The Poem of Ibn Zaydoon
Ibn Zaydoon was a 4th century Andalusian poet. He was what they call رجل عصامي – someone who started life off on a low footing (poor and of low status) but worked their way up in society until he became one of the wuzaraa’ (ministers) and was respected by even the Amir.
Because of this and his ability to compose poetry very well, he was envied by many. The Amir at that time, al-Mustakfee had a daughter named Wallaada who was the attention of all the poets, but she was beginning to show some inclination towards Ibn Zaydoon. His close companions out of jealously turned to plotting against him and lied saying to al-Mustakfee that Ibn Zaydoon was planning to marry Wallaada and take Imarah (i.e. became the Amir).
As a result, al-Mustakfee imprisoned Ibn Zaydoon and below is a breakdown of a poem that he wrote whilst in prison, to his close friend Abu Hafs:
مـا على ظنيَ باسُ يـجرح الدهر وياسو
There is no doubt in my mind
That time wounds and yet cures
ربـما أشرف بالمر ء عـلى الآمال ياسُ
Perhaps it is despair that
Towards hope, a person it lures
Ibn Zaydoon is saying here that sometimes, despair itself pushes a person towards hope just as fear drives a cornered animal to attack & survive.
ولـقد يُنجيك إغفا لٌ ويـرديك احتراس
And indeed obliviousness may save you
And cautiousness destroys you
Looking too much into details and trying to read in to what’s not there may at times be a cause for our destruction whilst innocent obliviousness sometimes saves us from trouble.
والمحـاذير سـهام والمـقاديـر قيـاس
The perils are arrows
But Fate is the bow
No matter how much we try to avoid harm, perils and trouble, at the end of the day they are only arrows fired from the bow of Qadr. “…What has passed you by, was not going to befall you and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by…” [al-Tirmidhi]. In this line of the poem and the ones following, Ibn Zaydoon reflects on his imprisoned state and the ultimate fate he met – he may have held high positions, but it’s an established law that people are raised and lowered, and the Dunya is nothing but a garment of enjoyment that we wear.
وكذا الدهـر إذا مـا عـزَّ ناسٌ ذل نـاس
And surely, that is time
If it exalts one set of people, it only lowers another
نلبَـسُ الدنـيا ولكنْ متـعةٌ ذاك اللـباس
We clothe ourselves with the Dunya
But only an enjoyment! That is its garments
أنـا حيـران ولـلأ مـر وضوح والتباس
I am in a state of confusion
The matter is clear and but yet so murky
Here, he reflects upon what happened – he’s confused because his friends were the cause of his imprisonment, people he trusted proved to be treacherous. Yet the matter is also clear because of their jealousy and confession.
ما ترى في معشر حا لوا عن العهد وخاسوا
What then do you think of such a group
Who turned back on their promise and then betrayed
أذؤبٌ هامت بلحمـي فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس
Wolves, roaming and scavenging by my flesh
Ripping with their teeth and biting
He describes them as wolves, eating his flesh – alluding to the backbiting and slander that they took part in. He then says فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس – amazing usage of language! ‘Intihaash’ means to bite with the molar teeth whilst ‘intihaas’ means to rip and bite with the front teeth and canines – a picture is formed of wild beasts really digging into their prey (Ibn Zaydoon)
كلهم يسأل عن حـا لي وللذئـب اعتساس
They all seem to ask of me
And wolves only seek to patrol
The treacherous poets constantly ask about Ibn Zaydoon, whether he’ll be out soon or whether they’ve gotten rid of him for good. Ibn Zaydoon likens them to a pack of wolves and he uses the word i’tisaas – wolves that go out at night, patrolling the area, seeking news of further prey.
إنْ قسا الدهر فللمـا ء من الصخر انبجاس
If time proves harsh
Then water in stone will only gush forth
Pressure and hardship are what cause water to suddenly gush from stones, just like the pressures and hardships of life mould a person and cause him/her to flourish.
ولئن أمسيتُ محـبو سـاً فللغيث احتبـاس
If I continue to be a mere prisoner
Then the rain does remain imprisoned
He further consoles his friend (and himself) by saying that imprisonment is virtuous and sometimes only the best are imprisoned (when it’s done wrongly), just like the rain (ghayth) is with-held. Ibn Zaydoon uses the word ‘ghayth’ which is the rain that comes after a very long period, mostly after a drought and harsh seasons.
فتأمل كيف يغشـى مقـلةَ المجدِ النـعاسُ
Contemplate then, how sleep seems to weaken
And cover over the very eye of glory
Indirectly, Ibn Zaydoon calls himself ‘muqla al-majd’ i.e. core of honour and glory, and ‘sleep’ in this context is the imprisonment. Hence, the Amir and those responsible for his imprisonment only bring humiliation upon themselves by covering over (imprisoning) the glory of their land (i.e. Ibn Zaydoon)
لا يكن عـهدُك وَرْدَاً إن عـهـدي لك آسُ
Don’t let your trust become a mere flower
Indeed my trust in you is as a myrtle
Very few people proved loyal to Ibn Zaydoon, one of them is Abu Hafs to whom this letter was addressed. He reminds him of the trust of friendship and tells him to strengthen it and make it like a myrtle which is a flower known to last long unlike other flowers.
واغتنم صفوَ الليالـي إنما العيش اختـلاس
Take advantage of the clear nights
Indeed life is only a short instant
By clear nights, Ibn Zaydoon alludes to happiness and clarity of affairs, when people don’t betray and when matters are clear without confusion.
وعسى أن يسمحَ الدهرُ فقـد طال الشـِـماس
Perhaps time will soon permit
For imprisonment has drawn long…
Read the poem at fuller length here
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Interesting poem. Is that your own explanation or is it your translation of someone’s?
I really like the arabs’ use of metaphor to convey so much meaning.
Thanks for sharing that with us and for the link to “Islamic translated texts”. I found some really beneficial articles there. Jazaakam Allahu khayran to both of you.
Assalaamu alaykum
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh
The sharh was something we discussed in class (along with the points of literacy) so I guess it’s a mixture of my notes and more so the teacher’s explanations.
I really liked the metaphors and the balaagha used (but some of it got lost in the translation!), it’s funny because although I couldn’t stand English Lit. in school, I get through more novels, poetry & other literature than I ever anticipated! Arabic adab (literature) has a lot of depth and utilises scenery and much of rhetoric/thought, which when used e.g. in Qur’an can bring out a lot of meaning, and hence keeps me on my toes.
Wa iyyaka khayran. May Allaah benefit us with it and benefit its translator/compiler.
Masha Allah. Great effort!
If I could just make the following comment.
The line of Ibn Zaydoon which reads
إنْ قسا الدهر فللمـاء من الصخر انبجاس
is very instructive because it reflects his thaqafah or knowledge of the Qur’an, and how he utilises Qur’anic imagery to great but slightly different effect. The line brings to mind two Qur’anic verses both of which make reference to hajar or hijarah (rocks). The first is:
ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الأَنْهَارُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَاء وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
(Surah al-Baqarah 74), and the second is:
وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى إِذِ اسْتَسْقَاهُ قَوْمُهُ أَنِ اضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ فَانبَجَسَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَّشْرَبَهُمْ
(Surah al-A’raaf 160).
From the first verse, Ibn Zaydoon uses the verb قسا (to become hard like stone), the concept of “rock” or الحجارة , and الماء (water), and how it gushes forth from rocks in the form of streams and rivers, and from the second verse he also uses the concept of ‘rock’ or الحجر and the verb انبجس in masdar form, and the idea of springs gushing forth from rocks.
The difference though is that the Qur’an compares hearts (and not times) to rocks in terms of hardness and in being even harder than rocks, and Ibn Zaydoon compares times (and not hearts) to rocks. Another difference is that rocks despite being hard still allow water to flow from them unlike certain kinds of hearts which is the point of the first Qur’anic verse, whereas Ibn Zaydoon is saying that times despite being hard like rocks are still penetratable like rocks from which water can gush forth. In other words, times can never be hard to the extent that nothing good can ever come forth from them.
Reference to the Qur’an in this manner is a common literary style or device deployed by many a poet and often times by scholars in their literary introductions to their scholarly works.
Ahsanallahu ilayk Ibn Uthman, that was an excellent observation.
What do you think of the given sharh for the baytayn:
ولئن أمسيتُ محـبو سـاً فللغيث احتبـاس
فتأمل كيف يغشـى مقـلةَ المجدِ النـعاسُ
Do you think it was a fair explanation, or could there have been a better one? (particular the latter bayt as I wasn’t too confident with it)
The few that I’ve read in books/articles were really good masha’Allah, but haven’t read much in shi3r. If you come across any good pieces, please post them up, I’ll be very interested in reading them.
Baarak’Allahu feek
Wa baaraka Allahu feeki
I cannot help but think that Ibn Zaydoon – in the second line that you’ve quoted – was inspired by the following Qur’anic verse:
إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّن السَّمَاء مَاء لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الأَقْدَامَ
(Surah al-Anfal, verse: 11)
Also, in another line of the same poem but not quoted above Ibn Zaydoon says:
وَرَأَوني سامِرِيّاً يُتَّقى مِنهُ الِمساسُ
which clearly shows the influence of the following Qur’anic verse(s):
قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكَ يَا سَامِرِيُّ
قَالَ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا بِهِ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِّنْ أَثَرِ الرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذْتُهَا وَكَذَلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لِي نَفْسِي
قَالَ فَاذْهَبْ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَ وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوْعِدًا لَّنْ تُخْلَفَهُ وَانظُرْ إِلَى إِلَهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُ فِي الْيَمِّ نَسْفًا
(Surah Taha, verses: 95 – 97) which make reference to the Samiri being punished by not having others touching him (laa misaas or لا مساس) (or mixing with him) as a punishment.
So he says that they perceive him to be like the Samiri whom no one is allowed to mix with or even touch as a form of punishment.
As for the first line, it contains a sort of tashbih dhimni (implicit / covert comparison) which could be interpreted as saying that should I be detained and withheld, then just remember that rain is also (sometimes) withheld. So don’t be surprised at my detention, and don’t think lowly or any less of me, just as you wouldn’t think lowly or any less of rain that is “detained”.
This is what I make of it, and Allah knows best.
Brilliant! Jazakallahu khayran
Oh yes, of course! So, Ibn Zaydoon takes from the ayah & hence uses ‘Nu3aas’ as something praiseworthy that only overtakes believers/those of honour at a time of dire need and hardship, e.g. the Sahabah in ghazwat al-Badr & relates it to himself when imprisoned.
Ok, in one bayt, he says:
أذؤبٌ هامت بلحمـي فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس
Would it be a correct observation to say that perhaps his friends who betrayed him were only a few (i.e. less than 10) because of the jam3 al-qilla he uses as opposed to dhi’aab?
Also, how does the usage of the letter ‘fa’ in فانتهاشٌ وانتـهـاس add to the picture in your opinion?
If you can, please elaborate on any other points in the poem – the Samiri part was good!
wa iyyaaki
The feeling I’m getting is that the jam3 al-qillah here is more for belittlement (al-taqlil minsha’nihim) suggesting that not only are they wolves but they are low and dispicable creatures. I suppose that being diminished in number and status can go together, in which case I would concur with your analysis.
Yes, I think the fa’ as well as dropping the mubtada’ and keeping the khabar (intihaash wa intihaas) is very effective. The line translates for me as follows: [(These are) low and despicable wolves who hanker (from ‘huyaam’) after my flesh, but thereafter (and once they have found what they were hankering after, it’s only) ripping and tearing].
The mentioning of the maSdar forms (intihaash wa intihaas) as a khabar whose mubtada’ has been dropped, leaves the reader to conjur up just these two activities – the ripping and tearing of flesh. This I think is a powerful image that shows the whole ‘savageness’ of what happened to Ibn Zaydoon. He gets you to really focus on the image and then asks of the reader to apply it to his situation.
So I’d say that his use of “wolves” and the way they had “ripped” and “torn” into his “flesh” is also indicative of how low they have stooped in his eyes, because if they were true brothers they would find it really offensive to partake of his flesh whilst being dead which is reference to the backbiting mentioned in Surah al-Hujuraat. But the fact, that they went about it in such a savage way not finding the eating of their brother’s flesh offensive at all, shows that they have left the realm of human beings (let alone being brothers )and joined the ranks of wolves who relish eating the flesh of the dead.
In another verse of the poem addressed to his friend (Abu Hafs) Ibn Zaydoon says:
وَوِدادي لَكَ نَصٌّ لَم يُخالِفهُ قِياسُ
we see yet another side of Ibn Zaydoon’s thaqafah (or general knowledge) which is his knowledge of Usul al-Fiqh, in that he compares his love for his friend to a text (naSS) that is not contradicted by qiyaas (analogical reasoning) but rather supported by it. In other words, it is a love that is affirmed both “naSSan wa qiyaasan”.
Allah knows best.
That makes much more sense alhamdulillah & adds to the meaning more-so. I just kept thinking there was a reason he’d use that wazn (af3ila) instead of the usual jam3 dhi’aab.
Subhan’Allah, very good analysis.
Please keep them coming! If you have time actually it’d be great if you could do the lines missing from the poem above, but which are included in the link: http://www.odabasham.net/show.php?sid=701 (I think there’s about 9?)
Jazaak’Allahu khayral jazaa
MashaaAllah, excellent work sister may Allah accept from you. I have always been a fan of Ibn Zaydoon specially when we used to study his works at Ath-Thanawiyyah and I memorised alot of his poetry. His piece to Wallada was also a touching one
أضحي التنائي بديلا عن تدانينا *** وناب عن طيب لقيانا تجافينا
بنتم وبنا فما ابتلت جوانحنا *** شوقا إليكم ولا جفت مآقينا
نكاد حين تناجيكم ضمائرنا *** يقضي علينا الأسى لولا تأسينا
and by the way, I was always in love with this poem i.e. the one you quoted because the bahr it comes from is very light (khafeef).
I may be completing the Qasidah of Ibn Zaydoon by saying these (my poetry)
قد تغشانا زمان *** عز فيه اليوم ناس
فعلو بالمال حينا *** وبه دوما يقاسوا
وغدا النذل شريفا *** وتوليه الأساس
ليس للحر مكان *** سوف يرديه افتراس
فعلي الدنيا سلام *** وعلي الناس النعاس
Hayyakallah ya Shaykh, good to have you with us masha’Allah
Do you know if Ibn Zaydoon’s poetry has been compiled into a Diwan or a book? I find his shi3r to be a lot more simpler and yet deeper than many others, and would be interested to read more insha’Allah.
Excellent work, masha’Allah!
Hayyakum wa Bayyakum, wa Ja`ala Al-Jannati Mathwakum.
I have not come across a diwan for Ibn Zaydoon but there must be some collections of his poems.
True, his shi`r is simpler, yet deeper. But this is the case with most if not all of the andalusain shi`r. The reason was these people were `arab khullas (pure arabs) and their qareeha (poetic nature) have been refined by hadarah (civilization) as they lived in Andalusia and the environment around them was breathtaking and they were leading luxurious life, so their creativity was at its ebb. Wallahu A`lam
SubhanAllah,
Keep up the great work. I know I haven’t had a chance to comment much on your blog but I really do love reading it. Your posts have enhanced my Arabic learning experience here in Egypt. Jazakillahu khayran!
Also, in regards to your question about the cost of private classes at Nasr City Fajr Center: it is $250 every 75 hours.
Sammer and I are taking semi-private though, which is $150 every 75 hours.
Btw they have raised group class rates to $95 now 🙁
`Alia
Jazakallahu khayran Shaykh Ahmad for the information, I haven’t really looked at poetry from Andalusian shu3araa’ so it’s good to know their style
Alia, wa iyyaki ukhti jazakillahu khayran for the information! I was actually wondering when the raise in prices would come! I hope they don’t go any higher as it’ll destabalise the market 🙁
beautiful, may Allah reward you for all your efforts. aameen
Ameen, wa iyyaakum
`Alia came home today and said to me “____ I’ve got to tell you what I covered in class today – you’l love it”. So she sat down and started tellin’ me about Ibn Zaydoon. Soon as she said the name, I said Fajr has a peice of his work on her blog. But I wasn’t sure if it was the same poem. So ‘Alia started reading the poem from her book and then she got to a certain line “And surely, that is time
If it exalts one set of people, it only lowers another”.
Soon as she got to that line, I remembered it and I said yep thats it, Fajr has it on her blog. So she got real excited and shes real pleased she doesn’t have to sit and do a translation.
Aww, tell her to carry on… I don’t want to ruin her fun!
But how come she’s covering the poem now… didn’t they do it in Level 9?
mashallah fajr..beautiful translated!! I only like poetry when I get soemone to break it down for me.
jazakillahkhairan sis
Wa iyyaki
Me too, but no-one ever volunteers 🙂
walekum salaam wa rahmatuallahi ukhti
so what happen to ibn Zaydoon?
was he really interested in the girl?
What happend after imprisonment?
Yeah, he was interested in her but he never got to marry her. Instead he was thrown into prison. I’m not sure what happened after he was released but I think he was reinstated as a minister.
ok sis.