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107
حدّثني عبد الله بن الحسين بن سعد قال حدّثني البحتريّ قال
أبو سعيد الثَّغْريّ طائيّ من أهل مَرْو وكان من قوّاد حُميد الطوسيّ ومن أوّل شعر مدحه به أبو تمّام قوله [الخفيف]
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مِنْ سَجَايَا ٱلطُّلُولِ أَلَّا تُجِيبَا |
فَصَوَابٌ مِنْ مُقْلَتِي أَنْ تَصُوبَا |
قال وما أخذ أبو تمّام من أحد كما أخذ منه ليس أنّه كان يُكثر له ولكن كان يديم ما يعطيه.
I cite ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿd, who cites al-Buḥturī as follows:
Abū Saʿīd al-Thaghrī was a Ṭayyite from Marw and one of the generals of Ḥumayd al-Ṭūsī. One of Abū Tammām’s first poems in his praise is the one which begins:
It is natural for ruined encampments not to respond,
and it is right for my eye to shed tears.383
Abū Tammām received from Abū Saʿīd more benefactions than he did from anyone else—not that the general was lavish to him, but he gave to him regularly.
١٠٨108
حدّثني عبد الرحمن بن أحمد بن الوليد قال حدّثني أبو أحمد محمّد بن موسى بن حمّاد البَرْبَريّ قال حدّثني صالح بن محمّد الهاشميّ قال
دخلت على أبي سعيد الثَّغْريّ فأخرج لي كتابًا من أبي تمّام إليه ففتحته فإذا فيه [الكامل]
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إِنِّي أَتَتْنِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ صَحِيفَةٌ |
غَلَبَتْ هُمُومَ ٱلصَّدْرِ وَهْيَ غَوَالِبُ |
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وَطَلَبْتَ وُدِّي وَٱلتَّنَائِفُ بَيْنَنَا |
فَنَدَاكَ مَطْلُوبٌ وَمَجْدُكَ طَالِبُ |
وذكر أبياتًا سنذكرها في شعره تمامًا لهذا.
ثمّ قال لي كتبت إلى أبي تمّام كتابًا وقرنته ببرّ له فجعل جوابه هذا الشعر ولم يخاطبني بحرف سواه.
I cite ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Walīd, who cites Abū Aḥmad Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Ḥammād al-Barbarī, who cites Ṣāliḥ ibn Muḥammad al-Hāshimī, who said:
I appeared before Abū Saʿīd al-Thaghrī and he took out a letter addressed to him from Abū Tammām. I opened it and it read:
I received a composition from you,
which conquered my heart’s all-conquering sorrows.
You sought my affections when deserts lay between us.
Thus is your generosity sought, while your glory seeks its goals.384
(He cited further verses of this letter, which we will reproduce in full in the Collected Poems.)
“I wrote a letter to Abū Tammām,” Abū Saʿīd then explained, “and sent it to him along with a favor, and Abū Tammām answered me with these verses. Otherwise he never addressed me directly.”
١٠٩109
حدّثني عون بن محمّد قال
قدم علي أبي تمّام رجل من إخوانه وكان قد بلغه أنّه قد أفاد وأثرى فجاءه يستميحه فقال له أبو تمّام لو جمعت ما آخذ ما احتجت إلى أحد ولكنّي آخذ وأنفق وسأحتال لك فكتب إلى أبي سعيد بقصيدة منها [السريع]
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لَا زِلْتَ مِنْ شُكْرِيَ فِي حُلَّةٍ |
لَابِسُهَا فِي سَلَبٍ فَاخِرِ |
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يَقُولُ مَنْ تَقْرَعُ أَسْمَاعَهُ |
كَمْ تَرَكَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ لِلْآخِرِ |
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لِي صَاحِبٌ قَدْ كَانَ لِي مُؤْنِسًا |
وَمَأْلَفًا فِي ٱلزَّمَنِ ٱلْغَابِرِ |
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تَحْمِلُ مِنْهُ ٱلْعِيسُ أُعْجُوبَةً |
تُجَدِّدُ ٱلسِّخْرِيَّ لِلسَّاخِرِ |
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ذَا ثَرْوَةٍ يَطْلُبُ مِنْ سَائِلٍ |
وَمُفْحَمًا١ يَأْخُذُ مِنْ شَاعِرِ |
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فَصَادَفَتْ مَالِي بِإِقْبَالِهِ |
مَنِيَّةٌ مِنْ أَمَلٍ عَائِرِ |
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فَشَارِكِ ٱلْمَقْمُورَ فِيهِ وَلَا |
تَكُنْ شَرِيكَ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْقَامِرِ |
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فَرِفْدُكَ ٱلزَّائِرَ٢ مَجْدٌ وَلَا |
كَرِفْدِكَ ٱلزَّائِرَ٣ لِلزَّائِرِ |
فوجّه لأبي تمّام بثلثمائة دينار وللزائر بمائتي دينار قال فأعطاه أبو تمّام خمسين دينارًا حتّى شاطره.
١ ا: مُفحَمٍ. ٢ ا: الزائرُ. ٣ ا: الزائرِ.
I cite ʿAwn ibn Muḥammad al-Kindī for the following:
Abū Tammām was approached by one of his close friends. The friend had heard that the poet was doing well and had become wealthy and asked him for a gift. “If I kept everything I received,” Abū Tammām said, “I would need no one, but I spend what I get. However, I will come up with a solution for you.”385 He then wrote a poem to Abū Saʿīd which contained the following verses:
May you always be clothed in my gratitude
that graces its wearer with sumptuous attire.
Those who hear the poem say,
“The ancient poet has left so much for the modern!”
I have a friend who was my confidant and companion
in former times. . .
Red camels bring him,
a marvel that will give the mocker much to mock:
A wealthy man who begs from a beggar,
a man who cannot write poetry but borrows from a poet.
His arrival, hope’s stray arrow,
spelled death for my wealth.
Play alongside the loser,
don’t side with the winner!
Glory comes from the gifts you give to visitors
but is nothing compared to giving gifts to your visitor’s visitor.386
The general sent Abū Tammām three hundred dinars and his visitor two hundred dinars. Abū Tammām gave the man fifty dinars so that the split was even.