Notes on Some Arabic Verses

Verses_RSO.pdf Estratto dalla RIVIST A DEGLI STUDI ORIENT ALI pubblicata a cura dei Professori della Scuola Orientale della Universita di Roma VOLUME XLI NOTES ON SOME ARABIC VERSES To Professor D. H. BANETH I. VERSES FROM WATHIMA'S " KITAB AL-RIDDA " The fragments of Wathima's "Kitab al-Ridda", which were carefully collected (from Ibn Hajar's "al-Isaba "), edited and translated by. W. Hoenerbach I, contain many verses. Some words or expressions which were misread or misunderstood are here corrected and explained. I. P. 7, 1. I CAr. Text) - p. 46 (trans1.) 1S rendered by Hoenerbach: " U nd ihr gabt zur ~altih noch die zaktih und spracht: Mochtet ihr nicht vor beiden fliehen durch einen Erschlagenen. » Hoenerbach suggests another reading: "bi-fatlli", "durch eine Kleinigkeit". This, by itself, does not help to understand the verse. The correct reading is: ~~ slated: "And you joined the zakat to the saliit and said: Do not acknowledge of the two (i.e. the zakat and salat) the smallest thing. " ,..,,. ~ " I,~ -§ . The verse has to be tran". Wilhelm Hoenerbach: Watima's Kitab ar-Ridda aus Ibn l,Iagar's l!iaba. Abhandlungen der Geistes-und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrgang 1951. Nr. 4, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz; and see the review of G. LEVI DELLAVIDA, in ZDMG, 1954 (eIV), pp. 24-28. I M.]. Kister [2] 2. P. 8, I. 6 (Ar. Text) - p. 47 (transl.): IS rendered by Hoenerbach: " Ihr habt in al-Bahrain keinen, der etwas vermag, und ihr habt mit den Muslimen keine N achbargemeinschaft 1 " Hoenerbach records for ";'. -- The ".,"YO "0'" does not denote ." here •• "i ••••• "Tlbereinkommen 0 "i and . .>.......,\ ", .>.••.••.•1 has to be corrected into lated as foIIows: .>.",,,,,,1 .>.........,\. The verse has to be trans- " And the Messenger of God said: "Go in order to kill him on (the path of) the best promise and the most lucky stars". 7. P. 29, I. 9 (Ar. text) - p. 72 (transl.) IS rendered by Hoenerbach: " am Morgen, da wir den" 'Unais " mit einem Schlag verstiimmeIten, mit dem al-MaksuQ den Kopf eines Fiirsten abtrennte " ! of al-Aswad al-'Ansi; it is, evidently, used" The verse has to be translated: ?,the tribe But ~ is not a name of a person; it is in fact a diminutive Ii-Lrahqir of ". " In the morning when we severed (the limbs) among the 'Unays with a stroke with which al-Makshuh cut off the head of a hero". [5] 8. P. 36, Notes on Some Arabic Verses 161 I. 14 (Ar. text) - p. 79 (trans1.) Hoenerbach translates '" r ;~Ji~ J.~Ji 1.,-';;: ,/ /' " beim Herrn des Erlau- bten und Verboten en !" The correct translation is: "by the Lord of the Haram (of Mecca ) and what is outside the Haram " I 9. P. 37, 1. I (Ar. text) - p. 79 (trans1.) IS translated by Hoenerbach: " 'Abdallah! Du hast uns aufgeschreckt! Doch wir verhohnten den guten Rat !" But every 0~~lIS 2 an error; the correct reading is ~~ 0~ " You 1;(, but "the made effort " adviser" . The verse has thus to be rendered: "'Abdallah, you made every possible effort for us, we scoffed at the sincere adviser". but ". is not "der gute Rat" sincere The word " hohere Welt"; "~q;" in the following verse cannot be translated it has to be rendered: "noble, lofty, high (things)". IO. P. 38, 1. 2 (Ar. text) - p. 80 (transl.) i~\ • 0 ."...."D" --- I See: al-Kala'i: or~ " ., OM,." al-Iktifi', 1,272 (ed.Masse): l:.s- J;t:J\ _ // w 0.... 0'" l-:~.-';' ~o.... '.,..1:.":; )[9 ''10l0i •••• ..9 // ; and see: al-Amidt al-Mu'talif, p. 169 (ed. Krenkow): " ...." ."". r~\; ~\; 4.9t? .J1"..'" ~:;J\~ " 2 See 'Urwa b. al-Ward, al-Mufat;lt;laliyyit, CVI, 4: Dizodn, V, 4 and X, 3 (ed. M. b. Cheneb); and see R.S.O. - XLI. 12 162 is translated by Hoenerbach: M. J. Kister [6] "Da begann ich, tiber ihr Verbrechen zu weinen; bei dem, wozu sie kamen, bin ich nicht Genosse l". But d~ is not "V erbrechen ", and ~~i~9 " wozu sie kamen". The correct translation of the verse is as follows: " I started to bewail their doom while I was not a partner in (the sins or crimes) which they committed ". II. Two VERSES IN THE" MAQAMA GHAYLANIYYA ". -- does not mean Two verses at the end of Badi' al-Zamari's " al-Maqama al-GhayIaniyya " seem to be obscure. In the following lines an attempt is made to elucidate the meaning of these verses. The two verses are put in the mouth of Dhu 'l-Rumma. Dhu 'l-Rumma reviles the clan of al-Farazdaq saying: Muhammad 'Abduh explains in his commentary be afflicted by drought" - says Muh, "thundering cloud ". 'Abduh . Si~. ~ as a curse: " may the rain not drop on their growing place, so that they may ..r-;-I; is explained as J~ in the second verse is explained by 'Abduh as "shackle by which camels are bound". The mean character of Mujashi' - states 'Abduh - is compared with a shackle. These features of mean character restrict and bind (tie) the Mujashi' preventing them from making efforts at noble actions. In a lengthy passage 'Abduh argues that the prefixed " sa " (in" sa-ya'qiluhum") does not denote real future; the Mujashi' were and are prevented from noble deeds and so they wiIl always be prevented, because of their mean character. (Badi' al-Zaman al-Hama -dhani, "Maqamat ", ed. 1924, p. 47; p. 42 in ed. 1957). The metre in the first hemistich is not accurate. ~~ has to be read I ~1;,l,,!=,,"; o.,J»)J1 ~~ L.l,. [7] Notes on Some Arabic Verses I63 III R. Blachere and P. Masnou follow in the steps of Muh. 'Abduh their translation (Maqamat, la seance de Ghailan, p. 67, ed. Paris Les Mojachi sont les gens les plus vils (qui soient). Fasse le ciel qu'aucune pluie abondante n'arose leurs champs. Des entraves les empecheront toujours de tenter de nobles actions et des liens sans cesse les retiendront. The commentary of 'Abduh ~~ I957): snou are not accurate. r and the rendering of Blachere - Marefers to the past: The Mujashi' are the meanest clan; no thundering cloud (bearing rain) has watered their growing places. "'Iqal" does not denote here a shackle, but is the name of the ancestor of al-Farazdaq: "'Iqal b. Muhammed b. Sufyan b. Mujashi'''. Similarly" I:Iabis " is " Habis b. "Iqal al-Mujashi'I ", the father of Layla the grandmother of al-Farazdaq. The two verses may thus be rendered as follows: As to the Mujashi', the meanest ones never did a thundering cloud water their growing places They will be restrained (bound, tied) from the efforts of the nobles by "Iqal and impeded by Habis This explanation of the two verses is confirmed by a verse of Jarir in which he reviles the ancestors of al-Farazdaq. (Diwan, p. 326, ed. al-~awi). M. J. KISTER