Nahj al-Balāgha

فَقَالَ لَهُ عُثْـمَانُ: كَلِّمِ النَّاسَ فِي أَنْ يُؤَجِّلُونِي، حَتَّى أَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِن مَظَالِمِهِمْ، فَقال (عليه السلام): مَا كَانَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَلاَ أَجَلَ فِيهِ، وَمَا غَابَ فَأَجَلُهُ وُصُولُ أَمْرِكَ إِلَيْهِ.

Then ‘Uthmān said to Amīr al-mu’minīn: Speak to the people to give me time until I redress their grievances. Amīr al-mu’minīn then said : So far as Medina is concerned there is no question of time. As for remoter areas you can have the time needed for your order to reach there.

ومن خطبة له (عليه السلام) يذكر فيها عجيب خلقه الطاووس

Describing the wonderful creation of the peacock

[خلقة الطيور :] ابْتَدَعَهُمْ خَلْقاً عَجِيباً مِنْ حَيَوَان وَمَوَات، وَسَاكِن وَذِي حَرَكَات، وَأَقَامَ مِنْ شَوَاهِدِ الْبَيِّنَاتِ عَلَى لَطِيفِ صَنْعَتِهِ، وَعَظِيمِ قُدْرَتِهِ، مَا انْقَادَتْ لَهُ الْعُقُولُ مُعْتَرِفَةً بِهِ، وَمُسْلِّمَةً لَهُ، وَنَعَقَتْ فِي أَسْـمَاعِنَا دَلاَئِلُهُ عَلَى وَحْدَانِيَّتِهِ، وَمَا ذَرَأَ مِنْ مُخْتَلِفِ صُوَرِ الاْطْيَارِ الَّتِي أَسْكَنَهَا أَخَادِيدَ الاْرْضِ، وَخُرُوقَ فِجَاجِهَا، وَرَوَاسِي أعْلاَمِهَا

[About the wonderful creation of birds :] Allāh has provided wonderful creations including the living, the lifeless, the stationary, and the moving. He has established such clear proofs for His delicate creative power and great might that minds bend down to Him in acknowledgement thereof and in submission to Him, and arguments about His oneness strike our ears. He has created birds of various shapes which live in the burrows of the earth, in the openings of high passes and on the peaks of mountains.

مِنْ ذَوَاتِ أَجْنِحَة مُخْتَلِفَة، وَهَيْئَات مُتَبَايِنَة، مُصَرَّفَة فِي زِمَامِ التَّسْخِيرِ، وَمُرَفْرِفَة بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا فِي مَخَارِقِ الْجَوِّ المُنفَسِحِ وَالْفَضَاءِ المُنفَرِجِ. كَوَّنَهَا بَعْدَ إِذْ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِي عَجائِبِ صُوَر ظَاهِرَة، وَرَكَّبَهَا فِي حِقَاقِ مَفَاصِلَ مُحْتَجِبَة، وَمَنَعَ بَعْضَهَا بِعَبَالَةِ خَلْقِهِ أَنْ يَسْمُوَ فِي الْهَوَاءِ خُفُوفاً، وَجَعَلَهُ يَدِفُّ دَفِيفاً،

They have different kinds of wings, and various characteristics. They are controlled by the rein of (Allāh’s) authority. They flutter with their wings in the expanse of the vast firmament and the open atmosphere. He brought them into existence from nonexistence in strange external shapes, and composed them with joints and bones covered with flesh. He prevented some of them from flying easily in the sky because of their heavy bodies and allowed them to use their wings only close to the ground.

وَنَسَقَهَا عَلَى اخْتِلاَفِهَا فِى الاْصَابِيغِ بِلَطِيفِ قُدْرَتِهِ، وَدَقِيقِ صَنْعَتِهِ؛ فَمِنْهَا مَغْمُوسٌ فِي قَالَبِ لَوْن لاَ يَشُوبُهُ غَيْرُ لَوْنِ مَا غُمِسَ فِيه، وَمِنْهَا مَغْمُوسٌ فِي لَوْنِ صِبْغ قَدْ طُوِّقَ بِخِلاَفِ مَا صُبِغَ بِهِ.

He has set them in different colours by his delicate might and exquisite creative power. Among them are those which are tinted with one hue and there is no other hue except the one in which they have been dyed. There are others which are tinted with one colour, and they have a neck ring of a different colour than that with which they are tinted.

[الطاووس :] وَمِنْ أَعْجَبِهَا خَلْقاً الطَّاوُوسُ، الَّذِي أَقَامَهُ فِي أَحْكَمِ تَعْدِيل، وَنَضَّدَ أَلْوَانَهُ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَنْضِيد، بِجَنَاح أَشْرَجَ قَصَبَهُ، وَذَنَب أَطَالَ مَسْحَبَهُ. إذَا دَرَجَ إلَى الاْنْثَى نَشَرَهُ مِنْ طَيِّهِ، وَسَمَا بِهِ مُطِلاًّ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ كَأَنَّهُ قِلْعُ دَارِيّ عَنَجَهُ نُوتِيُّهُ. يَخْتَالُ بِأَلْوَانِهِ، وَيَمِيسُ بِزَيَفَانِهِ، يُفْضِي كَإفْضَاءِ الدِّيَكَةِ، وَيَؤُرُّ بِمَلاَقِحِهِ أَرَّ الْفُحُولِ الْمُغْتَلِمَةِ لِلضِّرَابِ

[About the Peacock :] The most amazing among them in its creation is the peacock, which Allāh has created in the most symmetrical dimensions, and arranged its hues in the best arrangement with wings whose ends are inter-leaved together and whose tail is long. When it moves to its female it spreads out its folded tail and raises it up so as to cast a shade over its head, as if it were the sail of a boat being pulled by the sailor. It feels proud of its colours and swaggers with its movements. It copulates like the cocks. It leaps (on the female) for fecundation like lustful energetic men at the time of fighting.

أُحِيلُكَ مِنْ ذلِكَ عَلَى مُعَايَنَة، لاَ كَمَنْ يُحِيلُ عَلى ضَعِيف إسْنَادُهُ، وَلَوْ كَانَ كَزَعْمِ مَنْ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ يُلْقِحُ بِدَمْعَة تَسْفَحُهَا مَدَامِعُهُ، فَتَقِفُ في ضَفَّتَي جُفُونِهِ، وأَنَّ أُنْثَاهُ تَطْعَمُ ذلِكَ، ثُمَّ تَبِيضُ لاَ مِنْ لِقَاحِ فَحْل سِوَى الدَّمْعِ الْمُنبَجِسِ، لَمَا كَانَ ذلِكَ بَأَعْجَبَ مِنْ مُطَاعَمَةِ الْغُرَابِ!. تَخَالُ قَصَبَهُ مَدَارِىَ مِنْ فِضَّة، وَمَا أُنْبِتَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ عَجِيبِ دَارَاتِهِ وَشُمُوسِهِ خَالِصَ الْعِقْيَانِ، وَفِلَذَ الزَّبَرْجَدِ.

I am telling you all this from observation, unlike he who narrates on the basis of weak authority, as for example, the belief of some people that it fecundates the female by a tear which flows from its eyes and when it stops on the edges of the eyelids the female swallows it and lays its eggs thereby and not through fecundation by a male other than by means of this flowing tear. Even if they say this,it would be no amazing than (what they say about) the mutual feeding of the crows (for fecundation). You would imagine its feathers to be sticks made of silvers and the wonderful circles and sun-shaped feathers growing thereon to be of pure gold and pieces of green emerald.

فَإنْ شَبَّهْتَهُ بِمَا أَنْبَتَتِ الاْرْضُ قُلْتَ: جَنِىٌّ جُنِىَ مِنْ زَهْرَةِ كُلِّ رَبِيع، وَإنْ ضَاهَيْتَهُ بِالْملابِسِ فَهُوَ كَمَوْشِىِّ الْحُلَلِ أَوْ كَمُونِقِ عَصْبِ الَيمَنِ، وَإنْ شَاكَلْتَهُ بِالْحُلِيِّ فَهُوَ كَفُصُوص ذَاتِ أَلْوَان، قَدْ نُطِّقَتْ بِاللُّجَيْنِ الْمُكَلَّلِ.

If you likened them to anything growing on land, you would say that it is a bouquet of flowers collected during every spring. If you likened them to cloths, they would be like printed apparels or amazing variegated cloths of Yemen. If you likened them to ornaments then they would be like gems of different colours with studded silver.

يَمْشِي مَشْيَ الْمَرِحِ الْـمُخْتَالِ، وَيَتَصَفَّحُ ذَنَبَهُ وَجَنَاحَهُ، فَيُقَهْقِهُ ضَاحِكاً لِجَمَالِ سِرْبَالِهِ، وَأَصَابِيغِ وِشَاحِهِ؛ فَإذَا رَمَى بِبَصَرِهِ إِلَى قَوَائِمِهِ زَقَا مُعْوِلاً بِصَوْت يَكَادُ يُبِينُ عَنِ اسْتِغَاثَتِهِ، وَيَشْهَدُ بِصَادِقِ تَوَجُّعِهِ، لاِنَّ قَوَائِمَهُ حُمْشٌ كَقَوَائِمِ الدِّيَكَةِ الْخِلاَسِيَّةِ. وَقَدْ نَجَمَتْ مِنْ ظُنْبُوبِ سَاقِهِ صِيصِيَةٌ خَفِيَّةٌ، وَلَهُ فِي مَوْضِعِ الْعُرْفِ قُنْزُعَةٌ خَضْرَاءُ مُوَشَّاةٌ، وَمَخْرَجُ عَنُقِهِ كالاْبْرِيقِ، وَمَغَرزُهَا إلَى حَيْثُ بَطْنُهُ كَصِبْغِ الْوَسِمَةِ الْـيَـمَانِيَّةِ، أَوْ كَحَرِيرَة مُلْبَسَة مِرْآةً ذَاتَ صِقَال، وَكَأَنَّهُ مُتَلَفِّعٌ بِمِعْجَر أَسْحَمَ؛ إلاَّ أنَّهُ يُخَيَّلُ لِكَثْرَةِ مَائِهِ، وَشِدَّةِ بَرِيقِهِ، أَنَّ الْخُضْرَةَ النَّاضِرَةَ مُمْتَزِجَةٌ بِهِ، وَمَعَ فَتْقِ سَمْعِهِ خَطٌّ كَمُسْتَدَقِّ الْقَلَمِ فِي لَوْنِ الاْقْحُوَانِ، أَبْيَضُ يَقَقٌ، فَهُوَ بِبَيَاضِهِ فِي سَوَادِ مَا هُنَالِكَ يَأْتَلِقُ.

The peacock walks with vanity and pride, and throws open its tail and wings and laughs admiring the handsomeness of its dress and the hues of its necklace of gems. But when it casts its glance at its legs it cries loudly with a voice which indicates its call for help and displays its true grief, because its legs are thin like the legs of Indo-Persian cross-bred cocks. At the end of its shin there is a thin thorn and on the crown of its head there is a bunch of green variegated feathers. Its neck begins in the shape of a goblet and its stretch upto its belly is like the hair-dye of Yemen in colour or like silk cloth put on a polished mirror which looks as if it has been covered with a black veil, except that on account of its excessive lustre and extreme brightness it appears that a lush green colour has been mixed with it. Along the openings of its ears there is a line of shining bright daisy colour like the thin end of a pen. Whiteness shines on the black background.

وَقَلَّ صِبْغٌ إلاَّ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِنْهُ بِقِسْط، وَعَلاَهُ بِكَثْرَةِ صِقَالِهِ وَبَرِيقِهِ، وَبَصِيصِ دِيبَاجِهِ وَرَوْنَقِهِ، فَهُوَ كَالاْزَاهِيرِ الْمَبْثُوثَةِ، لَمْ تُرَبِّهَا أَمْطَارُ رَبِيع، وَلاَ شُمُوسُ قَيْظ. وَقَدْ يَنْحَسِرُ مِنْ رِيشِهِ، وَيَعْرَى مِنْ لِبَاسِهِ، فَيَسْقُطُ تَتْرَى، وَيَنْبُتُ تِبَاعاً، فَيَنْحَتُّ مِنْ قَصَبِهِ انْحِتَاتَ أَوْرَاقِ الاْغْصَانِ، ثُمَّ يَتَلاَحَقُ نَامِياً حَتَّى يَعُودَ كَهَيْئَتِهِ قَبْلَ سُقُوطِهِ، لاَ يُخَالِفُ سَالِفَ أَلْوَانِهِ، وَلاَ يَقَعُ لَوْنٌ فِي غَيْرِ مَكَانِهِ! وَإذَا تَصَفَّحْتَ شَعْرَةً مِنْ شَعَرَاتِ قَصَبِهِ أَرَتْكَ حُمْرَةً وَرْدِيَّةً، وَتَارَةً خُضْرَةً زَبَرْجَدِيَّةً، وَأَحْيَاناً صُفْرَةً عسْجَدِيَّةً

There is hardly a hue from which it has not taken a bit and improved it further by regular polish, lustre, silken brightness and brilliance. It is therefore like scattered blossoms which have not been seasoned by the rains of spring or the sun of the summer. It also sheds its plumage and puts off its dress. They all fall away and grow again. They fall away from the feather stems like the falling of leaves from twigs, and then they begin to join together and grow till they return to the state that existed before their falling away. The new hues do not change from the previous ones, nor does any colour occur in other than its own place. If you carefully look at one hair from the hairs of its feather stems it would look like red rose, then emerald green and then golden yellow.