Lesson 173: The Poor Donkey (1)

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Classical Arabic prose moved in long periods joined by وَ and فَ. The modern literary style you meet from here to the end of the book is different: sentences are short, the narrator says I, the text pauses with three dots (…) where the speaker hesitates or leaves something unsaid, and speech is marked by a colon and the quotation marks « ». The grammar, however, is the grammar you have learned: كَانَ with the imperfect for the background of a scene, the circumstantial clause with وَ (رَكِبْتُ وَأَنَا خَجِلٌ I mounted, feeling ashamed), كَأَنَّ for comparisons, and the perfect for the events of the story. In a fable the animal speaks; in a modern fable what it says is a comment on the people around it, and the irony lies in the fact that the animal is calmer and more reasonable than its masters.

1. The animal fable in modern dress

In the fables of Volume 1 (the two cats and the monkey, the lion keeper) the animals acted and the story ended in a moral. The modern writer keeps the talking animal but drops the moral: the donkey does not teach, it describes, and the reader draws the conclusion himself. Notice three devices in the passage. The narrator doubts his own ears (خُيِّلَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّ الْحِمَارَ يَتَكَلَّمُ it seemed to me that the donkey was speaking), so the fable stays inside the real world. The donkey speaks in a polite, formal register and calls the rider يَا سَيِّدِي sir, which makes its complaint more cutting than any shouting. And the ending leaves the question open: لَمْ أَدْرِ أَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ كَلَامَ الْحِمَارِ أَمْ كَلَامَ ضَمِيرِي I did not know whether that was the donkey's speech or my conscience's.

Rule 1: 2. Dialogue and the indirect question

Speech is introduced by قَالَ with the person addressed after لِـ: قُلْتُ لِلرَّجُلِ, قَالَ لِي; the words follow a colon, inside « ». A direct yes-or-no question begins with أَ or هَلْ: أَيَحْمِلُنِي هٰذَا؟ will this one carry me?. After verbs of knowing and asking the same أَ introduces an indirect question, whether, and أَمْ or joins its second half: لَمْ أَدْرِ أَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ حُلْمًا أَمْ حَقِيقَةً I did not know whether that was a dream or reality. Note the jussives of two defective verbs that constantly appear in narrative: لَمْ أَرَ I did not see (from رَأَى) and لَمْ أَدْرِ I did not know (from دَرَى).

قُلْتُ لِلْفَلَّاحِ: «أَيَحْمِلُنِي هٰذَا الْحِمَارُ؟» فَقَالَ: «إِنَّهُ يَحْمِلُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْكَ».
qultu li-l-fallāḥi: a-yaḥmilunī hādha l-ḥimāru? fa-qāla: innahu yaḥmilu akthara minka
I said to the peasant: "Will this donkey carry me?" He said: "It carries more than you."
لَمْ أَدْرِ أَكَانَ الصَّوْتُ صَوْتَ الْحِمَارِ أَمْ صَوْتَ الرِّيحِ.
lam adri a-kāna ṣ-ṣawtu ṣawta l-ḥimāri am ṣawta r-rīḥi
I did not know whether the sound was the donkey's voice or the sound of the wind.
Indirect question: أَ … أَمْ after لَمْ أَدْرِ.
سَأَلْتُهُ أَيَرْكَبُ الْحِمَارَ أَمْ يَمْشِي.
saʾaltuhu a-yarkabu l-ḥimāra am yamshī
I asked him whether he would ride the donkey or walk.
لَمْ أَرَ فِي حَيَاتِي حَيَوَانًا أَضْعَفَ مِنْهُ.
lam ara fī ḥayātī ḥayawānan aḍʿafa minhu
I have never in my life seen a weaker animal.
لَمْ أَرَ: jussive of رَأَى, the hamza and the final letter both gone.

Rule 2: 3. كَأَنَّ and the language of comparison

كَأَنَّ as if, as though is a sister of إِنَّ (lesson 125): it takes a noun or pronoun in the accusative and then a predicate, which may be a noun, an adjective, a prepositional phrase or a whole verbal sentence: كَأَنَّهَا أَصَابِعُ يَدٍ as if they were the fingers of a hand, كَأَنَّهُ يَعُدُّ خُطُوَاتِهِ as if it were counting its steps. Writers of fiction lean on it constantly, because it lets them describe an inner state through an outward picture: a donkey that looks at the ground as if apologising for existing. The simpler comparisons are كَـ like with a genitive and مِثْلُ like in construct.

كَانَتْ عِظَامُهُ بَارِزَةً كَأَنَّهَا أَصَابِعُ يَدٍ مَبْسُوطَةٍ.
kānat ʿiẓāmuhu bārizatan ka-annahā aṣābiʿu yadin mabsūṭatin
Its bones stood out as if they were the fingers of an outstretched hand.
سَارَ بِخُطًى بَطِيئَةٍ كَأَنَّهُ يَعُدُّ خُطُوَاتِهِ.
sāra bi-khuṭan baṭīʾatin ka-annahu yaʿuddu khuṭuwātihi
It walked with slow steps as if it were counting them.
نَظَرَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَأَنَّهُ يَعْتَذِرُ عَنْ وُجُودِهِ.
naẓara ila l-arḍi ka-annahu yaʿtadhiru ʿan wujūdihi
It looked at the ground as if apologising for its existence.
وَقَفَ الْحِمَارُ كَالتِّمْثَالِ، لَا يَتَحَرَّكُ وَلَا يَرْفَعُ رَأْسَهُ.
waqafa l-ḥimāru ka-t-timthāli, lā yataḥarraku wa-lā yarfaʿu raʾsahu
The donkey stood like a statue, not moving and not raising its head.
كَـ + genitive; the two imperfects after it are a circumstantial clause.

Rule 3: 4. The superlative with مَا and the relative مَنْ

The elative in construct with the relative مَا gives the … thing that: أَخَفُّ مَا حَمَلْتُ the lightest thing I have carried, أَحْسَنُ مَا قَرَأْتُ the best thing I have read. خَيْرُ the best is used in the same way: خَيْرُ مَا أَرْكَبُهُ the best thing for me to ride. With people the relative is مَنْ: يُؤَجِّرُ حِمَارَهُ لِمَنْ يَطْلُبُهُ he hires out his donkey to whoever asks for it; and مَا followed by مِنْ specifies the thing: مَا أَجِدُهُ عَلَى حَافَةِ الطَّرِيقِ مِنْ عُشْبٍ يَابِسٍ whatever dry grass I find at the roadside.

أَنْتَ أَخَفُّ مَا حَمَلْتُ مُنْذُ سَنَةٍ.
anta akhaffu mā ḥamaltu mundhu sanatin
You are the lightest load I have carried in a year.
خَيْرُ مَا تَرْكَبُهُ إِلَى السُّوقِ حِمَارُ أَبِي سَالِمٍ.
khayru mā tarkabuhu ila s-sūqi ḥimāru abī sālimin
The best thing for you to ride to the market is Abū Sālim's donkey.
يُؤَجِّرُ الْفَلَّاحُ حِمَارَهُ لِمَنْ يَطْلُبُهُ.
yuʾajjiru l-fallāḥu ḥimārahu li-man yaṭlubuhu
The peasant hires out his donkey to whoever asks for it.
طَعَامُهُ مَا يَجِدُهُ عَلَى حَافَةِ الطَّرِيقِ مِنْ عُشْبٍ.
ṭaʿāmuhu mā yajiduhu ʿalā ḥāfati ṭ-ṭarīqi min ʿushbin
Its food is whatever grass it finds at the edge of the road.
مَا … مِنْ: the مِنْ phrase tells us what kind of thing مَا is.

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

حِمَارٌ

ḥimārun

donkey

ذُبَابٌ

dhubābun

flies (collective)

عُشْبٌ

ʿushbun

grass, herbage

عُودٌ

ʿūdun

twig, stick; stalk

عَصًا

ʿaṣan

stick, staff

عُنُقٌ

ʿunuqun

neck

جِلْدٌ

jildun

skin, hide; leather

عَظْمٌ

ʿaẓmun

bone

جُرْحٌ

jurḥun

wound

خُطْوَةٌ

khuṭwatun

step, pace

أَجَّرَ يُؤَجِّرُ

ajjara, yuʾajjiru

to hire out, let

ضَجِيجٌ

ḍajījun

noise, din

حَافَةٌ

ḥāfatun

edge, border

بَارِزٌ

bārizun

protruding, prominent

خَجِلَ يَخْجَلُ

khajila, yakhjalu

to be ashamed, embarrassed

اِعْتَذَرَ يَعْتَذِرُ عَنْ

iʿtadhara, yaʿtadhiru ʿan

to apologise (for)

شَكْوَى

shakwā

complaint

دَيْنٌ

daynun

debt

يَابِسٌ

yābisun

dry, withered

مُجَاوِرٌ

mujāwirun

neighbouring, adjacent

Step 2 of 5: Read

The poor donkey (1)

اَلْحِمَارُ الْمِسْكِينُ (١)

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Why did the narrator go to the village?
2.Who owns the donkey, and what does he do with it?
3.What three loads does the donkey carry during the day?
4.What happens if the donkey reaches for a green stalk in the neighbours' field?
5.According to the donkey, what is its master beaten with?

In the Quran

كَمَثَلِ ٱلْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًۢا ۚ
Surah Al-Jumu'ah · 62:5
كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا 'like a donkey carrying books': the donkey as the image of a burden carried without understanding; يَحْمِلُ is a circumstantial clause without وَ.
- كَمَثَلِkamathali(is) like
- ٱلْحِمَارِl-ḥimārithe donkey
- يَحْمِلُyaḥmiluwho carries
- أَسْفَارًۢا ۚasfāranbooks
Read in context
إِنَّ أَنكَرَ ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِ لَصَوْتُ ٱلْحَمِيرِ
Surah Luqman · 31:19
إِنَّ أَنكَرَ الْأَصْوَاتِ لَصَوْتُ الْحَمِيرِ: إِنَّ with an elative in construct as its noun and the لَـ of emphasis on the predicate; الْحَمِيرِ is the plural of حِمَارٌ.
- إِنَّinnaIndeed
- أَنكَرَankara(the) harshest
- ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِl-aṣwāti(of all) sounds
- لَصَوْتُlaṣawtu(is) surely (the) voice
- ٱلْحَمِيرِl-ḥamīri(of) the donkeys
Read in context
كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌۭ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌۭ
Surah Al-Muddaththir · 74:50
كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌ 'as if they were frightened donkeys': كَأَنَّ with a pronoun suffix and a nominal predicate, the construction of this lesson, and the second plural حُمُرٌ.
- كَأَنَّهُمْka-annahumAs if they (were)
- حُمُرٌۭḥumurundonkeys
- مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌۭmus'tanfiratunfrightened
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 60/0 correct

Fill in the blank

Complete the comparison with كَأَنَّ and the right pronoun suffix for عِظَامٌ:

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

لَمْ أَرَ فِي حَيَاتِي حِمَارًا أَضْعَفَ مِنْ هٰذَا وَلَا أَحْزَنَ.

2.

كَانَ الذُّبَابُ يَقِفُ عَلَى جُرْحٍ قَدِيمٍ فِي ظَهْرِهِ وَهُوَ لَا يَتَحَرَّكُ.

3.

رَكِبْتُ وَأَنَا خَجِلٌ، وَسَارَ الْحِمَارُ كَأَنَّهُ يَعُدُّ خُطُوَاتِهِ.

4.

خُيِّلَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّ الْحِمَارَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِصَوْتٍ هَادِئٍ لَا شَكْوَى فِيهِ.

5.

إِذَا مَدَدْتُ عُنُقِي إِلَى عُودٍ أَخْضَرَ نَزَلَتِ الْعَصَا عَلَى ظَهْرِي.

6.

لَمْ أَدْرِ أَكَانَ ذٰلِكَ كَلَامَ الْحِمَارِ أَمْ كَلَامَ ضَمِيرِي.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

The peasant hires out his donkey to whoever asks for it.

2.

Its bones stood out under its skin as if they were the fingers of a hand.

3.

I said to the man: "Will this donkey carry me?"

4.

You are the lightest load I have carried in a year.

5.

Its food is whatever dry grass it finds at the edge of the road.

6.

I asked him whether he would ride or walk.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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