«وَأَوَدُّ الْحَمِيمَ وَلَوْ جَرَّعَنِي الْحَمِيمَ»
I cherish a close friend even if he makes me swallow, as it were, scalding water.
One voice commends affection and forbearance even when the close friend causes suffering. The two senses of ḥamīm—intimate friend and scalding water—create an effective double meaning.
A contrasting view prizes fair reciprocity. The juxtaposition differentiates character and ethical preference rather than reducing the exchange to a simple synonym pair.
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Comprehensive Revision — Literary and Linguistic Study of Ten Maqāmāt
«وَأَوَدُّ الْحَمِيمَ وَلَوْ جَرَّعَنِي الْحَمِيمَ»
I cherish a close friend even if he makes me swallow, as it were, scalding water.
One voice commends affection and forbearance even when the close friend causes suffering. The two senses of ḥamīm—intimate friend and scalding water—create an effective double meaning.
A contrasting view prizes fair reciprocity. The juxtaposition differentiates character and ethical preference rather than reducing the exchange to a simple synonym pair.