He Composed This Ode for Which He Became Famous and Well Known.
His Lineage
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فنقول أمّا نسبه فعلى أقوال فمنهم من صرّح أنّه أبو شادوف بن أبو جاروف بن شقادف بن لقالق بن بحلق بن عفلق بن عفر بن دعموم بن فلحس بن خرا الحس فإذا ذقت الكلام بمعقول * عرفت انتهاء نسبه على هذا القول * وقيل أبو شادوف بن أبو جاروف بن بردع بن زوبع بن بحلق بن عفلق بن بهدل بن عوكل بن عمره بن كل خرا فانتهى نسبه على القول الأوّل لابن خرا الحس وعلى الثاني لابن كل خرا والثاني أصحّ لأنّ أكل الخرا أبلغ من لحسه
We declare: opinions differ concerning his lineage. Some state that he was Abū Shādūf son of Abū Jārūf son of Shaqādif son of Laqāliq (Storks) son of Baḥlaq (Goggle-Eye) son of ʿAflaq (Big Flabby Vagina) son of ʿAfr (Dust) son of Duʿmūm son of Falḥas1 son of Kharā Ilḥas (Lick-Shit). If you ingest these words with your rational faculty, you will realize that this is the end of his ancestry. Others, however, say he was Abū Shādūf son of Abū Jārūf son of Bardaʿ (Donkey Saddle) son of Zawbaʿ (Dust Storm) son of Baḥlaq son of ʿAflaq son of Bahdal (Disheveled) son of ʿAwkal son of ʿAmrah2 son of Kul Kharā (Eat-Shit). Thus, according to the first version, his genealogy ends with “son of Lick-Shit” and according to the second with “son of Eat-Shit”; however, the second is more correct because to eat shit is more eloquent than to lick it.
His Village
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(وأمّا قريته) ففيها خلاف قيل إنّه من تَلّ فندروك وقيل من كفر شمرطاطي وهو الصحيح لأنّ الناظم صرّح بذلك في بعض أشعاره فقال [وافر]
As for his village, it is a matter of dispute. Some say that he was from Tall Fandarūk and others from Kafr Shammirṭāṭī,3 the latter being correct, for the poet himself says so in some verses of his, to wit:
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| أَنَا يَا نَاسُ فِي قَوْلِي دَلَايِلْ | وَنَظْمِي حَقُّ مَاهُوشِي هَبَايِلْ |
| أَبُو شَادُوفْ أنَا قَالْلِي أَبُويَهْ | عَلَيْهِ وَجِدَّتِي دِيكْ أُمُّ نَايِلْ |
| بِأَنِّي قَدْ تَرَبَّيْتْ يَا جَمَاعَهْ | بِكَفْرٍ يَعْرِفُوهْ نَاسٌ أَوَايِلْ |
| يُسَمَّى كَفْرَ شَمِّرْ لِي وَطَاطِي | فَكُنْ صَاحِبْ فَهَامَهْ يَا فَسَاقِلْ |
| وَذَا قَوْلِي وَٱبُو شَادُوفِ إسْمِي | وَشِعْرِي حَقُّ مَنْ جَانِي يُسَايِلْ |
Me, good people, my words are a guide
And my verses speak true, no tomfooleries hide.
Abū Shādūf am I. My dad told me the tale,
And likewise my grandma, old Umm Nāyil,
Of how, good folk, I was raised
In a hamlet known since olden days
Called Kafr Shammir-lī wa-Ṭāṭī4—
So, Fasāqil,5 be a wise laddie!
These are my verses, Abū Shādūf’s my name,
And any who comes to inquire my verse can claim.
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وسمعتُ شعرًا لبعض أهل الريف يدلّ أنّه من تلّ فندروك وهو هذا [وافر]
| سَمِعْنَا مِنْ قَدِيمِ وْمِنْ جَدِيدِ | كَلَامًا مَاكِنًا شِبْهَ ٱلْحَدِيدِ |
| أَبُو شَادُوفِ عَنْهُ خَبَّرُونَا | بِقَوْلٍ حَقِّ جَانَا بَٱلْوَكِيدِ |
| بِتَلِّ فَنْدَرُوكْ فِيهِ تَرَبَّى | وَعَاشْ يَا قَوْمْ وَأَنْشَأْلُو قَصِيدِ |
| وَذَا قَوْلِي وَٱنَا غِنْدَافُ إِسْمِي | وَكَمْ مِنْ نَظْمْ أَجِيبُو مِنْ بِعِيدِ |
وقد يُجْمَع بين الروايتين فيقال إنّه وُلِدَ في كفر شمرطاطي وتربّى في تلّ فندروك
And I heard verses by a country person that indicate that he was from Tall Fandarūk, as follows:
We have heard in days old and new
Speech strong as iron and as true—
Of Abū Shādūf they did us tell,
In words very trusty and confirmed as well,
That Tall Fandarūk was his childhood abode,
And there he lived, good people, and composed an ode.
These are my verses, Ghindāf’s my name,
And verse far-fetched is the name of my game!
The two versions may be reconciled by saying that he was born in Kafr Shammirṭāṭī and raised in Tall Fandarūk.
The Shape of His Beard
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(وأمّا صفة لحيته) فقال بعضهم كانت طويلة جدًّا وقال آخر كانت معتدلة في الطول والقصر وقد يجمع بين القولين فيقال إنّه لمّا كان في ابتداء عمره في سعادة كاملة ونعمة وافرة كما سيأتي كانت طويلة لكثرة ما كان يتعهّدها بدهن الفراخ والزيت الحارّ والتمشّط وإصلاح الشعر ونحو ذلك