Maʿānī al-ʾAkhbār > The meaning of zuba and tubyayn
Hadith #1

حدثنا أحمد بن الحسن القطان، قال، حدثنا أحمد بن يحيى بن زكريا القطان، قال: حدثنا بكر بن عبد الله بن حبيب، قال: حدثنا حسان بن علي المدائني قال: حدثنا العباس بن مكرم، عن سعد الخفاف ، عن الأصبغ بن نباتة قال: كتب عثمان ابن عفان حين أحيط به إلى علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام: أما بعد، فقد جاوز الماء الزبى، وبلغ الحزام الطبيين، وتجاوز الامر بي قدره، وطمع في من لا يدفع عن نفسه. فإن كنت مأكولا فكن خير آكل * وإلا فأدركني ولما أمزق.

1. We were told by Ahmad bin Hasan al-Qattan, that he said: We were told by Ahmad bin Yahya bin Zakariya al-Qattan, that he said: We were told by Bikr bin Abdullah bin Habib, that he said: We were told by Hassaan bin Ali al-Mada’ini, that he said: We were told by Abbas bin Makram, from Sa’d al-Khaffaf, from Asbagh bin Nubata, that he said: Uthman bin Affan wrote, when he was surrounded, to Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him: To proceed, the water has exceeded the zuba, the belt has reached the tubyayn, the matter has exceeded its extent with me, and I have been sought by those who do not repel from themselves. Hence, if you are one who eats, then be the best one who eats. Otherwise, catch up with me while I am being ripped.

Comments:

Shaykh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Ṣaduq:

قال المبرد: قوله: " قد جاوز الماء الزبى " فالزبية مصيدة الأسد ولا تتخذ إلا في قلة جبل وتقول العرب: " قد بلغ الماء الزبى " وذلك أشد ما يكون من السيل، ويقال في العظيم من الامر: " قد علا الماء الزبى، وبلغ السكين العظم، وبلغ الحزام الطبيين، وقد انقطع السلى في البطن ". قال العجاج، فقد علا الماء الزبى إلى غير، أي قد جل الامر عن أن يغير، أو يصلح، وقوله: " بلغ الحزام الطبيين " فأن السباع والطير يقال لموضع الاخلاف منها " أطباء " واحدها " طبي " كما يقال في الخف والظلف : خلف هذا مكان هذا، فإذا بلغ الحزام الطبيين فقد انتهى في المكروه، ومثل هذا من أمثالهم " التقت حلقتا البطان " ويقال: " التقت حلقة البطان والحقب " ويقال: " حقب البعير " إذا صار الحزام في الحقب منه.

Al-Mubarrid said: With regards to his saying: «the water has exceeded the zuba», zayba is a lion trap, and it is not done except at the top of a mountain. Arabs say: «The water has exceeded the zuba» at the state of the most intense flood. It is said when a matter reaches a great extent: «The water has exceeded the zuba», «the knife has reached the bone», «the belt has reached the tubyayn» and «the amnion has been disconnected in the belly». Al-‘Ajjaj said: «The water has reached the zuba» and others, mean that the matter has reached a too great extent from being possible to change or rectified. With regards to his saying: «The belt has reached the tubyayn», the spot from which predators and birds suck milk is called atbaa’, and one of it is tubi, like how it is said with regards to a light shoe and a hoof, a light shoe and a hoof, one of them in the place of the other. Hence, if the belt reaches the tubyayn, the matter has ended up in a distressed condition. The like of this is like their proverbs: «The two rings of the girth have met». It is said: «The two rings of the girth and the hhaqb have met.» It is said: «The camel’s hhaqb» if the belt is at its waist.

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