🌟 The Unparalleled Paradise [1]: The Poets & This Prestigious Peaceful Abode of Zeal.

Ibn al Qarih Enters Paradise; Various Poets & Their Reflections are recalled as to the nature of this heaven.

As the ‘Good Word’ is likened to a tree, the book starts with this description. And such a tree can figured as that of Paradise, Of fruits with endless good from them. The parables which lead people to do good and forbid evil.

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Ibn Qarih wrote such an epistle [The Epistle of Ibn Qarih] which the writer of our book Al Ma‘ari lauds and praises it as a good word. In response, Ibn Qarih becomes the main character of our book via this imaginative book in which he is wished for This Book’s Journey…

“May you Ibn Qarih be granted Paradise by The Lord,…

• In it a Tree with a ‘grateful’ shade from East to West,

• Roots of the tree with Waters from Hawdh al Kausar,

• Underneath him with ‘Jewelled Pages’ Ibn Qarih reads whilst sitting praising the Lord “We and the Trees are a gift from Allah to Ibn Al Qarih, stored up for him until the last trump.”

• With streams of Milk which change not as ages pass.

• And great rivers of Wine from flasks with unbroken seals.

  
  This wine… The very wine as described by Alqamah “عَلْقَمَةَ” which makes for the first couplet cited in the Book.

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  “ It Cures The Headache & Harms not The Drinker
  Nor brings it’s Buzzings in the Fuddled Brain ”

  🟢 Intricacies of the Verse

  This verse is a wondrous description of a Wine that relieves headache (ṣudāʿ) without causing harm or unpleasant side effects like dizziness.

  In the verse, we find,
  Contrast Between Healing & Harshness: تَشْفِى الصُّدَاعَ (heals the headache) vs. ولا يُؤْذِيهِ صالِبُها (does not harm with harshness).

  As well as,
  Balance of Effectiveness & Gentleness: A good wine as a remedy which should not only cures but is also mild and tolerable.

  
  🔵 Learning Arabic Words of the Couplet with its Context:

  تَشْفِى (tashfī)
  Root: ش ف ي (sh-f-y) | Meaning: To heal, cure, or relieve.
  Context: Here, it refers to wine that alleviates headache (ṣudāʿ).

  
  الصُّدَاعَ (aṣ-ṣudāʿ)

  Root: ص د ع (ṣ-d-ʿ) | Meaning: Headache, splitting pain in the head.

  Context: The object of تَشْفِى (what is being cured).¹

  
  وَلا يُؤْذِيهِ (wa lā yuʾdhīhi)

  Root: أ ذ ى (ʾ-dh-y) | Meaning: "To harm, injure, cause pain."

  Context: يؤذيهِ (it does not harm him). The wine is gentle, not causing side effects.

  
  صالِبُها (ṣālibuhā)

  Root: ص ل ب (ṣ-l-b) | Meaning: Hard, strong, severe.
  Context: Likely refers to the sharpness or strength.

  وَلا يُخالِطُ (wa lā yukhāliṭu)

  Root: خ ل ط (kh-l-ṭ) | Meaning: To mix, blend, combine.

  Context: The wine does not mix or affect the head in a disturbing way.

  
  مِنْهَا (minhā)

  Root: هـ ا (hā) | Meaning: From it (feminine pronoun).

  Context: Refers back to the wine mentioned earlier.

  
  الرَّأْسَ (ar-raʾs)²

  Root: ر أ س (r-ʾ-s) | Meaning: The head.

  Context: The wine does not cause dizziness or disturb the head.

  
  تَدْوِيمُ (tadwīm)

  Root: د و م (d-w-m) | Meaning: Continuous spinning, dizziness, vertigo.

  Context: The remedy does not cause a feeling of continuous dizziness.

🔘 Root Analysis & Classical Usage of these Roots:

🟡 Identifying the Meter (البحر الشعري)

تَشْفِى الصُّدَاعَ، وَلا يُؤْذِيهِ صَالِبُها
Tashfī 'ṣ-ṣudāʿa, wa lā yuʾdhīhi ṣālibuhā

Breaking it into syllables:
Ta-shfī ṣ-ṣu-dā-ʿa, wa-lā yuʾ-dhī-hi ṣā-li-bu-hā

⬇ Prosodic Notation:

⏑ — ⏑ — | ⏑ — — ⏑ | ⏑ — — ⏑ —

وَلَا يُخَالِطُ مِنْهَا الرَّأْسَ تَدْوِيمُ
Wa-lā yukhāliṭu minhā ar-raʾsa tadwīmu

Breaking it into syllables:
Wa-lā yu-khā-li-ṭu min-hā ar-raʾ-sa tad-wī-mu

⬇ Prosodic Notation:

⏑ — ⏑ — | ⏑ — — ⏑ | ⏑ — — ⏑ —

This Notation follows a Bahr at Tawil where ‘⏑’ being short syllable & ‘—’ notating a long syllable.

Baḥr Ṭawīl was often used by Arabs for serious, reflective, and grand themes. The long, rolling rhythm of Ṭawīl suits philosophical and didactic poetry, as seen here. The balance between short and long syllables also mirrors the theme of relief and stability in the verse. (Recite it for yourself :D)

1. The root Ṣ-D-ʿ (صَدَعَ) carries the idea of splitting, separating forcefully, or breaking apart. In "Ṣudāʿ" (صداع) - headache, it refers to the sensation of the head feeling split due to pain. In contrast, in the hadith where the Prophet S.A.Ws [See Root Table] says "Uṣaddiʿu bimā umirtu" (أُصَدِّعُ بِمَا أُمِرْتُ)—"I proclaim what I am commanded"—it means "to make distinct, to separate truth from falsehood."

Despite the difference in context, the core idea of "splitting" remains intact. In the case of a headache, the head is figuratively "broken apart" by pain.

2. You may be familiar with People of the Ra’s (Ashaab Ar Ra’s) in the Quran [Surah Al Furqan]. These people, it is lost to time their parable and story. A reference to these people, however, can be found in one of couplets of Zuhayr Ibn Abi Salma;

وَكَأَنَّ وادِي الرَأْسِ غَدَرَ بنُفُوسٍ مَذْمُومَةٍ

فَلا يَخْفُ عَنْ اللهِ مَا تَضْمَرُهُ القُلُوبُ

The word "Raʾs" (رَأْسُ) means "head," "top," or "leader," signifying elevation and prominence. In contrast, "Ar-Rass" (الرَّسُّ), as mentioned in the Qurʾān (25:38, 50:12), refers to a buried well or a vanished people. This creates an inherent contrast between what is elevated (the head) and what is buried (a people lost to history). The root ر-س-س usaully suggests depth, disappearance, and entombment.
While "Raʾs" in the verse refers to the literal head, the concept of affliction connects both terms thematically.