مضى زمن الصبا فدع التصابي — Al Burai

مَضى زمن الصبا فدع التَصابي

قبح منك شبت وأَنتَ صابي

The time of youth has passed; give up playing the youth.

How unseemly of you: you have grown gray, yet still chase youthful desires.

تظل تغازل الغزلان لهوا

وَتكثر ذكر زينب وَالرباب

You keep flirting with gazelles for idle amusement,

and speak so often of Zaynab and al-Rabab.

وَتَلبس للبطالةكل ثوب

وَتنسى ما يسوّد في الكتاب

You wear every garb of idleness,

and forget what is written in the record.

وَقَد بدلت معد قواك ضعفا

وَدل الشيب منك عَلى التباب

And your strength has been changed to weakness [one word unclear],

and your gray hair has pointed toward ruin.

فخذ زادا يَكون به بَلاغ

وَتب فَلَعَل فوزك في المتاب

So take provisions that will see you through,

and repent—perhaps your salvation lies in repentance.

وأجمع لِلرَحيل وَلا تعول

عَلى دار اِغترار واغتراب

Resolve upon departure, and do not rely

on an abode of delusion and estrangement.

فَخير الناس عبد قال صدقا

وَقدم صالحا قبل الذهاب

For the best of people is a servant who speaks truth,

and sends good deeds ahead before departing,

وَراقب ربه وَعصى هواه

وحاسب نفسه قبل الحساب

and heeds his Lord and disobeys his desires,

and calls himself to account before the Reckoning.

خَليليّ اربعا بربوع نجد

تجدد عهد معهدها الخراب

My two friends, pause among the dwellings of Najd:

the memory of its ruined abode is renewed.

وَننزل منزل الخلان منها

وَنَروي منمناهلها العذاب

And let us alight there where our friends dwelt,

and drink our fill from its sweet watering places.

مآثر خيرتي وَديار أنسى

وَمألف كل عيش مستطاب

Memorials of my chosen ones, and dwellings of my solace,

and the haunt of all that makes life sweet.

سقى شعب الاراك وَما يَليه

من الاقطار منسجم السحاب

May the ravine of al-Arak and its neighboring

regions be watered by the clouds' downpour.

وَروّى روضة العلمين حَتّى

تناهى الري مخضر الروابي

And may it drench the meadow of al-‘Alamayn, until

its green hills are watered to the full.

يناغى الشمس منها در طلى

بربك النور بسفر بالتهاب

There, pearls of dew playfully greet the sun [reading uncertain],

[Text unclear; literal words: by your Lord; the light; with a journey; in a blaze.]

كأن فَواتح الازهار منها

خَلائق سيدي عمر العرابي

As though its newly opening blossoms were

the virtues of my master ‘Umar al-‘Urabi.

أَما نوره ملأ النواحي

وأوضح هديه سبل الصواب

As for his light, it has filled all quarters,

and his guidance has made clear the paths of right.

بعز مكانة وَيجل قَدرا

برفعة منصب زاكي النصاب

Exalted in station and great in worth,

lofty in rank and pure in lineage,

وَيكبر أَن يخاطب أَو يسمى

بسر السر أولب اللباب

he is too great to be addressed or named

“the secret of secrets” or “the essence of essences.”

كَرامات له وَمكاشفات

فشت في الكون بالعجب العجاب

His are saintly wonders and unveilings,

spread through creation, wonder upon wonder.

فراسة مؤمن بحضور قَلب

يشاهد في اِبتعاد واقتراب

With a believer's insight and an attentive heart,

he beholds alike from far and near.

وَغوث يُستَغاث به وَسيف

يَصول عَلى النوائب غير نابي

A helper whose aid is sought, and a sword

that assails calamities, never glancing off;

وَبدر يستضاء به وَبحر

من الخَيرات ملتطم العباب

a full moon whose light is sought, and a sea

of blessings, its billows crashing together.

وأمة امة عملا وَعلما

نَقي العرض عَن عار وَعاب

A nation—a whole nation—in deeds and knowledge,

pure in honor, free from disgrace and blemish.

نَلوذ به إِلىجمل منيف

جوانبه محصنة الهضاب

We seek refuge in him as in a towering mountain [text reads “camel”],

its flanks fortified by hills.

وَنَستَسقي الغمام اذا جدبنا

بَدعوته وَنفتحكل باب

We seek rain from the clouds when drought afflicts us,

through his prayer, and open every door.

وَنستعدي به وَبتابعيه

عَلى الاعداء في النوب الصعاب

We seek aid through him and his followers

against enemies in times of dire calamity.

فان لسره خضعت وَذلت

رقاب العجم وَالعرب الصلاب

For to his secret have bowed and yielded

the necks of non-Arabs and unyielding Arabs.

ومن شرف الولاية أَن هَذا

لسان اولى الحقائق في الخطاب

Among the honors of sainthood is that this man

is the spokesman of the masters of spiritual truths in discourse.

يخاطب خصمها وَيجيبعنها

اذا اِفتقر السؤال إِلى جواب

He addresses their opponent and answers in their defense

when a question stands in need of an answer.

وَيَكسو المذهب السنى حسنا

وَينشر ظل رايته العقاب

He clothes the Sunni school in beauty,

and spreads the shade of his banner, the Eagle.

وَيبنى دون دين اللَه سورا

بيوت علا مسامية القباب

He builds a wall to shield God's religion—

houses of grandeur whose domes vie in height.

لَقَد شرف الزَمان به واضحت

وجوه الخير سافرة النقاب

Through him the age is honored, and now

the faces of goodness have cast aside their veils.

توافيه الوفود بحسن ظن

فَترجع غير خائبة الركاب

Delegations come to him with hopeful trust,

and the caravans return without disappointment.

وَتَرعى ريف رأفته البرايا

فتنعم في خلائقه الرحاب

Creatures graze in the fertile pastures of his compassion,

and live at ease amid his expansive virtues.

وَعز حماه ملجأ كل راج

وَشعب نداه مجتمع الشعاب

The might of his sanctuary is every hopeful seeker's refuge,

and the ravine of his bounty is where all ravines converge.

فَيا مَولاي قربني نجيا

وأكرمني بأنعمك الرغاب

O my master, draw me near as a confidant,

and honor me with your abundant blessings.

فَلَم أَسألك ديناراً ودارا

وَلا ثوبا سوى ثوب الثواب

For I have not asked you for a dinar or a house,

nor any garment but the garment of reward.

فقد وافيت بحرك وَهو طام

وَغيري غره لمع السراب

For I have reached your sea while it overflows,

while others were deceived by the mirage's gleam.

وَجئتك زائرا بغريب مدح

حواشيه أرق من العتاب

I have come to visit you with rare praise,

its fringes gentler than reproach,

وأشهى من فكاهة بنت عشر

وَتَقبيل المعسلة الرضاب

and sweeter than the playful talk of a girl of ten,

and kissing one with honey-sweet lips.

تغادر أنفس الاحبارسكرى

بكاس المدح لا كاس الشَراب

It leaves the souls of scholars intoxicated

with the cup of praise, not the cup of wine.

فصل حَبلي بحبلك واِصطَنعني

فَكَم لك من صَنائِع في الرقاب

So join my cord to your cord, and take me into your favor;

how many necks bear the debt of your favors!

وَقل عَبد الرَحيم ومن يَليه

مَعي يَرجو غدا كرم المآب

And say: “‘Abd al-Rahim and those who follow him

are with me, hoping tomorrow for a gracious homecoming.”

وَقض حَوائجي فَعَساك تَجزي

بمغفرة واجر واِحتساب

Fulfill my needs; may you be rewarded

with forgiveness, reward, and the merit of sincere devotion.

لا درك منك في الدنيا والاخرى

نَصيبي من دعاء مستجاب

So that I may obtain from you, in this world and the next [reading uncertain],

my share of an answered prayer.

بقيت لملة الاسلام نورا

وَجيه الوجه محترم الجناب

May you remain a light for the faith of Islam,

noble in countenance, revered in standing.

وَدمت مكرّما بعلو قدر

وَبورك في صحابك من صحاب

May you remain honored for your lofty worth,

and blessed be your companions among companions.

وَصلى اللَه لمحه كل طرف

تخص الدر من صدف التراب

And may God send blessings at every blink of every eye,

especially upon the pearl from the shell of dust:

محمدا الَّذي فضل البَرايا

وفاق المرسلين بقرب قاب

Muhammad, who surpassed all creatures

and excelled the messengers in nearness—a bow's span—

وآل الهاشمي وَتابعيه

غوث رغائب وَليوث غاب

and upon the Hashimite's family and his followers,

succor for aspirations, and lions of the thickets.