What they said about Arabic From the author's own Arabic
Al-Jahiz records a debate on which preserves deeds best – books, buildings or poetry; one of those present said:
“The excellence of poetry belongs to the Arabs alone and to those who speak the tongue of the Arabs. Poetry cannot be translated and does not bear transfer; once it is turned into another tongue its order is broken, its metre is lost, its beauty goes and what made it wonderful falls away – unlike prose. Prose composed as prose is finer and more telling than prose made out of metred verse… The books of India have been translated, the wisdom of the Greeks rendered and the literature of the Persians transferred; some of it gained in beauty and some lost nothing. But were the wisdom of the Arabs transferred, that marvel which is the metre would be lost.”
al-Jahiz
d. 255 AH / 869 CE
Abu ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Bahr of Basra, master of Arabic prose, author of al-Bayan wa-l-Tabyin and al-Hayawan.
The Arabic original
وَفَضِيلَةُ الشِّعْرِ مَقْصُورَةٌ عَلَى العَرَبِ، وَعَلَى مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ بِلِسَانِ العَرَبِ، وَالشِّعْرُ لا يُسْتَطَاعُ أَنْ يُتَرْجَمَ، وَلا يَجُوزُ عَلَيْهِ النَّقْلُ، وَمَتَى حُوِّلَ تَقَطَّعَ نَظْمُهُ وَبَطَلَ وَزْنُهُ، وَذَهَبَ حُسْنُهُ وَسَقَطَ مَوْضِعُ التَّعَجُّبِ، لا كَالكَلامِ المَنْثُورِ. وَالكَلامُ المَنْثُورُ المُبْتَدَأُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَحْسَنُ وَأَوْقَعُ مِنَ المَنْثُورِ الَّذِي تَحَوَّلَ مِنْ مَوْزُونِ الشِّعْرِ… وَقَدْ نُقِلَتْ كُتُبُ الهِنْدِ، وَتُرْجِمَتْ حِكَمُ اليُونَانِيَّةِ، وَحُوِّلَتْ آدَابُ الفُرْسِ؛ فَبَعْضُهَا ازْدَادَ حُسْناً، وَبَعْضُهَا مَا انْتَقَصَ شَيْئاً، وَلَوْ حُوِّلَتْ حِكْمَةُ العَرَبِ لَبَطَلَ ذَلِكَ المُعْجِزُ الَّذِي هُوَ الوَزْنُ.
Source
al-Jahiz, al-Hayawan, ed. ʿAbd al-Salam Harun, Cairo: al-Halabi, 2nd ed., 1965, vol. 1, pp. 74–75
The English translation is Voice of Arabic's, made from the original.
Spoken by a participant in a debate that al-Jahiz records in al-Hayawan; al-Jahiz reports it without rejecting this point, and it is usually quoted as his.
Tap a card to see it full size; each has a download button below it for sharing.
Spotted a mistake, or have something to add?
Your note comes to us only; it is not published here. We read it, and if it holds we correct the card.
