The Light of Truth — Page 285
REFUTING OBJECTIONS which is known as one of the four cardinal humours, for its intense potency and its fine nature. Therefore, the possessor of this temperament carries out acts of great strength, courage, and bravery, and every act that opposes cowardice and is in accordance with the way of the courageous. So ponder if you are among the seekers. As for an example from the poetry of the great orators and masters of the bygone era of Jahiliyyah,¹ that which Imra' al-Qais has said in his Qaşīdah Lāmiyyah² will suffice: تَتابعُ كَفَّيْهِ بِخَيْطٍ مُوَصَّلِ دريرٍ كخُذْرُوفِ الوَلِيدِ أَمَرَّهُ Swift like the spinning top of a child which he spins quickly; He rotates it with a tightly fastened cord. Likewise, there is a couplet of 'Amr ibn Kulthūm at-Taghlīb- who was a master of the Arabic language-in the fifth suspended ode from as-Sabaʻ-al-Mu'allaqah. We will write it here to convey the meaning of الإدارة ]al-idārah] and that is: عليه لما له مهينا تَرَى اللَّحِزَ الشَّحِيحَ إِذا أُمِرَّتْ You will see the miser when the wine is circled back around to him; He will spend his wealth humiliatingly for its sake. ³ 285 1. The pre-Islamic period in Arabia is known as Jāhiliyyah, or 'state of igno- rance', and is marked by, among other things, its fascination with the use of eloquent classical Arabic in poetry and prose. [Publisher] 2. The term 'Qaşīdah lãmiyyah' is used for odes where the final word in every couplet ends in the letter - Lām. [Publisher] 3. The Arabic for 'circled back around' is أُمِرَّتْ ]umirrat—lit. 'he twisted it tight- ly'], from the root مَرَّ ]marra] [Publisher[