أدِينُكِ أن تَذُمِّى الخَيزُرَانَا

وأن تجري المَدامِعَ أُرجُوانَا

I hold you blameworthy for maligning Khayzuran,

And for making tears flow crimson-purple,

وأن تَصِلِى الخِلَىَّ وأن تَبتِّى

شَجِيًّا لاَعجَ الأشجَانَ عَانَى

For embracing the carefree one while casting off

A sorrowing captive, seared by grief.

وأن لا تُرسِلى سَهميكِ إِلاَّ

أصَبتِ مِنَ الحَلِيمِ الجُلجَلاَنَا

And for loosing your two arrows only

To strike even the forbearing until he rings.

أُمَامَة مَا عدَاني عَنكِ أني

غَدَرتُكِ ِإنَّ عَهدَكِ لَن يُخَانَا

Umama, nothing kept me away from you

Because I betrayed you—your covenant shall not be betrayed.

وَلَكني أتَاني أن هَجَتنَا

ولَم تَستَعظِمِ العُقَلاَءُ شَانَا

But word reached me that a group had satirized us

And thought the people of wisdom of no account:

قُبَيِّلَةٌ بِألحَانٍ نَحَت في

مَعَانِيهَا مَعَانِينَا اللِّدَانَا

A paltry tribe, with melodies in which it carved

Its own themes from our tender meanings;

أُنَاسٌ في شَنَاشِنِهِم جَفَاءٌ

جَدِيرٌ أن يَجُرَّ لَهُم شَنَانَا

People whose ingrained nature is coarseness,

Fit to draw hatred down upon them;

أنَاسٌ تَحتَ أخبِيَةٍ صِغَارٍ

خَوَاشِعَ مَا تَحَسَّ لَهَا بَوانَا

People beneath small tents,

So abject that their supports can scarcely be felt.

تَغَشَّاهَا وتَخرُجُ مُسفِرَاتٍ

سَعَالٍ بالمَثَالِبِ لَن تُشَانَا

They go beneath them and emerge bare-faced,

Coughing forth slanders, never free of shame.

بِمَا ألِفَتهُ مِنها في الصِّبا لَن

تَرَى فِيهَا وإِن كَثَرَت حَصَانَا

From what they grew accustomed to in childhood, never

Will you find chastity among them, however old they grow.

تَعَوَّدتِ التَّبَرَّجَ فَهىَ عَمَّا

نَهَت عَنهُ الشَّرِيعَةُ لَن تُصَانَا

They have grown used to wanton display, and so from what

The Sacred Law forbids they shall never be guarded.

تَجَلَّلَتِ الوَقَاحَةَ وأرتَدَتها

تَوَدُّ لِكُلِّ مِن تَلقَى إِحتِضَانَا

They have wrapped themselves in insolence and worn it,

Each wishing to embrace whoever she meets.

تَبِيتُ عَوَانُهَا لِلبِكرِ عَوناً

عَلَى العِصيَان تَكَتُّ إِكتِنَانَا

Their mature women spend the night helping the virgin

To devise hidden shelters for disobedience.

ومَهمَا تكتَسِب يَفَناً عَوَانٌ

تُزَاحِم عِندَهُ البِكرُ العَواَنَا

However much old age a mature woman gains,

The virgin still competes with the matron beside her.

نسِاءُهُنَّ أوعِيَّةُ المَخَازِى

تَتُوقُ لَهَا وتَفعَلُهَا عَلاَنَا

Their women are vessels of disgrace,

Yearning for it and committing it openly.

فَلَولاَهم لَمَا لاَقَينَ كُفئاً

ولَولاَهُنَّ مَاسَكُنَوا مَكَانَا

But for their men, the women would find no fitting mates;

But for their women, the men would have no place.

كَأَنَّ شَبَابَهُم بَينَ النَّوَادِى

إِذَا امتِحُنوا في الإِعرَابِ امتِحَانَا

Their young men in the gathering places are as though,

When tested in grammar, they faced an ordeal:

عِبِدَّانُ العَصَا خُلُقاً وخَلقاً

يَزِيدُهمُ امتِحَانُهم إمتِهَانَا

Slaves of the stick in character and form,

Whom every examination further debases.

فَهُم إِن يَدعُ لِلعَورَاءِ دَاعٍ

تَوَخَوهُ تَنآءَى أو تَدَانَى

If a caller summons them to some foul affair,

They seek it out, whether distant or near;

وإن يُدعَوا إِلَى الجُلَّى تَرَاهُم

بِطَاءً طُولَ دَهرهُمُ بِطَانَا

But if they are summoned to a momentous deed, you see them

Slow, forever heavy-bellied.

كَأنَّ الشِّيبَ شِيبُهُمُ رُعَاةٌ

يَسُوسُونَ المَجَالِيحَ الهِجَانَا

Their white-haired elders are mere shepherds

Managing lean, high-bred camels.

فُكلٌّ بِادِىَ العَورَاتِ آتٍ

يُزَجِّيهَا ِإذَا مَا الفَجرُ بَانَا

Each comes with his nakedness exposed,

Driving them on whenever dawn appears.

تمُجُّ البَقلَ فَهوَ لَهَا ضَمِينٌ

بِأن تُروَى وتَرعَى الدَّيدَمَانَا

The camel spits out her greens, while he guarantees

That she is watered and grazes on daydaman.

إِذَا زَبَنَتهُ عَالَجهَا فَألقَت

عَلَى أطمَارِهِ القِطَعَ الذًُّنَانَا

If she kicks him, he tends her until she casts

Foul-smelling lumps upon his rags.

ترَى بِذِرَاعِهِ رِمَماً بَوَالِىَ

وتُلفي فَوقَ عَاتِقِه كَدَانَا

You see rotting tatters hanging from his arm,

And find a heap upon his shoulder.

تَرَدَّى دِرعَ أوسَاخٍ تَرَبَّى

عَلَى جُثمَانِهِ حِقَباً ورَانَا

He has donned an armor of dirt that ripened

Upon his body through long ages and settled there.

فَهُم بِمَوَدَّةِ الإِبلِ استَبَدُّوا

إِذَا حَبَّت تُمَلِّؤُهُم حَنَانَا

They have reserved all their affection for camels;

When one shows fondness, it fills them with tenderness.

وتُلفي الشَّيخَ أُمِياً غَبِيًّا

خَئوناً عَن فَرَائِضِه تَوَانَى

You find their elder illiterate and stupid,

Faithless to his obligations and negligent.

يُربي وَهوَ لَم يَبلُغ مَقَاماً

ولَم تَسكُن لَهُ حِكَمٌ جَنَانَا

He plays the master though he has attained no station,

And no wisdom has settled in his heart.

ولَم تُصقَل لَهُ مِرآةُ قَلبٍ

ولَم يَنفِ الخَواطِرَ عَنهُ آنَا

No mirror of the heart has been polished for him,

Nor has he ever banished distracting thoughts.

ولَم تُقرِع لَهُ أُذُناً عُلُومٌ

ولم يَمَسس لَهُ قَلبٌ بَنَانا

No branch of learning has knocked upon his ear,

Nor have a heart’s fingers ever touched him.

ولَم يَكُ مُفنِياً في اللهِ فِكراً

ولَم يُشغِل بِه آناً لِسَانَا

He has never spent his thought in devotion to God,

Nor occupied his tongue with Him for an hour.

ولَم تَرَ مَسجِداً لِلهِ فِيهُم

ولَم تَسمَع بِسَاحِتِهِم آذانَا

You will see no mosque of God among them,

And hear no call to prayer in their precinct.

ولَم تَسمَع بمَجلِسِهم حَدِيثاً

رَوَوهُ مِنَ الصِّحاحِ ولاَقُرَانَا

At their gathering you will hear no tradition

Narrated from the sound collections, nor any Qur’an.

حَدِيثُ شُيُوخِهِم لِلشَّيخِ أمسَت

فُلاَنَةٌ وهىَ عَاشِقَةٌ فُلاَنَا

Their elders’ conversation is: ‘For the sheikh,

So-and-so became the lover of so-and-so.’

وَكانُ فُلاَنُ أحسَنُ قَبلُ صَوتاً

من القَينَاتِ تَجتَذِبُ الكِرَانَا

And: ‘So-and-so once had a voice more beautiful

Than the singing girls who draw the lyres.’

ونَاقَتُهُ التى أُخِذَت ورِيضَت

تَبُذُّ عَلَى وفي وَوَجًى حِصَانَا

And of his she-camel that was captured and trained,

How it outstrips even a footsore, well-bred mare;

وطُوبَتُهُ مُحَلاَّةٌ لُجَيناً

ولِمَّتُهُ مُمُلأةٌ دِهَانَا

And how his staff is ornamented with silver,

And his locks are saturated with oil.

تَظَلُّ نِسَاؤُهُم والشَّيخُ مُصغٍ

حَوَالِيهِ تُكِّررُ دَانَ دَانَا

Their women remain while the sheikh listens,

Gathered around him, repeating ‘dān, dānā.’

وكُنتُ مُخَبَّراً عَنهُم بِهَذَا

إِلَى أن جِئتَ نَادِيَهُم زَمَانَا

I had long been told this about them,

Until one day I came to their assembly.

فَعَانَينتُ الذي خُبِّرتُ عَنهُم

فَوَافَقَ فِيهُمُ الخَبرُ العِيَانَا

Then I witnessed what I had been told of them,

And among them report agreed with sight.

فَكَم أهدَوا بِلاَ سَبَبٍ صَرِيحٍ

لِمَن خَضَعَ القَرِيضُ لَهُم ودَانَا

How many verses they presented, for no plain cause,

To those before whom poetry had yielded and submitted—

قَوافي مَا اُقِيمَ لَهُنَّ وَزنٌ

ولا مَعنًى فَكُنَّ لَهُم وِزَانَا

Rhymes for which no meter had been established,

And no meaning: they alone served as their measure.

هَجَانَا مِن أسَافِلِهِم عَيِّىٌ

تَيَقَّنَ أَن يُشَرِّفَهُ هِجَانَا

A tongue-tied wretch from their lowest ranks satirized us,

Certain that his satire would ennoble him.

سَيُقرِعُ سِنَّهُ أسَفاً ويَشكُو

من الهَجوِ المُلِمِّ بِهِ سِنَانَا

He will grind his teeth in grief and complain

Of the piercing satire that has descended on him.

فَإنَّ فتًى تَيَمُّمَهُ وتُملَى

عَلَيهِ وهوَ مُختَضِعٌ جِرَانَا

For a young man has made them his chosen target, and verses are dictated

To him while they lower their necks in submission:

قَوافٍ لُكتُهَا لَمئِنَّةٌ أن

يَكُونَ لِلَذعش جَذوَتِهَا أُنَانَا

Poems I have pondered well, sure to make

The sting of their kindled spark bring groans.

سَتأتِيهُم وإِن دَانُوا وكانُوا

ولاَ نُوا بَعد قَسوَتهِم لَيَانَا

They shall reach them, whether they draw near and remain

Or soften after all their hardness.

قًصَائِدُ لَم تَهِج تَعَباً لفكرى

ولَم تَكسِبهُ مَنقَصَةً وذَانَا

Poems that cost my thought no weariness

And earned it neither defect nor stain.

بها يَتَقَاذَفُ الجِنَّانُ نَحوي

مُهَذَّبَةً فًَأُصدِرَهَا عِيَانَا

The depths of my mind hurl them toward me,

Polished, and I send them forth openly.

فَآخُذُهُنَّ أشتَاتاً أوَاناً

وآخُذُهُنَّ آوِنَةً قِرَانَا

Sometimes I take them scattered,

And sometimes I take them joined in pairs.

فَتَسقِيهَا القَرِيحَةُ لِى بَدِيعاً

وتَسقِيهَا المَعَاني والبَيَانَا

My poetic gift gives them an exquisite draught,

And meanings and eloquence give them another.

أَبِينُ بِهَا مَخَارِيهَم فَتُضحِى

كَنِيرَانٍ عَلَى عِلمٍ بَيَانَا

Through them I expose their filthy secrets, until they become

Like fires upon a landmark, plainly seen.

وإِنَّا تَعلَمُ الاَقوَامُ أنَّا

مَنَاحِيرٌ بَوَائِكَهَا السِّمَانَا

Indeed, the peoples know that we are

Slaughterers of fat, hump-backed camels;

وأنَّ لَنَا وإِن نَاوي المَنَاوي

قَنَاةً لَن تُفَضَّ ولَن تُلاَنَا

And that, should an adversary oppose us, we possess

A lance that will neither be shattered nor bent.

عُرفنَا بِالمَحَامِدِ في البَرَايَا

فَمَا تَخفي عَلَى أَحدٍ عُلاَنَا

We are known throughout creation for our virtues;

Our eminence is hidden from no one.

نُهَلِّلُ لِلوُفُودِ إِذَا أَلَمُّوا

مَعَ التَّرحِيبِ أوجهنَا الحِسَانَا

We greet delegations joyfully when they arrive,

Our handsome faces radiant with welcome.

ونُكرِمُهُم ونُعلِيهُم مَقَاماً

وِإن أَلِفُوا الحَقارَةَ والهَوَانَا

We honor them and raise their station,

Even if they are accustomed to contempt and abasement.

ونُسكِنُهُم أمَاكِنَ مُرتَضَاةً

ولَم نَجعَل قِرىً لَهُم اللِّبانَا

We lodge them in pleasing quarters,

And do not make milk their sole guest-meal.

ولَكِنَّا نُسَقِّيهِم بِهَا في

أوَانٍ لاَ تَكُونُ لِمَن سِوَانَا

Rather, we give it to them to drink in vessels

Possessed by none besides us.

نُعَلِّلُهُم على العِلاَّتِ صِرفاً

أوَاناً ثُمَّ نَمزِجُها أوَانَا

We keep serving them pure drink despite all hindrances,

Then sometimes mix it, and sometimes leave it pure.

ونَجعَلُ حَليَهَا فِيهَا فَتُمسِى

تَذُمَّ لَهَا اللآلِىءَ والجُمَانَا

We place its ornaments within it, until

Pearls and coral seem contemptible beside them.

وَرِثنَا العِلمَ عَن آبَاءِ صِدقٍ

تَجَاوَزَ صِيتُ عِلمُهُم العَنَانَا

We inherited knowledge from honorable forefathers,

Whose scholarly fame passed beyond the clouds.

فَيَاصِلُ إِن يُمِّمِّهم عَوِيصٌ

عَزِيزٌ أتعَب الأَذهَانَ هَانَا

How hard it is to fathom what they handed down—

Rare knowledge that has wearied minds here.

وقَد نَفَضُوا عِيَابَ العِلمِ فِينَا

فَكُلُّ دُرَّ لُجَّتِهِ حَيَانَا

They emptied the satchels of learning into us,

So every pearl within its abyss became ours.

فَلَم نَأتِ القَبَائِلَ طَالِبِيهِ

وَمن عَلِقتهُ هِمتُهُ أتَانَا

We did not go among the tribes seeking it;

Whoever set his aspiration upon it came to us.

أفقَعَ القَاعِ إِنَّا قَد ضَربنَا

عَلَيكُم في مَجَاثِمِكُم عِنَانَا

O flatland sand-lizard, we have now cast

Our reins across your very roosts.

ظَنَنتُم أنَّ شَاعِرَكَم مُجِيدٌ

وَغَرَّكُم فَهِجتُم اُفعُوانَا

You thought your poet accomplished,

And, deceived, you stirred a viper.

ولَو نَثَرتُم كنَائِنَا عَلِمتُم

يَقِيناً أنَّ قَيدَكُم مُدَانَى

Had you emptied out our quivers, you would know

With certainty that your fetter lies close at hand;

وأنَّ الهُونَ كُلَّ الهُونِ يُعزَى

إلَيكُم في المَوَاسِمِ لاَ إِلى نَا

And that ignominy—all ignominy—is ascribed

To you at the public seasons, never to us.