Stop blaming me, your blame is only tempting me![1][2]
Daʕ ʕanka lawmī fa-inna l-lawma iġrāb
ﻧﻮﻉ ﺍﻟﺸﻌﺮ: ﺧﻤﺮﻳﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﺤﺮ ﺍﻟﺒﺴﻴﻂ
ﺍﻟﺸﺎﻋﺮ: ﺃﺑﻮ ﻧﻮﺍﺱ
منطقته: ﺑﺼﺮﺓ
ﻋﺼﺮ: ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺎﺳﻲ ﺍﻷﻭﻝ
ﺩَﻉ ﻋَﻨﻚَ ﻟَﻮﻣﻲ ﻓَﺈِﻥَّ ﺍﻟﻠَﻮﻡَ ﺇِﻏﺮﺍءُ
ﻭَﺩﺍﻭِﻧﻲ ﺑِﺎﻟَّﺘﻲ ﻛﺎﻧَﺖ ﻫِﻲَ ﺍﻟﺪﺍءُ
ﺻَﻔﺮﺍءُ ﻻ ﺗَﻨﺰَﻝُ ﺍﻷَﺣﺰﺍﻥُ ﺳﺎﺣَﺘَﻬﺎ
ﻟَﻮ ﻣَﺴَّﻬﺎ ﺣَﺠَﺮٌ ﻣَﺴَّﺘﻪُ ﺳَﺮّﺍءُ
ﻣِﻦ ﻛَﻒِّ ﺫﺍﺕِ ﺣِﺮٍ ﻓﻲ ﺯِﻱِّ ﺫﻱ ﺫَﻛَﺮٍ
ﻟَﻬﺎ ﻣُﺤِﺒّﺎﻥِ ﻟﻮﻃِﻲٌّ ﻭَﺯَﻧّﺎءُ
ﻗﺎﻣَﺖ ﺑِﺈِﺑﺮﻳﻘِﻬﺎ ﻭَﺍﻟﻠَﻴﻞُ ﻣُﻌﺘَﻜِﺮٌ
ﻓَﻼﺡَ ﻣِﻦ ﻭَﺟﻬِﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺒَﻴﺖِ ﻟَﺄﻟَﺎءُ
ﻓَﺄَﺭﺳَﻠَﺖ ﻣِﻦ ﻓَﻢِ ﺍﻹِﺑﺮﻳﻖِ ﺻﺎﻓِﻴَﺔً
ﻛَﺄَﻧَّﻤﺎ ﺃَﺧﺬُﻫﺎ ﺑِﻻﻌَﻴﻦِ ﺇِﻏﻔﺎءُ
ﺭَﻗَّﺖ ﻋَﻦِ ﺍﻟﻤﺎءِ ﺣَﺘّﻰ ﻣﺎ ﻳُﻼﺋِﻤُﻬﺎ
ﻟَﻄﺎﻓَﺔً ﻭَﺟَﻔﺎ ﻋَﻦ ﺷَﻜﻠِﻬﺎ ﺍﻟﻤﺎءُ
ﻓَﻠَﻮ ﻣَﺰَﺟﺖَ ﺑِﻬﺎ ﻧﻮﺭﺍً ﻟَﻤﺎﺯَﺟَﻬﺎ
ﺣَﺘّﻰ ﺗَﻮَﻟَّﺪُ ﺃَﻧﻮﺍﺭٌ ﻭَﺃَﺿﻮﺍءُ
ﺩﺍﺭَﺕ ﻋَﻠﻰ ﻓِﺘﻴَﺔٍ ﺩﺍﻥَ ﺍﻟﺰَﻣﺎﻥُ ﻟَﻬُﻢ
ﻓَﻤﺎ ﻳُﺼﻴﺒُﻬُﻢُ ﺇِﻟّﺎ ﺑِﻤﺎ ﺷﺎﺅﻭﺍ
ﻟِﺘِﻠﻚَ ﺃَﺑﻜﻲ ﻭَﻻ ﺃَﺑﻜﻲ ﻟِﻤَﻨﺰِﻟَﺔٍ
ﻛﺎﻧَﺖ ﺗَﺤُﻞُّ ﺑِﻬﺎ ﻫِﻨﺪٌ ﻭَﺃَﺳﻤﺎءُ
ﺣﺎﺷﺎ ﻟِﺪُﺭَّﺓَ ﺃَﻥ ﺗُﺒﻨﻰ ﺍﻟﺨِﻴﺎﻡُ ﻟَﻬﺎ
ﻭَﺃَﻥ ﺗَﺮﻭﺡَ ﻋَﻠَﻴﻬﺎ ﺍﻹِﺑﻞُ ﻭَﺍﻟﺸﺎءُ
ﻓَﻘُﻞ ﻟِﻤَﻦ ﻳَﺪَّﻋﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻌِﻠﻢِ ﻓَﻠﺴَﻔَﺔً
ﺣَﻔِﻈﺖَ ﺷَﻴﺌﺎً ﻭَﻏﺎﺑَﺖ ﻋَﻨﻚَ ﺃَﺷﻴﺎءُ
ﻻ ﺗَﺤﻈُﺮِ ﺍﻟﻌَﻔﻮَ ﺇِﻥ ﻛُﻨﺖَ ﺍِﻣﺮَﺃً ﺣَﺮِﺟﺎً
ﻓَﺈِﻥَّ ﺣَﻈﺮَﻛَﻪُ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦِ ﺇِﺯﺭﺍءُ
Type of poem: Ḫamriyyah (wine song/poem) in metre Basīṭ
Name of poet: Abū Nuwās[1]
Region of poet: Baṣrah
Era: Early ʕabbāsid
Stop blaming me, your blame is only tempting me!
and cure me with that which has caused my disease:
yellow-sweet wine, no grief where it's poured,
that even to stones does lend endless delight
served by a waitress, by one with a cunt in the garb of a guy[3]
two lovers she has: a gay one, a straight one[4]
She raises the jug, while night starts to scheme,
on her face shines bright radiance like sparkling pearls
She pours from the lips of the jug but pure wine[5]
like her ravishing eye of delightful temptation
Wine gentle and soft, water can't do it justice
for its gentlessness shuns the coarseness of water
But were light thereunto to mingle and mix
it would blend and emerge into radiant light[6]
Passed around to many men, fate yields itself to them
so nothing shall afflict them save for what they please
For that I weep and not for where
where once dwelt Hind, where dwelt Asmāʔ[7]
where dwelt Durrah, but for her no tents are built,
so that no camel and no sheep therein there may roam[8]
So say to him that calls me out in lofty terms of knowledge:
you've gotten well a thing or two, the world you do not see![9]
Do not deny my mercy when you demand the sinful
for denying God's forgiveness in religion is a sin![10]
[1] Abū Nuwās - literally "the Father (possessor) of the locks of hair or sidelocks", moreso: he of
the sidelocks, as in characterised by his two long side-locks - was an ʕabbasid-era poet who spent
most of his life in Baṣrah, present-day south-eastern Iraq, of considerable excellence in poetry and
wit inasmuch as controversy due to his notorious drinking habits - if not outright alcoholism -
boundless hedonism, predilection for transgression of almost all norms and conventions in society at
the time as well as homo- and bisexuality or moreso, in modern terms, queerness as witnessed, inter
alia, in this particular poem.
[2] This poem originates in the poet, having taken lessons from one of the most eminent of authorities
in theology in his day and age, the theologian of the Muʕtazilah school Šayḫ - learned, eminent man of
distinction and eminence or simply authority - Ibrāhīm an-Niẓām, being told the lesson of abstaining from
drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverage, the warning of the terrible divine punishment that would stem
from doing so, directing towards him, the poet, blame for his rampant drinking habits if not outright
alcoholism, and that, were he to cease doing so then God would surely forgive him for drinking is one of
the major sins and, as the Muʕtazilah school held, committing major sins without repentance would invite
denial of divine mercy and forgiveness and punishment in hell.
The poem responds to and addresses the blame the Šayḫ directed towards him for that reason in the form of
a quite excellently well-composed wine song/poem that displays both his erudition inasmuch as his hedonism,
wit and disapproval of overly narrow-minded academics that have lost sight of the wider world and what they
know little of owing to the limits of knowledge itself.
Due to its themes of hedonism, wine, drinking, crossdressing, liberal sexuality including bi/homosexuality, or,
in modern terms, queerness, and even disdain for the Arab poets of the old days - as in, the Jāhili era, the pre-
Islāmic era of "ignorance" - along with Arab identity in general in favour of Persia and Persian and a more
cosmopolitan outlook not entirely atypical of his day and age or simply: its incredibly offencive nature, as deemed
such by the societal, cultural, and religious conventions he rather brutally transgressed, this poem has been and
is, in the Arab and wider Islāmic world, rather hilariously censored, redacted, bowdlerised, and reframed beyond
recognition.
[3] lit. "from the hand (of one that) possesses a vulva in the dress (of one that) possesses a penis" - the words
used were, in his day and age, and in our day and age are, perhaps even moreso, deemed extremely offencive, as
is the subject matter of crossdressing - that being said, the phenonemon of the Ġulāmiyyāt, female slaves or servants
dressed as young men, at times with painted on moustaches, and engaging in activites, behaviours, and manners
associated with masculinity was quite fashionable during the early ʕabbāsid era spanning 750-850 CE and, in part,
in al-Andalus and the Mamlūk era. Suffice it to say, gender and sex identity in pre-modern times did not function
as modernity, of the moreso secular or moreso Abrahamic persuasion, demands.
[4] lit. "a homosexual/sodomite and an adulterer/fornicator" - in this context, being as the poet rather clearly
states the waitress (or cupbearer) to be a Ġulāmiyyah and owing to his homo/bisexuality, the intended meaning is
"a homosexual man and a promiscuous heterosexual man".
[5] It bears mentioning that wine is both grammatically feminine and, beyond that, generally associated with
feminine qualities and identified with the female in the abstract and in person. The waitress - or cupbearer -
is also female and connections are drawn between the two.
[6] i.e. the wine is of such immense quality that it is gentler than even water, water is, in fact, too coarse
to even mingle and mix with it whereas, on the other hand, rays of light would with ease mingle and mix with
the wine owing to its immeasurably exquisite gentle, soft quality and nature and blend with it to the point that
radiant lights would then emerge from the wine.
[7] Hind and Asmāʔ are, in and as the formal conventions that tradition demanded then in Arabic poetry, the names
by which in the "erotic preludes" - an-Nasīb - to an ode in that conventional sense - a Qaṣīdah - the poet that
composes it intends to refer to his beloved and, situated in some desert, stops and pauses briefly by the ruins of
old days to, by their former campsites weep for his beloved where reunion had at one point taken place and whom had
long since then moved on and departed to some other part of the same or some other desert, like in the obligatory poem
by Imruʔu l-Qays: "Let us stop and weep for the memory of my beloved and where once she had dwelt / by Siqṭi l-Liwā,
between the deserts of Duḫūl and Ḥawmal".
By the ʕabbāsid era - and, beyond that and remote to it, most certainly in al-Andalus where such poets were derided as
composing nothing but poetry about "towering camels upon camels" - the by then onerous burdens of how one was to express
oneself poetically in Arabic were being rapidly replaced by new forms thereof, including in great part by Abū Nuwās.
Hence, the intended meaning, with reference to both the preceding inasmuch as the first half-verse pair of the poem, is
one of satire and ridicule, as if perhaps almost to say: "That's what I'm about, I ain't shedding no single tear nor
pouring no wine over those washed up ol' Arabs".
[8] Continuing the theme of satire and ridicule of the preceding half-verse pair and with reference to his favoured
servant-girl Durrah - pearl - the poet, imitating the style of the Jāhili Arabs of the old days points out that even
though tents were built for Hind and Asmāʔ so that their camels and their sheep would then be able to roam thereabout,
where are Durrah's tents?
[9] The theologian Ibrāhīm an-Niẓām is being addressed here and in the subsequent half-verse pair.
[10] The theologian addressed in this poem, Ibrāhīm an-Niẓām, was of the Muʕtazilah school whom held that God does not
grant his mercy when forgiveness is not asked for, to whomever that has committed and commits major sins, such as
drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverage or, for that matter, adultery. Abū Nuwās points out with subtle wit to
him that the denial of God's mercy and forgiveness, particularly when it is asked for is by itself a great sin.
