عجبت لأسرة الحسن الدينا — Al Shaqroui

عَجِبتُ لأُسرةِ الحَسَنِ الدُينَا

بِألبَانِ المَذَمَّةِ قَد غُذِّينَا

I marveled at al-Hasan's lowly family.

On the milk of disgrace we have been nourished.

يَرُومُونَ افتِخَاراً واعتِلاءً

ولَيسُوا الفَاخِرِينَ المُعتَلِينَا

They seek pride and eminence,

yet they are neither distinguished nor exalted.

أفَخرُ بَعدَمَا قد بُلًّغَتهُ

شُهودُ الحَاضِرينَ الغَائِبِينَا

Boasting, after it has already been reported

by witnesses present to those absent?

فَقَد حَسِبُوا نُفُوسَهُم سِوَاهُم

وقَد حَسِبُوا شَمالِيُهم يَمِينَا

For they have mistaken themselves for others,

and mistaken their left hands for right hands.

طَغَوا وَبَغَوا عَلَىَّ فَقُلتُ صَبراً

ولَم نَكُ رُتبَةً فِئِينَا

They tyrannized and wronged me, so I said: Patience!

Nor were we equals in rank [reading uncertain].

فَظَنُّونَا عَجَزنَا فأَشرَأَبُّوا

وقالوا لَن نَدِينَ ولَن نَلِينَا

They thought us powerless, so they stretched their necks high,

and said: “We will not submit, nor yield,

ولَن نَستَعطِفَ الأَعدَاءَ إِنَّا

لَنَحنُ الغَالِبُونَ الغَالِبِينَا

nor seek the enemies' favor; indeed,

we are the conquerors of conquerors.”

وظَلُّوا في إفتِخَارِهِم وَباتُوا

ومُلِّىءَ كُلُّهُم لَبَناً سَخِينَا

They continued their boasting by day and by night,

and every one of them was filled with warm milk.

وَلَمَّا إِن نَظَرتُ الشَّرعَ فِيهُم

وكُنتُ أُرِيدُ مَصلَحَةً ولينا

And when I examined religious law concerning them,

though I desired reconciliation and gentleness,

بَدَا لِى أن أُذِلَّهُم بِبَطشِى

وكُنتُ بِأن أُذِلَّهُم قَمِينَا

it occurred to me to humble them with my might,

and I was well suited to humbling them.

فَجِئتُهُم أُحَاوِلُهُم سُحَيراً

ومَا أَلفَيتُهُم مُتَهَجِّدِينَا

So I came to confront them shortly before dawn,

and did not find them keeping prayerful vigil.

فَقَادَتني الخُئُولُةُ لِلمَعَالِي

ومَا كُنتُ الجَبَانَ المُستَكِينَا

So maternal kinship led me to lofty honors,

and I was no coward bowed in submission.

جَعَلتُ بِوَجهِ أطوَلِهِم عِظَاماً

وأعرِقِهم إِذَا جَبَنُوا جَبِينَا

I set upon the face of their tallest in frame—

and their sweatiest-browed when they grew afraid,

والآمِهم وأجهَلِهِم أُصُولاً

وأخبَثِهِم مَيَادِيناً ودِينَا

and their basest, most obscure in ancestry,

and their foulest in the field and in faith,

وأَحمَقِهِم وأكثَرِهِم عُيوباً

وأسوَئِهِم إِذَا صَحِبُوا قَرِينَا

and their most foolish, most laden with faults,

and their worst companion when they kept company—

جدَاوِلُ لاَتَزَالُ الدَّهرُ فِيهِ

تُقَطِّعُ أَلسُنَ المُتَكَلِّمِينَا

rivulets that forever, upon his face,

cut off the tongues of those who speak.

قَلَّدَ جَمعَهُم في كُلِّ رَاىٍ

كَبِيرَهُم مَحمداً الأمِينَا

Their whole company followed, in every judgment,

their leader, Muhammad al-Amin.

شَدَّ عَمَامَةَ المُلِكِ المَفَدَّى

وأطرَقَ يَستَجِمُّ العَقلَ حِينَا

He tightened the turban of the cherished king,

and bowed his head, resting his mind awhile.

قَالَ لَهُم مَبَادَرَةُ الهُوينَا

تَجُرُّ لأهلِهَا المَالَ الثَّمِينَا

He told them: “Hastening toward ease

brings its followers precious wealth.

مَن طَلَبَ المَعَالِى أتعَبتُه

وكَانَ لِمَا لِهِ فِيهَا مُهِينَا

Whoever seeks lofty honors is wearied by them,

and squanders his wealth in their pursuit.

هُونُوا إِنَّ فِيهِ لَكُم سَدَاداً

وقَد كُنتُم بِهِ مُتَعَلِّمينَا

Be lowly: in that lies your proper course,

and you have already been schooled in it.

خُنُوا عَهد جَارِكُمُ وكُونُوا

لَهُ في كُلِّ خِصبٍ مُحرِمينَا

Betray your neighbor's covenant, and be

those who deprive him in every season of plenty.

ِإن وَافَاكُم ضَيفٌ فَكُونُوا

لِحَقِّ الضَّيفِ مِنهُ مَانِعِينَا

If a guest comes to you, be

those who withhold from him a guest's due.

إِن طَلَبَت عَجَائِزُكُم عِصَاماً

فَكُونُوا لِلعَجَائِزِ قَاتِلِينَا

If your old women ask for a waterskin strap,

then be killers of the old women.

صُونُوا مَالَكُم بِالعِرضِ حتى

تَكُونُوا كَالجُدُودِ مُذَمَّمِينَا

Guard your wealth at your honor's expense, until

you become, like your ancestors, much reviled.

صَونُ المَالِ فِيهِ جَدىً ونَفعٌ

ولَيسَ العِرضُ يَنفَعُ حِينَ صِينَا

Guarding wealth brings gain and benefit,

but honor brings no benefit when safeguarded.

لاَ تَسعَوا لِمَحمَدَةٍ ومَجدٍ

ولاَ تَلِجُوا نَدِىَّ الأَكرِمِينَا

Do not strive for praise and glory,

nor enter the gathering of the most generous.

فإِنَّكُمُ إِذَا جَالَستُمُوهُم

ولَو حِينَا أضَرُّوكُم سَنِينَا

For if you sit with them,

even briefly, they will harm you for years.

تُوقُ نَفُوسُ أسوِئِكِم مَسَاوي

ِإلَى فِعلاَتِهِم فَتَكُونَ فِينَا

The souls of your most vicious would yearn

for their deeds, so such deeds would appear among us.

يَطمَعَ في نَدَانَا الضَّيفُ حتى

يَمُرَّ بِنَا ويَأتِينَا قَطِينَا

The guest would hope for our generosity, until

he passed our way and came to dwell among us.

فيَفُسَدَ مَالُنَا ونُخِيبَ رَأياً

ونُلفي في المَسَاجِدِ جَالِسِينَا

Then our wealth would be ruined, and we would fail in judgment,

and we would be found sitting in the mosques.

وكَانَت تَستَقِى فَزَعاً شَدِيداً

أكَابِرُنَا إِذَا سَمِعَت أذِينَا

And they used to draw up intense terror—

our elders, whenever they heard a call to prayer.

وكُنَّا نَحسَبُ القُرآنَ شِعراً

كسته الأوَّلُونَ الآخرِينَا

And we thought the Qur'an was poetry,

in which the earlier generations clothed the later ones.”

فَقَالُوا إِنَّ رَأيَكَ لَيسَ يُعصَى

سُتُلفِينَا لأمرِكَ طَائِعِينَا

So they said: “Your opinion shall not be disobeyed;

you will find us obedient to your command.”

فَقَالَ لَهُم إذَا طَاوَعتُمُوني

سَلَكتُ بِكُم سَبِيلَ الأوَلِينَا

He told them: “If you obey me,

I will lead you along the path of the forebears—

أوَائِلِنَا الأُلَى قد أَورُثُونَا

شَمَائِلَهُم فَكُنَّا الوَارِثِينَا

our forebears, who bequeathed to us

their traits, so we became the heirs.”

فَألبَسَهُم ردَاءَ البُخلِ حتى

غَدوا مِن فَضلِهِ مُتَجَلِّينَا

So he clothed them in the cloak of miserliness, until

they stood resplendent through its bounty.

فَأصبَحَهُم دِينَهُم في دَنِّ ذُلٍّ

يُرَجِّعُ مِن مَذَلَّتِهِ الأنِينَا

So their creed served them a morning draught in a jar of abasement,

echoing groans from its humiliation.

فَقَالَ لَهُم رَضِيتُ أقَد رَضِيتُم

فَقَالُوا نحن مِثلُكَ قَد رَضِينَا

Then he said: “I am content; are you content?”

They said: “Like you, we are indeed content.

ولَكِنَّا أُناسٌ لَو قَدِمنَا

على الكُفَّارِ نَشكُو المُسلِمِينَا

But we are people: if we came

to the unbelievers, complaining of the Muslims,

أعانُونَا وعَلَونَا عَلَيهم

يُعِينُ الكَافِرُونَ الكَافِرِينَا

they would help us, and we would rise above them:

unbelievers aid unbelievers.”