أدرها لنا صرفا ودع مزجها عنا — Abu Madyan

أدرها لنا صرفاً ودع مزجها عنا

فنحن أناس لا نرى المزج مذ كنا

Pass her round to us unmixed, and spare us her dilution.

For we are a people who have never accepted dilution since we came to be.

عرفنا بها كل الوجود ولم نزل

إلى أن بها كل المعارف أنكرنا

Through her we knew all existence, and did not cease,

Until, through her, we disavowed all forms of knowledge.

هي الخمر لم تُعرف بكرم يخصها

ولم تجلها راح ولم تعرف الدنا

She is the wine, known by no vineyard of her own;

No hands unveiled her, nor did she know wine-jars.

وغنّ لنا فالوقت قد طاب باسمها

لأنا إليها قد رحلنا بها عنا

And sing for us: the moment has grown sweet with her name,

For through her we have journeyed away from ourselves to her.

لها كل روح تعرف العهد عهدها

وفي كل قلب جاهل للسوى معنى

Hers is every spirit that recognizes the covenant as hers.

And in every heart ignorant of all else lies a meaning.

مشعشة تكسو الجوه جمالة

وفي كل شيء من لطافتها معنى

Radiant, she clothes faces in beauty,

And in everything lies a meaning drawn from her subtle grace.

حضرنا وغبنا عند دورِ كئوسها

وعدنا كأنا لا حضرنا ولا غبنا

We were present and absent as her cups went round,

And returned as though we had neither been present nor absent.

وأبدت لنا في كل شيء إشارة

وما احتجبت إلا بأنفسنا عنا

And in everything she showed us a sign,

And she was veiled from us only by our own selves.

فلا تطق الأفهام تعبير كهنها

ولكنها لاذت بألطافها الحسنى

So minds cannot bear to express her essence,

But she took refuge in her fairest subtle graces.

نصحتك لا تقصد سوى باب حانها

فمن وجد الأعلى فلا يطلب الأدنى

I counsel you: seek only the door of her tavern;

For whoever finds the highest should not seek the lowest.

موانعنا منها حظوظ نفوسنا

فإن قطعت عنا إلها تواصلنا

Our barriers to her are the self-interests of our souls.

If these are severed from us, we become united with her.

تجلّت دنوّاً واختفت بمظاهر

فجلّت فما أغنى ودقّت فما أسنى

She manifested herself in nearness and hid in outward forms.

Majestic—how self-sufficient!—and subtle—how sublime!

وما الكون إلا مظهر لجمالها

أرتنا به في كل شيء بدا حسنا

The universe is nothing but a manifestation of her beauty.

Through it she showed us beauty in every thing that appeared.

لها القدم المحض الذي شغفت به

بقاء غدا يفنى الزمان ولا تفنى

Hers is pure beginningless eternity, with which I fell in love—

An abiding permanence: time perishes, but she does not.

يعيد ويبدي فعلها كل محدث

وكل قديم فهي قد حازت المعنى

Her action restores and manifests every created thing,

And every ancient thing; she has encompassed the meaning.

فما وجد الآباءُ من لطف صنعتها

عى قدم الأحيان ما أنكر الأبنا

Thus, what the fathers found of her subtle craftsmanship,

In ages of old, the sons have not denied.

أذاكرها قف عند حدك واقفاً

بعقلك عما حيّر العقل والذّهنا

O you who speak of her, stop at your limit, holding back

Your reason from what has bewildered intellect and mind.

أتزعم فيما قلت أنك صادق

رويدك ما العرفان قالوا ولا قلنا

Do you claim to be truthful in what you have said?

Take your time: gnosis is not 'they said,' nor 'we said.'

لقد رمت مالا تستطيع مرامه

وأنّىلها حد يكيفها أنى

You have sought that whose attainment is beyond your power.

And how could she have a limit that defines her—how?

كفاك بأعيان الوجود مفكراً

بكل مليح يملأ العين والأذنا

Let the concrete forms of existence suffice for your reflection,

On every lovely thing that fills the eye and ear.

فذلك عين العِز إن رمت عزّها

فمن رام أن يحيا بها دائما يفنى

That is glory itself, if you seek her glory;

For whoever seeks to live through her forever must pass away.

إليها جميع الكائنات مشوقةٌ

تزيد افتقاراً وهي عنهن ما أغنا

All beings are filled with longing for her,

Growing ever needier, while she—how independent of them!

لها مطلق الوجه الحسين الذي نأت

جنايته لكنها أبدا تجنى

Hers is the unbounded, lovely face; far away

Lies its harvest—yet she is forever harvested.

وما العقل إلا من مواهب جودها

غدا والهاً في أمرها طائعاً مثنى

Reason is only one of the gifts of her generosity.

It became bewildered in her affair, obedient and bowed.

يقول أناس قد تملكه الهوى

أجل لست في ليلى بأول من جنا

Some people say, 'Passion has taken possession of him.'

Yes, I am not the first to go mad for Layla.

خفيت بها عن كل ما علم الورى

وأظهر لبنى والمراد سوى لبنى

Through her I was hidden from all that humankind knew,

And I speak openly of Lubna, though I mean someone other than Lubna.

وإني كما شاء الغرام موحّد

وإن ملت تمويها إلى الروضة الغنا

And I, as passion willed, affirm the One,

Even if, as a disguise, I incline toward the lush garden.

يذكّرني مرّ النسيم بعَرفها

ويطربني الحادي إذا باسمها غنّى

The passing breeze reminds me of her fragrance,

And the camel-driver delights me when he sings her name.

ولا عجب مني الحنين وذو الهوى

إذا شاقه إلى قصده حنّا

No wonder that I yearn, for one possessed by love,

When drawn in longing toward his goal, yearns.

فلله ما أرضى فؤادي لما به

وذو الحال ما أحلى وذو العيش ما أهنى

By God, how content my heart is with what is in it!

And how sweet for one in this state, how blissful for one living this life!

أوافق قوماً ضمهم مقعد الهوى

وإن كان كل منهم قاصدا فنّا

I am at one with a people whom love's seat has gathered,

Though each of them pursues a particular mode.

فهذا يورى بالغزالة غيرة

وهذا بعين السكر يستملح الغصنا

This one alludes to the gazelle out of jealousy,

And this one, through intoxication's eye, finds the bough lovely.

وهذا بلين العطف يبدي صبابة

وهذا يرى ميلا إلى المقلة الوسنا

And this one, through a supple flank, reveals ardent longing,

And this one feels drawn to the drowsy eye.

وذا في سرور بالدنو وذا له

غرام وهذا بالنوى يظهر الحزنا

One delights in nearness, while another has

Passion; and this one shows sorrow at separation.

وذا باسم إذ نال ما كان طالبا

وهذا يسيل الدمع قد قرّح الجفنا

One smiles, having attained what he was seeking,

And this one pours out tears that have made his eyelid sore.

وذا خائف من قطعه بعد وصله

وذا بالرضى من حاله وجد الأمنا

One fears being cut off after union,

And one, through contentment with his state, has found security.

وهذا محب بالصدود منعّم

وذا آخذ بالصد من قربه مضنى

This one is a lover made blissful by rejection,

And one embraces rejection, worn out by his nearness.

وهذا تساوى الوصل والهجر عنده

فأنحى إلها يقطع السهل والحزنا

For this one, union and abandonment have become equal,

So he heads toward her, crossing smooth and rugged ground.

وهذا يرى بالسيف منها إشارة

فيشتاق سعيا نحوها الضرب والطعنا

And this one sees, in the sword, a sign from her,

So, striving toward her, he longs for blows and thrusts.

وهذا يرى كل الجهات مقاصدا

وهذا يرى مهدا على متنه يبنى

This one sees all directions as destinations,

And this one sees a cradle being built upon his back.

وما ضر هذا الخلق والقصد واحد

إذا نحن أخلصنا إليها توجهنا

And what harm comes to these people, when the aim is one,

If we make our turning toward her sincere?

دعا باسمها الحادي ونحن على الغضا

فقلنا له بالله من ذكرها زدنا

The camel-driver called her name while we were among the ghada trees,

And we said to him, 'By God, give us more remembrance of her.'

فجاد إلى أن أهدت الركب نشوة

ونحن على الأكوار من طرب ملنا

So he gave generously, until she bestowed intoxication upon the caravan,

And upon the camel-saddles we swayed with rapture.

لعمرك حتى العيس لذ لها السرى

عجبت لشوق يشمل الركب والبدنا

By your life, even the pale camels found night-travel sweet;

I marveled at a longing that embraced riders and camels.

وحتى غصون البان مالت ترنحا

وغنت عليها كل صادحة مثنى

And even the ban boughs leaned, swaying,

And every songbird upon them sang, two by two.

أهل عائدُ لي رقدةٌ كي أرى بها

خيال رسولٍ زايراً مضجعي وهنا

Will a spell of sleep return to me, so that in it I may see

The apparition of a messenger visiting my bed by night?

فإن جاءني بالقرب منها مبشرٌ

وهبت له سروراً وما أغنى

If a bearer of glad tidings comes to me with news of nearness to her,

I would give him joy and whatever brings enrichment.

حيينا بها دهراً وقد حكمت لنا

ونح بها نحيا يقينا إذا متنا

We lived through her for an age, and she has decreed for us,

And through her we shall surely live when we die.

فلست أرى عندي لحالي تغيّرا

ولا مطرقا فكراً ولا قارعا سنا

Thus I see no change within me in my state,

Nor do I lower my head in thought, nor gnash my teeth.

وإني على ما أكد العهد بيننا

مدى الدهر لا خنا العهود ولا حلنا

And I remain upon what confirmed the covenant between us:

Throughout time, we have neither betrayed our vows nor changed.

وأزكى صلاة اللّه ثم سلامه

على من حوى كل المحاسن والحسنى

And God's purest blessing, then His peace,

Upon the one who encompassed all virtues and the fairest excellence,

وأصل وجود العالمين جميعهم

هو المظهر المجلى هو المقصد الأسنى

And the source of existence of all the worlds.

He is the manifestation, the locus of unveiling; he is the loftiest goal.