أما وبديع ما تأتي يمينا — Abn Hius

أَما وَبَديعِ ما تَأتي يَمينا

تَحَرَّجَ رَبُّها مِن أَن يَمينا

Indeed, by the marvels of your deeds—an oath

whose swearer scruples to tell a lie.

لَقَد أوتيتَ يا شَرَفَ المَعالي

عِنانَ المَجدِ دونَ العالَمينا

You have indeed been given, O honor of lofty glories,

the reins of glory, to the exclusion of all others.

وَلَم تَرضَ اِبتِداعَ سِواكَ عَوناً

فَلَستَ بِآخِذِ الحَسَناتِ عونا

You would not accept another's invention as an aid,

so you do not take fine deeds secondhand.

فَعاوَدَ شَكُّنا فيما سَمِعنا

بِما تُبديهِ مِن حَسَنٍ يَقينا

Thus our doubt about what we heard turned back,

through the excellence you reveal, to certainty.

وَكُنّا ذاهِلينَ إِذا سَمِعنا

بِأَبناءِ المُلوكِ الأَوَّلينا

We used to stand bewildered when we heard

about the sons of kings of old.

وَجِئتَ فَصارَ أَعظَمُ ما رَوَينا

هَباءً عِندَ أَيسَرِ ما تُرينا

You came, and the greatest things we recounted became

dust beside the least of what you show us.

مَساعٍ طُلتَهُم جِدّاً وَمَجداً

بِها وَفَضَلتَهُم دُنيا وَدينا

Endeavors—you outstripped them in diligence and glory

through these, and excelled them in worldly life and faith.

إِذا قالَ الوَرى بَلَغَت مَداها

عَلَت شَرَفاً بِرَغمِ الحاسِدينا

When people say these deeds have reached their limit,

they rise higher in honor, despite the envious.

فَمُدَّةُ عَصرِكَ الماضي حَميداً

تُرى ساعاً وَإِن كانَت سِنينا

The span of your reign, which has passed commendably,

seems hours, though it has been years.

وَآنِفُهُ بِعَدلِكَ سَوفَ تَبقى

عَلى مَرِّ اللَيالي ما بَقينا

And its coming span, through your justice, will endure

across the passing nights, as long as we remain.

فَيا مَلِكَ المُلوكِ وَلا أُحاشي

وَمَن ذا يَدفَعُ الحَقَّ المُبينا

So, O king of kings, with none excepted—

and who could deny the manifest truth?

وَيا غَيثاً يَعُمُّ العامَ سَيباً

وَصَوبُ الغادِياتِ يَخُصُّ حينا

And O rain, whose bounty covers all the year,

while the morning clouds' downpour favors but a season.

وَيا لَيثاً حَمى الآفاقَ طُرّاً

وَمَنعُ اللَيثِ لا يُخطي العَرينا

And O lion who protected all the horizons,

while a lion's protection reaches no farther than its den.

لَيالينا بِظِلِّ عُلاكَ بيضٌ

وَكانَت قَبلَكَ الأَيّامُ جونا

Our nights beneath the shade of your eminence are white,

whereas before you even the days were black.

أَضَفتَ إِلى الغِنى أَمناً وَعَدلاً

لَقَد جاوَزتَ حَدَّ المُنعِمينا

You added safety and justice to prosperity;

you have indeed surpassed the bounds of benefactors.

فَطَوراً تَصرِفُ اللَأواءَ عَنّا

وَطَوراً تُجزِلُ الآلاءَ فينا

At times you turn hardship away from us,

and at times you lavish favors upon us.

فَأَينَ قِراعُ عَمروٍ مِن قِراعٍ

حَمَيتَ بِهِ تُراثَ المُسلِمينا

Where is Amr's combat beside the combat

with which you protected the Muslims' heritage?

وَأَينَ فَتى إِيادٍ مِن أَيادٍ

بِها تَستَعبِدُ المُستَعبِدينا

And where is Iyad's young hero beside the favors

with which you enslave those who enslave others?

وَهَل تَعصي مُلوكُ الأَرضِ مَلكاً

بِسُلطانٍ سَمائِيٍّ أُعينا

Can the kings of earth disobey a king

aided by heavenly authority?

إِذا طَلَبوا عَظيماً فَاِستَعانوا

فَلَستَ بِغَيرِ عَزمِكَ مُستَعينا

When they seek something great, they call for help;

you seek no aid beyond your own resolve,

وَبيضٍ مِن سُيوفِ الهِندِ سُلَّت

فَأَلوى جَهلُها بِالجاهِلينا

and gleaming Indian swords drawn from their sheaths,

whose fury swept the fools away.

وَعاوَدَتِ الجُفونَ وَقَد تَقَضَّت

هَناتٌ تَمنَعُ النَومَ الجُفونا

And they returned to their sheaths once there had ended

the troubles that kept sleep from eyelids.

أَحَلتَ مَذَلَّةَ الإِسلامِ عِزّاً

بِها وَقَساوَةَ الأَيّامِ لينا

You turned Islam's humiliation into glory

with them, and the days' harshness into gentleness;

وَسُمرٍ عُوِّدَت في كُلِّ حَربٍ

تَحَكَّمُ في نُفوسِ الدارِعينا

and dusky spears, accustomed in every war

to master the souls of armored warriors.

تَحيدُ إِلى المَقاتِلِ عَن سِواها

فَهَل خَلَقَ القُيونُ لَها عُيونا

They turn toward the vital spots, away from others:

have the smiths fashioned eyes for them?

وَتُردي مَن يُقابِلُها وَتَأبى

جَباناً لا يُقَبِّلُها الجَبينا

They strike down whoever faces them, yet refuse

a coward who does not let them kiss his brow.

وَخَيلٍ كُلَّما حاوَلتَ أَمراً

سَبَقنَ إِلى مَآرِبِكَ الظُنونا

And horses that, whenever you seek a goal,

outrun conjecture in reaching your aims.

إِذا عَلَتِ الهِضابَ فَلَستَ تَدري

أَصَخراً دُسنَ أَم طيناً وَطينا

When they climb the hills, you cannot tell

whether they trod on rock or stepped upon clay.

تُغيرُ عَلى العِدى مِن كُلِّ أَوبٍ

مَخافَتُها وإِن كانَت صُفونا

From every quarter the enemy is assailed

by fear of them, even when they stand poised.

وَمَن أَضحى بِمُلكِكَ مُستَجيراً

فَما يُلفى لِخَطبٍ مُستَكينا

Whoever seeks refuge within your dominion

is never found submitting to calamity.

أَخَفتَ الآمِنينَ سُطىً فَلَمّا

عَفَوتَ غَدَوتَ أَمنَ الخائِفينا

You frightened the secure with your assaults; then,

when you pardoned, you became the refuge of the frightened.

نُصِرتَ مِنَ السَماءِ وَكانَ حَقّاً

عَلى الرَحمَنِ نَصرُ المُؤمِنينا

You were granted victory from heaven, and it was incumbent

upon the Merciful to grant believers victory.

وَشِدتَ لِهاشِمٍ بِالسَيفِ عِزّاً

فَقَد أَشبَهتَ أَنزَعَها البَطينا

You built glory for Hashim with the sword;

thus you resemble its receding-haired, stout-bellied one.

وَقائِعُ شَيَّبَت أَيّامَ شُبَّت

قُروناً بَعدَ أَن أَفنَت قُرونا

Battles that, on the days they were kindled, turned gray

generations, after annihilating generations.

رَآها الأَقرَبونَ فَأَعظَموها

وَسارَ حَديثُها في الأَبعَدينا

Those nearby witnessed them and marveled at them,

and their tale spread among those far away.

فَلَو لَم يَعرِفوا لَكَ ما عَرَفنا

لَما اِعتَرَفوا بِحَقِّكَ طائِعينا

Had they not known of you what we knew,

they would not have acknowledged your rightful claim willingly.

وَقَد لَبّاكَ قِرواشٌ مُجيباً

فَبَوَّأَ مُلكَهُ حِصناً حَصينا

Qirwash answered your call in response,

and so lodged his kingdom in an impregnable fortress.

وَجاوَرَ دَوحَةً عَذُبَت ثِماراً

وَطابَت مَغرِساً وَعَلَت غُصونا

And he became neighbor to a great tree, sweet in fruit,

good in its planting-place and lofty in branches.

رَجا نَفَحاتِكَ المَلِكُ المُرَجّى

وَقادَ رَجاؤُكَ الأَمَلَ الحَرونا

The king in whom hopes are placed hoped for your gifts,

and hope in you led even balking hope onward.

فَما دونَ العِراقِ اليَومَ خَصمٌ

يُلِطُّ وَقَد تَخَيَّرتَ الضَمينا

No opponent now stands before Iraq,

persisting in defiance, since you have chosen the guarantor.

أَقِل سُكّانَهُ العَثَراتِ وَاِحسِم

بِهَذا العَدلِ جَورَ الجائِرينا

Forgive its inhabitants their missteps, and end

with this justice the oppression of oppressors.

فَقَد نَزَلَت رَسائِلُكَ المَواضي

مَكاناً مِن قُلوبِهِمُ مَكينا

For your keen-edged letters have settled

in a secure place within their hearts.

رَسائِلُ ضُمِّنَت أَمناً وَخَوفاً

فَهُم بِسَماعِها مُتَخالِفونا

Letters containing safety and fear—

so their hearers differ in their responses.

فَمَظلومٌ يَحِنُّ إِلَيكَ شَوقاً

وَظَلّامٌ يُحاذِرُ أَن يَحينا

An oppressed man yearns for you with longing,

while a tyrant fears that he will meet his doom.

فَكَيفَ بِمَن لَهُ الزَوراءُ دارٌ

إِذا فارَقتَ مَيّا فارِقينا

Then how will it be for one whose home is al-Zawra

when you depart from Mayyafariqin?

سَتَستَوفي الظُبى لِبَني عَلِيٍّ

بِها مِن آلِ عَبّاسٍ دُيونا

The blades will exact for the sons of Ali

debts there from the house of Abbas.

وَشَطرُ الأَرضِ في يُسراكَ مُلكٌ

أَلا فَاِشغَل بِباقيها اليَمينا

Half the earth is a kingdom in your left hand;

now occupy your right with its remainder.

فَكَم حاوَلتَ مُعجِزَةً فَكانَت

وَقَد حَكَمَ الوَرى أَن لا تَكونا

How many a miracle you attempted, and it came to pass,

though mankind had decreed it could not be!

وَقالوا أَصحَرَت جَهلاً نُمَيرٌ

لِتَنصُرَها جُنودُ المُشرِكينا

They said: 'Numayr foolishly ventured into the open

for the polytheists' armies to come to its aid.'

وَما أَغنَوهُمُ وَبَنو كِلابٍ

عَشِيَّةَ رُعتَهُم مُتَظافِرينا

They availed them nothing, nor did Banu Kilab,

on the evening you terrified them, allied together.

أَبِالطُرَداءِ يَبغونَ اِنتِصاراً

وَما اِنتَفَعوا بِبَأسِ الطارِدينا

Do they seek victory through the fugitives,

though they gained nothing from the pursuers' might?

وَلَو عَدّاكَ هَذا الجَيشُ يَوماً

لَأَصبَحَتِ الحُصونُ لَهُم سُجونا

Even if this army escaped you one day,

the fortresses would become prisons for them.

وَقَلعَةُ دَوسَرٍ بابٌ إِلى ما

تُحاوِلُ فَاِرمِها بِالفاتِحينا

Dawsar's citadel is a gateway to what

you seek; assail it with conquerors,

بِأُسدِ وَغىً إِذا زَأَرَت أَحالَت

زَئيرَ الأُسدِ مِن فَرقٍ أَنينا

with lions of battle whose roaring turns

the lions' roar, from terror, into groaning.

كَتائِبُ شُبنَ حاضِرَةً بِبَدوٍ

يُصَرِّفنَ المَنايا حَيثُ شينا

Battalions mingling townsfolk with nomads,

directing deaths wherever they wish.

فَكَم بَلَدٍ مَلَكتَ بِهِ بِلاداً

وَكَم حِصنٍ فَتَحتَ بِهِ حُصونا

How many a town through which you conquered lands,

and how many a fortress through which you took fortresses!

وَشِم لِلرَقَّةِ البَيضاءِ بيضاً

بِها أَقرَرتَ في حَلَبَ العُيونا

Draw for white al-Raqqa the gleaming blades

with which you cooled the eyes in Aleppo.

كَتَبتَ مِنَ الخُطوبِ لَها أَماناً

وَكُنتَ عَلى رَعِيَّتِها أَمينا

You wrote it a guarantee of safety against calamities,

and were a trustworthy guardian over its subjects.

لَئِن أَعيَت عَلى بَنجوتَكينٍ

فَقَد وَلَّيتَها بِنَجوتَكينا

Though it had defied Banjutakin,

you have now appointed a Banjutakin over it.

تَعَدّى رَبُّها سَفَهاً وَحَيناً

وَكُنتَ بِأَخذِها سَلَباً قَمينا

Its lord transgressed in folly and toward doom,

and you were worthy of taking it as spoil.

تَمَنّى أَن يَنالَ النَجمَ جَهلاً

فَما صَدَقَت مُنىً جَلَبَت مَنونا

He foolishly wished to reach the star;

but wishes that brought death did not come true.

أَعَنتَ السَيفَ مُنصَلِتاً بِرَأيٍ

إِذا أَشهَدتَهُ الحَربَ الزَبونا

You aided the unsheathed sword with judgment

when you brought it to fierce war.

جَعَلتَ طَليعَةً مِنهُ أَمامَ ال

جُيوشِ وَمِن وَرائِهِمُ كَمينا

You made of it an advance guard before the

armies, and an ambush behind them.

أَلا لا يَدَّعِ العَلياءَ خَلقٌ

فَقَد فَضَحَ المُحِقُّ المُدَّعينا

Let no creature claim high eminence:

the truly worthy has exposed the pretenders.

وَلا يَقضي الزَمانُ بِعِزِّ شَيءٍ

إِذا شاءَ المُظَفَّرُ أَن يَهونا

Time does not decree glory for anything

if al-Muzaffar wishes it humbled.

وَدونَكَها مَدائِحَ بِتُّ أُنضي

إِلَيها الفِكرَةَ العَنسَ الأَمونا

Take these praises: I spent the night exhausting

toward them my thought, that sturdy, trusty she-camel.

لَقَد غادَرتَ بِالإِحسانِ بَيني

وَبَينَ النائِباتِ نَوىً شَطَونا

By your kindness, you have left between me

and calamities a far-flung separation.

وَضَنَّ نَدى يَدَيكَ بِماءِ وَجهي

فَمالي لا أَكونُ بِهِ ضَنينا

The dew of your hands guarded the water of my face;

why, then, should I not guard it jealously?

فَمَيِّز خاطِراً يَأبى الدَنايا

وَشِعراً ما تَبَذَّلَ مُنذُ صينا

Recognize, then, a mind that rejects baseness,

and verse never debased since it was safeguarded.

وَقَفتُ لَدَيكَ وَالعِشرونَ سِنّي

وَها أَنا قَد قَرِبتُ الأَربَعينا

I stood before you when twenty was my age,

and here I am, already nearing forty.

وَما جازَيتُ مِن نُعماكَ يَوماً

عَلى أَنّي أَفوتُ القائِلينا

Not once have I repaid any of your favors,

though I surpass the poets.

لَئِن أَضحى مَعيناً ماءُ قَولي

فَمُنذُ جَعَلتَ فِعلَكَ لي مُعينا

If the water of my speech has become a flowing spring,

it is since you made your deeds my helper.

مَآثِرُ أَصبَحَت في كُلِّ تاجٍ

عَلى هامِ العُلى دُرّاً ثَمينا

Glorious deeds that have become, in every crown

on the brows of eminence, precious pearls.

إِذا ما رُمتُ مِنها وَصفَ فَنٍّ

أَتاحَت بِالفَضائِلِ لي فُنونا

Whenever I seek to describe one aspect of them,

they offer me many kinds of virtue.

وَماذا يَبلُغُ الشُعَراءُ مِنهَ

وَقَد ذَهِلَ الكِرامُ الكاتِبينا

And how much of this can poets attain,

when the noble scribes are already bewildered?

فَعِش ما كَرَّ شَهرُ الصَومِ تَجني

مُضاعَفَةً أُجورَ الصائِمينا

Live, as long as the fasting month returns, reaping

the fasters' rewards multiplied.

أَفادَ الحَمدُ مِن رَيّاكَ طيباً

فَدامَ لَدَيكَ مُحتَبَساً رَهينا

Praise drew fragrance from your scent,

and so remains with you, held captive and in pledge.

فَسُكّانُ البَسيطَةِ ما تَوالى

بِحَضرَتِكَ الهَناءُ مُهَنَّئونا

Thus the earth's inhabitants, for as long as

joy continues in your court, receive congratulations.