This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Freelance translator and/or interpreter, Verified site user
Data security
This person has a SecurePRO™ card. Because this person is not a ProZ.com Plus subscriber, to view his or her SecurePRO™ card you must be a ProZ.com Business member or Plus subscriber.
Affiliations
This person is not affiliated with any business or Blue Board record at ProZ.com.
Arabic to English: Literary/cultural/historical text
Source text - Arabic الظواهر المسرحية عند المسلمين العرب
في هذا الفصل سنناقش كل الاراء الحديثة التي اتفقت او تناقضت حول سؤال
هل عرف العرب والمسلمون المسرح قبل عام 1847؟
ربما يكون هذا السؤال هو الفتيل الذي يوقد نار المشكلة الدائمة في البحث عن اصول المسرح في العالم العربي الاسلامي , هناك كثير من الاراء التي سنناقشها في هذا الفصل والتي تقر بامتلاك المسلمون العرب هذا النوع من الفن ومنهم من ذهب نحو تحديدات ادق,فتحدث عن امتلاكهم لظواهر مسرحية وبذور للمسرح نتيجته مسرح متكامل وناضج, وهي مشابهه لما بدء ت به بعض الحضارات الاخرى وابرزها الاغريقية, وبعض الاراء الاخرى ذهبت الى نفي تواجد الفن المسرحي او الظاهرة المسرحية عند المسلمون العرب وعدم معرفتهم بها,كل من هذه الاراء تخضع الى ايدولوجيات وعقائد مختلفة لدي مفسيرها.
ان المسرح عند العرب المسلمون لم يكن واردا لديهم , بل انهم كانو يمارسونه من غير ان يعرفوا انه مسرحاً ويستشهد الراعي بذلك بحادثة ظريفه توضح هذا التناقض فيقول:
وقف رجل بين يدي الخليفة المنصور زاعما ان لديه ما يستوجب العجب , فقال له الخليفة : هات ما عنك, فاخرج الرجل من كيسه كمية من السهام الصغيرة, وقذف بسهم منها الى الحائط فتثبت به ثم قذف بسهم ثاني فدخل طرفها في ظهر الاولى. وهكذا لعدة مرات. حتى اكمل مئة سهم.
فاعجب المنصور بفعله وامر له بمئة دينار ذهباً وامر له بمئة جلده . فاستغرب الرجل !! وقال : لماذا يا مولاي؟ فقال المنصور: المائة دينار لبراعتك في قذف السهام. والمائة جلدة لأضاعتك الوقت بما لا ينفع.
الحكيم , بدء موافقاً على وجود مسرح عربي اسلامي اصيل ومن ثم ارتد معارضاً ففي عام 1933 نشرت مجلة الرسالة في العدد11 رسالة وجهها الحكيم الى الأديب العربي طه حسين يقول فيها الحكيم
كنت أقرأ لللجاحظ (شاعر عربي) منذ عامين, فوجدت عنده حواراً كالحوار التمثيلي وقد بدا لي ان انقل هذه الحوار على شكل مشهد مسرحي صغير دون تغيير في الالفاظ والمعاني, وقد سمحت لنفسي ببعض التعديل في تحويل الحوار الشعري الى الحوار المسرحي بغير ان امس جوهر الموضوع
هنا يتبنى الحكيم ان ثمة ظواهر مسرحية في الادب العربي الاسلامي من خلال الحوار التمثيلي المتواجد في شعراء العرب المسلمين كالجاحظ , على الرغم ان التعديل في النص الاصلي قد يخل بتصور الحكيم حول تواجد الشكل المسرحي في تحويل النص الادبي الى نص مسرحي. والذي يسبب خللا في نظرة الحكيم.
سليمان قطايا, باحثا آخر قد انتقل من فكرة عدم وجود مسرح عربي الاسلامي الى فكرة وجوده ودعمه بقوة.
حيث اشار في مقال قد نشره في مجلة المعرفة السورية العدد 79 الى عدم وجود مسرح عربي اسلامي قبل منتصف القرن التاسع عشر وبالتحديد 1847 وعاد واتخذ موقفاً آخر.
فقد حاول قطايا ان يؤسس لرأيه في وجود مسرح عند المسلمين العرب من خلال التأكيد على تلازم المسرح مع وجود الممثل وذلك في كتابه ( المسرح العربي من اين والى اين) حيث استنتج وجود الممثل من خلال عرض بعض الفقرات من كتاب " مقامات بديع الزمان الهمذاني ( شاعر عربي مسلم)" الذي يصور ,من خلال الشعر, حركات بطل الرواية الشعرية الوهمي أبي فتح الاسكندراني الذي يقوم بتقمص شخصيات مختلفة يقوم بتمثيلها امام الناس .ويركز قطايا على وصف الممثل في هذه المقامات يربط بين تجسيد آداءها التمثيلي بالكلمات والحوار الشعري. ويستنتج قطايا هنا:
ان شخصية الاسكندراني الوهمية هي شخصية ممثل كوميدي فنان يقوم بادواره في المجتمعات العربية وهو يمثل بدايات الممثل العربي الكوميدي في اول مراحله وبداياته وهي تشابه كثيرا تلك الموجود في شخصيات المسرح الغربي الكوميدي
الى ان رأي قطايا يبقى غير مقنع حول ان شخصية الاسكندراني تبقى شخصية حبيسة الشعر وليست شخصية تقبل بان تكون بوضع تمثيلي يشغل فراغا مسرحياً. وانها لم تخرج من القالب الشعري الى الواقع.
وهناك ظاهرة اخرى تقام من اجل الوعظ الديني وذلك في فترة زعامة الخليفة المهدي حيت كان يخرج رجل متصوف كل يوم اثنين و خميس الى ساحة العامة خارج بغداد حتى يتجمع حوله جمع غفير من الجمهور, ويصعد تلة صغير, وينادي باعلى صوته متسائلاً!! ما فعل النبيون والمرسلون؟ اليسوا في اعلى مراتب الجنه. فيرد الجمهور: اجل... فيطلب الخليفة ابى بكر (الخليفة الاول) قيتقدم منه رجل من الجمهور فيجلس امامه . فيبدا الواعظ بمحادثته ويقول: جزاك الله خيراً يا ابا بكر عن الشعب, فقد عدلت وحكمت بما يرضى الله وخلفت محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فاحسنت الخلافة. ويعدد ما قام به من افضل الاعمال. ثم يقول : اذهبوا به الى اعلى مراتب الجنة. ثم ينادي : الي بالخليفة عمر ..ثم الخليفة عثمان ثم الخليفة علي ثم الخليفة معاوية ثم الخليفة يزيد وياحاكم كل خليفة باعماله .
وفي اجابة اخرى لسؤل هذا الفصل حول المسرح العربي الاسلامي يذكر الباحث شريف خزندار بان الخليفة العباسي المتوكل هو اول من ادخل المهرجين والراقصين الي البلاط الحاكم وان العامة من الشعب وجدوا في ذلك تسلية وترفيها لهم حيث نزل المهرجون والراقصون الى شوارع المدينه وميادينها. واشهر هؤلاء المهرجين ابن المغزالي الذي كان يتكلم على الطريق ويقص اخباراً ونوادر مضحكة والذي كان احياناً يهاجم الخليفة بنفسه وكما يحكي ابن خلدون (مؤرخ اسلامي) في كتابه ( الاغاني) ان الخليفة الأمين قد اشترك في التمثيل والرقص في مناسبة زواج اخيه الخليفة المأمون. ويؤكد على ذلك على الراعي في وصف حفل الزفاف ذلك الى انه شكل من اشكال الاخراج المسرحي .يبدء من زفاف العروس "بوران" حتى جلوس الخليفة اليها. كذلك يضيف الراعي ان هذه الاحتفالية تكررت في تنصيب المأمون خليفة للمسلمين بصورة طقسية حيث يرافق تلك الصورة عدد من المهرجين والمقلدين منهم ابن عنبس الصميري الذي كان يقلد شخصيات عديدة معظمها من الشعراء الذي كانوا يهاجمون الدولة العباسية كالشاعر البحتري
ويتحدث الراعي عن شكل مسرحي آخر من خلال وصف موكب الخليفة هارون الرشيد والخليفة المامون عند خروجهما لصلاة الجمعة . فيقول:
يتقدم الموكب فرقة من المشاة تحمل رايات, ومن ثم فرق موسيقية ورجال اشداء يحملون اقواساً شاهرين سويفهم ومن ثم يظهر الخليفة مرتدياً عباءة سوداء ممتطياً جواداً عربياً من نسل اصيل يسير ورائه مجموعة من الوزراء والامراء وكبار الدولة في خيول مزينة بالاقمشة الفاخرة , , ويتبعه رجال الدوله والحراس , ان هذا الموكب هو في صميمه عرض مسرحي مخرج بعناية, مكانه طرقات بغداد وحركته المسرحية من قصر الخليفة الى المسجد , وبطله الرئيسي الخليفة والمتفرجون هم جماهير الناس والهدف منه ان يبهر الشعب ويرهبهم ويطلعون على قوة الدولة وثروتها
Translation - English Manifestations of Theatrical Arts
Among Arab Muslims
In this chapter, we will discuss all of the modern opinions regarding the answer to the question, “Was theater known to the Arabs and Muslims before 1847?”
This question is the ember that sparks the blaze in the ongoing search for the origin of theatrical arts in the Arab-Islamic world. In this chapter, we will discuss many opinions that support the existence of this genre among the Arab Muslims. Some of these theories explicitly state that the early seeds and manifestations of theatre existed among Arab Muslims, and that they later developed into their complete, mature form; similar to the dramatic beginnings found in other societies, the most famous example of which is the Greeks. At the same time, other opinions refute the existence of theater and its early manifestations among the Arab Muslims, and they maintain that it was a genre totally unknown to them. As we will see, all of these views are subject to the various ideologies and beliefs of those who interpret them.
Theatre did not exist among the Arab Muslims; the Arabs did, however, practice theatrical arts without realizing that they were “theatre” per se. Ar-Raiy illustrates this point with his narration of the following anecdote that unravels the riddle of this apparent contradiction:
A man stood before the Caliph, Al-Mansoor, claiming that he had something that would produce amazement beyond belief. The Caliph ordered him to present his amazing wonder, so the man removed a bundle of small arrows from his bag. He took one of the arrows and shot it towards the wall where it became firmly embedded. Then he shot a second arrow so that its head pierced the back of the first. He proceeded to shoot the rest of the arrows until he had shot 100 arrows in this manner.
The Caliph was astounded by this feat and ordered that the man be awarded one hundred gold dinars and one hundred lashings. The man was shocked and asked, “Why my lord?” Al-Mansoor answered, “The hundred dinars are for your skill in shooting, and the hundred lashings are for wasting time in useless matters.”
In studying Al-Hakeem’s position regarding the answer to this question, we find that his first opinion supported the existence of an authentic Arabic-Islamic dramatic tradition, but that he later contradicted himself. This is evidenced by a letter that Al-Hakeem wrote to Taha Husayn that was published in the 11th edition of the Ar-Risâlah magazine in1933, wherein he stated:
Two years ago, I was reading some of the work of Al-Jaahiz (an Arabic poet), wherein I discovered a dialogue similar to theatrical dialogue. It occurred to me to transpose this dialogue into a mini-theatrical scene without making any changes to the words or the meanings. I permitted myself to make some changes while transforming the poetic dialogue into a dramatic dialogue without touching the essence of the subject.
Here Al-Hakeem takes the opinion that there are manifestations of the theatrical genre in Arabic-Islamic literature such as the dramatic dialogue found in the works of Arab Islamic poets such as Al-Jaahiz. However, the fact that it was necessary to make changes to the original text in order to complete this transformation is a flaw in Al-Hakeem’s theory.
Another researcher, Sulayman Qataya, first refuted the existence of an Arab Islamic drama genre, but later changed his position, not only to affirm, but moreover, to strongly support its existence. In an article published in volume 79 of the magazine Majallat Al-Ma`rifat As-Suriyyah, he indicated that there was no Arabic-Islamic theatre before the middle of the nineteenth century, or more specifically before 1847. Later, however, we find him abandoning this theory for one in favor of its existence, which he attempted to prove by emphasizing that the existence of the actor must be necessarily linked to the existence of the theatrical genre. Hence, in his book, Al-Masrah Al-`Arabî Min Ayna wa Ilâ Ayna, Qataya establishes the existence of the actor by presenting some paragraphs from the book, Maqâmât Badî` Az-Zamân Al-Hamadhânî (written by an Arab Muslim poet), wherein poetry is used to portray the movements of the imaginary poetic storyteller, Abu Fath al-Iskandarani, who takes on various personalities that he acts out in front of people. Qataya focuses on the description of the actor in these maqâmât, linking between the embodiment of dramatic performance and the words and poetic dialogues. He concludes:
The imaginary personality of Al-Iskandarani is that of a comic actor who performs his roles in the Arabic societies. He represents the beginnings of the Arab comic actor in its first stages, and bears a strong resemblance to the theatrical characters that exist in Western comedy.
Qataya’s theory would be acceptable, except that it isn’t convincing due to the fact that Al-Iskandarani’s character remains one that is confined to poetry; it is not capable of handling a dramatic role that can fill the theatrical void, and it never breaks out of the poetic mold into reality.
During the reign of the caliph, Al-Mahdi, we find a manifestation of drama that was performed for the sake of religious admonition. Every Monday and Thursday, a Sufi man would go to the public square outside of Baghdad until he was surrounded by a large crowd of people. He would then ascend a small hill where he would call out in his loudest voice, asking the people, “What is it that the Prophets and Messengers did? Are they not in the highest ranks of Paradise?” The people would answer, “Yes.” Then he would call for the Caliph Abu Bakr [the first caliph]. A man from the audience would approach him and sit in front of him. Then he would begin his admonition by speaking to him saying, “O Abu Bakr, may Allah grant you a good reward on behalf of the people, for you were just and ruled by that which pleases Allah; you succeeded Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and ruled the caliphate well.” Then he would recount Abu Bakr’s virtuous deeds and finally he would say, “Take him to the highest degrees of Paradise.” Then he would call out, “Bring to me the Caliph Umar”… then he would call for the Caliph Uthman, then Caliph Ali, then Caliph Muawiyyah, then Caliph Yazeed, and he would judge each caliph according to his deeds.
In another answer to the question posed at the beginning of this chapter regarding the beginnings of Arab Islamic drama, the scholar, Shareef, mentions that the Abbasid Caliph, al-Mutawakkil, was the first to admit jesters and dancers into the ruling palace, and that when the jesters and dancers would come out to the streets and plazas of the city, they were a source of amusement and entertainment for the commoners as well. The most famous of these jesters was Ibn Al-Maghazali who used to talk with people on the streets, narrating humorous anecdotes and events, and even criticizing the Caliph. Similarly, Al-Asfahani (an Islamic historian) narrates in his book Al-Aghânî that the Caliph, al-Ameen, was a participant in the acting and dancing during the celebration of the marriage of his brother, the Caliph Al-Ma'moon. This was confirmed by Ali Ar-Raiy when he described the marriage celebration as a type of theatrical production beginning with the procession of the bride, Bûrân, until the point when the caliph goes to sit with her. Ar-Raiy also adds that during the coronation of al-Ma’mûn as Caliph of the Muslims, such festivities also took place in a liturgical form accompanied by a number of jesters and impersonators, such as Ibn Abi Anbas As-Sameeri used to impersonate various personalities, most of whom were poets who used to attack the Abbasid government such as Al-Buhtari.
Ar-Raiy goes on to depict another manifestation of drama in his description of the procession of the caliphs, Haroon Ar-Rasheed and Al-Ma'moon, when they would go out for the Friday congregational prayer. He says:
The procession is lead by a group of men on foot carrying banners, followed by groups of musicians, and strong men carrying bows and brandishing their swords. Then the Caliph appears wearing a black cloak, riding an Arabic stallion of fine pedigree. Behind him is a group of ministers, governors, and government officials riding horses decked in lavish cloth, following which are government men and guards. This procession is in essence a theatrical performance produced with great precision. The streets of Baghdad are its stage, and the theatrical movement is from the palace of the caliph to the mosque. Its principle hero is the Caliph, the public crowds are its audience; its aim is to impress and awe the public and to show them the strength and wealth of the government.
The Caliph was amazed by this feat and ordered that the man be awarded one hundred gold dinars and one hundred lashings. The man was shocked and asked, “Why my lord?” Al-Mansoor answered, “The hundred dinars are for your skill in shooting, and the hundred lashings are for wasting time in useless matters."
English (English Merit Award) Arabic to English (Egypt: Arab Professional Translators Society ) English to Arabic (Egypt: Arab Professional Translators Society )
Memberships
N/A
Software
Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Trados Studio
I was born and raised in the United States where I completed my primary and secondary education. After several years of university study in the US, I traveled to Egypt where I entered Al-Azhar University and graduated with a B.A. in Arabic language.
Currently I am working on my M.A. in codicology and paleography specializing in the field of ancient Arabic manuscripts and documents. My work focuses on identifying and researching the authenticity of manuscripts as well as indexing, cataloging, and translating them for the benefit of other researchers.
WORKING EXPERIENCE:
• I have twelve years of editing experience. Although most of my editing work has dealt with texts that have been translated into English from Arabic or other languages, I also have a good deal of experience editing texts such as stories, research projects, and academic dissertations that have been originally written in English.
• I have been working in the field of translation for ten years. My translation technique has been developed as a result of working as an apprentice with expert Arabic-English translators, as well as by reviewing and critiquing Ph.D dissertations related to Arabic-English translation. My projects for the last year include translating a book dealing with the rights of the family that are guaranteed by UN treaties and other international conventions, Articles of Establishment for a bank in Qatar, genetic research, a book of Islamic prophetic traditions, and a book on tolerance in Islam. I also have experience in fields related to culture, society, literature, education, business, marketing, medicine, science, history, and many other subjects.
• I am available to do voiceovers for marketing material, educational programs, children's stories, cartoons, etc.
OTHER EXPERIENCE AND HOBBIES
I provide tutoring for students studying Arabic and Islamic subjects and work as a mentor for aspiring translators. Also, I enjoy traveling and have spent nine years in Egypt, a year in Turkey, a year in Japan, and a year in Pakistan. Other countries I have traveled to include Canada, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.
This user has earned KudoZ points by helping other translators with PRO-level terms. Click point total(s) to see term translations provided.
Expertise 
positive
