Ibn Shihna’s conclusion to his 100 lines (Mīʾat al-Maʿānī wa-l-Bayān)

[al-Mu'tamid المعتمد]

An interesting way of ending a poem. This piece is attributed to Ibn Shihna, who composed a hundred lines on ʿilm al-balāgha (the science of rhetoric). His final section deals with poetic theft and its various types. What is striking is the way he concludes.

The section begins by condemning forms of theft such as nasḫ (copying) and salḫ (stripping), yet it ends by highlighting positive poetic virtues: a strong opening, smooth transitions, and an elegant conclusion. In this way, he subtly shows that he practices what he preaches. By closing the section with a perfectly crafted ending, he himself demonstrates the very quality he praises — ḥusn al-ikhtitām, the beauty of closure.

السَّرِقَاتُ الشِّعْرِيَّةُ​

(Poetic Thefts)

٩٦ – السَّرِقَاتُ ظَاهِرٌ؛ فَالنَّسْخُ يُذَمُّ لَا إِنِ اسْتُطِيبَ المَسُوخُ
٩٧ – وَالسَّلْخُ مِثْلُهُ، وَغَيْرُ ظَاهِرٍ كَوَضْعِ مَعْنًى فِي مَحَلٍّ آخَرَ
٩٨ – أَوْ يَتَشَابَهَانِ أَوْ ذَا أَشْمَلُ وَمِنْهُ قَلْبٌ، وَاقْتِبَاسٌ يُنْقَلُ
٩٩ – وَمِنْهُ تَضْمِينٌ وَتَلْمِيحٌ وَحَلٌّ وَمِنْهُ عَقْدٌ، وَالتَّأَنُّقُ أَنْ تَسُلْ
١٠٠ – بَرَاعَةُ اسْتِهْلَالٍ انْتِقَالٌ حُسْنُ اخْتِتَامٍ وَانْتَهَى الْمَقَالُ

Translation​

96 – Poetic thefts are evident; verbatim copying (nasḫ) is condemned, unless what is copied is improved.
97 – And “stripping” (salḫ) is similar, though less obvious—like taking a meaning and placing it in another setting.
98 – Or when two verses resemble each other—or this may be broader; among them is reversal (qalb), and borrowing (iqtibās) that is transferred.
99 – And among them is insertion (taḍmīn), allusion (talmīḥ), and loosening (ḥall); and among them is condensing (ʿaqd), and refinement (taʾannuq) that you may extract.
100 – There is the brilliance of a good opening (barāʿat al-istihlāl), transition (intiqāl), the grace of a fine ending (ḥusn al-ikhtitām), and thus the discourse is complete.

 

[cunug3aad]

The naxwa poems they are always intriguing but i am not good enough at arabic to learn this content on my own. I would need a teacher to help me jzk for poem