هجر الحسان وهن من آرابه — Al Staley

هَجَرَ الحِسانَ وهُنَّ من آرابهِ

وأرق لمَّا راقَ كأس شَبَابهِ

He forsook beautiful women, though they were among his desires,

And poured away his youth's cup when it grew clear.

وعَفى الصبى ورأى النُّهى أزكى له

وقَلى الهوى ورَأى التُّقى أولى بهِ

He effaced youthful folly and deemed reason purer for him,

And spurned desire, deeming piety more fitting for him.

ما زالَ بالقلب الْلجوجِ يروضُهُ

حتَّى ارْعَوَى وأفاقَ من أطلابهِِ

He never ceased disciplining his obstinate heart,

Until it restrained itself and awoke from its cravings.

والقلبُ لا يُرضيك في إغفالِه

حتَّى يكونَ مُلازماً لعتابهِ

The heart will not please you when you neglect it,

Until it is kept under constant reproach.

فإذا اجْتهدت على صَواب الرأي في

عملٍ رأيت حلاوةً بصوابهِ

If, then, you strive for sound judgment in

An undertaking, you will find sweetness in getting it right.

والحسنُ في الأمر المزوَّرِ زائلٌ

كالشيب ينصلُ بعد حُسن خِضابهِ

Beauty in a counterfeit thing is fleeting,

Like gray hair losing its color after a handsome dyeing.

ولا يُعجبنَّك لابسٌ لتواضعٍ

فعسى النُّفاق يكونُ تحت ثيابهِ

Let no man clothed in humility impress you:

Hypocrisy may lie beneath his clothes.

إنَّ السَّلامة في رغيد العْيش ما

سَلِم الفتى من إثمهِ ومَعَابِهِ

Safety in a life of ease lasts only while

A man remains free of his sins and faults.

وإذا امرؤٌ رزقَ الغِنى في طاعةٍ

لله فهو على سبيل ثوابهِ

If a man is granted wealth while obedient

To God, he is on the path to His reward.

من لم يكُد النَّفسَ في طلبِ العلى

قاسى من الحرمان غُصةَ نابهِ

Whoever does not tax his soul in seeking eminence

Suffers the choking pang of deprivation's fang.

إن لم يكن في العَجْز منهُ قناعةٌ

لقيَ الأذَى والحَّ في تَطلابهِ

If he finds no contentment in his helplessness,

He meets with hardship and persists in his seeking.

والمرء يُكرَمُ في الرجال بمالهِ

لا علمِه فيهم ولا آدابهِ

Among men, a man is honored for his wealth,

Not for his learning among them, nor his refinement.

وإِذا امرؤٌ في الحق أتعبَ نفسَهُ

فالراحةُ الكبرى مَدى أتعابهِ

When a man exhausts himself in the cause of truth,

The greatest rest awaits at the end of his toils.

من ناقشَ النَّفسَ الحسابَ حياته

لم يخشَ يوم البعث طولَ حسابهِ

Whoever strictly calls his soul to account throughout his life

Will not fear a lengthy reckoning on Resurrection Day.

والعبدُ لا تحلو عِبادَةُ ربّه

في نفسهِ إِلا بخوفِ عِقابهِ

A servant finds no sweetness in worshiping his Lord

Within his soul except through fear of His punishment.

يا صَاح كلُّ محصَّل من لذةٍ

إِتيانُه متعلقٌ بذهابهِ

Friend, every pleasure that is gained—

Its coming is bound to its passing.

كيف اغتُرارُك بالزّمان وقد تَرى

قُرب اتّصال عماره بخرابهِ

How can you trust time so blindly, when you see

How closely its flourishing borders on its ruin?

والمرءُ ما صحِبَ الزمانَ فإنهُ

مُتجرَّع من شُهدهِ أو صابهِ

As long as a man keeps company with time, he

Gulps down either its honey or its bitter sap.

والمُنْتهَى من بعد ذين إلى مَدى

يوم يريهِ القطْع من أسبابهِ

Beyond these two, the end lies at the limit

Of a day that shows him his ties cut off;

يومَ يريهِ الخلَّ من أعدائهِ

لوْ لم يسؤه الفقد من أحبابهِ

A day that reveals his bosom friend among his foes,

Even if the loss of his loved ones did not grieve him.

لو كانَ يعقلُ من طغى في نعمةٍ

لله كدَّرها حذارَ عذابهِ

Had he who transgresses amid a blessing any sense,

He would cloud that gift of God's for fear of His punishment.

هَلاَّ تفكر مُوقنٌ بسؤآله

يوم القيامة كيف ردُّ جوابهِ

Why does one certain he will be questioned not ponder

How he will give his answer on Resurrection Day?

الحمد لله الذي هو جاعلٌ

للضيق وسعاً يبْتغى من بابهِ

Praise be to God, who makes

Relief for distress, sought at His door.

يعيا الفتى بذنوبه وكأنَّهُ

لم يأتِ ذنباً قطَّ عند متابهِ

A man grows weary beneath his sins, yet it is as though

He had never committed a sin once he repents.

يا حبَّذا من تاب عند وجوده

عملَ المعاصي وهي من آرابهِ

How admirable is one who repents while still able to

Commit sins, though they remain among his desires.

كمتاب يعرب عندَ أحسنِ حاله

من دهرهِ ويسارهِ وَشبابهِ

Like Ya'rub's repentance when his condition was at its best,

In his life, his prosperity, and his youth.

هذا الطريقُ المستقيمُ وزُيِّنت

في نفسهِ التَقوى بحُسنِ إيابهِ

This is the straight path; and made beautiful

In his soul was piety, through his gracious return.

أنسَت بهِ سَمَد ولازم أهلهَا

فعلُ الصَّلاحِ لحّبهِ ومَهابهِ

Samad rejoiced in him, and its people were attended by

Righteous conduct, through love and awe of him.

بلدٌ يكونُ الدينُ في أشرافه

فالخيرُ عند مُجّنِبٍ لجنابهِ

A town where religion dwells among its nobles—

Goodness lies with one who stays by its precinct.

سامى أبو العرب الكَواكبَ نافذاً

في كل خطبٍ رائضاً لصِعابهِ

Abu al-Arab rivaled the stars in height, pressing onward

Through every crisis, taming its hardships.

المجدُ يُعربُ عن معاني يعرُبٍ

في الحاضرينَ بهِ وفي أغيابهِ

Glory speaks of Ya'rub's qualities,

Among those present with him, and in his absences.

مُتوشِح ثوبَ الجمال إذا اْحتبى

بهر الملا في الحفل المُتشابهِ

Wearing beauty's robe, when he sits with knees drawn up,

He dazzles the company in a gathering of peers.

معَ علمِهم أنَّ الرَّزانةَ والتُقى

والجودَ والمعروفَ حشوُ إهابهِ

Though they know that dignity and piety,

And generosity and kindness fill his very skin.

رُزق الجمالَ فَلو تطاول مُعجباً

لم تعجب الأقوامُ من إعجابهِ

He was granted beauty; were he to strut in self-admiration,

No people would wonder at his self-admiration.

لكنذَه رُزق التواضُعَ والنهى

والنسّكَ والأخلاصَ في محرابهِ

But he was granted humility and understanding,

And devotion and sincerity in his prayer niche.

وإذا أردتَ العلمَ منه فإنَّه

من أهل موضِعه ومن طلاَّبهِ

If you seek learning from him, he is

At home in its domain, and among its seekers.

طَوراً نراهُ مُذكراً لجليسه

حِكمَ الملوكِ وتارةً لكتابهِ

Sometimes we see him reminding his companion

Of kings' wisdom, and sometimes his scribes.

أهلُ الحجى والدّينِ من قُرنائهٍ

وأولو النُّهي والحقّ من أصحابهِ

Men of intelligence and religion are among his peers,

And men of reason and truth among his companions.

وإذا المؤمِّل زارَه لمُهمَّة

لم يلقهُ مُتوارياً بحجابه

When a hopeful petitioner visits him on important business,

He does not find him hiding behind his curtain.

وإِلى العتيك أبو المعالي ينتمي

وإلى ذرى قحطان من أسبابه

Abu al-Ma'ali traces his descent to al-'Atik,

And through his lineage to the heights of Qahtan.

وإِذا تفاخرت الملوكُ فإِنَّهُ

يعُلو ويسمو في عَزيزِ نصابهِ

When kings vie in boasting, he

Rises high and towers in his noble lineage,

بالأزْدِ أنصارِ النَّبي تفقَّهوا

في دينه وهُدوا بنورِ شهابهٍ

Through the Azd, the Prophet's helpers, who grew learned

In his religion, and were guided by his torch's light.

بَذلوا له أموالهَم ونفوسَهم

حتَّى اسْتقرَّ الحقَّ في أ ربابهِ

They gave him their wealth and their lives,

Until truth stood firm among its rightful holders.

فهُم الرؤوس لدى زمانهم إِذا

عُدُّوا وباقي الناس من أذنابه

They are the heads in their age when

Counted; the rest of mankind are its tails.

يا يعربُ ابنَ أبي المعمَّر يا أبا

العَرب المُنيف على عُلى أترابهِ

O Ya'rub, son of Abu al-Mu'ammar, O Abu

Al-Arab, towering above the heights of his peers!

ما أنتَ إلا البدُر عند تمامهِ

والبحرُ يزخرُ طامياً بعُبابهِ

You are none other than the moon at its fullness,

And the sea surging, swollen with its billows,

واللَّيثُ يزأر في عرينةِ غابهِ

والغيثُ يحري من متون سحابهِ

And the lion roaring in the lair of his thicket,

And rain streaming from the backs of its clouds.

فبقيتَ محروساً وعشتَ مسلمَّاً بهِ

في الدّهر مُغْتَبطاً مدى أحقابهِ

May you remain protected and live secure thereby,

Through time, rejoicing throughout its ages.

والعيد عاد عليكَ مسرورَاً بهِ

في حُسنِ حلْيتهِ وفي تَطيابهِ

And may the feast return to you, with you rejoicing in it,

In its lovely adornment and its sweet scents.

وإِليكها عذراءً ذات بدآئعٍ

كالدُّرِ منظوماً بِجيد كعابهِ

Take her, a virgin poem full of marvels,

Like pearls strung around his full-breasted maiden's neck.