أخبار أبي تمّام مع أحمد بن المُعْتَصِم

Abū Tammām and Aḥmad ibn al-Muʿtaṣim

١،١١٠110.1

حدّثني محمّد بن يحيى بن أبي عَبّاد قال حدّثني أبي قال

شهدت أبا تمّام ينشد أحمد بن المعتصم قصيدته التي مدحه بها [الكامل]

مَا فِي وُقُوفِكَ سَاعَةً مِنْ بَاسِ	تَقْضِي ذِمَامَ ٱلْأَرْبُعِ ٱلْأَدْرَاسِ
فَلَعَلَّ عَيْنَكَ أَنْ تُعِينَ بِمَائِهَا	وَٱلدَّمْعُ مِنْهُ خَاذِلٌ وَمُوَاسِي

والناس يروون هذا أَنْ تَعِينَ بِمَائِهَا وهو تصحيف.

فلمّا قال

أَبْلَيْتَ هٰذَا ٱلْمَجْدَ أَبْعَدَ غَايَةٍ	فِيهِ وَأَكْرَمَ شِيمَةٍ وَنِحَاسِ
إِقْدَامَ عَمْرٍو فِي سَمَاحَةِ حَاتِمٍ	فِي حِلْمِ أَحْنَفَ فِي ذَكَاءِ إِيَاسِ

قال له الكنديّ وكان حاضرًا وأراد الطعن عليه الأمير فوق من وصفت فأطرق قليلًا ثمّ زاد في القصيدة بيتين لم يكونا فيها

لَا تُنْكِرُوا ضَرْبِي لَهُ مَنْ دُونَهُ	مَثَلًا شَرُودًا فِي ٱلنَّدَى وَٱلْبَاسِ
فَٱللهُ قَدْ ضَرَبَ ٱلْأَقَلَّ لِنُورِهِ	مَثَلًا مِنَ ٱلْمِشْكَاةِ وَٱلنِّبْرَاسِ

قال فعجبنا من سرعته وفطنته.

وقد روي هذا الخبر على خلاف هذا وليس بشيء وهذا هو الصحيح.

I cite Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī ʿAbbād, who cites his father:

I was present when Abū Tammām recited to Aḥmad ibn al-Muʿtaṣim the following ode in praise of the prince:

There is no harm in stopping for a moment

to pay homage to deserted spring encampments.

Perhaps your eyes will help you with their water

though tears may fail you or soothe.

Al-Ṣūlī: Some people transmit this as “will flow with their water,” which is a misspelling.

Then he said:

You displayed glory at its furthest reaches,

in its noblest character and origin—

ʿAmr’s bold advance, Ḥātim’s munificence,

Aḥnaf’s insight, and Iyās’s wit.³⁸⁷

Al-Kindī was present and wanted to insult the poet. He said, “Your description is beneath the prince.” Abū Tammām looked down for a moment and added two verses that had not been part of the ode:

Do not blame me for applying analogies

that are beneath one peerless in generosity and courage.

For His own light God uses a lesser example

—the lantern and the niche.³⁸⁸

We were astounded by the quickness of his wit.

This account is also transmitted differently, but it is incorrect. This is the correct version.

٢،١١٠110.2

ويروى أنّه عيب عليه قوله وقد أنشد هذه القصيدة التي فيها [الخفيف]

شَابَ رَأْسِي وَمَا رَأَيْتُ مَشِيبَ ٱلرَّ

أْسِ إِلَّا مِنْ فَضْلِ شَيْبِ ٱلْفُؤَادِ

فزاد فيها من لحظته

وَكَذَاكَ ٱلْقُلُوبُ فِي كُلِّ بُؤْسٍ

وَنَعِيمٍ طَلَائِعُ ٱلْأَجْسَادِ

It is said that Abū Tammām was faulted for the words contained in the following poem he recited:

My hair turned white: I think that its whiteness

springs from the whiteness of the heart.

He then added instantly:

Hearts precede bodies

in both comfort and misfortune.³⁸⁹

١١١111

حدّثني أحمد بن إسماعيل قال حدّثني عبد الله بن الحسين ولست أدري من عبد الله هذا قال

سمعت أبا تمّام ينشد أحمد بن المعتصم في علّة اعتلّها [المنسرح]

أَقْلَقَ جَفْنَ ٱلْعَيْنَيْنِ عَنْ غُمُضِهْ	وَشَدَّ هٰذَا ٱلْحَشَا عَلَى مَضَضِهْ
شَجًى بِمَا عَنَّ لِلْأَمِيرِ أَبِي ٱلْـ	‍عَبَّاسِ أَمْسَى نَصْبًا لِمُعْتَرِضِهْ
مِنَ ٱلْأُلَى١ نَسْتَجِيرُ٢ مِنْ شَرَقِ الدَّ	هْرِ بِهِمْ إِنْ أَلَمَّ أَوْ جَرَضِهْ
صَاغَهُمُ٣ ذُو ٱلْجَلَالِ مِنْ جَوْهَرِ ٱلْـ	ـمَجْدِ وَصَاغَ ٱلْأَنَامَ مِنْ عَرَضِهْ
سَهْمٌ مِنَ ٱلْمُلْكِ لَا يُضَيِّعُهُ	بَارِيهِ حَتَّى يَهْتَزَّ فِي غَرَضِهْ

وهذه من أحسن كناية في التعريض بالخلافة

صِحَّتُهُ صِحَّةُ ٱلرَّجَاءِ لَنَا	فِي حِينِ مُلْتَاثِهِ وَمُنْتَقَضِهْ
فَإِنْ نَجِدْ عِلَّةً نُعَمَّ بِهَا	حَتَّى كَأَنَّا نُعَادُ مِنْ مَرَضِهْ

فقال له أحمد بن المعتصم ما أبْيَنَ العلّة عليك.

فقال إنّها علّة قلب تُميت الخاطر وتسدّ الناظر وتُبلد الماهر.

١ ا: الاولي. ٢ ا: يستجير. ٣ ا: صاغهُمْ.

I cite Aḥmad ibn Ismāʿīl, who cites ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn (though I don’t know who this ʿAbd Allāh is):

I heard Abū Tammām recite the following verses to Aḥmad ibn al-Muʿtaṣim during the prince’s illness:

My eyes could not sleep for sorrow,

my insides were filled with pain

In sorrow for what weighs on Prince Abū l-ʿAbbas

struck low by a sudden ailment. . . 

He is a man whose protection we seek

when fate chokes and throttles us.

The Mighty One forged them from glory’s essence,

and fashioned mankind from its accident. . . ³⁹⁰

A king like an arrow its Maker fires

that quivers in the target.

The following lines contain the best metonymical allusion to the caliphate:

His well-being is the well-being of hope

at the moment when it holds or breaks.

His illness affects us all:

it is we who receive the bedside visit, when he is ill.³⁹¹

“How ill you look!” Aḥmad ibn al-Muʿtaṣim said.

“It is a sickness of the heart that deadens thought, blinds the eyes, and confounds talent,” Abū Tammām replied.