عج بالعقيق وناد أسد سراته — Abn Matouk

عُجْ بالعقيقِ ونادِ أُسْدَ سَراتهِ

أسْرى قُلوبٍ في يَدَي ظَبَياتِهِ

Turn aside at al-Aqiq and call to the lions among its noblemen,

Captives at heart in the hands of its gazelles.

واِبذُلْ به نقدَ الدموعِ عساهُمُ

أن يُطلِقوها رشوةً لقُضاتِهِ

And spend there the coin of tears, in the hope that they

Will release those hearts—a bribe for its judges.

واِسألهُم عمّا بهم صنعَ الهَوى

لشقائِهِنّ به وجَورِ وُلاتهِ

And ask them what passion has done to them,

For their misery there and the tyranny of its rulers.

هامَت بواديه القُلوبُ فأصبحتْ

منّا النّفوسُ تَسيحُ في ساحاتِهِ

Hearts grew love-mad in its valley, so

Our souls came to wander through its grounds.

إن لم تُذِقْنا الموتَ أعيُنُ عِينِه

كمَداً فأصْحانا لَفي سَكَراتِهِ

If the eyes of its wide-eyed beauties do not make us taste death

From grief, even the soberest of us is surely in its throes.

نقضي ويَنشُرُنا هَواهُ كأنّما

نفَسُ المَسيحِ يهُبُّ في نفَحاتِهِ

We perish, and its love resurrects us, as though

The Messiah's breath were blowing through its fragrant gusts.

وادٍ إذا دارِينُ سافرَ طِيبُها

عنها غَدا متوطّناً بجِهاتهِ

A valley where, if Darin's perfume travels

Away from her, it takes up residence in its reaches.

إن لم تكُن بالحظِّ تعرفُ أرضَهُ

فلقد زَهَتْ أكنافُها بنباتِهِ

If fortune has not acquainted you with its land,

Its borders have indeed flourished with its vegetation.

كمنَتْ بأكناف الرَّبارِبِ أُسْدُها

فيه الكِناسُ تُعدّ من غاباتهِ

Its lions lurk beside the herds of gazelles;

There, the gazelles' coverts count among its forests.

للّهِ حيٌّ أشبهَتْ بصفاحِها

فِتيانُه اللفتاتِ من فتياتِهِ

How marvelous a tribe whose blades have made

Its youths resemble the sidelong glances of its maidens.

ومحلِّ طعنٍ شاكَكَتْ برِماحها

خُفراؤُهُ القاماتِ من خَفراتِهِ

And a place of spear-thrusts, where, with their lances,

Its guards contend with the statures of its bashful maidens.

فلكٌ مشارقُه الجُيوبُ أما تَرى ال

أطواقَ في الأعناق من هالاتِهِ

A firmament whose rising-places are bosoms—do you not see

The neck-rings about the necks, among its halos?

تَهوي بُدورُ التِمِّ تحت قِبابِه

وتَلوحُ أنجمُه على قنواتِهِ

Full moons descend beneath its domes,

And its stars gleam upon its spear-shafts.

أسدُ النّجومِ وإن تعذّر نَيلُه

أدنى وصولٍ من وُصولِ مَهاتِهِ

Leo among the stars, though difficult to reach,

Is easier to attain than its oryx-maidens.

دون الأماني البيض خلفَ سُتورِه

حُمرُ المَنايا في عَمود حُماتهِ

Before the pale objects of desire behind its curtains

Stand crimson deaths in the main host of its defenders.

حرمٌ بأجنحةِ النّسورِ صيانةً

عضّتْ كَواسرُهُ على بَيضاتِهِ

A sanctuary guarded by eagles' wings;

Its birds of prey bite fast upon its eggs.

وحمى به نصَبَ الهَوى طاغوتَهُ

فاِحْذَرْ به إن جُزْتَ فِتنةَ لاتِهِ

And a preserve where passion has erected its idol:

Beware, if you pass through, the temptation of its Lat.

لم نَدْرِ أيّهُما أشدُّ إصابةً

مُقلُ الغَواني أم سِهامُ رُماتِهِ

We cannot tell which strikes more surely:

The eyes of beauties or the arrows of its archers.

تُغنيكَ وَجناتُ الدُمى عن ورْدِهِ

ومَراشفُ الغِزلانِ عن حاناتِهِ

The cheeks of its doll-like beauties spare you its roses,

And its gazelles' lips spare you its taverns.

سلْ عن أوانِسِ بَيضِهِ قمرَ الدُجى

فعساهُ يُرشدُنا إلى أخَواتِهِ

Ask the moon of darkness about its fair companions;

Perhaps it will guide us to its sisters.

واِنشُدْ به إن جئتَ يانِعَ بانِه

قلبي فطائِرُهُ على عذَباتِهِ

And if you reach its flourishing ban-trees, seek there

My heart, for its bird is upon their tender branch-tips.

ما بالُهُ من بَعدِ عِزِّ جَوانبي

يختارُ ذُلَّ الأسْرِ في جنَباتِهِ

What ails it, after the dignity of my own breast,

That it chooses captivity's humiliation within its bounds?

يا حبّذا المتحمّلونَ وإن همُ

حكَموا على جَمعِ الكَرى بشَتاتِهِ

Oh, how dear are those who departed, even though they

Decreed that the gathering of sleep be scattered.

أمّوا العَقيقَ وخلّفوا خَلفَ الغَضا

جِسمي الفَنا وتعوّضوا بحياتِهِ

They headed for al-Aqiq, leaving behind the ghada-trees

My body to perish, taking its life in exchange.

غابوا عن الدّنِفِ المفدّى طيفُهم

إن صدّقَ الرؤيا بذَبح سِناتِهِ

They vanished from the lovesick man; their phantom is dearly cherished

If it fulfills the dream by slaughtering his slumbers.

نسخَوا زَبورَ عَزاهُ منذُ بهَجرِهم

نسَجوا سُطورَ الدّمع في وَجَناتهِ

They erased the Psalter of his consolation when, through their abandonment,

They wove lines of tears across his cheeks.

لولا غَوالي الدُرِّ بين شِفاهِهِم

لم يرخُصِ الياقوتُ من عَبَراتِهِ

Were it not for the costly pearls between their lips,

The rubies of his tears would not have grown cheap.

أحيا الدُجى كمداً فخرّ صباحُهُ

ميْتاً فأوقعَهُ القَضا بِشواتِهِ

He kept the night awake with grief, and his dawn fell

Dead, for fate had struck it upon the scalp.

ولَجَ الهَوى فيه فأخرَجَ كِبده

فلِذا بَذيُّ الدّمعِ من حدَقاتِهِ

Love entered him and brought his liver out;

Thus his tears speak brazenly from his pupils.

يُخفي صبابتَهُ ومَصدور الهَوى

نطقَ الدُموعَ الحُمرَ من نَفثاتِهِ

He conceals his yearning, yet one whose chest is stricken by love

Utters red tears among his exhalations.

سيّانِ فيضُ دُموعِه يومَ النّوى

وندى عليِّ المَجدِ يومَ هِباتِهِ

Equal are the flood of his tears on the day of separation

And glorious Ali's bounty on the day of his gifts.

فخرُ السيادة والعُلى المَلِكُ الّذي

سجدَتْ وُجوهُ الدّهرِ في عَتَباتِهِ

The pride of lordship and eminence, the king before whom

The faces of Time prostrated themselves at his thresholds.

صِمصامَةُ الحقِّ المُبينِ وعاملُ الد

دينِ القَويمِ سِنانُ مَسنوناتِهِ

The keen sword of manifest truth, and the spear-shaft of

The upright faith, the spearhead of its sharpened weapons.

الكوكبُ الدُرّيُّ نورُ زُجاجةِ ال

مُختارِ بل مِصباحُ ذُرّياتِهِ

The radiant star, the light in the glass of

The Chosen One—rather, the lamp of his descendants.

حرٌّ يدلُّ على كريمِ نِجادِه

طيبُ النّبوّةِ من جُيوبِ صِفاتِهِ

Nobleborn: the nobility of his sword-belt is attested by

The fragrance of prophethood from the bosoms of his qualities.

سمْحٌ يدُ التّصويرِ خطّتْ للوَرى

سُبُلاً إلى الأرزاقِ في راحاتِهِ

Generous: the hand of shaping drew for all creation

Paths to sustenance within his palms.

فطِنٌ له ذهنٌ إذا حقّقْتَه

أبصرْتَ نورَ اللَّهِ في مِشكاتِهِ

Discerning: he has a mind which, if you scrutinize it,

Reveals to you God's light within its niche.

يَقفو ظُهورَ الكائِناتِ بحَدسِه

فيَرى وُجوهَ الغَيبِ في مِرآتِهِ

He follows the backs of beings with his intuition,

And sees the faces of the unseen within his mirror.

عيسى الزّمانِ طَبيبُ أمراضِ العُلا

مُحيي رُفاتِ الجودِ بعد مَماتِهِ

The Jesus of the age, healer of the maladies of eminence,

Reviver of generosity's remains after its death.

للَّهِ كم في عِلمِه من دُرّةٍ

مخزونةٍ كمنَتْ بِلُخِّ فُراتِهِ

How wondrous the many pearls within his knowledge,

Stored away, concealed in the depths of his Euphrates!

إن يَعبُقِ النّادي بحُسنِ حديثِه

فلِطيبِ ما تَرويهِ لُسْنُ رُواتِهِ

If the assembly grows fragrant with his beautiful speech,

It is from the sweetness recounted by his narrators' tongues.

متورّعٌ عفُّ المآزِر طائِعٌ

يعصي الهَوى للّهِ في خلَواتِهِ

Devout, chaste in his waist-wrappings, obedient,

He disobeys passion for God's sake in his solitude.

ما أشغلَتْهُ طاعةٌ عن طاعةٍ

فصلاتُه مشفوعةٌ بصِلاتِهِ

No act of obedience distracts him from another;

His prayers are coupled with his gifts.

فسلِ المضاجِعَ عن تجافِيه الكَرى

واِستخْبِرِ المحرابَ عن نغَماتِهِ

Ask the beds about his shunning sleep,

And question the prayer-niche about his cadences.

يتقرّبُ الجاني إليه لعَفْوهِ ال

مأمولِ عند السُخْطِ في زلّاتهِ

The offender draws near to him for his pardon,

Hoped for amid anger at his lapses.

كلُّ المطالِبِ دونَه فلوَ اِنّهُ

طلبَ السِماكَ لحطّ من درجاتِهِ

All aspirations lie below him; were he

To seek al-Simak, he would descend from his own ranks.

لسِنٌ يُواري باللسانِ مهنّداً

تُشفى صدورُ الحقِّ في ضرباتِهِ

Eloquent, he conceals an Indian blade within his tongue;

The breasts of truth are healed by its strokes.

ما قال لا يوماً ولا عثرَ الهوى

كلّا ولا التأثيمُ في لهَواتِهِ

He never once said 'no'; never did passion stumble—

No, nor sinful speech—within his throat.

لو أنّ أصدافَ اللآلي أُوتيَتْ

سَمْعاً عليها آثرَتْ كَلِماتِهِ

If the shells of pearls were given

Hearing, they would prefer his words to those pearls.

أو للنُجومِ يُباعُ حُسنُ بَيانِه

أعطَتْ دَراريها بُدورَ بِناتِهِ

Or if the beauty of his eloquence were sold to the stars,

They would give their brilliant stars to the full moons of his daughters.

يوحي الكلامَ إلى جَمادِ يَراعِه

سرّاً فيُفصحُ عن بَديعِ لُغاتِهِ

He secretly inspires words into the lifeless matter of his reed-pen,

And it expresses the wondrous beauty of his language.

فالدّرُّ يَدري أنّ أكرَم رَهْطِه ال

مَنثورُ والمنظوم من لفَظاتِهِ

For pearls know that the noblest of their kin

Are the scattered and strung pearls of his utterances.

والسحرُ يعلم أنّما هاروتُه

قلمٌ تنكّرَ في قَليبِ دَواتِهِ

And magic knows that its Harut

Is a pen disguised within the well of his inkwell.

قِرنٌ قَضى من تَيْمِ أبناءِ العِدى

وأذاقَ قلبَ الدّهرِ ثُكْلَ بناتِهِ

A champion who dealt death among Taym, the sons of foes,

And made Time's heart taste bereavement for its daughters.

شمسٌ إذا ركِبَ الدُجنّةَ غازياً

طلعَتْ نُجومُ القَذْفِ من هَفَواتِهِ

A sun who, when he rides the darkness on a raid,

Makes stars of projectiles rise from his slightest slips.

أوَ ما تَرى وجهَ الصّباحِ قد اِكْتَسى

أثَر اِصْفِرارِ الخَوفِ من غاراتِهِ

Do you not see that the face of dawn has clothed itself

In the pallor of fear from his raids?

كلُّ النجومِ تَغورُ خِيفةَ بأسِه ال

مَشهورِ حين يمرُّ نهرُ سُراتِهِ

All the stars sink for fear of his might,

So renowned, when the river of his noblemen passes.

طال اِغترابُ سُيوفِه فتوطّنَتْ

بدلَ الغُمودِ جُسومَ أُسْدِ عُداتِهِ

His swords' exile lasted long, so they settled

In the bodies of his foes' lions instead of sheaths.

يَبكي اللُّهامُ دماً ويضحكُ عَضبُه

بيمينِه هُزؤاً على هاماتِهِ

The vast army weeps blood, while his keen sword laughs

In his right hand, mocking its heads.

وتَميلُ من طرَبٍ قَناهُ لعِلْمِها

ستبُلُّ غُلَّتَهنّ عن مُهجَاتِهِ

His spears sway with delight, knowing

They will quench their thirst from its lifeblood.

كاللّيثِ في وثَباتِه يومَ الوغى

والطّودِ في تمكينِه وثَباتِهِ

Like a lion in his leaps on the day of battle,

And a mountain in his firmness and steadfastness.

أيّامُه في العصرِ كالتّوريدِ في

خدّيْهِ أو كالبحرِ في لحَظاتِهِ

His days within the age are like the rosy flush upon

His cheeks, or like the sea within his glances.

قد ألْبسَ الدُنيا ثِيابَ مفاخرٍ

ستَرَ الزّمانُ بها على عَوْراتِهِ

He has clothed the world in robes of glories

With which Time has concealed its blemishes.

هذي ثِمارُ نَوالِه فليَقْتَطِفْ

ما يَبتغي المُحتاجُ من حاجاتِهِ

These are the fruits of his bounty; let the needy pluck

Whatever they seek to meet their needs.

قُسِمَ الحَيا فبكفّهِ المَقصورُ وال

مَمْدودُ مقصورٌ على قسَماتِهِ

Haya is divided: its short form, 'rain,' lies in his palm, and

Its long form, 'modesty,' is confined to his features.

حسنٌ له وجهٌ يُريكَ إذا اِنْجلى

ماءُ السّماحِ يَجولُ في صفَحاتِهِ

Handsome, with a face that shows you, when unveiled,

Generosity's waters flowing across its surfaces.

وشمائِلٌ لو في السّماءِ تجسّمَتْ

كانت بُدورَ التِمِّ في ظُلُماتِهِ

And virtues which, if embodied in the heavens,

Would be full moons within their darkness.

يا اِبْنَ الّذين بيَومِ بَدر أزهقوا

بحُدودِ أنصُلِهم نُفوسَ طُغاتِهِ

O son of those who, on the day of Badr, extinguished

With their blades' edges the souls of its tyrants;

واِبْنَ المَيامين الّذين توارثوا

عِلمَ الكِتابِ وبيّنوا آياتِهِ

And son of the blessed ones who inherited

Knowledge of the Book and explained its verses.

من كلِّ محرابٍ يحلُّ حرامه

أو يُؤنِسُ المحرابَ في دَعَواتِهِ

Each a warrior who enters his sanctuary,

Or keeps the prayer-niche company with his supplications.

سلفٌ دعَتْكَ إلى العُلا فنهضْتَ في

أعبائه وحلَلْتَ في شُرُفاتِهِ

Ancestors called you to eminence, and you rose beneath

Its burdens and took your place upon its balconies.

سمعاً فدَيْتُك مِدحةً ما شانَها

ملَقُ الرِّياءِ بغشِّ تَمويهاتِهِ

Give ear—may I ransom you—to a praise-poem unblemished

By hypocritical flattery and its deceitful disguises.

لولاكَ ما صُغتُ القَريضَ لغايةٍ

ولصُنْتُ منّي النَفْسَ عن شُبُهاتِهِ

But for you, I would not have fashioned poetry for a purpose,

And would have guarded my own soul from its dubiousness.

لكنّني النحْلُ الّذي أرعيتَه الن

نُعمى لديكَ فحجّ شهدةَ ذاتِهِ

But I am the bee you sent to graze upon

Your bounty at your side, and so it opened its own honeycomb.

ويراعُ شُكرِيكَ الّذي أسقيتَه

ماءَ النّدى فسقاكَ ماءَ نَباتِهِ

And the reed-pen of my thanks to you, which you watered

With bounty's water, has watered you with the sap of its growth.

علّمتَني بنَداكَ نَسجَ حَريرِه

فكسَوْتُ عِرضَكَ خيرَ ديباجاتِهِ

Through your bounty you taught me to weave its silk,

So I clothed your honor in the finest of its brocades.

واِستجْلِ بِكراً رصّعَتْ أيدي الحِجا

منها الحُلى بفُصوصِ مُبتكَراتِهِ

And unveil a virgin whose jewels the hands of intellect

Have encrusted with the gems of its original creations.

عذراءُ حجّبَها الجمالُ وصانَها

عمّنْ سِواكَ الفكرُ في حُجُراتِهِ

A maiden whom beauty veiled and whom thought protected

From anyone but you within its chambers.

خطَبَ الزّمانُ وصالَها لمُلوكِه

فأبَتْ قَبولَ سِواكَ من ساداتِهِ

Time sought her union in marriage for its kings,

But she refused to accept any lord other than you.

حلّت محلَّ العِقدِ منك فأشبَهَتْ

كَلِماتُها المنظومَ من حبّاتِهِ

She took the necklace's place upon you, so

Her words resembled its strung beads.

نقَشَتْ خواتِمَها بكُم فلأجْلِ ذا

ختَمَ الزّمانُ بها على جَبهاتِهِ

She engraved her seals with you; for that reason

Time stamped them upon its foreheads.

مولايَ لا برِحَ الزّمانُ بجيدِه

مغلولةً عنكمْ يَدا نَكَباتِهِ

My lord, may Time forever have around its neck

The hands of its calamities chained away from you.

وبقيتَ تَلقى العيدَ في نهجِ العُلا

أبداً وعادَ عليك في برَكاتِهِ

And may you continue to meet the festival upon the path of eminence

Forever, and may it return upon you with its blessings.

وليَهْنِكَ الشّهرُ الشريفُ وصومُه

وثوابُ واجِبه ومندوباتِهِ

And may the noble month and its fasting bring you joy,

And the reward of its obligatory and recommended acts.

فرّغْتَ فيه القلبَ عن شُغلِ الهَوى

وعصَيْتَ ما يُلهيكَ عن طاعاتِهِ

Within it you emptied your heart of passion's preoccupations,

And defied whatever distracts you from its acts of worship.

وعليكَ رِضوانُ المُهيمنِ دائِماً

وصلاتُه وأجلُّ تَسليماتِهِ

And upon you be the Guardian's favor always,

His blessings and His most august salutations.