قولا لمعتقل الرمح الرديني — Ibn Hani Andalusia

قُولا لمُعتقِلِ الرُّمحِ الرُّدَينيِّ

والمُرْتَدي بالرّداءِ الهِنْدُوانيِّ

Tell, you two, the bearer of the Rudayni spear,

and the wearer of the Hinduwani mantle:

ضَعِ السّلاحَ فهل حُدّثتَ عن رَشَإٍ

في مَشْرَفيٍّ صَقيلٍ أو رُدَينيّ

Lay down your weapons: have you ever heard of a gazelle

with a polished Mashrafi sword or a Rudayni spear?

ما حالُ جِسْمٍ تحمّلْتَ السلاح بهِ

وأنتَ تَضْعُفُ عن حمل القُباطيّ

What becomes of a body with which you bear weapons,

when you are too weak to carry Qubati linens?

لأعرِفَنّ الأديمَ السّابِرِيَّ إذا

ما راحَ في سابرِيّ النسجِ ماذِيّ

I shall surely recognize that Sabiri-soft skin when

he goes forth in supple mail of Sabiri weave.

هيهاتَ من دونهِ خَلعُ النفوس وتك

ذيبُ الظّنون وتَضْليلُ الأمانيّ

Far beyond reach! Before him lie the surrender of souls and the dis-

proving of conjectures and the confounding of hopes.

هَبْني اجْتَرَأتُ عليه حينَ غِرَّتِهِ

في العَبْقَرِيّ أو العَصْبِ اليمانيّ

Suppose I dared approach him in an unguarded moment,

wearing Abqari fabric or Yemeni striped cloth:

فمن لمثلي به في الدّرعِ سابِغَةً

تَموجُ فوقَ القَباءِ الخُسرُوانيّ

who could help one like me against him in ample mail

rippling above his Khusrawani tunic?

إذاً أفِرُّ ويُخْزِي الأزْدَ شاعِرُهَا

فلا تَظُنَّ الجُلَندَى كلَّ أزديّ

Then I would flee, and their poet would shame the Azd;

so do not imagine every Azdi an al-Julanda.

ولسْتُ من ظُلمِهِ أخْشَى بَوادِرَهُ

فرُبّ وِتْرٍ لديهِ غير مَنسيّ

It is not his injustice that makes me fear his sudden assaults,

for many a wrong remains unforgotten with him.

أهواهُ والصَّعْدَةُ السمراءُ تعذُلُني

والقلبُ يُدْلي بعذرٍ فيه عُذرِيّ

I love him, while his brown, straight spear reproaches me,

and my heart pleads an Udhri excuse concerning him.

إذا تَثَنّى تَثَنّتْ سمهَرِيّتُهُ

فاعجَبْ لما شئتَ من خوطٍ وخَطّيّ

When he sways, his Samhari spear sways:

marvel as you please at sapling and Khatti spear.

من أهْلِ بَهرامَ جُورٍ في مناسِبِهِ

ما شِئْتَ من فارسيٍّ نَوبَهاريّ

In his ancestry he is of Bahram Gur's people,

as Persian and Nawbahari as you could wish.

أوفى فماسَ على غُصْنٍ وماجَ على

دِعْصٍ وقامَ على أُنبوبِ بَرديّ

He rose into view, swayed upon a bough, and undulated upon

a sandhill, and stood upon a shaft of papyrus.

مَن ليسَ يَرفُلُ إلاّ في سَوابِغِهِ

من تُبّعيٍّ مُفاضٍ أو سَلوقيّ

One who strides proudly only in his ample coats of mail,

whether flowing Tubba'i armor or Saluqi mail.

لَيثُ الكَتيبَةِ والأبصارُ تَرمُقُهُ

وبيْضَةُ الخِدرِ في الليل الدجوجيّ

The battalion's lion, as all eyes watch him,

and the egg of the secluded chamber in pitch-black night.

ولا يُحَدِّثُ إلاّ عن سَوابِقِهِ

مِن أعوَجيٍّ جَوادٍ أو صَريحيّ

He speaks of nothing but his swift steeds,

a fleet A'waji or a purebred horse,

أو ذي كُعوبٍ من المُرّان مُعتدِلٍ

أو ذي فِرندٍ من القُضْبان حاريّ

or a straight, jointed lance of ash,

or a watered Hari blade among the swords,

أو عن جِلادٍ وفُرسانٍ ومعركَةٍ

وصَولَجانٍ وشاهينٍ وبازِيّ

or of swordplay, horsemen, and battle,

and a polo mallet, a peregrine, and a goshawk.

فلو تَراهُ غَدا بالصّقْرِ أشْبهَ مِنْ

جوانحي بقَطاً في الجَوّ كُدْريّ

If you could see him, grown more like a falcon than

my breast is like dun sandgrouse in the air!

ثَقِفتُ منهُ أديباً شاعراً لَسنِاً

شَتَى الأعاريضِ محذورَ الأحاجي

I found in him a cultured, eloquent poet,

varied in meters, whose riddles one must beware,

وكالسَّنانِ الذي يهتَزُّ في يَدِهِ

ومثلَ أجدَلِهِ الصّقرِ القُطامي

and like the spearhead that quivers in his hand,

and like his hawk, the qatami falcon,

مُستَطلِعاً لجَوابي من بَديهتِهِ

فما يُجاوبُهُ مثْلُ النُّواسي

seeking my reply through his spontaneous wit:

not even one like al-Nuwasi can answer him.

مَن لا يُفاخِرُ بالطائيّ في زَمَنٍ

ولا الخُزاعِيّ في عصرِ الخُزاعيّ

He claims no glory by matching al-Ta'i in any age,

nor al-Khuza'i in al-Khuza'i's own time,

ولا الفَرَزْدَقِ أيضاً والفَخَارُ لَهُ

ولا جَريرٍ ولا الرّاعي النُّمَيْري

nor al-Farazdaq either—and glory is his—

nor Jarir, nor al-Ra'i al-Numayri,

لكنْ بعَلقَمَةَ الفَحلِ الذي زعموا

في الشعر أو بامرىء القيس المُراريّ

but Alqama al-Fahl, famed, they say,

in poetry, or Imru' al-Qays al-Murari.

ولا ينُازِلُ لا بابنِ الحبابِ ولا

جِذْلِ الطّعان ولا عَمرو الزُّبَيدي

Nor does he contend by matching Ibn al-Hubab, nor

Jidhl al-Ti'an, nor Amr al-Zubaydi,

لكن بفارسِ شيبانَ الذي سجدتْ

إليه فُرسانُ عَتّابٍ ودُعمي

but the horseman of Shayban, to whom

Attab's and Du'mi's horsemen bowed.

قريبُ عهْدٍ بأعرابِ الجَزيرةِ لم

ينطِق بِداراً ولم يُنسَبْ إلى عِيّ

Still fresh from the Bedouins of al-Jazira, he has not

spoken rashly, nor been charged with inarticulacy.

مَن ليس يألَفُ إلاّ ظِلّ خافقَةٍ

أو سَرْجَ سابِقَةٍ أو رَحلَ عِيديّ

One accustomed only to a fluttering banner's shade,

or a swift mare's saddle, or an Idi camel's pack-saddle.

لا يشرَحُ القوْمُ وحشيَّ الغريب لهُ

ولا يُسائِلُ عن تلك الأحاجيّ

No one explains the wildest unfamiliar words to him,

nor does he ask about those riddles.

بما يؤنِّبُ فرسانَ الدّيار تَرى

عليهِ سِيما ذكيِّ القلبِ حُوشيّ

From how he rebukes the horsemen of the lands, you see

on him the mark of a keen-hearted man of the wilds.

مستوحِشٌ عِزّةً مستأنِسٌ كَرَماً

تَلقاهُ ما بينَ وَحشيٍّ وإنْسيّ

Aloof through pride, sociable through generosity,

you find him between wild creature and man.

أرَقُّ من صَفحةِ الماء المَعِينِ وإنْ

خاطبتَ خاطبتَ قُحّاً فوقَ مَهريّ

More delicate than the surface of flowing water; yet if

you address him, you address a pure Arab atop a Mahri camel.

وكانَ غيرَ عجيبٍ أن يجيءَ لهُ ال

معنى العِراقيّ في اللفظِ الحجازيّ

It was no wonder that there came to him the

Iraqi meaning in Hijazi expression.

وقد تلاقَتْ عليه كلُّ مُنجِبَةٍ

ومُنجِبٍ فهو لا يُعزَى إلى سيّ

Every mother of noble offspring has converged in him,

and every noble father; he can be likened to no peer.

واستَأثَرَتْ عَرَبيّاتُ الخيامِ بهِ

ولمْ يُوكَّلْ إلى أيْدي السَّراريّ

Arab women of the tents kept him exclusively,

and he was not entrusted to concubines' hands.

وأرْضَعَتْهُ وأُسْدُ الغِيلِ تَكفُلُهُ

بالبَدْوِ كلُّ دَرُورٍ حافِلِ الريّ

He was suckled, while the thicket's lions guarded him,

in the desert, by every milk-rich nurse, brimming with nourishment.

فشَبّ إذ شَبّ كالخَطِّيِّ معتدِلاً

وجاء إذ جاء كالصّقرِ القُطاميّ

When he grew, he grew straight as a Khatti spear;

when he came forth, he came like a qatami falcon.

للّهِ من عَلَوِيِّ الرّأي مُنتسِبٍ

إلى العُلى وائليِّ الأصْلِ مُرِّيّ

How fine a man of Alawi counsel, tracing his descent

to the heights, Wa'ili in origin, a Murri!

شِيعيُّ أملاكِ بَكرٍ إن همُ انتسبوا

ولستَ تَلقَى أديباً غيرَ شيعيّ

A Shi'i partisan of Bakr's kings, if they trace their descent;

and you find no man of letters who is not Shi'i.

مَن أصْلحَ المغرِبَ الأقصَى بلا أدبٍ

غيرِ التشيُعِ والدّين الحنيفيّ

Who set the far Maghrib right with no discipline

but Shi'i allegiance and the upright faith?

لم يجهل القوْمُ إذ ولّوكَ ثغرَهُمُ

لِما تأشّبَ منه كلُّ حُوذي

The people knew well, when they entrusted you with their frontier,

the tangles that had ensnared every capable man there.

وقد تركْتَ عِداهم فيه مِن حَذَرٍ

تَخْلُو فما تَتَناجَى بالأمانيّ

You left their enemies there in such dread

that they withdraw and no longer whisper hopes to one another.

فهم أولئك ما هَمّوا بمعصيةٍ

ومَن يَهُمُّ بأمْرٍ غيرِ مَأتيّ

Such are they: they have not contemplated disobedience;

and who would contemplate a deed beyond accomplishment?

أبقَيتَ منهم وقد رَوَّوا أسِنّتَهم

بجائِشاتٍ كأفواهِ البَخاتي

You spared some of them after they had drenched their spearheads

in gushing wounds like the mouths of Bactrian camels.

وقد دُعيتَ إلى الهيجا فجِئتَ كما

جُؤجِئَتِ الشَّولُ بالفَحل الغُرَيريّ

You were summoned to battle, and came as

dry she-camels are roused by a Ghurayri stallion.

كأنّما حَلَقاتُ الدرْعِ يوْمئِذٍ

على قُراسِيَةٍ بالقارِ مَطْلِيّ

It was as though the armor's rings that day

lay upon a massive steed coated with pitch.

أقبَلْتَهم زَجِلَ الأصْواتِ ذا لَجَبٍ

فيه القُنوسُ كَبيضاتِ الأداحيّ

You brought against them a loud-voiced, clamorous host,

whose helmets were like eggs in ostrich nests.

والهَضْبُ أشمخُ من هِمّاتِ أنفسهم

والقوْمُ أمنعُ من عُصْمِ الأراويّ

The crags stood higher than their own ambitions,

and the men were more impregnable than white-footed ibexes,

حتى غدوا من طريدٍ في الشعابِ ومن

مُضَرَّجٍ بدَمٍ وردِ الأساريّ

until some became fugitives in the ravines, some

drenched in blood red as asari roses,

ومِن أُسارى على الأقتابِ خاشعةٍ

تَزِفُّ بينَ المَنايا والأمانيّ

and some humbled captives upon camel saddles,

borne swiftly between death and hope.

كأنّ أيديَها والقِدُّ يَكعَمُها

في كل ماجرة أيدي الحرابي

Their hands, while rawhide straps bind them,

in every conveyance seem like chameleons' hands.

تَعَسّفُوا البِيدَ مُلتَفّاً بأسوُقهِمْ

مِثلُ الأساوِدِ في سَجعِ القُماريّ

They trudged through the wastes, their shins entwined

with things like black snakes amid turtledoves' cooing,

إذ يتّقونَ حَرُورَ الشمس عن مُقَلٍ

مُغْرَوْرِقاتِ المآقي والأناسيّ

as they ward off the sun's scorching heat from eyes

whose corners and pupils brim with tears.

تسطو الرّجالُ بهم من بعد ما نظرَوُا

إلى المنابرِ خُزْراً والكَراسيّ

Men overpower them, after they had looked

askance at pulpits and thrones.

أولى لهم ثم أولى من أخٍ ثِقَةِ

راضٍ عن اللّهِ زاكي السعي مَرْضيّ

Woe to them, then woe, from a trusty brother,

content with God, pure in striving, well approved,

رامٍ بسَهمَينِ مَبرِيٍّ يُسَدّدُهُ

وصائبٍ عَلَوِيٍّ غيرِ مَبرِيّ

shooting two arrows: one trimmed, which he aims,

and an unerring Alawi arrow, never trimmed.

فلا تَسَل عن معُاديهِ فحسبُكَ من

مُقَرطَسٍ بسِهامِ اللّهِ مَرميّ

Ask not about his enemies; enough for you is one

struck squarely as a target, shot with God's arrows.

جَرَى القَضاءُ بما يَنْوي فلا تَعَبٌ

إنّ القضاءَ عِنانٌ غيرُ مَثْنيّ

Destiny runs according to his intent, so there is no toil;

destiny is a rein that never turns back.

وبادَرَ الحَزْمَ حتى قامَ هاجِسُهُ

يَقْضي له بَحْثَ أمْرٍ غيرِ مَقضيّ

He anticipated prudence, until his inner thought arose

to resolve for him the inquiry into a matter yet unresolved.

يُصّرفُ الدّهْرَ يَنْهاهُ ويأمُرُهُ

فدَهْرُهُ بينَ مأمورٍ ومَنْهِيّ

He directs Time, forbidding and commanding it;

his time is either commanded or forbidden.

وليس تلقاه من دون القلوب ولا ال

غيوب إلاّ سيورٌ كالعراقيّ

Nothing stands between him and hearts, or the

unseen, but straps like a bucket's crossbars.

طَبٌّ أرِيبٌ بأيّامِ الحروب زعي

مٌ بالخُطوب عليمٌ بالمآتيِّ

An expert, shrewd in the days of war, a guar-

antor amid crises, knowing the ways to proceed.

رُكْنٌ لعمرك من أركان دولتِهمِ

وعُرْوَةٌ من عُرَى الدين الحنيفيّ

A pillar, by your life, among the pillars of their state,

and a handhold among the handholds of the upright faith.

كل السيوفِ اللواتي جُرّدتْ كذبٌ

وهو المجرِّدُ للسيْفِ الحقيقيّ

All the swords that have been drawn are false;

he is the one who draws the true sword.

للّهِ ما تَنتَضي من ذي الفَقار وما

تَشُدُّ من عَضُدِ الرّأي الإماميّ

God be praised for the Dhu al-Fiqar you draw, and for

the arm of Imamic counsel you strengthen!

لم يَجْهلوا ما تُلاقي في التشيُّع من

تحريض شارِيَةٍ أو بأسِ شارِيّ

They were not unaware of what you face in Shi'i allegiance:

a Shari band's incitement or a Shari fighter's might,

وما تُذلِّلُ من أهلِ العِنادِ لهُمْ

وما تُداري من الدين الإباضيّ

and how you subdue the obstinate for them,

and how you handle the Ibadi faith with tact,

وما تُكابِدُ من تلك الغِمارِ وما

تَخُوضُ بالسيْفِ من تلك الأواذيّ

and what you endure in those deep waters, and

the mighty waves you plunge through with the sword.

كوفئتَ عن ذلك الثغرِ المخوفِ فقَدْ

تركتَهُ بالعَوالي جِدَّ مَكفيّ

You were rewarded for that dreaded frontier, for

you left it amply protected by your long spears.

جَوٌّ وجدتَ رُبَاهُ غيرَ مُكْلأةٍ

لرائِدٍ وحِماهُ غيرَ مَحْميّ

A tract whose uplands you found without grazing

for a pasture-seeker, its reserve unguarded.

والأرضُ فيه رَجوفٌ غيرُ ساكِنةٍ

والنّاسُ فيه سَوامٌ غيرُ مَرْعيّ

The earth there trembled, never still,

and the people there were untended herds.

فما استَمَدّوا بسيْفٍ غيرِ مُنصَلِتٍ

ولا استَبَدّوا بعَزْمٍ غيرِ مَأتيّ

They sought support only from an unsheathed sword,

and acted independently only with resolve carried through.

أحيَيْتَ فيه مَواتًا غيرَ ذي رَمَقٍ

وشِدْتَ فيه خراباً غيرَ مَبْنِيّ

You revived there dead land without a spark of life,

and rebuilt there ruins that stood unrepaired.

وفّرْتَ أموالَه إذ ضِعنَ فاجتُبِيَتْ

منها القناطِيرُ من بعدِ الأواقيّ

You replenished its wealth when lost, so there were collected

from it hundredweights, where once there had been ounces.

وصُنْتَ منه إلى ما لم تَصُنْه يَدٌ

سِواكَ من كلّ راعٍ ثَمّ مَرعيّ

You carried its protection to a point no hand had reached,

save yours, for every shepherd and tended creature there,

من بعدِ ما دُكَّ سورٌ غيرُ مُمتنِعٍ

منه وضاعَ خَراجٌ غيرُ مَجْبيّ

after its undefended wall had been razed,

and its revenue lost, uncollected.

مَن يَصْطَلي حَرَّ نارٍ أنتَ موقِدُها

وهي الحَرُورُ على الشِّعبِ الحَرُوريّ

Who can bear the heat of a fire you have kindled,

that scorching blast upon the Haruri faction?

أمْ مَنْ يُذِلُّ عَماليقاً تُذِلُّهمُ

إنّ الأجادلَ تَسمْو للكَراكيّ

Or who can humble the giants that you humble?

Indeed, falcons soar toward cranes.

بأيّ يومِ وَغىً أُثْني عليك وقد

أثنَتْ عليك المذاكي في الأواريّ

For which day of battle should I praise you, when

the seasoned steeds in their stalls have already praised you?

وقد ركزْتَ القَنا بينَ السحاب وقد

أنزَلْتَ قِرْنَكَ من بينِ الدراريّ

You have planted spears among the clouds, and

brought your rival down from among the brilliant stars.

يَفْديكَ جَهْمُ المُحيّا يومَ سائلهِ

يَلقى الملامَ بعِرضٍ غيرِ مَفْدِيّ

May the man who scowls when his petitioner comes be your ransom,

meeting reproach with an honor no one would redeem,

من كلّ خاملِ نفسٍ غيرِ طاهرةٍ

منهم ولابِسِ عِرْضٍ غيرِ قوهيّ

each lowly man of an impure soul

among them, each wearer of honor that is no Quhi fabric.

لا يَفْقِدَنّكَ ذو سمْعٍ وذو بصَرٍ

فأنْتَ أكرَمُ مسموعٍ ومَرْئيّ

May no one with hearing or sight ever lose you,

for you are the noblest thing heard or seen.

تُغضي عن الذنبِ أحياناً فتحسبني

أشُكُّ في أحنَفِ الحِلْمِ التميميّ

At times you overlook a fault, so you think I

doubt al-Ahnaf al-Tamimi's forbearance.

ما كنتُ أحسَبُ أنَّ الدهرَ يَزْلُفُ لي

بحاتمٍ في اللّيالي غير طائيّ

I never thought that time would bring me

a Hatim in these nights who was not a Ta'i.

إذا بَنْو مُرّةٍ صَلّوا عليْكَ فلا

صَلّتْ إيادٌ على كعْبِ الإياديّ

If Banu Murra invoke blessings upon you, then let not

Iyad invoke blessings upon Ka'b al-Iyadi.

لكَ المَكارِمُ مَضرُوباً سُرَادِقُهَا

وبيْتُ شَيبانَ مَشْدودَ الأواخيّ

Yours are the noble virtues, their great pavilion pitched,

and Shayban's house, its stakes fastened firm.

ولم أقِسْكَ بشيبانٍ وما جَمَعَتْ

لكنّما أنتَ عندي كلُّ رَبْعيّ

I have not measured you against Shayban and all it gathered;

rather, to me you are every man of Rabi'a.

لا بل ربيعةُ والأحلافُ من مُضَرٍ

بل أنتَ كلُّ تهاميٍّ ونَجْديّ

No—rather Rabi'a and the allied tribes of Mudar;

indeed, you are every Tihami and Najdi.

بل شِسْعُ نَعلِكَ عَدنانٌ وما ولدتْ

بل أنتَ وحدك عندي كلُّ إنسيّ

Indeed, your sandal's thong is Adnan and all its offspring;

indeed, you alone, to me, are every human being.