نصيحكما فيما يقول مريب — Al Tughrai

نصيحُكما فيما يقولُ مُريبُ

وشأنُكما في اللائمينَ عجيبُ

Your adviser is suspect in what he says,

and your conduct among the reproachers is strange.

وإن الذي أسرفْتُما في ملامِهِ

بهِ من قِراعِ الحادثاتِ نُدوبُ

And indeed, the man you two have reproached so excessively

bears scars from battling calamities.

فما سَمْعُه للعاذِلاتِ بعُرضةٍ

ولا قلبُه للظاعنينَ جَنِيبُ

So his hearing is no target for reproaching women,

nor is his heart led captive by those departing.

إِذا ما أتيتُ الغَوْرَ غورَ تِهامة

تطَلَّعَ نحوي كاشِحٌ ورقيبُ

Whenever I come to the lowland, the lowland of Tihamah,

a secret enemy and a watcher peer toward me.

يقولون مَنْ هذا الغريبُ وما لَهُ

وفِيمَ أتانا والغريبُ مُريبُ

They say, “Who is this stranger, and what is his business?

Why has he come to us? A stranger is suspect.”

غَدا في بُيوتِ الحي ينشُدُ نِضْوَهُ

ونحن نرى أَنَّ المُضِلَّ كَذُوبُ

He went at dawn among the tribe's dwellings, seeking his spent mount,

and we think the man who has lost his beast a liar.

وهل أنا إلا ناشِدٌ في بُيوتِهم

فؤاداً به مما يُجِنُّ ندوبُ

Yet am I anything but a seeker, among their dwellings,

of a heart scarred by what it conceals?

وماذا عليهم أنْ يُلِمَّ بأرضهمْ

أخو حاجةٍ نائي المزارِ غريبُ

And what harm is it to them if their land is visited

by a man in need, a stranger whose home is far away?

وما راعَهمْ إلا شمائلُ ماجدٍ

طَروبٍ أَلا إنَّ الكريمَ طروبُ

Nothing startled them but the qualities of a noble man,

rapturous—indeed, a generous man is rapturous.

ولو نامَ بعضُ الحَيِّ أو غابَ ليلةً

لقرَّتْ عيونٌ واطمأنَّ جُنوبُ

Had some of the tribe slept or been away one night,

eyes would have found comfort, and sides rested easy.

خليليَّ بالجَرْعاءِ من أيمَن الحَمى

هل الجزعُ مرهومُ الرياضِ مَصُوبُ

My two friends, at al-Jar'a', to the right of the protected grounds,

is the valley bend, with its meadows, watered by drizzle and showers?

وهل نطفةٌ زرقاءُ ينقشها الصَّبَا

هنالك سَلسالُ المذاق شَروبُ

And is there a blue pool patterned by the east wind,

there, smooth to the taste and pleasant to drink?

فعهدي به والدهرُ أغيَدُ والهَوى

بماء صِباهُ والزمانُ قَشِيبُ

For I remember it when time was supple, and love

was fresh with the water of its youth, and the age was new.

وبالسَّفحِ مَوْشِيُّ الحدائقِ آهلٌ

وبالجِزْع مَوْلِيُّ الرياض غريبُ

On the slope, land embroidered with gardens is inhabited,

and at the valley bend, rain-renewed meadowland lies remote,

بأبطحَ مِعْشابٍ كأن نسيمَهُ

ثناءٌ لمجدِ المُلْكِ فيه نصيبُ

in a grass-rich streambed, whose breeze seems

like praise in which Majd al-Mulk has a share.

هو الأزهرُ الوضَّاحُ أَمّا مَهزُّه

فلَدْنٌ وأمّا عُودهُ فصليبُ

He is radiant and resplendent; his swaying stem

is supple, but his wood is hard.

ذَهوبٌ من العلياءِ في كلِّ مذهبٍ

وَهوبٌ لما يحوي عِداهُ نَهوبُ

He ranges through every path of lofty glory,

lavish with what he possesses, plundering his enemies.

يُشَيِّعُه في ما يرومُ فُؤادُه

إِذا خَانَ آراءَ الرِّجالِ قُلوبُ

His heart accompanies him in whatever he seeks,

when hearts betray men's plans.

منوعٌ لأطراف الممالك حافظٌ

جَمُوعٌ لأشتاتِ العَلاءِ كَسُوبُ

A staunch defender and guardian of the kingdoms' frontiers,

he gathers and wins glory's scattered parts.

أخو الحَزْمِ أَمّا الغورُ منه فإنَّه

بعيدٌ وأَمّا المستقَى فقريبُ

A man of resolve: his depth

is distant, but his wellspring is near.

يَنوبُ عن الأنواءِ فيضُ يمينهِ

ويُغني عن البيضاء حين تغيبُ

The flood of his right hand replaces the rain-bringing stars,

and makes up for the bright sun when it disappears.

ويرفَضُّ نُجْحَاً وعدُه لعُفَاتِه

وبعضُهمُ في ما يقولُ خَلوبُ

And his promise showers fulfillment upon his petitioners,

while some of them beguile in what they say.

مُدَبِّرُ مُلكٍ لا تني عَزَماتُه

إِذا ما ترامتْ بالخُطوبِ خُطُوبُ

A steward of a kingdom, whose resolutions never flag

when calamities cast up further calamities.

وحامِي ذمارٍ لا تزالُ جِيادُه

تحومُ على ثَغْر العِدَى وتلوبُ

And a defender of sacred trusts, whose steeds never cease

circling and roaming around the enemy's frontier.

بهِ انتعش المُلكُ المُضاعُ وأقبلتْ

توائبُه بعدَ الفواتِ تثوبُ

Through him the neglected kingdom revived, and back came

its fortunes, returning after they had been lost.

أقامَ عمودَ المُلك بالشرق وانثنى

إِلى الغربِ نَاءٍ حيثُ كان قَريبُ

He raised the pillar of kingship in the east, then turned

toward the west, distant where he once was near.

ولما سما للبغي ثانِيَ عِطْفِه

طَموعٌ لأقصَى ما يُرامُ طَلوبُ

And when a man rose in rebellion, turning his side in pride,

covetous, ever seeking the utmost one could seek,

وضَمَّ إِلى ظِلِّ اللواء عصابةً

مقاحيمَ تُدعَى باسمه فتُجيبُ

and gathered beneath the banner's shade a band

of headlong warriors, called in his name and answering,

وضاعتْ حقوقُ المُلك إِلّا أقلَّها

وكادتْ ظُنونُ الأولياءِ تَخِيبُ

and the kingdom's rights were lost, save the smallest part,

and the loyal supporters' hopes nearly failed,

وأيقظَ أبناءُ الضَّلالةِ فتنةً

تهالَكَ فيها مُخطِئٌ ومُصيبُ

and the sons of error awakened a civil strife

into which those in error and those in the right plunged headlong,

أُتِيحَ لها شَزْرُ المريرةِ مُقْدِمٌ

على الهَول مصحوبُ الجَنانِ مَهيبُ

there was set against it a man of tightly twisted resolve, bold

in the face of terror, with an unfailing heart, awe-inspiring.

سَرَى يطردُ الجُرْدَ العِتاقَ سواهِماً

ترامَى بها بعدَ السُهوبِ سُهوبُ

He rode by night, urging on the sleek thoroughbreds, gaunt,

as steppe after steppe flung them onward.

موارِقُ تمتاحُ الغبارَ وقد طَوى

شمائلَها طَيَّ الرداءِ لغُوبُ

Speeding forth, drawing up dust, while fatigue had folded away

their graces as a cloak is folded.

إِذا ما لبسنَ الليلَ طفلاً خلعْنَهُ

عليه ووَخْطُ الصُبحِ فيه مشيبُ

When they don the night in its infancy, they cast it off

upon him, with dawn's flecks in it like gray hair.

لها مصَّةُ الماء القَراحِ ونشطةٌ

من الروض والمرعَى أعمُّ خصيبُ

They have a sip of pure water and a plucked mouthful

from the meadows, though the pasture is abundant and fertile.

يؤُمُّ بها أرضَ العراق مُشَاوِرٌ

وقد عاثَ في السَّرْحِ المسَيَّبِ ذيبُ

A man who takes counsel leads them toward the land of Iraq,

while a wolf has ravaged the herd left to roam.

هجمنَ عليها بالقنابل والقَنَا

تَمُورُ على أكتافهن كعُوبُ

They charged upon it with squadrons and spears,

with spear-shaft joints swaying above their shoulders.

تعاسلنَ أطراف القُنيّ كأنها

جَرادٌ زهتها بالعَشِيِّ جَنُوبُ

The spear-tips quivered, as though they were

locusts swept up at evening by a south wind.

وفي سرعانِ الخيل رائِدُ نُصْرةٍ

له موطِيٌء أينَ استرادَ عَشيبُ

And in the horses' vanguard is a scout of victory,

for whom the ground is grassy wherever he scouts for pasture.

يَرُدُّ دبيبَ المارقين بوثبةٍ

وهل يتساوى وثبةٌ ودَبيبُ

He repels the renegades' creeping with a leap;

and can a leap and a crawl be equal?

أمرَّ لهم عقدَ المكيدةِ حازمٌ

بصيرُ بأدواءِ الخُطوب طبيبُ

A resolute man twisted tight for them the knot of stratagem,

a physician discerning the ailments of calamity.

تنام العِدَى من كيدهِ وهو ساهرٌ

وتفتُرُ عمَّا هَبَّ وهو دَؤُوبُ

The foes sleep, unaware of his cunning, while he keeps watch,

and flag at what he rises to meet, while he is tireless.

إِذا أضمروا كيداً تدلَّى عليهم

عليمٌ بأسرارِ الغُيوب لَبيبُ

When they conceal a plot, there descends upon them

a discerning man who knows the secrets of unseen things.

وما أُتِيَ المغرورُ فيمن برى له

من الحزمِ لولا ما جَناهُ شَعُوبُ

The deluded man would not have been undone by the man who faced him,

through resolve, had it not been for what Death wrought.

أرادَ وقد حاقَ الشقاءُ بجدِّهِ

مغالبةَ الأقدارِ وهي غلوبُ

He sought, though misery had encompassed his fortune,

to overpower the decrees of fate, though they ever prevail.

ولم يكن المقدارُ فيما علمْتُهُ

لِيُسْعَدَ عبداً أوبقَتْهُ ذُنوبُ

And fate, so far as I have known it,

was never to favor a servant whom sins had ruined.

سرى نحوَهُ الحَيْنُ المُتاحُ ودونَهُ

بِساطٌ لأيدي اليَعْمُلاتِ رحيبُ

His appointed doom traveled toward him by night, while before him lay

a broad carpet for the forelegs of fleet she-camels.

وعاجله المقدارُ من دون بغيه

وللبغي سيفٌ بالدماءِ خَضِيبُ

Fate overtook him short of his rebellious aim;

and rebellion has a sword dyed with blood.

ولم يَدْرِ أَنَّ العزَّ كان رِداؤُهُ

مُعَاراً إِلى أن خَرَّ وهو سليبُ

He did not know that might, his cloak, had been

borrowed, until he fell stripped bare.

وأُقسِمُ لولا يُمْنُ جَدِّك قُطِّعَتْ

رِقابٌ وعُلَّتْ بالدماءِ جُيوبُ

I swear, but for your blessed fortune, there would have been severed

necks, and robe-fronts soaked in blood.

هي الغمرةُ العظمى تجلَّتْ وأقلعتْ

برأيكَ إِذْ عمَّ القلوبَ وجيبُ

It was the greatest ordeal; it cleared and passed away

through your judgment, when pounding filled all hearts.

تقوض إِقلاعَ الجَهام فسادها

وقد كانَ يَهْمي وَدْقُهُ ويصُوبُ

Its havoc broke up like a rainless cloud dispersing,

though its rain had streamed and poured down.

أبُثُّكَ مجدَ المُلْكِ قولةَ صادقٍ

وكِذْبُ الفَتَى فيما يُحَدِّثُ حوبُ

I confide to you, Majd al-Mulk, a truthful man's words;

and a man's lying in what he relates is a sin.

أُراني لَقَىً لا أُنْتَضَى لِمُلِمَّةٍ

ولا أُرتَضَى للخطب حين ينُوبُ

I see myself discarded, never unsheathed for a crisis,

nor chosen for calamity when it comes.

يُثَبِّطنِي فضلي عن الغاية التي

يَخِفُّ إِليها جاهلٌ فيُصِيْبُ

My merit holds me back from the goal

toward which an ignorant man hastens and succeeds.

ويقصُرُ باعي أنْ ينالَ شظيّةً

من العِزِّ يزكو نَيْلُها ويَطيبُ

And my reach falls short of winning a fragment

of glory whose attainment is fruitful and sweet.

وهُلْكُ الفتى أن لا يُساءَ بسطوهِ

عدوٌ ولا يرجُو جَداهُ حبيبُ

A man's ruin is that his onslaught harms no

enemy, and no friend hopes for his bounty.

فهَبْ ليَ يوماً منك يُنْشَرُ ذِكْرُهُ

فأنتَ لما يرجو العُفاةُ وهوبُ

So grant me a day of your favor whose memory will spread;

for you freely grant what petitioners hope for.

وعِشْ سالماً طولَ الزمان فإِنما

بقاؤك زيَنٌ للزمان وطِيبُ

And live unharmed for all time, for indeed

your continued life is time's adornment and fragrance.

لنجمكَ في أفقِ المكارم رفعةٌ

وللريح في جوّ العلاءِ هُبوبُ

Your star rises high on the horizon of noble deeds,

and the wind blows in the sky of glory.