فيغتدي كزوجة البيطار — Ibn Al Habariya

فَيَغتَدي كَزَوجة البيطار

إِذ كَلَفَت بِالتاجر المكثار

So he becomes like the farrier's wife,

when she became infatuated with the wealthy merchant.

كانَ صَديق زَوجها فَزاره

فَأبصَرته فاشتهت جواره

He was her husband's friend, and came to visit him;

she saw him and longed to be by his side.

قالَت فَتى ما إن بَدا عذاره

صورته يزينها يَساره

She said, “A youth whose cheek-down has not yet appeared;

his wealth adorns his looks.

وَبَعلي البائِس شَيخ معدم

زوجته شَقية لا تنعم

My wretched husband is a penniless old man;

his wife is miserable and enjoys no comfort.”

فَسَألته الخلع بِالصداق

وَرَجَت الراحة بِالفِراق

So she asked him for divorce in exchange for the dowry,

hoping to find relief through separation.

وَراسَلَت ذاكَ الفَتى مذاكره

قالَ لَها ما أَنت إلا فاجره

She wrote to that youth to discuss the matter.

He said to her, “You are nothing but a wanton woman.

لَو كُنت ذات كَرَم وَعفه

ما كُنت بِالصحبة مستخفه

Had you possessed nobility and chastity,

you would not have treated companionship lightly.

أضعت حَق الشَّيخ وَالأَولاد

وَحُرمة الصُّحبة وَالوِداد

You have neglected the rights of the old man and the children,

and the sanctity of companionship and affection.”

فرجعت تَطلب صُلح بعلها

فَلَم يردها لقبيح فعلها

Then she returned, seeking reconciliation with her husband,

but he would not take her back because of her ugly deed.

فمكثت حائرة مذبذة

بهمها بينهما معذبه

So she remained bewildered and wavering,

tormented by her grief between the two.

فَلَم يَزَل يغره وَيخدعه

بِقَوله وَفي نزار يَطمعه

He continued beguiling him and deceiving him

with his words, stirring his greed for Nizar,

حَتّى غَزاهم في جُيوش لجبة

وَقادَ كُل سلهب وَسلهبه

until he marched against them with clamorous armies

and led every long-limbed stallion and mare.

وَعامر يظهر عَنهُ الغفله

كَأَنَّهُ مِن أَمرِهِ في مهله

Meanwhile, 'Amir appeared heedless of him,

as though he had time to spare in dealing with him.

وَالحَي قَد لاموه كُل اللوم

قالوا أبحت أرضنا للقوم

The tribe had heaped every reproach upon him.

They said, “You have laid our land open to these people,

وَأَنتَ رب قينة وزق

وَلَست للملك بمستحق

while you are master of a singing-girl and a wineskin,

and are unworthy of kingship.”

حَتَّى إِذا قيل غَداً يَلقاكا

انظر فَهَذا هُو قَد أَتاكا

Until, when he was told, “Tomorrow he will confront you;

look—here he is; he has come to you!”

قال غَداً ألقاه ثُم نادى

جاراً لَهُ يَسأله الإِسعادا

he said, “Tomorrow I shall meet him,” then called

a neighbor of his, asking for help.

قال لَهُ إِنك في دِياري

سنين لَم تذمم بِها جواري

He said to him, “You have been in my lands

for years, never finding fault with my protection.

وَإِن تَكُن في يعرب منتَسِباً

تَدعو كَما يَدعون قَحطان أَبا

Though you trace your ancestry to Ya'rub,

calling Qahtan your father, as they do,

فَأَنتَ في نِزار رَأياً وَهَوى

لَم تَر في جوارِها ما يَجتوي

you belong to Nizar in outlook and affection;

you have found nothing hateful under their protection.

وَإِنَّ في قَومي مِن الرِّجال

مَن يَرتَضي لِمثل هَذي الحال

Indeed, among the men of my people

are those deemed fit for a situation like this.

لَكِنَّني اخترتك دون قَومي

لدفع خَطب قَد أَطارَ نَومي

Yet I have chosen you over my own people

to avert a calamity that has driven away my sleep.

فامضِ إِلى ابن عمنا بسطام

فَهوَ صَميم العرب الكِرام

Go, then, to our cousin Bistam,

for he is of the pure stock of the noble Arabs.

وَاِدفع إِلَيهِ هَذهِ الصحيفة

فَإِنَّها صَغيرة لطيفة

Deliver this letter to him,

for it is small and delicate.

وَقُل لَهُ جزيت عَني خَيراً

وَلا زَجَرت للنحوس طَيراً

And tell him, ‘May you be well rewarded on my behalf,

and may no bird you flush foretell misfortune!

فَقَد تَوصلت إِلى مُرادي

وَجئتَني بزمر الأضداد

For you have achieved my aim

and brought me bands of enemies.

أخرجتهم بِالكَيد مِن حصونِهم

وَسقتهم عُنفاً إِلى منونهم

You brought them out of their fortresses through guile

and drove them harshly to their deaths.

وَلَو أَرَدت غَزوَهُم لَم أقدر

إِلا بإتعاب الجِياد الضمر

Had I wanted to raid them, I could not have done so

except by exhausting my lean steeds,

لبعدهم عَني وَامتِناعهم

فَإنهم كَالعصم في قِلاعهم

because of their distance from me and their inaccessibility;

for in their strongholds they are like ibex.

وَقَد لَقوا هَذا الشقاءَ وَالنصب

وَحسرت خيولهم مِن التعَب

They have suffered this misery and toil,

and their horses have become exhausted with fatigue,

وَنَحنُ في البيوت وادعونا

لَم نتعب المقربة الصفونا

while we are at ease in our homes.

We have not wearied our prized steeds, standing with one hoof raised.

فاقتل نِساء القَوم وَالأَولادا

وَخرب الحُصون وَالبِلادا

So kill the people's women and children,

and lay waste to their fortresses and lands.

ثُم فإنا ههنا لا نبقى

فأنت ذو تيقظ وَحذق

Then we shall not remain here,

for you possess vigilance and skill.’”

وَكانَ بسطام أَقام لمرض

خامره لَما غَزا فَما نَهَض

Bistam had remained behind because of an illness

that seized him at the time of the raid, so he did not set out.

إياك يا زياد أَن تخونا

فَما فتئت ثقة مَأمونا

“Beware, Ziyad, of betraying me,

for you have always been trustworthy and trusted.

لا تؤثرن قَومك للحميه

وَنسبة في الأَصل يعربيه

Do not favor your people out of tribal pride

or because of an ancestry rooted in Ya'rub.

وَلا تَقُل إِني قَحطاني

وَعامر أجنب عَدناني

Do not say, ‘I am a Qahtanite,

and 'Amir is a stranger, an 'Adnanite,’

فَتنثَني إِلَيهم بسري

فَيحذرون حيلَتي وَمَكري

then turn to them with my secret,

so that they beware of my stratagem and guile.

وَهَذِهِ مِن خالص العين بدر

خُذها وَبادر في الأُمور تبتدر

Here are bags of pure gold;

take them and hasten in your affairs, and you will get ahead.”

فَسارَ عَنهُ قاصِداً بسطاما

حَتَّى إِذا ما عاين الهماما

So he left him, making for Bistam,

until, when he saw the valiant man

في قَومِهِ مِن يَعرُب تحيرا

في رَأيهِ وَعادَ قَد تَغَيرا

among his own people of Ya'rub, he grew uncertain

in his judgment, and became a changed man.

وَقالَ مَن يعذرني في العرب

كَيفَ أَبيع طائِعاً بَني أَبي

He said, “Who could excuse what I do to the Arabs?

How can I willingly sell the sons of my father?

أَخاف أَن تقتلهم عَدنان

فَيَمكث الناس وَلا قَحطان

I fear that 'Adnan will kill them,

so that people remain, but no Qahtan.

أَصلي أولى بي مِن الديار

وَأُسرَتي لازمة الجوار

My lineage has a stronger claim on me than my dwelling-place,

and my family has a claim to protection.”

فَجاءَ مِن ساعَتِهِ ذايزن

قالَ أبيت اللعن رب اليمن

So at once he came to Dhu Yazan.

He said, “May you be spared the curse, lord of Yemen!

أَنا زِياد بن عنان بن رَسَن

مِن خَير بَيت فاعلمنه في اليَمن

I am Ziyad, son of 'Inan, son of Rasan,

from the finest house in Yemen—know this.

أَخرَجني مِنها دم أصبته

وَمُغرم في سيرَتي كسبته

Blood I shed drove me from there,

and a liability I incurred through my conduct.

ثُم نَزَلت في بِلاد عامر

مِن ذَلك الزَّمان كَالمُجاور

Then I settled in 'Amir's lands,

from that time onward, as a protected neighbor.”

وَشَرح القصة شَرحاً واضِحاً

وسلم الكِتاب مِنهُ ناصِحاً

He explained the story clearly

and handed over the letter from him, offering sincere counsel.

فَفَرقوا إِذ قَرَأوا الصحيفه

وَاِنصَرَفوا مِن البِلاد خيفه

They grew afraid when they read the letter

and withdrew from the land in fear.

وَخَلفوا الأَموال وَالأَثقالا

فَأَصبَحَت لِعامر أَنفالا

They left behind their wealth and baggage,

which became spoils for 'Amir.

وَلَم يَزَل يأسرهم وَيقتل

مُبادِراً بِقَتلهم لا يمهل

He kept taking them captive and killing them,

hastening to kill them, allowing no respite,

حَتَّى إِذا ما وَصَلوا دِيارَهُم

وَلَم يخل عامر معاشرهم

until, when they reached their homeland,

and 'Amir had not left their clans alone,

وَأَمنوا وَقَتَلوا بسطاما

وَنالَ مِنهُم عامر ما راما

they found safety and killed Bistam.

And 'Amir obtained from them what he desired.

كَذَلِكَ الكيد وَمَن يَكيد

يَنَل مِن الأُمور ما يُريد

Such is guile; whoever practices it

gains what he desires in affairs.

فَإِن مَن يَغدر غَير ناظر

في أَمرِهِ مثل جابر

For whoever betrays without looking

into his affairs is like Jabir.