A stitch in time saves nine [Archives:2002/27/Last Page]

Written by Abdulrahman Mutahhar
Translated by Janet Watson
M The saying goes, A stitch in time saves nine, Musida. And the Yemeni proverb says, If you dont save from the top of the sack, you wont be able to save from the bottom.
Ma These days no one bothers about stitching clothes any more, and we dont have any sacks. The old days have gone, and what has passed has passed.1
M Youre right, but the old days still have their value with all the wisdom and sayings attached to them: The Yemeni proverb goes, If youre prepared to patch your clothes, you wont go naked.2
Ma For goodness sake! And just who patches their clothes these days, and what is it you want to have patched. Just tell me!
M The two pairs of shoes belonging to the little boys, and my sandals that Im going to wear during the Eid.
Ma Do you and the boys really intend to wear those worn-out sandals and shoes for the Eid. Dont you feel in the least bit embarrassed!
M They are not worn out, Musida. They can be mended and polished until they look like new. Im not going to pay out 7,000 or 8,000 riyals for a pair of sandals and two pairs of shoes.
Ma Just brace yourself, Musid, and go and buy shoes and sandals even if they cost you 10,000 riyals. Its the Eid of God, and the only thing people care about on the day of the Eid is how they look.
M What use is appearance when your pockets empty and youre worried about where the money will come from for the housekeeping and the children! Perhaps you could write me a cheque from your own personal bank account, Musida?
Ma My dear husband, the only thing I know about banks and personal accounts is what Ive heard from other people.
M So where are you going to find out more, and how will you get to know when you dont even understand the sayings, A stitch in time saves nine and, If youre prepared to patch your clothes, you wont go naked!
Ma Ive already told you that no one patches their clothes anymore these days! The days have passed when your grandmother would stitch a patch on the back of your zinna the size of a bread cushion.
M Hah! I didnt realise that you had become educated and a comic to boot! I thought you just sat around doing nothing, taken in by all these false appearances and ostentation!
Ma God preserve you, Musid. Were now living at a time when everything comes down to appearances. Those who dont pay up and get others to pay up may as well just lie down and die!
M This is just it: I dont want to copy other people. I want to have my sandals and the childrens shoes mended so that we can wear them for the Eid.
Ma Do what you want! Wear them for the Eid, or go barefoot as far as Im concerned, but I do care about what other people say, and theyll say, Musids wearing the only pair of sandals hes got, and his children are still in the shoes they got for the last Eid!
M Dont bother about what other people say. What Im thinking is that my sandals, after I get them repaired, will last me a year, and the childrens shoes will last them for two more years. The Eid, Musida, is not about appearances and showing off and extravagance, or about laughing at other peoples clothes and food. The Eid is a religious occasion for contemplation and thinking and reflecting on yourself and your conscience. Its also a valuable opportunity to renew relations with those who are close to you and to spread love and happiness to people who really need it, either by doing something for them, or by giving gifts, or simply by smiling!
1 Cf. al-Akwa, p. 1069.
2 Al-Akwa, p. 1216.

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