إني أنا لست أنا — Abd Al Ghani Al Nabulsi

إني أنا لست أنا

فليت شعري من أنا

Indeed, I am not I.

So, if only I knew who I am!

صورة لاهوت بدت

في شكل ناسوت دنا

An image of divinity appeared

in a human form that drew near.

كلاهما مستحدث

من عدم ومن فنا

Both are newly brought into being,

from nonexistence and annihilation.

وذاك لا ذاك له

ومن هنا ليس هنا

And that one has no 'that';

and whoever is here is not here.

والقصد مني لم يقع

على سؤالي والمنى

And my intention did not rest

on my question and wishes.

فافهم كلامي وانتفع

به ودع عنك العنا

So understand my speech and benefit

from it, and set hardship aside.

إياك أياك بأن

يوقعك الجهل بنا

Beware, beware, lest

ignorance of us make you stumble.

ولا تكن معتديا

ولا تكن مفتتنا

And do not be a transgressor,

and do not be beguiled.

ودع كلام عصبة

بنا أساؤوا الظننا

And disregard the words of a band

who have thought ill of us.

من شرهم ما أحد

بين البرايا أمنا

From their evil, no one

among humankind was safe.

قد شبهوا خالقهم

وجسموه علنا

They have likened their Creator to creatures

and openly given Him bodily form.

ونسبوا إليه ما

كان به مكتمنا

And they attributed to Him what

lay concealed within Him.

وهم على ذا درجوا

وفيه عاشوا بالهنا

And in this way they went on,

and lived contentedly in it.

وعبدوه مثل قو

م يعبدون الوثنا

And they worshipped Him like people

who worship the idol.

قد نشأوا في بدع

لا يعرفون السننا

They grew up amid religious innovations,

not knowing the traditions.

وهذه حالتهم

قد جعلوها ديدنا

And this is their state;

they have made it their habit.

فاحذر تكن مستمعاً

لهم بهم ممتحنا

So beware lest you become a listener

to them, put to the test by them.

وخذ بما لاح ودع

عنك التباسا فتنا

And hold to what has become clear, and leave

aside confusion that beguiles.

بالله يا من هجروا

وعظموني شجنا

By God, O you who have deserted me

and made my sorrow great,

وقد أطالوا سهري

وأحرموني الوسنا

and have prolonged my sleeplessness

and deprived me of slumber.

وملءَ قلبي شغفٌ

ودمعُ عينيْ هتنا

And passion fills my heart,

and my eye's tears have poured down.

ولي إليهم أبداً

فرطُ غرامٍ وعنا

And for them I bear forever

overwhelming passion and suffering.

رفقاً بصبٍّ دنِفٍ

بكم غدا مُرتَهَنا

Be gentle with a languishing lover

who has become captive to you.

أيانَ ولَّى منكمو

أبصر وجهاً حسنا

Whenever he turns away from you,

he beholds a beautiful face.

بشعب وادي سلَمٍ

جآذرٌ لُحْنَ لنا

In a ravine of Wadi Salam,

wild-cow calves appeared to us.

لما رنَوا وانعطفوا

خلت سيوفاً وَقَنا

When they gazed and swayed,

I imagined swords and lances.

أوَّاه من جفوتهم

وليس لي عنهم غنى

Alas for their coldness!

And I cannot do without them.

يا ليتهم لو سمحوا

ولي أتموا المِنَنا

Oh, if only they would be generous

and complete their favors to me!

عهدي بهم قد نزلوا

بالسفح من وادي مِنى

Last I knew of them, they had settled

on the lower slope of Wadi Mina.

من كل روح جعلوا

للأمر منهم بدَنا

From every spirit they fashioned

a body from among them for the command.

وشرَّفوا منازلا

حلُّوا بها ودمنا

And they ennobled dwellings

where they dwelt, and old encampment sites.

وكل حيٍّ جعلوا

بالوصف فيه وطنا

And in every living being they made

a homeland through the attribute.

وشغلوا الكون بهم

وهيَّجوه شجنا

And they preoccupied the cosmos with themselves,

and stirred it to sorrow.

فهامَ في بهجتهم

ولم ينل منهم مُنى

So it grew enraptured by their beauty,

and gained from them no fulfillment of its wishes.

يخفق قلبه بهم

وكم يقاسي مِحَنا

Its heart beats for them,

and how many trials it endures!

وجوده تحريكه

وفقده إن سكنا

Its existence lies in being stirred;

and it is lost if it grows still.