مراثي أبي تمّام

Laments Composed for Abū Tammām

١٧٧177

أنشدني أبو الغَوْث لأبيه يرثي أبا تمّام ودعبلًا [الكامل]

قَدْ زَادَ فِي كَلَفِي وَأَوْقَدَ لَوْعَتِي	مَثْوَى حَبيِبٍ يَوْمَ مَاتَ ودِعْبِلِ
وَبَقَاءُ ضَرْبِ ٱلْخَثْعَمِيِّ وَشِبْهِهِ	مِنْ كُلِّ مُضْطَرِبِ ٱلْقَرِيحَةِ مُهْمِلِ
أَهْلُ ٱلْمَعَانِي ٱلْمُسْتَحِيلةِ إِنْ هُمُ	طَلَبُوا ٱلْبَدَاعَةَ وَٱلْكَلَامِ ٱلْمُعْضِلِ
أَخَوَيَّ لَا تَزَلِ ٱلسَّمَاءُ مُخِيلَةً	تَغْشَاكُمَا بِحَيًا مُقِيمٍ مُسْبِلِ
جَدَثٌ عَلَى ٱلْأَهْوَازِ يَبْعُدُ دُونَهُ	مَسْرَى ٱلنَّعِيِّ وَرِمَّةٌ بِٱلْمَوْصِلِ

Abū l-Ghawth recited to me his father’s lament for Abū Tammām and Diʿbil:⁴⁶⁷

The day when Ḥabīb died, his tomb and that of Diʿbil too

burdened me with grief and ignited my pain,

When the likes of al-Khathʿamī survive,

talentless, worthless to a man.

In their search for novelty, they created inconceivable motifs

and forbiddingly difficult speech.

My brothers, heaven promises clouds that shall forever

cover both your graves in steady rain:

A tomb in Ahwāz—a death announced far and wide—

and in Mosul bones bleached white.⁴⁶⁸

١٧٨178

ورثاه الحسن بن وهب فقال [الوافر]

سَقَتْ بِٱلْمَوْصِلِ ٱلْقَبْرَ ٱلْغَرِيبَا	سَحَائِبُ يَنْتَحِبْنَ لَهُ نَحِيبَا
إِذَا أَطْلَعْنَهُ أَطْلَقْنَ فِيهِ	شَعِيبَ ٱلْمُزْنِ مُنْبَعِقًا شَعِيبَا
وَلَطَّمَتِ ٱلْبُرُوقُ لَهَا خُدُودًا	وَشَقَّقَتِ ٱلرُّعُودُ لَهَا جُيُوبَا
فَإِنَّ تُرَابَ ذَاكَ ٱلْقَبْرِ يَحْوِي	حَبَيبًا كَانَ يُدْعَى لِي حَبِيبَا
ظَرِيفًا شَاعِرًا فَطِنًا لَبِيبًا	أَصِيلَ ٱلرَّأْيِ فِي ٱلْجُلَّى أَرِيبَا
إِذَا شَاهَدْتَهُ رَوَّاكَ مِمَّا	يَسُرُّكَ رِقَّةً مِنْهُ وَطِيبَا
أَبَا تَمَّامٍ ٱلطَّائِيَّ إِنَّا	لَقِينَا بَعْدَكَ ٱلْعَجَبَ ٱلْعَجِيبَا
فَقَدْنَا مِنْكَ عِلْقًا لَا تَرَانَا	نُصِيبُ لَهُ مَدَى ٱلدُّنْيَا ضَرِيبَا
وَكُنْتَ أَخًا لَنَا تُدْنِي إِلَيْنَا	صَمِيمَ ٱلْوُدِّ وَٱلنَّسَبَ ٱلْقَرِيبَا
وَكَانَتْ مَذْحِجٌ تُطْوَى عَلَيْنَا	جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ تَنْشُرُنَا شُعُوبَا
فَلَمَّا بِنْتَ نَكَّرَتِ ٱللَّيَالِي	قَرِيبَ ٱلدَّارِ وَٱلْأَقْصَى ٱلْغَرِيبَا
وَأَبْدَى ٱلدَّهْرُ أَقْبَحَ صَفْحَتَيْهِ	وَوَجْهًا كَالِحًا جَهْمًا قَطُوبَا
فَأَحْرِ بِأَنْ يَطِيبَ ٱلْمَوْتُ فِيهِ	وَأَحْرِ بِعِيشَةٍ أَلَّا تَطِيبَا

Al-Ḥasan ibn Wahb composed this lament for Abū Tammām:

May the tomb of our far-traveled friend in Mosul

be watered by clouds weeping for him,

As they pass above, they collide and cast rain

as a traveler’s water skin spills water.

May lightning bolts slap each other’s cheeks,

and thunderclaps tear their shirts in mourning.

This dusty grave holds Ḥabīb,

whom I called “beloved,”⁴⁶⁹

Elegant, inspired,⁴⁷⁰ astute, intelligent,

with sound judgment in matters of moment.

When you were with him he would give you

things of delightful refinement and freshness to transmit.

Abū Tammām of Ṭayy, you went away.

We were astonished and amazed:

In you we lost a jewel—we do not think⁴⁷¹ we’ll ever find

one like it as long as the world exists.

You were a brother who offered us

pure affection and close kinship.⁴⁷²

Madhḥij⁴⁷³ united us

then made our tribes disperse.

When you left, both our home here and distant lands

were altered beyond recognition by the Nights.

Time showed its ugliest side:

a face, stern, grim, and scowling.

It is a worthy tribute to him

that death is sweet and life is not.

١٧٩179

وقال عليّ بن الجهم يرثيه [الكامل]

غَاضَتْ بَدَائِعُ فِطْنَةِ ٱلْأَوْهَامِ	وَعَدَتْ عَلَيْهَا نَكْبَةُ ٱلْأَيَّامِ
وَغَدَا ٱلْقَرِيضُ ضَئِيلَ شَخْصٍ بَاكِيًا	يَشْكُو١ رَزِيَّتَهُ إِلَى ٱلْأَقْلَامِ
وَتَأَوَّهَتْ غُرَرُ ٱلْقَوَافِي بَعْدَهُ	وَرَمَى ٱلزَّمَانُ صَحِيحَهَا بِسَقَامِ
أَوْدَى مُثَقِّفُهَا وَرَائِضُ صَعْبِهَا	وَغَدِيرُ رَوْضَتِهَا أَبُو تَمَّامِ

١ ا: يشكوا.

ʿAlī ibn al-Jahm lamented him as follows:

The creations of intellect have vanished into thin air,

assailed by Time’s catastrophe.

Stately poetry has grown thin and tearfully complains

to the reed pens of its bereavement.

Noble rhymes bemoan his departure,

Time has struck healthy rhymes with sickness.

He who set them straight and tamed difficult ones,

the stream that fed their garden—Abū Tammām—has died.

١٨٠180

وأنشدني أبو جعفر المهلّبيّ وأبو محمّد الهداديّ لأحمد بن يحيى البَلاذُريّ يرثي أبا تمّام ويهجو أبا مُسلِم بن حُمَيد الطوسيّ [الكامل]

أَمْسَى حَبِيبٌ رَهْنَ قَبْرٍ مُوحِشٍ	لَمْ تُدْفَعِ ٱلْأَقْدَارُ عَنْهُ بِأَيْدِ
لَمْ يُنْجِهِ لَمَّا تَنَاهَى عُمْرُهُ	أَدَبٌ وَلَمْ يَسْلَمْ بِقُوَّةِ كَيْدِ
قَدْ كُنْتُ أَرْجُو١ أَنْ تَنَالَكَ رَحْمَةٌ	لٰكِنْ أَخَافُ قَرَابَةَ ٱبْنِ حُمَيْدِ

١ ا: ارجوا.

Abū Jaʿfar al-Muhallabī and Abū Muḥammad al-Hadādī recited to me this lament for Abū Tammām by Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā l-Balādhurī. In it he lampooned Abū Muslim ibn Ḥumayd al-Ṭūsī:

Ḥabīb became the hostage of a solitary tomb.

No hand could defend him against destiny.

Refinement did not save him when life came to its end,

nor could he escape by the power of his wit.

I had hoped that you would find mercy

but I fear for you because of your kinship with Ibn Ḥumayd.

١٨١181

وقال فيه الحسن بن وهب أيضًا [الكامل]

فُجِعَ ٱلْقَرِيضُ بِخَاتَمِ ٱلشُّعَرَاءِ	وَغَدِيرِ رَوْضَتِهَا حَبِيبِ ٱلطَّائِي
مَاتَا مَعًا فتَجَاوَرَا فِي حُفْرَةٍ	وَكَذَاكَ كَانَا قَبْلُ فِي ٱلْأَحْيَاءِ

Another lament⁴⁷⁴ by al-Ḥasan ibn Wahb for Abū Tammām goes:

Stately poetry has lost the Seal of the Poets,

the stream that fed its garden,⁴⁷⁵ Ḥabīb of Ṭayy.

They died at the same time and live together in the same tomb

as they did when they were alive.

١،١٨٢182.1

وقال محمّد بن عبد الملك يرثيه وهو وزير [الكامل]

نَبَأٌ أَتَى مِنْ أَعْظَمِ ٱلْأَنْبَاءِ	لَمَّا أَلَمَّ مُقَلْقِلُ ٱلْأَحْشَاءِ
قَالُوا حَبِيبٌ قَدْ ثَوَى فَأَجَبْتُهُمْ	نَاشَدْتُكُمْ لَا تَجْعَلُوهُ ٱلطَّائِي

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Zayyāt, while he was still vizier, lamented Abū Tammām:

The most momentous news arrived

that troubled my heart.

“A beloved,” they said, “is buried in the earth.”

“I beseech you,” I cried, “let it not be the Ṭayyite!”

٢،١٨٢182.2

وقال أيضًا [الوافر]

أَلَا لِلّٰهِ مَا جَنَتِ ٱلْخُطُوبُ	تُخُرِّمَ مِنْ أَحِبَّتِنَا حَبِيبُ
فَمَاتَ ٱلشِّعْرُ مِنْ بَعْدِ ٱبْنِ أَوْسٍ	فَلَا أَدَبٌ يُحَسُّ وَلَا أَدِيبُ
وَكُنْتَ ضَرِيبَ وَحْدِكَ يَا ٱبْنَ أَوْسٍ	وَهٰذَا ٱلنَّاسُ أخْلَاقٌ١ ضُرُوبُ
لَئِنْ قَطَعَتْكَ قَاطِعَةُ ٱلْمَنَايَا	لَمِنْكَ وَفِيكَ قُطِّعَتِ ٱلْقُلُوبُ

١ ا: اخلاٯ، ولعلّ الصواب (أخلاف).

Another lament by Muḥammad goes:

Fate’s crime cries out to heaven

Ḥabīb whom we love has been taken from us.

Poetry died after Ibn Aws.

There remains no trace of culture, nor men of culture.

People come in different kinds, with different natures—

you were in a class of your own.

Death may have cut you down—

when you were torn from our hearts they were torn apart.

١٨٣183

وقال عبد الله بن أبي الشيص [السريع]

أَصْبَحَ فِي ضَنْكٍ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ	أَكْثَرُ فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ
مَنْ عَرْضُ ذِكْرَاهُ وَمَنْ طُولُهَا	كَٱلْأَرْضِ ذَاتِ ٱلطُّولِ وَٱلْعَرْضِ
أَكْرِمْ بِمَلْحُودٍ يُدَانَى إِلَى	وَجْهِك يَا ٱبْنَ ٱلْكَرَمِ ٱلْمَحْضِ
مَا فِي حَبِيبٍ لِي ٱبْنَ أَوْسٍ أُسًى	يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ ٱلْجَفْنِ وَٱلْغُمْضِ
حَارَ ذَوُو ٱلْآدَابِ إِذْ فُوجِئُوا	مِنْهُ بِيَوْمٍ غَيْرِ مُبْيَضِّ
اِنْتَقَضَ ٱلْإِبْرَامُ مِنْ عُمْرِ مَنْ	كَانَ أَبَا ٱلْإِبْرَامِ وَٱلنَّقْضِ
طَوْدٌ مِنَ ٱلشِّعْرِ دَعَا بَعْضُهُ	بَعْضًا فَهُدَّ ٱلْبَعْضُ بِٱلْبَعْضِ
بَحْرٌ مِنَ ٱلشِّعْرِ لَهُ جَائِشٌ	مُلْتَطِمٌ بِٱللُّؤْلُؤِ ٱلْبَضِّ
كَأَنَّمَا ٱلشِّعْرُ شِعَارٌ لَهُ	أَوْ وَرَقٌ فِي غُصُنٍ غَضِّ
لَمَّا أتَمَّ ٱللهُ فِيكَ ٱلَّذِي	أَمَّلْتَ مِنْ بَسْطٍ وَمِنْ قَبْضِ
رَمَاكَ رَامٍ لِلْمَنَايَا وَمَا	آذَنَ عِنْدَ ٱلرَّمْيِ بِٱلنَّبْضِ
لَوْ كَانَ لِلشِّعْرِ عُيُونٌ بَكَتْ	لِكَوْكَبٍ لِلشِّعْرِ مُنْقَضِّ

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī l-Shīṣ said:

He lies in the dark earth,

larger than the earth itself.

His memory reaches as far and as wide

as the earth.

What a noble man to be buried!

Scions of pure nobility, Abū Tammām’s honor comes close to yours!⁴⁷⁶

Ibn Aws, I cannot be consoled for a beloved,

my eyelids will not close in sleep.

Men of culture are perplexed—they were stunned

by his loss on a black, joyless day.

When his life was undone, so too was resolve:

yet he was the father of doing and undoing.

A mountain of poetry collapsed,

its rocks tumbling down one upon the other.

His was a roaring sea of poetry,

whose waves clashed but yielded delicate pearls.

Poetry was like a garment next to his skin⁴⁷⁷

or like leaves on a fresh branch.

God fulfilled your hopes

of giving and receiving,

Then death’s marksman took aim,

but no bowstring twanged to announce the shot.

If poetry had eyes it would weep

for its fallen star.

١٨٤184

وقال ووجدته بخطّ ابن مهرويه [السريع]

يَا حُفْرَةَ ٱلطَّائِيِّ أَيَّ ٱمْرِئٍ	أَثْوَيْتِ مِنْهُ فِي ثَرَى ٱلرَّمْسِ
شِعَارُهُ أَنْتِ وَلَمْ تَشْعُرِي	بِأَنَّهُ أَشْعَرُ ذِي نَفْسِ
كَمْ بَيْنَ أَثْنَائِكِ مِنْ حِكْمَةٍ	كَانَتْ شِفَاءَ ٱلنَّفْسِ بِٱلْأَمْسِ

I came across these verses in the handwriting of Ibn Mihrawayhi:

Tomb of the Ṭayyite, what a man

you house in the dust of the grave!

You are his garment next to his skin!

Don’t you realize he was the most poetic soul ever?⁴⁷⁸

How much wisdom you contain,

which only yesterday consoled men’s souls!

١٨٥185

تمّت أخبار أبي تمّام ولله الحمد دائمًا وصلّى الله على سيّدنا ومولانا محمّد النبيّ وعلى آله الطاهرين وسلّم تسليما.

Here ends The Life and Times of Abū Tammām. God be forever praised, and God’s blessing and peace be upon our lord and master, the Emissary Muḥammad, and his pure progeny.