No More Learning

There exist in Arabic literature very few romances of the length
of Antar. ' Though the Arab delights to hear and to recount tales,
his tales are generally short and pithy. It is in this sh ter form
that he delights to inculcate principles of morality and norms of
character. He is most adroit at repartee and at pungent replies. He
has a way of stating principles which delights while it instructs.
The anecdote is at home in the East: many a favor is gained, many
a punishment averted, by a quick answer and a felicitously turned
expression. Such anecdotes exist as popular traditions in very large.
numbers; and he receives much consideration whose mind is well


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ARABIC LITERATURE
675
stocked with them. Collections of anecdotes have been put to writ-
ing from time to time. Those dealing with the early history of the
caliphate are among the best prose that the Arabs have produced.
For pure prose was never greatly cultivated. The literature dealing
with their own history, or with the geography and culture of the
nations with which they came in contact, is very large, and as a
record of facts is most important. Ibn Hishám (died 767), Wákidi
(died 822), Tabari (838-923), Masudí (died 957), Ibn Athír (died 1233),
Ibn Khaldún (died 1406), Makrísi (died 1442), Suyúti (died 1505), and
Makkári (died 1631), are only a few of those who have given us large
and comprehensive histories. Al-Birúni (died 1038), writer, mathema-
tician, and traveler, has left us an account of the India of his day
which has earned for him the title "Herodotus of India," though for
careful observation and faithful presentation he stands far above the
writer with whose name he is adorned. But nearly all of these his-
torical writers are mere chronologists, dry and wearisome to the gen-
eral reader. It is only in the Preface, or 'Exordium,' often the most
elaborate part of the whole book viewed from a rhetorical standpoint,
that they attempt to rise above mere incidents and strive after liter-
ary form. Besides the regard in which anecdotes are held, it is con-
sidered a mark of education to insert in one's speech as often as
possible a familiar saying, a proverb, a bon mot. These are largely
used in the moral addresses (Khútbah) made in the mosque or else-
where, addresses which take on also the form of rhymed prose. A
famous collection of such sayings is attributed to 'Ali, the fourth
successor of Muhammad. In these the whole power of the Arab for
subtle distinctions in matters of wordly wisdom, and the truly reli-
gious feeling of the East, are clearly manifested.
-
The propensity of the Arab mind for the tale and the anecdote
has had a wider influence in shaping the religious and legal develop-
ment, of Muhammadanism than would appear at first sight. The
'Qur'an' might well suffice as a directive code for a small body of
men whose daily life was simple, and whose organization was of the
crudest kind. But even Muhammad in his own later days was called
on to supplement the written word by the spoken, to interpret such
parts of his "book" as were unintelligible, to reconcile conflicting
statements, and to fit the older legislation to changed circumstances.
As the religious head of the community, his dictum became law; and
these logia of the Prophet were handed around and handed down as
the unwritten law by which his lieutenants were to be guided, in
matters not only religious, but also legal. For "law" to them was
part and parcel of "religion. " This "hadith" grew apace, until, in
the third century of the Hijrah, it was put to writing. Nothing
bears weight which has not the stamp of Muhammad's authority, as


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676
ARABIC LITERATURE
reported by his near surroundings and his friends. In such a mass
of tradition, great care is taken to separate the chaff from the wheat.
The chain of tradition (Isnád) must be given for each tradition, for
each anecdote. But the "friends" of the Prophet are said to have
numbered seven thousand five hundred, and it has not been easy to
keep out fraud and deception. The subjects treated are most varied,
sometimes even trivial, but dealing usually with recondite questions
of law and morals. Three great collections of the 'Hadith' have
been made by al-Buchári (869), Múslim (874), and al-Tirmídhi (892).
The first two only are considered canonical. From these are derived
the three great systems of jurisprudence which to this day hold good
in the Muhammadan world.
The best presentation of the characteristics of Arabic poetry is
by W. Ahlwardt, 'Ueber Poesie und Poetik der Araber' (Gotha,
1856); of Arabic metres, by G. W. Freytag, 'Darstellung der Ara-
bischen Verkunst' (Bonn, 1830). Translations of Arabic poetry have
been published by J. D. Carlyle, Specimens of Arabic Poetry >
(Cambridge, 1796); W. A. Clouston, Arabic Poetry' (Glasgow, 1881);
C. J. Lyall, Translations of Ancient Arabic Poetry' (London, 1885).
The history of Arabic literature is given in Th. Nöldeke's 'Beiträge
zur Kenntniss der Poesie der Alten Araber' (Hanover, 1864), and F.
F. Arbuthnot's 'Arabic Authors' (London, 1890).
Richard Gottheil
DESCRIPTION OF A MOUNTAIN STORM
From the most celebrated of the Mu 'allakât,' that of Imr-al-Kais, The
Wandering King': Translation of C. J. Lyall
FRIEND, see the lightning there! it flickered and now is gone,
as though flashed a pair of hands in the pillar of crowned
cloud.
Now, was it its blaze, or the lamps of a hermit that dwells alone,
O
and pours o'er the twisted wicks the oil from his slender cruse?
We sat there, my fellows and I, 'twixt Dárij and al-Udhaib,
and gazed as the distance gloomed, and waited its oncoming.
The right of its mighty rain advanced over Katan's ridge;
the left of its trailing skirt swept Yadhbul and as-Sitar:
Then over Kutaifah's steep the flood of its onset drave,
and headlong before its storm the tall trees were borne to ground;


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ARABIC LITERATURE
677
And the drift of its waters passed o'er the crags of al-Kanân,
and drave forth the white-legged deer from the refuge they
sought therein.
And Taimá—it left not there the stem of a palm aloft,
nor ever a tower, save ours, firm built on the living rock.
And when first its misty shroud bore down upon Mount Thabîr,
he stood like an ancient man in a gray-streaked mantle wrapt.
The clouds cast their burdens down on the broad plain of al-Ghabit,
as a trader from al-Yaman unfolds from the bales his store;
And the topmost crest, on the morrow, of al-Mujaimir's cairn,
was heaped with the flood-borne wrack, like wool on a distaff
wound.
FROM THE MU 'ALLAKÂT› OF ZUHÉIR
A lament for the desertion, through a war, of his former home and the
haunts of his tribe: Translation of C. J. Lyall
I
AⓇ
RE they of Umm Aufà's tents-these black lines that speak no
word
in the stony plain of al-Mutathellam and al-Darraj?
Yea, and the place where his camp stood in ar-Rakmatan is now
like the tracery drawn afresh by the veins of the inner wrist.
The wild kine roam there large-eyed, and the deer pass to and fro,
and their younglings rise up to suck from the spots where they
all lie round.
I stood there and gazed; since I saw it last twenty years had flown,
and much I pondered thereon: hard was it to know again.
The black stones in order laid in the place where the pot was set,
and the trench like a cistern's root with its sides unbroken still.
And when I knew it, at last, for his resting-place, I cried,.
"Good greeting to thee, O house! Fair peace in the morn to
thee! "
-
Look forth, O friend! canst thou see aught of ladies, camel-borne,
that journey along the upland there, above Jurthum well?
Their litters are hung with precious stuffs, and their veils thereon
cast loosely, their borders rose, as though they were dyed in
blood.
Sideways they sat as their beasts clomb the ridge of as-Sûbân;
in them were the sweetness and grace of one nourished in wealth
and ease.


## p. 678 (#88) #############################################

678
ARABIC LITERATURE
They went on their way at dawn-they started before sunrise;
straight did they make for the vale of ar-Rass, as hand for
mouth.
Dainty and playful their mood to one who should try its worth,
and faces fair to an eye skilled to trace out loveliness.
And the tassels of scarlet wool, in the spots where they gat them
down
glowed red, like to 'ishrik seeds, fresh-fallen, unbroken, bright.
And then they reached the wells where the deep-blue water lies,
they cast down their staves, and set them to pitch the tents for
rest.
On their right hand rose al-Kanân, and the rugged skirts thereof -
(and in al-Kanân how many are foes and friends of mine! )
At eve they left as-Sûbân; then they crossed the ridge again,
borne on the fair-fashioned litters, all new and builded broad.
[Certain cantos, to the sixth one, reproach the author of the treachery
and quarrel that led to the war and migration. Then follows a series of
maxims as to human life and conduct. ]
VI
Aweary am I of life's toil and travail: he who like me
has seen pass of years fourscore, well may he be sick of life!
I know what To-day unfolds, what before it was Yesterday;
but blind do I stand before the knowledge To-morrow brings.
I have seen the Dooms trample men as a blind beast at random
treads:
whom they smote, he died; whom they missed, he lived on to
strengthless eld.
Who gathers not friends by help, in many cases of need
is torn by the blind beast's teeth, or trodden beneath its foot.
And he who his honor shields by the doing of a kindly deed
grows richer; who shuts not the mouth of reviling, it lights on
him.
And he who is lord of wealth and niggardly with his hoard,
alone is he left by his kin; naught have they for him but blame.
Who keeps faith, no blame he earns, and that man whose heart is
led
to goodness unmixed with guile gains freedom and peace of soul.
Who trembles before the Dooms, yea, him shall they surely seize,
albeit he set a ladder to climb the sky.
Who spends on unworthy men his kindness with lavish hand;
no praise doth he earn, but blame, and repentence the seed
thereof.


## p. 679 (#89) #############################################

ARABIC LITERATURE
679
Who will not yield to the spears, when their feet turn to him in
peace,
shall yield to the points thereof, and the long flashing blades of
steel.
Who holds not his foe away from his cistern with sword and spear,
it is broken and spoiled; who uses not roughness, him shall men
wrong.
Who seeks far away from kin for housing, takes foe for friend;
who honors himself not well, no honor gains he from men.
Who makes of his soul a beast of burden to bear men's loads,
nor shields it one day from shame, yea, sorrow shall be his lot.
Whatso be the shaping of mind that a man is born withal,
though he think it lies hid from men, it shall surely one day be
known.
How many a man seemed goodly to thee while he held his peace,
whereof thou didst learn the more or less when he turned to
speech.
The tongue is a man's one-half, the other, the heart within;
besides these two naught is left but a semblance of flesh and
blood.
If a man be old and a fool, his folly is past all cure;
but a young man may yet grow wise and cast off his foolish-
ness.
VII
We asked, and ye gave; we asked again, and ye gave again:
but the end of much asking must be that no giving shall follow it.
TARAFAH IBN AL 'ABD
A rebuke to a mischief-maker: Translation of C. J. Lyall
THE
HE craft of thy busy tongue has sundered from home and kin
the cousins of both thy houses, 'Amr, 'Auf, and Mâlik's son.
For thou to thy dearest art a wind of the bitter north,
that sweeps from the Syrian hills, and wrinkles our cheeks and
brows.
――
But balmy art thou and mild to strangers, a gracious breeze
that brings from the gulf shore showers and fills with its rain our
streams.
And this, of a truth, I know-
-no fancy it is of mine:
who holds mean his kith and kin, the meanest of men is he!
And surely a foolish tongue, when rules not its idle prate
discretion, but shows men where thou dwellest with none to guard.


## p. 680 (#90) #############################################

680
ARABIC LITERATURE
LABÎD
A lament for the afflictions of his tribe, the 'Âmir. From the Diwan':
Translation of C. J. Lyall
YEA,
EA, the righteous shall keep the way of the righteous,
and to God turn the steps of all that abideth;
And to God ye return, too; with Him, only,
rest the issues of things-and all that they gather.
All that is in the Book of Knowledge is reckoned,
and before Him revealed lies all that is hidden:
Both the day when His gifts of goodness on those whom
He exalts are as palms full freighted with sweetness,
(Young, burdened with fruit, their heads bowed with clusters,
swelled to bursting, the tallest e'en as the lesser,)
And the day when avails the sin-spotted only
prayer for pardon and grace to lead him to mercy,
And the good deed he wrought to witness before him,
and the pity of Him who is Compassion:
Yea, a place in his shade, the best to abide in,
and a heart still and steadfast, right weening, honest.
Is there aught good in life? Yea, I have seen it,
even I, if the seeing bring aught of profit.
Long has Life been to me; and this is its burthen:
lone against time abide Ti'âr and Yaramram,
And Kulâf and Badî the mighty, and Dalfa',
yea, and Timâr, that towers aloft over Kubbah;*
And the Stars, marching all night in procession,
drooping westwards, as each hies forth to his setting:
Sure and steadfast their course: the underworld draws them
gently downwards, as maidens encircling the Pillar;
And we know not, whenas their lustre is vanished,
whether long be the ropes that bind them, or little.
Lone is 'Amir, and naught is left of her goodness,
in the meadows of al-A'râf, but her dwellings -
Ruined shadows of tents and penfolds and shelters,
bough from bough rent, and spoiled by wind and by weather.
Gone is 'Amir, her ancients gone, all the wisest:
none remain but a folk whose war-mares are fillies,
Yet they slay them in every breach in our rampart-
yea, and they that bestride them, true-hearted helpers,
They contemn not their kin when change comes upon them,
Nor do we scorn the ties of blood and of succor.
-Now on 'Âmir be peace, and praises, and blessing,
wherever be on earth her way—or her halting!
*The five names foregoing are those of mountains.


## p. 681 (#91) #############################################

ARABIC LITERATURE
681
A FAIR LADY
From the Mu 'allakât of Antara': Translation of E. H. Palmer
Tw
WAS then her beauties first enslaved my heart-
Those glittering pearls and ruby lips, whose kiss
Was sweeter far than honey to the taste.
As when the merchant opes a precious box
Of perfume, such an odor from her breath
Comes toward me, harbinger of her approach;
Or like an untouched meadow, where the rain
Hath fallen freshly on the fragrant herbs
That carpet all its pure untrodden soil:,
A meadow where the fragrant rain-drops fall
Like coins of silver in the quiet pools,
And irrigate it with perpetual streams;
A meadow where the sportive insects hum,
Like listless topers singing o'er their cups,
And ply their forelegs, like a man who tries
With maimèd hand to use the flint and steel.
--
THE DEATH OF 'ABDALLÂH
AND WHAT MANNER OF MAN HE WAS
From the original poem of Duraid, son of as-Simmah, of Jusharn: Translation
of C. J. Lyall
-
WARNED them both, 'Ârid, and the men who went 'Ârid's way –
the house of the Black Mother: yea, ye are all my witnesses,
I said to them: "Think-even now, two thousand are on your
track,
all laden with sword and spear, their captains in Persian mail! »
But when they would hearken not, I followed their road, though I
knew well they were fools, and that I walked not in Wisdom's
way.
For am not I but one of the Ghazîyah ? and if they err
I err with my house; and if the Ghazîyah go right, so I.
I read them my rede, one day, at Mun'araj al-Liwa:
the morrow, at noon, they saw my counsel as I had seen.
A shout rose, and voices cried, "The horsemen have slain a knight! »
I said, "Is it 'Abdallâh, the man whom you say is slain ? »
I
sprang to his side: the spears had riddled his body through
as a weaver on outstretched web deftly plies the sharp-toothed
comb.


## p. 682 (#92) #############################################

682
ARABIC LITERATURE
I stood as a camel stands with fear in her heart, and seeks
the stuffed skin with eager mouth, and thinks-is her youngling
slain?
I plied spear above him till the riders had left their prey,
and over myself black blood flowed in a dusky tide.
I fought as a man who gives his life for his brother's life,
who knows that his time is short, that Death's doom above him
hangs.
But know ye, if 'Abdallâh be dead, and his place a void,
no weakling unsure of hand, and no holder-back was he!
Alert, keen, his loins well girt, his leg to the middle bare,
unblemished and clean of limb, a climber to all things high;
No wailer before ill-luck; one mindful in all he did
to think how his work to-day would live in to-morrow's tale,
Content to bear hunger's pain though meat lay beneath his hand-
to labor in ragged shirt that those whom he served might rest.
If Dearth laid her hand on him, and Famine devoured his store,
he gave but the gladlier what little to him they spared.
He dealt as a youth with Youth, until, when his head grew hoar,
and age gathered o'er his brow, to lightness he said, “Begone! "
Yea, somewhat it soothes my soul that never I said to him
"thou liest," nor grudged him aught of mine that he sought of me!
ASH-SHANFARÀ OF AZD
A picture of womanhood, from the 'Mufaddaliyât': Translation of C. J.
Lyall
LAS, Umm ‘Amr set her face to depart and went:
Α'
gone is she, and when she sped, she left with us no fare-
well.
Her purpose was quickly shaped- no warning gave she to friends,
though there she had dwelt, hard-by, her camels all day with ours.
Yea, thus in our eyes she dwelt, from morning to noon and eve
she brought to an end her tale, and fleeted and left us lone.
So gone is Umaimah, gone! and leaves here a heart in pain:
my life was to yearn for her; and now its delight is fled.
She won me, whenas, shamefaced. no maid to let fall her veil,
no wanton to glance behind-she walked forth with steady tread;
Her eyes seek the ground, as though they looked for a thing lost
―――――
there;
she turns not to left or right-her answer is brief and low.
She rises before day dawns to carry her supper forth
to wives who have need- dear alms, when such gifts are few enow!


## p. 683 (#93) #############################################

ARABIC LITERATURE
683
Afar from the voice of blame, her tent stands for all to see,
when many a woman's tent is pitched in the place of scorn.
No gossip to bring him shame from her does her husband dread-
when mention is made of women, pure and unstained is she.
The day done, at eve glad comes he home to his eyes' delight:
he needs not to ask of her, "Say, where didst thou pass the
day? » —
And slender is she where meet, and full where it so beseems,
and tall and straight, a fairy shape, if such on earth there be.
And nightlong as we sat there, methought that the tent was roofed
above with basil-sprays, all fragrant in dewy eve-
Sweet basil, from Halyah dale, its branches abloom and fresh,
that fills all the place with balm
no starveling of desert sands.
-
ZEYNAB AT THE KA'BAH
From 'Umar ibn Rabi'a's 'Love Poems: Translation of W. Gifford Palgrave
H, FOR the throes of a heart sorely wounded!
Α'
Ah, for the eyes that have smit me with madness!
Gently she moved in the calmness of beauty,
Moved as the bough to the light breeze of morning.
Dazzled my eyes as they gazed, till before me
All was a mist and confusion of figures.
Ne'er had I sought her, ne'er had she sought me;
Fated the love, and the hour, and the meeting.
There I beheld her as she and her damsels
Paced 'twixt the temple and outer inclosure;
Damsels the fairest, the loveliest, gentlest,
Passing like slow-wandering heifers at evening;
Ever surrounding with comely observance
Her whom they honor, the peerless of women.
"Omar is near: let us mar his devotions,
Cross on his path that he needs must observe us;
Give him a signal, my sister, demurely. "
"Signals I gave, but he marked not or heeded, "
Answered the damsel, and hasted to meet me.
Ah, for that night by the vale of the sandhills!
Ah, for the dawn when in silence we parted!
He whom the morn may awake to her kisses
Drinks from the cup of the blessed in heaven.


## p. 684 (#94) #############################################

684
ARABIC LITERATURE
THE UNVEILED MAID
From 'Umar ibn Rabi'a's Love Poems: Translation of W. Gifford Palgrave
IN THE valley of Mohassib I beheld her where she stood:
IN
Caution bade me turn aside, but love forbade and fixed me there.
Was it sunlight? or the windows of a gleaming mosque at eve,
Lighted up for festal worship? or was all my fancy's dream?
Ah, those earrings! ah, that necklace! Naufel's daughter sure the
maid,
Or of Hashim's princely lineage, and the Servant of the Sun!
But a moment flashed the splendor, as the o'er-hasty handmaids
drew
Round her with a jealous hand the jealous curtains of the tent.
Speech nor greeting passed between us; but she saw me, and I saw
Face the loveliest of all faces, hands the fairest of all hands.
Daughter of a better earth, and nurtured by a brighter sky;
Would I ne'er had seen thy beauty! Hope is fled, but love remains.
FROM THE DÎWÂN OF AL-NABIGHAH
A eulogy of the valor and culture of the men of Ghassân, written in time of
the poet's political exile from them: Translation of C. J. Lyall
EAVE me alone, O Umaimah-alone with my sleepless pain
L'
alone with the livelong night and the wearily lingering stars;
It draws on its ngth of gloom; methinks it will never end,
nor ever the Star-herd lead his flock to their folds of rest; -
Alone with a breast whose griefs, that roamed far afield by day,
-
the darkness has brought all home: in legions they throng around.
A favor I have with 'Amr, a favor his father bore
friend) -
toward me of old; a grace that carried no scorpion sting.
I swear (and my word is true- an oath that hath no reserve,
and naught in my heart is hid save fair thought of him, my
—
-
If these twain his fathers were, who lie in their graves; the one
al-Jillik, the others al-Saidâ, by Hârib's side,
And Hârith, of Jafnah's line, the lord of his folk of old-
yea, surely his might shall reach the home of his enemy!
In him hope is sure of help when men say -"The host is sped,
the horsemen of Ghassân's line unblemished, no hireling herd,
His cousins, all near of kin, their chief 'Amr, 'Âmir's son-
a people are they whose might in battle shall never fail! »


## p. 685 (#95) #############################################

ARABIC LITERATURE
685
When goes forth the host to war, above them in circles wheel
battalions of eagles, pointing the path to battalions more;
Their friendship old and tried, fast comrades, in foray bred
to look unafraid on blood, as hounds to the chase well trained.
Behold them, how they sit there, behind where their armies meet,
watching with eyes askance, like elders in gray furs wrapt,
Intent; for they know full well that those whom they follow, when
the clash of the hosts shall come, will bear off the victory.
Ay, well is that custom known, a usage that time has proved
when lances are laid in rest on withers of steeds arow-
Of steeds in the spear-play skilled, with lips for the fight drawn back,
their bodies with wounds all scarred, some bleeding and some
half-healed.
And down leap the riders where the battle is strait and stern,
and spring in the face of Death like stallions amid the herd;
Between them they give and take deep draughts of the wine of
doom
as their hands ply the white swords, thin and keen in the smiting-
edge.
In shards fall the morions burst by the fury of blow on blow,
and down to the eyebrows, cleft, fly shattered the skulls beneath.
In them no defect is found, save only that in their swords
are notches, a many, gained from smiting of host on host:
An heirloom of old, those blades, from the fight of Halîmah's day,
and many the mellay fierce that since has their temper proved;
Therewith do they cleave in twain the hauberk of double woof,
and kindle the rock beneath to fire, ere the stroke is done.
A nature is theirs - God gives the like to no other men
a wisdom that never sleeps, a bounty that never fails.
Their home is God's own land, His chosen of old; their faith
--
is steadfast. Their hope is set on naught but the world to come.
Their sandals are soft and fine, and girded with chastity,
they welcome with garlands sweet the dawn of the Feast of
Palms.
There greets them when they come home full many a handmaid fine,
and ready, on trestles, hang the mantles of scarlet silk.
Yea, softly they wrap their limbs, well-knowing of wealth and ease,
in rich raiment, white-sleeved, green at the shoulder-in royal
guise.
They look not on Weal as men who know not that Woe comes, too:
they look not on evil days as though they would never mend.
Lo, this was my gift to Ghassan, what time I sought
My people; and all my paths were darkened, and strait my ways.


## p. 686 (#96) #############################################

686
ARABIC LITERATURE
NUSAIB
The poem characterizes the separation of a wife and mother- a slave — from
her family: Translation of C. J. Lyall
THEY
HEY said last night-To-morrow at first of dawning,
or maybe at eventide, must Laila go! -
My heart at the word lay helpless, as lies a Katā
in net night-long, and struggles with fast-bound wing.
Two nestlings she left alone, in a nest far distant,
a nest which the winds smite, tossing it to and fro.
They hear but the whistling breeze, and stretch necks to greet
her;
but she they await- the end of her days is come!
So lies she, and neither gains in the night her longing,
nor brings her the morning any release from pain.
VENGEANCE
By al-Find, of the Zimman Tribe: Translation of C. J. Lyall
ORGIVENESS had we for Hind's sons:
F
We said, "The men our brothers are;
The days may bring that yet again
They be the folk that once they were. "
"
But when the Ill stood clear and plain,
And naked Wrong was bold to brave,
And naught was left but bitter Hate -
We paid them in the coin they gave.
We strode as stalks a lion forth
At dawn, a lion wrathful-eyed;
Blows rained we, dealing shame on shame,
And humbling pomp and quelling pride.
Too kind a man may be with fools,
And nerve them but to flout him more;
And Mischief oft may bring thee peace,
When Mildness works not Folly's cure.


## p. 687 (#97) #############################################

ARABIC LITERATURE
687
PATIENCE
From Ibrahim, Son of Kunaif of Nabhan: Translation of C. J. Lyall
B
E PATIENT: for free-born men to bear is the fairest thing,
And refuge against Time's wrong or help from his hurt is
none;
And if it availed man aught to bow him to fluttering Fear,
Or if he could ward off hurt by humbling himself to Ill,
To bear with a valiant front the full brunt of every stroke
And onset of Fate were still the fairest and best of things.
But how much the more, when none outruns by a span his Doom,
And refuge from God's decree nor was nor will ever be,
And sooth, if the changing Days have wrought us their wonted
―
ABU SAKHR
way--
A lot mixed of weal and woe, yet one thing they could not do:
They have not made soft or weak the stock of our sturdy spear;
They have not abased our hearts to doing of deeds of shame.
We offer to bear their weight, a handful of noble souls:
Though laden beyond all weight of man, they uplift the load.
So shield we with Patience fair our souls from the stroke of Shame;
Our honors are whole and sound, though others be lean enow.
On a lost love. From the 'Hamásah': Translation of C. J. Lyall
B
Y HIM who brings weeping and laughter | who deals Death and
Life as He wills-
she left me to envy the wild deer | that graze twain and twain
without fear!
Oh, love of her, heighten my heart's pain, | and strengthen the pang
every night;
oh, comfort that days bring, forgetting the last of all days be
thy tryst!
I marveled how swiftly the time sped | between us, the moment we
met;
but when that brief moment was ended | how wearily dragged he
his feet!


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}
AN ADDRESS TO THE BELOVED
By Abu l-'Ata of Sind. From the Hamásah': Translation of C. J. Lyall
Ο
F THEE did I dream, while spears between us were quivering —-
and sooth, of our blood full deep had drunken the tawny
shafts!
I know not by Heaven I swear, and here is the word I say! -
this pang, is it love-sickness, or wrought by a spell from thee?
If it be a spell, then grant me grace of thy love-longing —
if other the sickness be, then none is the guilt of thine!
A FORAY
By Ja'far ibn 'Ulbah. From the Hamásah': Translation of C. J. Lyall
HAT even when, under Sábhal's twin peaks, upon us drave
TH
the horsemen, troop upon troop, and the foeman pressed us
sore-
They said to us, "Two things lie before you; now must ye choose
the points of the spears couched at ye; or if ye will not, chains! "
We answered them, "Yea this thing may fall to you after the fight,
when men shall be left on ground, and none shall arise again;
But we know not, if we quail before the assault of Death,
how much may be left of life-the goal is too dim to see. "
We rode to the strait of battle; there cleared us a space, around
the white swords in our right hands which the smiths had fur-
bished fair.
On them fell the edge of my blade, on that day of Sabhal date;
And mine was the share thereof, wherever my fingers closed.
FATALITY
By Katari, ibn al-Fujâ'ah, ibn Maʼzin. From the Hamásah': Translation of
C. J. Lyall
SAID to her, when she fled in amaze and breathless
I
before the array of battle, "Why dost thou tremble?
Yea, if but a day of Life thou shouldst beg with weeping,
beyond what thy Doom appoints, thou wouldst not gain it!
Be still, then; and face the onset of Death, high-hearted,
for none upon earth shall win to abide forever.
No raiment of praise the cloak of old age and weakness;
none such for the coward who bows like a reed in the tem-
pest.


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689
The pathway of death is set for all men to travel.
the crier of Death proclaims through the earth his empire.
Who dies not when young and sound, dies old and weary —
cut off in his length of days from all love and kindness;
And what for a man is left of delight of living, -
past use-flung away-a worthless and worn-out chattel? »
IMPLACABILITY
By al-Fadl, ibn al-Abbas, ibn Utbah. From the Hamásah': Translation of
C. J. Lyall
ONS of our uncle, peace!
Cousins of ours, be still!
SON
drag not to light from its grave the strife that we buried
there.
Hope not for honor from us, while ye heap upon us shame,
or think that we shall forbear from vexing when ye vex us.
Sons of our uncle, peace! lay not our rancor raw;
walk now gently awhile, as once ye were wont to go.
Ay, God knows that we, we love you not, in sooth!
and that we blame ye not that ye have no love for us.
Each of us has his ground for the loathing his fellow moves:
a grace it is from the Lord that we hate yeye us!
PARENTAL AFFECTION
A poem by Hittân ibn al-Mu'allà of Tayyi. From the Hamásah': Translation
of C. J. Lyall
F
ORTUNE has brought me down-her wonted way -
from stature high and great, to low estate;
Fortune has rent away my plenteous store;
of all my wealth, honor alone is left.
Fortune has turned my joy to tears-how oft
did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!
But for these girls, the kata's downy brood,
unkindly thrust from door to door as hard-
Far would I roam, and wide, to seek my bread,
in earth, that has no lack of breadth and length.
Nay, but our children in our midst, what else
but our hearts are they, walking on the ground?
If but the breeze blow harsh on one of them,
mine eye says "no" to slumber, all night long!
II-44


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A TRIBESMAN'S VALOR
Poem by Sa'd, son of Malik, of the Kais Tribe: Translation of C. J. Lyall
ow evil a thing is war, that bows men to shameful rest!
H
War burns away in her blaze all glory and boasting of men:
Naught stands but the valiant heart to face pain-the hard-
hoofed steed-
The ring-mail set close and firm, the nail-crowned helms and the spears;
And onset, again after rout, when men shrink from the serried array –
Then, then, fall away all the vile, the hirelings! and shame is strong!
War girds up her skirts before them, and evil unmixed is bare.
For their hearts were for maidens veiled, not for driving the gathered
spoil:
Yea, evil the heirs we leave, sons of Yakshar and al-Laksh!
But let flee her fires who will, no flinching for me, son of Kais!
O children of Kais! stand firm before her! gain peace or give:
Who seeks flight before her fear, his Doom stands and bars the road.
Away! Death allows no quitting of place, and brands are bare!
What is life for us, when the uplands and valleys are ours no more?
Ah, where are the mighty now? the spears and generous hands?
FROM THE QU'RAN
Translation of George Sale
CHAPTER XXXV. : INTITLED "THE CREATOR. "
REVEALED AT MECCA
I
N THE name of the most merciful GOD. Praise be unto GOD,
the creator of heaven and earth; who maketh the angels his
messengers, furnished with two, and three, and four pair of
wings: GOD maketh what addition he pleaseth unto his creatures;
for GOD is almighty. The mercy which GOD shall freely bestow
on mankind, there is none who can withhold; and what he shall
withhold, there is none who can bestow, besides him: and he
is the mighty, the wise. O men, remember the favor of GOD
towards you: is there any creator, besides GOD, who provideth
food for you from heaven and earth? There is no GOD but he:
how therefore are ye turned aside from acknowledging his unity?
If they accuse thee of imposture, apostles before thee have also
been accused of imposture; and unto GOD shall all things return.
O men, verily the promise of GOD is true: let not therefore the
present life deceive you, neither let the deceiver deceive you con-
cerning GOD: for Satan is an enemy unto you; wherefore hold


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691
him for an enemy: he only inviteth his confederates to be the
inhabitants of hell. For those who believe not there is prepared
a severe torment: but for those who shall believe and do that
which is right, is prepared mercy and a great reward. Shall he
therefore for whom his evil work hath been prepared, and who
imagineth it to be good, be as he who is rightly disposed, and
discerneth the truth? Verily GOD will cause to err whom he
pleaseth, and will direct whom he pleaseth. Let not thy soul
therefore be spent in sighs for their sakes, on account of their
obstinacy; for GOD well knoweth that which they do. It is God
who sendeth the winds, and raiseth a cloud: and we drive the
same unto a dead country, and thereby quicken the earth after it
hath been dead; so shall the resurrection be. Whoever desireth
excellence; unto GOD doth all excellence belong: unto him as-
cendeth the good speech; and the righteous work will he exalt.
But as for them who devise wicked plots, they shall suffer a
severe punishment; and the device of those men shall be ren-
dered vain. GOD created you first of the dust, and afterwards
of seed: and he hath made you man and wife. No female
conceiveth, or bringeth forth, but with his knowledge. Nor is
any thing added unto the age of him whose life is prolonged,
neither is any thing diminished from his age, but the same is
written in the book of God's decrees. Verily this is easy with
GOD. The two seas are not to be held in comparison: this is
fresh and sweet, pleasant to drink; but that is salt and bitter:
yet out of each of them ye eat fish, and take ornaments for you
to wear. Thou seest the ships also ploughing the waves thereof,
that ye may seek to enrich yourselves by commerce, of the abund-
ance of God: peradventure ye will be thankful. He causeth the
night to succeed the day, and he causeth the day to succeed the
night; and he obligeth the sun and the moon to perform their
services: each of them runneth an appointed course. This is
GOD, your LORD: his is the kingdom. But the idols which ye
invoke besides him have not the power even over the skin of a
date-stone: if ye invoke them, they will not hear your calling;
and although they should hear, yet they would not answer you.
On the day of resurrection they shall disclaim your having asso-
ciated them with God: and none shall declare unto thee the truth,
like one who is well acquainted therewith. O men, ye have need
of GOD; but GOD is self-sufficient, and to be praised.
pleaseth, he can take you away, and produce a new creature in


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your stead: neither will this be difficult with GOD. A burdened
soul shall not bear the burden of another: and if a heavy-
burdened soul call on another to bear part of its burden, no part
thereof shall be borne by the person who shall be called on,
although he be ever so nearly related. Thou shalt admonish
those who fear their LORD in secret, and are constant at prayer:
and whoever cleanseth himself from the guilt of disobedience,
cleanseth himself to the advantage of his own soul; for all shall
be assembled before GOD at the last day. The blind and the
seeing shall not be held equal; neither darkness and light; nor
the cool shade and the scorching wind: neither shall the living
and the dead be held equal. GOD shall cause him to hear
whom he pleaseth: but thou shalt not make those to hear who
are in their graves. Thou art no other than a preacher; verily
we have sent thee with truth, a bearer of good tidings, and a
denouncer of threats.
There hath been no nation, but a preacher hath in past times
been conversant among them: if they charge thee with imposture,
they who were before them likewise charged their apostles with
imposture. Their apostles came unto them with evident miracles,
and with divine writings, and with the Enlightening Book: after-
wards I chastised those who were unbelievers; and how severe
was my vengeance! Dost thou not see that GOD sendeth down
rain from heaven, and that we thereby produce fruits of various
colors? In the mountains also there are some tracts white and
red, of various colors; and others are of a deep black: and of
men, and beasts, and cattle there are whose colors are in like
manner various. Such only of his servants fear GOD as are
endued with understanding: verily GOD is mighty and ready to
forgive. Verily they who read the book of GOD, and are con-
stant at prayer, and give alms out of what we have bestowed on
them, both in secret and openly, hope for a merchandise which
shall not perish: that God may fully pay them their wages, and
make them a superabundant addition of his liberality; for he is
ready to forgive the faults of his servants, and to requite their
endeavors. That which we have revealed unto thee of the book
of the Korán is the truth, confirming the scriptures which were
revealed before it: for GOD knoweth and regardeth his servants.
And we have given the book of the Korán in heritage unto such
of our servants as we have chosen: of them there is one who
injureth his own soul; and there is another of them who keepeth


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the middle way; and there is another of them who outstrippeth
others in good works, by the permission of GOD. This is the
great excellence. They shall be introduced into gardens of per-
petual abode; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold
and pearls, and their clothing therein shall be of silk: and they
shall say, Praise be unto GOD, who hath taken away sorrow from
us! verily our LORD is ready to forgive the sinners, and to
reward the obedient: who hath caused us to take up our rest in a
dwelling of eternal stability, through his bounty, wherein no labor
shall touch us, neither shall any weariness affect us. But for the
unbelievers is prepared the fire of hell: it shall not be decreed
them to die a second time; neither shall any part of the punish-
ment thereof be made lighter unto them. Thus shall every infi-
del be rewarded. And they shall cry out aloud in hell, saying,
LORD, take us hence, and we will work righteousness, and not
what we have formerly wrought. But it shall be answered
them, Did we not grant you lives of length sufficient, that who-
ever would be warned might be warned therein; and did not
the preacher come unto you? Taste therefore the pains of hell.
And the unjust shall have no protector. Verily GOD knoweth
the secrets both of heaven and earth, for he knoweth the inner-
most parts of the breasts of men.
It is he who hath made you
to succeed in the earth. Whoever shall disbelieve, on him be his
unbelief; and their unbelief shall only gain the unbelievers greater
indignation in the sight of their LORD; and their unbelief shall
only increase the perdition of the unbelievers. Say, what think
ye of your deities which ye invoke besides GOD? Show me
what part of the earth they have created. Or had they any share
in the creation of the heavens? Have we given unto the idola-
ters any book of revelations, so that they may rely on any proof
therefrom to authorize their practice? Nay; but the ungodly
make unto one another only deceitful promises. Verily GOD
sustaineth the heavens and the earth, lest they fail: and if they
should fail,
none could support the same besides him; he is gra-
cious and merciful.
The Koreish swore by GOD, with a most
solemn oath, that if a preacher had come unto them, they would
surely have been more willingly directed than any nation: but
preacher is come unto them, it hath only increased in
them their aversion from the truth, their arrogance in the earth,
and their contriving of evil; but the contrivance of evil shall only
encompass the authors thereof. Do they expect any other than
now a


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ARABIC LITERATURE
the punishment awarded against the unbelievers of former times?
For thou shalt not find any change in the ordinance of GOD;
neither shalt thou find any variation in the ordinance of GOD.
Have they not gone through the earth, and seen what hath been
the end of those who were before them; although they were
more mighty in strength than they? GOD is not to be frustrated
by anything either in heaven or on earth; for he is wise and
powerful. If GOD should punish men according to what they
deserve, he would not leave on the back of the earth so much as
a beast; but he respiteth them to a determined time; and when
their time shall come, verily GOD will regard his servants.
CHAPTER LV. : INTITLED "THE MERCIFUL. "
REVEALED AT MECCA
IN THE name of the most merciful GOD. The Merciful hath
taught his servant the Korân. He created man: he hath taught
him distinct speech. The sun and the moon run their courses
according to a certain rule: and the vegetables which creep on
the ground, and the trees submit to his disposition. He also
raised the heaven; and he appointed the balance, that ye should
not transgress in respect to the balance: wherefore observe a
just weight; and diminish not the balance. And the earth hath
he prepared for living creatures: therein are various fruits, and
palm-trees bearing sheaths of flowers; and grain having chaff,
and leaves. Which, therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye
ungratefully deny? He created man of dried clay like an earthen
vessel: but he created the genii of fire clear from smoke. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
He is the LORD of the east, and the LORD of the west. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
He hath let loose the two seas, that they meet each another:
between them is placed a bar which they cannot pass. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
From them are aken forth unions and lesser pearls. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
His also are the ships, carrying their sails aloft in the sea like.
mountains. Which, therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye
ungratefully deny? Every creature which liveth on the earth is
subject to decay: but the glorious and honorable countenance of
thy LORD shall remain for ever. Which, therefore, of your
LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny? Unto him do all


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creatures which are in heaven and earth make petition; every
day is he employed in some new work. Which, therefore, of your
LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny? We will surely
attend to judge you, O men and genii, at the last day. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
O ye collective body of genii and men, if ye be able to pass out
of the confines of heaven and earth, pass forth: ye shall not pass
forth but by absolute power. Which, therefore, of your LORD'S
benefits will ye ungratefully deny? A flame of fire without
smoke, and a smoke without flame shall be sent down upon you;
and ye shall not be able to defend yourselves therefrom. Which,
therefore, of your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?
And when the heaven shall be rent in sunder, and shall become
red as a rose, and shall melt like ointment: (Which, therefore, of
your LORD'S benefits will ye ungratefully deny?