قصيدة صوت صفير البلبل بالصوت

The sound of the whistling of the nightingale, a poem attributed to Al-Asma’i that challenges the Abbasid Caliph

The sound of the whistling of the nightingale, a poem whose composition is attributed to Al-Asma’i, which challenges the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur after he narrowed down the poets. He has a boy who memorizes the poem after he hears it twice, so he brings him to narrate it after the poet and then the caliph recites it. He used to do this with all poets, so the poets were disappointed and frustrated, especially since the caliph had set a reward for the poem that he could not narrate the weight of what was written on it in gold, so Al-Asma’i heard about this and said: “There is cunning and deception in the matter.” He prepared a poem with various words and strange meanings, and he put on the dress of a bedouin and disguised himself, as he was known to the prince, so he entered the prince and said: “I have a poem that I would like to recite to you and I do not think you have heard it before. The prince said to him, “Bring what you have.” So he recited a poem about the sound of the whistling of the nightingale, and after he finished saying the poem, the Caliph was unable to mention anything of it. Then he brought his servant, but he did not remember anything either, because he memorized it twice after recounting it, then he brought the slave-girl, because the other one did not remember anything, so the Caliph said to him: I will give you the weight of the writing tablet in gold, for what did you write it? Al-Asma’i said to him: I inherited a marble pillar from my father, so I engraved the poem on it, and this pillar on my camel outside is carried by ten soldiers. They brought him and weighed the whole box. The vizier said: O Commander of the Faithful, I don't think it is anyone but Al-Asma'i. The Prince said: Stretch your veil, O Bedouin. The Bedouin removed his veil and found it Al-Asma'i. The prince said: Do you do this to the Commander of the Faithful, O Asma’i?! He said: O Commander of the Faithful, you have cut off the poets' livelihood by doing this. The prince said: Bring back the money, O Asma'i. He said: I will not repeat it. The prince said: Bring it back. Al-Asma’i said: On one condition. The prince said: What is it? He said: To give the poets what they say and what they say. Prince told you what you want."