هلم بنا إلى أرض الحجون — Abn Matouk

هلُمَّ بنا إلى أرضِ الحَجونِ

عسى نقضي الغَداةَ بها دُيوني

Come, let us go to the land of al-Hajun;

perhaps there in the morning we may settle my debts.

وسائِلْ جيرَةَ المَسْعى لماذا

وفَيْتُهُم وقد قبَضوا رُهوني

And ask the neighbors of al-Masʿa why

I paid them in full, though they had taken my pledges.

وعرِّجْ في المقامِ برَبْعِ لَيلى

لتَنْثُرَ فوقَه دُررَ الشّؤونِ

And turn aside at al-Maqam by Layla's dwelling,

to scatter over it pearls from the tear ducts.

وفتِّشْ ثَمَّ عن كَبدِي فعَهدي

هُنالِكَ قد أراقَتْها عُيوني

And search there for my liver; I recall

that my eyes poured it out there.

وحيِّ على الصّفا حَيّاً قليلاً

له وضعُ الجَبينِ على الوجِينِ

And greet at al-Safa a small clan,

before whom the brow is laid upon stony ground;

وملعَبَ حورِ جنّاتٍ سَقَتْنا

به الوِلْدانُ كأساً من مَعينِ

and the playground of the gardens' houris, where we were given

by youths there a cup from a flowing spring;

محلّاً فيه أسرارُ الأماني

محجَّبةٌ بأحشاءِ المَنونِ

a place where the secrets of desires

are veiled within death's entrails.

تَسومُ بها القُلوبَ فتشْتَريها

ثَنايا البيضِ بالدُّرِّ الثّمينِ

There hearts are bargained for and purchased

by fair women's front teeth, with precious pearls.

به تُبدي الشّموسُ دُجىً وتَحمي

بُدورَ قِيانِه شبهُ القُيونِ

There suns reveal darkness, and guarded are

the moons of its singing girls by smith-like shapes.

يَزرُّ به الحَديدُ على العَوالي

وينسَدِلُ الحَريرُ على الغُصونِ

There iron is buttoned over tall lances,

and silk falls over branches.

بسَمْعي من غَوانِيه كُنوزٌ

فَقِفْ فيها لتَنْظُرَها جُفوني

My hearing holds treasures from its beauties;

so stop among them, that my eyes may behold them.

ولي في الخَيْفِ أحبابٌ كِرامٌ

لديّ وإنْ همُ لم يُكرِموني

I have beloveds in al-Khayf, noble

in my eyes, though they have not honored me.

خضعْتُ لحُبِّهم ذُلّاً فعزّوا

ودِنتُ لحُكمِهم فاِستعبدوني

I submitted humbly to their love, and they grew mighty;

I bowed to their rule, and they enslaved me.

همُ اِجتمعوا على قتْلي بجمعٍ

ففيمَ على المنازِلِ فرّقوني

They gathered at Jamʿ to kill me;

why, then, did they scatter me among the dwellings?

عُيوني في هَواهُم أدخلَتْني

وفي العَبَراتِ منها أخرجوني

My eyes led me into love for them;

and in tears they cast me out of those eyes.

تقاسَمْتُ الهوى معهُم ولكن

تسلَّوْا عن هَوايَ وهيَّموني

I shared love with them, but

they forgot my love and drove me mad.

وإذ كُنتُ القَسيمَ بغير عَدلٍ

نجَوْا منهُ وحازوا الصّبرَ دوني

And as I was a partner in an unjust division,

they escaped it and claimed patience, leaving me none.

تمرُّ ظِباهُمُ متبرقِعاتٍ

محافظةً على الحُسنِ المَصونِ

Their gazelles pass by veiled,

guarding their safeguarded beauty.

فلَيْتَ مِلاحَهُم عدَلَتْ فأعطَتْ

حمائِمَ حَليِها خرسَ البُرينِ

Would that their beauties had been fair, and given

the doves of their jewelry the muteness of rings.

تَغانَوْا بالقُدودِ عنِ العَوالي

وبالأجفانِ عنْ ما بالجُفونِ

They have no need of tall spears, with their slender forms,

nor of what scabbards hold, with their eyelids.

فبَينَ لحاظِهِم كم من طَريحٍ

وبينَ قُدودِهمْ كم من طَعينِ

How many lie fallen among their glances,

and how many are pierced among their slender forms!

أنا الخِلُّ الوفيُّ وإن تجافَوا

وسايِلْهُم وإن لم يرفِدوني

I am the faithful friend, though they shun me;

and ask them, though they have not aided me.

أودُّ رِضاهُمُ لو كان حَتفي

وأوثِرُ قُربَهُم لو قرّبوني

I desire their favor, even if it meant my death,

and prefer their nearness, if only they would draw me near.

ألا يا أهلَ مكّةَ إنّ قلبي

بكُم عَلِقَتْهُ أشراكُ الفُنونِ

O people of Mecca, my heart

is caught on you by the snares of manifold charms.

جميعي صفقةً مني اِشتَرَيْتُم

فدَيْتُكُم ولِمْ بعّضْتُموني

You bought my whole self from me in one bargain;

may I be your ransom—why have you divided me?

نقلْتُم نحو مكّتِكم فؤادي

وبينَ الكرْخَتَيْنِ تركتُموني

You carried my heart toward your Mecca,

and left me between the two Karkhs.

غَرامي في هواكُم عامريٌّ

فهل ليلاكُمُ علِمَتْ جُنوني

My passion for you is an ʿAmiri's;

has your Layla, then, known my madness?

أمِنتُكُم على قَلبي فخُنْتُم

وأنتُم سادةُ البلدِ الأمينِ

I trusted you with my heart, but you betrayed me,

though you are lords of the secure city.

لَئنْ أنسَتْكُمُ الأيّامُ عَهدي

فذِكرُكُمُ نَجيّي كلَّ حِينِ

Though the days have made you forget my pledge,

remembrance of you is my confidant at every moment.

وإنْ وَهَنَتْ قِوايَ فإنّ دَمعي

على كَلِفي بكُم أبداً مُعيني

Though my strength has weakened, my tears

always aid me in my infatuation with you.

وإن صَفِرَتْ يَدي منكمْ فجدوى

عليّ المجدِ قد ملأتْ يَميني

Though my hand is empty of gifts from you, the bounty

of glorious Ali has filled my right hand.

حليفُ ندىً مكارمُه وفَتْ لي

بما ضَمِنَتْ من الدّنيا ظُنوني

An ally of generosity, whose noble deeds have fulfilled for me

what my expectations promised of this world.

جَسيمُ الفضلِ منتحِلُ المَواضي

رفيعُ القَدْرِ ذي الشّرفِ المَكينِ

Great in merit, a devotee of keen blades,

lofty in rank, possessing firmly rooted honor;

كريمُ النّفسِ في سُنَنِ السّجايا

موقّى العِرض عن طعنِ المُشينِ

noble of soul in the ways of character,

his honor guarded against a detractor's thrust.

على الكُبَراءِ يُبدي كِبْر كِسرى

وللفقراءِ ذُلَّ المستَكينِ

Toward the great he displays the pride of Kisra,

and toward the poor, the humility of the meek.

إذا عُدّتْ فنونُ الفخرِ يوماً

فمَفخرُهُ مقدّمَةُ الفُنونِ

If the forms of glory are ever counted,

his glory stands foremost among them.

نسيبٌ جاءَ من ماءٍ طَهورٍ

وكلُّ الخلقِ من ماءٍ مَهينِ

Noble-born, he sprang from pure water,

while all mankind springs from lowly fluid.

وهل يحكي عناصرَهُ نسيبٌ

وما اِختلطَتْ عَواليها بطِينِ

Can any noble-born man match his origins,

whose lofty elements have never mingled with clay?

يَفوحُ شَذا العَبا منه ويَحكي

جَوانبَها مُزاحمَةُ الأمينِ

The cloak's fragrance wafts from him, and mirrored are

its folds in the press of the Trustworthy One.

بفَلْقِ البدرِ موسومُ المحيّا

لردِّ الشمسِ منسوبُ الجَبينِ

His countenance bears the mark of the full moon's splitting;

his brow is linked to the sun's return.

هُمامٌ لو أراعَ فؤادَ رَضْوى

لزلْزَلَ رُكنَها بعد السّكونِ

A hero who, if he frightened Radwa's heart,

would shake its foundation after its stillness.

ولو أعدى الصخور عليه سالت

جوامدُها بجاريةِ العيونِ

And were rocks set against him, melting would be

their solid masses, with streaming eyes.

حِباءُ الليثِ إذ يغشى الأعادي

له وتبسُّمُ السّيفِ السّنينِ

The lion's bounty when it assails its foes

is his, and the keen-edged sword's smile.

يشمُّ ذَوابِلَ المُرّانِ حُبّاً

ويُعرضُ عن غَضيضِ الياسَمينِ

He lovingly scents the supple ashwood spears,

and turns away from tender jasmine.

ويرغبُ في قِتالِ الأُسْدِ حتّى

كأنّ سُيوفَها لفَتاتُ عِينِ

He so delights in battling lions

that their swords seem the glances of wide-eyed beauties.

ترى في السِّلْمِ منه حَيا الغواني

وفي هيَجانِه أسَدَ العرينِ

In peace, you see in him the modesty of maidens,

and in his fury, the lion of the lair.

إذا سُلَّتْ صَوارمُهُ أطالَتْ

سُجودَ الذُلِّ هاماتُ القُرونِ

When his sharp blades are drawn, prolonged is

the abject prostration of his rivals' heads.

تظنُّ غَمودَهُنّ إذا اِنتضاها

غصَبْنَ الصّاعقاتِ من الدُجونِ

When he draws them, you think their scabbards

have stolen thunderbolts from dark clouds.

يُبيحُ ذُكورها العزَماتُ منه

فُروجَ المُحصَناتِ من الحُصونِ

His resolves open to their male blades

the private parts of chaste, guarded fortresses.

كتبْنَ على حواشيها المَنايا

حواشيها على شرح المُتونِ

Deaths have written along their edges

their marginal notes expounding the blades' main texts.

تَساوى الخلقُ في جدواهُ حتّى

فراخُ القَيْحِ وهي على الوُكونِ

All creatures share equally in his bounty, even

the nestlings of 'pus' (as written), upon their roosts.

وسلّمتِ الورى دعوى المَعالي

له حتّى الأجنّةُ في البُطونِ

All creation has conceded the claim to high honors

to him, even fetuses in the wombs.

يُضِرُّ ثَناهُ بالجَرْعى ويُحيي

مَسيحُ نَداهُ مَوتى المُعتَفينِ

His praise harms the sandy plain, and revived are

dead petitioners by the Messiah of his bounty.

برؤيةِ وجهه نيلُ الأماني

وفي راحاتِه رَوْحُ الحزينِ

Seeing his face brings the fulfillment of wishes,

and in his palms is solace for the sorrowful.

كثيرُ الصّمتِ إن أبدى مَقالاً

ففي الأحكامِ والفضلِ المُبينِ

He keeps much silence; if he speaks,

it is of judgments and manifest excellence.

وإنْ خفقَتْ له يوماً بُنودٌ

فأجنحةٌ لدُنيا أو لِدِينِ

And if banners ever flutter for him,

they are wings for worldly life or faith.

أراضَ جوانحَ الحِدْثانِ حتّى

به ثبتَتْ لنا صفةُ الصُّفونِ

He tamed the wings of fortune's turns, until

through him we gained the poised stillness of steeds.

يرى أموالَهُ في عين زُهدٍ

فيعتقدُ اللُجَينَ من اللَّجينِ

He regards his wealth with a renunciant's eye,

and reckons silver mere beaten leaf-fodder.

ويلقى الدّارعين بآي موسى

فيفلِقُ عنهمُ لُجَجَ الضّغونِ

He confronts armored men with the signs of Moses,

and parts around them the deep seas of rancor.

تشرّفتِ العُلا بأبي حُسينٍ

فبورِك بالمكانِ وبالمَكينِ

High honors are ennobled by Abu Husayn;

so blessed be the station and its occupant.

فيا اِبنَ الطّاهرينَ ومَنْ أُزينَتْ

بفضلِ حديثهمْ سِيَرُ القُرونِ

O son of the pure, and of those whose

excellent accounts adorn the annals of the ages!

ويا اِبْنَ المُحسنينَ إذا الليالي

أساءَتْ كلَّ ذي خطرٍ بهونِ

And son of benefactors, when nights

afflict every man of consequence with humiliation!

لقد حسُنَتْ بكَ الدنيا وجادَتْ

بنَيلِ النُّجْح في الزمن الضّنينِ

Through you the world has grown fair and generous

in granting success in a miserly age.

وفكّ الجودُ أغلالَ العَطايا

وأمسى البُخلُ في قَيدِ الرّهينِ

Generosity has undone the fetters of gifts,

and miserliness now wears a captive's chains.

فسمعاً من ثَنايَ عليكَ لفظاً

يهزّ مناكِبَ الصّعبِ الحَزونِ

So hear, from my praise of you, an utterance

that shakes the shoulders of rough, rugged ground.

أنا ابنُ جَلا القَريضِ متى شكَكْتُم

وطلّاعُ الثّنا أفتَعرِفوني

I am the son of the revealer of verse, should you doubt,

and the climber of praise's heights—do you recognize me?

خُذِ الألواحَ من زُبُرِ القوافي

فنُسخَتُهنّ ترجمةُ اليَقينِ

Take the tablets from the writings of rhyme;

their text is an exposition of certainty.

بكَ الرّحمنُ علّمني المَعاني

وأوحاها إلى قلَمي ونُوني

Through you the All-Merciful taught me meanings,

and inspired them to my pen and my inkpot.

فكم قومٍ لديكَ تَرى محلّي

فتَغبِطُني وقومٍ يحسدُوني

How many people in your presence see my station,

and wish for my fortune, while others envy me.

ليَهنكَ سيّدي عيدٌ شريفٌ

حكاكَ فجلَّ عن شِبهِ القَرينِ

May a noble feast gladden you, my lord;

it mirrors you, and so transcends the likeness of any peer.

فضحِّ نُفوسَ أهلِ الغَدرِ فيه

وقرِّبْ مهجةَ الدّهرِ الخَؤونِ

So sacrifice the souls of traitors on it,

and offer up the lifeblood of treacherous time.

ولا برحَتْ عليكَ مخيّماتٍ

سُرادِقُ رِفعةِ الشّرفِ المَكينِ

And may there ever stay pitched above you

the canopy of exalted, firmly rooted honor.