| Criticism of the Ottoman Authority by Twelfth/Eighteenth-Century Poets of Medina. |
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| The most famous poet of Medina during this period was Sayyid JaCfar al-Byatī
(1)
, who, in his 163-line poem composed on the civil strife
(2)
of CAbd al-Rahmān Āghā al-Kabīr
(3)
, first reminded the Ottoman Sultan of the great events throughout history, which in some cases involved very harsh oppression with its grievous consequences. Thereupon, he began to meditate where was this authority which was supposed to be listening to the people’s cries and how far away it was and ignorant of this part of its empire: |
| أين الحجاز، وأين الروم تسْمع لي |
| صَوْتي، إِذا قُمْتُ من كَرْبي أناديها
(4)
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| ("How far is Hejaz from al-Rūm
(5)
[the seat of government] to listen to my voice if I stood to cry for help to them on account of my agony?"). |
| Then he tried to show the important position that Medina holds within the empire: |
| يا آل عثمان عَيْنٌ في ممالككم |
| مطروفة، لطمتها كَفُّ واليها
(6)
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| ("Oh, Banū CUthmān, an eye [i.e. outstanding feature] of your empire has been injured by the hand of its governor"). |
| He further accused the Porte of turning a blind eye to the holy city: |
| نمتم ولا نومَ عَبَّود الذي ذكروا |
| عن المدينة، حتى قام ناعيها
(7)
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| ("You slept longer than CAbbūd
(8)
, and neglected the city until the announcer of its death arose"). |
| He went so far as to observe that these adverse conditions had become widespread everywhere: |
| أحوالُنا عَلِمَتْها الصِّينُ واعجباً |
| مَنْ كان يَمْنَعُها عنكم ويَثْنِيها
(9)
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| ("The news of our condition has reached even to China. How amazing that one has prevented it from reachinf your hearing!"). |
| The poet added the warning that if the ruler forgot this city, it would be an adverse sign to the whole empire: |
| وإن تَرَوْا حادِثاً في النَّهر أو قَلَقاً |
| من العِدى فهو من عُقْبَى تَنَاسِيها
(10)
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| ("If you saw taking place any incident or unrest on the part of your enemies, it would be a consequence of your forgetfulness of this place"). |
| In connection with another event, known as qissat al-Cahd ("the story of the pledge")
(11)
, al-Baytī raised his voice to declare that the Sultan might be misled by the enemy of Medina’s inhabitants when he was about to take strong action against the city: |
| فلسوف تأخذه هناك حميَّةٌ |
| فينا بغير تهاونٍ وتمهُّلِ
(12)
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| ("The ardour of the Sultan will strike against us without laxity or sloth"). |
| When this tragic event resulted in the killing of one of Medina’s well-known Culamā', al-Sayyid Muhammad Rasūl al-Barzanjī
(13)
, by the Wālī of Jeddah, Bakīr Bāshā
(14)
, the voice of al-Baytī was raised again to elegize him and to confront the Sultan with the words: |
| قتلوكم ظُلْماً، وصلُّوا عليكم |
| عجباً ما نرى عليه مَزيدا
(15)
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| ("They executed you wrongfully and afterward they performed the prayer over you. We never expect to see an event more amazing"). |
| On another occasion, we find al-Baytī contributing to the revolutionary atmosphere in Medina by composing a 64-line poem on what is called the fitna (civil strife) of Bek Bashīr Āghā
(16)
in the year 1148/1735. He described the fear that the people felt of resisting: |
| وأعظم بلوى نالت النَّاس أنها |
| تُضَامُ، ولا عند الملوك بها عِلْمُ |
| يخافون فَرْماناً على غير موجب |
| إذا ما شكوا ظلماً، فكلُّهمُ بُكْمُ |
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| ("Such great affliction came upon the people that they suffered without any knowledge. They fear the firman without motive for their fear. If they desire to complain about the wrong, all of them become dumb"). |
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