Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1322
حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ: لاَ يَكُنْ حُبُّكَ كَلَفًا، وَلاَ بُغْضُكَ تَلَفًا، فَقُلْتُ: كَيْفَ ذَاكَ؟ قَالَ: إِذَا أَحْبَبْتَ كَلِفْتَ كَلَفَ الصَّبِيِّ، وَإِذَا أَبْغَضْتَ أَحْبَبْتَ لِصَاحِبِكَ التَّلَف.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa‘id ibn Abi Maryam related to us: Muhammad ibn Ja‘far informed us: Zayd ibn Aslam related to us, from his father, from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said: ‘Do not let your love become an excessive attachment, nor your hatred become destructive.’ I asked: ‘How so?’ He replied: ‘When you love, you become attached with a child’s intensity; and when you hate, you wish destruction upon your companion.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The expression كلف describes excessive attachment/infatuation; تلف is ruin or destruction. The explanation that follows is preserved.
لاَ يَكُنْ حُبُّكَ كَلَفًا، وَلاَ بُغْضُكَ تَلَفًا
كلف and تلف are concise, rhyming terms; the explanation that follows provides their intended sense.
Should the opening aphorism preserve the rhyme in a more compressed English form?