Reminds me of Ibn Sīnā& #39;s al-Qaṣīda al-ʿayniyya, his famous poetic allegory for the soul& #39;s descent.

وأظنها نسيتْ عهودًا بالحمى * ومنازلاً بفراقها لمْ تقنـــعِ
حتى إذا اتصلتْ بهاء هبوطها * عن ميم مركزها بذات الأجرعِ
علقت بها ثاء الثقيل فأصبحتْ * بين المعالم والطلول الخضـعِ

1/ https://twitter.com/AmericanMaghreb/status/1329537419067097088">https://twitter.com/AmericanM...
‘Forgetting, I think, her old haunts: sacred meadows
and dwellings, unhappy to have been left behind.
When joined to the D of Descent from the S
of her Station in Dhāt al-Ajraʿ,
She adhered to the H of Heavy and came to stay
among waymarks and humble vestigial abodes.’

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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👆" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben">Translation by Geert Jan van Gelder. Note the play on Arabic letters depicting the dove’s journey to captivity (= soul’s descent from the heavens):

‘D of Descent’ (hāʾ hubūṭihā)
‘S of her Station’ (mīm markazihā)
‘H of Heavy’ (thāʾ al-thaqīl)

3/
Now here’s a Syriac interpretation of Ibn Sīnā’s poem by John bar Maʿdanī (d. 1263):

ܐܫܝܗ̇ ܚܫܐ ܗ̇ܘ ܕܘܝܪܐ ܕܛܘܒܬܢܘܬܐ
ܥܕܡܐ ܕܛܥܬ ܝܬܗ̇ ܘܐܬܪܐ ܐܝܟ ܫܢܝܬܐ
ܠܡܝܡ ܡܪܟܒܬܗ̇ ܥܦܩܬ ܡܢܫܠܝ ܡܝܡ ܡܦܘܠܬܐ
ܗ̇ܝ ܕܡܥܕܐ ܬܥܦܩ ܝܬܗ̇ ܒܐܡܝܢܘܬܐ
….

4/
ܡܢ ܒܝܢܬܗܝܢ ܫܘܪܬ ܣܒܟܬ ܝܘܕ ܝܩܝܪܬܐ
ܘܢܓܕܬ ܓܦܗ̇ ܥܕܡܐ ܠܚ̈ܙܐ ܕܣܚܝܦܘܬܐ
ܠܕܘܘܢ ܕܠܬ ܡܢ ܪܫ ܪܘܡܗ̇ ܐܬܬ ܕܘܝܬܐ

Editions by Yāwsep d-Qellāytā (1928) and Yūḥannā Dūlābānī (1928, 2nd ed. 1980)

5/
‘Passion made her forget that blessed abode
Until, like a lunatic, she forgot herself & region.
To the C of her Chariot she clings, then suddenly to the F of Fall,
She who is wont to cling to herself.
...

6/
Between them she leaps & grasps the H of Heavy,
And beats her wings till the depths of destruction.
From the S of her Summit to the Despair of D, the wretch arrives.’

7/
Now compare Bar Maʿdanī& #39;s play on Syriac letters:

‘C of her Chariot’ (mīm markaḇṯāh)
‘F of Fall’ (mīm mappultā)
‘H of Heavy’ (yōḏ yaqqīrtā)
‘To the Despair of D’ (l-ḏuwwān dālaṯ)
‘S of her Summit’ (rēš rawmāh)

8/
Take away: knowledge can migrate between religious & linguistic communities in the most creative ways!

9/
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