تلك الطبيعة قف بنا يا ساري — Ahmed Shawqi

تِلكَ الطَبيعَةُ قِف بِنا يا ساري

حَتّى أُريكَ بَديعَ صُنعِ الباري

There is Nature; halt with us, O night traveler,

So I may show you the Creator's wondrous handiwork.

الأَرضُ حَولَكَ وَالسَماءُ اِهتَزَّتا

لِرَوائِعِ الآياتِ وَالآثارِ

The earth around you and the sky have stirred

At the wondrous signs and traces.

مِن كُلِّ ناطِقَةِ الجَلالِ كَأَنَّها

أُمُّ الكِتابِ عَلى لِسانِ القاري

Each thing proclaiming majesty seems

The Mother of the Book upon the reciter's tongue.

دَلَّت عَلى مَلِكِ المُلوكِ فَلَم تَدَع

لِأَدِلَّةِ الفُقَهاءِ وَالأَحبارِ

They point to the King of kings, leaving no room

For the proofs of jurists and rabbis.

مَن شَكَّ فيهِ فَنَظرَةٌ في صُنعِهِ

تَمحو أَثيمَ الشَكِّ وَالإِنكارِ

Whoever doubts Him—a glance at His handiwork

Erases sinful doubt and denial.

كَشَفَ الغَطاءُ عَنِ الطُرولِ وَأَشرَقَت

مِنهُ الطَبيعَةُ غَيرَ ذاتِ سِتارِ

The veil lifted from Tyrol, and forth shone

Nature from it, without a veil.

شَبَّهتُها بَلقيسَ فَوقَ سَريرِها

في نَضرَةٍ وَمَواكِبٍ وَجَواري

I likened her to Bilqis upon her throne,

In radiance, with processions and handmaidens;

أَو بِاِبنِ داوُدٍ وَواسِعِ مُلكِهِ

وَمَعالِمٍ لِلعِزِّ فيهِ كِبارِ

Or to David's son and his vast dominion,

And the great emblems of glory within it.

هوجُ الرِياحِ خَواشِعٌ في بابِهِ

وَالطَيرُ فيهِ نَواكِسُ المِنقارِ

The raging winds are humbled at his gate,

And there the birds lower their beaks.

قامَت عَلى ضاحي الجِنانِ كَأَنَّها

رَضوانُ يُزجي الخُلدُ لِلأَبرارِ

She stood above the gardens' sunlit expanse, as though she were

Ridwan, bringing Paradise to the righteous.

كَم في الخَمائِلِ وَهيَ بَعضُ إِمائِها

مِن ذاتِ خِلخالٍ وَذاتِ سِوارِ

How many in the thickets—some of her handmaids—

Wear anklets, and how many wear bracelets;

وَحَسيرَةٍ عَنها الثِيابُ وَبَضَّةٍ

في الناعِماتِ تَجُرُّ فَضلَ إِزارِ

And naked ones, their garments shed, and tender-skinned ones

Among the pampered, trailing a robe's long hem;

وَضَحوكِ سِنٍّ تَملَأُ الدُنيا سَنىً

وَغَريقَةٍ في دَمعِها المِدرارِ

And one with laughing teeth, filling the world with radiance,

And one drowned in her own streaming tears;

وَوَحيدَةٍ بِالنَجدِ تَشكو وَحشَةً

وَكَثيرَةِ الأَترابِ بِالأَغوارِ

And one alone upon the upland, lamenting loneliness,

And one with many companions in the lowlands.

وَلَقَد تَمُرُّ عَلى الغَديرِ تَخالُهُ

وَالنَبتُ مِرآةً زَهَت بِإِطارِ

And you pass by the pool, imagining it,

With greenery around it, a mirror splendid in its frame.

حُلوُ التَسَلسُلِ مَوجُهُ وَجَريرُهُ

كَأَنامِلٍ مَرَّت عَلى أَوتارِ

Its waves and murmurs ripple sweetly,

Like fingers passing over strings.

مَدَّت سَواعِدُ مائِهِ وَتَأَلَّقَت

فيها الجَواهِرُ مِن حَصىً وَجِمارِ

The arms of its waters reached out, and there glittered

Within them jewels of pebbles and small stones.

يَنسابُ في مُخضَلَّةٍ مُبتَلَّةٍ

مَنسوجَةٍ مِن سُندُسٍ وَنُضارِ

It glides through a lush and water-soaked meadow,

Woven of fine silk and gold,

زَهراءَ عَونِ العاشِقينَ عَلى الهَوى

مُختارَةِ الشُعَراءِ في آذارِ

Radiant, a helper to lovers in their passion,

The poets' chosen place in March.

قامَ الجَليدُ بِها وَسالَ كَأَنَّهُ

دَمعُ الصَبابَةِ بَلَّ غُضنَ عَذارِ

The ice stood there and flowed as though it were

Tears of longing that moistened a cheek's crease.

وَتَرى السَماءَ ضُحىً وَفي جُنحِ الدُجى

مُنشَقَّةً مِن أَنهُرٍ وَبِحارِ

And you see the sky at forenoon and beneath night's wing,

Split open with rivers and seas.

في كُلِّ ناحِيَةٍ سَلَكتَ وَمَذهَبٍ

جَبَلانِ مِن صَخرٍ وَماءٍ جاري

In every quarter you travel, and along every path,

Two mountains: one of rock, one of running water.

مِن كُلِّ مُنهَمِرِ الجَوانِبِ وَالذُرى

غَمرِ الحَضيضِ مُحَلَّلٍ بِوَقارِ

Each with sides and summits pouring down,

Deep-flooded at the foot, and robed in dignity.

عَقَدَ الضَريبُ لَهُ عَمامَةَ فارِعٍ

جَمِّ المَهابَةِ مِن شُيوخِ نِزارِ

Hoarfrost has bound upon it the turban of a towering man,

Of mighty presence, one of Nizar's elders.

وَمُكَذِّبٍ بِالجِنِّ ريعَ لِصَوتِها

في الماءِ مُنحَدِراً وَفي التَيّارِ

And a denier of the jinn was startled by their sound,

As it descended through the water and the current.

مَلَأَ الفَضاءَ عَلى المَسامِعِ ضَجَّةً

فَكَأَنَّما مَلَأَ الجِهاتِ ضَواري

It filled the air with a tumult to the ears,

As though it filled all quarters with beasts of prey.

وَكَأَنَّما طوفانُ نوحٍ ما نَرى

وَالفُلكُ قَد مُسِخَت حَثيثَ قِطارِ

And what we see seems Noah's Flood,

And the ark has been changed into a speeding train.

يَجري عَلى مَثَلِ الصِراطِ وَتارَةً

ما بَينَ هاوِيَةٍ وَجُرفٍ هاري

It runs over a path like the Sirat, and at times

Between an abyss and a crumbling cliff.

جابَ المَمالِكَ حَزنَها وَسُهولَها

وَطَوى شِعابَ الصِربِ وَالبُلغارِ

It traversed kingdoms, their rugged lands and plains,

And crossed the ravines of Serbia and Bulgaria,

حَتّى رَمى بِرِحالِنا وَرَجائِنا

في ساحِ مَأمولٍ عَزيزِ الجارِ

Until it set down our baggage and our hopes

In the court of one we looked to, whose neighbor is honored.

مَلِكٌ بِمَفرَقِهِ إِذا اِستَقبَلتَهُ

تاجانِ تاجُ هُدىً وَتاجُ فَخارِ

A king upon whose head, when you face him,

Are two crowns: a crown of guidance and a crown of glory.

سَكَنَ الثُرَيّا مُستَقَرَّ جَلالِهِ

وَمَشَت مَكارِمُهُ إِلى الأَمصارِ

He dwells in the Pleiades, the abode of his majesty,

And his noble deeds have traveled to the cities.

فَالشَرقُ يُسقى ديمَةً بِيَمينِهِ

وَالغَربُ تُمطِرُهُ غُيوثُ يَسارِ

The East is watered by steady rain from his right hand,

And the West is drenched by showers from his left.

وَمَدائِنُ البَرَّينِ في إِعظامِهِ

وَعَوالِمُ البَحرَينِ في الإِكبارِ

The cities of the two lands hold him in reverence,

And the worlds of the two seas exalt him.

اللَهُ أَيَّدَهُ بِآسادِ الشَرى

في صورَةِ المُتَدَجِّجِ الجَرّارِ

God has strengthened him with the lions of al-Shara,

In the guise of a vast, heavily armed host:

الصاعِدينَ إِلى العَدُوِّ عَلى الظُبى

النازِلينَ عَلى القَنا الخَطّارِ

Who advance toward the foe upon sword-edges,

And descend upon swaying spears;

المُشتَرينَ اللَهَ بِالأَبناءِ وَال

أَزواجِ وَالأَموالِ وَالأَعمارِ

Who purchase God's favor with sons and

Spouses, wealth, and lives;

القائِمينَ عَلى لِواءِ نَبِيِّهِ

المُنزَلينَ مَنازِلَ الأَنصارِ

Who stand guard over His Prophet's banner,

Granted the stations of the Ansar.

يا عَرشَ قُسطَنطينَ نِلتَ مَكانَةً

لَم تُعطَها في سالِفِ الأَعصارِ

O throne of Constantine, you have attained a standing

Never granted you in bygone ages.

شُرِّفتَ بِالصَديقِ وَالفاروقِ بَل

بِالأَقرَبِ الأَدنى مِنَ المُختارِ

You have been honored with al-Siddiq and al-Faruq—rather,

With the nearest, the closest to the Chosen One:

حامي الخِلافَةِ مَجدِها وَكِيانِها

بِالرَأيِ آوِنَةً وَبِالبَتّارِ

The protector of the caliphate, its glory and its existence,

With judgment at times, and with the cleaving sword.

تاهَت فُروقُ عَلى العَواصِمِ وَاِزدَهَت

بِجُلوسِ أَصيَدَ باذِخِ المِقدارِ

Furuq vaunts herself above the capitals and glories

In the enthronement of a proud lord of lofty rank,

جَمِّ الجَلالِ كَأَنَّما كُرسِيُّهُ

جُزءٌ مِنَ الكُرسِيِّ ذي الأَنوارِ

Great in majesty, as though his throne

Were part of the radiant Throne.

أَخَذَت عَلى البوسفورِ زُخرُفَها دُجىً

وَتَلَألَأَت كَمَنازِلِ الأَقمارِ

Upon the Bosphorus she donned her finery at night,

And glittered like the mansions of the moons.

فَالبَدرُ يَنظُرُ مِن نَوافِذِ مَنزِلٍ

وَالشَمسُ ثَمَّ مُطِلَّةٌ مِن دارِ

The full moon peers from the windows of a house,

And there the sun looks out from a dwelling;

وَكَواكِبُ الجَوزاءِ تَخطُرُ في الرُبى

وَالنَسرُ مَطلَعُهُ مِنَ الأَشجارِ

And Orion's stars stride proudly on the hills,

And the Eagle rises from among the trees.

وَاِسمُ الخَليفَةِ في الجِهاتِ مُنَوِّرٌ

تَبدو السَبيلُ بِهِ وَيَهدي الساري

And the caliph's name shines in every quarter,

Making the path plain and guiding the night traveler.

كَتَبوهُ في شُرَفِ القُصورِ وَطالَما

كَتَبوهُ في الأَسماعِ وَالأَبصارِ

They wrote it on the palaces' battlements; how often

They have written it upon ears and eyes!

يا واحِدَ الإِسلامِ غَيرَ مُدافِعٍ

أَنا في زَمانِكَ واحِدُ الأَشعارِ

O Islam's peerless one, without a challenger,

In your age I am the peerless one in poetry.

لي في ثَنائِكَ وَهوَ باقٍ خالِدٌ

شَعرٌ عَلى الشِعرى المَنيعَةِ زاري

I have, in your praise—and it shall live forever—

Verse that looks down on unassailable Sirius.

أَخلَصتُ حُبّي في الإِمامِ دِيانَةً

وَجَعَلتُهُ حَتّى المَماتِ شِعاري

I devoted my love to the Imam as an act of faith,

And made it my watchword until death.

لَم أَلتَمِس عَرضَ الحَياةِ وَإِنَّما

أَقرَضتُهُ في اللَهِ وَالمُختارِ

I sought no passing gain of life, but rather

Lent it for the sake of God and the Chosen One.

إِنَّ الصَنيعَةَ لا تَكونُ كَريمَةً

حَتّى تُقَلِّدُها كَريمَ نِجارِ

A favor is not truly noble

Until you adorn with it a man of noble stock.

وَالحُبُّ لَيسَ بِصادِقٍ ما لَم تَكُن

حَسَنَ التَكَرُّمِ فيهِ وَالإيثارِ

And love is not sincere unless you are

Gracious in it, in generosity and selfless giving.

وَالشِعرُ إِنجيلٌ إِذا اِستَعمَلتَهُ

في نَشرِ مَكرُمَةٍ وَسَترِ عَوارِ

And poetry is a Gospel if you use it

To spread a noble deed and conceal a fault,

وَثَنَيتَ عَن كَدَرِ الحِياضِ عِنانَهُ

إِنَّ الأَديبَ مُسامِحٌ وَمُداري

And turn its rein away from muddied pools;

For the man of letters is forgiving and tactful.

عِندَ العَواهِلِ مِن سِياسَةِ دَهرِهِم

سِرٌّ وَعِندَكَ سائِرُ الأَسرارِ

Sovereigns possess, from the statecraft of their age,

One secret; you possess all secrets.

هَذا مُقامٌ أَنتَ فيهِ مُحَمَّدٌ

أَعداءُ ذاتِكَ فِرقَةٌ في النارِ

This is a station where you are Muhammad;

Your own enemies are a faction in the Fire.

إِنَّ الهِلالَ وَأَنتَ وَحدَكَ كَهفُهُ

بَينَ المَعاقِلِ مِنكَ وَالأَسوارِ

The Crescent—and you alone are its refuge—

Stands amid strongholds and ramparts made of you.

لَم يَبقَ غَيرُكَ مَن يَقولُ أَصونُهُ

صُنهُ بِحَولِ الواحِدِ القَهّارِ

None but you remains to say, 'I will protect it.'

Guard it by the might of the One, the All-Subduing.