The Author's Introduction

Bism Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm

( wa-bihi nastaʻīn )

Qāla al-imām; qāḍī al-quḍāh Abū al-Ḥasan, ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb al-Māwardī raḥimahu Allāh taʻālá bi-raḥmatihi: al-ḥamd li-Allāh ʻalá mā hadá wa-arshada, wa-lahu al-shukr ʻalá mā waffaqa wa-saddada. Wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá rusulihi al-ṭāhirīn, wa-awliyāʼihi al-bararah al-muntakhabīn, wa-sallama taslīman kathīran.

Ammā baʻdu; fa-qad iltazama al-ṭāʻah man daʻā ilayhā, wa-faʻala al-khayr man arshada ilayhi, wa-la-in kānā fī jiblat dhawī al-faḍl markūzayn, fa-mā yastaghnī al-faṭin bi-dhakāʼihi ʻan yaqẓat munabbih, wa-lā yaktafī al-labīb bi-ḥazmihi ʻan ʻiẓat mudhakkir; li-anna al-hawá muʻtariḍ yakhdaʻu bi-gharāmihi; wa-yaḥtajibu bi-ghamāmihi. Wa-anta ayyuhā al-wazīr — amaddaka Allāh bi-tawfīqihi — fī manṣib mukhtalif al-aṭrāf; tudabbiru ghayraka min al-raʻāyā wa-tatadabbaru bi-ghayrika min al-mulūk; fa-anta sāʼis masūs; taqūmu bi-siyāsat raʻīyatika wa-tanqādu li-ṭāʻat sulṭānika, fa-tajmaʻu bayna saṭwat muṭāʻ wa-inqiyād muṭīʻ, fa-shaṭr fikrika jādhib li-man tasūsuhu; wa-shaṭruhu majdhūb li-man tuṭīʻuhu wa-huwa athqal al-aqsām al-thalāthah muḥammalan, wa-aṣʻabuhā markaban, li-anna al-nās: mā bayna sāʼis; wa-masūs, wa-jāmiʻ baynahumā. Wa-laka hādhihi al-rutbah al-jāmiʻah. Fa-anta tajmaʻu mā ikhtalafa min aḥkāmihā, wa-tastakmilu mā tabāyana min aqsāmihā, wa-bi-yadika tadbīr mamlakah ṣalāḥuhā mustaḥaqq ʻalayka, wa-fasāduhā mansūb ilayka. Tuʼākhadhu bi-al-isāʼah wa-lā yuʻtaddu laka bi-al-iḥsān, tulānu laka al-mabādiʼ bi-al-irghāb; wa-tushaddadu ʻalayka al-ghāyāt bi-al-iʻtāb, mustaẓhiran tastakfī iʻtidād al-iḥsān ilayka; wa-taslamu min ghibb al-muʼākhadhah laka, wa-yalzamuka ḍiddahā fī ḥaqq sulṭānika an lā yuʻtadá ʻalayhi bi-ṣalāḥ mulkihi, li-annaka lil-ṣalāḥ mandūb, wa-lā taʻtadhiru ilayhi min ikhtilālihi, li-anna al-ikhtilāl ilayka mansūb. Wa-ijʻal iʻtidhāraka saʻyaka wa ijtihādaka, fa-lisān al-fiʻāl anṭaq min lisān al-maqāl, li-ẓuhūr shawāhidihi, fa-in ʻāraḍatka al-aqdār ʻadharatka al-qulūb, wa in lam tanṭiq bihi al-afwāh, li-ʻajz al-khalāq ʻan qaḍāʼ al-ḥaqq, wa-qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa sallama annahu qāla: lā yughnī ḥadhar ʻan qadar. Wa qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: tawaqqa kull al-tawaqqī wa lā ḥāris min al-ajal, wa tawakkal kull al-tawakkul wa lā ʻudhr fī al-taghrīr, wa aṭāb kull al-ṭāb wa lā taskhaṭ li-mā jāba al-maqdūr. Wa li-an takūna in malakta ikhtiyāraka mutārikan fī zamān al-kadar; awlá min an takūna mughāliban lil-qadar. Wa qad qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: mā kāna ʻanka muʻriḍan; dhalā takun lahu mutaʻarriḍan. Fa-in daʻāka al-iḍṭirār ilá al-mulābasah, fa-in lil-zamān wa-lā tukhāshinhu. Fa-qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: min saʻādat al-insān an lā yakūna ʻinda fasād al-zamān mudabbiran lil-zamān; fa-sāmiḥ wa-tatlak in jāra, wa ghāliṭhu in thāra ka-mā qāla al-shāʻir:

Fa-akhṭu maʻa al-dahri idhā mā-khaṭā ٭ wa ajri maʻa al-dahri ka-mā yajrī

Wa Allāh taʻālá yamuddu bi-al-maʻūnah man waffaqahu, wa arjū an takūna minhum.

Wa-iʻlam ayyuhā al-wazīr annaka mubāshir li-tadbīr mulk lahu uss. Huwa al-dīn al-mashrūʻ, wa niẓām. Huwa al-ḥaqq al-matbūʻ. Wa qad qīla: munāziʻ al-ḥaqq makhṣūm, fa-ijʻal al-dīn qāʼidaka, wa al-ḥaqq rāʼidaka, yudhallilka kull ṣaʻb, wa yatasahhal ʻalayka kull khaṭb; li-anna lil-dīn anṣāran, wa lil-ḥaqq aʻwānan; in qaʻadat ʻanka ajsāduhum; lam taqʻud ʻanka qulūbuhum. Wa ḥasbuka an takūna al-qulūb maʻaka. Wa qīla li-baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: ayy al-jund awqá? Qāla: al-dīn. Qīla: fa-ayy al-ʻadad aqwá? Qāla: al-ʻadl. Wa lil-dīn sulṭān qad inqādat ilayhi imāmatuhu, wa istaqarrat ʻalayhi daʻāmatuhu, fa-ijʻalhu ẓahīran laka fī umūrika, wa ʻawnan laka ʻalá tadbīrika, tajid min al-qulūb khushūʻan, wa min al-nufūs khuḍūʻan, fa-mā iʻtazzat mamlakah ilayhi illā ṣālat, wa lā taḥaqqaqat bi-shiʻārihi illā ṭālat. Wa qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa sallama annahu qāla: « mā min rajul min al-muslimīn aʻẓam ajran min wazīr ṣāliḥ maʻa imām yuṭīʻuhu wa yaʼmuruhu bi-dhāt Allāh taʻālá »

Wa ijʻal li-Allāh taʻālá ʻalayka fī khalawātika raqībay raghab wa rahab; taqūduka al-raghbah ilá ṭāʻatihi, wa-taṣudduka al-rahbah ʻan maʻṣiyatihi, li-yaslama bāṭinuka min al-ʻuyūb, wa-yakhluṣa sirruka min al-dhunūb. Wa qud nafsaka ilá al-ʻadl, yanqad al-nās bihi ilá ṭāʻatika, wa yakuffū bihi ʻan maʻṣiyatika, wa yaqtaṣirū ʻalayhi fī muṭālabatika; fa-in man jāzafa fī al-akhdh jūzifa fī al-ṭalab, wa man nāṣafa nūṣifa. Wa al-ʻArab taqūlu fī al-mujāzafah min amthālihā: dakhala baytan mā kharaja minhu. Wa qāla al-Sayyid al-Masīḥ: bi-al-mikyāl alladhī takīlūna yukālu lakum wa tuzādūna. Wa qāla al-shāʻir:

Wa man ẓanna mimman yuẓhiru al-sūʼa annahu ٭ yujāzī bi-lā sūʼin fa-qad ẓanna munkaran

Wa iʻlam annaka lan tastaghzira mawāddaka illā bi-al-ʻadl wa-al-iḥsān; wa lan tastandirahā bi-mithl al-jawr wa al-isāʼah; li-anna al-ʻadl istithmār dāʼim, wa al-jawr istiʼṣāl munqaṭiʻ. Wa-qad qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: bi-al-ʻadl wa al-inṣāf, takūnu muddat al-iʼtilāf.

Wa laysa yakhtaṣṣu al-ʻadl bi-al-amwāl dūna al-aqwāl wa al-afʻāl. Fa-ʻadluka bi-al-amwāl an tuʼkhadha bi-ḥaqqihā, wa tudfaʻa ilá mustaḥiqqihā, li-annaka fī al-ḥuqūq safīr muʼtaman; wa kafīl murtahan, ʻalayka ghurmuhā, wa li-ghayrika ghunmuhā.

Wa ʻadluka fī al-aqwāl an lā tukhāṭiba al-fāḍil bi-khiṭāb al-mafḍūl, wa lā al-ʻālim bi-khiṭāb al-jahūl, wa taqifa fī al-ḥamd wa al-dhamm ʻalá ḥasab al-iḥsān wa al-isāʼah, li-yakūna irghābuka wa irhābuka ʻalá wafq asbābihimā min ghayr saraf wa lā taqṣīr, fa-lisānuka mīzānuka. Fa-iḥfaẓhu min rujḥān aw nuqṣān. Wa qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: jaʻala Allāh al-insān afḍal al-ḥayawān, wa-ṣayyara afḍal jāriḥah fīhi al-lisān, fa-jaʻalahu lil-ḍamāʼir tarjumānan, wa li-mā jamaʻathu al-ʻuqūl wa al-baṣāʼir tibyānan, wa bayna al-ḥaqq wa al-bāṭil furqānan, wa la-qad qāla al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays: « al-nuṭq masfarah, wa al-ṣamt mastarah » wa lil-kalām rawīyah tataqaddamu ʻalá al-maʻānī dūna al-alfāẓ, fa-kil al-maʻānī ilá rawīyatika, wa fawwiḍ al-alfāẓ ilá badīhatika, fa-in ibtikār al-maʻānī khaṭar, wa al-rawīyah fī al-alfāẓ lukn. Wa li-an yakūna al-kalām maṭbūʻan, awlá min yakūna maṣnūʻan. Illā an yakilla al-khāṭir bi-shawāʼib al-humūm, wa yakūna al-kalām maʻa dhī qadr ʻaẓīm, fa-yurawwī fī al-ikhtiṣār, fa-fī al-ikthār ʻithār, yufḍī ilá ḍajar in usturdhila, wa ilá malal in ustuthqila. Wa qad qīla: awwal al-ʻiyy al-ikhtilāṭ, wa aswaʼ al-qawl al-ifrāṭ. Wa li-dhālika qīla al-ḥaṣr khayr min al-hadhar, li-anna al-ḥaṣr yuḍʻifu al-ḥujjah, wa al-hadhar yutlifu al-muhjah. Wa qāla ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd: al-ʻāqil li-lisānihi ʻāqil. Wa qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: idhā tamma al-ʻaql naqaṣa al-kalām.

Wa ʻadluka fī al-afʻāl an lā tuʻāqiba illā ʻalá dhanb, wa lā taʻfuwa illā ʻan inābah, wa lā yabʻathaka al-sukhṭ ʻalá iṭrāḥ al-maḥāsin, wa lā yaḥmilaka al-riḍā ʻalá al-ʻafw ʻan al-masāwī. Ḥukiya ʻan Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ʻalayhimā al-ṣalāh wa al-salām annahu qāla: uʻṭītu mā uʻṭiya al-nās wa mā lam yuʻṭū; wa ʻalimtu mā ʻalima al-nās wa mā lam yaʻlamū. Fa-lam uʻṭa shayʼan afḍal min al-ḥaqq fī al-riḍā wa al-ghaḍab, wa al-qaṣd fī al-ghiná wa al-faqr, wa khashyat Allāh fī al-sirr wa al-ʻalāniyah. Wa qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: « min sakarāt al-sulṭān al-riḍā ʻan baʻḍ man yastawjibu al-sukhṭ, ʻalá baʻḍ man yastawjibu al-riḍā. » Wa ka-mā lā tastawī al-ḥasanah wa lā al-sayyiʼah; ka-dhālika lā yastawī al-muḥsin wa al-musīʼ. Wa qad qīla: akhbath al-nās, al-musāwī bayna al-maḥāsin wa al-masāwī. Fa-ijtadhib bi-afʻālika mā nāsabahā, wa qābil bi-mujāzātika mā awjabahā, wa ijʻal jazāʼ al-afʻāl bi-ḥasabihā min iḥsān wa isāʼah, yastawjibu bihimā thawāb wa ʻiqāb; fa-in li-maylika wa riḍāka ḥukman sawāʼ, in waṣalta ʻalayhi kharajta ʻan al-mujāzāh ilá al-tabarruʻ bi-al-ṣilah, wa anta fī tabarruʻika mukhayyar, wa fī mujāzātika muḍṭarr. Wa qad qāla al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī: al-muʼmin lā yaḥīfu ʻalá man yubghiḍu, wa lā yaʼthamu fī man yuḥibbu. Fa-ammā al-taqrīb wa al-ibʻād; fa-yajūzu an yuʻtabara bi-al-sukhṭ wa al-riḍā; idhā lam taḥuṭṭa bihimā dhawī al-aqdār; wa tarfaʻa bihimā ahl al-khumūl; li-anna laka khiyāraka an tabtadiʼa bi-taqrīb man aradta, wa ibʻād man karihta, idhā salima raʼyuka min taqrīb dhī al-naqṣ wa ibʻād dhī al-faḍl; fa-tastaṭir bi-taqrīb al-nāqiṣ wa ibʻād al-fāḍil; wa in kāna al-tashākul markūzan fī al-gharāʼiz. Wa qad qāla baʻḍ al-bulaghāʼ: lā taṣṭaniʻ man khānahu al-aṣl; wa lā tastaṣḥib man fātahu al-ʻaql; li-anna man lā aṣl lahu yaghushshu min ḥaythu yanṣaḥu, wa man lā ʻaql lahu; yufsidu min ḥaythu yuṣliḥu. Wa dhālika mimmā yaʻsuru tawaqqīhi, wa yafūtu tadārukuhu wa talāfīhi, wa li-yakun wafāʼuka bi-al-waʻd ḥatman, wa bi-al-waʻīd ḥazman; li-anna al-waʻd ḥaqq ʻalayka; wa al-waʻīd ḥaqq laka ʻalá ghayrika; fa-kunta fīhi ʻalá khiyārika, fa-min ajl dhālika lam yajuz ikhlāf al-waʻd; wa in jāza ikhlāf al-waʻīd. Wa qad qāla aḥad al-shuʻarāʼ:

Wa innī wa-in awʻadtuhu aw waʻadtuhu ٭ la-mukhlif īʻādī wa munjiz mawʻidī

Lākin yanbaghī an yaqtarina bi-khulf al-waʻīd ʻudhr ḥattá lā yahūna waʻīduka li-yakūna niẓām al-haybah bihi maḥfūẓan, wa qānūn al-siyāsah fīhi maḍbūṭan; fa-aẓhirhu in khafiya li-takūna bi-ikhlāf waʻīdika maʻdhūran; wa bi-ʻafwika ʻanhu mashkūran; wa qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa sallama annahu qāla: mā izdāda aḥad bi-al-ʻafw illā ʻizzan. Wa lil-waʻd wa al-waʻīd sharṭān: aḥaduhumā, an yakūnā mustaḥiqqayn mā awjabahumā min iḥsān wa isāʼah, wa al-thānī an taqtarina bi-taqdīmihimā ʻalá al-thawāb wa al-ʻiqāb maṣlaḥah fī targhīb wa tarhīb; fa-in lazima taqdīm al-thawāb wa al-ʻiqāb ʻalá al-waʻd wa al-waʻīd, kāna al-waʻd taqṣīran aw al-waʻīd ʻajzan. Wa qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: al-waʻd maraḍ al-maʻrūf, wa al-injāz burʼuhu, wa al-maṭl talafuhu. Wa qāla baʻḍ al-bulaghāʼ: idhā aḥsanta al-qawl fa-aḥsin al-fiʻl, li-yajtamiʻa laka mazīyat al-lisān wa thamarat al-iḥsān, fa-innaka lā takhlū fī khulfihi min dhanb taktasibuhu aw ʻajz taltazimuhu. Wa li-yakun fiʻluka akthar min qawlika, fa-in ziyādat al-qawl ʻalá al-fiʻl danāʼah wa shayn, wa ziyādat al-fiʻl ʻalá al-qawl makrumah wa zayn, wa lā tajʻal li-ghaḍabika sulṭānan ʻalá nafsika, yukhrijuka min al-iʻtidāl ilá al-ikhtilāf; fa-in yaslam bi-al-ghaḍab raʼy min zalal, wa kalām min khaṭal, li-anna thawratahu ṭaysh muʻirr, wa nafratahu baṭsh muḍirr, li-annahu yakhruju ʻan al-taʼdīb ilá al-intiqām, wa ʻan al-taqwīm ilá al-iṣṭilām. Wa li-dhālika qīla: awwal al-ghaḍab junūn, wa ākhiruhu nadam. Wa qāla Ibn ʻAbbās: lam yamil ilá al-ghaḍab illā man aʻyāhu sulṭān al-ḥujjah. Wa qāla baʻḍ al-salaf iyyāka wa ʻizzat al-ghaḍab, fa-innahā tufḍī bika ilá dhull al-iʻtidhār. Wa qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: man kathura shaṭaṭuhu kathura ghalaṭuhu. Wa qāla baʻḍ al-shuʻarāʼ:

Wa lam ara lil-aʻdāʼi ḥīna ikhtabartuhum ٭ ʻadūwan li-ʻaqli al-marʼi aʻdá min al-ghaḍabi

Wa li-yakun ghaḍabuka taghāḍuban, tamliku bihi ʻazmaka, wa-taqūmu bihi khaṣmaka. Fa-taslamu min jawr ghaḍabika wa taqifu ʻalá iʻtidāl taghāḍubika. Fa-qad qīla fī baʻḍ ṣuḥuf banī Isrāʼīl: idhā kāna al-rajul dhā ghaḍab tawātarat ʻalayhi al-waḍāʼiʻ; fa-kullamā ishtadda ghaḍabuhu izdāda balāʼ. Wa qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: al-ghaḍab yuṣdiʼ al-ʻaql. Wa kataba Kisrá Abrawīz ilá ibnihi Shīrawayh: in kalimah minka tasfiku daman, wa in ukhrá minka taḥqinu daman, wa in nafādh amrika maʻa ẓuhūr kalāmika; fa-iḥtaris fī ghaḍabika min qawlika an yukhṭiʼ, wa min lawnika an yataghayyar, wa min jasadika an yakhiffa; fa-in al-mulūk tuʻāqibu qudratan, wa taʻfū ḥilman. Wa qad yaqtarinu bi-al-ghaḍab lajāj yusāwīhi fī maʻarratihi, wa yushārikuhu fī maḍarratihi; li-anna al-lajāj iltizām al-khaṭaʼ wa iṭrāḥ al-thawāb. Fa-daʻ ʻanka lajāj al-aladd al-khaṣm, wa tajannab ʻawāqib al-nadhl al-fadm, wa tābiʻ al-raʼy fī-mā iqtaḍāhu, fa-lan yaqbuḥa bika al-ʻudūl ilayhi baʻda lajājika, wa li-an tantafiʻa bi-al-raʼy awlá min an tastaʻizza bi-al-lajāj. Wa qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: man istaʻāna bi-al-raʼy malaka, wa man kābada al-umūr halaka. Wa qāla Ibn al-Muqaffaʻ: daʻ al-lajāj fa-innahu yaksiru ʻazāʼim al-ʻuqūl. Wa qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: al-ẓafar li-man iḥtajja lā li-man lajja. Wa qīla fīhi: al-lajūj yadkhulu fī-mā laysa minhu khurūj.

Wa-iʻlam anna al-jidd wa al-hazl ḍiddān mutanāfirān; li-anna al-jidd min qawāʻid al-ḥaqq al-bāʻith ʻalá al-ṣalāḥ. Wa al-hazl min maraḥ al-bāṭil al-dāʻī ilá al-fasād; fa-ṣāra farq mā bayna al-jidd wa-al-hazl, huwa farq mā bayna al-ḥaqq wa al-bāṭil; wa tanāfur al-aḍdād yamnaʻu min al-jamʻ baynahumā. Fa-idhā infaradta bi-aḥadihimā kunta lil-ākhar tārikan. Wa qad qīla al-ḥaqq mafrūḍ, wa al-bāṭil marfūḍ. Wa qāla ʻAlī karrama Allāh wajhahu: al-ʻaql ḥusām qāṭiʻ wa al-ḥilm ghiṭāʼ sābigh, fa-qātil hawāka bi-ʻaqlika, wa ustur khalal khulqika bi-ḥilmika, wa istaʻmil al-jidd yanqad ilayka al-ḥaqq, wa yufāriquka al-bāṭil, wa lā taʻdil ilá al-hazl fa-yatbaʻuka al-bāṭil, wa yunāfiruka al-ḥaqq. Wa-la-qallamā inthalamat haybat al-jidd wa takāmalat haybat al-hāzil, wa al-haybah uss al-salṭanah. Wa ḥakā ʻAmr ibn Murrah anna rajulan min Quraysh qāla li-ʻUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb raḍiya Allāh ʻanhu: lin lanā, fa-qad malaʼta qulūbanā haybah, fa-qāla a-fī dhālika ẓulm? Qāla: lā. Qāla: fa-zādanī Allāh fī ṣudūrikum mahābah. Wa qāla ḥakīm al-Hind: li-yakun fīka maʻa ṭalāqatika tashaddud, kay-lā yujtaraʼ ʻalayka bi-al-ṭalāqah, wa yunfar minka bi-al-tashaddud; fa-ammā al-hazl fa-yakūnu min sukhf aw baṭar yajillu ʻanhumā man sāsa al-raʻāyā, wa dabbara al-mamālik. Qāla Buzurjmihr: al-hazl āfat al-jidd, wa al-kadhib ʻadūw al-ṣidq, wa al-jawr mafsadat al-mulk. Wa qāla malik al-Hind lil-Iskandar, wa qad dakhala bilādahu: mā ʻalāmat dawām al-mulk? Qāla: al-jidd fī kull al-umūr. Qāla: fa-mā ʻalāmat zawālihi? Qāla: al-hazl fīhi. Wa qad qīla: man abṭaratʹhu al-niʻmah waqarahu zawāluhā. Wa laysa al-kibr wa al-ʻunf jiddan, wa lā al-tawāḍuʻ wa al-luṭf hazlan; wa rubbamā tadallasat hādhihi al-akhlāq bi-ghalabat al-hawá wa nāziʻ al-fiṭrah, fa-mazaja ṣāḥibuhā bi-al-jidd kibran wa ʻunfan, li-yakūna bi-haybat al-jidd aḥaqq, wa min sukhf al-hazl abʻad; wa hādhā ghayr maḥsūs, li-anna al-kibr wa al-tawāḍuʻ min shiyam al-nufūs ka-al-sakhāʼ wa-al-bukhl, wa-al-jidd wa-al-hazl min afʻālihā ka-al-ḥaqq wa al-bāṭil; fa-tabāʻadā fī al-sabab wa ikhtalafā fī al-musabbab. Wa qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa sallama annahu qāla: « idhā arāda Allāh bi-ʻabd khayran jaʻala lahu wāʻiẓan min nafsihi ». Wa qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: idhā ʻarafta nafsaka lam yaḍurruka mā qīla fīka.

Wa rubbamā istakadda al-jidd khāṭir al-majidd, fa-istarwaḥa bi-baʻḍ al-hazl li-yastaʻīna bihi ʻalá muṣābarat al-jidd. Fa-qad qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: al-hamm qayd al-ḥawāss. Wa ḥukiya ʻan Abī al-Dardāʼ annahu qāla: innī la-astajimmu nafsī bi-al-shayʼ min al-bāṭil, li-yakūna aqwá lahā ʻalá al-ḥaqq. Wa qīla fī manshūr al-ḥikam: mā akthar man nahá fa-aghrá, fa-lā baʼs an yastasirra minhu fī zamān rāḥatihi, wa awqāt khalwatihi, bi-miqdār dawāʼihi min dāʼihi, fa-in al-kalāl malāl, wa laysa lil-malūl ḥazm wa lā ʻazm. Wa li-yakun fī-mā