XXVIII. The Maqama of ‘Iráq

XXVIII. THE MAQAMA OF ‘IRAQ 2

‘ÍSÁ IBN HISHÁM related to us and said: I travelled about the world till I reached ‘Iráq. I had turned over the pages of the díwáns of the poets until I thought to myself I had not left in my quiver a victorious shaft. And I alighted at Baghdad. 3 Now, while I was on the river bank, there suddenly appeared before me a youth in worn-out garments begging from the people who disappointed him. Now his eloquence astonished me, so I arose, went to him and asked him of his origin and home. So he said: 'I am of ‘Abs 4 origin, and Alexandria is my home.' I said: 'What is this language and whence this eloquence?' He replied: 'From knowledge whose refractoriness I have subdued and into whose seas I have plunged.' I asked: 'With which of the sciences art thou adorned?' He said: 'I have an arrow in every quiver. Which of them dost thou like best?' I replied: 'Poetry.' He said: 'Have the Arabs uttered a verse which cannot be paraphrased? Have they composed a eulogy whose subject is unknown? Have they a verse unseemly in original intent but is made proper by punctuation? What

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verse is it whose tears cease not to flow? What verse is it whose fall is heavy? What verse is it the last foot of whose first half verse wounds, and the final foot of whose second half heals? What verse is it whose intimidation is formidable and whose subject is insignificant? What verse is more sandy than the desert? What verse is like the mouth of the person with pearly teeth and a serrated saw? What verse is it whose beginning pleases and whose end displeases thee? What verse is it whose interior slaps thee and whose exterior deceives thee? What verse is it whose hearer is not sure until the whole of it is mentioned? What verse is it that cannot be touched? What verse is it whose transposition is easy? What verse is longer than its fellow, as though it were not of its kind? What verse is rendered contemptible by a letter and established by the omission thereof?' Said ‘Ísá ibn Hishám: 'By Heavens! I did not venture to reply to him 1 and I was not guided to a right answer other than 'I know not.'

He said: 'And what thou knowest not is yet more.' So I said: 'How is it that with this excellence thou consentest to this base livelihood?' He recited:--

'A plague on this age for an age, 2
Marvellous are the courses of its affairs.
It is inimical to every man of culture,
As though culture were guilty of an impropriety with its mother.'

Then I caused my eye to move over him and I looked again at his face and lo! it was Abú’l-Fatḥ al-Iskanderí. I said: God prosper thee! and raise thee up when thou fallest! 3 If thou dost think fit to oblige me with a commentary on what thou hast sent down, 4 and with a full explanation of what thou hast epitomized, thou wilt do so.' He said: 'This is the

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explanation: As for the verse that cannot be paraphrased 1 there are many. An example of it is the verse of al-A‘ashá 2:--

'All our dirhems are good, 3
Delay us not therefore by testing them.'

As for the eulogy, whose subject is unknown, there are many. An example of it is the saying of Al-Hudhallí:--

'I knew not who threw his cloak over him 4
Except that he was verily of illustrious and pure stock.'

But as for the verse which is unseemly in its original intent 5, but is made proper by punctuation, it is the verse of Abú Núwás 6:--

'And we passed the night, 7 God regarding us as the vilest company,
Trailing the skirts of wickedness, and no boast.'

But as for the verse whose tears cease not to flow, it is the verse of Dhú al-Rumma

'What aileth thine eye 8 that water poureth therefrom
As if it were kidneys split and running?'

For it comprehendeth either water, or an eye, or pouring, or urine, or a cloud, or the bottom of a provision bag, or a split, or a torrent.

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But as for the verse whose fall is heavy. It is like the verse of Ibn al-Rúmí 1:--

'When he gives 2 he makes not his gift an obligation,
And he says to my soul, O soul respite me:'

But as for the verse the last foot of whose first half verse wounds, and the final foot of IN hose second half heals. It is like the verse of the poet:--

'I advanced 3 with a glittering mashrafí 4 sword;
As one who shakes hands and approaches to greet.'

But as for the verse whose intimidation is formidable, but whose subject is insignificant. An example of it is the verse of ‘Amr ibn Kulthúm 5:--

'As though our swords, ours and theirs, 6
Were wooden blades in the hands of the players.'

But as for the verse which is more sandy 7 than the desert. It is like the verse of Dhu al-Rumma

'Venturing upon 8 the vehement heat of the pebbles, striking them with his foot.

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When the noonday sun revolves 1 as though perplexed in its course.'

But as for the verse which is like the mouth of the person with pearly teeth 2 or a serrated saw. It is like the verse of al-A‘ashá:--

'I went betimes to the wine-shop 3 while there followed me,
A man, brisk, active, quickish, agile, rapid.'

But as for the verse whose beginning pleases but whose end displeases thee. It is like the verse of Imr al-Qais:--

'Attacking, fleeing, advancing, retiring, simultaneously,
Like a mass of rock hurled from a height 4 by the torrent.'

As for the verse whose interior slaps thee, and whose exterior deceives thee. It is like the verse of the poet

'I reproached her, 5 she cried and said, O youth,
May the Lord of the empyrean deliver thee from my reproach.'

But as for the verse whose hearer is not sure until the whole of it is mentioned. It is like the verse of Ṭarafa

'My companions, stopping their camels near me, 6
Saying, do not die of grief, but endure patiently.'

For the hearer imagines thou art reciting the verse of Imr al-Qais.

But as for the verse that cannot be touched. It is like the verse of Al-Khubzuruzzí 7:--

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'The cloud of separation 1 has cleared away from the moon of love,
And the light of peace has risen from the darkness of reproach.'

And also like the verse of Abd Núwás:--

'The saffron-scented breeze 2 in a watery garment,
A stature of light upon etherial parchment.'

But as for the verse whose transposition is easy. It is like the verse of Ḥassán 3:--

'Of fair countenances, 4 their pedigrees are noble,
Haughty, of the most noble extraction.'

But as for the verse which is longer than its fellow as though it were not of its kind. It is like the folly of Al-Mutanabbí 5:--

'Enjoy, 6 live on, be exalted, be a chief, be generous, be a leader, command, forbid, be manly, speak, be asked, be angry, shoot, hit, protect, raid, take captive, terrify, stop, give the blood-wit, govern, divert, obtain.'

But as for the verse which is rendered contemptible by a letter and established by the omission thereof. It is like the verse of Abú Núwás:--

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'My verse is lost upon your door 1
As pearls are lost on Khaliṣa. 2

Or, like the verse of another:

'Verily the sentence which thou perceivest to be praise, 3
Was a sentence that
That is to say when "lost" is read it is satire, but when "shone" is recited, it is praise.'

Said ‘Ísá ibn Hishám: 'By Heavens! I was astonished at his discourse and I gave him what would assist him against his changed condition. Then we separated.'

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