The Ṣanʿāʾ Maqāmah: Missed Goodness, Competing Priorities, and Contradictory Conduct

1. The Sermon Turns to Missed Opportunities

The preacher has already criticized heedlessness despite repeated warnings. He now considers occasions on which good actions were possible but were displaced by personal preference.

Compassion, knowledge, charity, worship, and integrity form the sequence. Money is contrasted with generosity, possessions with moral acts, recreation with worship, and finally advice with conduct.

The rhetoric works through closely sounding words. Instead of merely saying “be good,” the speaker exposes which of two competing things a person actually chooses.

2. The Chance to Show Compassion

وَأَمْكَنَكَ أَنْ تُوَاسِيَ فَمَا آسَيْتَ
You had the chance to console and support others, but you did not.

Tuwāsī describes comforting, standing beside, or helping someone in difficulty. Āsayta concerns that same act; its negation states that an available opportunity was not used.

The rhetorical force is in distinguishing ability from action. Being capable of kindness is not the same as extending it.

3. Opportunity and Negation in the Sentence

In أَمْكَنَكَ أَنْ تُوَاسِيَ, the person had the opportunity to offer support. After an, the imperfect verb tuwāsiya is in the subjunctive (manṣūb).

فَمَا آسَيْتَ joins the missed outcome with fa, while mā negates the action. The sentence therefore holds opportunity and failure to act in a compact contrast.

For example, someone could help a neighbor in need but chooses not to. This is precisely the moral gap the preacher highlights.

4. A Coin and a Remembered Admonition

تُؤْثِرُ فِلْسًا تُوعِيهِ عَلَى ذِكْرٍ تَعِيهِ
You prefer putting away a small coin to retaining a meaningful reminder.

Fils is a small coin. Tūʿīhi means to store or preserve it, while taʿīhi means to understand and retain the admonition. The related sounds reinforce the comparison.

The point is not that all saving is wrong. It is the misplaced priority of a minor possession over valuable moral understanding.

5. Building a Palace versus Extending Kindness

وَتَخْتَارُ قَصْرًا تُعَلِّيهِ عَلَى بِرٍّ تُوَلِّيهِ
You choose raising a fine building over extending an act of goodness.

Qaṣran tuʿallīhi evokes visibly making a palace taller. Birrin tuwallīhi concerns directing kindness toward another person.

One choice creates visible grandeur; the other benefits someone. The echo between tuʿallīhi and tuwallīhi makes that moral contrast especially memorable.

6. Three Choices, One Underlying Principle

PreferredNeglectedPersonal comfort despite opportunityHelp for someone in distressA saved coinA remembered admonitionA taller palaceKindness to others

The three neglected goods differ: compassion, the lasting effect of advice, and beneficence. Thus the criticism is broader than one particular act.

The shared question is which value a person actually gives priority to when choices compete.

7. A Guide and Provisions

وَتَرْغَبُ عَنْ هَادٍ تَسْتَهْدِيهِ إِلَى زَادٍ تَسْتَمِدُّهُ
You turn away from a guide from whom you could seek guidance, and toward provisions you desire to obtain.

Raghiba ʿan expresses turning away, while changing the preposition may signal inclination toward something. Hād is a guide; zād is a traveler’s provision.

The image does not deny the usefulness of provisions. It questions preferring possessions over the guidance needed to use them well.

8. A Garment and a Reward

وَتُغَلِّبُ حُبَّ ثَوْبٍ تَشْتَهِيهِ عَلَى ثَوَابٍ تَشْتَرِيهِ
You allow love for a desired garment to outweigh a reward you could earn.

Thawb is clothing; thawāb is reward. Tashtahīhi signals desire, while tashtarīhi pictures acquiring something through effort or a price.

The rebuke concerns the dominance of desire, not a blanket prohibition on clothing.

9. Wordplay That Reinforces Meaning

Paired soundsContrast in sensehād / zādguide / provisionsthawb / thawābgarment / rewardtashtahīhi / tashtarīhidesire / acquire through effort

These are instances of sound-based verbal correspondence; not every pair constitutes technically identical paronomasia. Letter changes and distinct meanings matter.

The repeated sentence shapes bring two terms into focus, then expose the speaker’s criticism of the choice between them.

10. Jewels of Gifts and the Hours of Prayer

يَوَاقِيتُ الصِّلَاتِ أَعْلَقُ بِقَلْبِكَ مِنْ مَوَاقِيتِ الصَّلَاةِ
The gems of gifts cling to your heart more than the appointed times of prayer.

Yawāqīt is the plural of yāqūt, precious rubies; mawāqīt means fixed or appointed times. Al-ṣilāt here means gifts or benefactions; al-ṣalāh means prayer.

A small shift of letters opposes the glitter of gifts to the care due to prayer times.

The comparative aʿlaqu bi-qalbika measures which interest is more deeply attached to the heart.

11. Dowries versus Continuing Charity

وَمُغَالَاةُ الصَّدُقَاتِ آثَرُ عِنْدَكَ مِنْ مُوَالَاةِ الصَّدَقَاتِ
You prefer excessive elevation of dowries to maintaining a steady practice of charity.

The first ṣaduqāt refers to marriage dower payments; the second ṣadaqāt is charitable giving. Mughālāh means excess or overvaluation, while muwālāh denotes continuation or succession.

The criticism contrasts extravagant expenditure with sustained generosity, not merely two similar-sounding words.

Mughālāh / muwālāh are verbal nouns contrasting excess with continuity.

12. Platters of Many Foods

وَصِحَافُ الْأَلْوَانِ أَشْهَى إِلَيْكَ مِنْ صَحَائِفِ الْأَدْيَانِ
Platters of varied dishes appeal to you more than pages of religious learning.

Ṣiḥāf are serving platters; al-alwān here refers to varieties of food. Ṣaḥāʾif means written sheets or pages.

The close sound of ṣiḥāf and ṣaḥāʾif changes the whole scene—from an elaborate meal to written teachings—and exposes a difference in attention.

13. Companions’ Jokes and Recitation

وَدُعَابَةُ الْأَقْرَانِ آنَسُ لَكَ مِنْ تِلَاوَةِ الْقُرْآنِ
Joking with companions is more appealing to you than reciting the Qur’an.

Duʿābah denotes lighthearted banter; aqrān are peers or companions; ānas is comparative in the sense of being more familiar or comforting.

The line targets a preference that repeatedly pushes recitation aside. It need not be read as condemning all wholesome humor.

14. Four Contrasts in Inner Preference

AttractionNeglected counterpartJewels of giftsPrayer timesExcessive dowriesRegular charityPlatters of dishesPages of religious teachingPeers’ jokesRecitation of the Qur’an

Each contrast concerns not merely having something but preferring it above something else. The comparative structure is essential to the sermon’s argument.

15. Enjoining Right while Violating It

تَأْمُرُ بِالْعُرْفِ وَتَنْتَهِكُ حِمَاهُ
You command what is right while violating its protected bounds yourself.

Al-ʿurf means recognized right or goodness. Ḥimāh is a protected domain; tantahiku means to violate its sanctity or boundary.

The sermon now moves from misplaced preferences to overt inconsistency: demanding a standard of others while disregarding it personally.

16. Stopping Wrong and Avoiding It

وَتَحْمِي عَنِ النُّكْرِ وَلَا تَتَحَامَاهُ
You restrain others from wrongdoing but do not keep away from it yourself.

Al-nukr is a blameworthy deed. Taḥmī here concerns preventing another person, while tataḥāmāhu means protecting oneself by staying clear of it.

The contrast is exact: prohibiting wrong for others without avoiding it oneself.

17. Condemning Injustice, Then Committing It

وَتَزْجُرُ عَنِ الظُّلْمِ ثُمَّ تَغْشَاهُ
You sharply forbid injustice, then go on to commit it yourself.

Tazjuru means to rebuke or restrain firmly. Taghshāhu literally conveys approaching or entering something, here falling into injustice.

Thumma places the second act after the first: public denunciation followed by private violation. Sequence intensifies the rebuke.

18. Whose Judgment Carries Most Weight?

وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَخْشَاهُ
You fear people, though God has a greater claim to your reverent fear.

Takhshā / takhshāhu both concern fear or reverence. Aḥaqqu means more entitled or deserving. The final contrast moves from social pressure to the deeper moral standard of reverence for God.

The point is not to deny all natural fear of people; it rebukes allowing their disapproval to override what one knows to be right.

19. Three Contradictions between Speech and Conduct

Declared principleContradictory actionCommand the rightViolate its boundsDeter others from wrongFail to avoid it oneselfDenounce oppressionCommit oppression

This is a contrast of speech and action. Every sentence begins with an admirable position and ends with its violation. The recurrence adds force.

The listener is invited to examine whether their own words and behavior agree.

20. Rhetorical Balance and Repeated Sound

The passage first contrasts fils / dhikr, qaṣr / birr, and thawb / thawāb. It then uses the sound relations of ṣilāt / ṣalāh, ṣaduqāt / ṣadaqāt, and ṣiḥāf / ṣaḥāʾif.

Near the end, parallel verbs such as tantahiku, tataḥāmā, taghshā, and takhshā sharpen the charge of hypocrisy. Balanced clauses and resonant endings exemplify sajʿ and rhetorical parallelism.

The sonic artistry serves meaning; rhyme alone is not the argument.

21. Four Grammatical Clues

1. تُؤْثِرُ ... عَلَى ...
This construction expresses preferring one thing over another; the object after ʿalā is what is subordinated.

2. أَشْهَى / آنَسُ / أَحَقُّ
All carry comparative force: one option is judged more attractive or deserving than another.

3. أَنْ تَخْشَاهُ
After an, the imperfect verb is manṣūb; the final pronoun refers to God.

4. ثُمَّ تَغْشَاهُ
Thumma introduces a later action and gives the contradiction a temporal sequence.

22. How the Sermon Moves from Choices to Character

The address has three movements. First, a person misses an opportunity for good. Next, their favorite pleasures displace serious duties. Finally, they recommend right behavior while acting otherwise.

The scope widens: an individual opportunity → settled preference → conduct toward society. This progression makes the sermon a portrait of character rather than a mere list of wrongs.

Within the narrated assembly, the preacher’s fluent series of oppositions demonstrates his command of language.

23. Applied Reading: Advice versus Action

Suppose someone advises everyone to help neighbors in distress. When a neighbor actually needs help, that person has the means but does nothing.

This illustrates wa-amkanaka an tuwāsiya fa-mā āsayta: an opportunity was available but not taken.

Someone else denounces oppression but violates the rights of others in dealings. That more closely illustrates wa-tazjuru ʿani al-ẓulmi thumma taghshāhu. The first concerns opportunity versus action; the second, professed principle versus conduct.

24. The Turn from Sermon to Poetry

ثُمَّ أَنْشَدَ
Then he recited verses.

Anshada commonly means to recite poetry aloud. This short sentence completes a stage of the prose sermon and signals a change of literary form.

So far the preacher has used rhymed prose (sajʿ). The next passage will use verse and poetic rhythm to develop the same warning against worldly absorption. Recognizing that formal shift is part of reading the maqāmah well.

25. Recap: Priorities and Integrity

The passage progresses from opportunities for goodness → inner priorities → consistency between words and acts.

Fils / dhikr contrasts material and moral stores; thawb / thawāb contrasts desire and reward; yawāqīt / mawāqīt draws a memorable contrast between gems of gifts and fixed prayer times.

Finally, taʾmuru ... wa-tantahiku and tazjuru ... thumma taghshāhu show that the sermon seeks integrity rather than an impressive public vocabulary.

The next lesson begins with the verse recited after thumma anshada.