قد براها للسرى جذب براها — Abn Matouk

قد بَراها للسُرى جذْبُ بُراها

فذَراها يأكلُ السّيرُ ذُراها

The tug of their nose-rings has worn them thin for night travel.

So leave them: the journey is eating away their humps.

ودَعاها للحِمى داعي الهَوى

فدعاها فالهوى حيثُ دعاها

Love's summoner called them to the sanctuary;

so let them go: love lies wherever he called them.

واِسقِياها من صَفا ذِكرِ الصّفا

وصِفا الخَيْفَ لها كي تُسكِراها

And let them drink the pure remembrance of al-Safa;

describe al-Khayf to them, to intoxicate them.

يا لها من أحرُفٍ مسطورةٍ

تسبِقُ الوَحيَ إذا الحادي تَلاها

What wondrous written letters!

They outrun a swift signal when the camel-driver recites them.

ترتَمي شوقاً فلولا ثِقْلُ ما

في صُدورِ الرّكْبِ طارَتْ في سُراها

They hurl themselves onward in longing; were it not for the weight of what

lies in the riders' breasts, they would fly through their night journey.

سُحْبُ صيفٍ قدْحُ أيديها الحصى

برقُها والرّعدُ أصواتُ رُغاها

Summer clouds: their forelegs striking sparks from pebbles

are their lightning, and their bellowing voices are their thunder.

كلّما حنّتْ لأرضِ المُنحنى

وكَلاها أقرحَ السَّوْقُ كُلاها

Whenever they yearn for the land of al-Munhana

and its pasture, the driving galls their loins.

كم ترى من خلفِها من مروةٍ

وردَتْ أخفافُها بيضَ حصاها

How many a flint you see behind them,

whose white pebbles their padded feet have stained rose-red.

سفنٌ تجري بأشباحٍ غدَتْ

معها غَرقى بطوفانِ بُكاها

Ships sailing with figures who have become

drowned alongside them in the deluge of their weeping.

ذاتُ أنفاسٍ حِرارٍ صيّرتْ

فحمةَ الظّلماءِ جَمراً في لَظاها

Their burning breaths have turned

the charcoal of darkness to embers in their blaze.

كلُّ ذي قلبٍ مَشوقٍ لم يزلْ

للمطايا زَجْرُهُ أوْهاً وآها

Every man with a longing heart keeps

urging the mounts with 'Oh!' and 'Ah!'

أسهُمٌ فوقَ سِهامٍ مثلها

لا يُصيبُ النُّجْحُ إلّا في خُطاها

Arrows upon arrows like themselves:

success finds its mark only in their strides.

تبتغي نَجماً بأطرافِ الحِمى

وهمُ همُّهُمُ بدرُ سَماها

They seek a star at the sanctuary's outskirts,

while their riders' concern is the full moon of its sky.

أوشكَتْ تَعرُجُ فيها للسّما

إذ درَتْ قصدَهُم شمسُ ضُحاها

They almost ascend through it to heaven,

knowing their riders' goal is the sun of its morning.

حيِّ أكنافَ الحِمى من أربُعٍ

ما سقَتْ أحياءَها المُزنُ حَياها

Greet the sanctuary's reaches, those abodes,

as long as the clouds water their dwellers with rain.

عرَصاتٌ عطّرَتْ أرجاءَها

بأريجِ المِسكِ أنفاسُ دماها

Courtyards whose surroundings are perfumed

with musk's fragrance by the breaths of their statue-like beauties.

وبِقاعٌ قُدِّسَتْ لكنّها

نجّسَتْها الأُسْدُ في طَمْثِ ظُباها

And lands made holy, yet

lions have defiled them by blooding their sword-edges.

ومغانٍ بالغواني لم تزل

غانياتٍ عن مصابيحِ دُجاها

And dwellings that, with their beautiful women, have ever

dispensed with lamps for their darkness.

سمكَ العزُّ بها أبنيةً

أفصحُ الأعرابِ ما ضمّ بِناها

Glory has raised buildings there;

their walls hold the most eloquent of Bedouins.

كم ثَنايا في ثناياها دُجىً

مَبعَثُ الفجرِ إلَينا من كواها

How many front teeth gleam in their dark recesses;

dawn rises toward us from their windows.

جنّةٌ فيها اللآلي فُصِّلَتْ

واليواقيتُ ثُغورٌ أو شِفاها

A paradise where pearls are arrayed,

and rubies are mouths or their lips.

ماؤها شهدٌ هَواها قرقَفٌ

طينُها العنبرُ والمِسْكُ ثَراها

Its water is honey, its air wine;

its clay is ambergris, and its soil musk.

كم بهِ بيتٍ غَدا مضمونُه

درّةً بيضاءَ من بيضِ ثَناها

How many a house there has come to contain

a white pearl among the fair ones in its folds.

وقَطوفٍ من جُمانٍ ذُلِّلَتْ

عزَّ كلَّ العزِّ مُستَحلي جَناها

And clusters of pearls made easy to pluck:

whoever savors their harvest is honored beyond measure.

يا بَني فهر سَلوا بَلقيسَكُم

كيف تَسبي مُهجَتي وهي سباها

O sons of Fihr, ask your Bilqis

how she captures my heart when it is her Sheba.

واِسألوا أجفانَكُم عن صحّتي

فهي عنّا عوّضَتْ جِسمي ضَناها

And ask your eyelids about my health:

for, in our case, they gave my body their languor in exchange.

وُرْقُ نجدٍ بعدَكم لي رحمةً

ندبَتْ شجواً ورقّتْ في ضَناها

Najd's gray doves, after you left, in pity for me,

lamented sorrowfully and grew tender in their wasting grief.

وبكتْ لي وحشها حتّى محَتْ

كُحْلَها بالدّمعِ أحداقُ مَهاها

Its wild creatures wept for me, until

its oryx's eyes washed away their kohl with tears.

تلِفَتْ نفسي بكم إلّا شَفاً

والشِفاهُ اللُّعسُ لم يُمنَحْ شِفاها

My soul has perished for you, save for a last remnant,

and no healing from the dusky lips has been granted.

هي تدري ما بها من نَبلِكُم

والعيونُ السّودُ تدري مَن رَماها

It knows what wounds your arrows have left within it,

and the black eyes know who shot it.

ويحَها كم تتّقي بأسَ الهوى

وعليٌّ كلَّ محذورٍ كَفاها

Alas for it! How often it fears love's might,

though Ali has shielded it from every danger.

كفُّها كافِلُها عِصمَتُها

من أذى الدّهرِ إذا الدّهرُ دَهاها

He is its hand, its guardian, its protection

against time's harm whenever time assails it;

كنزُها جوهرُها ياقوتُها

قوتُها قوّتُها خمسُ قَواها

its treasure, its jewel, its ruby,

its sustenance, its strength, its five powers;

زينةُ الدُنيا وأهلِيها معاً

طوقُها دُملُجها تاجُ عُلاها

the adornment of the world and all its people,

its necklace, its armlet, the crown of its heights;

ساعِدُ الهيجاءِ مُوري زندِها

سيفُها عاملُها قُطْبُ رَحاها

the arm of battle, the striker of its fire-stick,

its sword, its spear-shaft, the axle of its mill.

موسويٌّ عنده إذ لم تجدْ

نارَ موسى فيه إذ لاحَ هُداها

A Musawi: beside him, when you did not find

Moses' fire in him as its guidance shone,

قد حكاها في اليدِ البيضا وفي

رُمحِه عن عزمِه سرُّ عَصاها

he mirrored it in the white hand, and in

his spear, through his resolve, lies the secret of its staff.

حيدريٌّ أوشكَتْ راحاتُه

تلتَظي نيرانُها لولا نَداها

A Haydari, whose palms would almost

blaze with their fires, were it not for their dew.

غيثُ جودٍ لو أصابَتْ قطرةٌ

منه رَضْوى كان يخضرُّ صَفاها

A raincloud of generosity: should one drop

from him touch Radwa, its rocks would turn green.

ليثُ حربٍ أشفقَتْ أُسْدُ الشّرى

منه حتّى بايعَتْهُ في شراها

A lion of war: the lions of al-Shara grew afraid

of him, until they pledged allegiance to him in their thickets.

خائِضُ الحربِ الّتي نيرانُها

في التّلاقي تنزعُ الأُسْدَ شَواها

He plunges into wars whose fires,

when ranks meet, strip the lions of their scalps.

فالقُ الهاماتِ بالقُضبِ الّتي

حين تُنضى يفلِقُ اللّيلَ سناها

He cleaves heads with swords whose

radiance, when unsheathed, cleaves the night.

يحسَبُ البيضَ ثنايا خُرّدٍ

وعليها الدّم معسولَ لِماها

He regards the shining blades as the front teeth of bashful maidens,

and the blood upon them as their honey-sweet, dusky lips.

حازَتِ النّصرَ لها ألويةٌ

جعلت معكوسهُ حظَّ عِداها

His banners have claimed victory for themselves,

and made its opposite their enemies' lot.

كلّما كبّر في حَشْرِ وغىً

سبّح الصّفُّ لآياتٍ يَراها

Whenever he proclaims God's greatness in battle's gathering,

the ranks glorify God for the signs they behold.

سورةُ الرّحمن في صورته

كُتبَتْ بالنّورِ في لوحِ صَفاها

The surah of the All-Merciful, in his form,

has been written in light upon the tablet of its purity.

ملكٌ قد شرُفَ المُلكُ به

واِزدهى المنصِبُ والمجدُ تَناهى

A king through whom kingship has grown noble,

and office grown proud, and glory reached its utmost.

طيّبٌ لو لم تصِلْ أخبارُه

شجرَ الكافورِ ما طابَ شَذاها

So fragrant that, had reports of him not reached

the camphor trees, their scent would not be sweet.

لو صَبا نجدٍ تلتْ في مدحِه

بَيتَ شِعرٍ لحكى العود غضاها

If Najd's east wind recited in his praise

a verse, its ghada wood would resemble aloeswood.

أو تغنّت وُرقُها في شِعرِه

هزّتِ الأعطافَ بالرّقْصِ رُباها

Or, if its gray doves sang his poetry,

its hills would sway their flanks in dance.

لسِنٌ كلُّ لآلٍ يدُه

فرّقَتْها هو في النُطْقِ حَواها

Eloquent: all the pearls that his hand

has scattered, he has gathered into speech.

بحرُ عِلمٍ لجُّهُ من جعفَرٍ

قبَسٌ شُعلتُه من نُور طهَ

A sea of knowledge whose depths come from Ja'far,

a firebrand whose flame comes from Ta-Ha's light.

كم بروضاتِ القراطيسِ له

كلماتٌ تشبهُ الزّهرَ رَواها

How many, in his paper gardens,

are flowerlike words that he has watered!

علمُه نورٌ مُبينٌ للهُدى

ظلُماتُ النُّصْبِ بالنّصِّ جَلاها

His knowledge is a clear light for guidance;

with textual proof he dispels the darkness of hostility.

جادَ في خَيرِ مَقالٍ صِدقُه

شُبهَ الباطلِ بالحقِّ مَحاها

His truthfulness is lavish in the finest discourse;

with truth he has erased falsehood's doubts.

طاهرٌ لو سبقَ الدّهرُ به

جاذبَ العِترةَ في فضلِ كِساها

Pure: had time brought him forth earlier,

he would have vied with the Prophet's family for their cloak's distinction.

سمِحٌ يبسُطُ للوفدِ يداً

تمّ معنى الجودِ فيها وتناهى

Generous, he stretches toward visitors a hand

in which generosity's meaning is perfected to its utmost.

راحةٌ مبسوطةٌ لو مدّها

للسّما أمكنَها قبْضُ سُهاها

An outstretched palm: if he extended it

to heaven, it could grasp its Suha.

نارُها مشبوبةٌ في لجِّها

تقذِفُ العسجدَ أمواجُ لُهاها

Its fire is kindled in its depths;

the waves of its largesse fling forth gold.

ظُلِّلَتْ علياؤهُ في رايةٍ

تنسِفُ الأعلامَ في خفْقِ لِواها

His eminence is shaded by a banner

whose standard's fluttering scatters other flags.

رايةٌ منصوبةٌ في رفعِها

تنصبُ الأعداءُ في كيِّ جَواها

A banner set aloft: as it is raised,

enemies grow weary in the searing of its anguish.

حائزٌ غُرَّ خِصالٍ زيّنَتْ

عطلَ الأيّامِ في حُسْنِ حُلاها

Possessing radiant qualities that have adorned

the days' bareness with their beautiful ornaments.

غبَطَتْها أنجُمُ الأفْقِ فَها

هيَ في الإشراقِ فيها لا تُضاهى

The horizon's stars have envied them; behold,

among them, they are unmatched in brilliance.

لو بأفكارِ اللّيالي خطرَتْ

بيّضَتْ أنوارُها سودَ إماها

Were they to pass through the thoughts of nights,

their lights would whiten the nights' black bondmaids.

يا عليَّ المجدِ لا زالَتْ بكُم

تشرقُ الدُنيا ولا زِلتُم ضِياها

O Ali of glory, may the world always through you

shine, and may you ever be its light.

ولدَتْكُم والنّواصي شُعلةٌ

فجرى في عودِها ماءُ صِباها

It bore you with its forelocks ablaze,

and the sap of its youth flowed through its trunk.

كانتِ الأيّامُ مرضى قبلَكُم

فاِستفادَتْ من معانيكُم دَواها

The days were sick before you,

and found their cure in your virtues.

حسُنَتْ أوقاتُها فيكُم فلا

زلتُمُ يا رونَقَ الدّهرِ بَهاها

Its hours have grown fair through you; so may you

ever be, O splendor of time, its beauty.

كلُّ أخبارِ المعالي والنّدى

عنكمُ صحّتْ ومنكُم مُبتداها

All reports of lofty deeds and generosity

are proven true of you, and originate with you.

عِترةٌ قد صحّ عندي أنّها

ليس للأيّامِ أرواحٌ سِواها

A family of whom I know for certain

that the days have no souls but them.

سيّدي هُنّيتَ بالصّومِ وفي

بهجةِ الإفطارِ واِنعَمْ في هَناها

My lord, congratulations on fasting and on

the joy of breaking fast; enjoy its happiness.

وتلقَّ العيدَ بالبِشْرِ فقد

جاءَ منكُم يجتدي قَدراً وجاها

And greet Eid with gladness, for

it has come begging rank and prestige from you.