Two friends ask a long-time companion to judge their quarrel. A preparation schedule also records the would-be judge’s unfinished task.
01Read the Arabic story
الصَّدِيقَانِ اللَّذَانِ طَلَبَا مِنِّي الْحُكْمَ فِي خِلَافِهِمَا
طَلَبَ مِنِّي يَاسِرٌ وَمَرْوَانُ أَنْ أَحْكُمَ فِي خِلَافِهِمَا بَعْدَ أَمْسِيَةِ قِرَاءَةٍ نَظَّمَاهَا مَعًا. أَرْسَلَ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمَا رِسَالَةً، وَكَتَبَا فِي آخِرِهَا: أَنْتَ تَعْرِفُنَا. كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُهُمَا مُنْذُ الْمَدْرَسَةِ، لَكِنَّنِي حَضَرْتُ سَاعَةً مِنَ التَّحْضِيرِ فَقَطْ. فِي تِلْكَ السَّاعَةِ، رَأَيْتُ مَرْوَانَ يَرْفُضُ حَمْلَ صُنْدُوقٍ، وَقُلْتُ ضَاحِكًا إِنَّهُ يَتْرُكُ الْعَمَلَ لِغَيْرِهِ. تَذَكَّرَ يَاسِرٌ جُمْلَتِي فِي رِسَالَتِهِ.
جَلَسْنَا إِلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ الَّتِي وَضَعْنَا عَلَيْهَا أَوْرَاقَ الْأَمْسِيَةِ. نَشَرَ يَاسِرٌ جَدْوَلَ الْمَهَامِّ، وَأَشَارَ إِلَى اسْمِ مَرْوَانَ بِجَانِبِ الصَّنَادِيقِ. قَالَ مَرْوَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ قَدْ حَمَلَ الْكَرَاسِيَّ مِنْ مَخْزَنٍ بَعِيدٍ، وَأَنَّ يَدَهُ كَانَتْ تُؤْلِمُهُ. لَمْ أَشْهَدْ تِلْكَ الرِّحْلَةَ، وَلَمْ يَنْفِهَا يَاسِرٌ؛ قَالَ إِنَّ أَحَدًا لَمْ يُخْبِرْهُ بِهَا قَبْلَ تَوْزِيعِ الْمَهَامِّ.
سَأَلَانِي أَيُّهُمَا أَنْصَفُ لِلْآخَرِ. كُنْتُ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَصِفَ الرَّفْضَ الَّذِي سَمِعْتُهُ، لَا أَنْ أَجْعَلَهُ عُنْوَانًا لِصَدَاقَتِهِمَا. قُلْتُ إِنَّ ضَحِكَتِي جَعَلَتِ الْجُمْلَةَ أَخَفَّ عَلَيَّ، لَا أَدَقَّ فِي وَصْفِ مَرْوَانَ. دَفَعْتُ الْجَدْوَلَ إِلَيْهِمَا، وَطَلَبْتُ تَسْجِيلَ مَا أُضِيفَ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ بَعْدَ كِتَابَتِهِ. لَمْ يُعْجِبْ يَاسِرًا أَنَّنِي لَمْ أَبْدَأْ بِالْحُكْمِ.
أَضَافَ مَرْوَانُ رِحْلَةَ الْكَرَاسِيِّ، وَأَضَافَ يَاسِرٌ اِتِّصَالَاتِهِ لِاسْتِعَارَتِهَا. لَمْ تَتَعَادَلِ الْقَائِمَتَانِ بِحِسَابِ السُّطُورِ؛ وَقْتُ اِنْتِظَارِ الرَّدِّ لَا يَظْهَرُ فِي عَدَدِ الْأَشْيَاءِ الْمَحْمُولَةِ. وَجَدْتُ اسْمِي بِجَانِبِ إِعَادَةِ الْمِفْتَاحِ، وَكَانَ لَا يَزَالُ فِي جَيْبِي. أَخْرَجْتُهُ، وَاتَّفَقْنَا عَلَى أَنْ أُعِيدَهُ صَبَاحًا. ضَحِكَ مَرْوَانُ هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ، وَسَأَلَنِي إِنْ كُنْتُ سَأَكْتُبُ ذَلِكَ فِي الْجَدْوَلِ.
كَتَبْتُهُ. بَقِيَ الْخِلَافُ حَوْلَ نَبْرَةِ يَاسِرٍ وَهُوَ يَطْلُبُ حَمْلَ الصُّنْدُوقِ؛ تَذَكَّرَ مَرْوَانُ أَمْرًا، وَتَذَكَّرْتُ أَنَا طَلَبًا مُسْتَعْجَلًا. لَمْ أَسْتَبْدِلْ ذَاكِرَتِي بِذَاكِرَتِهِ، وَلَمْ أَجْعَلْهَا حُكْمًا عَلَى شُعُورِهِ. سَأَلَ يَاسِرٌ عَنْ مَوْعِدِ إِعَادَةِ الْكَرَاسِيِّ، فَأَجَابَهُ مَرْوَانُ مُبَاشَرَةً. طَوَيْتُ رِسَالَتَيْهِمَا تَحْتَ الْجَدْوَلِ. وَضَعْتُ الْمِفْتَاحَ فَوْقَهُ لِئَلَّا أَنْسَى مَهَمَّتِي، وَتَرَكْتُ لَهُمَا مَكَانًا لِكِتَابَةِ الْمَوْعِدِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
Yasser and Marwan asked me to judge their disagreement after a reading evening they had organised together. Each sent a message, ending with “You know us.” I had known them since school, but had attended only an hour of the preparations. In that hour I saw Marwan refuse to carry a box, and joked that he left the work to others. Yasser recalled my sentence in his message.
We sat at the table on which we had put the papers for the evening. Yasser spread out the task schedule and pointed to Marwan’s name beside the boxes. Marwan said he had already carried the chairs from a distant storeroom and that his hand was hurting. I had not witnessed that trip, and Yasser did not deny it; he said nobody had told him about it before the tasks were assigned.
They asked which of them was fairer to the other. I could describe the refusal I had heard, but not turn it into a title for their friendship. I said that my laughter had made the sentence easier for me, not more accurate in describing Marwan. I pushed the schedule towards them and asked them to record what had been added to the work since it was written. Yasser disliked my not beginning with a verdict.
Marwan added the chair trip, and Yasser added his calls to borrow them. Counting lines did not make the two lists equal; time spent waiting for a reply does not show up in the number of objects carried. I found my name beside returning the key, and it was still in my pocket. I took it out, and we agreed that I would return it in the morning. This time Marwan laughed and asked whether I would write that in the schedule.
I wrote it down. The disagreement about Yasser’s tone when asking for the box to be carried remained: Marwan remembered an order, while I remembered a hurried request. I did not replace my memory with his, nor make it a verdict on his feelings. Yasser asked about the time for returning the chairs, and Marwan answered him directly. I folded their two messages under the schedule. I put the key on top so I would not forget my task, and left them space to write the time.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| خِلَافِهِمَا | their disagreement |
| التَّحْضِيرِ | the preparations |
| نَشَرَ | spread out |
| الْمَهَامِّ | the tasks |
| مَخْزَنٍ | a storeroom |
| أَشْهَدْ | witness; after lam, did not witness |
| تَتَعَادَلِ | become equal; after lam, did not become equal |
| نَبْرَةِ | the tone of voice of |
| مُسْتَعْجَلًا | hurried; urgent |
| لِئَلَّا | so that ... not |
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
- Long acquaintance does not fill gaps in what a witness saw during one hour.
- A revised task record permits direct coordination while leaving the disputed tone unresolved.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ أَشْهَدْ تِلْكَ الرِّحْلَةَ
Lam negates the past witnessed action; ashhad is a sound-final jussive with final sukun.
Arabic Relative Pronouns: Joining Ideas with Alladhi and Allati
الطَّاوِلَةِ الَّتِي وَضَعْنَا عَلَيْهَا أَوْرَاقَ الْأَمْسِيَةِ
Allati links the definite feminine singular table to the clause locating the papers on it.
