Thursday, May 2, 2013

Al Mutanabbi: At the siege of Antioch المتنبي


إذا غامرْتَ في شَرَفٍ مَرومِ فلا تَقْنَعْ بما دونَ النُّجومِ
فَطَعْمُ الموْتِ في أَمْرٍ صَغيرٍ كَطَعْمِ الموْت في أَمْرٍ عَظيمِ
سَتَبْكِى شَجْوَها فَرَسي وَمُهْرِى صَفائِحُ دَمْعُها ماءُ الجُسومِ
قَرَبْنَ
النَّار ثُمَّ نَشَأْنَ فيها كَما نَشَأَ الْعَذارَى في النَّعيمِ
وَفارَقْنَ الصَّياقِلَ مُخْلَصات وَأَيْديها كثيراتُ الْكُلومِ
يَرَى الجُبَنَاءُ أَنَّ الْعَجْزَ عَقْلٌ وَتِلْكَ خَديعَةُ الطَّبْعِ اللَّئيمِ
وَكُلُّ شَجاعَةٍ في المَرءْ تُغْنِى وَلا مِثْلَ الشَّجاعَةِ في الحَكيمِ
وَكَمْ مِنْ عائِبٍ قَوْلاً صَحيحًا وَآفَتُهُ مِنَ الْفَهْمِ السَّقيمِ
وَلَكِنْ تَأْخُذُ الآذَانُ مِنْهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْقَرائِحِ والْعُلومِ



When you risk everything out of an urge for eminence accept nothing less than the universe
for the sting of death is the same in a small undertaking as in a great one.

Sword blades cry grief filled tears for my mare and colt.
They enter the fire then emerge like virgins in felicity.
They leave purified, the polishers´ hands full of wounds.

Cowards consider weakness intelligence but that’s a contrivance of a weak nature.
Every act of courage in oneself enriches one, but none more than a wise courage.
How many a critic criticizes a sound statement, but the critic complains out of a sick sense.
One understands only according to one´s ability and learning.

translated into English by Mark F Westergreen

COMMENTS_______________________________________________________________

Al Mutannabi is considered to be one of the greatest Arabic poets, if not the greatest ever.
Many lines from his poems have come to be adages and proverbs within the Arabic language. I would like to think that his servant possibly quoted the second line of this poem to him when he wanted to flee the robbers that ended up taking his life. Of course the source in Wikipedia is in need of a citation, and Al Mutanabbi certainly had better lines than it. Still, it is very easy to remember for those interested in the memorization of poetry.

Line 2 is an example of Tabiq or Antithesis. A more literal translation:

“For the taste of death in a small matter is as the taste of death in a great matter”

The metre of the poem is wafir.


Lines 3-5 refer to the making of swords in a foundry. The term صَفائِحُ means "sides/plates".

Arberry translates the phrase ماءُ الجُسومِ as “water of the body", but in a footnote says,
sc. "blood" but offers no citations. Perhaps it actually has something to do with the process 
of forging a sword. "They" lines 4 and 5 refer to the sword blades. 
In line 5 the term مُخْلًصات “purified” refers to the swords being purified of alloy
They leave the foundry purified, having wounded the polishers, not so the virgins