THE EPISTLE OF FORGIVENESS PREAMBLE
In name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
O God, give ease and help
1.1
The Mighty One (al-Jabr), from whom comes the name of GabrielâHe is the Way to all good thingsâknows that there is a tree (áž„amÄáčah)156 within me, one that never was an afÄniyah tree, and on which there lived no stinging snake,157 one that produces fruit for the love of my lord the venerable Sheikh158âmay God subdue his enemy, and always, evening and morning, lead him to superiority!159 If a lofty tree were to bear these fruits its branches would sink to earth and all this fruit, once well-protected, would be trampled underfoot.
កamÄáčah is a kind of tree, which is called afÄniyah when tender and áž„amÄáčah when dry. A poet says:
When Umm al-Wulayyid160 does not obey me,
I bend my hand around a stick of áž„amÄáč wood for her
And I say to her, âGet the BanĆ« Uqaysh!161
For you havenât got a nice figure!â
A characteristic of the áž„amÄáčah is that it is a familiar haunt of snakes. A poet says:
Destined for her wasâone from a numerous broodâ
a bold male snake that hid in the áž„amÄáčah tree.
He knows that the tree (áž„amÄáčah) found in me feels a burning (áž„amÄáčah) of great yearning which, as it happens, is not to be removed (imÄáčah).162
កamÄáčah also means âheartburn.â A poet says: âMany a worry that fills oneâs inside. . . .â163 At the beginning of the Preamble, áž„amÄáčah means âcore of the heart.â A poet says:
She shot at the core (áž„amÄáčah) of my heart, unswervingly,
with arrows from her glance, the shooter unknown.
And God knows that in my two ragged robes164 there is a âmale snake (áž„iážb)â165 charged with harming me; if it could speak it would mention my misery. It does not live in a rocky crack or nook; down on to narrow mountain passes it does not look. It appears neither in winter nor in summer time; it passes neither by mountain nor by incline. It harbors for my lord, the venerable Sheikhâmay God make the cornerstones of scholarship firm by giving him long life!âsuch a love as a mother cannot harbor for her son, no matter whether she is considered venomous or not.166 This âsnakeâ is no kin of the one meant by the rajaz poet167 who said,
I curled up like a áž„iážb.
1.2
The Sheikhâmay God perpetuate beautiful performance by keeping him well!âknows that a áž„iážb is a kind of snake, and that it is also used for the âbottom of the heart.â He knows that this âblack thing,â168 which is dearer to me than ÊżAntarah was to ZabÄ«bah, more precious to me than al-Sulayk was to al-Sulakah, and more entitled to my affection than KhufÄf al-SulamÄ« was entitled to the innermost feelings of Nadbah, is always concealed, its coverings never removed and it never moves far afield. If it could travel it would, so that the Sheikh and it could meet; no mishap befalling it could make it retreat.
When mentioned in speech, it can be feminine and also masculine.169 It is not known if it is really masculine; using it as a feminine is not rejected.
To please it, incessantly I take pains, although one cannot avert what God ordains. I esteem it more than Lakhm esteemed al-Aswad (âBlackâ)170 ibn al-Mundhir, more than Kindah esteemed al-Aswad ibn MaÊżdÄ«karib, and more than the BanĆ« Nahshal ibn DÄrim esteemed al-Aswad ibn YaÊżfur, who composed such ravishing poetry. At the same time it never ceases to be as fond of mentioning the Sheikh as Suáž„aym, be he in town or desert, was fond of his ÊżUmayrah, or as SuÊżdÄ was loved by NuáčŁayb, the client of Umayyah.
1.3
Just such a thing171 was found with al-Aswad ibn ZamÊżah, al-Aswad ibn ÊżAbd YaghĆ«th, the two men called al-Aswad mentioned in al-YashkurÄ«âs172 verse:
He guided them with the two Aswads;173 Godâs command
strikes home: with it the wretched are made wretched
and with AswadÄn, viz. NabhÄn ibn ÊżAmr ibn al-Ghawth ibn áčŹayyiÊŸ, and with AbĆ« l-Aswad, mentioned by ImruÊŸ al-Qays174 in his verse:
And that is because of what I have heard,
something that I was told about Abƫ l-Aswad.
AbĆ« l-Aswad al-DuÊŸalÄ« never parted from it in his lifetime for one second, whether during easy relaxation or tiring occupation. With Suwayd ibn AbÄ« KÄhil it enjoyed a close link whenever he went to wells to drink. With Ibn al-áčąÄmit, another Suwayd, it was always closely allied, be he rejoicing gladly or gloating badly. It helped Suwayd ibn áčąumayÊż as an ally, in days of poverty and prosperity. He was the one who said:175
When they demand from me an oath, Iâll swear for them
an oath thatâs like a torn and tattered robe with yellow stripes!
And if they make me swear upon my wifeâs divorce, Iâll come to her
as happily as ever, and we shall not part.
And if they make me swear upon the freeing of my slave,
ÊżUbayd, my slave, knows well he wonât be freed!
1.4
It was familiar with Sawdah bint ZamÊżah ibn Qaysâs bed, when to the Prophet (God bless and preserve him) she was wed. Godâs messenger knew its force, and in good grace did not resort to divorce.176 It entered the grave with SawÄdah ibn ÊżAdÄ«, which is not a strange oddity. It is found in any congregation where the âtwo black thingsâ are found, viz. water and dates, or maybe they are darkness and dusty volcanic ground. It flees from the âtwo things whiteâ when these are exposed to a dustcloud raised by a fightâthe âtwo things whiteâ from which it flees are either two swords, or a sword and a spearhead. Yet it will bear with them both when it finds them,177 as the rajaz poet says,
The âtwo white thingsâ have cooled my bones:
Water and millet bread, no added condiments.178
And it will delight in two other âwhite things,â as in the following verse:179
But a whole year has passed for me
without a drink of anything except the two white things.
As for the two white things that are youthfulness and fat, these are the things that al-RabÄb rejoices at,180 and what perhaps other people are delighted to see. But they despair of getting anything out of me! It is the same with âthe three, or two, red thingsâ181 that g...