I recently offered to a certain newspaper editor an article on an Arab country, in which I began by lightly sketching its history in two or three paragraphs, and then described its situation today. The editor sent the draft back, with a note to the effect that he would publish it if I could cut out the historical paragraphs. "People today," he concluded, "are not interested in history. All they want to know is your opinion on the political situation today." Judging by the many tragic errors we have made in the Middle East in recent years, this viewpoint must be widely held, both by our government and by the public.
It is curious that this should be so, in an age which talks so much about psychology and spends so much money on psychiatrists. In this field, the experts are constantly emphasizing, not only the importance of the peculiarities of our ancestors and parents, which we may have inherited, but also of the conditions under which we grew up through infancy and childhood. The circumstances of our early years, we are told, affect our mentality for the rest of our lives. If this be really so, it is surprising that we refuse to apply the same considerations to nations, and that we reject a study of their history, when we endeavour to ascertain why they behave as they do today.
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- The Great Arab Conquests, by John Bagot Glubb "Glubb Pasha."
Or, as the Arabs used to call him: أبو حنيك, because of a previous injury which shattered his jaw.
I guess what's worse than losing friends, is realizing they've never been your friends anyways.
إنّما قَلبُ الحَدَث* كالأرضِ الخَالِية: ما أُلقِيَ فيها مِن شَيءٍ قَبِلَته.
*الحَدَث: الشاب، صَغيرُ السن
*الحَدَث: الشاب، صَغيرُ السن
خَيْرَ الْقَوْلِ مَا نَفَعَ - واعْلَمْ أَنَّه لَا خَيْرَ فِي عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ.
إيّاكَ أنْ تَغتَرَّ بِما تَرى مِن إخلادِ أهلِ الدُنيَا إلَيها وتَكالُبِهم عَلَيها، فإنّما أهلُها كِلابٌ عاوِيَة وسِباعٌ ضَارِيَة، يَهِرُّ بَعضُها على بَعض، ويأكُلُ عَزيزُها ذَليلَها، ويَقهَرُ كَبيرُها صَغيرَها.
القَلبُ مُصحَفُ البَصَر.
أي أنّ القَلبَ يَحفِظُ ما يَتَناولُه البَصَر، فكأنّه يُكتَبُ فيه
أي أنّ القَلبَ يَحفِظُ ما يَتَناولُه البَصَر، فكأنّه يُكتَبُ فيه
إنّ أولياءَ اللهِ هُم الذينَ نَظَروا إلى باطِنِ الدنيا إذا نَظَر الناسُ إلى ظاهرِها، واشتَغَلوا بآجِلِها إذا اشتغلَ الناسُ بعاجلِها، فأماتوا مِنها ما خَشَوا أنْ يُميتَهم وتَرَكوا مِنها ما عَلِموا أنّه سَيَتركهم.