Sirat Ibn Hisham 303
Poetry of Abū Ṭālib in seeking to win Quraysh's favor
كَمَا قَدْ لَقِينَا مِنْ سُبَيْعٍ وَنَوْفَلٍ وَكُلٌّ تَوَلَّى مُعْرِضًا لَمْ يُجَامِلْ فَإِنْ يُلْقِيَا أَوْ يُمْكِنْ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمَا نَكِلْ لَهُمَا صَاعًا بِصَاعِ الْمُكَايِلِ وَذَاكَ أَبُو عَمْرٍو أَبَى غَيْرَ بُغْضِنَا لِيَظْعَنَنَا فِي أَهْلِ شَاءٍ وَجَامِلِ يُنَاجِي بِنَا فِي كُلِّ مُمْسًى وَمُصْبَحٍ فَنَاجِ أَبَا عَمْرٍو بِنَا ثُمَّ خَاتِلِ وَيُؤْلَى لَنَا بِاَللَّهِ مَا إنْ يَغُشُّنَا بَلَى قَدْ نَرَاهُ جَهْرَةً غَيْرَ حَائِلِ أَضَاقَ عَلَيْهِ بُغْضُنَا كُلَّ تَلْعَةٍ مِنْ الْأَرْضِ بَيْنَ أَخْشُبٍ فَمُجَادِلِ وَسَائِلْ أَبَا الْوَلِيدِ مَاذَا حَبَوْتَنَا بِسَعْيِكَ فِينَا مُعْرِضًا كَالْمُخَاتِلِ وَكُنْتَ امْرَأً مِمَّنْ يُعَاشُ بِرَأْيِهِ وَرَحْمَتُهُ فِينَا وَلَسْتَ بِجَاهِلِ فَعُتْبَةُ لَا تَسْمَعْ بِنَا قَوْلَ كَاشِحٍ حَسُودٍ كَذُوبٍ مُبْغِضٍ ذِي دَغَاوِلِ وَمَرَّ أَبُو سُفْيَانَ عَنِّي مُعْرِضًا كَمَا مَرَّ قَيْلٌ مِنْ عِظَامِ الْمَقَاوِلِ يَفِرُّ إلَى نَجْدٍ وَبَرْدِ مِيَاهِهِ وَيَزْعُمُ أَنِّي لَسْتُ عَنْكُمْ بِغَافِلِ وَيُخْبِرُنَا فِعْلَ الْمُنَاصِحِ أَنَّهُ شَفِيقٌ وَيُخْفِي عَارِمَاتِ الدَّوَاخِلِ أَمُطْعِمُ لَمْ أَخْذُلْكَ فِي يَوْمٍ نَجْدَةٍ وَلَا مُعْظِمٍ عِنْدَ الْأُمُورِ الْجَلَائِلِ وَلَا يَوْمَ خَصْمٍ إذَا أَتَوْكَ أَلِدَّةً أُولِي جَدَلٍ مِنْ الْخُصُومِ الْمَسَاجِلِ أَمُطْعِمُ إنَّ الْقَوْمَ سَامُوكَ خُطَّةً وَإِنِّي مَتَى أُوكَلْ فَلَسْتُ بِوَائِلِ جَزَى اللَّهُ عَنَّا عَبْدَ شَمْسٍ وَنَوْفَلًا عُقُوبَةَ شَرٍّ عَاجِلًا غَيْرَ آجِلِ بِمِيزَانِ قِسْطٍ لَا يُخِسُّ شَعِيرَةً لَهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ غَيْرَ عَائِلٍ لَقَدْ سَفُهَتْ أَحْلَامُ قَوْمٍ تَبَدَّلُوا بَنِي خَلَفٍ قَيْضًا بِنَا وَالْغَيَاطِلِ وَنَحْنُ الصَّمِيمُ مِنْ ذُؤَابَةِ هَاشِمٍ وَآلِ قُصَيٍّ فِي الْخُطُوبِ الْأَوَائِلِ وَسَهْمٌ وَمَخْزُومٌ تَمَالَوْا وَأَلَّبُوا عَلَيْنَا الْعِدَا مِنْ كُلِّ طِمْلٍ وَخَامِلٍ فَعَبْدُ مَنَافٍ أَنْتُمْ خَيْرُ قَوْمِكُمْ فَلَا تُشْرِكُوا فِي أَمْرِكُمْ كُلَّ وَاغِلِ لَعَمْرِي لَقَدْ وَهَنْتُمْ وَعَجَزْتُمْ وَجِئْتُمْ بِأَمْرٍ مُخْطِئٍ لِلْمَفَاصِلِ وَكُنْتُمْ حَدِيثًا حَطْبَ قِدْرٍ وَأَنْتُمْ الْآنَ حِطَابُ أَقْدُرٍ وَمَرَاجِلِ لِيَهْنِئْ بَنِي عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ عُقُوقُنَا وَخِذْلَانُنَا وَتَرْكُنَا فِي الْمَعَاقِلِ فَإِنْ نَكُ قَوْمًا نَتَّئِرْ مَا صَنَعْتُمْ وَتَحْتَلِبُوهَا لِقْحَةً غَيْرَ بَاهِلِ وَسَائِطُ كَانَتْ فِي لُؤَيِّ بْنِ غَالِبٍ نَفَاهُمْ إلَيْنَا كُلُّ صَقْرٍ حُلَاحِلِ وَرَهْطُ نُفَيْلٍ شَرُّ مَنْ وَطِئَ الْحَصَى وَأَلْأَمُ حَافٍ مِنْ مَعَدِّ وَنَاعِلِ فَأَبْلِغْ قُصَيًّا أَنْ سَيُنْشَرُ أَمْرُنَا وَبَشِّرْ قُصَيًّا بَعْدَنَا بِالتَّخَاذُلِ وَلَوْ طَرَقَتْ لَيْلًا قُصَيًّا عَظِيمَةٌ إذًا مَا لَجَأْنَا دُونَهُمْ فِي الْمَدَاخِلِ وَلَوْ صَدَقُوا ضَرْبًا خِلَالَ بُيُوتِهِمْ لَكُنَّا أُسًى عِنْدَ النِّسَاءِ الْمَطَافِلِ فَكُلُّ صَدِيقٍ وَابْنِ أُخْتٍ نَعُدُّهُ لَعَمْرِي وَجَدْنَا غِبَّهُ غَيْرَ طَائِلِ
Translation
✧ Just as we have encountered from Subayʿ and Nawfal, and each turned away, averting, not courteous. If the two meet us, or God gives us power over them, we shall repay them measure for measure of the measurers. And that is Abū ʿAmr—he refused aught but hatred of us, that he might remove us to a people of sheep and camels. He conspires with them against us every evening and morning; so conspire, Abū ʿAmr, against us, then deceive. He swears to us by God that he does not deceive us; nay, indeed we see him openly, without any veil. Hatred of us has made narrow for him every watercourse of the land, between Akhshab and Mujādil. Ask Abū al-Walīd what he has favored us with by your effort against us, turning away like a deceiver. You were a man of those whose opinion and mercy among us gave life, and you were not ignorant. So ʿUtbah, do not let us hear the words of a rancorous one, envious, lying, hateful, full of hidden malice. And Abū Sufyān passed by me, turning away, as Qayl of the great chieftains passed. He flees to Najd and the coolness of its waters, and claims that I am not heedless of you. He tells us the deeds of a sincere adviser, that he is compassionate, and conceals the raging inner hatreds. O Muṭʿim, I did not abandon you on a day of distress, nor in any grave matter of the momentous affairs; nor on a day of dispute, when they came to you as stubborn adversaries, masters of argument among the disputing opponents. O Muṭʿim, the people have imposed on you a plan, and whenever I am entrusted to another, I am not one who can escape. May God requite ʿAbd Shams and Nawfal on our behalf with the punishment of evil, swift, not delayed, by a balance of justice that does not stint a barleycorn, with a witness from Himself, not unjust. The forbearances of a people have become foolish who exchanged Banū Khalaf as a substitute for us, and the riffraff. We are the pure stock from the forelock of Hāshim and the family of Quṣayy in the foremost calamities. And Sahm and Makhzūm plotted and incited against us the enemies, from every low and obscure one. O ʿAbd Manāf, you are the best of your people, so do not associate in your affair every intruder. By my life, you have become weak and impotent, and you have brought a matter that misses the joints. You were lately firewood of a pot, and now you are gatherers of firewood for pots and cauldrons. May the ingratitude of the Banū ʿAbd Manāf to us, and their abandonment of us, and their leaving us in the strongholds, be gratifying to them. If we are a people, we shall take vengeance for what you have done, and you will milk it as a milch camel, not left unmilked. Middle groups that were in Luʾayy b. Ghālib—every noble, settled falcon drove them out to us. And the clan of Nufayl are the worst who trod the pebbles, and the most base, barefoot or sandaled, of Maʿadd. So convey to Quṣayy that our affair will be spread, and give Quṣayy glad tidings after us of mutual betrayal. If a great calamity had come to Quṣayy by night, then we would not have sought refuge besides them in the entrances. If they had struck truly amid their houses, we would have been as foundations before the women with young children. Every friend and sister's son whom we count—by my life, we have found its outcome to be worthless.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.