نعمان يا صاح فتى — Ahmed Al Kashef

نعمانُ يا صاحِ فتىً

ذو حسب ونسبِ

Nuʿman, my friend, is a young man,

Of honor and lineage.

قضى بفوز زمن ال

درسِ ودَوْرَ الطلبِ

He passed successfully through his time of

Study and the stage of seeking knowledge,

حتى ارتقى في الشرع وال

شعر وعلم الأدب

Until he excelled in sacred law and

Poetry and the study of letters,

وكل فن نافعٍ

مثقف مهذب

And every useful art

That cultivates and refines,

من غابر وحاضر

في عجم وعرب

From ages past and present,

Among non-Arabs and Arabs.

لكنه لا يعرف ال

سعي وطرق المكسب

But he knows nothing of

Striving or the ways of earning.

بما لديه يكتفي

من الأقلِّ الأقرب

He is content with what he has,

The least and nearest at hand.

إن أبصر التاج برأ

س جاهل لا يغضب

If he sees the crown upon the head

Of a fool, he feels no anger;

أو هضم الدهرُ الظلو

م حقه لا يتعب

Or if tyrannical Time withholds

His due, he makes no effort;

أو وجد الصاحب عن

ه معرضاً لا يعتب

Or if he finds a friend

Turning away from him, he offers no reproach.

ومالَ مرجانَ مبا

حاً نهبُهُ لا يَنْهَبِ

And Marjan's wealth lies open

To plunder—yet he will not plunder.

لغير وقع الوعظ في

فؤاده لم يطرب

Nothing but admonition's touch

Within his heart can stir his joy.

سميره يراعه

وراحه في الكتب

His reed pen is his companion by night,

And his wine is in his books.

ينظر في فعل العبا

د والزمان القُلَّب

He studies the deeds of men

And ever-shifting Time,

مقارناً أيامه

بسالفات الحقب

Comparing his own days

With ages long gone by.

فتارة في راحة

وتارة في تعب

At times he is at ease,

And at times in weariness;

يبدو السرور مرة

في وجهه كالكوكب

At times joy appears

Upon his face like a star,

ومرة يعلوه مُغْ

بَرُّ الأسى كالغيهب

And at times he is overcast

By sorrow's dust, like deepest night.

وقد تراه ناهضاً

كالقسور المضطرب

You may see him rising,

Like a restless lion,

ثم يميلُ واهناً

مستسلماً للعطب

Then sinking back, enfeebled,

Surrendering to ruin.

حيَّرَ بالَ أهلِه

وقومه والصحب

He bewildered the minds of his family,

His people, and his friends;

لم يعلموا لمدهشا

ت أمره من سبب

They could find no cause

For his baffling condition.

هذا يقول علَّهُ اعْ

تَلَّ بداءٍ عصبي

One says, 'Perhaps he has fallen

Ill with a nervous ailment.'

وذا يظن أنه

صريع بنت العنب

Another thinks he is

Laid low by the daughter of the grape.

وذا يقول صاده

لحظ غزال ربرب

Another says, 'He was snared

By the glance of a gazelle from the herd.'

وغير هذا كله

داءُ الفتى المكتئب

Yet none of all these is

The ailment of the dejected youth.

ووالداه يبكيا

نه بدمعٍ سرِب

His parents weep

For him with streaming tears,

ويندبان حظَّه

في عمره المنتهب

And lament his lot

In his life, being snatched away.

والده يقول يا

ولي عهد منصبي

His father says, 'O

Heir to my station,

نعمان يا أرشد أب

نائي وبدء عقبي

Nuʿman, most judicious of my

Children, first of my offspring,

يا معقل الأسرة بع

دي عند وقع الكرب

O stronghold of the family after

Me, when troubles strike,

أصابني الدهر وما

أمرّه إن يُصِبِ

Time has stricken me—and how

Bitter it is when it strikes!

عدمت فيك عضداً

أرجوه عند النوب

In you I have lost a supporting arm

I had hoped for in calamity.'

وأمه تقول يا

نعمان يا معذبي

His mother says, 'O

Nuʿman, you who torment me,

قضيت فيك العمر أر

جو منك نيل أربي

I spent my life on you, hoping

To gain through you my heart's desire:

وأن أراك رجلاً

بين الرجال النجب

To see you a man

Among the noblest men,

لدى الأمير فائزاً

منه بأسمى الرتب

In the prince's presence, winning

From him the loftiest ranks.

عساي أنسى ما مضى

من سهر ونصب

That I might forget the past

Of sleepless nights and toil.

فلم أجد منك سوى

شواغلاً برّحن بي

But I have found from you only

Anxieties that have worn me down.'

فلم يحل عن أمره

نعمان أو ينقلب

Yet he did not change his ways,

Nor did Nuʿman turn aside.

كانت له قريبة

ذات ذكاء عجب

He had a female relative

Of astonishing intelligence,

باهرة الجمال غض

ضَةُ الشباب القشب

Dazzling in beauty,

Tender in the freshness of youth.

أتت حِماهُ مرة

زائرة في رجب

She once came to his dwelling

On a visit in Rajab.

فساءها أمر الفتى

شأن القريب الطيِّبِ

The young man's plight distressed her,

As befits a kindly relative.

وحاولت كشف خفي

ي سرِّه المستَغرَب

She tried to lay bare what lay hidden

In his puzzling secret.

فدخلت غرفته

كالشمس لم تحتجب

She entered his room,

Like the sun, unveiled,

وسلَّمت وعن سوى

إشفاقها لم تُعرِب

Greeted him, and expressed nothing

But her concern.

وسألته شرْحَ حا

له المخيف المرهب

She asked him to explain

His frightening, dreadful state.

فقال يا نعمى رأي

ت أمتي في وصب

He said, 'O Nuʿma, I have seen

My nation in affliction,

خائبة المسعى وَسَعْ

يُ خصمِها لم يخب

Its striving fruitless, while the efforts

Of its foe have not failed.

وأمره في صعَدٍ

وأمرها في صبب

His cause is on the rise,

While hers is on the decline.

وكل فرد ذاهب

في الغيّ كل مذهب

Every individual goes

Every possible way astray,

مشتغل عن الحمى

بلهوه واللعب

Distracted from the homeland

By his amusements and play.

إذا دعاه للمتا

ب مرشد لم يتب

If a guide summons him

To repentance, he does not repent.

حتى إذا الخصم سطا

بويله والحرب

Then, when the enemy attacks

With his devastation and war,

باتوا أمام هوله

ديكاً أمام ثعلب

Before his terror they become

A rooster facing a fox.

واستنجدوا بالكلب أو

بالقط أو بالأرنب

They seek help from the dog,

Or the cat, or the rabbit,

وغفلوا عن أسد

مستيقظ مقترب

And overlook a lion,

Wakeful and close at hand,

يرعاهم بمقلة

ساهرة لم تغب

Watching over them with an eye

Sleepless and never absent.

من يدعه لنصرة

على العدو يُجِب

To anyone who calls him for aid

Against the enemy, he responds.

حتى قضى عليهم ال

خصم بشر الكرب

Until the foe crushed them

With the worst of afflictions,

مشتفياً بضربهم

مستأثراً بالسلب

Sating his vengeance by beating them,

Keeping all the plunder for himself.

من منهم لم يمتلئْ

رعباً ومن لم يَشِب

Who among them was not filled

With terror, and who did not turn gray?

من يرضَ بالذل هوى

ومن أباه يهرب

Whoever accepts humiliation falls;

Whoever refuses it flees.

فلا أرى فيهم قُوَىً

على العدو المذنب

I see no strength in them

Against the guilty foe,

ولا أرى فيهم هوىً

إلى الإله والنبي

Nor do I see in them any love

For God and the Prophet.'

وصار يبكي مثلما

يبكي صغار المكتب

Then he began to weep as

The little schoolchildren weep;

إن يسمع الصخر أني

نَهُ الأليم يَذُبِ

If stone could hear his

Agonizing moan, it would melt.

قالت له يفديك يا

نعمان أمي وأبي

She said to him, 'May you be ransomed, O

Nuʿman, by my mother and father!

العيش بحر والورى

فيه كجيش لَجِب

Life is a sea, and humankind

Within it, a clamorous army.

والمرء من كابد في

تياره والعَبَب

A man is one who struggles

In its current and surging waves,

حتى يصير دَرِباً

يسبق كل دَرِب

Until he becomes seasoned,

Surpassing every seasoned man.

وقد أراك غارقاً

في موجه المضطرب

But I see you drowning

In its turbulent waves;

لا صحة تملكها

ولا قليل نشب

You possess no health,

Nor even a little wealth.

هب أن قومك استفا

قوا من خمار الرِيَب

Suppose your people awoke

From the hangover of doubt,

واتقدت غيرتهم

على الحمى كاللهب

And their zeal blazed

For the homeland like a flame,

وحاولوا تخليصه

من ذلك المغتصب

And they tried to free it

From that usurper,

وانتخبوك سيداً

لعمل منتخَب

And elected you as leader

For a chosen undertaking:

فهل إليه ترتقي

بالسبب المنقضب

Could you rise to it

By a severed rope?

وإن دعوك قائداً

تسوس أمر الموكب

And if they summoned you as commander

To manage the procession's affairs,

فكيف تدبيرك في

أمر القنا والقضب

How would you then manage

The business of spears and swords?

أو آنسوا منك خطي

باً ذا لسان ذَرِب

Or if they saw in you an orator

With a fluent tongue,

فما ترى وأنت لم

تعتد مقام الخُطَب

What would you do, when you have never

Grown used to standing up to speak?

نعمان دع هذا الذهو

ل والخمولَ اجتنب

Nuʿman, leave this daze behind,

And shun indolence.

واسع إلى الصحة وال

مجد وجمع الذهب

Strive for health and

Glory, and the gathering of gold,

ليقتدي بك الذي

ن أصبحوا في سغب

So that those may follow you

Who now live in hunger.

حالك أصلح يا نصو

ح ثم أحوال الغبي

Set your own condition right, O counselor,

Then the condition of the fool.

بنفسك ابدأ ثم في

إصلاح قومك ادأب

Begin with yourself; then work

Tirelessly to reform your people.'