تعهد الملك أدناه وأقصاه — Ahmed Al Kashef

تعهَّدِ الملك أدناه وأقصاهُ

وامْدُد من الحكم أوفاه وأبقاهُ

Tend to the realm, its nearest reaches and its farthest,

And extend rule in its fullest, most enduring form.

واشهد من الشعب صدقَ الحبِّ يعلنه

فيما تراه وتلقاه وترضاه

And witness the people's sincere love, which they proclaim

In what you see, encounter, and approve.

واشرح له السبْلَ فيما أنت صانعُهُ

إلى مداه كما يهوى وعقباه

And explain to them the paths of what you undertake,

To its full extent and outcome, as they wish.

واحمل إلى الريف في أغنى مواسمه

تحية الملك الأعلى ونعماه

And carry to the countryside, in its richest season,

The exalted king's greeting and his bounty.

لكل ناحية حق عليك وقد

ذكرتَ حقَّ القرى في البرِّ ترعاه

Every region has a claim upon you, and you have

Remembered the villages' due, upholding it with kindness.

وزُرتَ في حقله الفلاحَ تكرمه

فزاره اليسرُ والمعروفُ والجاه

And you visited the farmer in his field, honoring him;

Then prosperity, kindness, and prestige visited him.

أكلت من زاده السهلِ البسيطِ فما

ألذَّه لك مأكولاً وأشهاه

You ate of his plain and simple fare—how

Delicious a meal it was to you, and how appetizing!

وقد شربتَ من الماء المحيط به

شهد النعيم المصفَّى أو حُميَّاه

And you drank, from the water surrounding him,

The pure honey of bliss, or its heady wine.

تواضعٌ منك هذا في علاك له

وأنه بك نضرُ الوجه تيَّاه

This is your humility toward him, for all your eminence;

And through you his face is radiant, and he is proud.

تَعوَّدَ الشمس يلقى في أشعَّتها

وفي الهواء النقيِّ الطلق محياه

He is accustomed to the sun, finding in its rays

And in the pure, open air, his life.

وصحَّ جسماً وعقلاً في الحياة فما

يَعنيه في القصر أو في الكوخ مأواه

And he lives sound in body and mind; it does not

Matter to him whether his dwelling is palace or hut.

عفٌّ يعاف من الدنيا زخارفَها

وأن في الفأس والمحراث دنياه

Self-restrained, he disdains the world's finery,

And his world lies in the hoe and the plow.

يعطي الحمى يده مستثمراً وإذا

دعاه بالروح يوم الروع لباه

He lends his hand to the homeland, cultivating it, and when

It calls him on the day of terror, he answers with his life.

وربما استنزل الأمطار فيه إذا

لم يجر في الواد بين النيل مجراه

And sometimes he brings down rain upon it, when

The Nile's stream does not flow through the valley's midst.

لم تشك حَرَّاً ولا برداً طبيعتُه

فصيفه في نواحيه كمشتاه

His constitution has complained of neither heat nor cold;

So summer in his parts is like his winter.

ومن تحمّل عبأً وهو يأمله

أفاده كلُّ ما في الأرض يلقاه

And whoever shoulders a burden with hope in it,

Everything he encounters on earth benefits him.

يا خادم القوم في كبرى وَزارته

بما قضى من هدى أحكامه اللّه

O servant of the people in their highest ministry,

As God has decreed through the guidance of His judgments.

بك استعانوا كراماً واستعنت بهم

دأب الممكن يمناه بيسراه

Nobly they sought your aid, and you sought theirs,

Like one who strengthens his right hand with his left.

وجئت إقليميَ الرحبَ الخصيبَ وفي

خير المرافق منه ما تمناه

And you came to my spacious, fertile province, and in

Its finest amenities lay what it had wished for.

وسرتَ بين بنيه الزارعين ضحىً

كأنهم لك أندادٌ وأشباه

And you walked among its farming sons in the forenoon,

As though they were your equals and your peers.

فإن وضعت أساسَ اليوم من حجر

فللنفائس والآلاء مبناه

So if today you laid a foundation of stone,

Then its edifice is for treasures and blessings.

أثنت عليك ثناءَ الناس أرضُهُمُ

وللبلاد كما للناس أفواه

Their land praised you with the people's praise;

And lands, like people, have mouths.

وشاهد الركبَ قلبي وهو مقتربٌ

منّي فسايره قلبي وجاراه

And my heart saw the cavalcade as it drew near

To me; my heart accompanied it and kept pace.

إن لم يجئك من الإقليم شاعرُه

جاءت مطافك نجواه وذكراه

If its poet has not come to you from the province,

His whispered words and remembrance have reached the places you visit.

يهدي إليك سناءً من مدائحه

ملءَ الزمان وعطراً من سجاياه

He offers you radiance from his poems of praise,

Filling all time, and fragrance from his virtues.

وما استطاع إلى ملقاك مرحلة

وعلة الجسم تمشي في بقاياه

Yet he could not travel a single stage to meet you,

While bodily illness walks through what remains of him.

عذر المحب استفزته صبابته

إلى الحبيب فلم تحمله ساقاه

His is the lover's excuse: his longing drove him

Toward his beloved, but his legs could not carry him.

وإن فضلك في قومي وفي وطني

خير الدواء لعلّاتي وأشفاه

And indeed your benevolence toward my people and my homeland

Is the best medicine for my ailments, and the most healing.