشاهدة وعلى الثناء عليك بقلة الفضول وعلى كرم المجالسة ومودة من تجالس.,"[First,] you may keep quiet in the silence of ignorance. Thus you will obtain the reward of your intention in attending the study-session, praise for your reserve, dignity in your behaviour and the friendship of those you mix with."
فإن لم تفعل ذلك فاسأل سؤال المتعلم فتحصل على هذه الأربع محاسن وعلى خامسة وهي استزادة العلم.,"[Secondly,] if you do not behave like this, ask the questions which someone would ask who wished to learn. Then you will obtain, in addition to the four advantages just mentioned, a fifth, which is to increase your knowledge."
وصفة سؤال المتعلم أن تسأل عما لا تدري لا عما تدري فإن السؤال عما تدريه سخف وقلة عقل وشغل لكلامك وقطع لزمانك بما لا فائدة فيه لا لك ولا لغيرك وربما أدى إلى اكتساب العداوات وهو بعد عين الفضول.,"What characterizes the questions asked by someone who wishes to learn is that he only asks about the points he does not know, not those he does know. To ask about what one already knows is a proof of ineptitude and a weak spirit, it is only palaver and a useless waste of time for oneself and for others. By doing this you will only provoke dislike and it will only be pure verbiage."
فيجب عليك أن لا تكون فضوليًا فإنها صفة سوء فإن أجابك الذي سألت بما فيه كفاية لك فاقطع الكلام وإن لم يجبك بما فيه كفاية أو أجابك بما لم تفهم فقل له لم أفهم واستزده فإن لم يزدك بيانًا وسكت أو أعاد عليك الكلام الأول ولا مزيد فأمسك عنه. وإلا حصلت على الشر والعداوة ولم تحصل على ما تريد من الزيادة.,"So do not play games, it is a bad fault. If the person you are asking replies satisfactorily, stop questioning. If his reply is not satisfactory, or if you do not understand it, say to him, “I do not understand”, and ask him to elaborate. If he does not explain himself more clearly, if he keeps silent or if he repeats what he said before without adding anything, keep silent, otherwise you will only bring upon yourself trouble and dislike, without obtaining the desired enlightenment."
والوجه الثالث أن تراجع مراجعة العالم وصفة ذلك أن تعارض جوابه بما ينقضه نقضًا بينًا فإن لم يكن ذلك عندك ولم يكن عندك إلا تكرار قولك أو المعارضة بما لا يراه خصمك معارضة فأمسك فإنك لا تحصل بتكرار ذلك على أجر ولا على تعليم ولا على تعلم بل على الغيظ لك ولخصمك والعداوة التي ربما أدت إلى المضرات.,"[Thirdly,] you can riposte as a scholar would, that is to say that you can reply to the arguments advanced in a way that refutes them clearly. If you are not capable of replying in this way, if you are able only to repeat yourself or to reply using arguments which your adversary will not find convincing, do not insist for you will not gain by your repetitions any extra result or any information. You will only succeed in annoying yourself and starting a hostility between the two of you which could have serious consequences."
وإياك وسؤال المعنت ومراجعة المكابر الذي يطلب الغلبة بغير علم فهما خلقا سوء دليلان على قلة الدين وكثرة الفضول وضعف العقل وقوة السخف وحسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل.,"Guard against the questions that a prejudiced man would ask or the ripostes of a show-off who is bent on being right without knowing anything about the matter. These two attitudes are bad: they witness to absence of piety, a great tendency to verbiage, a weakness of spirit and considerable vanity. Let us commend the matter to God who is our best support."
وإذا ورد عليك خطاب بلسان أو هجمت على كلام في كتاب فإياك أن تقابله مقابلة المغاضبة الباعثة على المغالبة قبل أن تتبين بطلانه ببرهان قاطع.,"If certain statements are put to you verbally, or if you come across a written text, guard against reacting violently, which will bring about excesses in language, before you have assured yourself by irrefutable proof that the ideas expressed are erroneous."
وأيضًا فلا تقبل عليه إقبال المصدق به المستحسن إياه قبل علمك بصحته ببرهان قاطع فتظلم في كلا الوجهين نفسك وتبعد عن إدراك الحقيقة.,"Neither should you accept them with the enthusiasm of someone who is credulous and convinced until you have assured yourself of their veracity by an irrefutable proof. In the two cases, you would be shutting your eyes and turning away from knowing the truth."
ولكن أقبل عليه إقبال سالم القلب عن النزاع عنه والنزوع إليه إقبال من يريد حظ نفسه في فهم ما سمع ورأى فتزيد به علمًا وقبوله إن كان حسنًا أو رده إن كان خطأ فمضمون لك إن فعلت ذلك الأجر الجزيل والحمد الكثير والفضل العميم.,"On the contrary, consider what is being put to you as one would who is neither against it nor for it, one who wants to understand, to the best of his ability, what he has heard and read in order to increase his knowledge, to adopt the new ideas if they are good or reject them if they are erroneous. It is certain that if you behave like this you will be generally rewarded, greatly praised and your merit will be recognized."
من اكتفى بقليله عن كثير ما عندك فقد ساواك في الغنى ولو أنك قارون حتى إذا تصاون في الكسب عما تشره أنت إليه فقد حصل أغنى منك بكثير.,"A man who is content with the small fortune that he has and does not envy your opulence is as rich as you, even if you are a Croesus. If this man resists the bait of gain to which you have succumbed, he will be much richer than you."
ومن ترفع عما تخضع إليه من أمور الدنيا فهو أعز منك بكثير.,Anyone who rises above the things of this world to which you kneel is mightier than you.
فرض على الناس تعلم الخير والعمل به فمن جمع الأمرين فقد استوفى الفضيلتين معًا ومن علمه ولم يعمل به فقد أحسن في التعليم وأساء في ترك العمل به فخلط عملًا صالحًا وآخر سيئًا وهو خير من آخر لم يعلمه ولم يعمل به وهذا الذي لا خير فيه أمثل حالًا وأقل ذمًا من آخر ينهى عن تعلم الخير ويصد عنه.,"It is a pious duty for Muslims to teach the good and to practise it. Anyone who does both these things at once is doing two virtuous deeds to perfection. But a person who contents himself with teaching the good without practicing it is acting well by teaching and acting badly by failing to put his teaching into practise, so mingling a good with a bad deed. This case is preferable to that of the person who would not teach the good any more than he would practise it. Such a man, although not virtuous, is more worthy of imitation, he is less blameworthy than someone who forbids the teaching of good and opposing anyone who practises it."
ولو لم ينه عن الشر إلا من ليس فيه منه شيء ولا أمر بالخير إلا من استوعبه لما نهى أحد عن شر ولا أمر بخير بعد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وحسبك بمن أدى رأيه إلى هذا فسادًا وسوء طبع وذم حال وبالله تعالى التوفيق.,"If it was only a man completely without sin who had the right to forbid evil, if it was only the man of perfect virtue who could teach the good, nobody yet would have forbidden evil or ordained the good since [the death of] the Prophet, peace be upon him. This should be enough to make clear to you the corruption, wickedness and opprobrium of anyone who might think this."
قال أبو محمد رضي الله عنه:,"Abû Muhammad – may God be satisfied with him said,"
فاعترض ها هنا إنسان فقال: كان الحسن رضي الله عنه إذا نهى عن شيء لا يأتيه أصلًا وإذا أمر بشيء كان شديد الأخذ به وهكذا تكون الحكمة وقد قيل: أقبح شيء في العالم أن يأمر بشيء لا يأخذ به في نفسه أو ينهى عن شيء يستعمله.,"“Here someone contradicted, protesting, ‘When al-Hasan [al-Basrî] – may Allah be satisfied with him – forbade something [bad), he never did it himself, and when he ordained something [good], he himself put his orders firmly into practice. Wisdom requires that we do the same, for it has been said that: nothing is more odious than to preach something and not practise it, or to preach against an action and then to do it.’”"
قال أبو محمد: كذب قائل هذا وأقبح منه من لم يأمر بخير ولا نهى عن شر وهو مع ذلك يعمل الشر ولا يعمل الخير.,"Abû Muhammad replied, “The person who said that was lying. There is something more ugly, that is, not to preach good and not to preach against evil and also to allow oneself to act badly and not to do good.”"
قال أبو محمد:,Abû Muhammad added:
وقد قال أبو الأسود الدؤلي:,Abû al-Aswad al-Du‘alî said this:
لا تنه عن خلق وتأتي مثله … عار عليك إذا فعلت عظيمُ,"Do not forbid a vice that you are given to yourself, for great shame will fall on you."
وابدأ بنفسك فانهها عن غيها … فإذا انتهت عنه فأنت حكيمُ,Start with yourself and forbid yourself your own misdeeds. If you stop devoting yourself to them you will become a wise man.
فهناك يقبل إن وعظت ويقتدى … بالعلم منك وينفع التعليمُ.,"Then your sermons will be accepted, people will take their example from your knowledge and your teaching will be profitable."
قال أبو محمد:,Abû Muhammad continued:
إن أبا الأسود إنما قصد بالإنكار المجيء بما نهي عنه المرء وإنه يتضاعف قبحه منه مع نهيه عنه فقد أحسن كما قال الله تعالى: {أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ} [البقرة: 44].,"Abû al-Aswad wished to condemn only someone who has done a deed after forbidding it to others: such a deed would be doubly bad for having been committed by the very person who forbade it. The poet was quite right for this is what the Almighty said, “Will you command people to do good and forget to do it yourself?” [Qur’ân 2:44]."
ولا يظن بأبي الأسود إلا هذا.,It cannot be believed that Abû al-Aswad wanted to express any other idea.
وأما أن يكون نهى عن النهي عن الخلق المذموم فنحن نعيذه بالله من هذا فهو فعل من لا خير فيه.,"As for thinking that he did not want to be condemned for a bad deed, God protect him from that! That would have been to act like a wicked man."
وقد صح عن الحسن أنه سمع إنسانًا يقول: لا يجب أن ينهى عن الشر إلا من لا يفعله فقال الحسن: ود إبليس لو ظفر منا بهذه حتى لا ينهى أحد عن منكر ولا يأمر بمعروف.,"Here is a true story about al-Hasan: When he heard someone say that only a person who did no evil had the right to forbid evil, he replied, “Satan would like us to believe that, and then nobody could forbid evil or ordain good.”"
وقال أبو محمد:,Abû Muhammad continued:
صدق الحسن وهو قولنا آنفًا جعلنا الله ممن يوفق لفعل الخير والعمل به وممن يبصر رشد نفسه فما أحد إلا له عيوب إذا نظرها شغلته عن غيره وتوفانا على سنة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم آمين رب العالمين.,"“Al-Hasan was right, and that is what we said before.” May God grant that we may count among the number of those whom He permits to do good and to practice it, and among the number of those who see the straight road, for no one is without faults; someone who perceives his own weaknesses will forget those of others. May God permit us to die in the Sunna [law] of Muhammad. Amen, O Lord of the Worlds!"
تم الكتاب والحمد لله تعالى وحده وصلاته وسلامه على أفضل خلقه سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وعترته الطاهرين أبدًا إلى يوم الدين.آمين.,"[The book is finished, with the grace of God, His help and His good will. May God bless our master Muhammad, his family and his companions, grant them life eternal, and may God be pleased with Ahmad [Muhammad], messenger of God!]"
ذكر فتح مدينة بيت المقدس,March on Baytul Muqaddas (Jerusalem)
قال الواقدي: واما ما كان من المسلمين فانهم اقاموا على دمشق شهرا فجمع أبو عبيدة امراء المسلمين وقال لهم: أشيروا علي بما أصنع وأين أتوجه,"After the Muslim armies had been in Damascus for a month, Abu ‘Ubaydah summoned all the generals and said, “Advise me as to what I should do and where I should turn my attention to.”"
فاتفق رأي المسلمين أما إلى قيسارية وأما إلى بيت المقدس,It was decided between either Caesarea or Baytul Muqaddas.
فقال فما الذي ترون منهما,Abu ‘Ubaydah: So which of the two should it be?
فقالوا: أنت الرجل الأمين وما تسير إلى موضع إلا ونحن معك,Generals: You are the trusted one. Wherever you go we will follow.
فقال معاذ بن جبل اكتب إلى أمير المؤمنين عمر بن الخطاب فحيث أمرك فسر واستعن بالله,"Mu‘ath bin Jabal: Write to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab, the Commander of the Believers. Go wherever he tells you to and seek Allah’s help."
فقال أصبت الرأي يا معاذ فكتب إلى أمير المؤمنين عمر ابن الخطاب يعلمه إنه قد عزم على قيسارية أو إلى بيت المقدس وانه منتظر ما يأمره به والسلام وأرسل الكتاب مع عرفجة بن ناصح النخعي وأمره بالمسير فسار حتى وصل المدينة فأرسل الكتاب لعمر رضي الله عنه فقرأه على المسلمين واستشارهم في الأمر,"Abu ‘Ubaydah: O Mu‘ath, your view is sound.So he wrote to him to inform him that he had resolved upon going either to Caesarea or Baytul Muqaddas and asked which of the two he should invade. ‘Umar read the letter out to the Muslims and asked for their views."
فقال علي رضي الله عنه يا أمير المؤمنين مر صاحبك أن يصير إلى بيت المقدس فيحدقوا بها ويقاتلوا أهلها فهو خير الرأي وأكبره وإذا فتحت بيت المقدس فاصرف جيشه إلى قيسارية فإنها تفتح بعد أن شاء الله تعالى كذا أخبرني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم,"‘Ali: O Commander of the Believers, order your man to go to Baytul Muqaddas to besiege her and fight her people. This is the best option. Thereafter, if Allah Most High wills, He will conquer Caesarea. This is what Rasulullah told me."
قال صدقت يا أبا الحسن,"‘Umar: You have spoken the truth, Abu al-Hasan."
فكتب إليه بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم من عبد الله عمر بن الخطاب إلى عامله بالشام ابي عبيدة أما بعد فاني أحمد الله الذي لا إله إلا هو وأصلي على نبيه,"He then wrote the following letter:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful From: Allah s slave, ‘Umar bin al-Khattab To: His governor over Syria, Abu ‘Ubaydah I praise Allah besides Whom there is no other deity and convey salutations upon His Prophet."
وقد ورد علي كتابك وفيه تستشيرني في أي ناحية تتوجه إليها وقد اشار ابن عم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالسير إلى بيت المقدس فإن الله سبحانه وتعالى يفتحها على يديك والسلام عليك,"I have received your letter which asks as to which direction you should advance in. The cousin of Rasulullah recommends that you march on Baytul Muqaddas for Allah, Most Pure and High will conquer her through you.
Was-Salam ‘alayka."