Section: Defence, the Vizier's Charge

Faṣl

( al-difāʻ bi-himmat al-wazīr )

Fa-ammā al-faṣl al-thānī wa-huwa al-difāʻ. Wa-yashtamilu al-difāʻ ʻalá arbaʻat aqsām: aḥaduhā al-difāʻ ʻan al-malik min al-awliyāʼ, wa-al-thānī al-difāʻ ʻan al-mamlakah min al-aʻdāʼ, wa-al-thālith difāʻ al-wazīr ʻan nafsihi min al-akfāʼ, wa-al-rābiʻ difāʻuhu ʻan al-raʻīyah min khawf wa-ikhtilāl.

Fa-ammā al-qism al-awwal fī difāʻihi ʻan al-malik min awliyāʼihi. Fa-yakūnu bi-thalāthat asbāb: aḥaduhā an yaqūdahum ilá ṭāʻatihi bi-al-raghbah; wa-yakuffahum ʻan maʻṣiyatihi bi-al-rahbah; fa-in al-raghbah wa-al-rahbah idhā tawālayā ʻalá al-nafs dhallat lahumā wa-inqādat khawfan wa-ṭamaʻan, wa-bihimā taʻabbada Allāh al-khalq fī waʻd Allāh wa-waʻīdihi: wa-al-thānī an yaqūma bi-kifāyatihim ḥattá lā yanfirū bi-al-qūwah aw yatafarraqū bi-al-ḍaʻf, wa-kilāhumā qadḥ fī al-mulk li-annahum bi-al-qūwah aʻdāʼ musallaṭūn, wa-bi-al-ḍaʻf ʻajazah mustabdalūn. Wa-thabāt al-mulk yakūnu bi-an takūna al-qūwah lil-sulṭān li-yaṣīra qāhiran lahum, wa-lā takūna al-qūwah lahum fa-yaṣīra maqhūran bihim. Balagha al-Maʼmūn anna al-jund bi-Khurāsān shaghabū wa-nahabū fa-kataba ilá ʻāmilihi bihā: law ʻadalta lam yashghabū, wa-law qawīta lam yanhabū: wa-al-thālith an yaḥfaẓahum min al-ighwāʼ, wa-yaḥrusahum min al-ighrāʼ, wa-dhālika bi-amrayn: aḥaduhumā bi-al-baḥth ʻan akhbārihim ḥattá yaʻlama salīmahum min saqīmahum: wa-al-thānī bi-ibʻād al-mufsidīn ʻanhum ḥattá lā yataʻaddá ilayhim fasāduhum, fa-in al-kaff bi-ḥasab al-kashf, wa-al-muhal zāʼigh aw rāʼigh wa-lā khayr fī wāḥid minhumā li-ḍalāl al-zāʼigh wa-mukhātalat al-rāʼigh. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: min ʻalāmat baqāʼ al-dawlah qillat al-ghaflah.

Wa-al-qism al-thānī fī difāʻihi ʻan al-mamlakah min aʻdāʼihā; wa-aʻdāʼ al-mamālik man infarada bi-mulk aw imtanaʻa bi-qūwah. Wa-hum thalāthat aṣnāf: akfāʼ mumāthilūn, wa-ʻuẓamāʼ mutaqaddimūn, wa-nājimah mutanāfisūn. Fa-ammā al-a kfāʼ al-mumāthilūn fa-yudfaʻūna bi-al-muqārabah wa-al-musālamah. Wa-ammā al-ʻuẓamāʼ al-mutaqaddimūn fa-yudfaʻūna bi-al-mulāṭafah wa-al-mulāyanah. Wa-ammā al-nājimah al-munāfisūn fa-yudfaʻūna bi-al-saṭwah wa-al-mukhāshanah. Fa-in ikhtilāf al-rutab yūjibu tabāyun ahlihā wa-tanāfī aḥwālihā. Fa-in inqāda al-aʻlá inqāda lahu al-adná, yadīnu bi-mā dāna, ka-mā qāla al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama « ka-mā tadīnu tudānu ». Wa-an nākara nūkira wa-kāna ʻalá wajal min saṭwat al-ʻālī wa-munāfarat al-dānī. Wa-qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: man qallat tajribatuhu khudiʻa, wa-man qallat mubālātuhu ṣuriʻa. Wa-in istaghná ʻan muḥārabat aḥadihim kaffa ʻanhā wa-hawwala bihā, wa-lam yakhriq ḥijāb al-haybah; wa-lam yaqṭaʻ asbāb al-murāqabah; li-yaḥẓá bi-arbaʻat ashyāʼ: daʻat al-musālamah, wa-al-amn min khaṭar al-munājazah, wa-baqāʼ al-amwāl, wa-rāḥat al-ajnād. Wa-qad qālat al-qudamāʼ: khudh bi-al-anāh mā istaqāmat laka, wa-iqbal al-ʻāfiyah mā wuhibat laka, wa-lā taʻjal ilá munājazat al-ʻadūw mā wajadta ilá al-ḥīlah sabīlan, wa-lā tasʼamanna min muṭāwalat ʻadūwika, fa-in laka fī al-ibṭāʼ intiẓāran li-furṣah, wa-ẓafaran bi-ʻawrah, wa-tawaqqa ṭallāb al-ẓafar bi-al-liqāʼ, fa-innahu lā yakādu yunālu illā bi-al-akhṭār. Wa-li-takun al-raghbah minka fī ṭāʻat ʻadūw laka āthar ʻindaka min al-ghanīmah, tuṣib bihi salāmat aṣḥābika wa-raʻīyatika. Wa-qad qāla ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib raḍiya Allāh taʻālá ʻanhu: khudh ʻalá ʻaduwwika bi-al-faḍl, fa-innahu aḥad al-ẓafarayn. Wa-in daʻat al-ḍarūrah ilá al-munājazah baʻda al-iʻdhār wa-al-indhār, ayqaẓa lahā ʻazmahu wa-istaʻmala fīhā ḥazmahu; wa-aqdama ʻalayhā baʻda al-istikhārah muttabiʻan lil-dīn, wa-mustaʻmilan lil-ʻadl. Fa-lan yaʻdil ʻanhumā illā-bāgh maṣrūʻ, wa-qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: man salla sayf al-baghy ughmida fī raʼsihi, wa-man assasa asās al-sūʼ assasahu ʻalá nafsihi. Wa-li-yakun al-ḥadhar junnatahu, wa-al-istiẓhār ʻuddatahu, wa-qad qāla ḥakīm al-Furs: iḥdhar al-tafrīṭ fī al-umūr ittikālan ʻalá al-qadar, fa-in li-kull qadar sabyan yajrī ilayhi; fa-sabab al-najḥ al-ʻamal, wa-sabab al-khaybah al-tafrīṭ, wa-kāna yuqālu: tafakkar qabla an taʻzim, wa-tabayyan qabla an tahjum, wa-shāwir qabla an tuqdim. Wa-idhā waḍaʻat al-ḥarb awzārahā ʻalá ẓuhr wa-ghalabah ṣafaḥa wa-taʼallafa. Fa-qad kataba ḥakīm al-Rūm ilá al-Iskandar: idhā ẓaharat al-ghalabah ʻalá qawm fa-ḍaʻ maʻa awzār al-ḥarb al-ghaḍab, li-annahum fī al-ḥāl al-ūlá aʻdāʼ, wa-hum fī hādhihi al-ḥāl khawal, fa-abdilhum bi-al-ghaḍab raḥmah, wa-bi-al-adhá iḥsānan.

Wa-al-qism al-thālith fī difāʻ al-wazīr ʻan nafsihi min akfāʼihi, fa-takūnu baʻda istiṣlāḥ al-ṭarafayn al-aʻlá wa-huwa al-malik, wa-al-adná wa-hum al-aʻwān. Wa-al-akfāʼ thalāthah: wātir, wa-mawtūr, wa-munāfis.

Fa-ammā al-wātir: fa-qad badā bi-sharrihi, wa-jāhara bi-ʻadāwatihi; wa-kilāhumā baghy minhu yuʼnisu bi-al-naṣr ʻalayhi, wa-qad qāla Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ʻalayhimā al-ṣalāh wa-al-salām: sahm al-ẓālim yarjiʻu ʻalayhi, li-anna ʻuqūbatahu tusriʻu ilayhi, wa-qad qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: man faʻala al-khayr fa-bi-nafsihi badaʼa, wa-man faʻala al-sharr fa-ʻalá nafsihi janá. Wa-laka fī birrihi ḥaqqān ḥaqq fī muqābalatihi ʻalá mā qaddama min birrihi, wa-ḥaqq fī istidfāʻ mā jāhara bihi min ʻadāwatihi, fa-ammā ḥaqquka fī al-muqābalah fa-in ʻafawta ʻanhā kunta bi-al-faḍl jadīran; wa-in qābalta ʻalayhā kunta fī al-muqābalah maʻdhūran. Wa-qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla « man arāda an yushrifa Allāh lahu al-bunyān, wa-an yarfaʻa lahu al-darajāt yawm al-qiyāmah; fa-l-yaʻfu ʻamman ẓalamahu, wa-yaṣil man qaṭaʻahu, wa-l-yuʻṭi man ḥaramahu, wa-l-yaḥlam ʻamman jahila ʻalayhi » wa-qāla al-Muntaṣir: ladhdhat al-ʻafw aṭyab min ladhdhat al-tashaffī, li-anna ladhdhat al-ʻafw yatbaʻuhā al-ḥamd, wa-ladhdhat al-tashaffī yaʻqubuhā al-nadam, qāla al-shāʻir:

Wa-laysa iʻtidhārī min qabīḥin bi-nāfiʻin ٭ idhā qīla lī yawman wa-ṣaddaqa qāʼiluhu fa-innaka talqá fāʻila al-sharri nādiman ٭ ʻalayhi wa-lam yandam ʻalá al-khayri fāʻiluhu

Wa-ammā ḥaqquka fī istidfāʻ ʻadāwatihi, fa-qad ayqaẓaka bi-mujāharatihi, wa-awhana kaydahu bi-muẓāharatihi. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: awhan al-aʻdāʼ kaydan aẓharuhum bi-ʻadāwatihi; fa-iḥdhar bādiratahu wa-idfaʻ ʻadāwatahu. Wa-dafʻuhā mukhtalif bi-ikhtilāf ṭibāʻihi fī ithbātihi al-raghbah aw taqwīmihā bi-al-rahbah. Wa-qad qāla Luqmān li-ibnihi: yā bunayya iʻtazil al-sharr yaʻtazilka fa-in al-sharr lil-sharr khuliqa. Wa-qad qīla fī al-ṣuḥuf al-ūlá: al-sharrīr sharruhu ʻalayhi. Wa-qāla al-Ḥasan ibn Sahl — wa-ḥaddatha al-Fahlamān —: thalāthah lā yaṣluḥu fasāduhunna bi-shayʼ min al-ḥiyal: al-ʻadāwah bayna al-aqārib, wa-taḥāsud al-akfāʼ, wa-al-rakākah fī al-mulūk. Wa-thalāthah lā yustafsadu ṣalāḥuhunna bi-nawʻ min al-makr: al-ʻibādah fī al-ʻulamāʼ, wa-al-qunūʻ fī al-mustabṣirīn, wa-al-sakhāʼ fī dhawī al-aqdār. Wa-thalāthah lā yushbaʻu minhunna: al-ḥayāh wa-al-māl wa-al-ʻāfiyah.

Wa-ammā al-mawtūr: fa-qad būdiʼa bi-al-isāʼah fa-ṣabara, wa-jūhira bi-al-ʻadāwah fa-akhfāhā. Fa-lahu tirat maẓlūm wa-wathbat mukhtalis, fa-tatawaqqá tirat ẓulāmatihi bi-al-istiʻṭāf, wa-tatawaqqá mukhālasatahu bi-al-iḥtirāz. Wa-qad rawá Mujālid ʻan al-Shaʻbī ʻan Ibn ʻAbbās ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: « iyyākum wa-al-mushārrah fa-innahā tadfinu al-ghurrah wa-tuẓhiru al-ʻurrah ». Wa-qad qīla fī amthāl al-ḥikam: thalāthah al-qalīl minhā kathīr, al-nār wa-al-ʻadāwah wa-al-maraḍ. Qāla al-shāʻir:

Fa-lā taʼmananna al-dahra ḥurran ẓalamtahu ٭ fa-mā laylu maẓlūmin karīmin bi-nāʼimi

Wa-ammā al-munāfis fa-huwa ṭālib rutbah in nāla minhā sadādan min ʻawaz yāsara, wa-in ḍūyiqa fīhā nāfara, fa-arkhi lahu ʻinān al-amal, wa-ikhfiḍ janāḥ munāfasatihi bi-al-istinābah wa-al-ʻamal, li-tadfaʻahu bi-al-muyāsarah ʻan al-munāfarah, wa-ghāliṭ bihi al-ayyām fa-in al-sāʻāt tahdimu al-aʻmār. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: al-marʼ bi-sāʻātihi; wa-al-dahr fī musāʻātihi. Wa-lā tajʻal lahu farāghan yatashāghalu fīhi bi-masāʼatika, wa-yajʻaluka ʻudhran fī al-saʻy ʻalá manzilatika, fa-in al-muḍṭarr jasūr. Fa-in sāqa al-qaḍāʼ ilayhi ḥaẓẓan kunta lahu muṣṭaniʻan yarʻá laka ḥuqūq al-iṣṭināʻ. Fa-qad qīla: min ʻalāmat al-iqbāl iṣṭināʻ al-rijāl. Wa-qāla baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ: iṣṭaniʻ al-khayr ʻinda imkānihi; yabqa laka ḥamduhu baʻda zawāl ayyāmihi; wa-aḥsin wa-al-dawlah laka yuḥsan ilayka wa-al-dawlah ʻalayka, wa-ijʻal zamān rakhāʼika ʻuddah li-zamān balāʼika. Wa-in ṣaddahu al-qaḍāʼ ʻan irādatihi wa-ḥajazahu al-qadar ʻan ṭilbatihi, kufīta mā khāfatahu wa-qad aḥsanta. Wa-waṣalta ilá mā aradtahu, wa-qad ajmamtu. Fa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: al-ḥawāʼij tuṭlabu bi-al-ʻanāʼ, wa-tudraku bi-al-qaḍāʼ, thumma qad awjabta bi-iḥsānika shukran; wa-aqamta bi-ijmāmika ʻudhran; ijtadhabta bihimā qiyād munāfisika ilá ṭāʻatika, wa-ṣaraftahu bihimā ʻan al-taʻarruḍ li-munāfasatika, fa-sa-yajʻaluka qiblat rajāʼihi idh lam yaḥẓa bi-khayr illā minka, wa-lam yaqḍi min zamānihi waṭaran illā bika. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: man istaṣlaḥa al-aḍdād balagha al-murād. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: qīla li-baʻḍ al-ḥukamāʼ mā al-nubl? Qāla muʼākhāt al-akfāʼ, wa-mudāhanat al-aʻdāʼ. Wa-rubbamā taʻarraḍa li-ʻadāwatika man qaṣṣara ʻan rutbat munāfasatika; fa-aʻṭihi min rajāʼihi ṭarafan, wa-iqbiḍ min zimāmihi ṭarafan, wa-ikhtabirhā fīhi fa-sa-taqifu bihi al-ghāyah ʻalá ṣalāḥ aw-fasād, fa-in ṣaluḥa sūʻida, wa-in fasada tūʻida wa-qad qāla Azdashīr ibn Bābak: iḥdharū ṣawlat al-karīm idhā jāʻa; wa-al-laʼīm idhā shabiʻa. Wa-qad qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: ʻillat al-muʻādāh qillat al-mubālāh. Wa-qāla Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd ʻalayhimā al-ṣalāh wa-al-salām li-ibnihi: lā tastakthir an yakūna laka alf ṣadīq fa-al-alf qalīl, wa-lā tastaqill an yakūna laka ʻadūw wāḥid fa-al-wāḥid kathīr. Wa-al-salāmah min al-zamān wa-ahlihi min kadhib al-amānī, fa-aqlil wa-lā tastakthir; fa-qad ruwiya ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: « law lam yuṣib ibn Ādam min al-dunyā illā al-amn wa-al-salāmah la-kafá bihimā dāʼ qātilan ». Wa-qīla fī manthūr al-ḥikam: al-nās ʻawn ʻalá al-ṣabr. Wa-qāla Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mahdī:

Wa-lil-nufūsi wa-in kānat ʻalá wajalin ٭ min al-manīyati āmālun tuqawwīhā fa-al-marʼu yabsuṭuhā wa-al-dahru yaqbiḍuhā ٭ wa-al-nafsu tanshuruhā wa-al-mawtu yaṭwīhā

Wa-al-qism al-rābiʻ: fī al-difāʻ ʻan al-raʻīyah min khawf wa-ikhtilāl min natāʼij al-ihmāl, wa-kilāhumā min sūʼ al-sīrah wa-fasād al-siyāsah li-taraddudihimā bayna tafrīṭ wa-ifrāṭ, wa-khurūjihimā ʻan al-ʻadl ilá taqṣīr aw isrāf: wa-hum qawām al-mulk al-mustamadd wa-dhakhīrat al-mustaʻadd in uhmilū fasadū wa-afsadū, wa-in ḥīfa ʻalayhim halakū wa-ahlakū, fa-lan yastaqīma mulk fasadat fīhi aḥwāl al-raʻāyā, li-annahu minhum bi-manzilat al-raʼs min al-jasad lā yanhaḍu illā bi-qūwatihi wa-lā yastaqillu illā bi-maʻūnatihi, wa-ʻalayka lahum thalāthat ḥuqūq: aḥaduhā an tuʻīnahum ʻalá ṣalāḥ maʻāyishihim, wa-wufūr makāsibihim, li-tatawaffara bihim mawādduka wa-taʻmura bihim bilāduka. Wa-qad rawá ʻAṭāʼ ʻan Jābir ʻan al-nabī ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama annahu qāla: « khayr al-nās anfaʻuhum lil-nās ». Wa-qāla Wahb ibn Munabbih: in aḥsan al-nās ʻayshan man ḥasuna ʻaysh al-nās fī ʻayshihi: wa-al-thānī an taqtaṣira minhum ʻalá ḥuqūqika wa-taḥmilahum fīhā ʻalá inṣāfika, li-yakūnū ʻalá al-istikthār aḥraṣ wa-fī al-ṭāʻah akhlaṣ, wa-qad qīla: man khāfa isāʼataka iʻtaqada masāʼataka. Wa-lā takilhum fī maqādīr al-ḥuqūq ilá ghayrika fa-yakūnū lahu arjaʼ wa-ʻalayhi aḥná. Fa-qad qīla fī sālif al-ḥikam: innamā yastakhriju mā ʻinda al-raʻīyah wulātuhā, wa-mā ʻinda al-jund qādatuhā, wa-mā-fī al-dīn wa-al-taʼwīl ʻulamāʼuhu: wa-al-thālith an