أتانا عنك مولانا البشير — Abdul Ghafar Al Akhras

أتانا عَنْكَ مَولانا البَشيرُ

فَبَشَّرَنا بما فيه السُّرورُ

Our master, the bearer of glad tidings, came to us from you.

So he gave us glad tidings full of joy.

ورُحْنا تَسْتَقِرُّ لنا قلوبٌ

بما فَرِحَتْ وتَنْشَرِح الصدور

And our hearts came to rest,

Rejoicing in it, as our breasts opened with joy.

تَقلَّدْتَ القَضاء ورُبَّ عِقْدٍ

تُزَيِّنه الترائِبُ والنحور

You have donned the judgeship—and many a necklace

Is adorned by breastbones and throats.

وأَمضى ما يكونُ السَّيفُ حدًّا

إذا ما استَلَّهُ البطل الجسور

And a sword's edge is sharpest

When the dauntless hero draws it.

تضيء البصرة الفيحاء نوراً

بأَحْمَدَ وهو في الفيحاء نورُ

Spacious Basra shines with light

Through Ahmad, himself a light in that spacious city.

إذا نازلتَه نازَلْتَ صِلاًّ

يروعُ الصّلَّ منه ويستجير

If you confront him, you confront a viper

That terrifies the viper, which seeks refuge from him.

وإنْ نَزَلَتْ بمنزلِهِ ضيوفٌ

فقد شَقِيَتْ بمنزله الجُزور

And if guests alight at his home,

Then the slaughter-camel suffers at his home.

إذا ما جِئْتَهُ يوماً ستلقى

ضيوفاً نحو ساحته تسير

If you come to him one day, you will find

Guests making their way toward his courtyard.

ألا يا ساكني الفيحاءَ إنِّي

لكمْ من قَبلها عَبدٌ شكور

Hear me, dwellers of the spacious city: I

Have been your grateful servant since before this.

ليهْنِكُمُ من الأَنصار قاضٍ

لدين الله في الدُّنيا نصير

May your judge from the Ansar bring you joy,

A champion of God's religion in this world.

فهل عَلِمَ النقيبُ بأنَّ شوقي

إليه دُون أُسْرَتِهِ كثير

So has the naqib learned that my longing

For him, apart from his family, is great?

وهل يقِفُ الكتاب على أخيه

فيعلَمُ ما تضَمَّنَتِ السُّطور

And will the letter come before his brother,

So that he knows what its lines contain?

هما قمرا سماوات المعالي

إذا ما يأْفُلُ القمر المنير

They are the two moons of the heavens of noble distinction

When the shining moon sets.

ومقصوصِ الجناح لو فؤادٌ

يكاد إلى معاليكم يطير

And one with clipped wings—if only his heart

Could almost fly toward your lofty heights!

فلا خبرٌ ليوصله إليكم

على عَجَلٍ ولا أحدٌ يسير

There are no tidings, then, to bring him to you

In haste, nor anyone making the journey.

يعالجُ في الجوى دمعاً طليقاً

يذوبُ لصَوْبهْ قلبٌ أَسير

He wrestles, in heartache, with freely flowing tears;

A captive heart melts beneath their downpour.

ومن لي أنْ تكون بنو زهير

أَحبَّائي ولي فيهم سميرُ

And who will grant me that the sons of Zuhayr

Be my dear friends, with an evening companion among them?

إذا هَبَّ النَّسيمُ أقولُ هذي

شمائله اللَّطيفةُ والبخور

When the breeze stirs, I say, 'This is

His gentle nature and incense.'

تَوَلَّى قاضياً فيكم وَوَلَّى

وفي أعقابهِ ظلمٌ وزُورُ

He took office as a judge among you, then departed,

And in his wake are injustice and falsehood.

عَدُوّكم القضاة الصُّفْرُ تتلو

وشَرَّ الأَصْفَرين هو الأَخير

Your foes, the yellow judges, follow one another,

And the worse of the two yellow ones is the latter.

إذا ما مال نحو الحقّ يوماً

أمالته الوَساوِسُ إذ يجور

If he inclines toward truth one day,

Whispering temptations turn him aside as he acts unjustly.

وكم في النَّاس من شيخ كبير

عليه ينزل اللَّعْن الكبير

And how many an aged man among the people

Has a great curse descend upon him!

تَمَلُّ حياتَهُ الأَحياءُ منَّا

وتكرهه الحفائر والقبور

The living among us grow weary of his life,

And the pits and graves detest him.

قليل من سجاياه المخازي

وجزءٌ من خلائقه الفجور

Disgraces are but a little of his character,

And depravity is but a part of his nature.

طَوَيْتُ به الكتابَ وثَمَّ طيٌّ

يفوحُ المسكُ منه والعبير

With him I have folded the letter, and there is a fold

From which musk and perfume waft.