English Translation
Part Three
Delicate, refined women ran barefoot across wilderness after wilderness—gentle souls unable even to walk upon fine silk!
By your life! Had you witnessed the night of their flight, it was as if veiled virgins were bright shooting stars racing through the dark.
The morning of captivity felt like the Day of Resurrection, over disheveled nations driven helplessly to the Gathering.
A helpless voice cries out: “Oh, for the sake of chivalry, help us!” Yet who can save a sparrow trapped in the claws of a falcon?
Noble, dignified people—never accustomed to harsh rebuke—were herded like goats into the dry heart of the desert.
High-born maidens were dragged as unveiled captives—chaste young women who had never once stepped outside their veiled chambers.
The progeny of Qantura (the Mongol invaders) stood at every corner, shouting over the children of noble Barmakid lords: “Who will buy?”
Stumbling and falling among rough rocks and ruins—how could the tender gait of delicate women be hidden in harsh, stony wilderness?
My intellect was once sharp and discerning, but an event has struck beyond the grasp of any human thought.
Before the erratic turns and decree of time, the hands of wisdom and expertise stand shackled and helpless.
I stood at Abadan after the canals of Baghdad, beholding the waters dyed crimson like desires soaked in slaughter-blood.
Noble, bereaved eyes overflowed with tears, even when the clouds withheld their rain.
We seek refuge in God’s pardon from the fire of a tribulation that ignited from one corner of the earth to another!
It was as if the demons of chains were unleashed, pouring a spring of molten brass over Baghdad.
A dense dust-storm raised from Khorasan, becoming a heavy heap of dark clouds that refuses to unveil the full moon.
How long will the turns and injustice of time burden us with unbearable loads and heavy fetters?
May God protect the man who awakens after them, for the tragedy of Zayd is a solemn warning to ‘Amr!
When a person faces catastrophic horrors and wealth vanishes, blessed indeed is the kingdom of poverty!
Truly, the days return what they bestowed—they never clothe a soul except to strip it naked after its garment.
Behind you, O deluded one, is the dagger of an assassin, while you bow your head, oblivious and unaware!
Explaining:
Sabsab: A desolate, vast, and sprawling desert.
Rakhā’im: Plural of rakhīmah, referring to gentle women of soft voice and delicate physique; here, it denotes noble, sheltered ladies forced to walk barefoot over gravel and ash—a stark contrast to the soft comforts they once knew.
Kawā‘ib who had never stepped out from behind the curtain: Veiled virgins whose beauty had never been glimpsed by strangers; they were dragged out as captives, their faces exposed.
‘Itrat Qanṭūrā’ (The Progeny of Qanṭūrā’): A reference to the Mongol and Tatar hordes (in ancient lore and tradition, the tribes of the East and the Tatars were known as the “Children of Qanṭūrā’”).
Awlād al-Barāmik [being] sold: The harsh cries in slave markets auctioning off the sons of viziers, nobles, and the elite of Baghdad—men of high standing—as mere slaves.
A sparrow in the talons of a falcon: A harrowing rhetorical simile depicting the utter helplessness and lack of succor for those crying out against the brutality of the Mongols.
A downpour of qiṭr: Qiṭr refers to molten copper or lead; an image portraying the calamity and strife raining down upon Baghdad like molten metal.
Qasṭal from Khorasan: Qasṭal refers to the thick dust kicked up by the hooves of invading armies advancing from the East.
“Zayd’s calamity is a warning to ‘Amr”: An Arabic proverb cited as a lesson; the misfortune that befell Zayd should serve as a warning and a deterrent to ‘Amr, urging him to take heed and rouse himself from his heedlessness before it is too late.
In this third section, Sa‘di Shirazi moves to the pinnacle of human tragedy: the enslavement of noblewomen and the disintegration of Baghdad’s civilized society. He describes the transformation of maidens and women—once sheltered in the soft seclusion of their private quarters—into barefoot captives running across scorching sands amidst grave perils.
The poet paints a heart-wrenching scene of the slave market held by Mongol soldiers—the “progeny of Qantura”—to sell the sons and nobles of Baghdad into bondage.
He illustrates the inability of the human mind or experience to comprehend such horror, likening the cries of those pleading for aid to a sparrow in a falcon’s talons, finding no rescuer. He concludes the passage by reflecting on the vicissitudes of time and the turning of the heavens, offering counsel and warning to any who are heedless, deluded by their worldly power and possessions; for the world clothes only to strip bare, and the calamity of yesterday serves as a solemn lesson for the living today.
Arabic Text
عدَونَ حفايا سبسَباً بعد سبسَبٍ
رخائمُ لا يسطعنَ مشياً على الحبر
لعَمرك لو عاينتَ ليلَةَ نفرِهم
كَأنَّ العذارى في الدجى شُهُبٌ تَسرى
وإنّ صباحَ الأسرِ يوم قيامَةٍ
على أمَمٍ شعثٍ تُساقُ إلى الحشر
ومستصرخٍ يا للمروءةِ فانصروا
ومن يصرِخُ العصور بين يدى صقر
يساقون سوق المعزِ في كبدِ الفلا
عزائزُ قومٍ لم يعوّدنَ بالزَجرِ
جلبِنَ سبايا سافراتٍ وجوهُها
كواعِبَ لم يبرزنَ من خلَلِ الخدرِ
وعترَةُ قنطوراء في كل منزلٍ
تصيحُ بأولادِ البرامك من يشرى
تقومُ وتجثو في الماجرِ واللوى
وهل يختفى مشيء النواعمِ في الوعرش
لقد كان فكري قبل ذلك مائزاص
فأحدثَ أمرٌ لا يحيطُ به فكر
وبين يدى صرف الزمان وحكمهِ
مغلّلةٌ أيدي الكياسةِ والخُبرِ
وقفتُ بعبّادان بعد صراتِها
رأيتُ خضيباً كالمنى بدَمِ النحرِ
محاجرَ ثكلى بالدموع كريمةً
وإن بخِلَت عينُ الغمائمِ بالقطرِ
نعوذُ بعفو اللَه من نارِ فتنَةٍ
تَأَجَّجُ من قطرِ البلاد إلى قُطرِ
كأنّ شياطينَ القيودِ تفلّتَت
فسالَ على بغداد عينٌ من القطر
بَدا وتعالى من خراسانَ قسطَلٌ
فعاد ركاما لا يزولُ عن البدرِ
إلامَ تصاريفُ الزمان وجورُه
تكلّفنا ما لا نطيقُ من الإصر
رعى اللَهُ إنساناً تيَقَّظَ بعدَهم
لأنّ مصابَ الزيد مزجرةُ العمرو
إذا كانَ للإِنسانِ عندَ خطوبِه
يزولُ الغنى طوبى لمَملكَةِ الفقرِ
ألا إنّما الأيّامُ ترجعُ بالعَطا
ولم تكسُ إلا بعد كسوتِها تُعرى
وراءَك يا مغرورُ خنجَرُ فاتكٍ
وأنتَ مُطأطس لا تفيقُ ولا تدري
