لهج (جارش الحبالى) بالتسبيح، بعدما ما قضى فرضه وأدى صلاة الصبح في زاوية من بيتهم الجدّي وكلما تلفت لأخويه (مانح) و(ممنوح) أوجعه قلبه؛ حالتهم ترحِم؛ مفترشين نُص الشملة ومتغطين بنصها الثاني رفع الصوت بالأذكار وردد وهو يرفع كفيه يا من فرجه قريب ويا من رجواه ما تخيب لكن ما تحرك منهم أحد فالبارحة باتوا على لحم بطونهم همّزت له نفسه يستحب الشملة أرب الله يحسون السماط فينهضون آوى لهم وقال في خاطره؛ ما عد عليّه إلا هي أزيدهم فوق جوعهم خرعة جاهى البداية ليدخل نور ربي بيتهم المظلّم، وقعد فوق العتبة وقدامه بلادهم غبراء وواديهم يحزن أدرج رأسه نحو درجان البيت، وتيقن أن النمل زهد فيهم وشدّ بعدما يئس يلقى حثرة أو زفرة يدخرها أنزل سعناً معلّق من الوتد وإذا به شنّ يقرقع لو ضغط عليه بيده لتكسر، استرجع سيرة شيبانهم اللي كان قولهم قول فريض وحماهم في كل فيض مدر ووبر وشعر، كاد يدعي لهم بالرحمة ثم استدرك وقال هامساً عليش ادعي لهم وهم ما حرام إلا زهقوا فيه عضّ رأس ابهامه الأيمن وقال أنا استغفر الله لو ما كانوا ظلمة ما ينكسنا ربي نكسة الدلو في بير ما لها قرار والظلم يبلغ سابع ظهر وبطن وأضاف وهو يتلهم جورهم ما ظالمٍ بخير؛ ولكي يضفي على جوه حالة مرح قال بخاخير الفيران تطيح فيها الثيران وضحك لين دمعت عيونه.
قرص الجوع (مانح) و(ممنوح) ففزوا ولمحوا شقيقهم متفاشخ سدة الباب نشدوه معك لنا ما نفك به أرياقنا وإلا نعوّد نتقرّط الشملة فحلف لهم ان ما عاد في بيتهم ولا مزارعهم ما يرفع الميزان ولا يرخيه؛ ردّوا عليه إنت اللي كنت تتصرّف وتتحرّف وذلحين ما معك دِبرة؛ قال إن كان إنكم صاملين تدورون على عيشة فما معي ومعكم إلا تهامة إذا شحّت سراتك فاتهم؛ الخبت لو ما يجيه إلا ديمة تغيب في نعايمه البعارين تكاودوا المشوار؛ ثم قاموا يسحبون أرجولهم ولأنه يدري أنهم بيموتون جوع قبل ما يشرّفون من راس العقبة اقترح عليهم يحتالون وإلا يهدون الزافر ويدورون من يشتريه صاحوا الاثنين؛ أُعقب أُعقب يا السلات وإذا هدينا الزافر وش يمسك خشب بيتنا؟ فقال فحيت فيكم تبغون تتعوشون وإلا تتمرجلون؛ ردّوا عليه نتعوّش ونتمرجل قطعت عليهم جارتهم الأرملة جدالهم بطلبها الفزعة علّق (جارش الحبالى) جاكم الفرج.
تناوشوا المساريب مرددين أبشري بنا لقيوها في السفل مقابلة بقرتها المعسّر وهي تندب حظها وتهلل وتكبر وتولول يا حسفي حسفاه ويا صرم حالي إن كان بقرتي بتموت منين أتعوّش لا ولد ولا بلد ولا تلد طلبوها تجيب جاوي ومبخرة يبخرون البقرة لترتخي عضاريطها وتفك سحلولها فطلعت تسعى، وتآمروا على الأرملة؛ قال (مانح) هذي المخلوقة من يوم عرفناها تمخض وتزبد، وربي جابها إلى حدّنا، اثنين يشغلونها وواحد يطلع يقفر الشقيق والعُليّة وإن شاء الله ما نخرج من عندها إلا بزوادة تسدنا لين نوصل التُهم وقال (ممنوح) أنا باطلع ما به بطى إلا والأرملة تغبر خدودها بالتراب خنّقت البقرة على حسيلها وخرج ميت وهي تنازع من كتمة البخور لقطوا عليها عكة سمن وقرص مجرفة وعين قدام وعين ورا، وما قيلوا إلا في مزرع يشوق العين في الأصدار، لقيوا عيون زلال وموز ساحلي وما حسوا إلا وراعي المزرعة فوق روسهم بالمقمّع، وطلّق عليهم لو ما يجنون مغرس البُن ليثوّر فيهم فقاموا يقطفون ويغنّون (يا جاني البُنّ حط اسمي مع اللي يجنّون دخيلتك فكنا نجني مع من يجنّا وان كان خليتنا جانا من الجنّ نوبه) طرب الصُدري للحن القصايد والصوت الشجي وغلبه النوم فاستغلوها فرصة افتكوا بندقته من ايده واعطوها العقبة.
حبكوا خطة الاحتيال على أهل الخبت واحد قال أنا فقيه مداوي، والثاني قال أنا مبصّر آبار وشباب وجار، والثالث شاعر الشعّار ما يقول إلا قصيدة واحدة في كل محفل ولقيوا لهم ناس صدّاقة عزايم وولايم وكساوي وزرة ومصنف وبنوا لهم بيت جنب القرية وذبحوا شاة الغُرم وصاروا ربعا منهم إن سمعوا عن زواج وإلا ختان وإلا عزا تساعوا لها يتوافدون ورا بعضهم قطرا بالثياب المدولقة والشعور المضفرة والعيون المكحلة وما يقعدون إلا في صدور المجالس ويفضخون بكلام ما يعدّي من العابر وأهل التهم يحبون الروايا والأمثال والقصايد والثلاثة حيّ لي من حلاوة لسان وقُلّ إحسان.
تباطروا النعمة ومن خبالتهم زهقوا على الشيوخ والعُراف وتطاولوا على الحلال والحلايل وسوّلت لهم نفوسهم بعد الشبع يبولون في مراقدهم ويشخون في لحاهم كما التيوس فاحتداهم شيخ المشايخ وطلب من جماعته يكتفونهم فوق حمير ووجيههم على ورا؛ وهبط بهم سوق البحر؛ وحلف لو ما علموه قدام الناس وش هم من خلق وش سبب نزولهم من السراة ليبيعهم على جلابة افريقيا بتراب الفلوس ويشحنهم بالبابور فقالوا ترانا ندخل على حيّك وميتك تعذرنا انحن إذا بغيت الحقّ سَلَق.
He was busy with the dhikr (remembrance of God), after he had fulfilled his obligation and performed the Fajr prayer in a corner of their grandfather's house. Every time he glanced at his brothers (Manih) and (Mamnuh), his heart ached; their condition was pitiful; they were spread out on half a blanket and covered with the other half. He raised his voice with the remembrances and repeated while raising his hands, "O You whose relief is near, and O You who do not disappoint those who hope in You." But none of them moved. Last night, they had gone to bed on empty stomachs. His soul urged him to spread the blanket, saying, "O God, may they feel the abundance," so he stood up for them and said to himself, "I have nothing but this; I will give them more than their hunger." He wanted to let the light of my Lord enter their dark house. He sat on the threshold, and before him lay their dusty land and their valley, which saddened him. He lowered his head towards the stairs of the house and was certain that the ants had lost interest in them. After he despaired of finding a morsel or a breath to save them, he lowered a hanging sack from the peg, and it rattled; if he pressed it with his hand, it would break. He recalled the story of their ancestors, who used to say that their words were a duty, and they protected them in every flood of mud and fur and hair. He almost prayed for them to have mercy, then he reconsidered and whispered, "Why should I pray for them when they are not wronged? They have only perished in it." He bit the tip of his right thumb and said, "I seek forgiveness from God; if they were not unjust, my Lord would not turn us upside down like a bucket in a well with no bottom, and injustice reaches the seventh back and belly." He added, while he was panting from their injustice, "No wrongdoer is in good." To lighten the mood, he said, "The rats fall into the traps of the bulls," and he laughed until tears filled his eyes.
The pangs of hunger (Manih) and (Mamnuh) made them jump up, and they saw their brother sprawled at the door. They asked him, "Do you have anything for us to ease our hunger, or should we get used to pulling the blanket?" He swore to them that there was nothing left in their house or their farms that would raise or lower the balance. They replied, "You were the one who used to manage and scheme, and now you have no plan." He said, "If you are serious about seeking a living, then all I have with you is Tihama; if your resources are scarce, then blame yourselves; the valley will only receive a rain that disappears in its blessings." The donkeys struggled with the journey; then they started dragging their legs, and because he knew they would die of hunger before they reached the top of the hill, he suggested they find a way to sell the zafar (a type of animal) and see who would buy it. The two shouted, "We will sell, we will sell, O sellers! And if we sell the zafar, what will hold our house together?" He said, "If you want to eat, do you want to feast or just play around?" They replied, "We want to eat and play." Their neighbor, the widow, interrupted their debate with her request for help, and (Jaarish Al-Hubala) said, "Relief has come to you."
They rushed to the troughs, repeating, "Good news for us, we found it in the lowlands," facing a cow that was lamenting its fate, exclaiming and glorifying, "Oh, how unfortunate, how unfortunate! If my cow dies, where will I eat? No child, no land, and no offspring." They asked it to bring a pot and incense to perfume the cow so that it would relax its muscles and relieve its burden, and it came running. They conspired against the widow; (Manih) said, "This creature has been in labor and suffering since we knew her, and God has brought her to our doorstep. Two will tend to her, and one will go up to the roof and the loft, and God willing, we will not leave her without provisions to sustain us until we reach our destination." (Mamnuh) said, "I will go out; there is no delay except that the widow dirties her cheeks with dust. She suffocated the cow on its hay, and it came out dead while she struggled with the smoke. They covered it with a sack of butter and a shovel, one eye in front and one behind. They found themselves in a farm that delighted the eye with its produce, where they encountered fresh eyes and coastal bananas. They didn't realize it until the farm's owner was above them with a stick, and he shouted at them, 'If you don’t harvest the coffee plants, I will beat you.' They began to pick and sing, 'O coffee gatherer, put my name with those who harvest. By your grace, let us harvest with those who harvest, and if you leave us, we will be haunted by the jinn.' The rhythm of the verses and the melodious voice overwhelmed him, and he took advantage of the opportunity to snatch the rifle from his hand and give it to the hill.
They devised a plan to deceive the people of the valley. One said, "I am a healer," the second said, "I am a well-seer, a young man and a neighbor," and the third was a poet who only recited one poem at every gathering. They found people who were sincere in their invitations and gatherings, and they built a house next to the village and slaughtered a goat for the feast. They became part of them; if they heard about a wedding, circumcision, or mourning, they would rush to it, coming one after another, dressed in flowing garments, braided hair, and kohl-lined eyes. They would only sit in the front of the gatherings and would speak with words that did not pass by unnoticed. The people of the valley loved stories, proverbs, and poems, and the three were alive with the sweetness of their tongues and the goodness of their deeds.
They rushed to enjoy the blessings, and in their foolishness, they mocked the elders and the wise, and they became arrogant about the permissible and the prohibited. Their souls tempted them, and after they were full, they urinated in their beds and soiled their beards like goats. The chief of the elders admonished them and asked his group to carry them on donkeys with their faces turned backward. They descended to the sea market, and he swore that if they did not reveal their true nature in front of the people, what they were and the reason for their descent from the mountains, he would sell them to the traders of Africa for a handful of money and ship them by boat. They said, "We are entering your neighborhood and your dead; excuse us if you want the truth, just ask."
