ويوما قطعناه سرورا ولذة — Abu Hayyan Al Andalusi

وَيَوماً قَطَعناه سُروراً وَلَذَّةً

نُجاذِبُ أَطرافَ الحَديثِ المُنَمَقِ

And a day we passed in delight and pleasure,

Exchanging the threads of finely adorned conversation.

ندامى وَفاءٍ لا جَفاءَ لَديهمُ

مَكارِمُهُم خَلقٌ بِغَيرِ تَخَلُقِ

Loyal drinking companions, with no estrangement among them;

Their noble qualities are natural, without affectation.

قَد ارتَضعوا كَأسَ الوفاقِ فَلا تَرى

خِلافاً لَدَيهم في فَعالٍ وَمَنطِقِ

They have suckled from the cup of concord, so you see

No disagreement among them in deeds or speech.

صَفَفنا حَوالي بُركَةٍ راق ماؤُها

وَرَقَّ كَأَخلاقٍ لَنا لَم تُرَنَّقِ

We gathered around a pool whose water was clear

And delicate, like our dispositions, never clouded.

سَبَحنا بِها عَوماً فَغارَت لِسِبحنا

إوَزٌ فَفاتَتنا تَصيحُ وَتَلتَقي

We swam in it, and our swimming stirred the envy

Of geese that outstripped us, crying and gathering together.

وَناعورةٌ تَحكي بِطولِ بُكائها

وَرَنَّتِها صَبّا كَثيرَ التَشَوُّقِ

And a waterwheel, through its prolonged weeping, resembled,

With its plaintive ringing, a lover full of longing.

لَئِن ضاقَ مِنها الجفنُ مِن عَبَراتها

فَأَضلاعُها عَن دَمعِها لَم تُضَيَّقِ

Though its eyelid grew cramped with its tears,

Its ribs were never too narrow for its weeping.

بَكَت فَأَرَتنا الدَهرَ يَضحكُ إِذ بَكَت

وَناحَت فَأَزرَت بِالحَمامِ المطَوَّقِ

It wept, showing us time laughing as it wept;

It lamented, putting the ringdoves to shame.

وَقَد ضَمَّنا وَسطَ الرِياضِ مُكَعَّبٌ

كَطَوقٍ بِجيدٍ أَو كَتاجٍ بِمِفرَقِ

A cubical pavilion sheltered us amid the gardens,

Like a necklace upon a neck, or a crown upon a head.

تُطالِعنا الشَمسُ المُنيرةُ لَحظَها

مسارقةً مِنها تَطلُّع شَيِّقِ

The radiant sun looked upon us with her glance,

A stolen look from her, the gaze of one who yearns.

وَتُلقي عَلَينا مِن شَبابيكِ نورها

شُعاعاً يحاكي نَقشَ بُردٍ مُنمَّقِ

And through the lattices she cast her light upon us,

A ray resembling the pattern of an embroidered mantle.

إِذا ما التقَى بالماءِ مِنها شُعاعُها

تَأَلَّق بِالحِيطانِ أَيّ تَأَلُّقِ

Whenever her ray met the water,

How brilliantly it glittered upon the walls!

فَيَرقُصُ مِنها الظِلُّ في جُدراتها

إِذا الماءُ أَضحى بِالصبا ذا تَرقرُقِ

And her shadow danced upon its walls

Whenever the water rippled in the east wind.

وَغابَت فَباتَ البدرُ يَحرُسُنا لَها

رَقيباً عَلَينا مِن حذارِ التفرُّقِ

She vanished, and the full moon spent the night guarding us for her,

Watching over us for fear of separation.

لَئن جُذِبَت قَسراً إِلى نَحو مَغرِبٍ

فَعَمّا قَليلٍ سَوفَ تَبدو بِمشرِقِ

Though she was dragged forcibly toward the west,

Before long she would appear in the east.

فَيا عَجَباً للنَيِرينِ تَشوّقا

إِلَينا وَمن نَهواهُ لَم يَتَشَوَّقِ

How wondrous that the two luminaries should yearn

For us, while the one we love feels no longing!

وَلا عَجَبٌ وَالشكلُ يَشتاقُ شَكلَهُ

وَيُضحي بِهِ وَجداً شَديدَ التَعلُّقِ

Yet it is no wonder: like longs for like,

And becomes intensely attached to it through passion.

لَنا مَجلِسٌ فيهِ نَدامى كَأَنَّما

سُقُوا بِكُؤوسِ الودِّ غَيرِ المُرَنَّقِ

We have a gathering whose drinking companions seem

To have drunk from cups of unclouded affection.

كَواكبُ أَضحى في الأَثير مَقَرُّها

وَللشرفِ الأَعلى تَسيرُ وَتَرتَقي

Stars whose abode has become the ether,

Journeying and ascending toward the highest honor.

إِذا نَفحةٌ قُدسِيَّةٌ شَرَفِيَّةٌ

تَهبُّ شَمَمنا عَرفَ مِسكٍ مُفَتَّقِ

Whenever a holy breeze, a breeze of Sharaf,

Blows, we smell the fragrance of released musk.

وَمَهما تَنازَعنا كُؤوسَ حَديثِها

سَكِرنا بِأَشهى مِن رَحيقٍ مُعَتَّقِ

Whenever we exchange the cups of their conversation,

We grow drunk on something sweeter than aged wine.

مُحادَثةٌ تَسبِي العُقولَ وَصورة

تَمامٌ فَبُغيا سامِعٍ أَو مُحَدِّقِ

Conversation that captivates minds, and a form

Of perfection—the desire of listener and beholder alike.

حَوى شرفُ الدينِ المَكارمَ كُلَّها

فَقُل ما تَشا فيهِ مِن الخَيرِ تَصدُقِ

Sharaf al-Din has gathered every noble quality;

Say whatever good you wish of him, and you speak truth.

لَقَد جُبِلَت مِنهُ السَجايا عَلى فَتىً

أَمَدَّ بِإِحسانٍ وَأَوفى بِموثَقِ

His nature was indeed cast in the mold of a noble youth

Who bestowed kindness and faithfully kept his pledge.

يُقيِّدُ آمالاً بِمالٍ مُسَرَّحٍ

وَيَجمَعُ خِلّانا بجُودٍ مُفَرَّقِ

He binds hopes with wealth freely released,

And gathers friends with generosity widely dispersed.

وَيُشفِقُ أَن يَلقى صَديقاً مُعاتِباً

وَلَيسَ عَلى جَمعٍ لِمالٍ بِمُشفِقِ

He fears meeting a friend who reproaches him,

But feels no anxiety about accumulating wealth.

يَزيدُ عَلى الإِقلالِ مِنهُ سَماحَةً

وَيُغضي حَياءً عَن سَفاهَةِ أَخرقِ

His generosity increases despite his poverty,

And modestly he overlooks a fool's insolence.

فَلَيسَ الَّذي يُؤذِي عِداهُ بِمنجَحٍ

لَدَيهِ وَلا باغي جَداهُ بِمخفِقِ

One who harms his enemies finds no success

With him, nor does anyone seeking his bounty fail.

وَنِسبتُهُ للقُدسِ أَيَّةُ نِسبَةٍ

تَدُلُّ عَلى التَطهيرِ مِن كُلِّ موبِقِ

His affiliation with Jerusalem—what an affiliation!

It signifies purification from every deadly sin.

إِمامَتُهُ في العلمِ ثابِتَةٌ لَنا

بنصٍّ وَإِجماعٍ ورَأيِ المُدَقِّقِ

His leadership in learning is established for us

By explicit testimony, consensus, and the discerning scholar's judgment.

تُناجيهِ نَفسٌ بِالعلومِ وَغَيرُهُ

يَلوذُ بِتَجميعِ الكَلامِ المُلَفَّقِ

His soul communes with him on the sciences, while another

Takes refuge in compiling patched-together discourse.

وَقَد نُقِشَت كُلُّ العُلومِ بِصَدرِهِ

فَأكرِم بِحبرٍ نَيِّرِ النَفسِ مُشرِقِ

All the sciences have been engraved upon his breast;

How noble a scholar, bright-souled and radiant!

وَقابَل مِنها الجنسُ مرآةُ عَقلهِ

فَمثل فيها كُلَّ نَوعٍ مُحقَّقِ

Their genera faced the mirror of his intellect,

And every established kind appeared within it.

بَديهَتُهُ أَعيَت رَوِيَّةَ غَيرِهِ

وَفكرَتُهُ قَد أَعجَزَت كُلَّ مُفلقِ

His spontaneous insight outstrips another's deliberation,

And his thought has baffled every brilliant poet.

بَنانٌ بِهِ يَبدو البَيانُ مُوشَّعا

بِمُظلِم نَقشٍ وَسطَ نَيرٍ مُهَرَّقِ

Fingers through which eloquence appears embroidered

With dark inscription upon a bright parchment,

بِنظمٍ كَزُهرٍ في المَجرة سُبَّحٍ

وَنَثرٍ كَزَهرٍ غبَّ أَو كَف مُغدِقِ

In verse like stars swimming in the Milky Way,

And prose like blossoms after a lavish downpour;

وَذِهنٍ كَأَنَّ النارَ مِنهُ تَوَقَّدَت

فَلَولا نَداهُ كانَ من يَدنُ يُحرَقِ

And a mind from which fire seems to have been kindled:

Were it not for his refreshing bounty, anyone approaching would burn.

وَجُودٍ كَأنَّ السُحبَ مِنهُ تَعَلَّمَت

فَلولا ذكاء كانَ مَن يُعطَ يَغرَقِ

And generosity from which the clouds seem to have learned:

Were it not for intelligence, whoever received would drown.

رَسا فَكَأنَّ الطَودَ يَحكي ثَباتَهُ

همى فَكَأنَّ الجودَ بِالبَحرِ مُلتَقِ

He stood firm, as though the mountain imitated his steadfastness;

He poured forth, as though generosity had met the sea.

إِذا عَصَتِ الناس القَوافي فَإِنها

تُطاوِعُهُ فيما يَشاءُ فَينتَقي

When rhymes rebel against other people,

They obey him in whatever he wishes, and he selects.

وَإِن راجَعَ الناسُ الدَفاتِرَ لَم يَكُن

يُراجعُ إِلا فِكرهُ ذا التَدفُقِ

And though others consult their notebooks, he does not

Consult anything but his own overflowing thought.

وَإِن أَصلَدُوا يَوماً زِناداً فَإِنَّهُ

لَيُوري بِها نارَ الذَكاءِ المُحَرِّقِ

And if ever their flints yield no spark, he

Surely kindles with them the consuming fire of intelligence.

فَلا مُشكلٌ إِلا بَدا غَيرَ مُشكِلٍ

وَلا مُغلَقٌ إِلا غَدا غَيرَ مُغلَقِ

No perplexity remains but becomes unperplexing,

And nothing closed remains but becomes unlocked.

فَصيحُ مَقالٍ حينَ يَخرَسُ قسُّهُم

فَسيحُ مَجالٍ إِن يَحِلُّوا بِمأزِقِ

Eloquent in speech when their Quss falls silent,

Ample in scope when they enter a tight corner.

يَسهِّل ما قَد كانَ حَزنا وَطالَما

أَجَدَّت لَنا آدابُهُ كُلَّ مُخلَقِ

He makes easy what was rough, and how often

His literary arts have renewed everything worn out for us!

إِذا تُلِيَت في الناسِ آيُّ محمدٍ

تَرى كُلَّ ذي سَمعٍ مَتى يُصغِ يُطرِقِ

When Muhammad's verses are recited among people,

You see every listener bow his head as he listens.

وَيَأتي مِن النَظمِ البَديعِ بِمُعجزٍ

يَطيحُ لَدَيهِ نَظم كُلِّ مُخرِّقِ

He brings forth marvels of wondrous verse

Before which every impostor's poetry collapses.

وَكانَ ابنُ مُوسانا عليٌّ مُؤيداً

أَتى بشذورٍ لحنَ كَالجَوهَرِ النَقي

And Ali, the son of our Musa, was well supported;

He brought fragments that gleamed like pure jewels.

وَأَبدَعَها في العالمينَ فَرائِداً

جَمَعنَ إِلى الإِبداعِ حُسنَ التَأنُّقِ

He fashioned them as unique treasures among all peoples,

Combining invention with graceful refinement.

وَكانَ بِها نَقصٌ فَجاءَ مُكمِّلا

لِذاكَ ابنُ موسى بِالكَلامِ المطَبَّقِ

There was a deficiency in them, and there came to complete

That deficiency Ibn Musa, with perfectly apt discourse.

تَشابَه نَظماً إِذ حَكاه كَأَنَّهُ

جَريرٌ وَقَد بارى نِظامَ الفَرَزدَقِ

Their verse became alike through his imitation, as though he were

Jarir, competing with the composition of al-Farazdaq.

فَإِن لا يُكنهُ فَهوَ لا شَكَّ صِنوُهُ

لقي في هَوى لَيلى كمثلِ الَّذي لَقي

If he is not the very man, he is surely his twin,

Having experienced in love for Layla what the other experienced.

أَقاما لَها في الذهنِ أَبدَعَ صورَةٍ

لَطيفةِ مَعنىً رائِقِ اللَفظِ مونقِ

The two established for her in the mind a most wondrous image,

Subtle in meaning, clear in wording, delightful.

وَقَد حَجباها ضِنَّةً أَن يَنالَها

فَتى غَيرُ أَهلٍ للندى وَالتَصدقِ

They veiled her out of jealous care, lest she be attained

By a youth unworthy of generosity and charity.

وَكَم أَرِقا فيها التِذاذاً وَأَرَّقا

وَمَن يَعشَقَن لَيلى يُؤرِّق وَيأرقِ

How often they lay awake over her in delight, and kept others awake!

Whoever loves Layla keeps others awake and lies awake himself.

وَما اِدَّعيا فيها وَلَكن كِلاهُما

سُقي مِن هَوىً لَيلاً بِراحٍ مُوَرّقِ

They made no false claim about her; rather, each

Was given love to drink at night in silver-bringing wine.

فراقَ لَها وَقتٌ وَقَد لاحَ نورُها

مِن أَندلسٍ لِلقُدسِ تَسري وَتَرتقي

Then a favorable hour came for her, and her light shone;

From Andalusia to Jerusalem she journeys by night and ascends.

لَقَد بطَنَ الأَمرُ الَّذي هُوَ ظاهر

لِليلى فَأَصبت ذا السَعادةِ وَالشَقِي

Truly hidden has become the matter that is plain

Concerning Layla; she has captivated the fortunate and the wretched.

فَكَم مُعسِرٍ قَد آيَسَتهُ وَلَم يَصِل

وَكَم مذهَب قَد فَلَّسَته وَمُورِقِ

How many a poor man she has driven to despair, never attaining her!

How many owners of gold and silver she has bankrupted!

رَأى قَمراً قَد صارَ شَمساً فَغَرَّهُ

تنقُّلُ لَونٍ في صَفاءٍ وَرونقِ

He saw a moon that had become a sun, and was deceived

By a shifting color amid clarity and brilliance.

وَما ذاكَ إِلا حُمرةُ الخجلِ الَّتي

تَزولُ عَلى قُربٍ بسَيرٍ وَمَيلَقِ

Yet that is only the blush of embarrassment which

Soon fades with a process and a crucible.

وَما أَنا في لَيلى وَلا ابني وَلا ابنُهُ

نَظيرَ عليٍّ أَو محمدٍ التَقِي

Neither I, nor my son, nor his son, concerning Layla,

Am the equal of Ali or the pious Muhammad.

عليٌّ لَهُ شِبهٌ بِخُلق محمدٍ

أَخُوه بِلا شَكٍّ سُقي فَضلَ ما سُقِي

Ali bears a likeness to Muhammad in character:

His brother, without doubt, drank the remainder of what he drank.

وَإِنَّ عَليّاً مِن محمدٍ الرَضِي

كَهارونَ مِن مُوسى حَديث المنطقِ

Indeed, Ali's relation to the estimable Muhammad

Is like Harun's to Musa, as the saying tells.

وَكَم مِن يَدٍ بَيضاءَ جاءَ لَنا بِها

فَأَغنى ابنُ موسى كُلَّ أَغبرَ مُملِقِ

How many a white hand of kindness he has brought us!

Thus Ibn Musa enriched every dust-stained pauper.

أَيا دَوحَةَ الفَضلِ الَّتي طابَ أَصلُها

وَمَدَّت عَلَينا ظِلَّ فَينان مُورِقِ

O great tree of excellence, whose root is good,

And which spread luxuriant, leafy shade over us!

لَقَد عَمَّ مِنكَ الجودُّ ناساً وَخَصَّني

فَها أَنا عَن تَقييدِهِ غَيرُ مُطلَقِ

Your generosity has embraced people generally and singled me out;

Here I am, not released from recording it.

يَظُنُّ الأُلى قَد عاصَروكَ بِأَنهم

حَكَوك لَقَد خابَت ظُنون المُصدِّقِ

Those who lived in your time imagine that they

Resembled you: the believer's expectations have indeed failed.

وَما ثمدٌ بادي الحَصاةِ بِمُشبِهٍ

لِبَحرٍ زَخورٍ بِالمَعارفِ مُتأَقِ

A shallow pool whose pebbles are visible is no likeness

Of a surging sea brimming with knowledge.

فَذاكَ دَعِيٌ في المَعارفِ جاهِلٌ

وَذو نَسَبٍ بَينَ الأَفاضِلِ مُلصَقِ

That man is an ignorant pretender to knowledge,

With a lineage falsely attached among the excellent.

يَرى البُخلَ مَدحاً وَالتَرافُعَ رِفعَةً

فَأَحسِن بِهِ مِن أَشدَقٍ مُتَفَيهِقِ

He regards miserliness as praise and arrogance as elevation;

What a fine wide-mouthed, pompous talker he is!

أَما لاحَظُوا مِنكَ التَواضُعَ شيمَةً

وَسُحبَ النَدى كَالعارِضِ المُتأَلِّقِ

Have they not observed humility as your disposition,

And clouds of bounty like a flashing rain cloud?

وَردت النَدى زُرقَ الحمامِ وَحلَّقوا

عَلَيهِ وَما ذو الوَردِ مثلَ المُحَلِّقِ

You reached bounty's waters like blue-gray doves, while they circled

Above them; one who drinks is not like one who merely circles.

فَخُذ مِن نَصيرٍ مدحَةً في محمَّدٍ

وَدَع قَولَ أَعشى في جِفانِ المُحَلّقِ

Take from Nasir a song of praise for Muhammad,

And leave al-A'sha's words about al-Muhalliq's bowls.

أَنفتُ عَلى صَحبي بِمَدحِي لَكم وَقَد

أَنِفتُ لَهُم عَن مَدحِ كُلِّ مُرهقِ

I have surpassed my companions through my praise of you, and

For their sake disdained praising every overbearing man.

أَتَتني المَعاني العُقمُ وَالكَلِمُ العُلى

وَجاشَت بِصَدري فَيلَقاً بَعدَ فَيلَقِ

Unmatched meanings and lofty words came to me,

Surging in my breast, battalion after battalion.

فَفَكَّرتُ وَهناً أَيُّها أَنا ناظِمٌ

وَسامرتُها أَختارُ مِنها وَأَنتَقِي

Late at night I pondered which of them I would versify,

And kept them company by night, choosing and selecting.

أجانِبُ وَحشِيّاً كَثيفاً سَماعُهُ

وَأَجنُبُ إِنسِيّاً لَطيفَ التَرَفُقِ

I avoid unfamiliar wording whose sound is coarse,

And draw alongside familiar speech, gently companionable.

إِذا ما مَضى بَيتٌ تَلاهُ نَظيرُهُ

سَريعاً وَإِن لَم أَدعُ آخرَ يَلحَقِ

Whenever one verse passes, its counterpart follows

Swiftly; even without my calling, another catches up.

فَلا الفِكرُ مَكدودٌ وَلا الشعرُ غامِضٌ

وَلَكنَّهُ كَالبَحرِ إِن يطمُ يَفهَقِ

Neither thought is wearied nor poetry obscure;

Rather, it is like the sea: when it swells, it overflows.

كَأنَّ القَوافِي قَد عَلِمنَ بِمَن لَهُ

يُنَظّمنَ فَانثالَت وَمَن يَقوَ يَسبُقِ

As though the rhymes already knew the one for whom

They are composed, they streamed forth; whoever is strong outstrips.

بَرَزنَ لَنا دُرّاً نثيراً وَإِنَّما

يَزينُ اللآلي النظم بَعدَ التَفَرُّقِ

They emerged for us as scattered pearls; yet

Stringing adorns pearls after their separation.

أَجَدتُ نِظامَ الشعرِ حَتّى كَأَنَّني

لِجودَتِهِ مِن بَحرِ عِلمِكَ أستَقِي

I perfected the composition of poetry until it seemed

That, for its excellence, I drew from the sea of your knowledge.

وَما جادَ هَذا النُطقُ إِلا لأَنَّهُ

تَضمَّنَ أَوصافَ الجَوادِ المنطقِ

This utterance became excellent only because

It contained the qualities of the generous man who inspires speech.

وَإِني وَإهدائي لَكَ النظمَ كَالَّذي

يَجيءُ برَشحٍ نَحوَ ذا ماء مُغرِقِ

In offering you my verse, I am like one

Who brings a trickle to someone whose waters overwhelm.

برَوعي أَضحى روحُ قُدسِكَ نافِثا

وَبِالروح مني نَحوَ عَلياكَ قَد رقِي

The spirit of your holiness has breathed into my heart,

And my spirit has ascended toward your exalted height.

لَحا اللَهُ دَهراً لَم يَنَل فيهِ فاضِلٌ

مِن الخَيرِ إِلا فَضلَ عَيشٍ مُرَمَّقِ

May God curse an age in which a worthy man obtains

No good beyond the scraps of a meager livelihood!

زَمانٌ بِهِ يَطفُو الأَسافلُ مثلَما

بِهِ يرسُبُ الأَعلَونَ أَهلُ التَحقُّقِ

An age in which the lowest float, just as

The highest, those of true attainment, sink.

وَمازالَ دستُ المُلكِ نَحوَكَ شَيِّقا

وَتُكسى مساوي كُلِّ أَنوَكِ مُطبِقِ

The royal dais has always yearned for you,

While the faults of every utter fool are cloaked.

أَمثلُكَ تَعرى مِن مَحاسنِهِ العُلى

وَحقٌّ لَهُ مَن يَعدَمِ الكفو يسبِقِ

Should one like you be left bare of its lofty honors?

One without an equal rightly deserves to take precedence.

أَما إِنَّهُ لَو كُنتَ كاتبَ سرِّهِ

لأَصبَحَ ذا وشيٍ بَديعٍ مُحَقَّقِ

Indeed, had you been his confidential secretary,

It would have acquired wondrous, finely wrought embroidery.

وَعبَّرَ عَن فَحواه أَفصحُ عالمٍ

بِموجَزِ لَفظٍ أَو بِمُسهَبِ مَنطِقِ

The most eloquent scholar would have conveyed its purport

In concise wording or expansive discourse.

تَأَخرتَ عَن تَطلابِ ذاكَ تَقدُّما

سَعدتَ بِهِ إِذ كانَ غَيرُكَ قَد شَقِي

You held back from seeking that, thereby advancing;

You found happiness through it, while another suffered.

وَما العِزُّ إِلا في الفَراغِ عَن الدُنى

وَما الذُلُّ إِلا في التَساوي بِأَخرقِ

Honor lies only in freedom from worldly things,

And abasement only in being placed on a level with a fool.