في ركب النور — Abdulhamid Al Omari

قِفِي قبلَ التفَرُّقِ والتَّنائي

أُزَوِّدُ للفِرَاقِ مِنَ اللقَاءِ

Stop before parting and separation,

I gather provisions for parting from our meeting,

وَأَحْمِلُ مِنْ سَناكِ سِراجَ نُورٍ

يُضِيءُ لِيَ المسَالِكَ في المسَاءِ

And carry from your radiance a lamp of light

That illuminates my paths in the evening.

وأَجعَلُ مِنْ حَدِيثِكِ لِي رَفِيقاً

يُعينُ أخَ السِّفارِ على العَنَاءِ

And make your conversation a companion for me,

Who helps the wayfarer bear hardship.

فَإِنِّي في فِراقِكِ في افتقارٍ

وإني في لقائكِ في غَنَاءِ

For in parting from you I am in need,

And in meeting you I am rich.

ولو بَلَغَتْ يَدَايَ هُنا طِلابِي

لَما امْتَدَّت إلى تَعَبِ التنائِي

And had my hands attained my desire here,

They would not have stretched toward the hardship of separation.

ولو قد نِلتُ مِنْ عِلْمٍ كِفَاءً

لَمَا بِتُّ اللياليَ في العَراءِ

And had I already attained enough knowledge,

I would not have spent the nights out in the open.

وهلْ للعلمِ مِن حَدٍّ فيُرْجَى؟

وهل يُعْطَى المعالِيَ ذُو اكتِفَاءِ؟

And does knowledge have a limit one might hope to reach?

And is one content with enough ever granted the heights?

ظَمِئْتُ إلى العُلُومِ، وليسَ وِرْدٌ

لِذِي ظَمأِ العُلُومِ بِذي ارتِوَاءِ

I thirsted for learning, and no draught

Can ever quench one who thirsts for learning.

إِذَا رُمْتُ الدَّواءَ بِبَذْلِ جُهْدٍ

شَرِبْتُ أُصُولَ دَائِي في الدَّواءِ

Whenever I seek a cure by expending effort,

I drink the roots of my illness in the cure.

ويحلو لي الدَّواءُ وفيه دائي

فقولي: هل لسُقْمِيَ مِن شِفَاءِ؟

The cure tastes sweet to me, though my illness lies within it.

So tell me: is there any healing for my illness?

بَرِئْتُ من الشِّفاء إلى سِقامِي

ومِنْ حُبِّ الجمَامِ إلى الشَّقَاءِ

I have renounced healing for my sickness,

And love of repose for hardship.

وأنعمْ بالشَّقَاءِ وباغْتِرابي

وفَقْري إن يَقُدْنَ إلى العلاءِ

And how welcome are hardship and my exile,

And my poverty, if they lead to greatness!

وبؤْسِي في فِدَا العَلْيَاءِ سَعْدٌ

لأنَّ المجْدَ يُشْرَى بالبَلاءِ

And my misery in sacrifice for greatness is happiness,

For glory is bought with affliction.

إليْكِ أسِيرُ في سَفَرِي، فصَبْراً

لأدْنُو –بابْتِعَادِيَ مِنْ رجَائِي

Toward you I journey on my travels—so be patient,

So that, through going far away, I may draw nearer to my hope.

جَعَلْتُ مِنَ التوكُّلِ لي سِلاحاً

وتقوى اللهِ لي خيرَ الوِقاءِ

I have made trust in God a weapon for myself,

And fear of God my best protection.

وخلفِي دعوةٌ لأَبٍ وحِبٍّ

تُؤمِّنِني المصائبَ مِنْ ورائِي

Behind me is a prayer from a father and a loved one,

Keeping me safe from calamities behind me,

وتفتحُ لي نَوافِذَ كُلِّ خيرٍ

وتُغْلِقُ بابَ عجزٍ وارتخاءِ

And opening for me windows onto every good,

And shutting the door to helplessness and languor.

فَدَيْتُكِ، فاصبِري.. وارضَي بحُكْمٍ

وجودي في صلاتِكِ بالدُّعاءِ

May I be your ransom; be patient, and accept what is decreed,

And lavish supplications in your prayers.

ولا تَخْشَيْ عَلَيَّ مِنِ افتقارٍ

فمالِي العلمُ، والتقوى رِدَائي

And do not fear poverty on my behalf,

For knowledge is my wealth, and piety my cloak.

فِراشي الشِّعْرُ إنْ أطلُبْ جِمَاماً

أوَيتُ إليهِ والذكرى غِطَائي

Poetry is my bed; if I seek repose,

I take refuge in it, and remembrance is my cover.

وما عَجَبٌ مُقامِي في رخاءٍ

فإني في جِوارِ أبي عطاءِ

It is no wonder that I dwell in ease,

For I am in Abu Ata's company.

ومَنْ عرَف النجُومَ كستهُ نورا

وسَارَ على المفاوزِ في اهتِداءِ

And whoever knows the stars is clothed by them in light,

And travels across the wastelands with guidance,

ورَاءَ صُوَى الطريقِ فسَارَ قَصْداً

وصَارَ مِنَ المصَائِبِ في نجَاءِ

Following the road's cairns, he takes a straight course,

And finds deliverance from calamities.

فكَيْفَ بمن دَنَا منها، فأضْحَى

يساير رَكْبَ أقمَارِ الفَضَاءِ

What, then, of one who draws near to them and comes

To travel with the caravan of the firmament's moons?

أ يرضى بعدَما صَحِبَ الثُّرَيَّا

بِبيتٍ في الثرى؟ أم في السماءِ؟

Would he, after keeping company with the Pleiades, be content

With a house in the dust, or one in the sky?

أتيتُ وقد غزَتْ قلبي البلايا

وأمطرتِ المصائبُ في فنائي

I came when afflictions had invaded my heart,

And calamities had rained down in my courtyard,

وأظلمَتِ الدنا حولي وأظْمَتْ

وبادرني زَماني بالعداءِ

And the worlds around me had grown dark and parched me,

And my time had assailed me with hostility.

وهِمْتُ فمَا أرى –مِنْ فرط هَمِّي

خلاصا مِنْ عذابي وابتلائِي

And I wandered; in my overwhelming grief I could see no

Escape from my torment and ordeal.

سعيتُ إلى لقا رحِمي لأنسى

فأرشدني الوصالُ إلى الدواءِ

I hastened to meet my kin, to forget,

And reunion guided me to the cure.

تجلت في حديثِكُمُ الأماني

وعاد الأنسُ في أُفْقِ الصفاءِ

Hopes shone forth in your conversation,

And solace returned on the horizon of serenity.

وأحيى القلبَ ما أملى انشِراحٌ

وأعمى البؤسَ ما ألقى انتشائي

And what gladness dictated revived the heart,

And what my elation cast forth blinded misery.

عرفتُ بقربكمْ معنى المعالي

ومعنى العيشِ في حضن الرجاءِ

In your company I learned the meaning of greatness,

And the meaning of living in the embrace of hope.

وعادتني المصائبُ والدواهي

وقبلا كنتُ منها في إخاءِ

And calamities and disasters became my enemies,

Though before I had been in brotherhood with them.

لقيتكَ أول اللقيا غريبا

كما الظمْآنُ يلقى حوضَ ماءِ

A stranger, I met you at our first meeting,

As a thirsty man encounters a basin of water.

دَنِفتُ من الصدى فسُقيتُ ماءً

فأحياني لقا أجرى دمائي

I languished from thirst, then was given water,

And a meeting revived me, setting my blood flowing.

فلا والله ما في الدهرِ يومٌ

بأسعدَ من حديثك واللقاءِ

No, by God, there is no day in all of time

Happier than the day of your conversation and our meeting.

ولا يومٌ كيوم صحبتُ فيهِ

نَداكم في الطريق أبا عطاءِ

And no day is like the day on which I enjoyed

Your generosity along the road, Abu Ata.

كأني حينها الصوفيُّ لذَّتْ

له الدنيا بألحان الغناءِ

As though I were then the Sufi—sweet became

The world to him through melodies of song.

كأني في انتظار حديثِ شيخي

أخو سغَبٍ يحِنُّ إلى الغِذاءِ

As though, awaiting my sheikh's words,

I were a hungry man yearning for food.

جمعتَ إلى البشاشة حسن قولٍ

كتقوى الله ضمَّ إلى الثراءِ

You joined gracious speech to cheerfulness,

Like fear of God joined to wealth.

وما كل الدعاةِ لهم قبولٌ

وأنس في القلوب على اصطفاءِ

Not every preacher finds acceptance

And affection in hearts that favor him.

حللتَ بكلِّ قلبٍ دار أنسٍ

يفاخرُ في امتداحِكَ كلَّ ناءِ

You have settled in every heart as in a home of fellowship,

Each vying with everyone afar in praising you.

أسرْتَ بحسن قولٍ واستماعٍ

نفوسا قدْ برئنَ مِنَ الفداءِ

With gracious speech and listening you captivated

Souls that had renounced being ransomed.

سعيدٌ منْ رضيتَ بِهِ مُريدا

وأسعدُ مَنْ سقيتَ مِنَ الثناءِ

Happy is the one you accept as a disciple,

And happier the one you give a draught of praise.

وأشقى الناسِ مقرورٌ فقيرٌ

يمرُّ على السنا دونَ اصطلاءِ

And the most wretched of people is a poor, chilled man

Who passes by the radiance without warming himself.

يعز بصحبة العلماء قومٌ

ويُردي معشرا طلبُ الهباءِ

Some people rise in honor through the company of scholars,

While the pursuit of dust brings others to ruin.

ومنْ صَحِبَ الأفاضلَ كان حيا

ويحيا الجاهلون على الفناءِ

And whoever keeps company with the virtuous is alive,

While the ignorant live on the brink of oblivion.

دعوتُكَ يا إلهي، يا مجيبا

فسَدِّدْ في خُطاهُ أبا عطاءِ

I have called upon You, my God, O Answerer:

So guide Abu Ata aright in his steps.