For Pacifica - random quotes on Arabic and Qur'an

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Also note that this is a smaller group, the caravan is staying behind in Tripoli.
Right. I guess those who continued on weren't numerous enough to be called a caravan of their own.
 

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I said I had a couple of questions but I've figured out the second one (I was confused by سرت but I found out it's a place name).


وفي الرابع بعده وصلنا إلى مدينة طرابلس، فأقمنا بها مدة وكنت عقدت بصفاقس على بنت لبعض أمناء تونس، فبنيت عليها بطرابلس ثم خرجت من طرابلس في أواخر شهر المحرم من عام ستة وعشرين، ومعي أهلي، وفي صحبتي جماعة من المصامدة، وقد رفعت العلم، وتقدمت عليهم، وأقام الركب في طرابلس خوفا من البرد والمطر، وتجاوزنا مسلاتة ومسراتة وقصور سرت

Quarto post festum die Tripolim pervenimus et ibi aliquamdiu mansimus. Ego autem Taparurae promiseram filiam alicuius Tunetensis viri honesti uxorem ducere; duxi igitur Tripoli. Deinde egressus Tripoli sum ineunte mense primo, qui Muharram dicitur, anno vicesimo sexto. Mei mecum et in comitatu Masmudae aliquot erant. Ego erecto vexillo praecedebam. Ceteri Tripoli remanserant frigus imbremque timentes. Msallatam et Tubartim et castella Syrtis praeteriimus.
 

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ثم خرجنا من مدينة قابس قاصدين طرابلس، وصحبنا في بعض المراحل إليها نحو مائة فارس أو يزيد، وكان بالركب قوم رماة فهابتهم العرب، وتحامت مكانهم، وعصمنا الله منهم، وأظلنا عيد الأضحى في بعض تلك المراحل

Dein urbem Tapacas reliquimus Tripolim petentes; per nonnihil itineris comitati sumus centum circiter vel plures homines equitantes, in quibus erant nonnulli sagittarii. Hos verebantur Arabes eosque vitabant, verum Deus nos ab iis protexit. In hoc autem itinere supervenit nobis festum sacrificii.
It just dawned on me, when I read this: وهنالك أرادت طوائف العرب الإيقاع بنا that I had totally misunderstood the stuff about Arabs above. I had thought that the Arabs were part of the caravan and were afraid of the bowmen traveling with them, and that God protected the rest of the caravan from the bowmen. What really happened was that the bowmen were protecting the caravan from Arab robbers; the Arabs were afraid of the bowmen and so didn't dare attack the caravan, and God protected the caravan from the Arabs.

I should have understood it at once, because Arab robbers had been mentioned before. But I had forgotten.

I'll change verum Deus nos ab iis protexit to et Deus nos ab illis protexit.
 

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وهنالك أرادت طوائف العرب الإيقاع بنا ثم صرفتهم القدرة، وحالت دون ما راموه من أذيتنا​

The general idea is that some bands of Arabs wanted to attack them but were not able to and went by without carrying out their plans. What I'm unsure about is how exactly to interpret صرفتهم القدرة. Literally that seems to be saying something like "the power/ability turned them away". Is that an idiomatic expression to say that the ability failed them/they didn't have the ability, or should قدرة be taken as the (apparent) power/strength of Ibn Battutah's group?
 

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Civis Illustris

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It just dawned on me, when I read this: وهنالك أرادت طوائف العرب الإيقاع بنا that I had totally misunderstood the stuff about Arabs above.
So had I! It's hard to keep in mind that ibn Battuta then doesn't seem to consider himself as an Arab. I hadn't even realized that until now.
 

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Civis Illustris

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وهنالك أرادت طوائف العرب الإيقاع بنا ثم صرفتهم القدرة، وحالت دون ما راموه من أذيتنا​

The general idea is that some bands of Arabs wanted to attack them but were not able to and went by without carrying out their plans. What I'm unsure about is how exactly to interpret صرفتهم القدرة. Literally that seems to be saying something like "the power/ability turned them away". Is that an idiomatic expression to say that the ability failed them/they didn't have the ability, or should قدرة be taken as the (apparent) power/strength of Ibn Battutah's group?
I think قدرة here is probably a less frequent synonym of قدر in the sense of destiny, providence, divine decree, etc. So destiny turned them away. I don't see what else قدرة could possibly mean here without a 'possessor' of said قدرة if it is not Allah.
 

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It's hard to keep in mind that ibn Battuta then doesn't seem to consider himself as an Arab.
I knew he was a Berber. But I thought he might have considered himself as an Arab to some extent (by adoption, perhaps, or culturally, or something like that).
 

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وهنالك أرادت طوائف العرب الإيقاع بنا ثم صرفتهم القدرة، وحالت دون ما راموه من أذيتنا

Ibi Arabum globos in nos invasuros providentia avertit et infecto laedendi proposito abscesserunt.
 

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ثم توسطنا الغابة، وتجاوزناها إلى قصر برصيصا العابد
Hm, the castle of this guy, or a castle named after him anyway? Would عابد, literally "worshipper", usually be translated as "ascetic", "hermit", "monk", or something like that?
 

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ثم توسطنا الغابة، وتجاوزناها إلى قصر برصيصا العابد
Hm, the castle of this guy, or a castle named after him anyway? Would عابد, literally "worshipper", usually be translated as "ascetic", "hermit", "monk", or something like that?
I had never heard of him, but I guess it''s him!
Hermit /ascetic is usually ناسك, so I looked it up and it seems to be a bit more specific than that (see the 'secondary application'):

1659906414602.png
 

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The "second application" sounds like it could generally be translated as idololatra.

But I found this and this.

Based on the ending of the first source ("And he [i.e. Shaytan] said that he could save Barsisa, and as long as Barsisa makes sujood to him! Barsisa, out of desperation made Sujood to him") it seems that "worshipper" could mean "worshipper of Satan". But the second source starts with "There was a pious worshipper of the tribe of Israel". So the word could also simply mean a worshipper of God. In either case, it doesn't look like idololatra would do as a translation. The best is perhaps to translate "worshipper" literally even if such an unqualified use sounds unusual.
 

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ثم توسطنا الغابة، وتجاوزناها إلى قصر برصيصا العابد، إلى قبة سلام

Any idea what قبة سلام is? I was thinking it might be a place name but I haven't found anything so far.
 

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Civis Illustris

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The "second application" sounds like it could generally be translated as idololatra.

But I found this and this.

Based on the ending of the first source ("And he [i.e. Shaytan] said that he could save Barsisa, and as long as Barsisa makes sujood to him! Barsisa, out of desperation made Sujood to him") it seems that "worshipper" could mean "worshipper of Satan". But the second source starts with "There was a pious worshipper of the tribe of Israel". So the word could also simply mean a worshipper of God. In either case, it doesn't look like idololatra would do as a translation. The best is perhaps to translate "worshipper" literally even if such an unqualified use sounds unusual.
I think you're right, because I looked it up in Arabic and it says
رَجُلٌ عَابِدٌ : مُتَفَرِّغٌ لِلْعِبَادَةِ، نَاسِكٌ،مُتَعَبِّدٌ
So it actually can be a synonym of hermit ناسك
 

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ثم توسطنا الغابة، وتجاوزناها إلى قصر برصيصا العابد، إلى قبة سلام

Any idea what قبة سلام is? I was thinking it might be a place name but I haven't found anything so far.
Though one, since all google searches refer to the dome of Hiroshima...
 

Pacifica

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Here's what the French translator says:

w.PNG

I still can't find anything about it.
 

Pacifica

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OK, well, nevermind.

ثم توسطنا الغابة، وتجاوزناها إلى قصر برصيصا العابد، إلى قبة سلام، وأدركنا هنالك الركب الذين تخلفوا بطرابلس، ووقع بيني وبين صهري مشاجرة أوجبت فراق بنته وتزوجت بنتا لبعض طلبة فاس وبنيت بها بقصر الزعافية، وأولمت وليمة حبست لها الركب يوما وأطعمتهم

Deinde transita silva ad castellum Barsisae eremitae, ad Cobbat Sellam venimus, ibique nos consecuti sunt ceteri qui Tripoli moram fecerant. Tum orta inter me ac socerum discordia cum necesse fuisset cum filia eius divortium facere, filiam cuiusdam litterati Fezzensis uxorem in castello Azzaafiae duxi et epulas dedi, quibus retentos diem omnes qui iter mecum faciebant pavi.
 

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ثم وصلنا في أول جمادى الأولى إلى مدينة الإسكندرية حرسها الله، وهي الثغر المحروس، والقطر المأنوس، العجيبة الشأن، الأصيلة البنيان​

Is it possible for أنس to be transitive in the sense of "to enjoy"? Dictionaries don't say so, but it makes more sense to compare a wonderful city to a rain that one enjoys (or must enjoy) than to a rain that one comforts (or must comfort), or the other transitive senses I've found for that verb.
 

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Civis Illustris

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ثم وصلنا في أول جمادى الأولى إلى مدينة الإسكندرية حرسها الله، وهي الثغر المحروس، والقطر المأنوس، العجيبة الشأن، الأصيلة البنيان​

Is it possible for أنس to be transitive in the sense of "to enjoy"? Dictionaries don't say so, but it makes more sense to compare a wonderful city to a rain that one enjoys (or must enjoy) than to a rain that one comforts (or must comfort), or the other transitive senses I've found for that verb.
1660033522014.png

So based on that, I assume that قطر is to be read qutr, i.e. area, region, etc. Which also fits with ثغر محروس (well guarded entry point).
 

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ثم وصلنا في أول جمادى الأولى إلى مدينة الإسكندرية حرسها الله، وهي الثغر المحروس، والقطر المأنوس، العجيبة الشأن، الأصيلة البنيان، بها ما شئت من تحسين وتحصين، ومآثر دنيا ودين، كرمت مغانيها، ولطفت معانيها، وجمعت بين الضخامة والإحكام مبانيها

Deinde die primo mensis quinti, qui Gumada Alula dicitur, Alexandriam pervenimus, quam tueatur Deus. Est illa munitus custodiis limes, regio hospitalis, urbs natura mirabilis, constructione generosa. Quicquid ornamentorum, quicquid armorum requiras, id in ea est; habet gesta saecularia, habet religiosa; eximia sunt habitacula, optimae amoenitates, aedificia mole simul et subtilitate insignia.
 
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