The Epistle of Forgiveness. Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri
end up thus I would have killed him!”—“Be amazed about my harīsah and my customer!”142
10.1
والله لولا ضعفي وعجزي عن السفر، لخرجت إليه متشرفًا بمجالسته ومحاضرته، فأما مذاكرته فقد يئستُ منها لما قد استولى عليّ من النسيان، واحتوى على قلبي من الهموم والأحزان. وإلى الله الشكوى لا منه، وليس يحسن أن أشكو من يرحمني إلى من لا يرحمني، وليس بحكيم من شكا رحيماً إلى غير رحيم.
وكان أبو بكر الشِبلي يقول: ليس غير الله غيرٌ، ولا عند غير الله خيرٌ. وقال يومًا: يا جواد! ثم أمسك مُفكّراً ورفع رأسه ثم قال: ما أوقحَني! أقول لك يا جواد، وقد قيل في بعض عبيدك:
| ولو لم يكنْ في كَفِّه غيرُ نفسِه | لجاد بها فليَتَّقِ الله سائلُهْ |
وقد قيل في آخر:
| تراه إذا ما جئتَه مُتهلّلا | كأَنك مُعطيه الذي أَنتَ سائلُهْ |
ثم قال: بلى، أقول: ياجوادًا فاق كل جواد، وبجوده جاد من جاد.
By God, were it not that I am too weak and feeble to travel I would go and visit the Sheikh, to be honored by sitting with him and talking to him. As for a learned discussion with him, I despair of this on account of the forgetfulness that has come over me and the worries and sorrows that have enveloped my heart. To God, not about Him, I complain; it would not be proper if I complained about Someone who has mercy upon me to someone who has no mercy upon me. One who complains about a Merciful One to someone who is unmerciful is not wise.
Abū Bakr al-Shiblī used to say, “Other than God there is no other, and there is no good but with God.” He said one day, “O Generous One!” Then he stood still, thinking. He raised his head; then he said, “How impudent am I! I say to Thee, ‘O Generous One!’ whereas someone has said about one of Thy servants:
And if in his hand he held only his soul,
he would give it away; let who asks him beware!143
“And on someone else the following was said:
You see him, when you come to him, exulting,
as if you had just given what you ask from him.”144
Then he said, “But of course, I’ll say ‘O Generous One, who surpasses every generous one, and through whose generosity every one who is generous can be generous!’”
10.2
ودخل ابن السَمَّاك على الرشيد فقال له: عِظْني - وفي يد الرشيد كوز ماء. فقال: مهلًا يا أمير المؤمنين، أرأيتَ إن أقدرَ الله عليك مُقدَّرًا فقال: لن أمكّنك من شربة إلا بنصف مُلكِك، أكنت فاعلًا ذلك؟ قال: نعم. قال: اشرب، هنَّاك الله. فلما شرب قال: أرأيت يا أمير المؤمنين، أن لو أُسْفِتَّ نفس هذا المقدَّر عليك فقال: لن أمكّنك من إخراج هذا الكوز إلا بأن استبدّ بملكك دونك، أكنت فاعلًا ذلك؟ قال: نعم. قال: فاتقِ الله في مُلكٍ لا يساوي إلا بَولةً.
Ibn al-Sammāk145 entered into the presence of al-Rashīd, who said to him: “Preach to me!” The caliph held a beaker containing water in his hand. “Wait, O Commander of the believers!” said Ibn al-Sammāk, “What do you think: if God made a divine decree about you and said, ‘I shall only let you drink in return for half your empire,’ would you do it?” The caliph replied, “Yes, I would.” “Drink,” said Ibn al-Sammāk, “May God let you enjoy it!” When he had drunk, the preacher said, “What do you think: if the same divine decree was applied to you146 and God said, ‘I shall only let you pass the water of this beaker from your body if I rob you of your empire,’ would you accept?” The caliph answered, “Yes, I would.” “Then fear God,” said Ibn al-Sammāk, “and reflect upon an empire that is worth only a piss.”
11.1
وكيف أشكو من قاتني وعالني نيّفًا وسبعين سنة: كان قميصي ذراعين، فوكل بي والدَين حدبين مُشفقيْن، يتناهيان في دقته ورقته وطيبه، فلما صار اثني عشر ذراعًا تَوَلاه هو وطعامي، فما أجاعني قط ولا أعراني: وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ خاطب ربّه بالأدب فقال: وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ فنسب المرض إلى نفسه، لأنها تنفر من الأعراض والأمراض. وكلّ شيء يطرأ على الإنسان لا يقدر على دفعه، مثل النوم واليقظة والضحك والبكاء والغم والسرور والخصب والجدب والغنى والفقر، فهو منه تقدّست أسماؤه. ألا ترى أنه لا يتوعّد على فعله، ولا يعاقب عليه؟ وما يقدر على دفعه فهو منه، مثل أن يريد الكتابة فلا يقع منه البناء، ويريد البناء فلا تقع منه الكتابة. ومن به الرعشة لا يقدر على إمساك يدٍ، ومن ليست به يقدر على إمساكها.
How could I complain about Him who fed me and sustained me for more than seventy years? When my shirt was two cubits long(?)147 He appointed for me two loving and caring parents, who spared no effort to make it fine and soft and pleasant. When it was twelve cubits long He took care of it and of my sustenance. He never let me go starving or naked. «And He who gives me food and drink»;148 the speaker addressed his Lord tactfully and said, «And when I am ill He cures me»,149 attributing the illness to himself, because one shuns mishaps and illnesses, though everything that befalls a person and which he is unable to prevent, such as sleep and wakefulness, laughter and weeping, sorrow and joy, fecundity and drought, wealth and poverty—all this comes from Him, sanctified be His names. Do you not see that He neither threatens150 nor punishes for doing these things? Whereas anything a human being is able to prevent is his own doing, for instance when one wants to write something, and thus it happens that one does not build anything; or when one wants to build something, and thus it happens that one does not write. But someone who suffers from tremors is unable to steady his hand whereas someone who does not is able to hold it steady.
11.2
كنت بتِنِّيسَ وبين يديّ إنسان يقرأ ويُحزِّن: يُوفُونَ