Nizar Qabbani: I hate to love like other people…
- Initial reading
2. Translation and explanation
أَكْرهُ أن أُحِبَّ مِثْلَ النّاس
أَكْرهُ أن أَكْتُبَ مِثْلَ النّاس
أوَدُّ لَو كانَ فَمِي كَنِيسة
وأَحْرُفِي أَجْراس
akrahu an uHibba mithl al-naas
akrahu an aktuba mithl al-naas
awaddu law kaana famii kaniisa
wa aHrufii ajraas
I hate to love like people
I hate to write like people
Would that my mouth were a church
And the sounds I uttered were bells
Nizar Qabbani: O you with the fathomless eyes…
- Initial reading
2. Translation and explanation
حبُّكِ يا عَمِيقَةَ العَينَين
تَطَرُّفٌ
تَصَوُّفٌ
عِبَادة
حُبّكِ مِثْلُ الُمَوتِ وَالوِلادة
صَعبٌ بِأنْ يُعادَ مَرّتَين
Hubbukii yaa 3amiiqat al-3aynayn
taTarrufun taSawwufun 3ibaada
Hubbuki mithlu l-mawti wa l-wilaada
Sa3bun bi-‘an yu3aada marratayn
Your love, O you with the fathomless eyes, is…
…Extremism
…Mysticism
…Worship
Your love is like death and birth:
It defies repetition.
Review of Impostures, Michael Cooperson’s translation of the Maqamat of al-Hariri
This is a review divided into five short parts.
- Initial thoughts
2. A beautiful cover to judge the book by and to reflect upon
3. How do you translate stories so full of rhyme, wordplay and linguistic acrobatics? A fascinating decision was taken.
4. On the challenges posed for the translator and the reader, together with a small suggestion for future development
5. Concluding thoughts + a small suggestion
Review: Mido – A fun yet rigorous grounding in Arabic dialects for intermediate students
This is another great service from Matthew Aldrich and his colleagues at Lingualism to learners and teachers of Arabic.
The stories of young Mido and his family offer a fun yet rigorous way to build up your knowledge of vocabulary, accent and phrasing in three varieties of spoken Arabic: Egyptian; Lebanese; and Tunisian. There is also a version in Modern Standard Arabic. With the Arabic on the left and an English translation on the right, anyone with a basic knowledge of the dialect will be able to develop their comprehension further without ever losing their way. The books are available (along with free audio) here:
https://lingualism.com/shop/arabic/levantine-arabic/mido-levantine-arabic/ https://lingualism.com/shop/arabic/egyptian-arabic/mido-egyptian-arabic/ https://lingualism.com/shop/arabic/tunisian-arabic/mido-in-tunisian-arabic/ https://lingualism.com/shop/arabic/modern-standard-arabic/mido-modern-standard-arabic/
The version in Modern Standard Arabic takes place in Egypt, and it is evident that the Egyptian version is the basis for the others. Nevertheless, the good people at Lingualism have been typically respectful of the realities of Arabic as spoken from region to region.
The stories are the same in each book – almost to the page – but the creators have varied the cultural content according to region covered. This means foods, customs and even names are slightly different in each book, providing a more authentic learning experience. There are even some footnotes on points of language or culture for with the learner might need an explanation.
Furthermore, dozens of lively illustrations can be found throughout the book to help the reader better understand the texts.
Elia Abu Madi: ‘Puzzles’ – a translation for performance
Here is the text of ‘Talasim’ (meaning ‘puzzles’ or ‘riddles’) by the Lebanese-American poet Elia Abu Madi, accompanied by a straightforward translation (credit: Martha Schulte-Nafeh) and then followed by a translation meant for performance in front of an audience.
Here I am. Where I come from, I don’t know. But here I am.
In front of me, I see a path. And so I walk.
And I shall go on walking, willing or unwilling.
What brought me here? What put me on this path?
I cannot know.
Have I just begun this journey? Or did I set off long ago?
Do I wonder like a free man or am I dragged in chains?
Am I leading my life or am I being led?
I wish I had the answer but
I cannot know
And this road that I walk, is it long, is it short?
Is it mountain or valley, or marshland or plain?
Do I move down the path? Is the path moving me?
Or are we both standing still, with time running on?
I cannot know.
And here is a fuller version recited by Abdel Halim Hafez
Arablish love poem recited by Yasser al-Azma on Maraya
In this work of comic genius, the poet addresses his words to a byutiful inglish laydy he met on one of his regular visits to London. There is a convention (going back to the poets of pre-Islamic Arabia) to open a poem with the poet telling his travelling companions in the desert to pause awhile and listen. To bring such customs up to date and mindful of the need to build bridges between cultures, the poet instead proceeds thus:
فــــرنـديا ووكا في الضــزرت سلوللـــي
فـإنــي في لـــــوف غـريــــت مــشــعـــلـل
My friends, come walk in the desert slowly
For I am in a great love that burns brightly
إذا أنت ما سكرفـــت في اللـوف عـاشـقا
رمـنـت حـزين الهارت فـي أفـري مـحـفــل
If you don’t make sacrifices in love’s passion
You remain broken hearted on every occasion
تــداريـن لــوفّـا إن ذا هــارت وإنـمــــا
ثــرو الأيز إن يـور فـيـس أسـي إت كـليـرللي
You try to conceal love in the heart but I,
Through the eyes in your face, see it clearly
سـأقـضــي حـيـاتي فـيـثـفــولاً لـلـوفّـــها
و شـانـســي سـمـولٌ فـيـري لـيـتـل الـتــحمَل
I will spend my life faithful to her love
And my chance is small very little in probability
و لـوفّـي بـيغٌّ فــيـري بـيـغٍّ بيـلـيـفِ مـي
أدنــدنـــه لـــونــلي و فــيــري جـويـــفــلـــي
While my love is big, very big, believe you me
I mumble it lonely and very joyfully
ألــوفُّـك لـوفّـــاً فـي الــبــلـضِّ مــســارهُ
وهـارتـي مــاي دارلــنـغ ســريــع الــتـرنـبـل
I love you a love whose path runs through the blood
And my heart, my darling, is trembling rapidly
فــــهــومي دمـــــاسٌ و هــومــك لندن
و بـتــويـنـِنـا الـدسـتـانـسُ فـيـري مــطولــــي
My home’s Damascus and your home is London
and I see the great distance between us longingly
Rachid Benzine and Ismaël Saidi: So what does the Quran say anyway?
This is a translation of the beginning of the first chapter from the highly entertaining Finalement, il y a quoi dans le Coran? by Ismaël Saidi and Rachid Benzine. You can find some of the original text as a preview via the Amazon links below.
Chapter 1 – If the Quran isn’t speaking to me, who’s it speaking to?
So I’ve just finished my evening prayer. Hang on, what evening prayer? Oh you know, the evening prayer, the fourth of the five daily prayers. You don’t know? No worries, I’ll tell you another time. Anyway, I’ve just finished my evening prayer. I go and sit down by the window and read some Quran. I love sitting by the window to read. It’s a habit I picked up from my grandad in Tangiers. He would sit down by the window and start reading his Quran while keeping an eye on the street. So you know the Quran, right? No? At least a little bit… Okay, I can tell you a few things. My name’s Ismael and I’m Muslim. That means I believe that God revealed his message to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. That was back in the seventh century, from 610 onwards in a city called Mecca in western Arabia. At the age of forty, Muhammad received the Revelation from God. Well, that’s what we Muslims believe. This Revelation was compiled in Arabic, the language in which it came down, in a book we call the Quran. It consists of 114 chapters (‘suras’) and each chapter consists of verses (‘ayas’). Someone has counted that there are 6236 verses in total. According to Muslim tradition, the Revelation is divided into two main parts. One part happened in Mecca when Muhammad first started preaching. This period lasted about twelve years. These are ‘Meccan verses’. Another part happened in Medina, where Muhammad sought refuge after being chased out of Mecca by his tribe. That period lasted about ten years. And those are ‘Medinan verses’.
So here I am, your average local Muslim, reading the Quran by the window like my grandad used to. Some things are just in the DNA, clearly. Okay, so I don’t really know Arabic that well, so I read my Quran in French. Where was I…? Oh year, sura 4, verse 34:
“Men have authority over women because of the favours that God has granted them and because of what they spend from their wealth. Virtuous women obey their husbands…”
Woah! I did not know that. That means I have authority over my wife and she has to obey me? I am going to tell her that straight away and I don’t mind telling you that there are going to be a few changes in this house.
Ismael: Sweetheart?
My wife: Yes?!
Ismael: Hey did you know that the Quran gives me authority over you and that you have to obey me?
Her: Of course, darling. Absolutely. No problem. Well, I’m going to my salsa class and I’ll be back in an hour. And this time, don’t forget to put the bins out.
Me: But sweetheart… I have authority and…
Her: Listen, here’s what you are both going to do, you and your authority…
Me: But…
Her: The two of you can go sleep on the sofa. Go lie down with your authority and tell it all your problems. You can stay up all night talking about it together if you like. Then I can have the bed to myself and submit to a nice, peaceful night’s sleep.See you later… And don’t forget the bins.
And she’s gone, just like that. What? What do you mean what happened next? Well, I put the bins out. And I spent the night sulking on the living room sofa. I mean, what’s going on? The Quran tells her to obey me but she still refuses?! Even though she’s a Muslim like me. And if you don’t respect the Quran, you’re not a Muslim. That’s what it says, right? Actually, I don’t really know. It’s definitely not the way my wife sees it.It might be a problem in the translation. Maybe my French version isn’t the best… And the Quran’s not the easiest book.
Okay, I’ve got to find someone who knows their stuff so the can explain it all to me and help me persuade her. It’s got to be done. My wife has never let me put a TV in our bedroom. Maybe if I persuade her that she has to obey me, I’ll finally have my massive flat screen and I’ll be able to lie down on my bed and watch Netflix through my toes. Who could help me out… mmm… Oh yeah…this might be a job for Rachid Benzine.
Rachid is a friend of mine. He has a habit of explaining the Quran. I suppose you could say he’s an expert. He’ll help me sort out this whole issue with my wife. He’ll give me the arguments I need and… home cinema here I come.He’s staying near my place at the moment while he does a lecture tour of Belgium. Main boulevard. Crossroads. Second on the right. Then a side street. And we’re there.
Ismael: Hi Rachid.
Rachid: Hi Ismael. Nice surprise… Come in.
Ismael: How are things?
Rachid: Very good and you?
Ismael: Well, to be perfectly honest, I’m having a problem with my wife.
Rachid: That’s probably not something I can do much about, but if you need to talk…
Ismael: The thing is… She refuses to obey me.
Rachid: Well that’s part of the spirit of the age and quite a step forward for humanity. I say that’s a good thing. Don’t you?
Ismael: I don’t really know but the Quran says she should.
Rachid: Says she should what?
Ismael: Obey me.
Rachid. Ah, now I understand why you have come to see me. You want your wife to obey you and you are seeking an excuse for tat in the Quran. Right?
Ismael: Well it’s not me asking for that, it’s written in the Quran.
Rachid: Listen Ismael. A woman has no duty to obey anyone. She is your equal and if you want her to obey you, then there’s something wrong with you, my friend.
Ismael: Yeah but the Quran says that…
Rachid: The Quran says all kinds of things, Ismael, but does it say them to you or are these things principally meant for a group of people in the seventh century?
Ismael: To me. I’m a Muslim. The Quran speaks to me.
Rachid: So you have the right to own slaves…
Ismael: What? But slavery is forbidden. It’s inhumane, Rachid.
Rachid: Yes it is. And yet, in the tribal societies of seventh-century Arabia, it was practised. That included Mecca and all Arabia at that time. European societies and the United States of American did not abolish slavery until the nineteenth century, in 1848 in France and in 1863 in the United States. In modern Muslim countries, the last to abolish slavery officially was Mauritania, and that was only in 1981…
Ismael: But why would the Quran permit something so inhumane?
Rachid: Listen, Ismael, we can’t try to understand the Quran by applying the values and vision of this day and age. You know, great sacred texts are travellers. They move across centuries, millenia even. Which means they become what the people in each age make of them. A historically literature approach, something which I have been working on for years, seeks to find out what the people of an age made of a ‘sacred text’ in their time in the light of their own expectations and the broader issues which affected them.While doing this, the historically-informed reader does not seek to appropriate the text for himself or bring to bear any value judgements. The Quran was born in a society, that of seventh-century Arabia, and it was not able to suddenly change a whole people’s way of life. When it tried to, it came up against an ‘anthropological wall’.
Ismael: A wall? You mean like in Berlin? Was there a West Mecca and an East Mecca back then?
Rachid: No, Ismael. Imagine that someone comes today and tries, in one go, just like that, to change your lifestyle, the way you dress, the way you eat, who you get married to…
Ismael: And tries to stop me watching Game of Thrones on the telly?
Rachid: For example. What would you do?
Ismael: Well I wouldn’t let him do it.
Rachid: So he would come up against your refusal. He would come up against what I have just mentioned, an ‘anthropological wall’. It’s an invisible wall which is made up of all your habits. If anyone tries to change it, they have to break this wall and that’s not easy. In fact, to understand the Quran, you have to understand three essential things: its time, its place and its people. Do you get it?
Ismael: Yeah, but I have to say you’ve kind of lost me there.
Rachid: I think you were already quite lost before you came here. Listen, anthropology is about trying to understand the daily lives of people who aren’t us, be it people in the past or people in other countries in the present. We have a natural tendency to think tat everyone lives like we live, thinks like we think, the same beliefs, the same imagination, the same fears…
Ismael: As if other peoples liked the kinds of things we’re into or had the same idea of what’s beautiful or ugly, good or evil, what we like and don’t like to eat.
This book is highly recommended for an enjoyable introduction to a challenging topic.
Nizar Qabbani: ‘My beloved asks me…’
Hadith of Mercy
Those who are merciful are shown mercy by the Lord of Mercy. Show mercy on Earth and you will be shown mercy from Heaven.
A Taste of Texts 