أرائح أنت أم غاد فمبتكر — Al Staley

أرائحٌ أَنتَ أم غادٍ فمبتكِرُ

من آل عمرةَ أَم ثاوٍ فمُنتظرُ

Are you leaving at evening, or setting out at dawn and departing early

from ʿAmrah's people, or staying on and waiting?

أَم حاجةُ النّفس حيرَى ظلَّ صاحبها

على موارد وعدٍ مالها صدرُ

Or is the soul's longing bewildered, its bearer lingering

at a promise's watering places, with no departure for it?

أَم لا سبيلَ إلى أهله الحمى ظَعنوا

وحال دونهُم الأحْراسُ والسَمرُ

Or is there no way to its people in the protected land? They have departed,

and guards and dusky spears bar access to them.

يا منزلاً لا يزال القلبُ بالغهُ

وإن تباعد أَهلوه وإن هَجَروا

O dwelling that the heart never ceases to reach,

though its people have grown distant, though they have deserted it.

ما كان أَملاكَ مُصطافاً ومرتبعاً

وأنتَ بالأنس معمورُ ومُعْتَمَر

How full you once were, a summer and spring abode,

while you were filled with companionship and frequented!

إذ القطينُ جَميعٌ والمزارُ بنا

دانٍ ويجمعنا في ليلك السَّمرُ

When all the residents were gathered, and the meeting place was, for us,

near, and evening talk gathered us in your night.

وإذ تحُلك آرامُ كوانسُ من

ظباء وَجْرة لا عُطْلٌ ولا نُفُرُ

And when gazelles sheltering in coverts inhabited you, from among

the gazelles of Wajrah, neither unadorned nor skittish.

بيضٌ رباربُ يختال الجمال بها

والدلُّ والظَّلم والتّوريد والخَفَرْ

Fair gazelle-herds, in whom beauty struts,

and coy charm, tooth-luster, rosy color, and modesty.

من كل فاترة العينين عن حَوَرٍ

كأنّما هي وَسْنى أَو بها سُكُرُ

Each one languid in both eyes, with dark pupils against bright whites,

as though she were drowsy or intoxicated.

رَيّا الرّوادف والأعطاف بهكنةً

فَعم الشعار بها يَشتدّ فالخَصَرُ

Full in hips and flanks, a soft, well-formed beauty,

her shift filled out and drawn tight upon her slender waist.

هيهاتَ ذلك إلا ذكرةً ومُنىً

من دونها البُعْدُ والإعدامُ والكِبَرُ

Far beyond reach is all that, save a memory and wishes,

with distance, destitution, and old age barring the way to them,

وأن أُجاهِدَ أقواماً بُليت بهم

فلستُ من جلبهم بالحُلم منْتَصِرُ

and having to struggle against people with whom I am afflicted.

For I cannot prevail against their clamor through forbearance.

مِنّى الحفاظُ إذا خانوا وإن صبَروا

آذَوا وعندي وفاء الغدرِ إِن غَدَروا

From me comes fidelity when they betray; and even if they restrain themselves,

they hurt me; I meet treachery with loyalty if they betray.

كم ناقصٍ يتمنّى الفضل يأمَلَهُ

بذمِّ من فضله كالشمس مشتهرُ

How many an imperfect man longs for merit, hoping to attain it,

by disparaging one whose merit is renowned as the sun!

ومُولع بعيوب النّاس يثلُبهم

كأنَّه من عيوبٍ فيه يعتذرُ

And one obsessed with people's faults maligns them,

as though making excuses for faults within himself.

من كان لَم تهده يوماً بصيرته

بالرّشد لم يهده سمعٌ ولا بصرُ

Whoever has never been guided by his own insight

toward right judgment will not be guided by hearing or sight.

أشكو أموراً أنا الجاني عليَّ بها

بحسنِ ظنّي فمالي لستُ اصْطبرُ

I complain of things that I myself have brought upon me

through my good opinion—why, then, do I not bear them patiently?

وادّعي الحلْمَ والأَحوالُ تلعب بي

فلستُ أعلم حيثُ النّفعُ والضّررُ

I claim forbearance while circumstances toy with me;

I do not know where benefit lies and where harm.

أرى العدَّو سواءَ والصديقَ على

ضرّي فما أنا أَدري ممن الحذَرُ

I see enemy and friend alike intent on

harming me, so I do not know whom to beware of.

أَزرتْ بي الشَّهواتُ المائلات إِلى

أَشياء بالعرض عن إعراضها أَثرُ

Desires have abased me, inclining toward

things whose turning away leaves a mark upon one's honor.

ولن تراني إِلاَّ عينُ داهيةٍ

كبراً تُنَضْنضُ فيها الحيّةُ الذَّكرُ

And only the eye of a calamity shall see me—

a mighty one, within which the male serpent flicks its tongue.

عندي تجاربُ للأيام فاصحةٍ

مع ظنها أَنني بالنّاس أغترِرُ

I have experience of eloquent days,

despite their supposing that I am taken in by people.

ولي فضائل للحسّاد شاجية

كأنّما هي في أكبادهم إِبَرُ

And I have virtues that torment the envious,

as though they were needles in their livers.

فضائلٌ من جلال يُستدلُّ بها

على صفاء نجارٍ ما بها كدرُ

Virtues born of grandeur, by which one may discern

a lineage's purity, with no murkiness in them.

لا فخر إلا لمن طابت خلائقه

ومن يقال أَبوه إلا زدْ أَو مضرُ

There is no pride except for one whose character is good,

and one whose forefather is said to be al-Azd or Mudar.

من لم يكن مثل ذهل أو كيعرب لم

ينفعه والده أو جده عمرُ

Whoever is not like Dhuhl or Yaʿrub will not

be helped by his father or his grandfather ʿUmar.

أبو المعمر أبقى كلَّ مكرمة

بمثل أفعاله الغرآءَ يبتدرُ

Abu al-Muʿammar kept every noble deed alive,

hastening forward with the like of his radiant deeds.

كفضل ذهل وحسنى يعرب ابتدرا

تلك المكارم لم يمنعهما قِصرُ

Like Dhuhl's excellence and Yaʿrub's goodness, the two hastened toward

those noble deeds; no shortcoming held them back.

مجلّيان بما قالا وما فعلا

حسنا كما فصّل الياقوت والدررُ

Both are resplendent in what they said and did,

in beauty, like rubies and pearls artfully arranged.

معطّران بما استنّا وما اقتفيا

طيبا كما ينفحُ النّوار والزّهرُ

Both are fragrant through what they established and what they followed,

sweet as blossoms and flowers wafting their scent.

تقاسما الحسن إرثاً والنُّهى وكأن

قد شُق بينهما في المجلس القمرُ

They shared beauty as an inheritance, and understanding; it is as though

the moon were split between them in the assembly.

تشابها ثم لا شبه يُرى لهما

إذا تشابهت الأخلاق والصّورُ

They resemble one another, yet no equal of theirs is seen

when characters and outward forms resemble one another.

الله قدّر أسباب العُلى لهما

مَن قادرٌ دفعَ ما يأتي به القدرُ

God ordained for them the means of exalted rank;

who can ward off what destiny brings?

هذان حقان نبهانٌ غدا لهما

وبالعتيك معا والازْد مُفتَخَرُ

These two are true-born; Nabhan has become for them

a source of pride, together with al-ʿAtik and al-Azd.

واذكر ملوك بني نبهان في يمنٍ

فإنهم لهمُ فخر إذا ذكروا

And recall the kings of Banu Nabhan in Yemen,

for they bring them pride whenever they are remembered.

هم الأعزّون قدماً لا ارتكاب لما

ينهون عنه ولا يُعصون ما أمروا

They were the mightiest of old; no one commits what

they forbid, nor are their commands disobeyed.

كانوا ملوك الورى في الجاهلية لم

يعيوا بملك ولم يسبقهم بشرُ

They were kings over mankind in the Age of Ignorance; they never

faltered in rule, nor did any mortal surpass them.

وإن تبيّنتَ في الإسلام فضلهمُ

فإنهم بهم أرباَبهم قهروا

And if you examine their excellence in Islam,

it was through them that their overlords were subdued.

أذكر نبيّ الهدى أيام هجرته

إليهمُ عند خذلان الأولى كفروا

Recall the Prophet of guidance in the days of his migration

to them, when those who disbelieved deserted him.

همُ حَمَوا ملَّة الإسلام واتبعوا

دين الرّسول وهم آوَوْا وهم نَصَروا

They protected the faith of Islam and followed

the Messenger's religion; they sheltered him, and they gave him aid.

نظرتهم بأيادٍ ليس يُنكرها

عربٌ ولا عجمٌ بدوٌ ولا حَضَرُ

I have beheld them with benefactions that none deny—

Arab or non-Arab, nomad or townsman.

وفي القصائد والأبيات نذكر ما

سارت به فيهمُ الآياتُ والسُّورُ

In odes and verses we recall what

the verses and surahs have spread abroad concerning them.

وفي عِيان بني نبهان صحّةُ ما

ينميه من آل قحطانٍ لنا الخَبرُ

In the sight of Banu Nabhan lies proof of what

tradition conveys to us about the house of Qahtan.

سَنَّ العتيكَ لهم جوداً وهم تبعوا

والأزْدشادَ لهم مجداً وهم عَمَروا

Al-ʿAtik established generosity for them, and they followed;

and al-Azd built them glory, which they made flourish.

مطرَّون نقيّاتٌ جُيوبُهُم

عن المعائبِ والأردانُ والأُزُرُ

Much praised, with spotless breast-folds,

free of faults, as are their sleeves and waist-wraps.

لهم مواهبُ كالبحر الفرات جَرى

في كل ناحية من مدّه نهرُ

Their gifts are like a sea of sweet water; there flows

in every direction a river from its swelling tide.

إن الذُّرى وصَميمَ المجدَ فازَ به

ذهلٌ ويَعربُ والجمهورُ والخِيَرُ

Truly, the heights and the very heart of glory have been won by

Dhuhl, Yaʿrub, the multitude, and the chosen men.

ياسيّديْ آل قحطانٍ سَما بكما

على الملوك الثَّنا والعُزُّ والخَطرُ

O my two lords of the house of Qahtan, through you have risen

praise, might, and stature above those of kings.

حملتما المجلس المعمور عن عمر

فإنه بكما يعلو ويَزْدهِرُ

You both took over the flourishing court from ʿUmar;

through you it rises high and flourishes.

فأنتُما غُصناً جرثومة نبتت

في المجد لا أثر فيها ولا خَوَرُ

For you both are two branches of a rootstock that grew

in glory, with neither flaw nor weakness in it.

بقيتما تشرق الدنيا بنوركما

وينفع النّاس من جَدوا كما المطَرُ

May you both endure, the world shining with your light,

and may the rain of your bounty benefit the people.

بغذوكما من نعيم يا أبا حسنٍ

ويا أبا العرب الأَفنانُ والأَثرُ

Through your nourishment from bliss, O Abu Hasan,

and O Abu al-ʿArab—the boughs and the trace [wording unclear].

يهنيكما كلَّ عام صومُ شهركما

والفطرُ والعيد والسّراء والحَبرُ

May the fast of your month gladden you both each year,

and the breaking of the fast, the feast, prosperity, and delight.