دار أمن وقرار — Abn Rumi

دارُ أمنٍ وقرارِ

واعتلاءٍ واقتدارِ

A house of safety and repose,

and ascendancy and power,

ومعافاة وشكرٍ

لا ابتلاء واصطبارِ

and well-being and gratitude,

not affliction and patient endurance.

أُسِّست والطير باليم

نِ وبالسعد جواري

Its foundations were laid as birds of good omen

flew with good fortune.

حلَّها بحر وأوفت

فوق بحر ذي غِمار

A sea dwelt in it, and it rose high

above a sea of deep waters.

وعليٌّ أشبه البح

رين حقاً بالبحار

And Ali, of the two seas,

is truly the one more like the seas.

مَنْزل يشهد بالنْب

لِ كُبارٌ لِكُبار

A dwelling whose nobility is attested

by great men on behalf of great men.

لم يزل يبنَى بناء ال

مجد مرفوعَ المنار

It has ever been built as an edifice

of glory, its beacon raised high.

سبقَ السُّبّاق عفواً

غير مشقوق الغبار

He outstripped the foremost racers effortlessly,

with none breaking through his dust,

سَبْقَ وثاب الجراثي

م سبوحٍ في الخَبار

with the lead of a mound-leaping steed,

gliding swiftly through yielding ground.

سيد الكُتّاب طُرّاً

ليس في ذاك تماري

Master of all the scribes—

there is no disputing that.

خيرُ دارٍ حلَّ فيها

خيرُ أرباب الديار

The finest house, in which has settled

the finest of the masters of houses.

وقديماً وفّق اللَّ

هُ خِياراً لخيار

And long has God matched

the best with the best.

بُنِيَتْ بالمرمر المس

نون والتبر النُّضار

It was built of polished marble

and pure, uncoined gold,

ولُبابِ الساج لا بل

بِيَلَنْجوج القَماري

and the heartwood of teak—no, rather,

of Qamari aloeswood.

واكتست ثوبَ بياضٍ

ليلُهُ مثلُ النهار

It clothed itself in a robe of whiteness,

whose night is like the day.

فأتت زهراءَ تُعشى

بائتلاقٍ واستعار

It became radiant, dazzling the eyes

with brilliance and blazing glow,

ذات لمعٍ واتضاحٍ

فهْي من نور ونار

possessed of gleam and clarity,

for it is made of light and fire.

قُسِم الإشراقُ منها

بين سقف وجدار

Its radiance was apportioned

between ceiling and wall.

ألبِسَ الزّرّين والجِب

سين من بعد اختيار

They were clothed in gold and gypsum,

after careful selection,

حين لم يرض شعاراً

لهما دون دثار

when he would not accept an inner garment

for them without an outer covering.

عُلِّيَا الزَّينَ مرارً

كُرِّرتْ بعد مرار

Both were overlaid with ornament, repeatedly,

time after time.

جنةٌ تُذْكِرُ بالجنْ

نَة قلباً ذا اعتبار

A garden that recalls Paradise

to a heart that takes heed,

ذاتُ بُستانين قد زِي

نا بنَوْر وثمار

with two gardens, both adorned

with blossoms and fruit

في غصونٍ ناعماتٍ

مثل أوصال العَذارِي

upon tender branches,

like maidens' limbs.

تتقي من يجتني من

ها بلين واهتصار

They fend off whoever gathers from them

with suppleness and bending.

في بقاعٍ دَمثاتٍ

عطراتِ المستثار

In soft, yielding plots,

fragrant wherever the earth is stirred,

تتداعى الغُنُّ فيها

من قيان وقَمَار

the sweet-voiced call to one another there:

singing girls and turtle-doves.

وتَراعَى الوحش فيها

من ألوف ونَوار

The wild creatures watch one another there,

both tame and shy.

جمعتْ وحش المقاصي

رَ إلى وحش القفار

It has joined the wild beauties of secluded chambers

to the wild creatures of the wastes.

كم بها سرباً من الوح

شِ كحيلاً باحورار

How many a herd of wild creatures is there,

kohl-eyed, their black pupils set in white,

ذا رقابٍ كالمضاحي

وقرون كالمَداري

with necks like arrow-shafts

and horns like combs!

كم بها سرباً من الإن

س له فيها تباري

How many a flock of people is there,

rivaling that herd within it,

ذا وجوهٍ كالمرايا

وقدودٍ كالسواري

with faces like mirrors

and figures like pillars!

تصرع الفارس منه

نّ عن الطِّرف المُطار

Their eyes topple the horseman

from his flying steed:

أعينٌ فيهنَّ سكرٌ

دونه سكر العُقار

eyes with an intoxication

greater than the intoxication of wine.

وقديماً عجز الأس

وار عن ذات السوارِ

Long since, the warrior has been powerless

before the woman with the bracelet.

يا لهاتيك وجوهاً

في ثياب الكَيْمُخار

Oh, those faces,

in robes of kimkhar brocade,

والحريرِ الحرّ والعُصْ

فر مرفضِّ الشرار

and pure silk, and safflower red,

scattering sparks!

منظرٌ لا يسأل النْا

ظر جوداً باغتفار

A sight that asks no viewer

for the generosity of overlooking faults,

من جميع الزَّين كاسٍ

من جميع الشَّين عاري

clothed in every beauty,

bare of every blemish.

كم بها من صُدُغ أسْ

وَدَ معشوقِ المَدار

How many a black temple-lock is there,

beloved in its curving,

حول خدٍّ فيه ماءٌ

واقفٌ للعين جاري

around a cheek whose water

stands still, yet flows to the eye!

فيه لوعاتٌ وفيه

رِيُّ أكبادٍ حِرار

In it are pangs of passion, and in it

the slaking of burning livers.

ذي عِذار يترك النْا

سك مخلوعَ العذار

With cheek-down that leaves the ascetic

with his bridle cast away.

كم بها من شاربٍ أخ

ضرَ حلو المُسْتدار

How many a dark mustache is there,

sweet in its curve,

كسَرار الشهر بل أخ

فى مَخَطَّاً من سرار

like the moon at month's end—rather,

fainter in outline than that moon!

تحته ثغرٌ يباهي

ه لدَى كلِّ افترار

Beneath it are teeth that rival it

with every parting smile,

في فمٍ يَنْفح مسكاً

حين يدنو للسِّرار

within a mouth breathing musk

when it draws near to whisper.

ملك عَفٌّ تلقّى

كل فحش بازورا

A chaste king who has met

every indecency with aversion.

ما اكتسى مَلْبس شينٍ

لا ولا ملبس عار

He has worn no garb of disgrace,

no, nor a garb of shame.

أنشأ الدار التي أن

شا لإفراط اغترار

The house he built was not built

out of excessive self-delusion;

بل بِنىً تُذْكِرهُ الجن

نة في خير عَقَار

rather, buildings that remind him of Paradise

on the finest estate.

مَثَّل الفردوس في الدنْ

يا بليغاً ذا اختصار

He represented Paradise in this world,

eloquently, in miniature,

بمبان كالرَّواسي

وصِحانٍ كالصَّحاري

with buildings like firmly rooted mountains

and courtyards like deserts.

وحَكاها في سناءٍ

ما اكتستْه من شَوارِ

And Paradise was mirrored in splendor

by the furnishings the house wore.

نُجِّدَتْ من خير نجدٍ

ملكتْ أيدي التِّجار

It was furnished with the finest furnishings

that merchants' hands possessed,

ذا تماثيلٍ حسان

من صغار وكبار

bearing beautiful figures,

both small and great.

نشرتْ أسرةَ كسرى

دَسْتبْدا في دَوار

They displayed Kisra's household

hand in hand in a circle,

أو رماة في طِرادٍ

خلف سربٍ أو صُوار

or archers in pursuit,

behind a herd or a drove of wild cattle,

أو رعيلٍ من حمير ال

وحش مشبوبِ الحِضار

or a troop of wild asses

in a blazing gallop,

خلفَه كل حثيث ال

رَكض في نقعٍ مُثار

with every swift pursuer behind it,

racing through raised dust,

كلهم مُشلي كلابٍ

مُسْلَهمّاتٍ ضَواري

each urging on hounds,

lean-bodied, fierce hunters,

قد نحا سهماً لظبيٍ

أو لثورٍ أو حمار

having aimed an arrow at a gazelle,

or at a wild bull, or an ass.

مُتِّعتْ بالسيد المذ

كور في يوم الفخار

May it be blessed with the lord acclaimed

on the day of boasting,

وَلْينَم فيها خَليّاً

من همومِ وحِذار

and may he sleep there free

of worries and fears.

إنها من شكل دار ال

فوز لا دار البوارِ

For it resembles the abode

of triumph, not the abode of ruin.

كعبة يعمُرها النا

س بحج واعتمار

A Kaaba that people frequent

for pilgrimage and lesser pilgrimage,

طالبي فضل عليٍّ

وعطاياه الغِزار

seeking Ali's bounty

and his abundant gifts.

فهمُ بين أيادي

مُستماحٍ مُستجار

They dwell amid the benefactions

of one asked for gifts and refuge:

مستماحِ المال في المع

روف محميِّ الذِّمار

asked for wealth in acts of kindness,

with his honor inviolate,

مستشارٍ حين تُخشَى

عَثراتُ المستشار

consulted when one fears

a counselor's missteps.

أيها الجار الذي أص

بح مأمولَ الجوارِ

O neighbor who has become

one whose protection is hoped for,

والذي لا يصرف الآ

مِلُ عنه باعتذار

and from whom no hopeful petitioner

is turned away with an excuse,

أنزل الدار المُبَنّا

ةَ على سُقْيا القطار

dwell in the house that has been built,

with rain-showers watering it,

وعلى استقبال وجهٍ

من ربيع ذي اخضرار

and as you welcome the face

of a spring rich in green,

مُتوشٍّ باصفرار

وبياض واحمرار

embroidered with yellow,

and white, and red,

ذي نجوم من خُزامَى

وشموس من بَهار

with stars of lavender

and suns of bahar blossoms.

وتَسربل ثوب عيشٍ

ليس بالثوب المُعار

And clothe yourself in a robe of well-being

that is no borrowed robe.

أخْلِق الدار التي أن

شأتَ إخلاق الإزار

Wear out the house you have built

as you would wear out a waist-wrapper;

أبْلِها في طاعة اللَّ

ه وجدِّد ألف دار

wear it out in obedience to God,

and renew a thousand houses.

ولْيطُل عمرك مسرو

راً بأيامٍ قصار

And may your life be long, in gladness,

with days that pass swiftly.

يصِل الله بها خل

دك في دار القرار

May God join these days to your eternity

in the abode of repose,

حيث لا تعدم في الدا

رين منه خير جار

where, in both abodes, you will never lack

in Him the best of neighbors.

ليت شعري عنك هل أهْ

هَلت أمري لادّكار

Would that I knew of you: have you

deemed my case worthy of remembrance,

نظراً يُحسن أني

لم أدعْ حُسن انتظاري

with a regard that justifies my

not abandoning my hopeful expectation?