زار الفرزدق أهل الحجاز — Jarir

Al-Farazdaq visited the people of the Hijaz.

But he found no favor among them and was not praised.

And you disgraced your people at al-Hatim,

And between the two Baqi tracts and al-Gharqad.

We found al-Farazdaq at the two pilgrimage gatherings

Foul in his dealings and his public presence.

The illustrious son of 'Abd al-'Aziz banished you.

Rightly are you banished from the mosque.

And you likened yourself to the most wretched of Thamud,

So they said, 'You went astray and found no guidance.'

And when the punishment descended, they were granted respite:

Three nights until the appointed time.

And you likened yourself to the donkey's glans,

Foul in its tethering-stalls and tether-swivel.

We found Jubayr, father of Ghalib,

Distant in kinship from Ma'bad.

Do you count the bellows-man among Malik's people?

And how far is Suhayl from al-Farqad!

And the worst of foals is the son of the donkey's glans;

And you find Qufayra lying in wait.

And al-Farazdaq's root is the worst of roots,

Foul in its soil, with fire-sticks that yield no spark.

And Jubayr gave Ghalib a charge,

The charge of a hard-pressed kinsman:

He said, 'Be gentle in bending the iron band,

And scraping the awls with the file.'

Blunt you found, O sons of Minqar,

The weapon of your propped-up slain man.

Nawar says, 'You have disgraced the smiths;

Would that al-Farazdaq had never been born!'

And at Dhu Hawmal she said, 'By the spears,

You were there—would that you had not been!'

And al-Farazdaq won a pair of tongs,

And a pack-load of black charcoal.

So patch your grandfather's bellows,

And mend your gear; do not spoil it.

Bring the anvil close, and bring the adze close,

And make room at your seat for your bellows.

You bound al-Ba'ith to the man of the cross,

With the smith, in tightly twisted rope.

And when the race became earnest, they were matched

Against a lofty runner, toward the farthest goal.

He cuts off their breath with his running,

With the rein held back, yet never wearied.

For we are a people who love fidelity,

For fear of talk in the assembly.

And we do not bind up our knees when pledging protection

With anything but swords, nor cloak ourselves otherwise.

You tightened your knee-wraps for an act of treachery

At Jayshan, while the sword was still unsheathed.

So perish the people who sheltered al-Zubayr;

But as for al-Zubayr, may he not perish!

Did you disparage the horsemen of the day of al-Ghabit,

And of the days of Bishr of Banu Marthad,

And of a day at Balqa', O son of smiths?

We witnessed the spear-fighting, and you did not.

Then at dawn they struck Abjar and al-Hawfazan

With a fierce onrush against the scouts.

And on the day of al-Buhayrayn you made us catch up;

Theirs were furrows in the rugged upland.

We make swords bite into the heads of kings,

And cure the stiff-necked lord of his pride.