خلقة الطيور
About the wonderful creation of birds
ابْتَدَعَهُمْ خَلْقاً عَجِيباً مِنْ حَيَوَان وَمَوَات،
Allah has provided wonderful creations including the living, the lifeless,
وَسَاكِن وَذِي حَرَكَات،
the stationary, and the moving.
وَأَقَامَ مِنْ شَوَاهِدِ الْبَيِّنَاتِ عَلَى لَطِيفِ صَنْعَتِهِ،
He has established such clear proofs for His delicate creative power
وَعَظِيمِ قُدْرَتِهِ،
and great might
مَا انْقَادَتْ لَهُ الْعُقُولُ مُعْتَرِفَةً بِهِ،
that minds bend down to Him in acknowledgement thereof
وَمُسْلِّمَةً لَهُ،
and in submission to Him,
وَنَعَقَتْ فِي أَسْـمَاعِنَا دَلاَئِلُهُ عَلَى وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ،
and arguments about His Oneness strike our ears.
وَمَا ذَرَأَ مِنْ مُخْتَلِفِ صُوَرِ الاْطْيَارِ الَّتِي أَسْكَنَهَا أَخَادِيدَ الاْرْضِ،
He has created birds of various shapes which live in the burrows of the earth,
وَخُرُوقَ فِجَاجِهَا،
in the openings of high passes
وَرَوَاسِي أعْلاَمِهَا
and on the peaks of mountains.
مِنْ ذَوَاتِ أَجْنِحَة مُخْتَلِفَة،
They have different kinds of wings,
وَهَيْئَات مُتَبَايِنَة،
and various characteristics.
مُصَرَّفَة فِي زِمَامِ التَّسْخِيرِ،
They are controlled by the rein of (Allah's) authority.
وَمُرَفْرِفَة بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا فِي مَخَارِقِ الْجَوِّ المُنفَسِحِ وَالْفَضَاءِ المُنفَرِجِ.
They flutter with their wings in the expanse of the vast firmament and the open atmosphere.
كَوَّنَهَا بَعْدَ إِذْ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِي عَجائِبِ صُوَر ظَاهِرَة،
He brought them into existence from non-existence in strange external shapes,
وَرَكَّبَهَا فِي حِقَاقِ مَفَاصِلَ مُحْتَجِبَة،
and composed them with joints and bones covered with flesh.
وَمَنَعَ بَعْضَهَا بِعَبَالَةِ خَلْقِهِ أَنْ يَسْمُوَ فِي الْهَوَاءِ خُفُوفاً،
He prevented some of them from flying easily in the sky because of their heavy bodies
وَجَعَلَهُ يَدِفُّ دَفِيفاً،
and allowed them to use their wings only close to the ground.
وَنَسَقَهَا عَلَى اخْتِلاَفِهَا فِى الاْصَابِيغِ بِلَطِيفِ قُدْرَتِهِ،
He has set them in different colours by His delicate might
وَدَقِيقِ صَنْعَتِهِ;
and exquisite creative power.
فَمِنْهَا مَغْمُوسٌ فِي قَالَبِ لَوْن لاَ يَشُوبُهُ غَيْرُ لَوْنِ مَا غُمِسَ فِيه،
Among them are those which are tinted with one hue and there is no other hue except the one in which they have been dyed.
وَمِنْهَا مَغْمُوسٌ فِي لَوْنِ صِبْغ قَدْ طُوِّقَ بِخِلاَفِ مَا صُبِغَ بِهِ.
There are others which are tinted with one colour, and they have a neck ring of a different colour than that with which they are tinted.
الطاووس
About the Peacock
وَمِنْ أَعْجَبِهَا خَلْقاً الطَّاوُوسُ،
The most amazing among them in its creation is the peacock,
الَّذِي أَقَامَهُ فِي أَحْكَمِ تَعْدِيل،
which Allah has created in the most symmetrical dimensions,
وَنَضَّدَ أَلْوَانَهُ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَنْضِيد،
and arranged its hues in the best arrangement
بِجَنَاح أَشْرَجَ قَصَبَهُ،
with wings whose ends are inter-leaved together
وَذَنَب أَطَالَ مَسْحَبَهُ.
and whose tail is long.
إذَا دَرَجَ إلَى الاْنْثَى نَشَرَهُ مِنْ طَيِّهِ،
When it moves to its female it spreads out its folded tail
وَسَمَا بِهِ مُطِلاًّ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ
and raises it up so as to cast a shade over its head,
كَأَنَّهُ قِلْعُ دَارِيّ عَنَجَهُ نُوتِيُّهُ.
as if it were the sail of a boat being pulled by the sailor.
يَخْتَالُ بِأَلْوَانِهِ،
It feels proud of its colours
وَيَمِيسُ بِزَيَفَانِهِ،
and swaggers with its movements.
يُفْضِي كَإفْضَاءِ الدِّيَكَةِ،
It copulates like the cocks.
وَيَؤُرُّ بِمَلاَقِحِهِ أَرَّ الْفُحُولِ الْمُغْتَلِمَةِ لِلضِّرَابِ
It leaps (on the female) for fecundation like lustful energetic men at the time of fighting.
أُحِيلُكَ مِنْ ذلِكَ عَلَى مُعَايَنَة،
I am telling you all this from observation,
لاَ كَمَنْ يُحِيلُ عَلى ضَعِيف إسْنَادُهُ،
unlike he who narrates on the basis of weak authority,
وَلَوْ كَانَ
as for example,
كَزَعْمِ مَنْ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ يُلْقِحُ بِدَمْعَة تَسْفَحُهَا مَدَامِعُهُ،
the belief of some people that it fecundates the female by a tear which flows from its eyes
فَتَقِفُ في ضَفَّتَي جُفُونِهِ،
and when it stops on the edges of the eyelids
وأَنَّ أُنْثَاهُ تَطْعَمُ ذلِكَ،
the female swallows it
ثُمَّ تَبِيضُ لاَ مِنْ لِقَاحِ فَحْل سِوَى الدَّمْعِ الْمُنبَجِسِ،
and lays its eggs thereby and not through fecundation by a male other than by means of this flowing tear.
لَمَا كَانَ ذلِكَ بَأَعْجَبَ مِنْ مُطَاعَمَةِ الْغُرَابِ!.
Even if they say this, it would be no amazing than (what they say about) the mutual feeding of the crows (for fecundation).
تَخَالُ قَصَبَهُ مَدَارِىَ مِنْ فِضَّة،
You would imagine its feathers to be sticks made of silvers
وَمَا أُنْبِتَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ عَجِيبِ دَارَاتِهِ
and the wonderful circles
وَشُمُوسِهِ خَالِصَ الْعِقْيَانِ،
and sun-shaped feathers growing thereon to be of pure gold
وَفِلَذَ الزَّبَرْجَدِ.
and pieces of green emerald.
فَإنْ شَبَّهْتَهُ بِمَا أَنْبَتَتِ الاْرْضُ
If you likened them to anything growing on land,
قُلْتَ: جَنِىٌّ جُنِىَ مِنْ زَهْرَةِ كُلِّ رَبِيع،
you would say that it is a bouquet of flowers collected during every spring.
وَإنْ ضَاهَيْتَهُ بِالْملابِسِ فَهُوَ كَمَوْشِىِّ الْحُلَلِ أَوْ كَمُونِقِ عَصْبِ الَيمَنِ،
If you likened them to cloths, they would be like printed apparels or amazing variegated cloths of Yemen.
وَإنْ شَاكَلْتَهُ بِالْحُلِيِّ فَهُوَ كَفُصُوص ذَاتِ أَلْوَان،
If you likened them to ornaments then they would be like gems of different colour
قَدْ نُطِّقَتْ بِاللُّجَيْنِ الْمُكَلَّلِ .
with studded silver.
يَمْشِي مَشْيَ الْمَرِحِ الْـمُخْتَالِ،
The peacock walks with vanity and pride,
وَيَتَصَفَّحُ ذَنَبَهُ وَجَنَاحَهُ،
and throws open its tail
فَيُقَهْقِهُ ضَاحِكاً لِجَمَالِ سِرْبَالِهِ،
and wings and laughs admiring the handsomeness of its dress
وَأَصَابِيغِ وِشَاحِهِ;
and the hues of its necklace of gems.
فَإذَا رَمَى بِبَصَرِهِ إِلَى قَوَائِمِهِ زَقَا مُعْوِلاً بِصَوْت يَكَادُ يُبِينُ عَنِ اسْتِغَاثَتِهِ،
But when it casts its glance at its legs it cries loudly with a voice which indicates its call for help
وَيَشْهَدُ بِصَادِقِ تَوَجُّعِهِ،
and displays its true grief,
لاِنَّ قَوَائِمَهُ حُمْشٌ كَقَوَائِمِ الدِّيَكَةِ الْخِلاَسِيَّةِ.
because its legs are thin like the legs of Indo-Persian cross-bred cocks.
وَقَدْ نَجَمَتْ مِنْ ظُنْبُوبِ سَاقِهِ صِيصِيَةٌ خَفِيَّةٌ،
At the end of its shin there is a thin thorn
وَلَهُ فِي مَوْضِعِ الْعُرْفِ قُنْزُعَةٌ خَضْرَاءُ مُوَشَّاةٌ،
and on the crown of its head there is a bunch of green variegated feathers.
وَمَخْرَجُ عَنُقِهِ كالاْبْرِيقِ،
Its neck begins in the shape of a goblet
وَمَغَرزُهَا إلَى حَيْثُ بَطْنُهُ كَصِبْغِ الْوَسِمَةِ الْـيَـمَانِيَّةِ،
and its stretch up to its belly is like the hair-dye of Yemen in colour
أَوْ كَحَرِيرَة مُلْبَسَة مِرْآةً ذَاتَ صِقَال،
or like silk cloth put on a polished mirror which looks
وَكَأَنَّهُ مُتَلَفِّعٌ بِمِعْجَر أَسْحَمَ;
as if it has been covered with a black veil,
إلاَّ أنَّهُ يُخَيَّلُ لِكَثْرَةِ مَائِهِ،
except that on account of its excessive lustre
وَشِدَّةِ بَرِيقِهِ،
and extreme brightness
أَنَّ الْخُضْرَةَ النَّاضِرَةَ مُمْتَزِجَةٌ بِهِ،
it appears that a lush green colour has been mixed with it.
وَمَعَ فَتْقِ سَمْعِهِ خَطٌّ كَمُسْتَدَقِّ الْقَلَمِ فِي لَوْنِ الاْقْحُوَانِ،
Along the openings of its ears there is a line of shining bright daisy colour like the thin end of a pen.
أَبْيَضُ يَقَقٌ، فَهُوَ بِبَيَاضِهِ فِي سَوَادِ مَا هُنَالِكَ يَأْتَلِقُ.
Whiteness shines on the black background.
وَقَلَّ صِبْغٌ إلاَّ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِنْهُ بِقِسْط،
There is hardly a hue from which it has not taken a bit
وَعَلاَهُ بِكَثْرَةِ صِقَالِهِ وَبَرِيقِهِ،
and improved it further by regular polish, lustre,
وَبَصِيصِ دِيبَاجِهِ وَرَوْنَقِهِ،
silken brightness and brilliance.
فَهُوَ كَالاْزَاهِيرِ الْمَبْثُوثَةِ،
It is therefore like scattered blossoms
لَمْ تُرَبِّهَا أَمْطَارُ رَبِيع،
which have not been seasoned by the rains of spring
وَلاَ شُمُوسُ قَيْظ
or the sun of the summer.
وَقَدْ يَنْحَسِرُ مِنْ رِيشِهِ،
It also sheds its plumage
وَيَعْرَى مِنْ لِبَاسِهِ،
and puts off its dress.
فَيَسْقُطُ تَتْرَى،
They all fall away and grow again.
وَيَنْبُتُ تِبَاعاً، فَيَنْحَتُّ مِنْ قَصَبِهِ ا
They fall way from the feather stems
نْحِتَاتَ أَوْرَاقِ الاْغْصَانِ،
like the falling of leaves from twigs,
ثُمَّ يَتَلاَحَقُ نَامِياً
and then they begin to join together and grow
حَتَّى يَعُودَ كَهَيْئَتِهِ قَبْلَ سُقُوطِهِ،
till they return to the state that existed before their falling away.
لاَ يُخَالِفُ سَالِفَ أَلْوَانِهِ،
The new hues do not change from the previous ones,
وَلاَ يَقَعُ لَوْنٌ فِي غَيْرِ مَكَانِهِ!
nor does any colour occur in other than its own place.
وَإذَا تَصَفَّحْتَ شَعْرَةً مِنْ شَعَرَاتِ قَصَبِهِ
If you carefully look at one hair from the hairs of its feather stems
أَرَتْكَ حُمْرَةً وَرْدِيَّةً،
it would look like red rose,
وَتَارَةً خُضْرَةً زَبَرْجَدِيَّةً،
then emerald green
وَأَحْيَاناً صُفْرَةً عسْجَدِيَّةً
and then golden yellow.
فَكَيْفَ تَصِلُ إلَى صِفَةِ هذَا عَمَائِقُ الْفِطَنِ،
How can sharpness of intellect describe such a creation,
أَوْ تَبْلُغُهُ قَرَائِحُ الْعُقُولِ،
or faculty of mind,
أَوْ تَسْتَنْظِمُ وَصْفَهُ أَقْوَالُ الْوَاصِفِينَ؟!
or the utterances of describers manage to tell of it.
وَأَقَلُّ أَجْزَائِهِ قَدْ أَعْجَزَ الاْوهَامَ أَنْ تُدْرِكَهُ،
Even its smallest parts have made it impossible for the imagination to pick them out
وَالاْلْسِنَةَ أَنْ تَصِفَهُ!
or for tongues to describe them.
فَسُبْحَانَ الَّذِي بَهَرَ الْعُقُولَ عَنْ وَصْفِ خَلْق جَلاَّهُ لِلْعُيُونِ،
Glorified is Allah who has disabled intellects from describing the creation which He placed openly before the eyes
فَأَدْرَكَتْهُ مَحْدُوداً مُكَوَّناً،
and which they see bounded, shaped,
وَمُؤَلَّفاً مُلَوَّناً،
arranged and coloured.
وَأَعْجَزَ الاَلْسُنَ عَنْ تَلْخِيصِ صِفَتِهِ،
He also disabled tongues from briefly describing its qualities
وَقَعَدَ بِهَا عَنْ تَأْدِيَةِ نَعْتِهِ!
and also from expanding in its praise.
صغار المخلوقات
The magnificence of the Creator in great and small creation
فَسُبْحَانَ مَنْ أَدْمَجَ قَوَائِمَ الذَّرَّةِ وَالْهَمَجَةِ إلَى مَا فَوْقَهُمَا مِنْ خَلْقِ الْحِيتَانِ وَالاْفْيِلَةِ!
Glorified is Allah who has assigned feet to small ants and gnats and also to those above them, the serpents and the elephants.
وَوَأَى عَلَى نَفْسِهِ أَلاَّ يَضْطَرِبَ شَبَحٌ مِمَّا أَوْلَجَ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ،
He has made it obligatory upon Himself that no skeleton in which He infuses the spirit would move,
إِلاَّ وَجَعَلَ الْحِمَامَ مَوْعِدَهُ، وَالْفَنَاءَ غَايَتَهُ.
but that death is its promised place and destruction its final end.
منها: في صفة الجنة
A part of the same sermon describing Paradise
فَلَوْ رَمَيْتَ بِبَصَرِ قَلْبِكَ نَحْوَ مَا يُوصَفُ لَكَ مِنْهَا
If you cast your mind's eye at what is described to you about Paradise,
لَعَزَفَتْ نَفْسُكَ عَنْ بَدَائِعِ مَا أُخْرِجَ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا
your heart would begin to hate the delicacies of this world that have been displayed here,
مِنْ شَهَوَاتِهَا وَلَذَّاتِهَا،
namely its desires and its pleasures,
وَزَخَارِفِ مَنَاظِرِهَا،
and the beauties of its scenes,
وَلَذَهِلَتْ بِالْفِكْرِ فِي اصْطِفَاقِ أَشْجَار
and you would be lost in the rustling of the trees
غُيِّبَتْ عُرُوقُهَا فِي كُثْبَانِ الْمِسْكِ عَلَى سَوَاحِلِ أَنْهَارِهَا،
whose roots lie hidden in the mounds of musk on the banks of the rivers in Paradise
وَفِي تَعْلِيقِ كَبَائِسِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ الرَّطْبِ فِي عَسَالِيجِهَا وَأَفْنَانِهَا،
and in the attraction of the bunches of fresh pearls in the twigs and branches of those trees,
وَطُلُوعِ تِلْكَ الِّثمارِ مُخْتَلِفَةً فِي غُلُفِ أَكْمَامِهَا،
and in the appearance of different fruits from under the cover of their leaves.
تُجْنَى مِنْ غَيْرِ تَكَلُّف فَتأْتي عَلَى مُنْيَةِ مُجْتَنِيهَا،
These fruits can be picked without difficulty as they come down at the desire of their pickers.
وَيُطَافُ عَلَى نُزَّالِهَا فِي أَفْنِيَةِ قُصُورِهَا بِالاْعْسَالِ الْمُصَفَّقَةِ، وَالْخُمُورِ الْمُرَوَّقَةِ.
Pure honey and fermented wine will be handed round to those who settle down in the courtyards of its palaces.
قَوْمٌ لَمْ تَزَلِ الْكَرَامَةُ تَتَمادَى بهِمْ حَتَّى حَلُّوا دَارَ الْقَرَارِ،
They are a people whom honour has always followed till they were made to settle in the house of eternal abode,
وَأَمِنُوا نُقْلَةَ الاْسْفَارِ.
and they obtained rest from the movement of journeying.
فَلَوْ شَغَلْتَ قَلْبَكَ أَيُّهَا الْمُسْتَمِعُ بِالْوُصُولِ إلَى مَا يَهْجُمُ عَلَيكَ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْمَنَاظِرِ الْمُونِقَةِ،
O listener! If you busy yourself in advancing towards these wonderful scenes which will rush towards you,
لَزَهِقَتْ نَفْسُكَ شَوْقاً إِلَيْهَا،
then your heart will certainly die due to eagerness for them,
وَلَتَحَمَّلْتَ مِنْ مَجْلِسِي هذَا إِلَى مُجَاوَرَةِ أَهْلِ الْقُبُورِ اسْتِعْجَالاً بِهَا.
and you will be prepared to seek the company of those in the graves straight away from my audience here and hasten towards them.
جَعَلَنَا اللهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِمَّنْ يَسْعَى بِقَلْبِهِ إِلى مَنَازِلِ الاْبْرَارِ بِرَحْمَتِهِ.
Allah may, by His mercy, include us and you too among those who strive with their hearts for the abodes of the virtuous.
تفسير بعض ما في هذه الخطبة من الغريب
Note explaining some of the wonderful and obscure portions of this sermon
قال السيد الشريف: قَوْلُهُ (عليه السلام): «ويَؤُرُّ بِمَلاقِحِهِ» الاْرُّ: كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ النّكَاح، يُقَالُ: أرّ المَرْأةَ يَؤُرّهَا، إذَا نَكَحَهَا. وَقَوْلُهُ(عليه السلام): «كَأنّهُ قلْعُ دَارِيّ عَنَجَهُ نُوتيّهُ» الْقلْعُ: شِرَاعُ السّفِينَةِ، وَدَارِيّ: مَنْسُوبٌ إلى دَارِينَ، وَهِيَ بَلْدَةٌ عَلَى الْبَحْرِ يُجْلَبُ مِنْهَا الطّيبُ. وَعَنَجَهُ: أَيْ عطفه. يُقَالُ: عَنَجْتُ النّاقَةَ أَعْنُجُهَا عَنْجاً إذَا عَطَفْتُهَا. وَالنّوتي: الْمَلاّحُ. وَقَوْلُهُ: «ضَفّتَيْ جُفُونِهِ» أَرَادَ جَانِبَيْ جُفُونِهِ. وَالضّفّتَانِ: الجانِبَانِ. وَقَوْلُهُ: «وَفِلَذَ الزّبَرْجَدِ» الْفِلَذُ: جَمْعُ فِلْذَة، وَهِيَ القِطْعَةُ. وَقَوْلُهُ: «كَبَائِسِ اللّؤْلُؤِ الرّطْبِ» الْكِبَاسَة: الْعِذْقُ. وَالْعَسَالِيجُ: الْغُصُونُ، وَاحِدُهَا عُسْلُوجٌ.
As-Sayyid ar-Radi says: In Amir al-mu'minin's words "ya'urru bimalaqihihi", "al-arr" implies "copulation", e.g. when it is said "arra'r-rajulu al-mar'ata ya'urruha", it means "He copulated with the woman." In his words "ka'annahu qal’u dariyyin ‘anajahu nutiyyuhu", "al-qal’" means the sail of a boat. "dari" means belonging to Darin which is a small town on the coast from where scents are bought. And "‘anajahu" means "turned it". It is said "‘anajtun'n-naqata - like nasartu - a’najuha ‘anjan". "When you turn the she-camel." And "an-nuti" means sailor. His words "daffatay jufunihi" means edges of the eyelids, since "ad-daffatan" means the two edges. His words "wa filadhu'z-zabarjadi": "al-filadh" is the plural of "al-fildhah" it means piece. His words "ka ba'isi'l-lu'lu'i'r-ratibi". "al-kibasah" means bunch of dates. "al-’asalij" means twigs. Its singular is "‘usluj".
Alternative Sources for Sermon 165: Al-Zamakhshari, Rabi’, I; Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihayah, I, 27, II, 140 (d.w.r), III, 238 (‘a.s.l.j).
