Adab: The Poem of Ibn Zaydoon

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaah

The Poem of Ibn Zaydoon

Ibn Zaydoon was a 4th century Andalusian poet. He was what they call رجل عصامي – someone who started life off on a low footing (poor and of low status) but worked their way up in society until he became one of the wuzaraa’ (ministers) and was respected by even the Amir.

Because of this and his ability to compose poetry very well, he was envied by many. The Amir at that time, al-Mustakfee had a daughter named Wallaada who was the attention of all the poets, but she was beginning to show some inclination towards Ibn Zaydoon. His close companions out of jealously turned to plotting against him and lied saying to al-Mustakfee that Ibn Zaydoon was planning to marry Wallaada and take Imarah (i.e. became the Amir).

As a result, al-Mustakfee imprisoned Ibn Zaydoon and below is a breakdown of a poem that he wrote whilst in prison, to his close friend Abu Hafs:

 

مـا على ظنيَ باسُ يـجرح الدهر وياسو
There is no doubt in my mind
That time wounds and yet cures

ربـما أشرف بالمر ء عـلى الآمال ياسُ
Perhaps it is despair that
Towards hope, a person it lures

Ibn Zaydoon is saying here that sometimes, despair itself pushes a person towards hope just as fear drives a cornered animal to attack & survive.

ولـقد يُنجيك إغفا لٌ ويـرديك احتراس
And indeed obliviousness may save you
And cautiousness destroys you

Looking too much into details and trying to read in to what’s not there may at times be a cause for our destruction whilst innocent obliviousness sometimes saves us from trouble.

والمحـاذير سـهام والمـقاديـر قيـاس
The perils are arrows
But Fate is the bow

No matter how much we try to avoid harm, perils and trouble, at the end of the day they are only arrows fired from the bow of Qadr. “…What has passed you by, was not going to befall you and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by…” [al-Tirmidhi]. In this line of the poem and the ones following, Ibn Zaydoon reflects on his imprisoned state and the ultimate fate he met – he may have held high positions, but it’s an established law that people are raised and lowered, and the Dunya is nothing but a garment of enjoyment that we wear.

وكذا الدهـر إذا مـا عـزَّ ناسٌ ذل نـاس
And surely, that is time
If it exalts one set of people, it only lowers another

نلبَـسُ الدنـيا ولكنْ متـعةٌ ذاك اللـباس
We clothe ourselves with the Dunya
But only an enjoyment! That is its garments

أنـا حيـران ولـلأ مـر وضوح والتباس
I am in a state of confusion
The matter is clear and but yet so murky

Here, he reflects upon what happened – he’s confused because his friends were the cause of his imprisonment, people he trusted proved to be treacherous. Yet the matter is also clear because of their jealousy and confession.

ما ترى في معشر حا لوا عن العهد وخاسوا
What then do you think of such a group
Who turned back on their promise and then betrayed

أذؤبٌ هامت بلحمـي فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس
Wolves, roaming and scavenging by my flesh
Ripping with their teeth and biting

He describes them as wolves, eating his flesh – alluding to the backbiting and slander that they took part in. He then says فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس – amazing usage of language! ‘Intihaash’ means to bite with the molar teeth whilst ‘intihaas’ means to rip and bite with the front teeth and canines – a picture is formed of wild beasts really digging into their prey (Ibn Zaydoon)

كلهم يسأل عن حـا لي وللذئـب اعتساس
They all seem to ask of me
And wolves only seek to patrol

The treacherous poets constantly ask about Ibn Zaydoon, whether he’ll be out soon or whether they’ve gotten rid of him for good. Ibn Zaydoon likens them to a pack of wolves and he uses the word i’tisaas – wolves that go out at night, patrolling the area, seeking news of further prey.

 

إنْ قسا الدهر فللمـا ء من الصخر انبجاس
If time proves harsh
Then water in stone will only gush forth

Pressure and hardship are what cause water to suddenly gush from stones, just like the pressures and hardships of life mould a person and cause him/her to flourish.

ولئن أمسيتُ محـبو سـاً فللغيث احتبـاس
If I continue to be a mere prisoner
Then the rain does remain imprisoned

He further consoles his friend (and himself) by saying that imprisonment is virtuous and sometimes only the best are imprisoned (when it’s done wrongly), just like the rain (ghayth) is with-held. Ibn Zaydoon uses the word ‘ghayth’ which is the rain that comes after a very long period, mostly after a drought and harsh seasons.

فتأمل كيف يغشـى مقـلةَ المجدِ النـعاسُ
Contemplate then, how sleep seems to weaken
And cover over the very eye of glory

Indirectly, Ibn Zaydoon calls himself ‘muqla al-majd’ i.e. core of honour and glory, and ’sleep’ in this context is the imprisonment. Hence, the Amir and those responsible for his imprisonment only bring humiliation upon themselves by covering over (imprisoning) the glory of their land (i.e. Ibn Zaydoon)

لا يكن عـهدُك وَرْدَاً إن عـهـدي لك آسُ
Don’t let your trust become a mere flower
Indeed my trust in you is as a myrtle

Very few people proved loyal to Ibn Zaydoon, one of them is Abu Hafs to whom this letter was addressed. He reminds him of the trust of friendship and tells him to strengthen it and make it like a myrtle which is a flower known to last long unlike other flowers.

واغتنم صفوَ الليالـي إنما العيش اختـلاس
Take advantage of the clear nights
Indeed life is only a short instant

By clear nights, Ibn Zaydoon alludes to happiness and clarity of affairs, when people don’t betray and when matters are clear without confusion.

وعسى أن يسمحَ الدهرُ فقـد طال الشـِـماس
Perhaps time will soon permit
For imprisonment has drawn long…

Read the poem at fuller length here

Meeting Other Students

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaah 

One of the benefits of studying Arabic in a class with other students is the beauty of meeting people from all over the world (literally from all the corners of the globe!). In class, I would be thrilled whenever a new student joined us as it meant a new insight into their background, life back home etc (yeah, this stuff fascinates me although unlike science and medicine, anthropology & humanities were never my cup of tea!)

Imam al-Shafi’i said it best when he said, “I love the righteous, though I’m not from amongst them”. These accounts below are of a few blessed individuals that came across my path and who unfortunately I don’t think I’ll ever be seeing again (names have been changed). Sometimes, people have an impact on us and leave many a memory, even though time together may have been very short. Bearing in mind I was only a teen when I went abroad, and I was easily inspired and thus looked up to many people… but of course I’m not able to include everyone, so these are a select few who I wasn’t able to keep in touch with.

There was Ruwaydah from Kosovo, who was just a gem. I would visit her often, doing homework together and she’d teach me how to make a banana and peanut cake (of course, I was too busy eating it than listening to even the ingredients!). We’d talk about common things in life – from war and politics to marriage (which I guess means more politics) and of course banana/peanut cakes lol. She was an amazing sister, never failing to cheer me up (and always making me laugh in class! Hmm… is that a good thing?).

Then there was Salihah, a very, very wise sister from Albania, full of good advice. She would always have a balanced approach to things and look from a different perspective.

One person who inspired me a great deal was Layla from Kazakhstan. She was the most fluent amongst us when it came to speaking and reading Arabic. Subhanallah, her modesty and kindness shone from her like light shines from the moon. She would mention her dreams of teaching Arabic when she went back to Kazakhstan, and of course knowing the situation back there (of persecution, and public ban on teaching even Arabic), we asked how – she simply replied, ‘she’ll try even it has to be taught in secret’. This always fired me up, how something as innocent as teaching Arabic could be a threat and consequently banned?! Allahul Musta’an. Anyway, one day just before she left, she came into class and gave me a book. It was al-Ajroomiyyah, with the Sharh of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen! The sister knew that I, being the bookworm that I am, had been looking for this particular book (published by Dar al-Ansar) for so so long. She said that she couldn’t find it, so she gave me her own personal copy.

There were also Zaynab and Firdaws, 2 sisters from South Africa (one of Asian descent and the other of mixed European and African). These sisters were very studious masha’Allah and in addition to being able to recite exceptionally well, they were memorising text like al-Shatibiyyah and were well on their way to receiving Ijazahs in Qira’ah (inspirational!)

I also met the funniest twins from Kyrgyzstan. At ages 16 or 17, they were the youngest in the class (after being teased in class for some time, I was glad someone younger than me turned up!). They’d crack us up in class with their unique character and even the teacher would be left in stitches lol masha’Allaah.

I had the honour of meeting an older sister, Khalida from Malaysia. She had the characteristics that were very much the epitome of the Malaysian people, tabarak’Allah – very welcoming, humble, kind and generous. Very inspirational she was, holding strong to the Fast of Dawud (AS) – fasting on alternate days. I must go and visit her one day insha’Allah, apart from being such a gem; she owns one of the plushest hotels on the small Islands of Malaysia!

I also met a plethora of reverts coming in from Europe, the UK and USA. Alhamdulillah I’ve been able to keep in touch with the UKers on our returns, and was delighted by some old students turning up!

Other sisters whose company I was blessed with came from other countries including France, Pakistan and some from Algeria/Morocco. Cairo is bustling with Indonesians, who all study at al-Azhar, one of them helped me find out a lot about al-Azhar when I had planned to enrol (I didn’t after she showed me the timetable!).

There are also many Russians that study Arabic in Cairo. Subhan’Allah, I was quite shocked when one of them said to me that Muslims in Russia number 1 in 5! In our local masjid one time, my dad came back from the ‘Isha Jama’ah quite late. He told us of his amazement in witnessing a Russian brother complete memorisation of the Qur’aan (khatm) and even more amazing was his level of Tajweed.

In addition, there were also scores of Chechens. Such a pleasure to be around them, masha’Allaah very studious, strong and hard-working people. We heard the account of one sister who at the age of 8 or 9 year, had her whole family killed in front of her eyes during the conflict (as she hid in a closet), when the invading army left, she left and in obvious shock began to tread the mountains. She was found by a group of Mujahideen, and they helped her get back on her feet and paid for her to get some education in a more stable country.

I could go on, but the stories will never stop. This is without doubt one of the benefits in studying with other students – you meet people that influence you to really aim high and achieve a lot in life, some tell a life of amazement and others… well, Allaah `azza wa jall puts them in your path for a particular reason…

In a clear orbit

As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

I was talking with one of my friends (a physics student) when she showed this…

What do you notice about the following verse:

“Neither is it allowed for the sun that it should overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day; and all are floating within an orbit.” [Ya-Sin: 40] 

Paying close attention to where it says كل في فلك (each is in an orbit) you can see that there is a very clear symmetry between the words. In other words, the sentence reads the same forwards as it does backwards!

Try it: Write out this part of the ayah backwards spreading out the letters – it reads the same.

I had previously came across this fantastic composition in some Arabic poetry a couple of months back, and the poets/those excelling in literacy would often use this to display their skill and profiency.

However, the more you read and understand the verse, the more this ties in so well with the actual context of the ayah. Allaah `azza wa jall has so perfectly laid out the systematic functions of the universe such that the sun and moon are both on a course, never superceding one another and neither does day or night. Each runs its course and the orbit no matter which direction its viewed from (like the sentence), remains the same for these celestial bodies, and one event leads onto the other, just like the letters lead one onto the other from both directions of the sentence.

Ok, so I love my physics and science but one thing to note is that Allaah `azza wa jall describes this orbit saying that these bodies are يسبحون (literally meaning ’swimming’).

Why?!

Well, the aerodynamics and if you like, the ‘maths’ for the movement of these celestial bodies and all bodies underwater is actually the same!

I know, this might be a tad bit boring for some of you, but really it’s fantastic – especially since it was only recently that I discovered poetry that could be read fowards as well as backwards. I think in one funny piece, a poet was seemingly praising someone but when his poem was read backwards it actually was an insult!