16
Al-Husayn ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman recited to me these two lines (al-Wāfir):
Perhaps relief will come—perhaps! We keep our souls alive with “perhaps.” ⦗78⦘
And a person is never nearer to relief than at the very moment he despairs.
أَنْشَدَنِي الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ هَذَيْنِ الْبَيْتَيْنِ:
[البحر الوافر]
عَسَى فَرَجٌ يَكُونُ عَسَى ... نُعَلِّلُ أَنْفُسًا بِعَسَى ⦗٧٨⦘
وَأَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْمَرْ ... ءُ مِنْ فَرَجٍ إِذَا يَئِسَا