The Epistle of Forgiveness. Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri
As for the Sheikh’s complaint to me, we are both as it is said in the proverb: “One bereaved woman helps another.”97 This is how al-Aṣmaʿī interpreted the verse by Abū Duʾād:98
And he listens sometimes, as someone who has lost an animal
will listen to the call of another one who searches.
Both of us, God be praised,99 have lost something. Whom should we attack, upon whom can we pounce? The riding animal is weak and slow, the provision bag is empty, the riders are in need of a pebble,100 and all of them hurry longingly toward a palm branch.101
My camel complains to me about the lengthy nightly journey.
Decent fortitude! Both of us are suffering.102
If the thorny acacia tree complains about the adze of the woodsman to the thorny mimosa tree, then it complains of a mishap to another who complains.103 Speaking truthfully is better than mendacity. I do not doubt that the Sheikh has retained these verses of the man of Fazārah in his memory for some fifty or more years:104
ʿUyaynah, now that you are smitten with love for her,
why did you seek assistance from someone who has lost his mind?
You’ve tried to find support from a man,
but the one whose help is sought has other things on his mind!
25.1.2
ولم يزل أهل الأدب يشْكون الغِيَر في كلّ جِيل، ويُخَصُّون من العجائب بسَجْلٍ سجيلٍ. وهو يعرف الحكايةَ أنّ مَسْلَمة بن عبد الملك أوصى لأهل الأدب بجزءٍ من ماله، وقال: إنهم أهل صناعةٍ مجفوَّةٍ. وأحسب أنهم والحُرفةَ خُلِقا توْأميْن، وإنما ينجح بعضهم في ذات الزُّميْن، ثمّ لا يلبث أن تزِلّ قدمُه، ويتفرَّى بالقدَر أَدَمُه.وقد سمع في مصر بقِصّة أبى الفضل وسعيد، وما كان أحدهما من الآخر ببعيد. وإذا كان الأدب على عهد بني أُمَيّة يُقصَد أهله بالجفْوة، فكيف يَسلمون من باسٍ، عند مملكة بني العبّاس؟ وإذا أصابتهم المِحَن في عِدّان الرشيد، فكيف يُطمَع لهم بالحظِّ المَشيد؟ أليس أبو عُبيدة قدم مع الأصمعيّ وكلاهما يريد النُّجعة، ولا يلتمس إلى البصرة رَجعة، فتُشُبِّث بعبد الملك، ورُدَّ مَعْمَر، ومن يعلم بما يُجِنُّ الخمَر؟
ومن بغى أن يتكسَّب بهذا الفنّ، فقد أودع شرابه في شَنّ، غيرِ ثقةٍ على الوديعة، بل هي منه في صاحب خديعة.
وقد رُوي أنّ سيبويه لمّا اختبر شأنَه وراز، رغِب في ولاية المَظالم بشيراز، وأنّ الكسائيَّ تحوَّب ممّا صنع به، فأعانه كي يشحَط على مطلبه.
فأمّا حبيب بن أوسٍ فهلك وهو بالموْصل على البريد: وصاحب الأدب حليف التصريد.
Men of letters have always complained of the vagaries of time, in every generation. They have been singled out by strange events in bucketfuls. The Sheikh knows the story of Maslamah ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, who bequeathed part of his possessions to men of letters. “They are,” he said, “people of a despised art.” I think they and bad luck105 were created as twin brothers. One of them may be successful for a short while, but then it does not take long before his foot slips and his skin is rent by Fate. The Sheikh has heard, in Egypt, the story of Abū l-Faḍl and Saʿīd, whose cases were similar.106 Now if people with literary erudition were harshly treated already in Umayyad times, how could they be safe from harm during the reign of the Abbasids? If tribulations afflicted them in the prime of al-Rashīd’s days, how could one hope for them to enjoy good fortune on a solid basis? Did Abū ʿUbaydah not come with al-Aṣmaʿī, while both of them were seeking good pastures, not wishing to return to Basra? But only ʿAbd al-Malik was made to stay and Maʿmar was sent back.107 Who knows what is hidden in the bushes? And who would wish to earn a living with this profession? Who does so keeps his wine in a worn-out skin that cannot be relied upon to keep its deposit: it is to him a deceitful friend. It is reported that when Sībawayh108 considered his situation and weighed it, he wanted to be appointed at the tribunal of torts109 in Shiraz; and that al-Kisāʾī expressed grief about what he did to him and supported him, so as to surpass Sībawayh's expectations by far. Ḥabīb ibn Aws passed away while in Mosul, in charge of the postal service. A man of letters is always familiar with receiving too little.
25.2
وأمّا الذين ذكرهم من المصحِّفين، فغيرُ البَرَرة ولا المُنْصِفين. وما زال التَتْفُل يعرِض لأذاة الأسد، وما أحسبه يشعر بمكان الحسد، فإذا ادَّلج وَردٌ هَموس، تشقى به التامكةُ أو اللَّموس، فثُعالةُ به مُنْذِرٌ، كأنه للمفترَس محذِّر، ولا يراه الضَّيْغم موْضعًا للعتاب، ويجعل أمره فيما يُحتمل من الخَطْب المُنتاب. وكم من أغلبَ ُمثارٍ، يسهَّد لغناء الطَّيثار، وإذا هو بليلٍ تغنَّى، فالقَسْوَر به معنَّى:
| ما يضرُّ البحرَ أمسى زاخرًا | أن رمى فيه غلامٌ بحَجَرْ |
| أو كلّما طنَّ الذّبابُ أروعُهُ؟ | إنَّ الذُّبابَ إذًا عليَّ كريمُ |
ومازال الهَمَج يقولون، ويقصُرون عن المكرُمة فلا يطُولون، وإنهم عما أثَّل متثاقلون، وطُلّاب الأدب في جباله واقلون.
من انفرد بفضيلةٍ أثيرة، فإنّه يتقدَّم بمناقبَ كثيرة، وإن حُسّاد البارع لكَما قال الفرزدق:
| فإن تهْجُ آلَ الزِّبْرقان فإنّما | هجوتَ الطّوالَ الشُّمَّ من آل١ يَذْبُلِ |
|
وقد ينبح الكلبُ النّجومَ |