سألت الله مبتهلا مناكا — أبو طالب المأموني

سألت الله مبتهلاً مناكا

فأضعف ما سألت وقال هاكا

I asked God, in supplication, to grant your wishes;

so He doubled what I asked and said, "Here, take it."

ورد على يديك الملك لما

غدا بالترك ينتهك انتهاكا

And through your hands He restored the kingdom when

it had come to be thoroughly ravaged by the Turks.

فأنت لرب هذا الملك سيف

إذا ما نابه خطب نضاكا

You are a sword for the lord of this kingdom;

whenever calamity befalls him, he unsheathes you.

وقد أبت الوزارة في بخارى

سواك كما أبت الا أباكا

The vizierate in Bukhara has refused

anyone but you, just as it refused anyone but your father.

وكان الصدر مذ أخنيت منه

يمج رجاله حتى احتواكا

Since you were swept from it, the seat of authority

spat out its men until it embraced you.

وما اخلاك منك الملك الا

ليبلو من عداك بما بلاكا

The kingdom was left bereft of you only

to test those besides you with what it had tested you.

فما أغنوا غناءك في فقير

وهل يغني غناءك من عداكا

They did not help a poor person as you did;

and can anyone besides you give the help you give?

وكنت السيف أغمد يوم سلم

فلما شبت الحرب انتضاكا

You were the sword sheathed on a day of peace;

then, when war flared up, he unsheathed you.

وقد كانت على الاعداء أمضى

واقضى من سيوفهم رقاكا

Against the enemies they were keener

and more decisive than their swords—your spells.

ولو نهضت رجال الارض طرا

بما كلفت ما أغنوا غناكا

If all the men of the earth rose together

to shoulder your charge, their service could not equal yours.

فعلت ببعض قولك كل فعل

ونبت بعفو رأين عن ظباكا

You accomplished every deed with only some of your words,

and with effortless judgment did the work of your sword-edges.

غذيت بدر ضرع العلم طفلا

ففقت الخلق في المهد احتناكا

As a child, you were fed on milk from learning's udder,

and surpassed creation in seasoned wisdom while still in the cradle.

فلا شرب الطلا ألهاك يوما

ولا بيض الطلا عما عناكا

Drinking wine never distracted you for a day,

nor white necks from what concerned you.

وان غم الممالك ليل خطب

جلاه صبح رأيك أو سناكا

If the night of calamity shrouded the kingdoms,

the dawn of your counsel, or your radiance, dispelled it.

فافسح من خطا الخطي قدما

إذا أقدمت في حرب خطاكا

Wider in their advance than the Khatti spear's strides

are your strides when you advance into battle.

واسمح من ملث القطر جودا

إذا ما صاب صيبه نداكا

And more lavish in giving than unceasing rain

is your bounty whenever its rain pours down.

وما انفتحت بلا شفتاك يوما

ولا انضمت على نشب يداكا

Never once did your lips open with "No,"

nor did your hands close upon wealth.

تأخر عن مداك البحر لما

جريت فلم نسميه أخاكا

The sea fell short of your reach when

you raced, so we did not call it your brother.

وما جاراك صوب المزن لما

جرى وجرى نداك ولا حكاكا

Nor did the clouds' rainfall keep pace with you when

it flowed and your bounty flowed, nor did it resemble you.

ولكن الغمام عنى سجودا

على وجه الثرى لك اذ رآكا

Rather, the cloud bowed in prostration

on the face of the soil before you when it saw you.

فأنت أجل قدرا ان تجارى

وأرفع رتبة من أن تحاكى

You are too great in worth to be rivaled,

and too high in rank to be imitated.

وقد سامى السماء وماس زهوا

على فرع السها بلد نماكا

It has rivaled heaven and swayed in pride,

upon al-Suha's bough—the town that nurtured you.

فأهلوه ومن فيه وقاء

لنفسك من جميع من ابتغاكا

Its people and all within it are a protection

for your person against all who seek you out.

فها هو جنة لك فاغتنمها

وهم لك جنة مما دهاكا

Here it is, a garden for you; make the most of it,

and they are your shield against whatever assails you.

أكاد إلى العزيزيين أعزى

لالحاقي بهم نفسي اشتباكا

I am almost reckoned among the Azizis,

so closely have I woven myself into them.

فلو أجريت لحظك في فؤادي

رأيت دليل ذاك كما أراكا

If you let your gaze run through my heart,

you would see proof of that as plainly as I see you.

أعبد الله لا خيرت بيتا

مدى الايام الا في علاكا

O Abd Allah, may I choose no verse

throughout my days except in praise of your greatness.

فكم لك من يد قلدتنيها

فلست أرى لها عني انفكاكا

How many favors of yours you have hung about my neck!

I cannot see them ever coming loose from me.

ولو حملت ما حملتنيه

شمام لما استطاع به حراكا

If what you have made me bear were laid upon

Shamam, it could not stir beneath it.

وقد ألبستني أثواب عز

وقد أوطأت أخمصي السماكا

You have clothed me in robes of honor,

and set the arch of my foot upon al-Simak.

فحسبك من علا أعليت كعبي

برفعكه فقد بلغ السماكا

It is height enough that you have raised my ankle;

lifted by you, it has reached al-Simak.

فلا حطت لك الايام مجدا

ولا ارتجع المهيمن ما حباكا

May the days never lower your glory,

nor may the Guardian reclaim what He bestowed on you.

سرى كل السرى في الارض شعري

وخيم اذ رآك فما خطاكا

My poetry journeyed by night far and wide across the earth,

and pitched its tent when it saw you, never passing you by.

وكنت على النوى صممت حتى

منعت فبت مبتغيا رضاكا

I had resolved on departure, until

I was held back, and spent the night seeking your approval.

ولو لم تقتصر حالي الليالي

لما أزعت سيرا عن حماكا

Had the nights not straitened my circumstances,

I would not have undertaken a journey from your sanctuary.

وقد سميت لي أمرين حسبي

ببعضهما إذا آثرت ذاكا

You have named two things for me; enough for me is

part of them, if you choose that.

وإن لم ترض لي بالنجم نعلا

ولا خط المجرة لي شراكا

And if you are not content with a star as my sandal,

nor the Milky Way's line as my sandal-strap,

فدع ما ترتضيه لنا وخفض

فانفسنا وما ملكت فداكا

then leave aside what you deem fitting for us, and lower it;

for our souls and all they possess are ransom for you.

وما استنكفت من جدواك لكن

كفاني بذل ودك عن لهاكا

I have not disdained your bounty, but

your freely given affection has sufficed me instead of your gifts.

ولو كان استماح البحر خلقا

لامك يستميحك وانتحاكا

Were seeking gifts in the sea's nature,

it would turn to you for gifts and seek you out.

فلا يممت غير نداك بحرا

ولا خيمت إلا في ذراكا

May I never seek any sea but your bounty,

nor pitch my tent anywhere but in your shelter.