١،١٣
13.1
كانت جارية شاعرة ماجنة من أظرف أهل زمانها ولها أخبار ملاح مدوّنة.
She was a poet who composed racy verse and was one of the greatest wits of her time. Many amusing anecdotes about her are preserved in books.
١،٢،١٣13.2.1
أنبأني عبد الرحمٰن بن سعد الله الدقيقيّ عن أبي القاسم بن السمرقنديّ قال
أخبرنا أبو منصور العكبريّ أخبرنا أبو الحسن بن الصلت قال أخبرنا أبو الفرج الإصبهانيّ قال
كانت فضل مولّدة من مولّدات البصرة وبها نشأت وكان مولدها اليمامة.
According to what was reported to me by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd Allāh al-Daqīqī—who cites Abū l-Qāsim ibn al-Samarqandī, who cites Abū Manṣūr al-ʿUkbarī, who cites Abū l-Ḥasan ibn al-Ṣalt—Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī described her as follows:
Faḍl was a slave of mixed parentage from Basra, where she was raised. She was born in al-Yamāmah.
٢،٢،١٣13.2.2
وذكرها محمّد بن داود فذكر أنّها عبديّة وكذلك كانت تزعم هي وتقول إنّ أمّها علقت بها من مولىً لها من عبد القيس وإنّه مات وهي حامل بها فباعها ابنه فوُلدت على سبيل الرقّ وذُكر عنها من جهة أخرى أنّ أمّها ولدتها في حياة أبيها فربّاها وأدّبها فلمّا توفّي تواطأ بنوه على بيعها فبيعت١ فٱشتراها محمّد بن الفرج الرخّجيّ أخو عمر بن الفرج فأهداها إلى المتوكّل.
١ فبيعت: لم ترد في ج.
She is also mentioned by Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ, who writes that she was of the ʿAbd al-Qays tribe, a descent she also claimed for herself.60 As she told it, her mother had been the dependent of an ʿAbd al-Qays tribesman who got her pregnant and who died while she was expecting her. The tribesman’s son then sold her mother off and Faḍl was born into slavery.
According to another source, her mother gave birth to her while her father was still alive. He brought her up and educated her, but when he died his sons colluded to sell her. She was purchased by Muḥammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhkhajī, the brother of ʿUmar ibn al-Faraj,61 who gave her to the caliph al-Mutawakkil.
٣،٢،١٣13.2.3
وكانت سمراء أديبة فصيحة سريعة الهاجس مطبوعة في قول الشعر متقدّمة لسائر نساء زمانها فيه.
She was dark-skinned, cultured, eloquent, and could think on her feet. Poetry came naturally to her, and she was better at it than all the other women of her time.
٣،١٣13.3
وبه أخبرنا أبو الفرج الإصبهانيّ قال أخبرني محمّد بن خلف حدّثنا أحمد بن أبي طاهر قال
جُلبت فضل الشاعرة من البصرة فٱشتراها رجل من النخّاسين بعشرة آلاف درهم فٱبتاعها محمّد بن الفرج الرخّجيّ فأهداها إلى المتوكّل فكانت تجلس في مجلسه على كرسيّ تعارض الشعراء بحضرته فألقى عليها يومًا١ أبو دلف القاسم بن عيسى العِجليّ [كامل]
|
قَالُوا عَشِقْتَ صَغِيرَةً فَأَجَبْتُهُمْ |
أَشْهَى ٱلْـمَطِيِّ إَلَيَّ مَا لَمْ يُرْكَبِ |
|
كَمْ بَيْنَ حَبَّةِ لُؤْلُؤٍ مَثْقُوبَةٍ |
لُبِسَتْ وَحَبَّةِ لُؤْلُؤٍ لَمْ تُثْقَبِ |
فقالت فضل مجيبة له [كامل]
|
إِنَّ ٱلْـمَطِيَّةَ لَا يَلَذُّ رُكُوبُهَا |
حَتَّى تَذَلَّلَ بِٱلزِّمَامِ وَتُرْكَبُ |
|
وَٱلْحَبُّ لَيْسَ بِنَافِعٍ أَرْبَابَهُ |
حَتَّى يُؤَلَّفُ بِٱلنِّظَامِ وَيُثْقَبُ |
١ يوما: لم ترد في ج.
Via the authorities listed above,62 Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī cites Muḥammad ibn Khalaf, who cites Ibn Abī Ṭāhir, who told him:
Faḍl the Poetess was brought from Basra, and a slave trader bought her for ten thousand dirhams. Muḥammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhkhajī then bought her and gave her to al-Mutawakkil. She would sit on a dais at his gatherings in full view and improvise responses to the verses declaimed by other poets.
One day, Abū Dulaf al-Qāsim ibn ʿῙsā al-ʿIjlī challenged her with:
They said, “You love a girl too young.”
I said, “The best mount is unridden, unyoked;
What a difference between pearl that’s drilled and strung
and one that’s still unpoked!”
Faḍl came back with:
Riding is no pleasure till
the mount’s been broken to your will.
And pearls are useless to their owners
until they’re drilled and strung.
٤،١٣13.4
وبه أخبرنا أبو الفرج الإصبهانيّ قال حدّثني عمّي١ ومحمّد بن خلف وجعفر بن قدامة قالوا حدّثنا أبو العيناء قال
لـمّا أُدخلت فضل الشاعرة على المتوكّل يوم أهديت إليه قال لها أشاعرة أنت قالت كذا يزعم من باعني وٱشتراني فضحك وقال أنشدينا شيئًا من شعرك فأنشدته قولها [سريع]
|
اِسْتَقْبَلَ ٱلْـمُلْكَ إِمَامُ ٱلْهُدَى |
عامَ ثَلاَثٍ وَثَلَاثِينَا |
|
خِلَافَةٌ أَفْضَتْ إِلَى جَعْفَرَ |
وَهْوَ ٱبْنُ٢ سَبْعٍ بَعْدَ عِشْرِينا |
|
إِنَّا لَنَرْجُو يَا إِمَامَ ٱلْهُدَى |
أَنْ تَمْلِكَ ٱلْـمُلْكَ ثَمَانِينَا |
|
لَا قَدَّسَ ٱللهُ ٱمْرَأً لَمْ يَقُلْ |
عِنْدَ دُعَائِي٣ لَكَ آمِينَا |
قال فٱستحسن الأبيات وأمر لها بخمسين ألف درهم.
١ م:عمر. ٢ م: بن. ٣ كذا في م، وفي ج: دُعَاءٍ.
Via the same line of transmitters Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī relates that he heard Muḥammad ibn Khalaf, Jaʿfar ibn Qudāmah, and his own uncle63 say that they heard Abū l-ʿAynāʾ report the following:
When Faḍl the Poetess was brought before al-Mutawakkil the very day she had been given to him, he asked her, “Are you really a poet?”
“Those who buy and sell me all say so,” she replied.
He laughed and said, “Recite some of your poetry for us,” and she recited the following verses:
The Right-Guided Ruler acceded
in the year three-and-thirty.
A caliphate entrusted to al-Mutawakkil64
when he was seven-and-twenty.
Let us hope, Right-Guided Ruler,
that your rule goes on for eighty.
God bless you! On all who do not say “Amen”—
the curse of the Almighty!
Abū l-ʿAynāʾ said that the caliph liked the poem and gave her fifty thousand dirhams.
٥،١٣13.5
وبه أخبرنا أبو الفرج الإصبهانيّ قال أخبرنا محمّد بن خلف بن المرزبان١ قال حدّثني أبو العبّاس المروزيّ قال
قال المتوكّل لعليّ بن الجهم قل بيتًا وقل لفضل الشاعرة تجيزه٢ فقال عليّ أجيزي يا فضل [بسيط]
|
لَاذَ بِهَا يَشْتَكِي إِلَيْهَا |
فَلَمْ يَجِدْ عِنْدَهَا مَلاَذَا |
فأطرقت هنيأة ثمّ قالت [بسيط]
|
وَلَمْ يَزَلْ ضَارِعًا إِلَيْهَا |
تَهْطِلُ أَجْفَانُهُ رَذَاذَا |
|
فَعَاتَبَتْهُ فَزَادَ عِشْقًا |
فَمَاتَ وَجْدًا فَكانَ مَاذَا |
فطرب المتوكّل وقال أحسنتِ وحياتي يا فضل وأمر لها بألفي درهم.
١ م: المرزباني. ٢ كذا في م، وفي ج: تجزْه.
Via the same line of transmitters Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī cites Muḥammad ibn Khalaf,65 who said that he heard Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Marwazī report the following:
Al-Mutawakkil said to ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm: “Recite a line of verse and tell Faḍl the Poetess to pick up where you leave off.” So ʿAlī said: “Complete this rhyme, Faḍl:
He sought in her a sweet relief,
but found her bitter orange.”66
She thought for a moment, and came back with:
He moaned and groaned and whined all night,
and creaked just like a door hinge.
She chewed him out, he died of love,
—and now I’ve met your challenge.
Al-Mutawakkil was delighted by this. “Well done, Faḍl, well done!” he cried, and ordered that she be given two thousand dirhams.
٦،١٣13.6
وبه أخبرنا أبو الفرج الإصبهانيّ قال حدّثني جعفر بن قدامة حدّثني سعيد بن حُميد قال
قلت لفضل الشاعرة أجيزي [منسرح]
مَنْ لِـمُحِبٍّ أَحَبَّ فِي صِغَرِهْ
فقالت غير متوقّفة [منسرح]
َصَارَ أُحْدُوثَةً عَلى كِبَرِهْ
فقلت [منسرح]
مِنْ نَظَرٍ شَفَّهُ فَأَرَّقَهْ
فقالت [منسرح]
فَكانَ مَبْدا هَوَاهُ مِنْ نَظَرِهْ
ثمّ شُغلت هنيأة ثمّ قالت [منسرح]
|
لَوْلَا ٱلأَمَانِي لَـمَاتَ مِنْ كَمَدٍ |
مَرُّ ٱللَّيَالِي يَزِيدُ فِي فِكَرِهْ |
|
لَيْسَ لَهُ مُسْعِدٌ يُسَاعِدُهُ |
بِٱللَّيِلِ فِي طُولِهِ وَفِي قِصَرِهْ |
Via the same line of transmitters Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī relates that he heard Jaʿfar ibn Qudāmah report that Saʿīd ibn Ḥumayd reported the following:
I said to Faḍl the Poetess, “Cap this:
What help for one who loved in his youth?”
And, without missing a beat, she came back with:
A story told now that he’s long in the tooth.
So I said:
A single glance made him sleepless and gaunt.67
And she came back with:
It all began with a glance, in truth!
Then after a moment’s thought, she went on:
But for his hopes, he’d have died of grief
the long nights to his thoughts uncouth.
None was there to give relief,
on nights that dragged, or nights quick on the hoof.
٧،١٣13.7
وبه أخبرنا أبو الفرج قال قرأت في بعض الكتب عن عبد الله بن المعتزّ قال قال لي إبراهيم بن المدبّر
كانت فضل الشاعرة من أحسن خلق الله عزّ وجلّ خطّـًا وأفصحهم كلامًا وأبلغهم في مخاطبة وأبينهم في محاورة فقلت يومًا لسعيد بن حميد أظنّك يا أبا عثمان تكتب لفضل رقاعها وتفيدها١ وتخرّجها فقد أخذتْ نحوك في الكلام وسلكت سبيلك فقال لي وهو يضحك ما أحسن ظنّك ليتها تسلم منّي لا آخذ كلامها ورسائلها والله يا أخي لو أخذ أفاضل الكتّاب وكبراؤهم وأماثلهم عنها لما استغنوا عن ذلك.
١ م: وتقيّدها.
Via the same line of transmitters, Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī relates: I read somewhere that Ibn al-Muʿtazz quotes the following story told by Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mudabbir:
Few in God’s creation could match Faḍl the Poetess in elegance of handwriting, clarity of style, eloquence of expression, and in her ability to turn a phrase.
One day I said to Saʿīd ibn Ḥumayd, “I think you’ve been writing Faḍl’s letters for her. Not to mention tutoring her and giving her tips on composition. That’s why she sounds like you!”
“A nice thought!” he replied with a laugh. “If only she were getting it from me. No, in fact, I’m the one who’s been imitating her style, and cribbing from her letters. My friend, if the most talented and senior state secretaries were to imitate her, by God, it would set a whole new standard!”
٨،١٣13.8
وأنشد أبو عليّ الرازيّ قال أنشدتنا فضل الشاعرة لنفسها [كامل]
|
الصَّبْرُ يَنْقُصُ وَٱلْبَلاَءُ يَزِيدُ |
وَٱلدَّارُ دَانِيَةٌ وَأَنْتَ بَعِيدُ |
|
أَشْكُوكَ أَمْ أَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ فَإِنَّهُ |
لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ سِوَاهُمَا ٱلْـمَجْهُودُ |
Abū ʿAlī al-Rāzī recited the following verses composed by Faḍl the Poetess:
My resolve weakens, my torment grows;
you are distant, though you live nearby.
Should I complain of you, or complain to you?
This wretched lover cannot decide.
٩،١٣13.9
وحدّث أبو عليّ نطّاحة قال
خرج بعض الهاشميّين يومًا من منزل بعض إخوانه في الليل فرأى امرأة ذات لباس وجمال وحولها نسوة قد حففن بها وهي في وسطهنّ فقال [رجز]
إِنَّ أَخَا ٱلظَّلْمَاءِ مُسْتَرَابُ
وأسمع النسوةَ فأجابته التي حففن بها في أسرع من نفَس [رجز]
إِلَّا مُحِبّـًا شَاقَهُ ٱلْأ َحْبَابُ
فسأل عن المرأة فإذا هي فضل الشاعرة.
Abū ʿAlī al-Naṭṭāḥah related the following story:
One night, as he was leaving a friend’s house, a Hāshimī noticed a good-looking woman dressed in fine clothes in the midst of a group of women. He called out:
Those who go out after dark are suspect and shady
He said it loud enough for them all to hear. As quick as a wink, the woman in the middle of the group called back to him:
Except for the lover who yearns for his lady!
He asked who the woman was, and it turned out to be Faḍl the Poetess.
١٠،١٣13.10
ذكر محمّد بن داود بن الجرّاح في كتاب الورقة في أخبار الشعراء١ المحدثين قال
فضل الشاعرة العبديّة مولاة المتوكّل أشعر امرأة كانت في هذا العصر ومن قولها في السَحَر [رمل]
|
قَدْ بَدَا شِبْهُكَ يَا مَوْ |
لَايَ يَحْدُو بِٱلظَّلَامِ |
|
فَٱنْتَبِهْ نَقْضِ لُبَانَا |
تِ ٱغْتِبَاقٍ وَٱلْتِثَامِ |
|
قَبْلَ أَنْ تَفْضَحَنَا عَوْ |
دَةُ أَرْوَاحِ ٱلنِّيَامِ |
١ م: شعراء.
Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd ibn al-Jarrāḥ, in his book The Folio: Accounts of the “Modern” Poets, mentions her as follows:
Faḍl the Poetess, of the ʿAbd al-Qays tribe, was a dependent in the household of al-Mutawakkil. She was the most accomplished woman to write poetry in our time. Her poetry includes the following verses on daybreak:
The moon, so like you in beauty, my lord,
has driven away the darkness
Arise! Let’s take our fill:
a nighttime drink,68 a kiss
Before the sleepers’ souls return
and expose us.
١١،١٣13.11
ذكر بعض المؤرّخين أنّ فضل الشاعرة توفّيت سنة سبع وخمسين ومائتين.
According to one historian, Faḍl the Poetess died in the year 257 [870–71].