Leg over Leg. Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq

بالضَمْد * بخلاف ما اذا ارضاها بهذه اللذات الخارجية *

      ١ ١٨٥٥: قلفطتهن.

      Riches and poverty have no bearing on the matter. A rich man is as likely to become infatuated with a poor woman as he is with a rich one. Indeed, a rich miser prefers to fall in love with a poor woman because he believes he can make her happy with only a little money. Also, as a rule, people prefer to fall in love with members of strange races so as to find out about the exotic things they imagine are peculiar to them, unless an ignorance of their language makes this impossible; when this is the case, the scope for the imagination is cramped. It is also true that men like women’s gentleness and sprightliness, especially in bed, while women like men for their young sappiness and tall, youthful strappiness. No woman can look at a man of such a description and not say in her heart, “There’s everything I need! There are riches enough for me!” The ancient Arabs recognized this fact when they derived ṭawl (“might”) from ṭūl (“height”). At the same time, however, women, for the most part, glean their pleasure from every crop and sip from its sources both sweet and sour. Such women are like the bee that gathers its nectar from the flower though the latter is on a dung heap. As to jealousy, it is an inborn trait natural to every human, providing he has good taste: a man is jealous of his material possessions being violated by another; how much more so will he be then in the case of his supposedly inviolable wife? The claim that the Franks feel no jealousy with regard to their women has no truth to it whatsoever. A Frank has been known to kill his wife and himself together on learning that she has been unfaithful. True, they give them so much free rein in many matters that Orientals might regard them as pimping them, but this contains at the same time its own protection against betrayal, for it is a given among them that should a man forbid his wife to leave the house or keep company with other men, he will prod her into taking a second lover, which he would not if he were to consent to her indulging in such pleasures outside the home.

      3.2.24

      ثم انه لما علم اجتماع المستعسلين اى الفرياق والبنت خلافا للعادة المالوفة ذاقت امها من ذلك مرارة الصاب * فاستشارت بعض اصدقائها فى امرها فقالوا لها لسنا نرضى بمصاهرة هذا الرجل لانه من الخرجيّين * وانت من اعزّ بيت من السوقيين وهما لا يجتمعان * فقالت لهم ليس هو من جرثومة الخرجيين بل هو دخيل فيهم * قالوا لا فرق فى ذلك فان رائحة الخرج ساطعة منه وقد ملأت خياشيمنا وحذّروها منه غاية التحذير * مع انى قد حذّرتهم وامثالَهم فى الفصل الذى مرّ من هذا الفضول * فلما علمت البنت بذلك نبض فيها نبض الخلاف وقالت ليست هذه الفروق من مصالح النسآ * وانما هى مصلحة من اتخذها وسيلة للمعاش والجاه * والمقصود من الزواج انما هو التراضى والوفاق بين الرجل والمراة * وان ابيتم ذلك فها انا انذركم انى لست من السوقيّين فى شى * فرات امها ان تغيب بها ايّاما عن ذلك المحل رجآ ان يبعثها البعد على السلوان * فهاجت حٍ جميع عواصف الهوى فى كلّ من العاسل والمعسول * واليه اشار ابو نواس بقوله * دع عنك لومى فان اللوم اغرآء * فلما رات الامّ ان لا اشارة * تمنع البنت من الاشتيارة * ولا جَزْر * يكفّها عن الجزر(١)(١) الجزر شور العسل من خليته * رجعت الى منزلها واستدعت بالفارياق وقالت له * قد علمت ان السوقيين لا يبغون مصاهرتك * فان كان عزمك على ان تتزوج ابنتى ينبغى لك ان تتسوّق ولو يوما واحدا * قال لا باس * فعلى هذا تسوّق يوم عقد الزواج وقرت عين كل منها ومن البنت *