«جَادَ بِالْعَيْنِ حِينَ أَعْمَى هَوَاهُ عَيْنَهُ فَأَتَانِي بِلَا عَيْنَيْنِ»
He gave away precious money when desire blinded his eye, and came to me as though bereft of both eyes.
ʿAyn can denote the eye and also ready money or a valued thing. The poem uses these meanings together: desire has blinded judgment, and the official has spent cash. Bi-lā ʿaynayn doubles the pun. This is wordplay about moral blindness and financial loss, not a report that the governor literally lost his eyesight.
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The Raḥbiyyah Maqāmah — Abū Zayd Revealed, Escape and Satirical Counsel
«جَادَ بِالْعَيْنِ حِينَ أَعْمَى هَوَاهُ عَيْنَهُ فَأَتَانِي بِلَا عَيْنَيْنِ»
He gave away precious money when desire blinded his eye, and came to me as though bereft of both eyes.
ʿAyn can denote the eye and also ready money or a valued thing. The poem uses these meanings together: desire has blinded judgment, and the official has spent cash. Bi-lā ʿaynayn doubles the pun. This is wordplay about moral blindness and financial loss, not a report that the governor literally lost his eyesight.