The Proverbs

Sa‘īd ibn Bābshād

Early 11th Century

I

Lend me your ear, my son, and take discipline;

as a father disciplines his son, so discipline your soul.

I raised my eyes to the ancient paths,

to the expanses of the earth, I turned my face.

I contemplated it, to investigate and inquire of it,

to search and examine it by the ancient ways.

I glimpsed a walled garden in its midst,

and in its hidden recesses I found it.

I yearned to find its entryways

and a path for my footsteps, to arrive at the goal.

I trod its walkways, which to my eyes were hard,

rough and crooked, convoluted routes.

Its paths untamed, its crossings turbulent,

and its hedges seemed to me like a thorny bramble.

Its gates seemed closed shut and forbidding,

and the locks of its doors strongly fastened against me.

Strong as an iron wall protecting those within,

and its guardians mighty in strength.

My soul could not bear the task of entering it.

Convulsions seized me as I approached its sanctum.

I was too faint to revive myself from its streams,

and I thought its waters too bitter to drink.

I yearned to gaze at the splendor of its foliage,

but darkness confronted me and obscured it.

My spirit longed to cross its threshold,

but dread gripped me, draining my strength.

I hungered to taste its dainty buds,

but they were disgusting to my sight, and my mouth shut against them.

My spirit yearned to savor its fragrant spices,

but my soul was repelled by a foul odor.

I longed to take refuge in the shelter of its shade,

but it turned to desert heat, to my pain.

I opened my eyes to understand my affliction

and sought healing, reversal within me.¹

I turned to wisdom, and in it found my remedy,

and I took hold of patience, and by it my wound was healed.

I purified my heart of my polluted schemes,

and then the hidden garden was revealed to my sight.

I sanctified my innards from heart’s pride,

and then its convoluted ways became dear to me.

I rid myself of crooked and dishonest deeds,

and the turbulent waters of the crossings became placid.

I closed my eyelids from coveting,

and all its locked doors opened wide to me.

I trained my tongue against duplicitous speech,

and then its guardians turned to greet me in peace.

I tuned my two ears to avoid falsehood,

and then my eyes beheld the splendor of its flowering.

I redirected my steps to avoid sinners,

and then I tasted the delicacy of its buds.

The shadows of its branches enveloped me,

and my soul delighted in the shelter of its canopy.

I dwelt in its space in tranquility and security,

and was filled with the good fragrance of its spices.

Joyfully singing I drew its waters,

and found the draught of eternal life in its water troughs.

My soul was refreshed by the blowing breeze,

and my heart forgot all its pain and suffering.

My eyes shone from the splendid radiance of its light,

and my limbs sprouted forth as the grass.

Light and rejoicing from its fragrant soil,

glee and singing around its borders,

Blessings of eternal life hovering in its air,

generations delight in its majestic adornments!

Listen, children, and hear [this parable I set forth].

Attend to it and be quick to interpret it!

Happy is the person who finds delight in it.

It is a parable for you; understand its meaning.

Such is the path of reverence: whoso finds it

bitter in its beginning, it will be sweet in the end.

The first principle—acquire knowledge of your Creator,

and on the foundation of reverence for Him, build what you will build.

For from Him your unique soul is sent forth,

and to Him you will yet return at your end.

His eyes observe your actions,

so that you may eat the fruit of your labors in the end.

Tread the paths of wisdom to the knowledge of God;

observe its walkways and do not stray from it.

Set it as your objective and compass,

the light for your steps in the dark land of folly,

For without knowledge, reverence cannot succeed,

and the service of God will prosper from wisdom.

Whoso sows with knowledge will reap fine fruit,

but folly is barren and will harvest no good.

Awaken, my son, from the slumber of youth! [ . . . ]

II

Understand your origin and the source of your being

and contemplate how your creation was.

Was not humankind originally formed from nothingness,

and the substance and basis of his life worm and maggots—

Inanimate clod transformed, enlivened with spirit

bestowed from above, the body receiving enlightenment—

What good preceded him, by which he was granted life?²

By what kindness was he made superior to other creatures?

Surely not by his own goodness, power, and might

did the Lord endow him with this privilege, but by His grace,

By the good will of his Creator he was brought forth from nothing

and by the righteousness of His act, man was made into something.

Furthermore, his endowment was not the same as other creatures’,

but was honored more highly with a generous spirit

A living spirit not shared with other living beings,

and a spirit of knowledge withheld from other creatures.

His portion is but a little less than the host of heaven

and his dominion extends over all the terrestrials.

His hand is over the dry land and his rule over the seas.

Great and mighty ones proceed from his kind.

Wisdom was set aside for him to lead the other species.

And to him alone was granted sovereignty over multitudes.

To him alone was thought given, to meditate,

to distinguish good from evil, to direct every deed.

To him, too, was given expression of tongue and lips

and the thoughts of the heart, revealed by opening the mouth.

His are the earthly enjoyments and all kinds of wealth.

His, too, are the soul’s cravings and the heart’s desires.

His are silver and fine gold and treasures of fortune.

His are precious ornaments and festive garments.

His are the delights of the earth and the delicacies of its produce.

His are the fragrance of its spices and the goodness of its growths.

To him was given understanding to know the law of the Supreme,

laws leading to eternal life and the secret radiant light.

It is his destiny to be among the holy celestial beings

with safe conduct among the ancient watchers.

What, then, mortal man, would you be boastful

before the Lord who has the power and strength?

Shall [the soul] conceive ill thoughts concerning its Fashioner and Creator,

who with perfect understanding installed it in its receptacle?

What complaint shall a putrid and impure drop raise

against Him who constituted it in understanding and wondrous wisdom?

Shall he who is ignorant on how his clay substance was given shape

impute error to Him who shaped and established it?

Shall a despicable and lowly body harbor designs

against Him who enlightened him to know good from evil?

Can man, with all his strength and knowledge, repay His goodness

for a single breath or a moment’s existence?

Translated by Leonard S. Levin.

Notes

[The word le-hefekh can be construed as “the reverse (of healing, namely, illness),” but it can also be understood as “the reversal (of my affliction) was found within me”—i.e., I found the power within myself to reverse the malaise. This couplet is ambiguous, and can be read either as a continuation of the series of oppositions of the preceding couplets, or as a transition to the resolution in the following couplets.—Trans.]

[This line can mean “What good had man performed previously, to be deserving of the gift of life?” But it can also mean, “What beneficence was there in God’s intention, that resulted in man being given the gift of life?”—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.