يا أخي أين ريع ذاك اللقاء — Abn Rumi

يا أخي أين رَيْعُ ذاك اللِّقاءِ

أين ما كان بيننا من صفاءِ

Brother, where is the fruit of that meeting?

Where is the affection that once lay between us?

أين مصداقُ شاهدٍ كان يحكي

أنك المخلصُ الصحيحُ الإخاءِ

Where is the confirmation of a witness who declared

that you were sincere and true in brotherhood?

شاهدٌ ما رأيت فعلك إلا

غير ما شاهدٍ له بالذكاءِ

A witness—yet I have seen your conduct only

as failing to attest to its discernment.

كشفَتْ منك حاجتي هَنواتٍ

غُطِّيتْ برهةً بحسن اللقاءِ

My need uncovered faults in you

long concealed by your pleasant welcome.

تركتْني ولم أكن سَيِّئَ الظن

نِ أسيءُ الظنونَ بالأصدقاءِ

It left me—though I had not been distrustful—

thinking ill of friends.

قلت لمّا بدتْ لعينيَ شُنْعاً

رُبَّ شوهاءَ في حَشا حسناءِ

When they appeared hideous to my eyes, I said:

“Many an ugly thing dwells within a beautiful one.

ليتني ما هتكتُ عنكن سِتراً

فثويتُنَّ تحت ذاك الغطاءِ

Would that I had never torn away your veil,

and you had remained beneath that covering.”

قلن لولا انكشافُنا ما تجلَّت

عنك ظَلمَاءُ شُبْهةٍ قتماءِ

They said, “Without our exposure, there would not have lifted

from you the darkness of an obscure doubt.”

قلت أعجبْ بكنَّ من كاسفاتٍ

كاشفاتٍ غَواشِيَ الظلماءِ

I said, “How wondrous you are: eclipsing things,

yet uncovering the veils of darkness!

قد أَفدتُنَّني مع الخُبْر بالصّا

حِبِ أنْ ربَّ كاسفٍ مُستضاءِ

Along with knowledge of my companion, you have taught me

that many an eclipsing thing gives light.”

قلن أعَجِبْ بمُهْتَدٍ يتمنَّى

أنه لم يزل على عمياءِ

They said, “Marvel at a guided man who wishes

that he had remained in blindness!

كنتَ في شُبْهَة فزالت بها عن

ك فأوسعتنا من الإزراءِ

You were in doubt, and through this it vanished from

you; yet you heaped scorn upon us.

وتمنيت أن تكون على الحيـ

ـرةِ تحت العَماية الطَّخْياءِ

And you wished to remain in bewilderment,

beneath thick, dark blindness.”

قلت تاللَّه ليس مثلي مَنْ وَد

دَ ضَلالاً وحيَرةً باهتداءِ

I said, “By God, I am not one who would desire

error and bewilderment in exchange for guidance.

غير أنِّي ودِدتُ سترَ صَديقي

بدلاً باسْتفادة الأْنباءِ

But I wished to keep my friend's faults covered

rather than gain such knowledge.”

قُلْن هذا هوىً فعرّجْ على الحق

قِ وخلِّ الهوى لقلْبٍ هواءِ

They said, “That is mere desire: turn toward the truth,

and leave desire to an empty heart.

ليس في الحقِّ أن تودّ لخلٍّ

أنَّهُ الدهرَ كامنُ الأدواءِ

It is not right to wish for a friend

that he forever harbor hidden diseases.

بلْ من الحقِّ أن تُنقِّر عنْهن

نَ وإلَّا فأنت كالبُعَداءِ

Rather, it is right to investigate them;

otherwise you are like distant strangers.

إن بَحْثَ الطَّبيبِ عنْ داءِ ذي الدَّا

ءِ لَأُسُّ الشِّفاءِ قبل الشفاءِ

A physician's search for a sick man's disease

is the foundation of healing, before healing begins.

دُونك الكَشْفَ والعتابَ فقوِّم

بهمَا كُلَّ خَلَّةٍ عَوْجاءِ

Take exposure and reproach, and straighten

with them every crooked trait.

وإذا ما بدا لَكَ العُرُّ يوْماً

فَتَتَبَّعْ نِقابَه بالهِناء

And if mange should one day appear to you,

seek out its patches and treat them with tar.”

قُلْتُ في ذاك مَوْتُكُنَّ وما المو

تُ بمُستعذب لدى الأحْياءِ

I said, “That would mean your death, and death

is not sweet to the living.”

قُلْن ما الموتُ بالكريه إذا كا

ن بحقٍّ فلا تزدْ في المراءِ

They said, “Death is not hateful when it comes

justly; so argue no more.”

يا أخي هَبْكَ لم تهبْ ليَ من سَع

يك حظاً كسائر البُخلاءِ

Brother, suppose you gave me no share

of your effort, like the other misers;

أَفَلا كان منك ردٌّ جميلٌ

فيه للنّفس راحةٌ من عَناءِ

could you not at least have offered a gracious refusal,

giving the soul relief from distress?

أجَزاءُ الصَّديق إيطاؤُهُ العِشـ

ـوة حتَى يظلّ كالعشْواءِ

Is a friend's reward to be led into blindness,

until he goes on like a night-blind camel,

تاركاً سعْيَه اتِّكالاً على سَعْـ

يـكَ دون الصِّحاب والشُّفعاءِ

abandoning his own efforts in reliance

on yours, instead of friends and intercessors?

كالَّذي غرَّه السَّراب بما خيـ

ـيَل حتَّى هراق ما في السِّقاءِ

Like one whom a mirage deceived with its illusion,

until he poured out what was in his waterskin.

يا أبا القاسم الذي كنت أرجو

ه لدهْري قَطَعْتَ مَتْن الرَّجاءِ

O Abu al-Qasim, whom I hoped

would help me against life's trials, you broke hope's backbone.

بِكرُ حاجاتِ من يعُدُّك للشِد

دَةِ طوراً وتارةً للرَّخاءِ

The maiden request of one who counts on you for hardship

at one time, and at another for ease—

نمتَ عنها وما لمثلك عُذْرٌ

عند ذي نُهيةٍ على الإغفاءِ

you slept through it; one such as you has no excuse

for slumber before a discerning man.

قَسَماً لو سألتُ أخرى عَواناً

لتَنمَّرْتَ لي مَعَ الأعداءِ

I swear, had I asked another, a seasoned request,

you would have snarled like a tiger at me alongside my foes.

لا أجازيك من غروركَ إيا

يَ غروراً وُقِّيت سُوء الجزاءِ

I will not repay your deceiving me

with deception; may you be spared an evil recompense.

بل أَرى صِدْقك الحديثَ وما ذا

ك لبخلٍ عليك بالإغضاءِ

Rather, I deem it right to tell you the truth; and that

is not from stinginess in overlooking your faults.

أنتَ عيني وليس من حق عَيني

غَضُّ أَجفانها على الأقْذاءِ

You are my eye, and my eye does not deserve

to have its lids closed over specks of dirt.

ما بِأمثالِ ما أتيت من الأم

ر يَحُلُّ الفتى ذُرا الْعلْياء

It is not through deeds such as yours

that a man reaches the heights of eminence.

لا ولا يكْسب المحامِد في النا

س ولا يشتري جميلَ الثناءِ

No, nor does he win praise among people

or purchase beautiful commendation.

ليس من حلَّ بالمحلِّ الذي أن

ت به من سماحةٍ ووفاءِ

For one who holds your station

in generosity and fidelity, it is not fitting

بَذَلَ الوعْدَ للأخلَّاءِ سَمْحاً

وأبى بعد ذاك بذلَ العطاءِ

to offer friends promises freely,

then refuse to give the promised gift,

فَغَدا كالْخلافِ يُورقُ للعي

ن ويأبى الإثمار كل الإباءِ

becoming like a willow that puts forth leaves for the eye

but utterly refuses to bear fruit.

ليس يرضى الصديقُ منك ببشر

تحت مَخْبوره دَفينُ جَفاءِ

A friend is not satisfied with a cheerful face

whose tested reality conceals buried coldness.

يا أخي يا أخا الدَّماثة والرق

قَة والظَّرف والحِجا والدهاءِ

Brother, possessor of gentleness and tenderness,

of refinement, reason, and shrewdness:

أتُرى الضَّربة التي هي غيبٌ

خُلْفَ خمسين ضربةً في وَحَاءِ

do you see the move that still lies hidden

fifty moves ahead, in an instant,

ثاقِب الرأي نافذ الفكر فيها

غير ذي فَتْرة ولا إبْطاءِ

piercing in judgment, penetrating in thought concerning it,

without a pause or delay?

وتُلاقيك شيعةٌ فيظلّو

ن على ظهر آلةٍ حَدْباءِ

A whole company confronts you, only to lie

upon the back of a curved bier.

تَهزمُ الجمع أوحديّاً وتُلْوي

بالصَّناديد أيَّما إلواءِ

Single-handedly you rout the host and overthrow

its champions with a mighty overthrow.

وَتحُطُّ الرِّخَاخَ بعد الفَرازي

ن فتزداد شدةَ استعلاءِ

You bring down the rooks after the viziers,

and grow still more commanding.

رُبَّما هالني وحيَّر عقلِي

أخْذُكَ اللّاعبين بالبأساءِ

Many a time I have been awed, my mind bewildered,

by your subjecting the players to hardship;

ورضاهم هناك بالنِّصف والرُّب

ع وأَدْنى رضاكَ في الإِرباءِ

and by their contentment there with half or a quarter,

while your least contentment lies in a greater gain;

واحتراسُ الدُهاة منك وإعصا

فُكَ بالأقوياءِ والضعفاءِ

and by the cunning men's wariness of you, and your storming

against the strong and the weak,

عن تدابيرك اللِّطاف اللَّواتي

هُنَّ أخفى من مُستسرِّ الهباءِ

all through your subtle stratagems,

more hidden than the most secret dust mote—

بل من السِّر في ضمير مُحبٍّ

أدَّبتْهُ عقوبةُ الإفْشاءِ

indeed, than a secret in a lover's heart

disciplined by the punishment for disclosure.

فإخالُ الذي تُديرُ على القو

م حُروباً دوائرَ الأرحاءِ

So I imagine the wars you set turning against the company

to be the revolving circles of millstones;

وأظُنُّ افتراسَك القِرْنَ فالقر

ن منايا وشيكةَ الإرداءِ

and I imagine your devouring rival after rival

to be deaths swiftly bringing destruction.

وأرى أنّ رقعةَ الأَدَمِ الأحْ

مر أرْضٌ عَلَّلتها بدماءِ

And I see the board of red leather

as a land you have drenched with blood.

غلطَ الناسُ لست تلعب بالشِّطـ

ـرنج لكن بأنفُس اللُّعباءِ

People are mistaken: you do not play chess,

but with the players' lives.

أنت جِدِّيها وغيرك من يل

عب إن الرِّجال غيرُ النِّساءِ

You are its serious player; others merely

play—men are not women.

لك مكرٌ يدبُّ في القوم أخفى

من دبيب الغذاء في الأعضاءِ

Your cunning creeps among the company more secretly

than nourishment creeps through the limbs,

أو دبيب المَلالِ في مُسْتهامَيْ

ن إلى غاية من البغضاءِ

or weariness creeps through two love-struck lovers

until it reaches the furthest point of hatred,

أو مَسيرِ القضاء في ظُلمِ الغي

ب إلى من يُريده بالتَّواءِ

or fate travels through the darkness of the unseen

toward one whom it intends to destroy,

أو سُرى الشيب تحت ليل شباب

مُستحير في لِمِّة سَحماءِ

or gray hair creeps beneath the night of youth

pooled in a coal-black mane.

دبَّ فيها لها ومنها إليها

فاكْتَسَتْ لون رثَّة شَمْطاءِ

It crept in it, for it, from it, and into it,

until it took the hue of a shabby, gray-haired woman.

تَقْتُلُ الشَّاه حيث شِئت من الرُّق

عة طَبَّا بالقِتْلة النّكراءِ

You kill the king wherever you wish on the board,

expert in dreadful slaughter,

غير ما ناظرٍ بعيْنك في الدَّس

تِ ولا مقبلٍ على الرُّسلاءِ

without so much as looking at the chessboard

or attending to the opposing players.

بل تراها وأنتَ مُستدبرُ الظَّه

ر بقلبٍ مُصوَّرٍ من ذكاءِ

Rather, you see it with your back turned,

through a heart shaped from intelligence.

ما رأينا سِواك قِرْناً يُولِّي

وهو يُرْدي فوارس الْهيجاءِ

We have seen no adversary but you turn away

while striking down the horsemen of battle.

رُبَّ قَوْم رأوْكَ رِيعُوا فقالوا

هل تكونُ العيون في الأقفاءِ

Many who saw you were astonished and said:

“Can eyes be in the backs of heads?”

والفُؤادُ الذكيُّ للمطرق المُع

رِضِ عينٌ يَرى بها من وراءِ

For the man who lowers his head and turns away, his keen heart

is an eye through which he sees behind him.

تقرأ الدَّستَ ظاهراً فتُؤدي

ه جميعاً كأحْفظ القُرّاءِ

You read the board by heart, and recite

it all like the most retentive of readers.

وتُلَقَّى الصوابَ فيما سوى ذا

ك إذا جار جائرُ الآراءِ

And you are granted sound judgment in matters beyond

this, when errant judgments stray.

فترى أن بُلغةً معها الرَّا

حةُ خيرٌ من ثَروةٍ وشقاءِ

You see that a modest sufficiency accompanied by ease

is better than wealth and misery:

رؤيةٌ لا خلاج فيها ولولا

ذاك لم تأبَ صحبة ابنِ بُغاءِ

a judgment without misgiving; otherwise

you would not have refused Ibn Bugha's company.

وهو موسى وصاحبُ السيف والجيـ

ـش ورُكْنُ الخِلافة الغلباءِ

He is Musa, master of the sword and the army,

and pillar of the mighty caliphate.

بعتَه واشتريت عيشاً هنيئاً

رابح البيع كيَّساً في الشراءِ

You sold him and bought a pleasant life,

profiting in the sale, discerning in the purchase.

وقديماً رغْبتَ عن كل مَصْحو

بٍ من المُتْرفينَ والأمراءِ

Long ago you shunned every companion

among the luxuriant and the princes.

ورَفَضْتَ التجارةَ الجمَّة الرِّبـ

ـحِ وما في مِراسها من جَداءِ

You rejected commerce with its abundant profit

and the gains its practice offers.

وهَذَى العاذلُونَ من جهة الرِّبـ

ـحِ فخلَّيتهم وطولَ الهُذاءِ

The reproachers babbled about profit,

and you left them to their endless babbling.

أعْرَضَتْ عنهُمُ عَزَائمُك الصُمـ

ـمُ بأُذنٍ سميعة صمّاءِ

Your adamant resolutions turned away from them

with an ear that heard yet was deaf,

حين لم تكْترثْ لقول أخي غِش

شٍ يُرى أنه من النُّصحاءِ

when you paid no heed to the words of a deceitful man

thought to be among sincere advisers.

وإذا صحَّ رأيُ ذي الرأي لم تنـ

ـظر بعيني مَشُورةٍ عَوْراءِ

When a discerning man's judgment is sound, you do not

look through the eyes of one-eyed counsel.

لمْ تبعْ طيب عيشةٍ بفضولٍ

دُوَنها خبثُ عيشةٍ كدْراءِ

You did not sell a pleasant life for excess riches

beneath which lay a foul, turbid life:

تعبُ النَّفس والمهانةُ والذل

لَةُ والخوفُ واطِّراحُ الحياءِ

weariness of soul, humiliation, abasement,

fear, and the casting off of shame.

بل أطعتَ النُّهى فَفُزت بحظٍّ

قَصُرتْ عنه فِطنةُ الأغْبياءِ

Rather, you obeyed reason and won a portion

beyond the understanding of fools:

راحةُ النفس والصِّيانةُ والعفـ

ـفَةُ والأمنُ في حياء رَواءِ

peace of mind, dignity, chastity,

and security in comely modesty.

عالماً بالذي أخذتَ وأعطي

تَ حكيماً في الأخذ والإعْطاءِ

Knowing what you took and gave,

wise in taking and giving,

جَهبَذَ العَقل لا يفوتك شيءٌ

مِثلُهُ فاتَ أعينَ البُصَراءِ

a master of intellect: nothing escapes you

whose like has escaped discerning eyes.

غيرَ مُستنزِلٍ عن الوضَح الأطـ

ـلس بالزائف الصبيح الرُّواءِ

Not lured away from bright, smooth silver

by counterfeit of handsome appearance,

قائلاً للمشيرِ بالكدحِ مهلاً

ما اجتهادُ اللَّبيبِ بعد اكتفاءِ

you tell the adviser who urges toil, “Wait:

why should the wise strive after sufficiency?

قرّبَ الحِرْصُ مركباً لشقيّ

إنما الحرصُ مركبُ الأشقياءِ

Greed brings a mount near for a wretch;

greed is only the mount of the wretched.

مرحباً بالكفافِ يأتي هنيئاً

وعلى المُتعِبات ذيلُ العفاءِ

Welcome to sufficiency, coming pleasantly;

let oblivion trail its hem over exhausting pursuits.

ضَلةً لامرئٍ يُشمِّرُ في الجمـ

ـع لعيش مُشَمِّرٍ للفناءِ

Folly for a man who girds himself to amass wealth

for a life girded for extinction,

دائباً يكنز القناطير للوا

رِث والعُمرُ دائباً لانقضاءِ

unceasingly storing up talents for the heir,

while life unceasingly hastens to its end.

حبذا كثرةُ القناطير لو كا

نت لربِّ الكنوزِ كنزَ بقاءِ

How fine abundant talents would be, if they were

for their owner a treasure of lasting life!

يَغْتدي يَرْحم الأسيرُ أسيراً

جاهلاً أنه من الأُسَراءِ

At morning, the captive pities another captive,

not knowing that he too is among the captives.

لا إلى الله يذهب الحائرُ البا

ئرُ جهلاً ولا إلى السراءِ

The bewildered, ruined man turns neither to God,

in his ignorance, nor toward prosperity.

يَحسَبُ الحظَّ كله في يديه

وهو منه على مدى الجَوزاءِ

He thinks all good fortune lies in his hands,

though he is as far from it as al-Jawza.

ليس في آجلِ النَّعيم له حظ

ظٌ وما ذاقَ عاجلَ النَّعماءِ

He has no share in future bliss,

and has tasted no present happiness.

ذلك الخائبُ الشقي وإن كا

ن يُرى أنّهُ من السُّعداءِ

That is the disappointed, miserable man, though

he is thought to be among the fortunate.

حَسْبُ ذي إرْبةٍ ورأيٍ جَليٍّ

نَظَرتْ عينه بلا غُلواءِ

Enough for a man of understanding and clear judgment,

whose eye has looked without excess,

صحةُ الدينِ والجوارح والعرْ

ضِ وإحرازُ مُسكة الحوباءِ

are soundness of faith, limbs, and honor,

and securing what keeps the soul alive.

تلك خيرٌ لعارِف الخير مما

يجمعُ الناسُ من فضولِ الثراءِ

These are better, for one who knows goodness, than

the excess wealth people gather.

ولها من ذَوي الأصالة عُشَّا

قٌ وليسوا بتابِعي الأهواءِ

Among people of noble character they have lovers,

who are not followers of whims.

ليس للمكثر المُنغَّص عيشٌ

إنما عيشُ عائشٍ بالهَنَاءِ

The wealthy man whose pleasure is spoiled has no life;

life belongs only to one who lives contentedly.

يا أبا القاسم الذي ليس يخفَى

عنه مكنُونُ خُطَّةٍ عَوْصاءِ

O Abu al-Qasim, from whom nothing is hidden

of the secrets of a difficult plan:

أتَرَى كل ما ذكرتُ جليّاً

وسواهُ من غامض الأنحاءِ

do you see clearly all that I have mentioned,

and other things of obscure bearings,

ثم يَخْفَى عليك أنّي صديقٌ

رُبَّما عزَّ مِثلُه بالغَلاءِ

yet fail to see that I am a friend

whose like may be scarce and dear?

لا لَعَمرُ الإله لكن تعاشي

تَ بصيراً في ليلةٍ قَمراءِ

No, by God's life! Rather, you feigned dim sight

while seeing clearly on a moonlit night.

بل تعامَيْتَ غير أعمى عن الحق

قِ نهاراً في ضَحوةٍ غرّاءِ

Indeed, you feigned blindness—not blind—to the truth

by day, in a radiant forenoon,

ظالماً لي مع الزمانِ الذي ابتَز

زَ حقوقَ الكرام للُّؤماءِ

wronging me alongside the age that robbed

the noble of their rights for the base.

ثَقُلتْ حاجتي عليك فأضحتْ

وهي عبءٌ من فادحِ الأعباءِ

My need weighed heavily on you, until it became

a burden among the crushing burdens.

ولها محمِلٌ خفيفٌ ولكن

كان حظّي لديك دونَ اللَّفاءِ

Yet it was a light load to bear, but

my share with you fell below a paltry scrap.

كان مقدارُ حُرمتي بك في نفـ

ـسك شيئاً من تافِه الأشياءِ

The measure of your regard for me, in your

mind, was one of the most trivial things.

فتَوانَيْت والتواني وَطيءُ الـ

ـظَهرِ لكنَّه ذَميمُ الوِطاءِ

So you delayed; delay has an easy

back to ride, but a blameworthy cushion.

كنت ممن يرى التشيُّعَ لكنْ

مِلتَ في حاجتي إلى الإرْجاءِ

You were one who favored Shiism, yet

over my need you inclined to postponement.

ولعَمْرِي لقد سعيتَ ولكن

نَك عذّرت بعد طول التواءِ

By my life, you did make an effort, but

only halfheartedly, after much evasion.

فتَنزَّه عن الرياء فتعذيـ

ـرُك في السعيِ شُعبةٌ من رِياءِ

So keep clear of hypocrisy: your halfheartedness

in pursuing the matter is one branch of hypocrisy.

ليس يُجدي عليك في طلب الحا

جاتِ إلا ذو نيةٍ ومضَاءِ

In seeking favors, none will serve you

but someone of purpose and resolve.

ظلمت حاجتي فلاذتْ بحقْوَيْـ

ـك فأسلمتها بكف القضاءَ

You wronged my need; it sought refuge at your waist,

but you surrendered it to the hand of fate.

وقضاءُ الإله أَحوط للنا

س من الأمهات والآباءِ

God's decree is more protective of people

than mothers and fathers.

غير أن اليقين أضحى مريضاً

مرضاً باطِناَ شديدَ الخفاءِ

Yet certainty has grown diseased,

with an inward illness profoundly hidden.

ما وجدتُ امْرَأً يرى أنه يو

قِن إلّا وفيه شَوْبُ امْتِراءِ

I have found no man who thinks that he has

certainty, without some admixture of doubt in him.

لو يصحُّ اليقينُ ما رَغِبَ الرا

غبُ إلّا إلى مَليكِ السماءِ

Were certainty sound, no seeker would seek

any but the King of Heaven.

وعَسيرٌ بلوغُ هاتِيكَ جداً

تلك عُليا مَراتِب الأنبياءِ

But reaching that is exceedingly difficult:

it is the highest of the prophets' ranks.

كنتُ مستوحشاً فأظهرتَ بَخساً

زادني وحشةً من الخلطاءِ

I was already estranged; then you displayed disregard

that deepened my estrangement from companions.

وعزيزٌ عليَّ عَضِّيكَ باللو

م ولكنْ أصبتَ صدري بداءِ

It pains me to bite you with reproach,

but you have afflicted my breast with disease.

أنت أدْوَيتَ صدر خِلِّك فاعذر

هُ على النَّفثِ إنه كالدواءِ

You have diseased your friend's breast, so pardon

him for breathing it out: it is like medicine.

لا تلومنَّ لائماً وضع اللَّو

ماءَ في كُنه موضع اللَّوماءِ

Do not blame a blamer who has placed blame

in the very place where blame belongs.

إنْ تكن نفحةٌ أصابتك من عَذ

لي فعمّا قدحتَ في الأحشاءِ

If a gust of my reproach has struck you,

it comes from what you kindled in my entrails.

يا أبا بكرٍ المُشارَ إليه

بانقطاعِ القَرين في الأُدباءِ

O Abu Bakr, singled out

as having no peer among men of letters:

قد جعلناك حاكماً فاقض بالحق

قِ وما زلتَ حاكم الظرفاءِ

we have made you judge, so judge justly;

you have always been the judge of the refined.

تأخذ الحقَّ للمُحقِّ وتنهى

عن ركوب العَداء أهلَ العداءِ

You secure the right for its rightful claimant, and forbid

the hostile from committing aggression.

ليس يؤتى الخَصمانِ من جَنَفٍ فيـ

ـك ولا من جهالةٍ وغباءِ

The litigants suffer from no partiality

in you, nor from ignorance or stupidity.

هل ترى ما أتى أخوكَ أبو القا

سم في حاجتي بعينِ ارتضاءِ

Do you view what your brother Abu al-Qasim did

about my need with an approving eye?

لي حقوقٌ عليه أصبح يلْويـ

ـها فَطالِبْهُ لي بوشْك الأداءِ

I have rights upon him that he has begun to withhold;

so demand swift discharge of them for me.

لست أعتدُّ لي عليه يداً بيـ

ـضاءَ غير المودة البيضاءِ

I claim no shining favor I have done him,

except my pure-white affection.

تلك أو أنني أخٌ لو دعاه

لمُهمٍّ أجاب أُولى الدعاءِ

That—or that I am a brother who, if called

on urgent business, would answer the first call,

يتقاضى صديقَهُ مثل ما يبـ

ـذل من ذات نفسه بالسواءِ

asking his friend only what he gives

of his own self, in equal measure.

وأُناديك عائذاً يا أبا القا

سم أفديك يا عزيزَ الفداءِ

And I call on you, seeking refuge, Abu al-Qasim:

I would ransom you, O precious one to ransom.

قد قضينا لُبانةً من عتاب

وجميلٌ تَعاتُبُ الأكفاءِ

We have satisfied our desire for reproach;

and mutual reproach between equals is beautiful.

ومعَ العَتْب والعتابِ فإني

حاضرُ الصفح واسعُ الإعفاءِ

Despite reproach and remonstrance, I am

ready to forgive, generous in pardoning.

ولك الوُدُّ كالذي كان من خِلـ

ـلك والصدرُ غيرُ ذي الشّحناءِ

You have the same affection your friend bore you,

and a breast devoid of rancor.

ولك العذر مثل قافيتي فيـ

ـك اتساعاً فإنها كالفضاءِ

Your excuse is as spacious as my rhyme addressed

to you, for it is like open space.

وتأمّلْ فإنها ألِفُ المد

دِ لها مَدّةٌ بغيرِ انتهاءِ

Consider it: it is the lengthening alif,

whose prolongation has no end.

والذي أطلق اللسان فعاتَبْ

تُك عَدِّيكَ أوَّلَ الفُهماءِ

What loosened my tongue, so that I reproached

you, was my counting you foremost among the discerning.

لم أخفْ منك غلطةً حين عاتب

تُك تدعو العتابَ باسم الهجاءِ

When I reproached you, I feared no blunder from you

that would call reproach by the name of satire.

وأنا المرءُ لا أسومُ عتابي

صاحباً غيرَ صَفوةِ الأصفياءِ

I am a man who does not impose his reproach

on any companion but the choicest of true friends—

ذا الحِجا منهُمُ وذا الحِلمِ والعلـ

ـمِ وجهلٌ ملامةُ الجُهَلاءِ

the rational, the forbearing, and the learned among them;

for reproaching the ignorant is ignorance.

إن من لام جاهلاً لَطَبيبٌ

يتعاطى علاج داءٍ عياءِ

Whoever reproaches an ignorant man is a physician

attempting to treat an incurable disease.

لستُ ممّن يظلُّ يربَع باللوْ

مِ على منزلٍ خلاءٍ قَواءِ

I am not one who lingers with reproach

over an empty, utterly deserted dwelling.