Teaching Arabic Words, Idioms and Proverbs used in Persian (Problem and Solutions)

 

While reading Persian prose and poetry especially classical writings we come across many Arabic words, sentences and expressions that pose formidable problems equally to the teachers and students especially for those who are not acquainted with the Arabic language and literature. It happened to me when I was assigned to teach Persian prose and poetry to those students who were not aware of Arabic language and literature. The matter is discussed with examples and I think a way out could be found if the students are imparted a working knowledge in the language.

Arabic Words: When we study the Persian books especially those of classical prose or poetry we find numerous derived Arabic words that cannot be avoided and whose complete perception is but essential to understand the text well. For instance, we quote the first paragraph of the famous book ‘Gulistan’. Shaykh Sadi says:

منّت مر خداے را عزّ وجلّ کہ طاعتش موجب قربت است وبہ شکر اندرش مزید نعمت۔ ہر نفسے کہ فرو می رود ممدّ حیات است وچوں بر می آید مفرّح ذات۔ پس در ہر نفسے دو نعمت موجود است وبر ہر نعمتے شکرے واجب[1]۔

Now, let us count the words used in the paragraph. There are a total of 43 words wherein the Arabic words reach to a total of 20. It means that about half of the words of the most famous prose-book of Persian literature are Arabic. The book is also prescribed in the syllabus of the Indian universities.

Take for example another Persian prose-book prescribed in the syllabus of the Indian universities ‘Tabaqat-i-Nasiri’. The author says in its first paragraph with the heading “في ذكر السلاطين الشمسية بالهند، الأوّل السلطان المعظّم شمس الدنيا والدين أبو المعظّم التتمش السلطان ”:

چوں حق تعالی وتقدّس در ازل آزال تقدیر راندہ بود کہ ممالکِ ہندوستان در ظلِّ حمایتِ سلطانِ معظّم وشہریارِ اعظم شمس الدنيا والدين ظلّ الله في العالمين أبو المظفّر التتمش السلطان يمينُ خليفةِ الله ناصرُ المؤمنين أنار الله برهانَه وثقّل بآثار العدل والإحسان ميزانَه، ودولت شاهان فرزندان او رحم الله الماضينَ وأدام دولةَ الناصرية المحمودية، از فتنِ آخر الزمان وحوادثِ وقائعِ جهان در امان ماند ----"[2].

After having gone through this paragraph, can one claim that he was reading some Persian prose?

Let’s take one example from the poetry. Hafiz Shirazi says:

کہ عشق آساں نمود اوّل ولے افتاد مشكلہا	ألا يا أيها الســــــــــــاقي أدرْ كأســــاً وناولها
ز تاب جعـدِ مشكينش چہ خوں افتاد در دلہا	ببوئے نافہ كآخـــر صـبا زاں طـرّہ بکشـــاید
كہ ســـالك بيخـبر نبـود ز راه ورسـمِ منزلہا	بمے سجّادہ رنگیں کن گرت پیر مغاں گـوید
جـرس فرياد مى دارد كہ بر بنـــديد محمـلہا	مرا در منـزلِ جاناں چہ امن وعیش کہ ہردم
كجا دانند حــــالِ ما سبكســـــــارانِ ســاحلہا	شـبِ تاریک وبیـمِ موج وگردابے چنـیں ہائل
نہــــــاں كے ماند آں رازے كزو سازند محفــلہا	ہمہ کارم ز خودکامی بہ بدنامی کشـــید آخـر
متى ما تلـقَ من تهوَى دعِ الدنــيا وأمهـلها[3]	حضورى گر ہمي خواہي ازو غائب مشو حافظ

Idioms and Phrases: Apart from numerous words used in the Persian prose and poetry, many idioms and phrases penetrated into the writings of our Persian persona. For instance, the celebrated poet Maulana Rumi says:

طور مست وخرّ موسى صاعقا[4]

عشق جانِ طور آمــد عاشــقا

Tr.: O the lover: The love became the soul of the mountain Tur which ran amuck while Moses became unconscious.

Here the sentence “خرّ موسَى صاعقاً ” points out two things, one pure Arabic expression as it is an idiom and the other its core relation to the story of Moses in the Qur’an. Such idiomatic expressions are often used in Arabic prose and poetry and in the Qur’an too. The famous Arab poet Amr s/o Kultum said:

تخرُّ له الجبابرُ ساجدينا[5]

إذا بلغ الفطامَ لنا صبيٌّ

Tr.: No sooner than our child reaches the last of weaning period, the giant men prostrate before him.

The Qur’an said in the story of Joseph:

"ورفع أبويه على العرش وخرّوا له سجّداً"[6]

Tr.: And he raised his parents high on the throne and they prostrated before him.

Hafiz Shirazi, who uses many Arabic quotations, says:

متى نطَق البشيرُ عن الوصالِ[7]

أموتُ صـابراً يا ليتَ شعـريْ

Here the poet has used the phrase “نطق عن كذا ” which means to give information about something but the translator could not grasp the preposition used for the verb and connected it to the active participle while it is connected to the verb itself. Now, the translation will be “خوشخبری دینے والا وصل کے بارے میں کب بتائے گا ” in place of “وصل کی خوشخبری دینے والا کب بولے گا ”.

Sayings and Proverbs: Like idioms and phrases, Arabic sayings and proverbs too were used in the Persian literature. For instance, Shaykh Sadi says:

حالے کہ من ایں حکایت بگفتم دامنِ گل بریخت ودر دامنم آویخت کہ الكريم إذا وعد وفى فصلے دو ہماں روز اتفاقِ بیاض افتادہ در حسنِ معاشرت وآدابِ محاورت در لباسے کہ متکلماں را بکار آيد ومترسّلاں را بلاغت افزاید[8]۔

Here the famous Arabic proverb “الكريم إذا وعد وفى ” has been quoted as evidence. He again says:

لقمان را گفتند حکمت از کہ آموختى گفت از نابینایاں کہ تا جائے نہ نبینند پائے نہ نہند قدِّمِ الخروجَ قبلَ الولوج[9]۔

Here the Arabic proverb “قدِّمِ الخروجَ قبلَ الولوج ” has been mentioned for proof.

As for the Persian poetry, I think Maulana Rumi is enough to be cited. He says:

معنئ الصبر مفتـــــاحُ الفرَج[10]

گفت اے نورِ حق ودفعِ حرج

Look into the second line of the couplet where the saying in Arabic “الصبر مفتـــــاحُ الفرَج ” has been mentioned, though verbal translation can be enough to indicate to the meaning but if it is interpreted into Persian it will need another expression very near to “ثمرِ صبر شیریں است ”.

Complete Arabic Prose and Poetry: Apart from these examples here I want to give some examples which are fully in Arabic and I think that our students cannot even read them correctly what to say of their understanding it easily and fully. Najmuddin Abu Bakr Rawandi whose writings are full of Arabic quotations and wise sayings, says under the heading of “حکمت ”:

"حكمت: اصطناع العاقل أحسنُ فضيلة واصطناع الجاهل أقبحُ رذيلة لأنّ اصطناع العاقل يدلّ على تمام العقل واصطناع الجاهل يدلّ على استحكام الجهل"[11].

He again says:

"حكمت: إذا أشكل عليك الأمورُ وتغيّر لك الجمهورُ فارجع إلى رأي العقلاء وافزع إلى استرشاد النصحاء ولا تأنفْ من الاسترشاد ولا تستنكفْ من الاستبداد فلَأنْ تسأل وتسلمَ خيرٌ من أنْ تستبدّ وتندمَ"[12].

Hafiz, who is known to have mixed his Persian verses with Arabic, says in one of his Ghazl:

هـاتِ الصّبـوح حيُّـوا يا أيهـا السُــكارَى[13]

در حلقہء گل ومُل خوش خواند دوشِ بلبل

He again says:

فاتقوا اللهَ يا أولي الألباب[14]

زاہدا مے بنوش رندانہ

For he had memorized the Qur’an by heart and studied it well, he often quotes the Qur’anic verses in the way it becomes a beautiful Ghazl.

Maulana Rumi says:

فاعتجِلْ فالوقتُ سيفٌ قاطعٌ[15]

قالَ أطعمْنيْ فإنيْ جائعٌ

Here also the proverb “الوقتُ سيفٌ قاطعٌ ” has been used in Arabic which too needs to be interpreted or explained in Persian for its translation simply
cannot make it crystal clear.

Persianised Arabic: There is another thing that needs to be mentioned especially, i.e. usage of these Arabic words and sentences according to the Persian rules and styles. Maulana Rumi says:

كلّتْ أفهاميْ فلا أحصيْ ثنا	لا تكلّفنـي فإنيْ فـي الفَنـــا
إنْ تكلّفْ أو تصلّفْ لا يليق[16]	كلُّ شيئ قاله غيرُ المفيــق

Take here “ثنا ”, “غيرُ المفيــق ”, “تكلّفْ ”, “تصلّفْ ” and “لا يليق ” all of them are used as per the rules of Persian Grammar for “ثنا ” here is used definite not indefinite, “غيرُ المفيــق ” is pure Persianised word and is replaced by “هائمٌ/مغشيٌّ ” in arabic, “تكلّفْ ” and “تصلّفْ ” need one “و ” before them to fulfill the condition of Arabic Grammar. They also don’t come with sukun in past tense. Likewise “لا يليق ” is rarely used and also needs one preposition “بـ ”. It’s mostly replaced by “لا يجدرُ ”, “لا يحرَى ”, “لا يجملُ ”, “لا يلائمُ ” and other suitable words.

Take another example, Shaykh Sadi says:

فللرّحمنِ ألطافٌ خفــيّه[17]

ألا لا يجأرنّ أخو البليّه

Here the poet has used both the words “البليّه ” and “خفـيّه ” in the Persian form but the translator could not understand it correctly and has put vowel sings wrong as “البليّةِ ” and “خفيّةٌ ”.

Literary Beauty: The literary beauty of the text is very important and mostly it is sought by the readers. Beside other means it can be achieved by the quotations of any famous text, poetry, Qur’anic verses and Hadith. Here we give some examples from the Qur’an and Hadith. Nimat Ali Khan who often uses quotations from the Qur’an and the Hadith, says:

"أوّل رهروي راجل در طيّ مسافت عاجل از دو هلال آساں نمايان شده، به اشاره ابرو ظاهر نمود كه قليد قلعه بدست آوردند ثانياً مستعجلي راكب كأنه شهابٌ ثاقب در رسيد وخبر به مسامع فيض مجامع رسانيد كه قلعه را فتح كردند. مرّةً بعد أولى أو كرّةً بعد أخرى قمر سيران چالاک ہمچو انجم سوار نيله كبودن افلاك آمده أظهر من الشمس وأبين من الأمس وا نمودند كه فتح قلعه بمصداق والشمس والقمر والنجوم مسخّرات بامر متشابه گردید----"[18]۔

Read this passage which quotes the classical Arabic proverbs and the Qur’anic verses only to add something to the literary beauty of the writing. It could not be understood without the knowledge of the classical Arabic including the Qur’an and Hadith. For more evidence we should read the writings of Shaykh Sadi and Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Hajveri. The latter’s noble work “Kashf al-Mahjub li Arbab al-Qulub” is full of such examples. As for the poetry we have enough evidences in the Ghazls of Hafiz Shirazi but leave him to cite Maulana Rumi who says:

إنْ تغبْ جاء القضا ضاق الفَضا	مرحبــــــا يا مجتبـى يا مرتضـى
قد ردى كلّا لئنْ لم ينــــــــتهِ[19]	أنت مولـى القـــوم من لا يشتهـيْ

Here the sentence “كلّا لئنْ لم ينـتهِ ” which is quoted from the Qur’an adds to the beauty of the expression which cannot be explained in few words.

For creating this very beauty the poet sometimes commits Grammatical mistakes in using the verb. For instance, Maulana Rumi says:

چوں برآيد شمس انشقّ القمرُ[20]

سايه خواب آرد ترا ہمچوں سمَر

Here the structure of the conditional sentences in Arabic needs that “انشقّ ” should be used as “ينشقّ ” which doesn’t disturb the rhyme or “برآيد ” should be used as “برآمد ” but the poet followed the beauty of the quotation which is of the Qur’an.

Mistakes in Translating Arabic Texts: Though it is not my topic yet it’s indirectly related too. Perhaps the translators of these Arabic texts commit mistakes only for the lack of sound knowledge of Arabic language and literature. here a few examples will suffice. The famous poet Hafiz Shirazi says:

كہ عشق آساں نمود اوّل ولے افتاد مشكلها[21]

ألا يا أيها السّـــــــاقي أدرْ كأسـاً وناولْها

Here the imperative verb “أدرْ كأساً ” was translated as “پیالے کا دور چلا ” by Qazi Sajjad Hussayn while the correct translation is “جام کا دور چلا ”. Perhaps he committed this mistake only for the word has been used as “كأساً ” which looks as “پیالہ ” while it’s used in Arabic for “جام ” only. The famous Arab poet Amr s/o Kulthum says:

وكان الكأسُ مجـــراها اليميــــنا	صددتِ الكأسَ عنّا أمَّ عمـــرٍو
بصـاحبـــك الذي لا تصبحيــــــنا	وما شـرُّ الثـــلاثة أمَّ عمــــرٍو
وأخرى في دمشق وكاسرينا[22]	وكأس قد شـــــــــربتُ ببعلبكّ

Likewise the infinitive “إدارة ” is used for “to hand sth. around” which is also the meaning of the infinitive “مناولةٌ ”. Thus “وناولْها ” is repeated and used only to fill the gap.

Take another example, Maulana Rumi says:

إنْ تغبْ جاء القضا ضاق الفَضا	مرحبــــــا يا مجتبـى يا مرتضـى
قد ردى كلّا لئنْ لم ينــــــتهِ[23]	أنت مولـى القـــوم من لا يشتهـيْ

Here “مجتبَى ” has been translated as “پسندیدہ ” for which better alternative is “منتخبْ ”. Likewise the second line of the second verse “قد ردى كلّا لئنْ لم ينتهِ ” has been translated as “وه بيشك ہلاك ہوا، يقيناً وه ہرگز نہ ركا ” while it’s predicate of “من لا يشتهـيْ ” in shape of a conditional sentence. The correct translation will be “وه جو تجھے نہیں چاہتا ہے اگر وه (اپنی اس حرکت) سے باز نہ آیا تو ضرور ہلاك ہوگا ”.

 

Bibliography

 

1. Abu Bakr Zakriyya al-Tabrezi: Sharh al-Qasaid al-Ashr, Darul Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1985
2. Hafiz Shirazi: Divan-e-Hafiz (Tr. by: Qazi Sajjad Hussayn), Sabrang Kitab Ghar, Delhi, 1972
3. Intisharat-e-Wazarat-e-Farhang-o-Hunar: Gazidahe az Nazm-o-Nasr-e-Farsi, Idarah-e-Kul Nigarash, Iran, 1354H
4. Maulana Rumi: Mathnavi Manavi, Sabrang Kitab Ghar, Delhi, 1974
5. Sadi Shirazi: Gulistan, (Tr. by: Qazi Sajjad Hussayn), Sabrang Kitab Ghar, Delhi, 1960