يمن الله طلعة المهرجان — Abn Rumi

يمَّنَ اللَّهُ طلعة المِهرجانِ

كلَّ يمنٍ على الأميرِ الهِجانِ

May God bless the advent of Mihrjan

with every blessing upon the noble prince,

وأراه السرورَ فيه خصوصاً

وعموماً في سائر الأزمانِ

and grant him joy especially on this day,

and generally throughout all time.

ما رأت مثل مهرجانك عينا

أردشيرٍ ولا أنوشروانِ

The eyes never saw the like of your Mihrjan—

neither Ardashir's nor Anushirvan's.

مهرجانٌ كأنما صوَّرتهْ

كيف شاءت مُخيراتُ الأماني

A Mihrjan seemingly fashioned

just as the choicest wishes pleased,

عانياً دَهْرهُ بحبِّ حبيبٍ

وفؤادي ببُغْضِك الدهر عاني

captive all his life to love of a beloved,

while my heart is forever captive to hatred of you.

لو تراءى لجنَّة الخلد صَبَّتْ

واشرأبت بجيدها الحُسَّانِ

Were it to appear before the eternal Garden, she would fall in love

and stretch forth her lovely neck.

خُلِقتْ للأمير فيه سماءٌ

لم يكن بدْءُ خلقِها من دخانِ

A heaven was created for the prince on this day,

whose creation did not begin with smoke,

ونجومٌ مسعودةٌ لم يُصبْها

نحسُ بَهرام لا ولا كيوان

and fortunate stars untouched

by Bahram's ill luck, nor by Kayvan's.

وأُديل السرورُ واللهو فيه

من جميع الهموم والأحزان

Joy and amusement were given victory on it

over every care and sorrow.

لبِستْ فيه حَلْي حَفْلتِها الدُّنْ

يا وزافت في منظرٍ فتان

The world donned her festive jewels on it

and strutted in a bewitching spectacle.

وأذالت من وشْيها كُلَّ بُردٍ

كان قِدماً تصونُه في الصِّوان

She let trail every embroidered mantle

that formerly she guarded in safekeeping.

وتبدَّتْ مثل الهَدِيِّ تهادَى

رادعَ الجيْب عاطرَ الأبدان

She appeared like a bride led forth,

her neckline perfume-stained, her limbs fragrant.

فهْي في زينةِ البَغيِّ ولكن

هي في عفةِ الحَصَان الرَّزان

She wears a courtesan's adornment, yet

possesses a chaste, dignified woman's virtue.

كادت الأرضُ يوم ذلك تُفشي

سِرّ بُطنانها إلى الظُهران

That day the earth almost disclosed

the secrets of her depths to her surfaces,

فتُحلّي ظهورَها ما يواري

بطنُها من معادن العقيان

adorning her back with what is hidden

in her belly: deposits of pure gold;

وتُري فاخِر الزبرجد واليا

قوتَ حَصْباءها بكل مكان

and showing splendid emeralds and rubies

as her pebbles everywhere.

وتبوحُ البحارُ بالدُّرِّ بَوْحاً

وبما أضمرتْ من المَرْجان

The seas would freely disclose their pearls

and the coral they had concealed;

ويُرَدُّ الشبابُ في كل شيخٍ

ويدِبُّ النشورُ في كل فاني

youth would be restored to every old man,

and resurrection stir in every mortal;

ويجوز الخريفُ وهو ربيعٌ

وتَسورُ المياهُ في العيدان

autumn would pass as spring,

and waters rise through the branches,

وتُحيّي متونَها بثمارٍ

يانعاتٍ قطوفهُنَّ دواني

reviving their trunks with fruit,

ripe, with clusters hanging within reach.

وتُغَنِّي الحمامُ بعدَ وجوم

بفنون اللحون في الأغصانِ

Doves would sing after their silence

in varied melodies among the boughs,

وتعود الرياضُ مقتبلاتٍ

ناعماتِ الشَّكير والأفنان

and gardens return to youthful freshness,

their new shoots and branches tender:

حِفلةً بالأمير من كل شيءٍ

واحتشاداً له من المهرجان

a celebration of the prince by everything,

and Mihrjan's gathering in his honor.

عجباً كيف لم يكن ذاك فيه

وائتلافُ المياه والنيران

How strange that this did not occur on it:

the harmony of water and fire!

عجباً كيف لم يكن ذاك فيه

واصطلاحُ الأنيس والجِنَّان

How strange that this did not occur on it:

reconciliation between humankind and jinn!

أيهذا الأميرُ أسعدك اللَّ

هُ وأبقاكَ ما جرى العصران

O prince, may God make you happy

and preserve you while day and night run on.

ليرى المهرجانُ فيك سُلوّاً

فله فيك أعظم السلوان

Let Mihrjan find consolation in you,

for in you it has the greatest solace.

إن عداه الربيعُ واستأثر النيْ

روزُ من دونه بذاك الأوان

Though spring passes it by, and Nowruz

alone enjoys that season,

فلَذكرُ الأمير أطيبُ نشراً

من خُزامى الربيع والأقحوان

the prince's remembrance is sweeter in fragrance

than spring's lavender and daisies;

ولَكفُّ الأمير أحمدُ منه

أثراً في النبات والحيوان

and the prince's hand is more praiseworthy than spring

in its effect upon plants and animals;

ولَوجهُ الأمير أحسُن مما

يكتسيه من وشيه الألوان

and the prince's face is fairer than

the colors spring wears in its embroidery.

إن عيداً يكون حَلْياً عليه

يكُ عن كل ما سواك لَغان

A festival adorned with you

surely needs nothing besides you.

ما استبنا فقدَ الربيع عليه

لا ولا فقدَ صوبه الهتان

We perceived no absence of spring upon it,

nor of its pouring rain.

ما خلا من محاسن الزهَرِ الغضْ

ضِ ولا من مَطايب الريحان

It lacked none of the beauties of fresh flowers,

nor any delightful aromatic herbs.

ليس فقدُ الربيع ما دمتَ حياً

يا ربيعَ الأنام بالمستبان

Spring's absence, while you live,

O spring of humankind, cannot be perceived.

خلَفَتْ كفك الربيعَ فجادت

بنداها حتى التقى الثَّريان

Your hand succeeded spring and poured forth

its bounty until the earth's two moist layers met.

شَبَّب المهرجانَ لهوك فيه

فغدا من غَطارف الشبان

Your amusement on Mihrjan rejuvenated it,

making it one of the noblest youths.

وكذاك النيروزُ رُدَّ عليه

بك شرخُ الشباب ذي الريعان

Likewise, Nowruz had restored to it

through you the prime of flourishing youth.

ولذكَّرْتَ ذا وذاك جميعاً

سنَنَ الملك في بني ساسان

You reminded both this and that

of kingship's traditions among the sons of Sasan.

عُمِرا برهةً على دين كسرى

وهما الآن بعده مُسلمان

They lived awhile under Chosroes' faith,

but now, after him, both are Muslims.

لم يكونا ليرضَيا غيرَ دين

يرتضيه الأميرُ في الأديانِ

They would accept no religion

but that which the prince approves among religions.

وبعزِّ الأمير في الناس عزَّا

فيهمُ إذْ هما له موليانِ

Through the prince's honor among people, both gained honor

among them, being his two clients.

فعلا منظريهما هيبةُ العِزْ

زِ ونور الإسلام والإيمانِ

Their appearance was overlaid with honor's awe

and the light of Islam and faith.

وأَحَبَّاك حُبَّ مولىً شكورٍ

فهما وامقان بل عاشقانِ

They loved you with a grateful client's love:

both devoted, indeed both passionately in love.

كل يومٍ وليلةٍ فَرْطُ شوق

ونزاع إليك يَطَّلعان

Every day and night, with overwhelming longing

and yearning for you, they look ahead.

فبهذا وذاك حتى لحينا

غُلَّةً فَوق غُلة الظَّمآنِ

Thus, for this and that, until we are reproached [wording unclear],

a burning thirst beyond the thirst of the parched.

لو أصابا إلى الغِلاط سبيلاً

غالطا الحاسبين في الحُسْبان

If they found a way to falsify the reckoning,

they would mislead the reckoners in their calculations.

أو يُخلَّى عنان ذاك وهذا

سبَقا موقتيهما في الزمان

Or, were the reins of this and that released,

they would precede their appointed times.

ولَوَدَّا إذا هما بك حَلّا

لو يقيمان ثم لا يرحلان

Both would wish, when they arrived with you,

to remain there and never depart.

وعزيزٌ عليهما أن يكونا

عنك لولا الإزعاج يرتحلان

It is grievous to them that they must

leave you; without being driven, they would not depart.

لو أطافا هناك للدهر قسراً

حارَنا سابقَيْه أَيَّ حِرانِ

If they remained there under Time's compulsion,

they would balk most stubbornly against its two runners.

ولكادا من التنافس في وج

هكَ خير الوجوه يجتمعان

In rivalry over your face,

the finest of faces, they would almost coincide.

ولَهمَّ الوردُ المُظاهَرُ والنَرْ

جِسُ شُحّاً عليك يلتقيان

The double rose and the narcissus would almost

meet, unwilling to relinquish you.

وإخالُ الإيوانَ لو كان يسعى

جاء سعياً إليك قبل الأذان

I imagine that, could the Iwan move,

it would hasten to you before the summons.

ولوافاك كي تُمهْرِجَ فيه

غير أنْ ليس ذاك في الإمكان

It would come to you so you might celebrate Mihrjan within it,

except that this is impossible.

وحقيقٌ في الحكم أن يوجِبَ الإي

وانُ حقَّ ابن صاحب الإيوان

It is fitting in judgment that the Iwan

should acknowledge the right of its master's son.

فضلُ مجدِ الأمير في المجد يحكي

فضلَ ذاك البنيان في البنيان

The prince's surpassing glory among glories resembles

that building's superiority among buildings.

لا تُخادَع فإنما يومُ نُعْمٍ

يومُ نُعْم الأمير لا النعمان

Do not be misled: this day of delight

is the prince's delight, not al-Nu'man's.

لو رآه النعمان أو مَلِكُ النعْ

مان ما استنكفا من الإذعانِ

Had al-Nu'man seen it, or al-Nu'man's sovereign,

neither would have disdained submission.

زُخرفتْ يوم نُعمه حُجراتٌ

جِدُّ موطوءةٍ من الضيفان

On his day of delight, chambers were decorated,

much trodden by guests.

طال غشيانهم حراها إلى أنْ

أشكلوا من حُلولها القُطان

Their frequenting of the chambers' precincts lasted so long

that their residence made them resemble permanent inhabitants.

حُجراتٌ متَيَّمَاتٌ بناها

من فضول المعروف أكرمُ باني

Love-stricken chambers, built

from abundant beneficence by the noblest builder.

لم يكن يبتني المساكن حتى

يتقن المجدَ أيَّما إتقانِ

He did not begin building dwellings until

he had perfected glory utterly.

فأُذيلت فيها تهاويلُ رَقْمٍ

قائماتٌ بزينةِ المُزْدان

Within them, marvelous embroidered designs were spread,

fulfilling the adornment of what they decorated.

ثم قام الكماةُ صفَّين من كُلْ

لِ عظيمٍ في قومه مَرْزُبان

Then warriors stood in two ranks, each

a great man among his people, a marzban.

كلهم مُطرقٌ إلى الأرض مُغضٍ

وعلى سيفه هنالك حاني

All bowed their heads toward the earth, eyes lowered,

leaning there upon their swords.

هيبةً للأَمير ما منْ عرتْهُ

بِمَلومٍ ملامة الهَيَّبانِ

In awe of the prince: whoever it seized

was not blameworthy as a coward would be.

بسطَ العُذرَ أَنَّ ذاك مقامٌ

مثلُه استَوْهل الجريء الجَنانِ

Their excuse was ample: this was a station

whose like would terrify even the bold-hearted.

وتجلَّى على السرير جبينٌ

ذو شعاع يجول دون العيان

Upon the throne a forehead shone forth,

with radiance sweeping before the gaze.

يُمْكِنُ العينَ لمحةً ثم يَنْهى

طرفَها عن إدامة اللحظانِ

It permitted the eye a glimpse, then forbade

its gaze to continue looking.

فله منه حاجبٌ قد حماه

كلَّ عينٍ ترومه بامتهانِ

In that radiance he had a chamberlain protecting him

from every eye attempting a disrespectful look.

عُقِدَ التاجُ منه فوق هلالٍ

ليس مثلَ الهلال في النُّقصان

His crown was fastened above a crescent

unlike the crescent in its incompleteness:

بل هو البدرُ كلّلته سعودٌ

طالعاتٌ في ليلةٍ إضحيانِ

rather, he was the full moon, crowned by auspicious stars

rising on a bright moonlit night.

فاستوى فوق عَرْشِه بوقارٍ

وبحلم من الحُلوم الرِّزان

He settled above his throne with dignity

and with profound, steadfast forbearance.

وأصاخت له السماواتُ والأرْ

ضُ ومن فيهما من السكانِ

The heavens and the earth listened to him,

and all the inhabitants within them.

ثم قام المُمجَّدون مثولاً

ضاربين الصدورَ بالأذقانِ

Then the honored men stood before him,

their chins touching their chests.

ليس من كبرياءَ فيه ولكن

كلُّ وجه لذلك الوجه عاني

Not because he possessed arrogance, but

because every face was captive to that face.

فَثَنَوا سؤدد الأمير وعَدُّوا

فيه آلاءه بكل لسان

They extolled the prince's lordliness and enumerated

his favors in every tongue,

حين لم يجشموا التريُّد لا بل

ما تعدَّوا ما حصَّل الكاتبانِ

without laboring to seek embellishment—no, rather,

they went no further than what the two scribes recorded.

جَلَّ ما يحْمِلُ السرير هُناكم

منه واسمٌ تُقلُّهُ الشفتان

Great is what that throne bears

of him—and his name, borne by two lips.

فقضوْا من مقالهم ما قضوْه

ثم آبوا بالرِّفدِ والحُمْلانِ

They delivered what they had to say,

then returned with gifts and mounts,

بعدما أرتعُوا الأنامل فيما

لا تعدَّاهُ شهوةُ الشهوان

after letting their fingers graze upon that

beyond which no epicure's appetite could reach:

من خِوان كأنه قِطع الرَوْ

ض وإن كان في مثال خوانِ

a table like patches of meadow,

though it had the form of a table.

فوقه الطيرُ في الصِّحافِ وحاشا

ذلك الذي من جفاء الجِفانِ

Upon it were birds in platters; far removed

was that fare from the coarseness of great bowls.

مارأى مثله ابنُ جُدعانَ لا بل

ما رأى مثله بنو الديَّانِ

Ibn Jud'an never saw its like—indeed,

neither did the sons of al-Dayyan.

ثم سام الأميرُ سوم الملاهي

وخلا بالمُدامِ والنُّدمان

Then the prince sought out amusements

and retired with the drink and his companions.

لا المدامُ الحرامُ لكن حلالٌ

سُورُ نارٍ يحُثُّها طابخانِ

Not forbidden wine, but a lawful drink,

worked by a blazing fire that two cooks stoked.

شارك الخمرَ في اسمها ليس إلا

أن أداموه مثلها في الدنان

It shared wine's name for no reason except

that they kept it, like wine, in casks.

وحكاها في اللون والريح والطع

مِ ولطفِ الدبيب في الجُسمان

It resembled wine in color, scent, and taste,

and in its gentle coursing through the body.

فهو لا خمرَ في الحقيقة لكن

هو خمرٌ في الظن والحسبان

It was not wine in truth, yet

was wine in supposition and reckoning.

لن تُلْحه النارُ التي طبختْه

بل أفادته صِبغةَ الأُرجوان

The fire that cooked it would not mar it,

but bestowed upon it a purple hue.

وقيانٍ كأنها أمهاتٌ

عاطفاتٌ على بنيها حواني

And singing girls, seemingly mothers,

inclining tenderly toward their children:

مُطفِلاتٌ وما حملن جنيناً

مرضعاتٌ ولسن ذات لَبانِ

mothers with children, yet never having borne a fetus;

nursing women, yet possessing no milk;

مُلقماتٌ أطفالَهُنُّ ثُدِيَّاً

ناهداتٍ كأحسنِ الرمَّان

putting breasts into their children's mouths,

round and raised like the finest pomegranates;

مفعَماتٍ كأنها حافلاتٌ

وهي صفرٌ من دِرَّةِ الألبان

full, seemingly swollen with milk,

yet empty of any milky flow.

كلُّ طفلٍ يُدعى بأسماءَ شتَّى

بين عودٍ ومِزْهَرٍ وكِرانِ

Each child was called by different names:

oud, mizhar, or kiran.

أمُّهُ دهرَها تُتَرجمُ عنه

وهو بادي الغنى عن الترجمانِ

Its mother interpreted for it all her life,

though plainly it needed no interpreter.

غير أن ليس ينطِقُ الدهرَ إلا

بالتزامٍ من أمهِ واحتضان

Yet throughout time it would speak only

when its mother held and embraced it.

أوتيَ الحكمَ والبيانَ صبيّاً

مثل عيسى ابن مريم ذي الحَنانِ

It was given wisdom and eloquence as a child,

like Jesus son of Mary, possessed of tenderness.

فتراه يفري الفَرِيَّ بلفظٍ

قائم الوزن عادلِ الميزانِ

You saw it perform wonders with an utterance

of upright meter and balanced measure.

لو تُسلَّى به حديثَةُ رُزءٍ

لشفى داءَ صدرها الحَرَّان

Were a newly bereaved woman consoled by it,

it would cure the sickness of her burning breast.

عجباً منه كيف يُسلي ويُلهي

مع تهييجه على الأشجان

How wondrous that it consoles and diverts

while also stirring sorrows!

يُذْكر الشجوَ مُسلياً عنه والسلْ

وانُ ممَّا يكون في النسيانِ

It recalls grief while consoling one for it, though consolation

is something ordinarily found in forgetting.

فترى في الذي يُصيخُ إليه

أَمراتِ المحزون والجَذلانِ

In the one listening to it you see

the signs of both sorrow and joy.

لو رقا المُخبتين أصغوا إليه

ولجرُّوا له ذيول افتتانِ

Were it to charm the devout, they would listen

and trail behind it the skirts of enchantment.

يعتري السامعين منه حنين ال

نيب فرَّقتَهُنَّ بعد اقترانِ

Its listeners are seized by the yearning of old she-camels

whom you separated after companionship;

أو حنِينُ العُوذِ الروائم بالدهْ

ناء أفردتهنَّ من جيرانِ

or the longing of tender mother-camels in al-Dahna,

whom you isolated from their neighbors.

فكأنَّ القلوبَ إذ ذاك يَذْكرْ

نَ عهوداً لهنَّ في أوطانِ

As though their hearts at that moment remembered

old bonds they had in their homelands.

فنفثن السماعَ في أذْنِ خِرق

أريحيّ عليه ثَرِّ البنان

The women breathed their music into the ear of a noble man,

responsive to it and liberal-handed.

وتَغنَّته بالمدائح فيه

كلُّ غيداء غادة مِفتانِ

Each sang to him praises of himself:

every graceful, tender, enchanting girl,

ذاتِ صوتٍ تَهزُّه كيف شاءتْ

مثلَ ما هزَّتْ الصبا غصنَ بان

with a voice she swayed however she pleased,

as the east wind sways a branch of ban.

يتثنى فينفُضُ الطلَّ عنه

في تثنِّيه مثلَ حبِّ الجمان

It bends and shakes the dew from itself,

in its swaying, like beads of pearl.

ذلك الصوتُ في المسامِع يحكي

ذلك الغصنَ في العيون الرواني

That voice in the ears resembles

that branch before gazing eyes:

جَهْوريٌّ بلا جفاءٍ على السَّمْ

ع مشوبٌ بِغُنَّةِ الغِزلان

resonant, without harshness to the hearing,

mingled with the nasal sweetness of gazelles.

فيه بَمٌّ وفيه زِيرٌ من النَغ

مِ وفيه مَثالث وَمَثاني

It has bass and treble among its notes,

and third strings and second strings.

فتراهُ يَجلُّ في السمع حيناً

وتَراه يَدقُّ في الأحيان

You hear it grow full at times,

and hear it become delicate at others.

رخَّمتْهُ ورقرقته وضاهَى

فعلَها الأحمران والأسمرانِ

She softened it and made it ripple; matched

was her work by the two red things and the two brown things.

فهو يحكي ترقرق النِّهْيِ في الري

ح لعينيْ ذي غُلَّة صديان

It resembles a pool's rippling in the wind

to the eyes of a burning, thirsty man.

يلِجُ السمعَ مستمرّاً إلى القل

بِ بلا آذِنٍ ولا استئذان

It enters the hearing and proceeds to the heart

without a doorkeeper or permission.

غير مبهورةِ المراجيع كلّا

إنَّما البُهرُ آفةٌ في السِّمان

Her repeated phrases are not breathless—certainly not:

breathlessness is an affliction of the stout.

ليس تخفي أنفاسُها أنَّهَا أن

فاسُ مهضومة الحشا خُمصان

Her breaths do not conceal that they are the breaths

of a slender, slim-waisted woman,

بين خلقِ الضئيلة الشَّختةِ الجسْ

مِ وخلق الثقيلة المِبْدان

between the build of a frail, emaciated body

and that of a heavy, corpulent woman.

فهي كالسابق المُضمَّر يجري

لاحق الأَيْطلين غَوْجَ اللَّبان

She is like a conditioned racer running,

with tucked flanks and a supple chest.

صِيغَ من طَبْع صوتها كلُّ لحن

معها من لحون تلك الأغاني

Every melody of those songs she sings

was formed from the natural character of her voice,

مثل ما صيغ لحنُ ساق وحُرٍّ

من طباع الحمامة المِرنان

as the tune of 'saq' and 'hurr' was formed

from the nature of the resonant dove.

فأقام الأميرُ في ظل يومٍ

فيه من كلِّ نعمةٍ زوجَان

The prince remained beneath the shade of a day

containing two of every blessing:

أعجميٌّ آيينُه عربيٌ

مجدُه ينتمي إلى عدنان

Persian in its rite, Arab

in its glory, tracing back to Adnan.

بمَحلٍّ ترودُ عيناهُ منه

بين مرعى الظباء والحيتان

In a place from which his eyes wandered

between the grazing grounds of gazelles and fish.

وأفاد الجُلّاس من سيْب كَفَّيْ

هِ وألفاظِه الصِّياب الرصان

He benefited his companions with the bounty of his two hands

and his accurate, steadfast words.

وكذا من ذكَتْ أياديه كانت

للمفيدين منه فائدتان

Likewise, whoever's beneficence flourishes provides

two benefits to those receiving from him.

يا ابنَ سيف الملوك طاب لك العَيْ

شُ برغم العدو ذي الشَّنآن

O son of the sword of kings, may life be pleasant for you,

despite the enemy possessed of hatred.

قد لعمري أَنَى لمثلِك أن ينْ

عَمَ تحت الظلال والأكنان

By my life, the time has come for one like you

to enjoy ease beneath shades and shelters.

إن تُصِبْ يومَ لذَّةٍ فبيومٍ

بعد يوم شهدته أرْونانِ

If you gain a day of pleasure, it repays a day

after day of tumult that you witnessed.

فالْهُ في المهرجان لهو مُريح

مُستَجِمٍّ لذلك الدَّيْدانِ

So enjoy Mihrjan as one taking rest,

refreshing himself for that habitual labor.

حان أن يستريحَ عَودُ المعالي

ويُرى وهو ضاربٌ بالجِران

It is time for the seasoned camel of lofty deeds to rest

and be seen laying down its neck.

أصلح الآلةَ التي لستَ تنفكْ

كُ تقاسي بها العلا وتُعاني

Repair the instrument with which you never cease

to endure and struggle for lofty achievements.

فبحقٍّ أقول إنَّ من الإحْ

سان إصلاح آلةِ الأحسان

Rightly I say that part of beneficence

is repairing the instrument of beneficence.

لا عدمناك ساقياً ترك السَقْ

يَ لشَدِّ الدلاءِ بالأشطان

May we never lose you, a water-giver who stopped drawing water

to fasten the buckets with ropes,

ريثَ ما استحكمتْ له ثم أدلى

دلوه فاستقى بها غيرَ واني

only until they were secured for him, then lowered

his bucket and drew water without flagging.

إن تُثب جسمَك النعيم فبالإتْ

عابِ في حالِ راحة الأبدان

If you reward your body with delight, it is for the toil

it bore while other bodies rested,

وبحمل الثِّقلِ الثقيل عليه

يومَ غُرم ويومَ حربٍ عَوان

and for loading heavy burdens upon it

on days of expense and days of repeated warfare.

أو تُثب عينَك الإجالة في نُزْ

هةِ وجهٍ يروق أو بستان

Or if you reward your eye with wandering through the delight

of a pleasing face or garden,

فبإغضائها عن السوءِ والفح

شاءِ والذنبِ حين يجنيه جاني

it is for its lowering itself before evil and indecency,

and before sin when a sinner commits it;

ومراعاتها حِمى الدين والمُلْ

كِ إذا طاب مرقَدُ الوسنان

and for its watching over the sanctuaries of religion and kingship

when the drowsy man's resting place is pleasant;

وبما لا تزال تُقْذى إلى أن

تتجلَّى خَصاصةُ الإخوان

and for the distress it continually suffers until

the poverty of brothers is relieved.

شهدَ المجدُ أَنَّ هاتيك عينٌ

حَقُّ عينِ المحافظ اليقظان

Glory bears witness that such an eye

is truly the eye of a vigilant guardian.

وقَليلٌ لمثلها أن تُلَهَّى

بالبساتين والوجوهِ الحسان

It is little enough for such an eye to be diverted

by gardens and beautiful faces.

أو تُثِبْ أذْنَك السماعَ فأدنى

حقِّ إصغائها إلى اللهفان

Or if you reward your ear with music, that is the least

due for its listening to the distressed,

وبما لا يزالُ يقْرعها في ال

حرب وقعُ السيوف والمُرَّان

and for what continually strikes it in war:

the clash of swords and ash-wood spears.

أُذنٌ منك قَلَّ ما تدع العَلْ

ياءُ فيها فضلاً لشدوِ القيان

An ear of yours in which lofty pursuits seldom

leave any room for the singing of girls.

يا لها مِنْ جَوارحٍ مُعملاتٍ

مُتْعَباتٍ في طاعة الرحمن

What limbs they are, put to work,

wearied in obedience to the Merciful!

حقُّها لو يُسلَّفُ المحْسنُ الجَنْ

نَةَ تَسليفَها نعيمَ الجِنانِ

Their due, if a benefactor could receive Paradise in advance,

would be an advance of the gardens' bliss.

كُلَّ يوم لنا طلائعُ منها

ترقبُ الدهرَ غارة الحدثان

Every day we have their scouts

watching Time for the assault of calamities.

نحن ما حاطنا بها اللَّه نَرْعى

في طمأنينةٍ وظل أمان

So long as God protects us through them, we graze

in tranquility and the shade of safety.

مُلِّيتْكَ الملوكُ سَيْفَ جلادٍ

وعصا رِعيةٍ ورمحَ طِعان

May kings long enjoy you as a sword for combat,

a staff for governing subjects, and a spear for thrusting.

أنت راعي الرُّعيان طوراً وطوراً

أنت راعي رَعيّة الرُّعيان

At times you are the shepherd of shepherds, and at times

the shepherd of the shepherds' flock.

قد كَفيتَ الرِّعاءَ والشاءَ طورَيْ

عَدواتِ الأسودِ والذُّؤبان

You have protected shepherds and sheep against both kinds

of assault: those of lions and wolves.

ولَعمرُ المغَنّياتِك في مَدْ

حكَ ما قلن فيك من بهتان

By the life of your singing girls, in praising

you they spoke no falsehood about you.

ما تَغنّينَ في مديحك إلا

ما تغنَّت عصائبُ الرُّكبان

They sang in your praise nothing but

what bands of riders had sung.

لم يكن يَرتَضيه سمعُك للصن

عةِ حتى يسير في البلدان

Your hearing would not approve it as an artistic composition

until it traveled through the lands.

ولَشعرٌ فيه مديحُك أحلى

من رقيق النسيب في الألحان

Poetry containing your praise is sweeter

than delicate love verse set to melodies.

ولعمري وما أقولُ بظنٍّ

فيك لكن بغاية الإيقان

By my life, I do not speak from conjecture

about you, but with utmost certainty.

ما احتبيْتَ السماعَ والشعرَ وجداً

بالغواني ولا بوصف المغاني

You did not embrace music and poetry from passion

for beautiful women or descriptions of dwelling places,

بل لأن السماع والشعر قِدماً

بالندى آمران مؤتمران

but because music and poetry, from of old,

command generosity and obey its command;

وعلى كل سُؤدد مِن حِفاظٍ

ووفاءٍ ونجدةٍ حاديان

and toward every noble quality—protective loyalty,

fidelity, and courage—they both urge.

يُعجبان الكريمَ جداً وليسا

من شؤون الهلباجة المِبْطان

They greatly please the generous man, and are not

among the concerns of the gluttonous fool.

هل ترى ما أرى سَراةُ مَعَدٍّ

وصناديدُ أختها قحطان

Do the chiefs of Ma'add see what I see,

and the champions of its sister Qahtan:

إن تلافيتَ مجدَهم بعدما شَذْ

ذَ فأضحى مُدوَّنَ الديوان

that you restored their glory after it had scattered,

so that it became entered in a register?

ولقد كان أهلُه ضيعوه

وأحلُّوه منزلَ الهِجرانِ

Its own people had indeed neglected it

and consigned it to abandonment.

لبثَ الشعرُ حقبةً وهو مُقصىً

عندهم نازلٌ بدارِ هوان

Poetry remained for an age excluded

among them, dwelling in a house of humiliation.

فَبذلتَ الطريفَ فيه مع التا

لد واخترته على القُنيان

You spent newly acquired wealth upon it along with inherited wealth,

and chose it over possessions.

وتتبَّعته وقد عاد فَلا

قى أَقاصي البلاد بعد الأداني

You sought it out when it returned and encountered

the farthest lands after the nearest;

ورعيتَ العلا على كل حيٍّ

رعْيَ لا مُغفلٍ ولا متواني

and tended lofty honor among every tribe

with the care of one neither heedless nor negligent.

لا لقُربَى ولادةٍ جمعتكم

أينَ لا أين يَلتقي النَسَبان

Not because a close bond of birth united you:

where—nowhere—do the two lineages meet?

بل تأوَّلتُ أن كل شريفَيْ

نِ بعيدي قَرابةٍ أخوان

Rather, I understood that every two noble men

distant in kinship are brothers.

إن يكونوا أباعداً فالمعالي

نَسبٌ بينهم وبينك داني

Though they be distant relatives, lofty deeds

are a close lineage between them and you.

لا فقدناك يا حفيظ حفيظِ ال

مجْد ما لاح في الدجى الفَرقدان

May we never lose you, guardian of the guardian of glory,

while the two Farqad stars shine in darkness.

أصبح الشعر شاكراً لك دون ال

ناس نعماءَ مُنعمٍ محسان

Poetry has become grateful to you, above all people,

for the bounty of a beneficent giver.

أنت ترعاه وهو يرعى بك المج

دَ فيا بِئس ما رَعى الرَّاعيان

You tend it, and through you it tends glory:

alas, what a wretched thing the two shepherds tended!

كل مدحٍ قد قيل في الناس قِدْماً

لك فيه بحَقِّك الثُّلثان

Of every praise spoken of people in olden times,

two-thirds rightly belong to you.

وبهذا قضى لك الشعرُ شكراً

لك يا خير قَيِّمٍ ومُعاني

Poetry decreed this for you in gratitude

to you, O finest guardian and helper.

فمديحُ الملوكِ في آل نصرٍ

ومديحُ الملوك من غسان

The praise of kings of the house of Nasr,

and the praise of kings of Ghassan;

ومديح الملوك من آل حرب

ثم من بعدِهِم بني مروانِ

the praise of kings of the house of Harb,

then, after them, the sons of Marwan;

ومديح الممدَّحين من النا

سِ جيمعاً في كل حينٍ وآن

and the praise of all praised people,

at every time and moment:

لك فيه دون الأُلى ورِثوهم

من سهامٍ ثلاثةٍ سَهمان

in it, apart from those who inherited from them, you have

two shares out of three.

فيك قالت أئمَّةُ الشعر ما قا

لت بلا رؤية ولا لُقيان

About you the masters of poetry said what they said

without seeing or meeting you:

كامرئ القيس قَرْمِهِم وزُهيرٍ

وزِيادٍ أخي بني ذبيانِ

Imru' al-Qays, their champion, and Zuhayr;

Ziyad, brother of the sons of Dhubyan;

وكأوسٍ فصيحِهم ولبيدٍ

وعبيدٍ أخي بني دُودان

Aws, their eloquent one, and Labid;

and Ubayd, brother of the sons of Dudan.

كلُّهم بالمديح إياك يَعْني

كانياً عنك كان أو غير كاني

All of them intend you with their praise,

whether speaking indirectly of you or openly.

فكأنْ قد شهدت كُلَّ قديم

وبكم قد تفاوتَ الحَرسَان

It is as though you witnessed every ancient man;

how far apart the two ages have grown through you!

كم قريضٍ في مدحِ غيرك أضحى

لك معناه واسمُه لفلان

How many poems praising another have come to have

their meaning yours, though their name belongs to someone else.

أنت أولى به بحكم القوافي

من نؤومٍ عن المعالي هَدان

By the judgment of rhymes, you deserve them more

than a sluggish man asleep to lofty deeds.

أين معطي رواةِ مدحِ سواهُ

من مُثيب المُدَّاح بالحرمان

How far is one who rewards transmitters of another's praise

from one who repays panegyrists with deprivation!

بُوعِدَ البينُ بين هذين جِداً

كل بُعدٍ وخولف النَّجْران

The distance between these two is exceedingly vast,

utterly vast, and their natures differ.

إنّ من هزَّه مديحُ سواهُ

للسَّدى والندى لَغَيرُ دَدان

One whom another's praise stirs

to beneficence and generosity is certainly no weakling.

لست أدري ثناك أحلى على الأف

واهِ أم سمعُه على الآذان

I do not know whether your praise is sweeter upon mouths

or its hearing upon ears.

فيك أشياءُ لو وُجدن قديماً

نظمتْها الملوكُ في التيجانِ

You possess qualities that, had they existed of old,

kings would have strung into their crowns.

ليس للمادحين فيك مديحٌ

فيه دعوى لهم بلا بُرهان

Those praising you have no praise

containing an assertion without proof.

أي فخرٍ أم أيُّ مجد رفيع

لم تكن من سمائِه بعَنان

What pride, or what exalted glory,

has a heaven whose clouds you have not reached?

لو يُجارَى سُكَيْتُ شأوِك أعيا

كلَّ طِرف وفات كل عِنانِ

Were even the last horse in your race challenged, it would exhaust

every thoroughbred and outstrip every rein.

لك في البأس والندى عَزماتٌ

جثماتٌ أمضى من الخِرصان

In valor and generosity you have resolutions

firmly settled, more penetrating than spears.

كلُّ مرعى سوى جنابِك يُرعَى

فهْو مرعى وليس كالسَّعدان

Every pasture grazed besides your domain

is pasture, but not like sa'dan.

لا سؤالٌ من بعد رِفدك إلا

كالزنا بعد نعمةِ الإحصان

Any asking after your gift is nothing

but adultery after the blessing of chastity.

لك مما يُعدي على كل دهر

إمرةٌ غيرُ إمرةِ السلطان

Among your powers of assistance against every age, you have

a command other than sovereign command.

ليس يجْبي أميرُها المال لكن

يجتبي حمدَ من حوى الخافقان

Its commander does not collect money, but

gathers the praise of all whom the two horizons encompass.

فبعدواك يَرْهبُ الدهر عنا

بعد تصميمه على العُدوانِ

Through your intervention, Time recoils from us

after resolving upon aggression.

أنت ذو الإمرتين لا شكَّ فيه

فهنيئاً دامت لك الإمرتان

You possess both commands, without doubt:

may you enjoy them, and may both endure for you.

منك ما كان طاهرٌ ذا يمينَيْ

نِ يفوقان سائر الأيمان

From you comes that by which Tahir possessed two right hands

surpassing every other right hand.

وجديرون أن تكون لكم من

كل مجدٍ وسؤددٍ كِفْلان

You are worthy to possess, of

every glory and lordliness, a double portion.

أنت كهل الكهول يوم ترى الرأ

يَ ويومَ الوغى من الفتيان

You are the maturest of elders when considering counsel,

and among young men on the day of battle.

لك رأيٌ كأنه رأي شِقٍّ

أو سطيحٍ قَريعَي الكُهان

Your judgment resembles the judgment of Shiqq

or Satih, the two foremost soothsayers.

تستشفُّ الغيوبَ عما يواري

نَ بعينٍ جَليّة الإنسان

You discern unseen things beyond what they conceal,

with an eye whose pupil is clear.

لك جهلٌ في غير ما خفَّة الجَهْ

لِ وحلمٌ في غير ما إدهان

You have fierceness without fury's recklessness,

and forbearance without dissembling;

وسكونُ الشجاع حين يداهي

ك مُداهٍ وسورةُ الأفْعُوان

and the brave man's calm when a schemer confronts

you, and the serpent's fierce assault.

قلت للسائلي بمجدك أَنَّى

خفيتْ عنك آيةُ التِّبْيان

I told the man asking about your glory: How

has the sign of clear evidence escaped you?

أنت لولا سفالُ كعبِك بادٍ

لك شُمروخُ ذي الهِضاب أَبان

Were your station not so low, visible

to you would be the peak of many-ridged Aban.

فإذا شئت أن تراه فأنجِدْ

في أعالي نظيرهِ ثَهْلان

If you wish to see it, climb

to the heights of its counterpart, Thahlan.

ليس منه الخمولُ بل منك والأط

وادُ تخفَى عن خاشعاتِ القنان

The obscurity is not his, but yours; mountains

are hidden from lowly summits.

حَسْبُ جُهّالِه عليه دليلاً

أنه الفردُ ليس يَثْنيه ثاني

Sufficient evidence for those ignorant of him

is that he is unique, with no second to match him.

ليس ممن يضلُّ في الدَّهْم حتى

يُبتَغى بالسؤال والنِّشدان

He is not one lost in the multitude, who must

be sought by questioning and inquiry.

هو شمس الضحى إذا ما استقلَّتْ

لا تمارِي في ضوئها عينان

He is the morning sun when it rises high:

no two eyes dispute its light.

وله إخوة شآهم إلى المَجْ

د وإن هم شَأَوه بالأسنان

He has brothers whom he outstripped toward glory,

though they outstripped him in years.

هو من بينهم شبيهُ أبيه

في الندى والحجى وفضل البيان

Among them he resembles his father

in generosity, intelligence, and excellence of expression.

وهو من بينهم سميُّ أبيه

غيرَ حرفٍ يُزاد للفُرقان

Among them he bears his father's name,

except for a letter added to distinguish them.

ما اسم عبد الإله واسم عُبيْد ال

لَه لولا التصغير مختلفانِ

The names Abd al-Ilah and Ubayd Allah

would not differ, were it not for the diminutive.

ولئن خالفَ اسمُه اسمَ أبيه

بيسير ما خُولف المعنيان

Though his name differs from his father's name

slightly, the two meanings do not differ.

ملكٌ صغَّر اسمَهُ أبواه

لا لنقص ولا لتصغير شان

A king whose parents made his name diminutive,

not for deficiency or to diminish his standing,

بل أحبّا أن يكسواه خشوعاً

سُقِيَ الغيث ذانِكَ الأبوان

but wishing to clothe him in humility:

may those two parents be watered by rain!

واصِفاهُ بذاك لم يضعاه

بل أَحلّاه في رؤوس الرِّعان

By describing him thus, they did not lower him,

but placed him upon the heads of mountain ridges.

فهو لله خاشعٌ مستكين

غير ذي نخوةٍ ولا خُنزوان

He is humble and submissive before God,

without arrogance or swelling pride.

ذلَّ في عزه لملبسه العِزْ

زةَ شكراً لمِنة المنّان

In his might he humbled himself to the One who clothed him in might,

grateful for the favor of the Bestower.

فأطاع الإلهَ غيرَ مَهين

واتقاه تُقاةَ غير جبان

He obeyed God without being abased

and feared Him with no coward's fear.

جاور الله باسمه فاتقاه

ورعى منه أكرمَ الجيران

He neighbored God in his name, and revered Him,

honoring in Him the noblest of neighbors.

لم يكن مثله يرى الله مقرو

ناً به في اسمه مع الطغيان

One like him would not see God joined

to himself in his name while practicing tyranny.

قل لمن رام شأوَه في المعالي

لست من خيل ذلك الميدان

Tell whoever seeks his reach in lofty deeds:

You are not among the horses of that racecourse.

أين شأوُ البِطان لا أين منه

فات شأوُ الخِماص شأوَ البطان

Where is the reach of the stout? Nowhere near his:

the reach of the lean surpasses that of the stout.

مُخطَفٌ مرهَف تبيّن فيه

أنه من مُضمَّرات الرِّهان

Slender and finely shaped, plainly showing

that he belongs among conditioned racehorses.

هيَّأ الله شخصَه للمعالي

هيئةَ السيف أو أخيه السنان

God fashioned his person for lofty deeds

in the form of a sword or its brother, the spearhead.

ليس بالخاشع الضئيل ولكن

قده الله قدَّ سيفٍ يمان

He is not feeble and meager, but

God shaped him like a Yemeni sword.

صفحتاهُ عقيقتان من البَرْ

ق وفي مَضربيه صاعقتان

Its two faces are twin streaks of lightning,

and in its two striking edges are two thunderbolts.

لم يعوَّض بُدن النساء كقوم

حُرِموا حظهم من الأذهان

He was not given women's bulk in compensation, like people

deprived of their share of intelligence.

جُعل العَصبُ في الرجال قديماً

وكذا الجَدْلُ في الحبال المِتانِ

Sinew was placed in men from of old,

as tight twisting was in stout ropes.

قد قضى قبلنا بذلك بيتٌ

حملته الرواة عن حسان

Before us, a verse had already judged this,

transmitted by narrators from Hassan,

في قريضٍ له على الرأي جزلٍ

قاله في هجاء عبدِ المدان

in a weighty poem reflecting this judgment,

which he spoke in satire of Abd al-Madan.

وإذا زاول الأمورَ فثَبْتٌ

رابطُ الجأش أَيِّد الأركان

When he handles affairs, he is steadfast,

firm-hearted, strong-limbed.

ويُلزُّ القرينَ منه بأَلوَى

مَرِس الحبل مُحْصَد الأقران

He presses his adversary with a tenacious wrestler:

one with tested rope and tightly twisted strands.

ليِّنٌ للمُلاينين أبِيٌّ

إن رأى منهمُ غموط اللِّيان

Gentle toward those who are gentle, yet unyielding

if he sees them despise gentleness.

يتثنّى للعاطفيه ويُعيي

كاسِريه كهيئة الخيزران

He bends for those who bend him, and defeats

those who would break him, like bamboo.

وجوادٌ يطيع في ماله الجو

دَ ويُشجي العُذَّال بالعصيان

Generous, he obeys generosity concerning his wealth

and grieves his reproachers through disobedience.

يتقي ألسنَ السؤال بعرضٍ

وافرٍ مُكرَمٍ ومالٍ مُهان

He wards off petitioners' tongues with an honor

abundant and cherished, and wealth held cheap.

هكذا عهدُنا بآل زُريقٍ

يشترون الثناء بالأثمان

Such is our experience of the house of Zurayq:

they purchase praise with their riches.

ويصونون باللُّهى حُرمَ الأع

راض صونَ السيوف بالأجفان

With gifts they protect the sanctity of honor,

as swords are protected by scabbards.

يا بني طاهرٍ طَهُرتم وطبتم

وذكوتم في السرِّ والإعلان

O sons of Tahir, you are pure and good,

untainted in secret and openly.

وحللتم من المعالي محلّاً

يبلغ النجمَ رفعةً أو يداني

You occupy a station among lofty achievements

whose height reaches the stars, or approaches them.

مجدكم كالجبال من بنيةِ اللَّ

ه ومجدُ الأنام مثل المباني

Your glory is like mountains in God's construction,

while mankind's glory resembles buildings.

كل مدح في غيركم فمُثاب

ما أُثيبت عبادة الأوثان

Every praise bestowed on others receives

the reward received by idol worship.

هاكَها لا أقول ذاك مُدِلّاً

قولَ ذي نخوة بها وامتنان

Take it: I do not say this presumptuously,

like one boasting of it and claiming a favor.

بين أثنائها مديحٌ نفيس

من لَبوس الملوك والفرسان

Within its folds is precious praise,

fit for the attire of kings and horsemen,

ذو قواف كأنها حَلَقُ الأصْ

داغ في البيض من خدود الغواني

with rhymes like rings of temple curls

upon the fair cheeks of beautiful women.

راق معنىً ورقّ لفظاً فيحكي

رائقَ الخمر في رقيق الصِّحان

Lovely in meaning and delicate in expression, it resembles

clear wine in delicate bowls.

إن تكن سهلةَ القوافي فليستْ

في المعاني بسهلة الوُجدان

Though its rhymes are easy, it is not

easy to discover in its meanings.

فابتذلْها في يوم لهوِك واعلم

أنها بعدُ من ثياب الصِّيان

Use it freely on your day of amusement, and know

that it nevertheless belongs among treasured garments.

وابسُطِ العذرَ في ارتخاص القوافي

واتِّباعي سهولةَ الأوزان

Allow ample excuse for my taking inexpensive rhymes

and following easy meters.

أنتَ ألجأتني إلى ما تراهُ

بالذي فيك من فنون المعاني

You compelled me to what you see

through the varieties of meaning found in you.

أيُّ وزن وأيُّ حرف رويٍّ

لهما بالمديح فيك يدان

What meter and what rhyme-letter

have the power to praise you?

ضاق عن مأثُراتك الشعرُ إلا

فاعلاتن مستفعلن فاعلانِ

Poetry is too narrow for your glorious deeds, except

fa'ilatun, mustaf'ilun, fa'ilan.

ليس مدحٌ يفي بمدحك إلا

صلوات المليك في القرآن

No praise does justice to praising you except

the Sovereign's blessings in the Quran.

لا ولا حمدَ كفءُ نعماك إلا

حمدُ سبعٍ من الكتاب مثاني

Nor is any thanksgiving equal to your bounty except

the praise of the Book's seven oft-repeated verses.

أنت أعلى من أنْ توازَى بشيءٍ

لستَ ممن يُرمى به الرَّجَوان

You are too exalted to be matched with anything:

you are not one flung between the two sides.

فابقَ واسلم وهذه دعوة يَحْ

ظَى بمرجوع نفعها الثقلان

Remain and be safe: this is a prayer whose

returning benefit is enjoyed by humankind and jinn.

لم أحاول بها سواك ولكن

شمِلتْ من يَضمُّه الأفقان

With it I intended no one but you, yet

it embraced everyone encompassed by the two horizons.

كيف يعدو مهما أصابك قوماً

أنت منهم كالروح في الجثمان

How could whatever befalls you pass by a people

to whom you are like the soul within the body?