سل المقادير ما أحببته تجب — Abn Hius

سَلِ المَقاديرَ ما أَحبَبتَهُ تُجِبِ

فَما لَها غَيرُ ما تَهواهُ مِن أَرَبِ

Ask the fates for what you desire; they will answer.

For they have no wish other than what you desire.

وَاِطلُب بِهَذي الظُبى ما عَزَّ مَطلَبُهُ

فَما عَلى الأَرضِ مَن يَثنيكَ عَن طَلَبِ

And seek with these blades whatever is hard to attain.

For none on earth can turn you from your quest.

وَكَيفَ تَعصي مُلوكُ الأَرضِ ذا هِمَمٍ

تَجوزُ أَحكامُهُ في السَبعَةِ الشُهُبِ

How could the kings of earth defy a man of lofty aims,

Whose decrees hold sway among the seven bright stars?

ريعوا فَما دَفَعوا ضَيماً وَلا كَرَبوا

أَن يَكشِفوا بَعضَ ما كَشَّفتَ مِن كُرَبِ

They were terrified, yet neither repelled oppression nor came close

To lifting even some of the afflictions you dispelled.

طالوا مَقالاً وَفي أَفعالِهِم قِصَرٌ

وَلَن تُراعَ الخُطوبُ السُودُ بِالخُطَبِ

They towered in words, but their deeds fell short.

And black calamities will never be frightened by speeches.

وَحاوَلوا المَجدَ مِن طُرقٍ مُشَعَّبةٍ

وَجِئتَهُ مِن طَريقٍ غَيرِ مُنشَعِبِ

They sought glory by branching paths,

While you reached it by a path without a branch.

لا يُذهِلِ الناسَ ما خُوِّلتَ مِن شَرَفٍ

فَمَن سَعى سَعيَكَ اِستَولى عَلى القَصَبِ

Let people not be dazzled by the honor bestowed on you;

For whoever strives as you did claims the victor's reed.

بَأسٌ تَحوطُ الغَريبَ الأَجنَبِيَّ بِهِ

كَما تَذودُ الأَذى عَن جارِكَ الجُنُبِ

Valor with which you guard the foreign stranger,

As you ward harm from your unrelated neighbor.

وَنائِلٌ ظَلَّ ذو وَفرٍ كَمُفتَقِرٍ

فيهِ الغَداةَ وَناءٍ مِثلَ مُقتَرِبِ

And bounty: the wealthy have become like the needy

In it this morning, and the far-off like the near.

كَذَلِكَ النارُ في نَفعٍ وَفي ضَرَرٍ

مُيَمَّمٌ نورُها مَرهوبَةُ اللَهَبِ

So too is fire, in benefit and harm:

Its light is sought out, its flame feared.

وَنَخوَةٌ ما يَزالُ الدَهرَ يَمنَعُها

مُستَحسَنُ الجِدِّ عَن مُستَقبَحِ اللَعِبِ

And noble pride, which through all time is kept

By admirable earnestness from shameful frivolity.

يُرى سِواكَ إِذا ما جاءَ مُفتَخِراً

يَوماً أَحالَ عَلى آبائِهِ النُجُبِ

Another is seen, when he comes boasting,

Appealing one day to his noble forefathers.

فَاِعلُ الوَرى غَيرُكُ المَسؤولُ عَن نَسَبٍ

قاصٍ وَحَسبُكَ ما أوتيتَ مِن حَسَبِ

So rise above mankind: others are questioned about a lineage

Far removed; the distinction bestowed on you is enough.

وَأَنتَ مَن تَرفَعُ الأَشرافَ خِدمَتُهُ

وَالإِنتِماءُ إِلَيهِ أَشرَفُ النَسَبِ

You are the one whom nobles gain rank by serving,

And affiliation with him is the noblest lineage.

وَما خَفيتَ عَلى ذي فِطنَةٍ نَسَباً

إِذا النَدى وَالوَغى قالا لَكَ اِنتَسَبِ

Your lineage has not been hidden from the discerning,

When bounty and battle tell you, 'Declare your lineage.'

بَنَيتَ لِلعَجَمِ المَجدَ المُبَلِّغَهُم

مَجداً بَناهُ رَسولُ اللَهِ لِلعَرَبِ

You built for the non-Arabs a glory that brings them

To the glory God's Messenger built for the Arabs.

لَقَد حَمى الحاكِمُ المَنصورُ دَولَتَهُ

بِقَولِهِ اِنتَجِبِ الفُرسانَ وَاِنتَخَبِ

Indeed, al-Hakim al-Mansur protected his realm

By saying, 'Choose the finest horsemen and select.'

ثُمَّ اِنتَضاكَ اِبنُهُ سَيفاً زَمانَ طَغَت

أَعداؤُهُ فَرَماها مِنكَ بِالعَطَبِ

Then his son unsheathed you as a sword when defiance arose

Among his enemies; through you he hurled ruin upon them.

فَحينَ أَربَيتَ قالَ اِبنُ اِبنِهِ اِعتَضِدي

يا دَولَتي بِفَتى جَدّي وَسَيفِ أَبي

Then, when you excelled, his grandson said, 'Take strength,

O my realm, from my grandfather's champion and my father's sword.'

أَرى نَصيبَكَ مِن عِزٍّ وَمِن شَرفٍ

نَصيبَ شانيكَ مِن هَمٍّ وَمِن نَصَبِ

I see your share of might and honor

As your hater's share of sorrow and weariness.

لا ذَت بِكَ العَرَبُ العَرباءُ وَاِعتَلَقَت

مِن جودِ كَفِّكَ حَبلاً غَيرَ مُنقَضِبِ

The true-born Arabs sought refuge in you and grasped

From your hand's bounty a rope that never breaks.

أَصفَيتَها المالَ شِرباً وَالعُلى كَلَأً

مِن بَعدِ أَن رَضيَت بِالماءِ وَالعُشُبِ

You bestowed on them wealth for drink and eminence for pasture,

After they had been content with water and grass.

ناقَضتَ حُكمَهُمُ لَمّا أَبَحتَهُمُ

ما قَد سَلَبتَ بِأَطرافِ القَنا السُلُبِ

You reversed their judgment when you made freely available to them

What you had seized with the points of slender spears.

فَقَد صَفا لَكَ إِعلاناً وَمُعتَقَداً

مَن لَم يَزَل في طَريقِ الخِبِّ ذا خَبَبِ

Thus loyal to you, openly and inwardly, is now

The man who always trotted along deceit's path.

أَعدَمتَها الجَهلَ وَالإِعدامَ مُذ وَجَدَت

في ظِلِّكَ الرَغَبَ المَخلوطَ بِالرَهَبِ

You rid them of ignorance and poverty once they found

In your shade, hope mingled with fear.

في ظِلِّ أَروعَ إِن تَسأَلهُ مُنفِسَهُ

يَهَب وَإِن باشَرَ الهَيجاءَ لَم يَهَبِ

In the shade of a splendid man: if you ask him for his prized possession,

He gives; and if he enters battle, he does not fear.

نَدىً مَتى يَنزِلُ العافونَ عَقوَتَهُ

يَصُب وَعَزمٌ مَتى يَرمي العِدا يُصِبِ

Bounty that, whenever petitioners alight in his precinct,

Pours forth; and resolve that hits whenever it aims at foes.

يَبُثُّ في كُلِّ أَرضٍ لِلعَدُوِّ نَأَت

ذِكراً يَقومُ مَقامَ الجَحفَلِ اللَجِبِ

He spreads through every distant enemy land

A renown that stands in place of a clamorous army.

إِنَّ الجَزيرَةَ بابٌ ظَلتَ توسِعُهُ

هَزّاً وَلَم يَبقَ غَيرُ الفَتحِ فَاِرتَقِبِ

Al-Jazira is a gate you have continually subjected

To shaking; only its opening remains, so await it.

بابُ العِراقِ فَإِن جاءَ البَصيرُ بهِ

وَافى المُبَشِّرُ مِن بَغَدادَ بِالعَقِبِ

The gate of Iraq: if the keen-eyed one brings news of it,

The herald from Baghdad will arrive close behind.

وَكَم سَعَيتَ لِحَظٍّ كُنتَ تَلحَظُهُ

فَذادَكَ الجِدُّ حَظّاً غَيرَ مُرتَقَبِ

And how often you strove for a share you had in view,

And earnest effort drove you to an unlooked-for share.

وَكَم فَتَحتَ بِلاداً غَيرَ مُكتَرِثٍ

وَالسُمرُ مَركوزَةٌ وَالبيضُ في القُرُبِ

And how many lands you conquered, untroubled,

With brown spears planted and white swords in their sheaths.

فَلا يَغُرَّ نُمَيراً أَنَّها سَلِمَت

لَيسَ السَلامَةُ مِن ذا العَزمِ بِالهَرَبِ

Let Numayr not be deceived by its having escaped unharmed:

Safety from such resolve is not found in flight.

نَحَوا فَحينَ أَحَسّوا بِاللِقاءِ نَجَوا

يا قُربَ هَذا الرِضى مِن ذَلِكَ الغَضَبِ

They advanced; once they sensed an encounter, they fled.

How close this contentment is to that anger!

هَمّوا فَمُذ نَزَلوا بِالشَطِّ شَطَّ بِهِم

عَن سَورَةِ الحَربِ ما خافوا مِنَ الحَرَبِ

They resolved; but once they reached the bank, they were driven far

From war's fury by the plunder they feared.

حَتّى إِذا نَزَلَت صِرّينَ مُقبِلَةً

جاشَت بِحارُ رَدىً طَمَّت عَلى القُلُبِ

Until, when the cavalry advanced upon Sirrin,

Seas of death surged and overwhelmed the wells.

أَلّا ثَنَوها وَقَد ظَلَّت عَجاجَتُها

أَولى بِسَترِ عَذاراهُم مِنَ النُقُبِ

Why did they not turn it back, when its dust-cloud

Had become better at concealing their maidens than face-veils?

خَيلٌ أَثارَت غَداةَ العَبرِ أَرجُلُها

ماءٍ حَكى نَقعَها في المَركَضِ التَرِبِ

Horses whose feet, on the morning of the crossing, stirred up

Water that mimicked their dust on the dusty galloping-ground.

طالَ القَنا طامِحاً حَتّى لَقَد رُكِزَت

مِن قَبلِ طَعنِ العِدى مُبتَلَّةَ العَذَبِ

The spears towered, pointing upward, until they were planted

Before piercing the foes, their tassels soaked.

وَعادَ بَعدَ بُلوغِ الجَوِّ مُنعَكِساً

كَأَنَّما جادَ تِلكَ الأَرضَ مِن سُحُبِ

And the water, after reaching the air, fell back down,

As though it rained upon that land from clouds.

تَفَرَّقَ الجَمعُ لَمّا أَقبَلَت زُمَراً

تَفَرُّقَ السِربِ لَمّا ريعَ بِالسُرَبِ

The host scattered when the horses came in companies,

Like a flock when frightened by cavalry bands.

كَالطَيرِ تَحمِلُ آساداً تُظَلِّلُها

طَيرٌ مَوارِدها قاني الدَمِ السَرِبِ

Bird-like, they carry lions, shaded overhead

By birds whose drinking pools are crimson, flowing blood.

هَذي تَفورُ إِذا نارُ اللِقاءِ خَبَت

وَتِلكَ إِن تَخبُ مِن قَبلِ الرَدى تَخِبِ

These seethe when the fire of battle dies down,

And those, if they flag, trot ahead of death.

وَأَحدَقوا بِأَبي كَعبٍ لِيَنصُرَهُم

وَهَل تُراعُ لُيوثُ الغابِ بِالشَبَبِ

They gathered around Abu Ka'b so he might help them;

But are the lions of the forest frightened by wild bulls?

أَو يَحتَمي مُستَجيرُ الرومِ مِن مَلِكٍ

يُزجي الكَتائِبَ مِلءَ الأَرضِ بِالكُتُبِ

Or can one who seeks Roman refuge find protection from a king

Who, by written orders, sends battalions filling the earth?

لا يَصطَلِ الرومُ جَهلاً ما يَشُبُّ لَهُم

رَبُّ العُلى لَم تُشَب وَالجودِ لَم يُشَبِ

Let the Romans not ignorantly warm themselves at what is kindled for them

By the lord of unsullied eminence and unalloyed generosity.

وَلتَجتَنِب بَطشَ أَلوى حَدُّ سَطوَتِهِ

أَلوى بِمَن رَدَّها مَنكوسَةَ الصُلُبِ

And let them avoid the grip of a formidable man whose assault's edge

Swept away those who resisted it, their crosses overturned.

نَجمٌ بِسَيفِكَ مِن بَعدِ الوُقودِ خَبا

فَحُزتَ مالَكَ دينَ العالَمينَ خُبي

A star, once ablaze, was extinguished by your sword;

Thus you gained what was stored for you, O faith of the worlds.

وَأَينَ مِنكَ اِبنُ حَمدانَ المُرَوِّعُهُم

وَمِن مَماليكَكَ الوالي عَلى حَلَبِ

And where does Ibn Hamdan, who terrifies them, stand beside you?

The governor of Aleppo is among your mamluks,

مِنَ الأُلى هَذَّبَتهُم ذي العُلى فَحَوَوا

حَظّاً مِن الجودِ وَالإِقدامِ وَالأَدَبِ

Among those whom these lofty virtues refined, so they gained

A share of generosity, daring, and refinement.

هُمُ المَوالي وَإِن خَوَّلتَهُم خَوَلاً

ما ضَرَّ مِن يوسُفٍ أَن بيعَ في الجَلَبِ

They are lords, though you have made them servants;

What harm came to Joseph from being sold among slaves brought to market?

وَلَّيتَهُم ما تَوَلَّتهُ المُلوكُ لَقَد

أَبى اِعتِزامُكَ ما نالَت مِنَ الرُتَبِ

You entrusted them with what kings had governed; indeed,

Your determination spurned the ranks those kings attained.

كَأَنَّ مَجدَكَ وَهوَ الدَهرَ في صُعُدٍ

مِن فَرطِ إِسراعِهِ يَنحَطُّ في صَبَبِ

It is as though your glory, though forever ascending,

From its sheer speed were plunging down a slope.

مَلَكتَنا مُلكَ مَولىً عَزَّ مَقدِرَةً

وَحُطتَنا حانِياً كَالوالِدِ الحَدِبِ

You ruled us as a lord mighty in power,

And guarded us tenderly, like a caring father.

لا يَرضَ عَزمُكَ شَطرَ الأَرضِ مَملَكَةً

فَشَطرُها في ضَمانِ السُمرِ وَالقُضُبِ

Let your resolve not accept half the earth as a kingdom,

For half of it is secured by brown spears and keen swords.

وَلا تُسالِم عَدُوّاً أَنتَ قاهِرُهُ

قَد أَمكَنَتكَ كُؤوسُ الحَمدِ فَاِنتَخِبِ

And make no peace with an enemy you overpower;

The cups of praise are within your grasp, so choose.

فَكُلُّ مَلكٍ دَعاكَ اليَومَ مِن بُعُدٍ

فِإِنَّهُ في غَدٍ يَدعوكَ مِن كَثَبِ

For every king who calls to you today from afar

Will call to you tomorrow from close at hand.

هَواكَ أَذهَلَني عَن ذِكرِ كُلِّ هَوىً

فَما أَجيءُ بِشِعرٍ غَيرِ مُقتَضَبِ

Love for you has made me forget every other love,

So I bring only poetry without a prelude.

أَمَّنتَني بِالعَطاءِ الغَمرِ مِن عَدَمٍ

وَبِالمَساعي إِذا أَثنَيتُ مِن كَذِبِ

You secured me against poverty with abundant gifts,

And, through your deeds, against falsehood when I praise.

وَقَد شَفَعتَ الغِنى لي بِالعُلى كَرَماً

فَصِرتُ ذا نَسَبٍ في المَجدِ وَالنَسَبِ

In generosity you joined wealth for me with high rank,

So I acquired a lineage in glory and in ancestry.

فَدُلَّني أَيَّما الثِقلَينِ أَحمِلُهُ

ثِقلِ اِصطِناعِكَ لي أَم ثِقلِ صُنعِكَ بي

Then show me which of the two burdens I bear:

The weight of your patronage of me, or the weight of your favors to me.

قَد شَدَّ أَزرِيَ أَنَّ الشِعرَ لي سَبَبٌ

وَأَنَّ هَذا الَّذي يُغني بِلا سَبَبِ

It has strengthened my back that poetry gives me a claim,

And that this man grants wealth without a claim.

إِن لَم تَغُص لِيَ أَفكاري عَلى مِدَحٍ

تُغري البَعيدَ مِنَ الأَطرابِ بِالطَرَبِ

If my thoughts do not dive for me to find praises

That move one far from rapture to rapture,

فَلا بَلَغتُ مَدى مَحيايَ أَيسَرَ ما

أَرجو وَلا نِلتُ عَفواً يَومَ مُنقَلَبي

Then may I never, throughout my life, attain the least of what

I hope for, nor gain pardon on the day of my return.

مَضى الصِيامُ وَما أَجرٌ بِمُطَّرَحٍ

فيما فَعَلتَ وَلا وِزرٌ بِمُحتَقَبِ

The fast has passed, and no reward is cast away

In what you did, nor any burden of sin incurred.

وَعاوَدَ العيدُ فاِّسلَم ما أَتى وَمَضى

مُعَظَّمَ القَدرِ مَحروساً مِنَ النُوَبِ

The feast has returned; stay safe as long as it comes and goes,

Honored in standing, guarded against calamities.

أَمّا الحَجيجُ فَقَد أَوضَحتَ نَهجَهُمُ

ما بَينَ ذي وَطَنٍ دانٍ وَمُغتَرِبِ

As for the pilgrims, you have made their road clear,

For those with nearby homes and those far from home alike.

وَلا يُخيبُ إِلَهُ الخَلقِ سَعيَهُمُ

وَقَد سَمِعتَ دُعاءَ القَومِ مِن كَثَبِ

And may the God of creation not let their striving fail,

For you have heard the people's prayers from close by.

سَيفَ الخِلافَةِ دُم حِلفَ المَضاءِ كَذا

إِنَّ الخُطوبَ إِذا لَم تَنبُ لَم تَنُبِ

Sword of the Caliphate, remain thus allied with sharpness:

For calamities do not strike when you do not fail to cut.

وَعِش لِدَولَةِ حَقٍّ ظَلتَ تَعضُدُها

فَإِنَّها مِنكَ قَد دارَت عَلى قُطُبِ

And live for a rightful state that you have kept supporting,

For through you it now revolves upon a pivot.