متيم متلفه تلدده — Abu Bakr Al Suli

مُتَيَّمٌ مُتْلِفُهُ تَلَدُّدُه

بانَ لِبَيْنِ الْهَوَى تَجَلُّدُهُ

A man enslaved by love, undone by his bewildered restlessness;

his fortitude departed at love's parting.

طَالَ عَلَيْهِ مَدَى الصُّدُودِ فَمَا

يُبْصِرُهُ مِنْ ضَنَاهُ عُوَّدُهُ

Rejection has lasted so long for him that no longer

can his sickbed visitors discern him, so wasted is he.

قَدْ كَتَبَ الْحُبُّ بِالسَّقَامِ لَهُ

نَظَّمَهُ بِمَنْ أَتَى يُفَنِّدُهُ

Love has decreed for him, through sickness,

that he be ranged with whoever comes to reproach him.

أَوْرَدَهُ الْحَتْفَ مَا رِدٌ غَنِجٌ

زَادَ عَلَى حُسْنِهِ تَمَرُّدُهُ

A coquettish rebel has led him to death;

his defiance surpasses even his beauty.

يَكَادُ مِنْ لِينِهِ وَرِقَّتِهِ

تَحِلُّهُ لَحْظَتِي وَتَعْقُدُه

Such is his softness and delicacy that

my glance almost unbinds him and binds him.

قَد ارْتَدَتْ بِالجَمَالِ جُمْلَتُهُ

كَمَا ارتَدى بالنَّدَى مُحَمَّدُهُ

His whole being has clothed itself in beauty,

as his Muhammad has clothed himself in generosity.

خَلِيفَةٌ أُكْمِلَتْ فَضَائِلُهُ

فَفَرْعُهُ طَيِّبٌ وَمَحْتِدُهُ

A caliph whose virtues have been perfected,

his branch is noble, and so is his ancestral stock.

تَعَبَّدَ المَجْدَ فَهُوَ يَمْلِكُهُ

طَارِفُهُ عِنْدَهُ وَمُتْلَدُهُ

He has enslaved glory and owns it;

its new gains and its old inheritance are his.

قَدْ رَضِيَ الرَّاضِيَ الإِلهُ لإصْ

لاَحِ زَمَانٍ سِوَاهُ مُفْسِدُهُ

God has approved al-Radi for the

reform of an age that anyone else would corrupt.

فَهُوَ بِتَفْوِيضِهِ الأُمورَ إلَى اللَّ

هِ بِحُسْنِ التَّوْفِيقِ يَعْضُدُهُ

Thus, for his entrusting affairs to God,

He supports him with gracious guidance.

أَمّا تَرَى مَا كَفَاهُ مِنْ خَطَرِ

غَائِرُهُ مُعْجِزٌ وَمُنْجِدُهُ

Do you not see the danger He has warded off for him,

whose depths and heights alike defy one's strength?

لاَ يَبْلُغُ الْفِكْرُ كَشْفَ غُمَّتِهِ

يَعُومُ فِي حَيْرَةٍ تُرَدِّدُه

Thought cannot dispel its darkness;

it swims in bewilderment that tosses it to and fro.

وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذاكَ مُتَّكِلٌ

يَشْكُرُ إحْسَانَهُ وَيَحْمَدُهُ

In this he relies upon Him,

thanking Him for His kindness and praising Him.

وَلَنْ يُضِيعَ الإِلهُ مُلْتَجِئاً

إلَيْهِ فِي الْخَطْبِ بَلْ مُؤَيِّدُهُ

God will never forsake one who takes refuge

in Him in adversity; rather, He sustains him.

يَسِلُّ رَأْياً كَالسَّيْفِ وَقْفَتُهُ

وَيَحْتَوِي سَيْفَهُ وَيُغْمدُهُ

His pause draws forth a judgment like a sword,

while he holds back his sword and sheathes it,

تَمَسُّكاً فِيهِ بِالْوَفَاءَ وَمَا

تَقْصُرُ عَمَّا يُرِيدُهُ يَدُهُ

holding fast therein to fidelity; nor

does his hand fall short of what he desires.

كفَايَةُ اللهِ تَسْتَطِيفُ بِهِ

تُنْحِسُ أَعْدَاءَهُ وَتُسْعِدُهُ

God's protection encircles him,

bringing ill fortune to his enemies and good fortune to him.

أَوْحَدَهُ اللهُ فِي فَضائِلِهِ

فَهُوَ مِنْ بَدْءِ الْكَمَالِ أَوْجَدَهُ

God has made him peerless in his virtues;

He created him from perfection's very beginning.

جَرَى عَلَى الصُّنْعِ وَالسَّعَادَة وَالْ

يُمْنِ لَهُ سَيْرُهُ وَمَقْصَدُهُ

His course is marked by favor, happiness, and

good fortune, and so is his purpose.

جُيُوشُهُ حَوْلَهُ كَمَا حَدَقَتْ

بِالْبَدْرِ بَدْرِ التَّمَامِ أَسْعُدُهُ

His armies surround him as

lucky stars encircle the moon, the full moon.

يَسُوسُهُمْ بِالسَّدَادِ حَاجِبُهُ

وَهُوَ بآرَائِهِ يُسَدِّدُهُ

His chamberlain governs them with sound judgment,

while he guides him aright with his counsels.

كَأَنَّهُ منْهُ لَيْسَ يَبْعُدُ أَنْ

يُشَبِّه مَوْلَىً في الْعِزِّ أَعْبُدُه

He seems part of him; it is not far-fetched that

a master's slaves should resemble him in glory.

لَكِنَّهُ فَايِتٌ بِهِمَّتِهِ

كَمَا يَفُوتُ الهِلاَلَ فَرْقَدهُ

Yet he surpasses him in lofty resolve,

as its Farqad star outstrips the crescent.

وَأَيْنَ منْ زَاخِرِ العٌبابِ صَرىً

يُحْفِي إذا جَاشَ فِيهِ مُزْبِدُهُ

What is stagnant water beside a billowing sea,

whose foaming surge wears it away when it churns within it?

أَرَى ذَكِياً ذَكَتْ خَوَاطِرُهُ

فَلَمْ يَخُنْ فَهْمَهُ مُتَلِّدُهُ

I see a clever man whose thoughts burn bright;

his inherited gifts have not betrayed his understanding.

سَيْفٌ عَلَى مَنْ عَصَاكَ مُتَّقِدٌ

تُطْفِي بِهِ طُغْيَانَهُ وَتُغْمِدُهُ

A blazing sword against whoever disobeys you,

with which you quench his rebellion and then sheath it.

يا خَيْرَ مَنْ لاَذَ ذُو الرَّجَاءِ بِهِ

وَخَيْرَ مَنْ بالنَّوالِ يَرْفِدُهُ

O best of those in whom the hopeful seek refuge,

and best of those who sustain them with gifts,

وَمَنْ يَفُوتُ الْمُنَى تَطُوُّلُهُ

وَيَقْتَضِيهِ الإنْجَازَ مَوْعِدُهُ

whose bounty surpasses all wishes,

and whose promise demands fulfillment of him.

أَمْوالُهُ نَحْوَنا مُوَجَّهَةٌ

بِنائِلٍ لاَ تُحَثُّ وُرَّدُهُ

His wealth is directed toward us,

in bounty whose water-seekers need no urging.

يُعْلَى لَنا الحالُ والمَحَلُّ بِهِ

فَلاَ سُؤالٌ لَهُ نُرَدِّدُهُ

Through him our condition and our station are raised;

we have no request to repeat to him.

لَوْ جازَ أَنْ يَعْبُدَ العِبادُ سِوَى الْ

خالِقِ كُنَّا لِلْبِرِّ نَعْبُدُهُ

Were people permitted to worship other than the

Creator, we would worship him for his kindness.

عَبْدُكَ مَنْ قَدْ عَرَفْتَ نيَّتَهُ

لَمْ يَنْتَقِصْ ساعَةً تَوَدُّدُهُ

Your servant is one whose intention you know;

his devotion has not diminished for a single hour.

يَسْألُ أَنْ يَسْتَبِينَ سَيِّدُهُ ال

رَّأْيَ بِفِكْرٍ لَهُ يُحَدِّدُهُ

He asks his master to discern the

judgment through reflection of his own that sharpens it.

وَمُؤَثِرُ الْحَقْنِ للدَّماءِ فَقَدْ

تَاقَتْ إلَيْهِ لِلْعَيْثِ شُرَّدُهُ

He favors sparing blood, for

his fugitives have yearned to reach him and wreak havoc.

مُسْتَيْقناً نِعْمَةَ الْمُطِيعِ لَهُ

يَحْمِلُ مَا فِي الضَّمانِ يَعْقدُهُ

Assured of the favor of one obedient to him,

he undertakes whatever he pledges to guarantee.

يَقْبَلُ فِيهِ ضَمَانَ مَوْعِدِهِ

فَلَيْسَ يُخْشَى مِنْهُ تَزَيُّدُهُ

He accepts in this the assurance of his promise,

so no exaggeration from him need be feared.

إِنْ قَالَ قَوْلاً وَفَّى بِهِ عَجِلاً

يَهْدِيهِ لِلرَّأْيِ فِيهِ أَرْشَدُهُ

If he gives his word, he promptly fulfills it;

the soundest course guides his judgment in the matter.

فَكُلُّ وَقْتٍ لَهُ شَرِيطَتُهُ

يُصْدِرُ هذَا مَا ذَاكَ يُورِدُهُ

Every time has its own condition;

this one sends away what that one brings in.

قَدْ يَسْمَحُ الْيَوْمَ بِالْمُرَادِ وَلاَ

يُشْبِهُهُ فِي سَماحِهِ غَدُهُ

Today may grant what is desired, yet

its tomorrow does not match it in generosity.

فِي كُلِّ صُقْعٍ مِنَ الْبِلادِ لَظىً

مُسَعَّرٌ وَالغُواةُ تُوقِدُهُ

In every region of the land, a blaze

is kindled, and the misguided stoke it.

فَانْ نَجا بَعْضُها بِمَقْصِدِهِ

هُدَّ مِنَ الْبَعْضِ ما يُشَيَّدُهُ

If part of it is saved by his purpose,

what he builds is torn down by another part.

وَكُلُّهُمْ إِنْ أَقَامَ فِي يَدِهِ

خِطامُهُ صَاغِراً وَمِقْوَدُهُ

And all of them, if he holds in his hand

each one's halter and rein, in humbled submission,

يَطْلُبُ هَذَا ما ذاكَ يَطْلُبُهُ

بِشافِعٍ عِنْدَهُ يُؤَكِّدُهُ

this one seeks what that one seeks,

through an intercessor before him who presses the claim.

قَدْ يَسْتَحِيلُ الْوَلِيُّ ذَا عَنَتٍ

تُقْدَحُ بِالْغِشِّ مِنْهُ أَزْنُدُهُ

An ally may turn troublesome,

his fire-sticks struck to spark deceit.

وَيُصْبِحُ المخْلِقُ الْوَلاَءَ لَهُ

مِنْ طَاعَةٍ ثابِتٍ تُجَدِّدُهُ

And one whose loyalty to him has worn thin becomes

steadfast through obedience that renews it.

بَغْدادُ حِصْنُ الْمُلُوكِ تُؤْمِنُهُمْ

مِنْ كُلِّ بَاغٍ يُخْشَى تَوَرُّدُهُ

Baghdad is the fortress of kings, securing them

from every aggressor whose advance is feared.

وَأَهْلُها فِي الْخُطُوبِ جَيْشُهُمُ

بِغَيْرِ رِزْقٍ لِلْجَيْشِ يَنْقُدُهُ

Its people are their army in crises,

without any army stipend he must pay.

فَأَيْنَ لاَ أَيْنَ مِثْلُهَا بَلَدٌ

بِحافِظٍ مُلْكُهُ يُؤَكِّدُهُ

Where—nowhere—is there a city like it,

as a guardian that secures his kingship?

فَلا تُرِدْ غَيْرَهَا بِهَا بَلَداً

أَسْلَمُ سَيْرِ الْمُغِذِّ أَحْمَدُهُ

So do not seek another city in its place;

the safest course of a hurrying traveler is the most praiseworthy.

والأَمْرُ مِنْ بَعْد ذَا وذَاكَ إِلَى

مُعَوَدٍ لِلصَّوابِ يُوجِدُهُ

After this and that, the matter rests with

one accustomed to right judgment, who brings it about.

فَإنَّهُ أَعْلَمُ الْمُلُوكِ بِمَا

يَفْعَلُ وَاللهُ فِيهِ يُرْشِدُهُ

For he is the most knowledgeable of kings about what

he does, and God guides him in it.