إن تحي آمالي برؤية عيسى — Al Busayri

إنْ تُحْيَ آمالي بِرُؤْيَةِ عيسى

فَلطالما أَنْضَتْ إليه العِيسا

If my hopes are revived by the sight of Isa,

they have so often worn out pale camels on the road to him.

وحَظِيتُ بَعْدَ اليَأْسِ بالخِضرِ الَّذي

ما زالَ يَرْقَى أَوْ حَكَى إدْرِيسا

And after despair I gained favor with al-Khidr, who

has never ceased to ascend, or has matched Idris.

لولا وُجُودُ الصَّاحِبَينِ كِلَيهِما

صارتْ بُيُوتُ العالَمِينَ رُمُوسا

Were it not for the presence of both companions,

the dwellings of mankind would have become graves.

كَم قُلتُ لَمَّا أَنجَبَ الأبُ ابنَهُ

لا غَروَ أَن يَلِدَ النَّفِيسُ نَفِيسا

How often I said, when the father begot his son:

No wonder that a precious man should beget another.

للَّهِ شَمْسُ الدِّينِ شَمْسٌ أَطلَعَت

فينا بُدُوراً لِلْهُدَى وَشُمُوسا

God be praised for Shams al-Din—a sun that has raised

among us full moons and suns of guidance.

رَدَّتْ لنا يَدُهُ الغضُوبَ وأَسكَنَت

بالعَدْلِ آرامَ الكِناسِ الخِيسا

His hand repelled the wrathful one for us, and settled

through justice the covert's gazelles in the lion's thicket.

أَغْنَتْ مكارِمُهُ الفقيرَ وَأَطعَمَت

مَنْ كانَ مِنْ خَيْرِ الزَّمانِ يَؤُوسا

His generous deeds enriched the poor and fed

those who had despaired of any good from their times.

حبرٌ تَصَدَّرَ لِلنَّوالِ فَلَم يَزَل

يَتلو عليه مِنَ المَدِيحِ دُرُوسا

A scholar presiding over bounty, which has never ceased

reciting before him lessons of praise.

دُعِيَ ابنُ سِينا بالرَّئِيسِ وَلوْ رَأَى

عيسى لَسَمَّى نَفْسَهُ المَرؤُوسا

Ibn Sina was called the chief; had he seen

Isa, he would have called himself the subordinate.

وَحَسِبْتُهُ مِنْ بأَسِهِ وَذَكائِهِ

بَهْرَامَ قارَنَ في العُلا بَرجِيسا

For his might and intelligence, I reckoned him

Bahram conjoined with Barjis in the heights.

مِن مَعشَرٍ لَيُسَارِعُونَ إلى الوَغَى

مُتنازِعِينَ مِنَ الحِمامِ كُؤُوسا

He comes from a people who hasten to battle,

vying with one another for cups of death.

لُدُّ الخِصامِ إذا تَشاجَرَتِ القَنا

لَمْ يَجْعَلوا لهُمُ الحَديدَ لَبُوسا

Fierce in contention when the spears clash,

they do not make iron their armor.

وأَخُو البَسَالَةِ مَنْ غَدا بِذِراعِهِ

لا دِرْعِهِ يَوْمَ الوَغَى مَحْرُوسا

The truly valiant man is one who, by his arm,

not his armor, is guarded on the day of battle.

يُوفُون ما وعَدُوا كَأَنَّ وُعُودَهم

كانَتْ يَمِيناً بالوفاء غَمُوسا

They fulfill what they promise, as though their promises

were an oath plunging deep into fidelity.

يَا أيُّها الموْلَى الوَزِيرُ ومَنْ لَهُ

حِكَمٌ أغارَتْ منه رَسْطاليسا

O master, minister, you whose

wisdom has stirred Aristotle's envy,

هُنِّيتَ تَقْليداً أتاكَ مُجَدِّدَاً

لِلناسِ مِنْ سُلطانِهم نامُوسا

May you be congratulated on an appointment that came to you, renewing

for the people a law from their sovereign.

أُرسِلتَ منه لِلخَلائِقِ رَحْمَةً

عَمَّتْ قِياماً منهمُ وجُلوسا

You were sent by him as a mercy to all creatures,

embracing those among them standing and seated.

وكأنَّ قارِئَهُ بِيَوْمِ عَرُوبَةٍ

لَكَ يُعْرِبُ التَّسْبِيحَ والتقْدِيسا

It is as though the man who reads it on Friday

voices glorification and sanctification for you.

ونَظمتَ شَملَ المُلكِ بالقَلَمِ الّذي

حَلَّيْتَ منه للسُّطورِ طُروسا

You united the realm with the pen

with whose lines you adorned written sheets.

وبِسَتْرِكَ العَوْراتِ قد كَشفَ الوَرَى

لَكَ بالدُّعاءِ المُسْتَجابِ رُؤُوسا

Because you covered their failings, the people have bared

their heads for you in prayers that find an answer.

مِنْ كُلِّ مَشْدُودِ الخِناقِ بِكُرْبَةٍ

نَفَّسْتُ عنه خِناقَهُ تَنْفِيسا

From everyone whose throat was tightened by distress,

I fully eased the choking grip upon him.

أَطفَأتَ نِيرانِ العَداوةِ بَعْدَما

أوطَأتَ منها المُوقِدِين وَطيسا

You extinguished the fires of enmity, after

making their kindlers tread their blazing furnace.

وَأَرَحتَهُم مِن فِتنَةٍ تَحيي لهُم

في كُلِّ يَوْمٍ داحِساً وبَسُوسا

You relieved them of strife that revived for them

each day Dahis and Basus.

هَلَكَتْ جَدِيسُ وطَسْمُ حِينَ تعادَتا

وكأَنَّ طَسْماً لَم تكن وجَدِيسا

Jadis and Tasm perished when they became enemies,

as though neither Tasm nor Jadis had ever existed.

يا ابنَ الذي يَلقَ الفَوارِسَ باسماً

حاشاكَ أنْ تَلْقَى الضُّيوفَ عَبُوسا

O son of the man who meets horsemen smiling,

far be it from you to meet guests scowling.

سَعِدَتْ بِكَ الجُلساءُ فاحذَر بَعْضَهُم

فَلَرُبَّما أعْدَى الجَليسُ جَليسا

Your companions are happy through you, but beware of some:

a companion may well infect another companion.

بَخَسُوا ضيوفَ اللَّهِ عِنْدَكَ حَظَّهُم

لا كانَ حَظُّكَ عندهم مَبْخُوسا

They diminished God's guests' share at your house;

may your share with them never be diminished.

وأُعِيذُ مَجْدَكَ أنْ يكونَ بِطائِفٍ

مِنْ حاسِدٍ بِنَمِيمَةٍ مَمسوسا

I seek protection for your glory, lest a passing visitation

from a jealous man touch it through slander.

فاللَّهُ عَلَّمَ كلَّ عِلمٍ آدَماً

وأطاعَ آدَمُ ناسِياً إبلِيسا

God taught Adam every kind of knowledge,

yet Adam, forgetful, obeyed Iblis.

إنَّ المُرَاحِلَ مَنْ أَضاعَ أُجُورَهُ

واعتاضَ عنها بالنَّفيسِ خسيسا

Truly, the departing traveler is one who squanders his rewards

and, for them, takes the base in exchange for the precious.

فارغَب إِلى حُسْنِ الثَّنَاءِ فإِنَّه

لا يستوي في الذِّكْرِ نِعمَ وبِيسا

So seek good praise, for

'Excellent' and 'wretched' are not alike in remembrance.

ما أنتَ مِمَّن تَستَبِيحُ صُدُورُهُم

حِقْداً ولا أعراضُهُم تَدْنِيسا

You are not among those whose breasts permit

rancor, nor whose honor permits defilement.

أدعُوكَ لِلصَّفحِ الجَميلِ فإن تُجِب

أحكَمتَ بُنياناً عَلا تَأسِيسا

I call you to gracious forgiveness; if you respond,

you will have strengthened an edifice lofty in its foundations.

ومِنَ السياسةِ أنْ تكونَ مُراعياً

للصالِحينَ تَبَرُّهم وتَسوسا

Part of statesmanship is to be attentive

to the righteous, treating them kindly and governing them.

قَوْمٌ إذا انْتُدِبوا لِيُوْمِ كَرِيهَةٍ

ألْفَيْتَ واحِدَهُمْ يَرُدُّ خَمِيسا

A people who, when summoned for a day of hardship,

you find one of them repelling an army.

تَاللَّهِ ما خابَ امْرُؤٌ مُتَوَسِّلٌ

بالقَوْمِ فِي النُّعْمَى ولا في البُوسَى

By God, no man has failed who sought aid

through these people, in prosperity or adversity.

ولقد أتَيْتُكَ باليَقِين فلا تَخَل

قَوْلِي ظُنُوناً فيهم وحُدُوسا

I have indeed come to you with certainty, so do not regard

my words about them as conjectures and guesses.

وَرَأيتُ منهم ما رأيتُ لِغَيرِهم

وأقَمْتُ دَهراً بينهم جاسوسا

And I saw in them what I saw in others,

and stayed a long time among them as a spy.

مَنْ كانَ مُلْتَبِساً عليه حدِيثُهم

أَذهبتُ عنه منهمُ التَّلبِيسا

Whoever found their account confusing,

I cleared away his confusion about them.

ما ضرَّهم قول المُعانِدِ إنهمْ

بِفِعَالِهِم أقوى الأنامِ نُفُوسا

The antagonist's words have not harmed them; indeed,

through their deeds they are the strongest of mankind in spirit.

كَم ذَمَّهُم جَهلاً وَأَنكَرَ حالَهُم

قَوْمٌ يَلُونَ الحُكْمَ والتَّدرِيسا

How often they were ignorantly condemned and their condition disapproved

by people who exercise judgment and teaching.

فَرَدَدْتُ قَوْلَهُم بِقوْلِي ضارِباً

مَثَلاً على الخَضِرِ السَّلامُ وموسى

I refuted their words with mine, citing

as examples al-Khidr—peace be upon him—and Musa,

وعلى سُلَيْمانَ النبيِّ فإنَّه

أغْرَى رِحالَيْهِ على بَلقِيسا

and the prophet Sulayman, for he

urged his two riding saddles against Bilqis;

وَعلى فَتَى الحَسَنِ الذي سَطَوَاتُهُ

مَرَّت على الأَعداءِ مَرَّ المُوسى

and Hasan's young man, whose assaults

swept over the enemies like a razor's sweep.

يا رُبَّ ذِي عِلْمٍ رَأى نُصْحِي لَهُ

فأجابَني أتُطِبُّ جالِينُوسا

Many a learned man who saw my counsel to him

answered me, 'Would you doctor Galen?'

لَمْ يَدْرِ أنّي كلَّما اسْتَعطَفْتُهُ

كانَ الحَديدَ وكنتُ مِغْناطِيسا

He did not know that whenever I sought his favor,

he was iron and I was a magnet.

لو كُنتُ أَرْضَى الجاهليَّة مِثْلَهُ

أَمْلَيْتُ ما مَلأَ القلوبَ نَسِيسا

Had I accepted ignorance as he did,

I would have dictated words that filled hearts with fire's hiss,

وَنَفَخْتُ نارَ عَداوةٍ لا تُصْطَلَى

بَلْ لا يُطِيقُ لها العَدُوُّ حَسيسا

and fanned a fire of hostility too hot to warm oneself by—

indeed, the enemy could not bear even its faint sound.

لَمْ يُبْقِ لِي خَوْفُ المَعادِ مُعادِياً

فَيَهِيجَ مَنِّي لِلْهِياجِ رَسِيسا

Fear of the Return has left me no enemy

who might stir a buried spark of strife within me.

أوَ ما تَرَى حُبَّ السَّلامَةِ جاعِلِي

أُلْقِي السَّلامَ مُسالِماً والكِيسا

Do you not see how love of safety makes me

offer a peaceful greeting—and my purse?

أمُكَلِّفِي نَظْمَ النَّسِيبِ وَقد رَأى

عُودَ الشَّبابِ الرَّطْب عادَ يَبِيسا

Would you task me with love poetry, having seen

the moist branch of youth turn dry?

أمَّا النَّسِيبُ فما يُناسِبُ قَوْلُهُ

شَيْخاً أَبَدَّ مُعَمَّراً مَنْكُوسا

As for love poetry, its utterance does not suit

a bowlegged old man, long-lived and brought low.

ما هَمَّ يَخْضِبُ شَيْبَهُ مُتَشَوِّقاً

زَمَنَ الصِّبا إلّا اتَّقَى التَّدْلِيسا

Whenever he thought of dyeing his gray hair, yearning for

the time of youth, he guarded against deception.

لَمَّا رَأى زَمَنَ الشبيبَةِ مُدْبِراً

نَزَعَ السُّرَى وتَدَرَّعَ التَعْرِيسا

When he saw the time of youth retreating,

he cast off night travel and donned the armor of a nighttime halt.

مَضَتِ الأحِبَّةُ والشَّبابُ وخَلَّفَا

لِيَ الادِّكَارَ مُسامِراً وَأنِيسا

The beloved ones and youth departed, leaving

remembrance as my evening companion and intimate friend.

أذْكَرْتَنِي عَهْدَ الطِّعانِ فَلَم أجِد

رُمْحاً أَصُولُ بِهِ وَلا دَبُّوسا

You reminded me of the days of spear-thrusts, but I found no

spear to charge with, nor any mace.

أيَّامَ عَزْمِي لا تَفُوتُ سهامُهُ

غَرَضاً وسَهْمِي جُرْحُهُ لا يُوسَى

In the days when my resolve's arrows never missed

a target, and my arrow's wound could not be healed.

ثَنَتِ السُّنُونَ سِنانَ صَعْدَتِيَ الَّتي

لم تَلْقَ رادِفَةً ولا قَرْبُوسا

The years have bent the point of my tall spear, which

never met a saddle's rear bow or its pommel.

فَقَناةُ حَرْبِي لا أُرِد تَقْوِيمَها

لِلطَّعْنِ إلّا رَدَّها تَقْوِيسا

Whenever I seek to straighten my war-spear

for thrusting, its straightening only bends it back into a bow.

بالأمْسِ كانَ لَهُ الشَّمُوسَ مُذَلَّلاً

واليَوْمَ صارَ لهُ الذَّلولُ شَمُوسا

Yesterday, the unruly was tamed for him;

today, the tame has grown unruly for him.

لا دَرَّ دَرُّ الشَّيْبِ إنَّ نُجومَهُ

تَذَرُ السَّعِيدَ مِنَ الرِّجالِ نَحيسا

May no milk flow from gray hair! Its stars

leave the fortunate among men ill-starred.

كيفَ الطَّرِيقُ إلى اجتماعٍ جاعِلٍ

بَيْتَ الفِراشِ بِساكِنٍ مَأْنُوسا

How can I reach a union that will make

the bedchamber companionable with an occupant?

لو كانَ لي في بَيْتِ خالِي نُصْرَةٌ

جَمَعَتْ نَقِيَّ الخَدِّ والإِنكِيسا

If I had support in my maternal uncle's house,

it would unite the clear-cheeked one with the impotent man.

ونَصِيحَةٍ أَعرَبتُ عنها فانثَنَت

كالصُّبْحِ يَجْلُو ضَوْءُهُ التَّغْلِيسا

And counsel I expressed plainly came to be

like dawn, whose light dispels the predawn darkness.

إنَّ النَّصارَى بالمَحَلَّةِ وُدُّهُمْ

لو كانَ جَامِعُها يكونُ كَنِيسا

The Christians in al-Mahalla wish

that its congregational mosque would become a church.

أتُرَى النصارَى يَحْكُمُونَ بأنَّه

مَنْ باشَرَ الأَحْباسَ صارَ حَبيسا

Do you suppose the Christians decree that

anyone who administers endowments becomes a prisoner?

إن عادَ إسحقٌ إليها ثانياً

ضَرَبُوا عَلَى أبوابها الناقُوسا

If Ishaq returns to them a second time,

they will ring the church bell at their doors.

صَرَفَ الإلهُ السُّوءَ عنكَ بِصَرفِهِ

فاصْرِفهُ عَنَّا واصفَعِ القِسِّيسا

God turned harm away from you by removing him;

so remove him from us, and slap the priest.

أَفْدِي بهِ المُسْتَخْدَمِينَ وإنَّما

أَفْدِي بِتَيْسٍ كاليَهودِ تُيُوسا

I ransom the employees with him, but in truth

I only ransom goats with a goat, like the Jews.

لو كنتُ أَملِكُ أَمرَهُم مِنْ غَيرَتِي

لَمْ أُبْقِ لِلمُستَخدَمِينَ ضُرُوسا

If I controlled their affairs, out of my jealous zeal

I would leave the employees no molars.

يَرْعَوْنَ أَمْوَالَ الرَّعِيَّةِ بالأَذَى

لو يُحْلَبُونَ لأَشْبَهُوا الجامُوسا

They graze on the subjects' wealth, doing harm;

if they were milked, they would resemble water buffalo.

اللَّهُ أرْسَلَهُم عَلَى أَقوَاتِهِم

سُوساً وقدْ أمِنُوا عليها السُّوسا

God sent them upon their provisions

as weevils, though they thought those safe from weevils.

مَلأَتْ بُيُوتَهُمُ الغِلالُ فلا تَرَى

منها كَبَيْتِي فارِغاً مَكْنُوسا

Grain has filled their houses, so you will see none

of them empty and swept clean like my house.

مَن لَم يَقُم لِي منهُمُ بِوَظيفَتِي

جَرَّسْتُهُ بِملامَتِي تَجْرِيسا

Whoever among them does not provide me with my stipend,

I thoroughly disgrace him with my reproach.

إنّي لأنْذِرُ بَعْضَهم وكَأنَّني

في أُذْنِ بَغْلِ الكُوسِ أَضْرِبُ كُوسا

I warn some of them, and it is as though I

beat a kettledrum in the ear of the kettledrum mule.

لِي صاحِبٌ سَرَقَ اللُّصُوصُ ثِيابَهُ

لَيْلاً فباتَ بِبَيْتِهِ مَحْبُوسا

I have a friend whose clothes the thieves stole

at night, leaving him confined in his house.

وشَكا لِوَالي الحَرْبِ سارِقَ بَيْتِهِ

فكأنَّما يَشْكُو له افرَنسِيسا

He complained to the governor of war about his house's thief,

as though he were complaining to him about Afransis.

وكأَنَّه قاضٍ يقولُ لِخَصمِهِ

هذا غَرِيمُكَ أَثْبَتَ التَّفْلِيسا

As though he were a judge telling his litigant:

'This debtor of yours has proved his insolvency.'

ويَحُجُّهُ أصحابُ رَيْعٍ عِنْدَهُ

ويُقَدِّمُوهُ فَيُظْهِرُ التَّعْبيسا

Owners of revenues in his keeping argue against him,

and bring him forward, whereupon he puts on a scowl.

وَلَرُبّما التَمَسُوهُ بالمالِ الذي

سَرَقُوا فأصْبَحَ لامِساً مَلْمُوسا

Perhaps they court him with the money that

they stole, so he becomes one who touches and is touched.

مَلؤوا البيوتَ بِمالِهِ ولوِ اشْتَكَى

مَلؤوا بِأَوْلادِ الحَزِينِ حُبُوسا

They filled houses with his wealth; and if he complained,

they filled prisons with the grieving man's children.

كَمْ قُلْتُ إذْ سَمِعَ الوُلاةُ كلامَهُم

أتُرَى الوِلايَة تُفْسِدُ الكَيمُوسا

How often I said, when the governors heard their words:

'Do you suppose holding office corrupts the chyme?'

قَلَبَ العِيانَ لهُمْ وكَمْ في عِلْمِهِ

جَعَلُوا الدَّنانِيرَ الثِّقَالَ فُلوسا

He reversed the visible evidence for them; how often, to his knowledge,

they turned heavy dinars into copper coins!

فانْظُرْ لمَنْ ذَهَبَ اللُّصُوصُ بمالِهِ

وَبِعَقْلِهِ يَعْنُو اللُّصُوصُ حُبُوسا

Look, then, at the man whose wealth the thieves carried away,

yet by whose wits the thieves submit as prisoners.

رَفَعُوا القواعِدَ مِنْ شِوارِ ثِيابِهِ

واسْتَأصلوا المَنْصُوبَ والمَلْبُوسا

They lifted the foundations from his clothing's trappings,

and uprooted everything set up and everything worn.

قد كنتُ مِنْ خَوْفِ اللُّصُوصِ أَخافُ أنْ

أُهْدِي إليكَ مِنَ القَرِيضِ عَرُوسا

For fear of thieves, I was afraid

to present you with a bride of poetry.

لا زِلتَ طولَ الدَّهْرِ تَحْكِي في العُلا

آباءَكَ الغُرَّ الكِرامَ الشُّوسا

May you always emulate, in loftiness, throughout all time,

your illustrious, generous, fierce-eyed forefathers,

ما دامَ يَتّبِعُ النُّجُومَ مُنَجِّمٌ

وَيُخَبِّرُ التَّثْلِيثَ والتَّسْدِيسا

as long as an astrologer follows the stars

and reports their trines and sextiles.