حي المغاني بين البان والعلم

ففي المغاني معاني الحسن والكرم

Salute the dwellings between the ban-trees and al-Alam.

For in those dwellings lie the meanings of beauty and nobility.

يهيج برح الصبا للمستهام صباً

في نشرها بشر قرب الركب من اضم

The east wind's keen gust stirs longing in the lovesick;

its fragrant breath brings glad news of the caravan nearing Idam.

اراق بعدي لهم عيش فبعدهم

اراق فيض دم من دمعي السجم

My distance from them drained away life; their absence

poured a flood of blood from my streaming tears.

ان السهاد نفى جسمي ضناً فغدا

يحكي السهى دنفاً في حب بدرهم

Sleeplessness wasted my body with emaciation, until it

resembled al-Suha, sick with love for their full moon.

اتملك العين من عين الظبا نظراً

ودونها الاسد تسطو بالضبا الخذم

Can the eye win a glance from the gazelles' eyes,

when lions guard them, striking with keen sword-blades?

ريم الصريم إذا رمت العقيق ففي

عقيق دمعي غنى عنه فلا ترم

O gazelle of the thicket, if you seek al-Aqiq, there is

in the agate of my tears enough to replace it—so do not seek it.

في وجهك ابن ابي سلمى وبهجته

وفي لواحظك الوسنى ابو هرم

In your face are Ibn Abi Sulma and his radiance;

and in your drowsy glances is Abu Haram.

ضل الفؤاد فظل الجسم حلف ضني

فالجسم في مرض والقلب في ضرم

The heart went astray, and the body remained allied to wasting;

the body is in sickness, and the heart in flames.

اني ابحت دمي عمداً فلا قود

عليهم في الهوى اني ابحت دمي

I deliberately made my blood lawful to shed; no retribution is due

from them in love: I made my blood lawful to shed.

رأيت جورهم عدلا وهجرهم

وصلا وذلي عزاً في ودادهم

I saw their injustice as justice, and their abandonment

as union, and my abasement as honor in loving them.

صبري وجسمي وطرفي والفؤاد أسى

واه نحيل غزير الدمع في الم

My patience, my body, my eyes, and my heart, through grief,

are feeble, thin, overflowing with tears, and in pain.

يفك كل أسير في بيوتهم

الا أسير جفون من ظبائهم

Every captive in their houses is released,

except the captive of their gazelles' eyelids.

فليت شعري أوجد أم لهيب غضاً

ما أودعوه فؤادي يوم بينهم

Would that I knew: is it passion or a blaze of ghada-wood

that they lodged in my heart on the day of their departure?

يهيج لي عاذلي في ذكرهم طرباً

فالعذل أحسن في سمعي من النغم

My reproacher stirs delight in me by mentioning them;

reproach sounds sweeter to my ears than melodies.

وصاحب لامني لما رأى كلفي

لو ذقت طعم الهوى يا صاح لم تلم

A companion blamed me when he saw my infatuation:

had you tasted love, my friend, you would not blame.

يزيد طبع الفتى في الحب طيب شذى

كما تضوعت الأزهار بالنسم

In love, a young man's nature gains a sweeter fragrance,

as flowers release their scent with the breezes.

مخضت رايك واستجمعت زبدته

ولست عندي على راي بمتهم

You churned your opinion and gathered its cream;

in my eyes, your judgment is not suspect.

فجئت بالنقض والإبرام منتقياً

من الحجى أفصح الالفاظ والكلم

You brought refutation and affirmation, selecting

from reason the most eloquent expressions and words.

وقد تبوأ منا واحد رشداً

فكل إذا شئت أمرينا إلى حكم

One of us has surely attained sound judgment;

so, if you wish, entrust our two cases to an arbiter.

حاشا الهوى وهو علق ان تفوز به

نفس العذول الغبي الساقط الهمم

Far be it that love, a precious treasure, should be won

by the foolish reproacher's soul, so low in aspiration.

إني رأيت كرام الناس في تعب

وأنت من تعب العلياء في سلم

I have seen noble people laboring,

while you are safe from the toil of lofty pursuits.

هم اسعروا مهجتي ناراً فخضت بها

في بحر عشق بموج العشق ملتطم

They set my life's core ablaze, and with it I plunged

into a sea of passion, battered by passion's waves.

والحب أوله حلو وآخره

مرّ ولذته تفضي إلى ندم

Love is sweet at its beginning, and at its end

bitter; its pleasure leads to regret.

لا والهوى وليالينا التي سلفت

ما حلت من عهدكم يا جيرة العلم

No—by love and by our nights gone by,

I have not forsaken your covenant, O neighbors of al-Alam.

ان ابق بعدكم حيا فلا عجب

بقيت لكن لطول الحزن والالم

If I remain alive after you, it is no wonder:

I remain, but for prolonged grief and pain.

ان أومض الخال من شرقي كاظمة

حكاه دمعي بمنهل ومنسجم

If a raincloud flashes east of Kazima,

my tears imitate it with pouring, streaming rain.

قالوا الصبابة سقم لا شفاء له

قلت الوصال شفاً من ذلك السقم

They said, 'Yearning is a sickness with no cure.'

I said, 'Union is a cure for that sickness.'

قالوا سلوت فقلت العيش بعدكم

قالوا الفت فقلت النجم في الظلم

They said, 'You have forgotten.' I said, 'Life after you.'

They said, 'You have grown familiar.' I said, 'With stars in darkness.'

كأن جسمي وقطر الدمع بغمره

سلك يلوح بدرّ فيه منتظم

My body, engulfed by falling tears, seems

a thread gleaming with pearls strung upon it.

اغني بجوهر دمعي ناظري على

اني من الصبى في فقر وفي عدم

I enrich my eyes with the jewels of my tears, although

through longing I am in poverty and destitution.

دعني ارق نسقا دمعي فلا بدل

منهم وان منعوني نيل عطفهم

Let me pour my tears in an unbroken string; there is no substitute

for them, even if they deny me their affection.

وربما شب في الاحشاء جمر غضاً

جنح الدجى ذكر جيران بذي سلم

Often the memory kindles ghada-wood embers in my breast,

at night's dark onset—the memory of neighbors at Dhu Salam.

طالت ليالي النوى حزناً كما قصرت

من المسرة لي أيام وصلهم

The nights of separation grew long with grief, just as

my days of union with them grew short with joy.

فما لليل النوى صبح يلوح وهل

في الصبح لي راحة من لاعج الالم

The night of separation has no dawning morning; and is there

in morning any relief for me from searing pain?

كم صابرت همتي صرف الزمان ولم

تضعف وصرف النوى أو هي قوى هممي

How often my resolve endured time's vicissitudes without

weakening, yet separation's vicissitudes weakened my resolve.

يا نفس جرعتني مرّ الغرام بهم

حتى اريق باسياف الجفون دمي

O soul, you made me drink the bitterness of passion for them,

until the swords of eyelids spilled my blood.

والصبر كان حميما لي فاسلمني

غدراً فكابدت أشجاني بغير حمي

Patience was a dear friend to me, but surrendered me

treacherously; so I endured my griefs without a protector.

يا قلب هل لك ان يمحو الضلال هدى

بمدح خير البرايا سيد الأمم

O heart, would you let guidance erase your wandering

through praise of the best of creation, the master of nations?

طه ابي القاسم الهادي البشير رسو

ل الله صفوة عبدالله ذي الكرم

Ta-Ha, Abu al-Qasim, the guide, the bearer of glad tidings, Messen-

ger of God, the chosen scion of noble Abd Allah.

زاكي النجار كريم الطبع متصف

بالجود والباس والعلياء والعظم

Pure of lineage, noble of nature, endowed

with generosity, valor, loftiness, and greatness.

الباذخ الهمم ابن الباذخ الهمم

ابن الباذخ الهمم ابن الباذخ الهمم

Lofty in aspiration, son of one lofty in aspiration,

son of one lofty in aspiration, son of one lofty in aspiration.

منزه الذات عن نقص يلم بها

قد هزبت واصطفاها بارئ النسم

His being is free from any defect that might touch it;

the Maker of souls refined and chose it.

عظيم خلق به الخلق اهتدى رشداً

متمم كرم الاخلاق والشيم

Great in character, through whom creation found right guidance,

perfecting noble manners and virtues.

سامي المعارج مهدي المناهج قض

اء الحوائج غوث الناس في الازم

Lofty in ascent, guiding the paths, the fulfill-

ment of needs, the people's succor in hardships.

ونور قدس حباه النور من شرف

بالنور يهدي سبيل الرشد كل عمي

A holy light, whom the Light endowed with honor,

guiding every blind soul by light along the path of right guidance.

ان كان آنسي موسى النار من بعد

فالمصطفى آنس الأنوار من أمم

If Moses perceived the fire from afar,

the Chosen One perceived the lights from nearby.

إن كان أحيى المسيح الميت معجزة

فذكر أحمد يحبى بالي الرمم

If the Messiah revived the dead as a miracle,

the mention of Ahmad revives decayed bones.

الناطق الفصل في قول يضمنه

براعة البالغين الحكم والحكم

The speaker of decisive words, whose speech contains

the eloquence of those attaining wisdom and judgment.

غيث المؤمل غوث المستجير به

هادي الأنام سبيل الواضح اللقم

Rain for the hopeful, succor for whoever seeks his protection,

guiding humankind along the plainly marked road.

فاق البرية في خلق وفي خلق

وعمهم كرماً بالنائل العمم

He surpassed creation in character and in form,

and embraced them all with abundant gifts.

فجوده البحر في اسداد عارفة

وعلمه البحر يلقي جوهر الكلم

His generosity is the sea in bestowing kindness;

his knowledge is the sea, casting up jewels of speech.

سقى رياض الأماني جود راحته

محاً فازهرن بالالاء والنعم

The bounty of his palm watered the gardens of wishes

with its purest flow; they blossomed with blessings and favors.

ومثله فليرجي المرتجون وهل

يرجى مثيل لذاك المفرد العلم

Let those who hope place hope in one like him—but can

an equal be hoped for to that singular, eminent one?

مسترشد رشاد مستنجد نجد

مسترفد رافد مستمجد شهم

Sought for guidance, he is guidance; sought for aid, he is valiant;

sought for bounty, he gives; sought for honor, he is noble.

محمد المصطفى اصفاه خالقه

بالحمد في اشرف الايات والكلم

Muhammad, the Chosen One: his Creator singled him out

with praise in the noblest verses and words.

رسول صدق عن الارشاد لم يرم

يوماً وغير رضا باريه لم يرم

A truthful messenger who never departed from guidance

for a day, and sought nothing but his Maker's pleasure.

لو كان في الرسل من في الفضل بشركه

ما خصه الله بالمعراج والعظم

Had there been among the messengers one sharing his excellence,

God would not have singled him out for the Ascension and greatness.

فآدم قد حوى فضل السجود به

ونال عفواً به عن زلة القدم

Through him Adam gained the distinction of receiving prostration,

and through him obtained pardon for his misstep.

وفيه قد رجعت نار الخليل له

برداً فنال رغيد العيش في الضرم

Through him the Friend's fire turned for him

to coolness, and he enjoyed ease amid the flames.

سمح يحقق آمال النفوس فما

يخيب راجيه من لطف ومن كرم

Generous, he fulfills the souls' hopes; thus none

who hopes in him is disappointed in kindness or generosity.

فللجناة لديه عفو مقتدر

وللعفاة لديه جود مبتسم

For wrongdoers he has the pardon of one with power;

for petitioners he has smiling generosity.

اسماؤه وصفت افعاله فغدت

من الجلالة تتلوا أحرف القسم

His names describe his deeds, and so

in their majesty they follow the letters of an oath.

هو المؤمل في الدنيا المشفع في

الأخرى فلذ وتمسك فيه واعتصم

He is the one hoped in here, the accepted intercessor in

the hereafter: seek refuge, hold fast to him, and find protection.

عزت به العرب وانقاد الزمان لها

واصبحت تخضع التيجان للمم

Through him the Arabs rose in honor, and time obeyed them;

crowns came to bow before their forelocks.

إذ قام مضطلعا بالأمر مفترعاً

عزاً تقاعس عنه كل معتزم

When he rose to bear the charge, attaining

an honor before which every determined man had faltered.

في السلم يحيى بعذب الجود ذا آمل

في الحرب يردي بمر البأس ذا اضم

In peace he revives the hopeful with sweet generosity;

in war he fells the spiteful with bitter might.

بعزم أروع سامي الهم منصلت

ورفد ابلج طلق الوجه مبتسم

With the resolve of an awe-inspiring man, lofty of purpose, unswerving,

and the bounty of a radiant man, open-faced and smiling.

واستل من عزمه عضب الغرار ارمضا

غرباً وشرقاً فبادت دولة الضم

He drew from his resolve a sword keen of edge, scorching

west and east, until oppression's reign perished.

واشرقت انجم التوحيد محدقة

منه ببدر هدى يجدو دجى الظلم

The stars of divine unity shone, circling

his full moon of guidance, driving the darkness onward.

نبوة حاولوا اخفاءها فبدت

ان الشموس سناها غير منكتم

A prophethood they tried to conceal, yet it appeared:

the radiance of suns cannot be hidden.

كأن شرعته ضوء النهار جلت

من الضلالة ليلا حالك العتم

His law seems daylight, dispelling

a night of error, pitch-black with darkness.

من صفو اخلاقه سلسال كوثره

جرى بصفو معين سائغ شبم

From the purity of his character, his Kawthar's sweet stream

flowed with clear, pleasant, cool springwater.

فشكره والثنا والاجر مغتنم

في خير مغتنم في خير مغتنم

Thanking him, praising him, and reward are gains to be seized

in the finest gain, in the finest gain.

ما نال من عرض الدنيا وقد عرضت

كنوزها رغبة عنها ولم يرم

He took none of the world's fleeting goods, though offered

its treasures, shunning them; nor did he seek them.

إذا لجأت إليه فاشتكيت له

بؤساً أمنت وزال البؤس بالنعم

If you seek refuge with him and complain to him

of hardship, you find safety, and hardship gives way to blessings.

يغزو العدا بموادي الخيل حاملة

غلب الأسود أسود الحرب لا الأجم

He attacks the foes with death-dealing horses carrying

thick-necked lions—the lions of war, not of thickets.

بالظلم يجزي العداة الظالمين له

وظلمه العدل في تاديب مجترم

With 'injustice' he repays the enemies who wrong him;

his 'injustice' is justice in disciplining an offender.

وتخجر البيض من ماضي عزائمه

إذا انتضاها فتكسى حمرة العنم

White blades blush before the keenness of his resolves

when he draws them, clothed in the redness of anam berries.

يقسم السمر والبيض الرقاق لهم

فللصدور القنا والبيض للقمم

He apportions the brown spears and thin white blades among them:

spears for breasts, and white blades for heads.

وقلبه للتقى والذكر منقسم

وكفه الندى والسيف والقلم

His heart is divided between piety and remembrance;

his palm between generosity, the sword, and the pen.

مآثر قصرت عن دركها ونبت

أوهام كل بليغ بارع فهم

Achievements beyond the reach and grasp

of every eloquent, accomplished, discerning mind.

حلم تخف الجبال الراسيات به

رزانة وندى يربى على الديم

Forbearance beside whose gravity rooted mountains seem light

in weight, and generosity surpassing steady rains.

لو شاء ان يجعل الدنيا لساكنها

دار الخلود نجت من سطوة العدم

Had he wished to make the world, for its inhabitants,

an abode of immortality, it would escape annihilation's might.

فيومه الدهر وهو الخلق قاطبة

بل كان علة خلق الكون في القدم

His day is all time, and he is all creation;

indeed, he was the cause of the universe's creation in eternity.

صلى عليه اله العرش ما تليت

ايات فضل له في نون والعلم

May the God of the Throne bless him whenever recited

are verses of his excellence in 'Nun' and 'the Pen',

وآله الغر اصحاب العباء ومن

قد بأهل المصطفى اعداءه بهم

and his radiant family, the Companions of the Cloak, those

through whom the Chosen One invoked curses upon his foes.

هم بعده خير خلق الله شرفهم

على الورى قبل خلق اللوح والقلم

After him they are God's best creation; He honored them

above all beings before creating the Tablet and the Pen.

هم الخضارم فارشف در عرفهم

خضر وامالنا بيض برفدهم

They are boundless seas: sip the flowing milk of their bounty;

green are their gifts, and bright-white our hopes through their aid.

المغمدون الضبا في كل معترك

حيث الحجى ومناط البيض واللمم

Those who sheath their sword-blades in every battle,

amid minds, sword-belts, and forelocks.

بدور حسن إذا ما اشرقوا عكسوا

ضوء البدور بغر الأوجه الوسم

Full moons of beauty, when they shine they reflect

the light of moons with their bright, handsome faces.

فالزهر تشرق والأزهار تعبق عن

شذاهم وسناهم فانتشق وشم

The bright stars shine and the flowers give off fragrance from

their scent and radiance—so breathe in and smell.

تارجوا فطوى الافاق ذكرهم

نشراً به ضاع عرف المسك في الأمم

They became fragrant, and their remembrance swept the horizons,

a spreading scent through which musk's fragrance filled the nations.

ما البارد العذب معلولا لذي ظمأ

احلى واعذب من تكرير ذكرهم

Cool sweet water, drunk again by someone thirsty, is not

sweeter or more refreshing than repeating their remembrance.

ألو الكمال ملاك العلم حكمهم

عدل ولمع هداهم ساطع العلم

Possessors of perfection, masters of knowledge: their judgment is

justice; their guidance gleams, its beacon bright.

غطارف عرفوا بالعرف واتصفوا

بالفضل والشرف الموفي بفخرهم

Noble lords known for kindness, endowed

with excellence and honor that crowns their glory.

لا عيب فيهم سوى التقوى وانهم

مصالت خشن في ذات ربهم

They have no fault except their piety, and that they are

bare blades, stern in their Lord's cause.

كم أوضحوا سننا كما اسبغوا منناً

وكم جلوا حزناً عنا ببشرهم

How many paths they clarified, how many favors they lavished;

how often their cheerful faces dispelled our sorrow.

وقد بسطت وخير القول اصدقه

لسان صدق عليا في عليهم

I have extended—and the best speech is the truest—

a lofty tongue of truth in praise of their Ali.

ففي علي أمير المؤمنين ذكا

فكر وفي مجده قد رق منتظمي

In Ali, Commander of the Faithful,

thought grew keen; in his glory my ordered verse grew fine.

وزيره وأخوه دونهم وابو

سبطيه فخر به قد خص في القسم

His minister and brother, apart from the rest, and father

of his two grandsons—a distinction allotted him alone.

قسيم طه علا لولا نبوته

وفي الامامة فضل غير منقسم

Sharing Ta-Ha's loftiness, except for prophethood;

in the imamate his distinction is undivided.

لم يأل شرعة طه جهد منتصر

بساعد ولسان ناطق وفم

He spared no effort in championing Ta-Ha's law

with an arm, a speaking tongue, and a mouth.

مضاء ذي لبد مستبسل نجد

وحكم ملتزم بالعدل معتصم

The decisiveness of a maned lion, dauntless and valiant,

and judgment firmly bound to justice, holding fast.

فسيفه جدول يجلو الفرند به

روضاً سواه سوام الحتف لم تسم

His sword is a stream whose damascened sheen reveals

a meadow beyond which death's herds have never grazed.

وردت في حبه العذب الزلال ولم

اخدع بلمع سراب من اتاه ظمي

In loving him I drank the sweet, pure water, and was not

deceived by a mirage's glitter, whose visitor stays thirsty.

وبالامام الهمام المرتضى علقت

يدي فلاح فلاحي وانجلت غممي

To the valiant Imam, al-Murtada, there clung

my hand; my success shone and my sorrows cleared.

وصحبه النجب المحيين سنته

احياء نبت الربى بالوابل الرذم

And his noble companions, reviving his practice

as hillside growth is revived by heavy, pouring rain.

صيد جحا جحه قد طاب فرعهم

ففرعهم معرب عن طيب اصلهم

Proud, lordly men whose branches are wholesome;

their branches proclaim the goodness of their roots.

تمضي الصوارم أيديهم إذا كهمت

وفي النزال قرى العقبان والرخم

Their hands sharpen the cutting swords when they grow blunt;

in battle they provide a feast for eagles and vultures.

هم المحاريب ان صالوا بيوم وغى

صلت سيوفهم في ارؤس البهم

They are prayer-niches: when they charge on a day of war,

their swords pray upon the heads of armored warriors.

بكل اهيف لدن القد منعطف

يرنو بازرق مشغوف بكل كمي

With each slender blade, supple of form and curving,

gazing with a blue eye, enamored of every armored champion.

لا يخلفون لباغي الخير موعده

وربما اخلفوا الميعاد بالنقم

They never break their promise to a seeker of good,

though sometimes they fail to keep their appointed vengeance.

يا أرض طيبة قد طلت السماء علا

بالمصطفى فاشكري النعماء واغتنمي

O land of Tayba, you have surpassed heaven in loftiness

through the Chosen One: give thanks for blessings and seize them.

قد ضم تربك وهو المسك جوهرة

قد ابدعتها يد الالطاف والحكم

Your soil, which is musk, has enclosed a jewel

fashioned by the hand of gracious favors and wisdom.

دوح بها يشرف الروح الأمين على

غر الملائك إذ يدعى من الخدم

A great tree there, through which the Trustworthy Spirit excels

the radiant angels, when he is called one of the servants.

كانك الجنة الفردوس واصفة

جنان خلد وما فيهن من نعم

You seem Paradise, al-Firdaws, portraying

gardens of eternity and the blessings they contain.

فهل تنال مناها النفس ثانية

بزورة فيحل الأنس بالحرم

Will the soul attain its wish a second time

through a visit, so that delight settles in the sanctuary?

يا سيدي لي حاجات عنيت بها

وأنت أكرم مامول وملتزم

My master, I have needs that trouble me;

you are the noblest one hoped in and relied upon.

وسائل البر إن كانت وسائله

إلى الكريم أصاب النجح من أمم

A seeker of goodness, if his means lead

to the generous, attains success close at hand.

ومذ غدوت شفيعا للأنام غدا

لواء حمدك منشوراً على الأمم

Since you became intercessor for humankind,

your banner of praise has flown over the nations.

قد كاثرتني ذنوبي فالتقيت بها

بجيش هم على الأحشاء مزدحم

My sins have outnumbered me, and through them I encountered

an army of worry crowding my innermost parts.

والنفس كالتبر تستصفي شوائبها

نار الهموم فترقى باذخ الهمم

The soul is like raw gold: its dross is purified by

the fire of cares, and it rises to lofty aspirations.

جعلت مدحك لي ذخراً ومعتصما

فاقبل مديحي يا ذخري ومعتصمي

I made praising you my treasure and my refuge;

so accept my praise, O my treasure and my refuge.

فصار قد حي المعلى وانجلت غممي

وسار مدحي المحلى واعتلت كلمي

Thus my lot-arrow became al-Mu'alla, and my sorrows cleared;

my ornamented praise spread abroad, and my words rose high.

وقيمة المرء ما قد كان يحسنه

وفي مديحك ما تغلو به قيمي

A person's worth is what he does well;

in praising you lies what makes my worth rise.

ورب قول يحلي السمع جوهره

ورب قول يروع السمع بالصمم

Many a saying has jewels that adorn the ear;

many a saying assails the ear with deafness.

محمد بك اضحى ظنه حسناً

يا معدن اللطف والاحسان والكرم

Muhammad has come to think well of you,

O source of kindness, beneficence, and generosity.

حقق رجائي واشفع لي فقد علقت

يدي بحبل رجاء غير منفصم

Fulfill my hope and intercede for me, for there has clung

my hand to an unbreakable cord of hope.