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Return to Paradise
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٣٠٥ 305 Return to Paradise Having found few pearls of wisdom with them, the Sheikh leaves them in their neverending misery. He sets out for his dwelling in Paradise. On the way he meets Adam (peace be upon him). “Our father,” he says, “May God bless you! There is some poetry that has been transmitted as being by you, such as this: We are the sons of the earth and those who dwell on it: from it we’ve been created, and to it we shall return. Good fortune will not stay with those who have it, and bad fortune is obliterated by good fortune’s nights.” “True words,” says Adam, “They must have been uttered by some sage. But I have never heard them until this moment.” The Sheikh says (may God given him an ample portion of reward!), “Perhaps, father, you composed these verses and then forgot about them. For you know that you were prone to forgetting quickly, which is sufficiently proved by the verse recited in the Revelation678 of Muḥammad (God bless and preserve him): «We made a covenant with Adam before, but he forgot and We did not find constancy in him». Some scholar asserted that you were called insān, ‘human being,’ because of your forgetfulness, nisyān. The proof, he argued, is that the diminutive form, ‘little man,’ is unaysiyān and the plural, ‘men’ is anāsīy.679 That ‘human being’ is derived from ‘forgetfulness’ is also transmitted on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and the poet from the tribe of Ṭayyiʾ680 said: Do not forget those pledges! You are called insān (‘a man’) because you are a nāsī (‘someone who forgets’). “Someone read the Qurʾanic verse «Then move on from where the people (al-nāsu) move on»,681 reading al-nāsi, meaning al-nāsī (‘he who forgets’), shortening the ī, as it is shortened in «equally for him who stays in it and him who comes to it (al-bādi)».682 The Basrian scholars, however, believe that insān (‘human being’) is derived from uns (‘sociability’) and that the 19.1.1 A meeting with Adam ٣٠٦ 306 È U ٣،١،١٩ . @Uz{² ) 123 )* + , - . 12?123 . È12 ÔT @}~ cT ´|F6 NO [ ) 3 ، [ @h L UNO L) 789c ) ، [ % ¯tNO L) % & ' 3 NO ) 123 c T NO¿ Û L Ü ÝÝÕ¶©·¸ ) [´ Vð¤ fqr Ñ ) ، i NOL P ) 123 i 312S * + , - . ) J S [ æ Þ ×G û ) :c89 X YZ % & L '£9c ، J KP ß 12Q d 3 È ) % & 'a ) MghG M( L 2Ç ) ¿ Û Ü Ý 3 ،c TNO [ Óz{| % & 'a ) % & '( Uz{| 9Æ [ ?O @µ )* + , - . % & 'a ) [´ èu }Îü89 3 ، c É ;`a 46M [´³à á¦Ç i @hj k L % ) 3 ،c T L % & '£9 xP89 ،% & 'a M(123 NOl ;®no ، X YZ % & '( L P }Îü89 3 ، [´ð Ê f Ë°89M F5G % & ' 3 12¼123 3 È12 Ê f ˸ È ) ´ ; ä89 P 3 % F5G123 ؟789 j k ß * + , - . J K ) 789 j kM % & ' 3 : z{| ؟ % & '( NO [ Ó % & '( Uz{|123 M 46M 12 3 ) ¾Qd Ê f Ë= 3 Þ P12 L ( M  èT ) 123 c Þ uL»89 [ j k M  è~ :12 3 % A * + , - .) ، A¤ fq ،P c L u % & '£9 J S' Ê f Ë[ É k qr㢠NO ) 123 ،M  è d 3 x12Ö NO % P ) @A¤ f ) ¿ Û Ü Ý 3 M  è~ = >[ þ Ð ) È ) 9cd 3 c É ;`a }~ ) 123 % ¯Ì~ ! " 3 ،M  èT ) % & 12 ê² 46M( }~ ) 123 ، i J K}~L P @}~ i 456j k )* + , - . % & }~123 ، J K}Î L Ï Ð 3 122 ) ë̈ Å gL hG [ c . È123456 L 789 l ;¡¢ È123F5G j k c É ;`a L9M ) L ÓM L~ @ ; 123 ،l ; L¡¢ * + , - . ô x F È12ú L V Þ Mz{ [³~ L 5G Ê f Ë~ [/ j k123 }~12? L F6NO L ¸ L¿À 0 á# z{ L % F5G 123[ Ó46UV¬? % & ' 3 i x L Ó~ L Óz{ö L 12 3 ) @}~ ô Ó i 46cu12Ç ) 3 % F5G j k12 46M :NO ) ´&89 3 .456j k12 ! È12¤ f L 123  è~ ! " L c % & ' 3 J S' Ê f ˸) ! L % L ¯ Þ ×G L û [ ) L Óz Þ L~ J S' Ê f ˸ L % & '£9 Þ L Þ Ø L) :c89 X YZ % & '£9c ، J KP ß 12Q d 3 ، @h M? [ @µ¬( }à á¦Ç qr Ñ ) 123 ،% Ó ï % & ' 3 LL 2 [Ç * + , - . 123 ، J S æ èT 46M [´JÇ }~ [´V| ß L 12ê² % & '£9 L J S Ú ، J S' Ê f Ëý T ) J KP ß % & '£9 L J S Ú ، J S' Ê f Ë ¸123 J S' Ê f Ëò? j k % & '£9 J S æ A F/ U Þ V L ) * + Þ , - . [L 3} : ) ?O L cu rst ¾Qd Ê f Ë= 3 :L 789l ; Þ L ù % & '£9 46 L U123 }ÎóL ( [ "Î Ï Ð i 46 [ U ) 123 i }Î [ ó ( ) È ) : c89 3 P ) 123 ، i L A Ê f ËL ¸ [ UV L? :¿ÀÁ Â12 3 @}~ ، i L A Ê f ËL ¸M?O 89 Ã] Ä Å ، ô Õ¶©·¸ ) 123 ô Þ A Ê f Ë[ ¸ : cT12 3 % & '£9 È12 Ê f...
