قولا له هل دار في حوبائه — Al Tohami

قولا لَهُ هَل دارَ في حَوبائِهِ

أَنَّ القُلوبَ تَجولُ حَولَ خِبائِهِ

Tell him, you two: has it crossed his heart

That hearts wander around his tent?

ريمٌ إِذا رَفَعَ السَتائِرَ بَينَنا

أَعشانيَ اللَألاءُ دونَ رُوائِهِ

A gazelle—when he lifts the curtains between us,

The brilliance dazzles me, veiling his beauty.

نمَّ الضِياءُ عَلَيهِ في غَسَقِ الدُجى

حَتّى كَأَنَّ الحُسنَ مِن رُقَبائِهِ

Light betrayed him in the depth of darkness,

As though beauty were one of his watchers.

أَهدى لَنا في النَومِ نَجداً كُلَّهُ

بِبُدُوره وَغُصونِهِ وَظِبائِهِ

In sleep he brought us all of Najd,

With its full moons, its boughs, and its gazelles.

وَسَفرنَ في جُنحِ الدُجى فَتَشابَهَت

بِاللَيلِ أَنجُم أَرضِهِ وَسَمائِهِ

And they unveiled themselves beneath night's wing, till alike were

By night, the stars of its earth and sky.

وَجَلا جَبيناً واضِحاً كالبَدرِ في

تَدويرِهِ وَبِعادِهِ وَضِيائِهِ

And he revealed a radiant brow, like the full moon in

Its roundness, its remoteness, and its light.

حَتّى كَأَنَّ سَنا الصَباحِ لِثامُهُ

وَمَضى الظَلامُ يَجُرُّ فَضلَ رِدائِهِ

Till morning's radiance seemed his veil,

And darkness departed, trailing the hem of its cloak.

وَالزَهرُ كالحَدقِ النَواعِسِ خامَرَت

نَوماً وَما بَلَغت إِلى استِقصائِهِ

And the flowers were like drowsy eyes that had entered

Sleep, but had not reached its furthest depths.

حَيّا بِكاسِ رُضابِهِ فَرَدَدُّتها

نَفسي فِداءُ رُضابِهِ وَإِنائِهِ

He greeted me with a cup of his sweet saliva; I returned it—

My soul a ransom for his sweet saliva and his cup!

وَرأى فَتىً لم يَبقَ غَيرُ غَرامِهِ

وَكَلامِهِ وَعِظامِهِ وَذَمائِهِ

And he saw a youth of whom nothing remained but his passion,

And his speech, his bones, and his last flicker of life.

قَلبي فِداؤكَ وَهوَ قَلبٌ لَم يَزَل

يُذكي شِهابَ الشَوقِ في أَثنائِهِ

My heart be your ransom—a heart that has never ceased

To kindle longing's flame within its folds.

جاوَرتُهُ شَرَّ الجِوارِ وَزُرتُهُ

لما حَلَلتُ فِناءَهُ بِفَنائِهِ

I was its worst neighbor, and I visited it

When I entered its courtyard, bringing its ruin.

حَرِّق سِوى قَلبي وَدَعه فَإِنَّني

أَخشى عَلَيكَ وَأَنتَ في سَودائِهِ

Burn all but my heart, and spare it, for I

Fear for you, dwelling in its black core.

فَمَتى أُجازي من هَويتُ بِهَجرِهِ

وَصُدودِهِ وَالقَلبُ من شُفعائِهِ

So when can I requite the one I love for his desertion

And rejection, while my heart is among his intercessors?

ما أَبصَرَت عَينايَ شَيئاً مونِقاً

إِلّا وَوَجهِكَ قائِمٌ بإِزائِهِ

My eyes have never seen anything lovely

Without your face standing opposite it.

إِنّي لأَعجَبُ مِن جَبينِكَ كَيفَ لا

يُطفي لَهيبَ الوَجنَتَينِ بِمائِهِ

I truly marvel at your brow: how does it not

Quench the flame of both cheeks with its water?

لا يُطمعنَّك نورُ كَوكَبِ عامِرٍ

فَوَراءُ قُربِ سَناهُ بِعدُ سَنائِهِ

Do not let the light of ʿAmir's star entice you:

For behind its near radiance lies its far-off eminence.

حَتّى سُيوفٌ رِجالِهِ وَهيَ القَضا

أَشوا جِراحاً مِن عُيونِ نِسائِهِ

Even its men's swords—and they are doom itself—

Inflict lighter wounds than its women's eyes.

لِلَهِ عَزمٌ مِن وَراءِ تِهامَةٍ

نادى فَثرتُ مُلَبِياً لِندائِهِ

God bless the resolve that, from beyond Tihamah,

Called; I sprang up, answering its call,

حَتّى ظفَرتُ مِنَ المُظَفَّرِ بِالمُنى

عَفواً وتهتُ عَلى الزَمانِ التائِهِ

Until I gained from al-Muzaffar all I wished,

Freely, and rose proudly above arrogant Time,

بِمُهَذَّبٍ لَولا صَفيحَةُ وَجهِهِ

لَجَرى عَلى الخَدَّينِ ماءَ حَيائِهِ

Through a refined man: but for the surface of his face,

The water of his modesty would stream down both cheeks.

لا خَلقَ أَعظَمُ مِنهُ عِندي مِنَّة

إِلّا زَماناً جادَ ليَ بِلِقائِهِ

No creature has done me a greater favor than he,

Except Time, which generously let me meet him.

يُنبيكَ رَونَقُ وَجهِهِ عَن بِشرِهِ

وَالسَيفُ يُعرَفُ عِتقَهُ في مائِهِ

His face's radiance tells you of his cheer;

And a sword's nobility is known by its sheen.

سَمحَ الخَليقَةِ وَالخَلائِق وَجهَهُ

بِشرٌ يُبَشِّرُ وَفدَهُ بِعَطائِهِ

Generous in nature and character, his face is

Good cheer promising his visitors his bounty.

زانَ الرِئاسَةَ وَهيَ زَينٌ لِلوَرى

فازدادَ رَونَقُ وَجهِها بِعَلائِهِ

He adorned leadership, itself an adornment to mankind;

So its face shone still brighter through his eminence.

كالدُرِّ يَحسِنُ وَحدَه وَبَهاؤهُ

في لِبَّةِ الحَسناء ضِعفُ بَهائِهِ

Like a pearl, beautiful alone, whose splendor

Doubles at a beautiful woman's throat.

ما زالَ يَطرُدُ مالَهُ بِنَوالِهِ

حَتّى حَسِبنا المالَ مِن أَعدائِهِ

He kept driving his wealth away through giving,

Until we thought wealth one of his enemies.

يَبني مَآثِرَهُ وَيَهدِمُ مالَهُ

وَالمَجدُ ثالِثٌ هَدمِهِ وَبِنائِهِ

He builds his lasting honors and tears down his wealth;

And glory is the third beside his demolishing and building.

وَتَرى العُلاء يَحفُّه لِيمينه

وَشِمالِهِ وَأَمامهِ وَوَرائِهِ

And you see eminence surrounding him on his right,

And on his left, before him, and behind him.

وَتَرى لَهُ حُلماً أَصَمَّ وَنائِلاً

نَدُساً يُجيبُ الوَفدَ قَبلَ دُعائِهِ

And you see his forbearance, deaf to offense, and his bounty,

Keenly alert, answering visitors before they call.

مَن لِلكِرامِ بِأَن تَرى أَبواعَهُم

كَذِراعِهِ وَمَديحَهُم كَهِجائِهِ

Who can grant the noble that their armspans be reckoned

As his forearm, and praise of them as satire of him?

هَيهاتَ يَشرَكُهُ الوَرى في مَجدِهِ

أَبَداً وَإِن شَرَكوهُ في أَسمائِهِ

Far be it that mankind should share his glory,

Ever, though they share his names.

حُلو الثَناءِ مُمدَّحٌ يُلهيكَ عَن

حُسنِ الثَنايا الغُرُّ حُسنُ ثَنائِهِ

Sweetly praised, much extolled—you are distracted from

The beauty of gleaming teeth by the beauty of his praise.

نَطَقَ العِداةُ بِفَضلِهِ لُظُهورِهِ

كُرهاً وَقَد حَرِصوا عَلى إِخفائِهِ

His enemies proclaimed his excellence, so manifest it was,

Unwillingly, though they had striven to conceal it.

لَمّا تَزايَدَ في العُلوِّ تَواضُعاً

لِلَّهِ زادَ اللَهُ في إِعلائِهِ

When, in his eminence, he grew more humble

Before God, God exalted him still further.

يَعِدُ الفَتى الصَيادي إِلى مَعروفِهِ

بالرَيِّ ماء حُبابِهِ وَحِبائِهِ

The youth al-Sayyadi, seeking his kindness, is promised

Refreshment by his bubbling water and his gifts.

إِن حَلَّ حَلَّ الجود في أَفنائِهِ

أَو سار سارَ النَصرُ تَحتَ لِوائِهِ

If he settles, generosity settles in his courtyards;

Or if he marches, victory marches beneath his banner,

بِعَساكِرٍ مِن جُندِهِ وَعَساكِرٍ

مِن بَأسِهِ وَعَساكِرٍ مِن رائِهِ

With armies of his troops, and armies

Of his valor, and armies of his judgment.

يُخفي النَوالَ بِجَهدِهِ فَيُذيعُهُ

وَإِماتَةُ المَعروفِ مِن إِحيائِهِ

He strives to hide his gifts, and thereby spreads their fame;

And putting kindness to death is a way of giving it life.

وَكَأَنَّما في كُلِّ مَنبَتِ شَعرَةٍ

مِن جِسمِهِ قَلبٌ لَفَرَطَ ذَكائِهِ

And it is as though at the root of every hair

On his body there were a heart, so great is his intelligence.

سَلبَت خَلائِقُهُ الرِياضَ أَريجَها

وَالماءَ طيبَ مَذاقِهِ وَصَفائِهِ

His virtues robbed the gardens of their fragrance,

And water of its sweet taste and clarity.

أَعدى أَنابيبَ اليَراع بِفَهمِهِ

وَنَفاذِهِ فمَضَينَ مِثلَ مَضائِهِ

He infected reed-pen shafts with his understanding

And his penetration, so they cut as keenly as he.

إِنَّ المَخالِبَ في يَدي ليثِ الشَرى

تَمضي وَتَنبو في يَمينِ سِوائِهِ

Indeed, claws in the paws of al-Shara's lion

Pierce, but glance off in another's right hand.

يُرضي الكَتيبَةَ وَالكِتابَةَ وَالنَدى

بِفعالِهِ وَمَقالِهِ وَسَخائِهِ

He satisfies the army, letters, and generosity

With his deeds, his speech, and his largesse.

يَجلو الخطابَة وَالخُطوبَ بِكَفِّهِ

قَلَمٌ يُرَجّى الرِزقَ في أَثنائِهِ

In his hand it polishes oratory and banishes calamities—

A pen within whose folds one hopes for sustenance.

وَكَتيبَةٍ قَرأت مِنكَ فانفضَّ

ت كَما فَضَّت خِتام سِحائِهِ

And many a battalion read a letter from you and scattered,

Just as it broke the seal of its wrapping.

لما تَأمَّل ما حَواهُ كَمَيُّهُم

رَقَصَت بَناتُ الرُعبِ في أَحشائِهِ

When their armored champion pondered what it contained,

The daughters of terror danced within his entrails.

وَكَأَنَّ أَسطُرَهُ خَميسُ عَرمومٍ

وَهِلالُ رايَتِهِ استدارَةُ رائهِ

And its lines seemed a vast, mighty army,

And its banner's crescent was the curve of its rāʾ.

كَذِبَ المَبخِّل لِلزَّمانِ وَأَنتَ من

جَدوى أَنامِلِهِ وَمِن إِهدائِهِ

He who calls Time miserly lies, when you are among

Its fingertips' bounties and its gifts.

زانَ البِلادَ وَأَهلَها بِكَ فاستَوى ال

أَمواتُ وَالأَحياءُ في آلائِهِ

It adorned the lands and their people with you, making equal

The dead and the living in its blessings.

أَمِنَ الزَمانُ وَإِن أَساءَ مَلامَتي

أَلَومُ دَهراً أَنتَ مِن أَبنائِهِ

Time is safe from my blame, even when it does ill:

Shall I blame an age whose son you are?

فاسلَم وَعِش لِلمُلكِ مَوصولِ البَقا

فَلِلَهُ يَحفَظُهُ وَحيدُ سَمائِهِ

So remain safe, and live for the kingdom, your life unbroken;

And its heaven's peerless one guards it for God,

ما سَحَّ مزنٌ دفعة في رَوضَةٍ

وَتَضاحَكَت في صَوِّها بِبُكائِهِ

As long as a raincloud pours a shower upon a garden,

And it laughs in its parched ground at the cloud's weeping.