The scholar increased

I received an enjoyable gift from the signature of our brother the writer Rabi' Al-Samlali... which is a book compiled, arranged, and introduced by him... And perhaps the first thing that comes to mind for some is that a book resulting from compilation and arrangement lacks the originality of a book authored by its owner from the beginning... And the truth is that there are mistaken assumptions about the task of collection and selection... Some think that it is nothing more than a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-approach task... welcomed by every hand... accessible to anyone willing... But if placed before a test, their thoughts would be confused and doubts would be perplexed... and their thinking and judgment... and their thinking and judgment... and their presentation and delay... then their mistaken assumptions and misguided views would be revealed... And know that selection... is merely a mirror of its owner's mind. So tell me what you choose... and I will tell you who you are and the value of your mind... And know that selection is based on scrutiny, opposition, and comparison... which are processes requiring multiple critiques and research mechanisms depending on the subject and the suggestions that conflict or agree or contradict each other, which necessitates distinguishing between them, weighing, and prioritizing. As if the one doing this finds difficulty that he would not find if he started speaking on his own and began writing from his own ideas... And this is what I sensed and felt while reading what I consider our friend the writer Rabi' Al-Samlali... in his magnificent and lofty book (The Provision of the Writer)... which he divided into three chapters he began with reading, then followed with writing, and concluded with literature... and these chapters take the first to hold the second in a logical sequence imposed by the necessity of linking reading to writing, especially if its subject is literature... with its grandeur of structure, its great heritage, its varied styles of attraction and its skilled practitioners... and its broad horizons... and its multiple genres... in which ages have drowned... and ideas have been immersed... and waves of creativity have clashed, both lively and dull... which have no known entrance or imagined exit... Those chapters, which the book includes as theses and a variety of opinions and doctrines of its writers on reading and writing and the fruits of creativity, reveal through their richness the extent of the labor pains endured by its selector and compiler... especially since I noticed that he did not divide the authors unevenly, but rather considered the diversity of their doctrines, tastes, and even their geographical origins... And anyone who follows the names of those writers will see this clearly... prompting him to thank whoever compiled that collection with its mosaics... which decorated the book and endowed it with a critical spirit... before its artistic and creative aroma... Yes!! He would not have chosen them except with insight... knowledge... discernment and deep understanding... and weighing... and balancing... It was not limited to being a provision for the writer... but extended beyond that circle to establish a critical sense without obligation or imposition of opinion... but through the satisfaction that the reader feels for those chapters, wandering their paths, moving through their paragraphs... without boredom or fatigue... or regret... because the provision he gains... is nothing but the nectar of creativity he inhales and the components of critique he imbibes... combining enjoyment with benefit... and what a precious treasure it is in an era when books produced by printing presses are frail... and die in the hands of the reader... or wither on the shelves of oblivion... This journey is precious because it gathered bright pages and ripe fruits from diverse trees planted on a single towering tree that delights the eyes, and different roses of various sizes and cheeks from different orchards... separated by geography and united by the lineage of literature, the love of reading, and the labor of writing... in a bouquet rooted in the water of creativity that never diminishes... and no one can tell you better than an expert.