Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abū Shādūf Expounded. Yūsuf al-Shirbīnī

شَادُوفْ يُعَيِّطْ مَلْوَ رَاسُو أَبُويَا مَاتْ وَعُدْنَا فِي بَشَاعَهْ وَرَاحْ مَنْ كَانَ شَيْخَ ٱلْكَفْرِ يُحْكُمْ عَلَى الجِدْعَانْ وَدَوْلِيكَ ٱلرِّبَاعَهْ

      Ah come, good people, to my aid,

      And weep, mushāh, time and again!

      Abū Jārūf today away from us has turned,

      While his goat and cow remain.

      He’s left his father’s brother’s daughter, Umm Falḥas,¹³

      In an empty chamber today to weep and complain,

      And Abū Shādūf bawls fit to burst,

      “My father’s dead and it’s all gone awful again!”

      Gone is the hamlet’s shaykh who ruled

      O’er the brave lads and all those men!

      ٢،١١،١٠

10.11.2

وَلَمَّا كَانَ يَرْكَبْ يَوْمَ غَارَهْ	عَلَى كَلْبُهْ وَيَدَّلِّعْ دِلَاعَهْ
وَيَلْبِسْ لِبْدَتُو مِنْ فَوْقِ رَاسُو	وَدَقْنُو بَارِدَهْ فِيهَا سَقَاعَهْ
وَحَوْلُو جَرْوِ إِبْنِ خَرَا ٱنْتَ فَلْحَسْ	وَمُشَاةُ ٱلْكَفْرِ مَا مِنْهُمْ نَجَاعَهْ
تَقُولْ رَيِّسْ عَلَى جَوْقِ ٱلْمَغَانِي	أَوِ ٱلْخَلْبُوصُ جَا يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَهْ
وَجِيصُو رَاحَ يَا ٱلله ارحم عِضَامُو	وَبَشْبِشْ طُوبَتُو فِي كُلِّ سَاعَهْ

      And when, to go raiding, he used to mount

      His dog and primp and preen,

      And put his cap atop his head—

      His beard sticking out and looking mean—

      And about him were Jarw Ibn Kharā Inta Falḥas¹⁴

      And the mushāh of the hamlet, none worth a bead,

      You’d have said he was head of a band of musicians,

      Or the buffoon who’d come to plead!

      Gone now is his fart, God bless his bones

      And moisten his head-brick¹⁵ time and again!

      ٣،١١،١٠

10.11.3

وَٱبُو شَادُوفِ يَا ٱلله أبقي شبابو	وَيُصْبِحْ شَيْخَنَا صَاحِبْ نَفَاعَهْ
وَيَبْقَى مِثْلْ أَبُوهْ رَاكِبْ وَحَوْلُو	جَمَاعَهْ فِي جَمَاعَهْ فِي جَمَاعَهْ
وَيِتْعَنْطَزْ وَيَسْرَحْ فِي ٱلضَّهَارِي	وَيَجَّعْمَصْ وَيَقْعُدْ فِي ٱلشِّرَاعَهْ
وَنَخْتِمْ قَوْلَنَا وَٱلدَّائِمُ اللهْ	وَدَا ٱلْكَاسْ حَقَّ مَا فِيهِ ٱنْدِفَاعَهْ
وَٱنَا شَاطِرْ وَشَاعِرْ طُولَ عُمْرِي	وَأَلْضُمْ لَضْمَ يِتْلَمَّعْ لِمَاعَهْ

      As to Abū Shādūf, God preserve his youth

      And make him our shaykh, to rule to our gain,

      Like his father mounted, and may his army

      Troop after troop after troop contain,

      And may he buck like a donkey and set off around noon

      And lounge about pompously and sit in the shirāʿah.¹⁶

      Thus we end our words, and God alone endures,

      And death’s a cup from which none may abstain!

      And I’m a smart guy and all my life a poet,

      And I string together verses that shimmer and shine.

      ٤،١١،١٠

10.11.4

جَعَلْتُو فِيهِ يَحْزَنْ مَنْ يَشُوفُو	وَوَدَّعْتُو بِقَوْلِي ٱلْيَوْمْ وَدَاعَهْ
وَٱضَالْ عَالزَّيْنْ أُصَلِّي طُولَ عُمْرِي	نَبِيِّ ٱللهْ وَأَطْلُبْ لِي شَفَاعَهْ
وَمِنْ بَعْدَ ٱلصَّلَاةِ اسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِي١	وَضَرْبَةْ دَمِّ تَكْتَمْ دِي ٱلْجَمَاعَهْ

      ١ الأصل: قولي.

      These I’ve made so all who behold them may mourn,

      And today with my words I’ve sent him off fine,

      And for the rest of my days I’ll praise the Beauteous,

      God’s Prophet, and pray his intercession to gain.

      Now the blessing’s done, so hear what I say:

      I hope you’re all snuffed by a clot on the brain!

      ١٢،١٠

10.12

      قال فلمّا فرغ العزا وراق الزمان * وأخذ خاطر أبو شادوف المشايخ والجدعان * وتصدّق على والده بالفطير * المعمول بالنخالة والشعير * وليّس قبره بالوحل والجلّه * وعمل بجانبه مدود العجله * سحب النَبّوت * وتمشّى