because nature is so beautiful, and deeply melancholy because life itself can never be

因為自然界是如此的美麗，而深深的憂鬱，因為生命本身永遠不可能是這樣的。

made perfect.

變得完美。

For Islam, the world we inhabit will always be mired in khaṭīʾa or sin. No human enterprise

對伊斯蘭教來說，我們居住的世界將永遠陷於khaṭīʾa或罪惡之中。任何人類的事業

or institution can ever be without significant degrees of dhanb or wrong-doing: jealousy,

或機構可以永遠沒有顯著程度的dhanb或錯誤行為：嫉妒。

stubbornness, rage and lack of forgiveness predominate. Only in the next life can we

頑固、憤怒和缺乏寬恕佔了上風。只有在來世，我們才能

hope to escape the irritation and the agony; only in jannah or paradise, will we be assured

希望能擺脫刺激和痛苦；只有在濟南或天堂，我們才能保證

of true contentment. In paradise, to listen to the Quran, there be flowing rivers, flowers,

真正的知足常樂。在天堂裡，聽著古蘭經，有流動的河流，有鮮花。

incorruptible waters and unchangeable milk, golden goblets, 'virgin companions of equal

不變的水和不變的奶，金色的高腳杯，"平等的處女夥伴們

age' and rows of cushions set out in the balmy shade of fruit trees.

年齡 "和一排排的坐墊擺放在果樹的溫暖的樹蔭下。

Yet because this might all be a long way off, Islam recommends an unusual technique to prevent

然而，由於這一切可能是一個漫長的過程，伊斯蘭教建議採用一種不尋常的技術來防止

us from losing our poise and despairing: we should become bustani or gardeners. The enlightened

我們不應該失去我們的姿態和絕望：我們應該成為半身人或園藝家。開明的人

should redirect their frustrations with the state of humanity towards the construction

他們應該把對人類現狀的失望轉到建設中來。

of a hadiqa or garden which can, within its limited circumference, with due modesty, be

一個哈迪卡或花園，可以在其有限的周長內，以適當的謙虛態度，成為

endowed with many of the qualities of the eventual garden of paradise.

賦予了最終的天堂花園的許多品質。

Our garden should have flowing water, some reflecting pools, symmetrical flower beds,

我們的花園應該有流動的水，一些反射的池子，對稱的花壇。

fruit trees and places to sit. Everywhere where Muslim civilisation spread, gardens

果樹和坐的地方。凡是穆斯林文明傳播的地方，都有花園

developed along with it and in the drier regions, where nothing would grow, flowers and trees

伴隨著它的發展，在乾燥的地區，沒有什麼會生長，花和樹

were represented on carpets, which functioned as miniature mobile gardens that could be

在地毯上表現出來，它的作用是作為微型的移動花園，可以被用於

carried on the back of a camel. When the Muslims reached Southern Spain, the climate allowed

馱在駱駝背上。當穆斯林到達西班牙南部時，氣候允許

them to create pieces of horticulture which astonish and seduce us to this day.

他們創造的園藝作品至今仍令我們感到驚訝和誘惑。

A telling observation about gardening is that almost everyone over the age of sixty-five

關於園藝的一個有說服力的觀察是，幾乎所有超過六十五歲的人

is concerned with it, and almost no one in their late teens has ever evinced the slightest

擔心，而且幾乎沒有人在十幾歲的時候表現出絲毫的

interest in it. The difference isn't coincidental. A person's enthusiasm for gardening is inversely

對它的興趣。這種差異並不是巧合。一個人對園藝的熱情是反比的

correlated to their degrees of hope for life in general. The more one believes that the

與他們對一般生活的希望程度相關。一個人越是相信

whole of existence can be rendered perfect, that love and marriage can be idyllic, that

整個存在可以變得完美，愛情和婚姻可以是田園詩般的存在。

our careers can reward us materially and honour us creatively, the less time we will have

我們的事業能給我們帶來物質上的回報和創造性的榮譽，我們的時間就越少。

for beds of laurel or thyme, lavender or rosemary. Why would we let such minor interventions

為月桂或百里香、薰衣草或迷迭香的床鋪。我們為什麼要讓這種小的干預措施

detain us when far greater perfection is within reach?

當更大的完美觸手可及的時候，我們還在猶豫不決嗎？

But a few decades on, most of our dreams are liable to have taken a substantial hit, much

但是，幾十年過去了，我們的大多數夢想都可能受到了實質性的打擊，多的是

of what we put our faith in professionally and romantically will have failed, at which

我們在專業和浪漫方面的信仰將失敗，在這種情況下

point we might be ready to look with different, and significantly more sympathetic eyes, at

我們可能已經準備好用不同的、明顯更有同情心的眼光來看待

the consolations offered by cyprus trees and myrtle hedges, geraniums and lilies of the

塞普勒斯樹和桃金娘樹籬、天竺葵和百合花提供的安慰。

valley. No longer will gardening be a petty distraction from a mighty destiny, rather

山谷。園藝不再是對強大的命運的瑣碎干擾，而是

a shelter from gusts and squalls of despair.

躲避絕望的狂風和暴雨的庇護所。

Islam is appropriately wise in its ambitions. It doesn't tell its followers to plough

伊斯蘭教在其雄心壯志方面是適當明智的。它並沒有告訴它的追隨者去耕種

themselves a farm, nor does it advise them to focus on a window box. The scale is carefully

自己是一個農場，也不建議他們把注意力放在一個窗框上。規模是仔細的

calibrated: neither too big to mire us in unmanageable expense and bureaucracy nor too

衡量的標準：既不能太大，使我們陷入無法管理的開支和官僚主義，也不能太小。

small to humiliate and sadden us. The garden becomes a perfect home for our remaining pleasures

小到讓我們感到羞辱和悲哀。花園成為我們剩餘快樂的完美家園

in a troubled world; it's where we can repair to contemplate islands of beauty once we have

在一個動盪的世界中，它是我們可以修復的地方，一旦我們有了一個美麗的島嶼，我們就可以思考。

come to know and sorrowfully navigated oceans of pain.

來了解和悲哀地在痛苦的海洋中航行。