Track what a committee records, implies and leaves unresolved.
01Read the Arabic story
اللَّجْنَةُ الَّتِي لَمْ تَقُلْ لَا
كَانَتْ سَلْمَى تُدَوِّنُ مَحَاضِرَ لَجْنَةِ الْمَرْكَزِ الَّتِي تَفْتَحُ بَابَهَا لِلْجَمِيعِ. قَبْلَ سِتَّةِ أَسَابِيعَ، طَلَبَتْ فِرْقَةٌ مَحَلِّيَّةٌ قَاعَةَ الْمَرْكَزِ لِتَدْرِيبٍ مَسَائِيٍّ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ. قَالَ الرَّئِيسُ: سَنَدْرُسُ طَلَبَكُمْ. وَحِينَ سَأَلَتْ مُنَظِّمَةُ الْفِرْقَةِ عَنِ الْمِفْتَاحِ، أَجَابَ بِالْعِبَارَةِ نَفْسِهَا، وَأَضَافَ أَنَّ الْمَرْكَزَ يَعْتَزُّ بِنَشَاطِ الشَّبَابِ. خَرَجَتِ الْمُنَظِّمَةُ تَشْكُرُهُ عَلَى تَعَاوُنِهِ، وَطَوَتْ وَرَقَةَ الطَّلَبِ بِعِنَايَةٍ.
كَتَبَتْ سَلْمَى فِي الْمَحْضَرِ أَنَّ اللَّجْنَةَ نَاقَشَتِ الطَّلَبَ. لَكِنَّهَا أَرْسَلَتْ لِلْفِرْقَةِ خُلَاصَةً تَقُولُ: رَحَّبَتِ اللَّجْنَةُ بِالْمَشْرُوعِ. لَمْ تَقْصِدْ إِعْلَانَ قَرَارٍ؛ فِي ذِهْنِهَا كَانَ التَّرْحِيبُ وَصْفًا لِنَبْرَةِ الْحَدِيثِ. وَفِي الْأُسْبُوعِ التَّالِي سَأَلَتْهَا الْمُنَظِّمَةُ عَنْ مَوْعِدِ التَّدْرِيبِ، فَأَحَالَتْهَا إِلَى الرَّئِيسِ. رَدَّ بِجُمْلَتِهِ الْمَأْلُوفَةِ، وَلَمْ يَعْتَرِضْ عَلَى ذِكْرِ الْمَوْعِدِ.
عِنْدَ اقْتِرَابِ السَّبْتِ، وَصَلَتْ قَائِمَةُ الْمُشَارِكِينَ مَعَ فَاتُورَةِ مَلَابِسَ طَلَبَتْهَا الْفِرْقَةُ. كَانَتِ الْقَاعَةُ لَا تَزَالُ مُغْلَقَةً لِإِصْلَاحِ السَّقْفِ، وَلَمْ يَظْهَرِ اسْمُ الْفِرْقَةِ عَلَى تَقْوِيمِ الْحَجْزِ. وَتَكْلِفَةُ الْفَتْحِ الْمَسَائِيِّ لَمْ تُحْسَبْ. سَأَلَتْ سَلْمَى الرَّئِيسَ عَنِ الْمُوَافَقَةِ، فَقَلَّبَ الْمَحْضَرَ وَقَالَ: أَيْنَ كَتَبْنَا أَنَّنَا وَافَقْنَا؟ أَخْرَجَتْ خُلَاصَتَهَا مِنَ الْمِلَفِّ. لَمْ تَكُنْ وَثِيقَةَ الْمُوَافَقَةِ، لَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ بِلَا أَثَرٍ.
قَرَأَتِ الْمُنَظِّمَةُ الْجُمْلَتَيْنِ أَمَامَهَا، ثُمَّ قَالَتْ: لَوْ سَمِعْتُ كَلِمَةَ لَا لَمَا طَلَبْتُ الْمَلَابِسَ. لَمْ تَقُلْ سَلْمَى إِنَّ غِيَابَ الرَّفْضِ يَكْفِي لِلْمُوَافَقَةِ؛ غَيْرَ أَنَّ تَكْرَارَ الْعِبَارَةِ وَخُلَاصَتَهَا جَعَلَا الِانْتِظَارَ يَبْدُو إِجْرَاءً أَخِيرًا. اِتَّصَلَتْ بِمَرْكَزٍ آخَرَ، وَسَأَلَتْ عَنْ قَاعَةٍ بَدِيلَةٍ. لَمْ تَجِدْ مَوْعِدًا مُنَاسِبًا، فَكَتَبَتْ هَذِهِ النَّتِيجَةَ أَيْضًا، دُونَ تَخْفِيفٍ.
فِي الْجَلْسَةِ التَّالِيَةِ، وَضَعَتْ ثَلَاثَ خَانَاتٍ: اِسْتِلَامُ الطَّلَبِ، وَدِرَاسَتُهُ، وَالْقَرَارُ. بَقِيَتِ الثَّالِثَةُ فَارِغَةً وَالْمَوْعِدُ قَرِيبٌ. شَكَرَهَا الرَّئِيسُ عَلَى دِقَّتِهَا، وَبَدَا لَهَا شُكْرُهُ صَادِقًا. وَحِينَ سَأَلَهَا هَلْ تُرْسِلُ الْخُلَاصَةَ، قَالَتْ: نَعَمْ، مَعَ ذِكْرِ مَا لَمْ نَحْسِمْهُ. ثُمَّ تَرَكَتِ الْوَرَقَةَ أَمَامَهُ، وَانْتَظَرَتْ أَنْ يُحَدِّدَ مَوْعِدًا لِلْإِجَابَةِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
Salma kept the minutes for the community centre committee, which opened its door to everyone. Six weeks earlier, a local troupe had requested the hall for an evening rehearsal on Saturday. The chairman said, “We will study your request.” When the troupe organiser asked about the key, he repeated the phrase and added that the centre valued young people’s activities. She left thanking him for his cooperation and carefully folded her request sheet.
Salma recorded in the minutes that the committee had discussed the request. But she sent the troupe a summary saying, “The committee welcomed the project.” She had not meant to announce a decision; in her mind, “welcomed” described the tone of the conversation. The following week the organiser asked her about the rehearsal date, and she referred her to the chairman. He replied with his familiar sentence and did not object to the mention of the date.
As Saturday approached, a participant list arrived with an invoice for costumes the troupe had ordered. The hall was still closed for roof repairs, and the troupe’s name did not appear on the booking calendar. The cost of opening in the evening had not been calculated. Salma asked the chairman about the approval. He turned through the minutes and said, “Where did we write that we approved?” She took her summary out of the file. It was not an approval document, but it was not without consequences.
The organiser read the two sentences in front of her, then said, “If I had heard the word no, I would not have ordered the costumes.” Salma did not say that the absence of rejection was enough for approval; yet the repeated phrase and her summary had made waiting look like a final formality. She called another centre to ask about an alternative hall. She found no suitable slot, and recorded that result too, without softening it.
At the next meeting she set out three fields: receipt of the request, its consideration, and the decision. The third remained blank, with the date drawing near. The chairman thanked her for her precision, and his thanks seemed sincere to her. When he asked whether she would send the summary, she said, “Yes, mentioning what we have not resolved.” Then she left the sheet before him and waited for him to set a date for an answer.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مَحَاضِرَ | meeting minutes |
| بِنَشَاطِ الشَّبَابِ | in young people’s activities |
| خُلَاصَةً | a summary |
| لِنَبْرَةِ الْحَدِيثِ | of the tone of the conversation |
| فَاتُورَةِ مَلَابِسَ | an invoice for costumes |
| تَقْوِيمِ الْحَجْزِ | the booking calendar |
| بِلَا أَثَرٍ | without consequences |
| إِجْرَاءً أَخِيرًا | a final formality |
| دُونَ تَخْفِيفٍ | without softening it |
| خَانَاتٍ | fields or boxes on a form |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Track voices, omissions and competing accounts. Choose the reading best supported by the Arabic text.
What to remember
- A summary can change expectations even when it records no decision.
- The final blank distinguishes sincere appreciation from a commitment.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Arabic Relative Pronouns: Joining Ideas with Alladhi and Allati
لَجْنَةِ الْمَرْكَزِ الَّتِي تَفْتَحُ بَابَهَا
Trace allati back to the feminine singular committee, then follow its description.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ تَقْصِدْ إِعْلَانَ قَرَارٍ
Lam gives this sound-final verb past negation and a jussive ending.
