The Dimyāṭī Maqāmah: Abū Zayd Unmasked and His Parting Message

1. After the poem, the mystery returns

The previous section set two approaches to friendship against each other: unconditional kindness and reciprocal justice. Once the poetic argument ends, al-Ḥārith wants to identify the two speakers.

«فَلَمَّا وَعَيْتُ مَا دَارَ بَيْنَهُمَا تَقْتُ إِلَى أَنْ أَعْرِفَ عَيْنَيْهِمَا»
When I had understood their exchange, I longed to know who they really were.

Waʿaytu means to comprehend and retain rather than simply hear, while taqtu signals a keen desire. This is the narrative pivot from a debate about conduct to an inquiry into identity.

2. Daybreak in an unusual expression

«فَلَمَّا لَاحَ ابْنُ ذَكَاءَ»
When the sun appeared.

Ibn Dhakāʾ is an uncommon literary expression for the sun. Rather than simply saying “morning came,” the narration gives daylight a memorable poetic name. Lāḥa means to appear or become visible.

The change of time also changes what the narrator can do: he can examine faces, locate the sound he heard, and resolve the mystery. Dawn advances the action, not merely the clock.

3. Leaving early and following the voice

«غَدَوْتُ قَبْلَ اسْتِقْلَالِ الرِّكَابِ ... وَجَعَلْتُ أَسْتَقْرِي صَوْبَ الصَّوْتِ اللَّيْلِيِّ»
I went out early, before the mounts departed, and began tracing the direction of the voice I had heard at night.

Ghadawtu suggests setting out in the morning, rikāb the travelling mounts, and astaqrī searching or tracing. Ṣawb (direction) sits close in sound to ṣawt (voice).

The narrator does not begin with a visible identity; he follows a remembered sound until it leads him to the speakers.

4. The two speakers are father and son

«لَمَحْتُ أَبَا زَيْدٍ وَابْنَهُ يَتَحَادَثَانِ، وَعَلَيْهِمَا بُرْدَانِ رَثَّانِ»
I caught sight of Abū Zayd and his son talking together, both wearing worn-out cloaks.

The two eloquent speakers are now identified. Their verbal brilliance contrasts with their humble, threadbare appearance. A burd is a wrap or cloak, while rathth means worn or shabby.

Yataḥādathāni is a dual imperfect verb. In burdāni raththāni, the noun and adjective are both dual, showing grammatical agreement.

5. From curiosity to affectionate treatment

«فَقَصَدْتُهُمَا قَصْدَ كَلِفٍ بِدَمَاثَتِهِمَا»
I approached them like someone deeply taken with their amiable manner.

Kalif suggests keen attachment or fascination, and damātha is gentleness and pleasant manners. The inquiry has become warmer: the narrator admires their language and company, not merely the riddle of their identity.

Qaṣadtu ... qaṣda repeats a verbal root in verb and verbal noun, adding emphasis to the manner of his approach.

6. Their poverty and the narrator’s hospitality

«رَاثٍ لِرَثَاثَتِهِمَا ... التَّحَوُّلَ إِلَى رَحْلِي»
Feeling compassion for their threadbare condition.

Rāthin and rathātha resemble each other in sound but have different roles: the former conveys compassion, the latter shabby condition. The narrator now moves from admiring speech to providing practical assistance.

His generosity becomes part of the dramatic structure: it makes the later disappearance much more consequential.

7. The metaphor of fruit-bearing branches

«وَأَهُزُّ الْأَعْوَادَ الْمُثْمِرَةَ لَهُمَا»
And I shook fruit-bearing branches for their benefit.

This is vivid language for finding or providing benefits, not necessarily a report of an actual orchard visit. Al-aʿwād are pieces of wood or branches; al-muthmira means fruit-bearing.

The image turns assistance into a physical act: the host reaches for a branch and brings fruit within reach of his guests. The movement gives the prose energy while reinforcing generosity in action.

8. They receive help and consider moving on

«إِلَى أَنْ عُمِرَا بِالنَّحْلَانِ وَأَخَذَا مِنَ الْخُلَّانِ، وَكُنَّا بِمُعَرَّسٍ»
Until the two had received generous gifts and support from friends, while we were at a travellers’ stopping place.

Naḥlān concerns gifts; khullān means friends. The words echo each other without having the same meaning. Muʿarras is a place to stop briefly on a journey.

Nearby villages are within sight. This shift in setting matters: it makes Abū Zayd’s subsequent request to visit a village seem plausible.

9. After receiving help, a new request

«فَلَمَّا رَأَى أَبُو زَيْدٍ امْتِلَاءَ كِيسِهِ وَإِجْلَاءَ بُؤْسِهِ»
When Abū Zayd saw that his purse was full and his hardship relieved.

Kīs is a purse or bag; buʾs indicates hardship. The near-rhyme of imtilāʾ / ijlāʾ accompanies the balanced ideas of filling a purse and removing distress.

The order of events is deliberate. Two poorly dressed travellers have now benefited from hospitality; only then does Abū Zayd request permission to go elsewhere. The outcome will show what that request means.

10. The proposed bath and its pretext

«إِنَّ بَدَنِي قَدِ اتَّسَخَ وَدَرَنِي قَدْ رَسَخَ»
My body has become dirty, and the grime upon me has settled deeply.

Abū Zayd frames a mundane problem in elegant parallel clauses. Ittasakha means to become dirty; rasakha to become firmly fixed; daran is dirt or grime.

The requested bath sounds reasonable. Yet this is a character already shown to use language persuasively. His artistry is not separate from the plot: it helps make the request convincing.

11. Seeking permission and receiving it

«أَفَتَأْذَنُ لِي فِي قَصْدِ قَرْيَةٍ لِأَسْتَحِمَّ وَأَقْضِيَ هَذَا الْمُهِمَّ؟»
Will you permit me to visit a village so that I can bathe and attend to this need?

Afataʾdhanu politely requests permission; li-astaḥimma expresses purpose: “so that I may bathe.”

«فَقُلْتُ: إِذَا شِئْتَ فَالسُّرْعَةَ السُّرْعَةَ، وَالرَّجْعَةَ الرَّجْعَةَ»
I answered: If you wish, then go quickly and return quickly.

The doubled nouns al-surʿa / al-rajʿa create insistent emphasis. Permission is granted, but on an implicit expectation of return.

12. The promise of a lightning-fast return

«سَتَجِدُ مَطْلَعِي عَلَيْكَ أَسْرَعَ مِنْ ارْتِدَادِ طَرْفِكَ إِلَيْكَ»
You will find me appearing before you sooner than your glance returns to you.

Maṭlaʿī here refers to his reappearance. Asraʿ min is a comparative construction, “faster than,” and ṭarf refers to the eye or its glance.

The promise is obvious hyperbole. It sounds confident, but the relevant evidence will not be the beauty of its wording; it will be whether the speaker actually returns.

13. A horse breaking into a gallop

«ثُمَّ اسْتَنَّ اسْتِنَانَ الْجَوَادِ فِي الْمِضْمَارِ»
He then dashed off like a fine horse racing on a track.

Istanna evokes vigorous rapid movement. Al-jawād here means a noble or swift horse, and al-miḍmār a racing or training ground.

The pairing istanna istināna uses a verb and its cognate verbal noun for emphasis. There is humour in the scale of the comparison: an ordinary trip for a bath is described like a race.

14. The son follows and the two disappear

Abū Zayd leaves swiftly, and his son also heads away. The narrator and his fellow travellers remain at camp, expecting an early return because the stated errand was short.

«بِدَارًا بِدَارًا»
Quickly, quickly!

Bidār conveys haste or rushing forward. Its repetition recalls the narrator's earlier demand for a quick return. The irony is now becoming visible: the men appear to be hurrying away, not hurrying back.

The narrator has not yet received conclusive proof of deceit; the long wait is about to provide that proof.

15. Waiting as eagerly as for a festival

«فَلَبِثْنَا نَرْقُبُهُ رِقْبَةَ الْأَعْيَادِ»
We remained watching for him with the anticipation people feel for festivals.

Narqibuhu means to watch and wait for him; riqba reinforces the act of waiting. Al-aʿyād are festivals or feast days, awaited with eagerness.

The comparison conveys expectation and the seeming slowness of time. Instead of declaring the trick immediately, the narrative lets the reader experience the travellers’ prolonged wait.

16. A day made old by waiting

«إِلَى أَنْ هَرِمَ النَّهَارُ وَكَادَ جَرْفُ الْيَوْمِ يَنْهَارُ»
Until the day grew old and the day's edge seemed about to collapse.

Harima means to grow old. A day cannot literally age, so the expression personifies time. Jarf is a bank or edge, and yanhār evokes collapse.

Together these images make time feel physical: a long-lived creature and an eroding bank. The morning promise has lasted almost until night, with no sign of the promised return.

17. Sunset described through garments

«فَلَمَّا طَالَ أَمَدُ الِانْتِظَارِ وَلَاحَتِ الشَّمْسُ فِي الْأَطْمَارِ»
As the wait lengthened, the sun seemed to appear in worn-out garments.

Amad is a period or span. Aṭmār are old, worn garments; they become an image for the diminished light of the sinking sun.

Earlier the men were dressed in worn wraps; now the sun seems dressed in old clothing. The recurrence of dress imagery gives the episode a subtle visual coherence, while marking the passage toward evening.

18. Their prolonged absence becomes clear

«قَدْ تَنَاهَيْنَا فِي الْمُهْلَةِ وَتَمَادَيْنَا فِي الرِّحْلَةِ ... وَبَانَ أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ قَدْ مَانَ»
We had reached the limit of waiting and delayed our journey; it became plain that the man had lied.

Māna means to lie. The narrator moves from suspicion to a conclusion based on the long failure to return.

Tanāhaynā / tamādaynā echo in sound, while both convey the extension of time. The conclusion is narratively earned: permission, hurried departure, festival-like expectation, and the fading day have preceded it.

19. Preparing the saddle, noticing a message

«وَنَهَضْتُ ... وَأَحْمِلَ لِرِحْلَتِي»
I rose to ready my mount and prepare for the journey.

The narrator returns to ordinary travel arrangements, but this movement leads to another discovery. Abū Zayd does not appear in person; instead, something written will speak for him.

Rāḥila refers to a travelling mount, whereas riḥla concerns travel or departure. The similar sounds connect the actions while keeping their meanings distinct. A practical task unexpectedly becomes the means of literary revelation.

20. A poem inscribed on the saddle

«فَوَجَدْتُ أَبَا زَيْدٍ قَدْ كَتَبَ عَلَى الْقَتَبِ حِينَ شَمَّرَ لِلْهَرَبِ»
I discovered that Abū Zayd had written on the saddle when he made ready to flee.

Al-qatab is a type of camel saddle, and shammara lil-harab evokes getting ready for flight. The endings of qatab / harab contribute a rhymed-prose effect.

The missed return is no accident. Abū Zayd has fled, but has turned even his escape into a literary performance by leaving behind a poem.

21. The opening thanks his benefactor

«يَا مَنْ غَدَا لِي سَاعِدًا / وَمُسَاعِدًا دُونَ الْبَشَرِ»
O you who became my support and helper above other people.

Sāʿidan / musāʿidan are related expressions of help and support. Their shared sound turns an acknowledgment of assistance into musical verse.

On the surface, Abū Zayd thanks al-Ḥārith for generosity. But the thanks arrives as a message after an escape, not with a loyal return. That tension between verbal gratitude and action is essential to the humour.

22. He denies leaving out of boredom or pride

«لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ أَنِّي نَأَيْتُكَ عَنْ مَلَالٍ أَوْ أَشَرِ»
Do not imagine that I went away because of boredom or arrogant high spirits.

Naʾaytu means to go away; malāl is weariness and ashar overexuberance or insolent pride. Lā taḥsabanna combines prohibition and emphatic nūn, making the denial forceful.

Yet the denial does not undo the act. Abū Zayd is explaining his motives while leaving his generous host with the consequences of his departure.

23. The punchline of the maqāmah

«لَكِنَّنِي مُذْ لَمْ أَزَلْ / مَنْ إِذَا طَعِمَ انْتَشَرْ»
But it has always been my way: once I have eaten, I go off.

Ṭaʿima means to eat; intashara here means to disperse or leave. Abū Zayd does not merely invent an excuse; he describes departure after a meal as his habit.

This is the punchline. A man who has participated in a sophisticated debate on companionship accepts hospitality and disappears, leaving an elegant self-explanation. His language remains dazzling, but his deeds invite a different judgment.

24. Speech, promise and outcome

StageAppearanceOutcomeDebateNoble principles of friendshipAl-Ḥārith is impressedMeetingPoor clothes, brilliant languageHospitality is offeredPermissionA short visit for a bathSwift return is promisedOutcomeFather and son do not returnDeparture is inferredFinal poemPraise and an ingenious excuseThe ironic self-revelation

The lesson is not that good speaking must be dishonest. Its point is narrower and sharper: eloquence alone does not prove good conduct. The distinction produces the maqāmah’s humour and criticism.

25. Closing the fourth maqāmah

The Dimyāṭī Maqāmah moves from travel and companionship through two impressive speeches, a poem, the revelation of identities, hospitality, a promise, prolonged waiting, and flight. The final verse resolves the comic tension.

Core vocabulary:
Waʿā — to understand and retain.
Rathth — worn or shabby.
Daran — grime.
Muʿarras — travellers’ stopping place.
Qatab — a camel saddle.
Intashara — here, to leave or disperse.

Literary conclusion: Rhymed prose, sound patterning, simile, metaphor, and final irony all advance the story. This concludes the fourth (Dimyāṭī) maqāmah. The next is the fifth (Kūfī) maqāmah.