تملأ من شوقي إليك جناني — Al Wargi

تَمَلأَّ مِنْ شَوقِي إليك جَنَانِي

فَهَلْ يبلغ المقصود مِنْكَ عِيانِي

My heart is filled with longing for you.

Will my sight attain what it seeks in you?

وهل تَمْسَح الأجفانَ موطيءَ أخمُصٍ

مَشَتْ مِنْ ذُرى العَليَا بِأي مَكَانِ

And will my eyelids wipe the footprint of an arched sole

that walked from the heights of exaltation, wherever it went?

وهل أنظُرنْ يَوماً بِقاعاً نَظرَتَهَا

بِعَينَيكَ أو مَرَّتْ بِهَا القَدمَانِ

And shall I ever behold places you beheld

with your own eyes, or where your two feet passed?

أمانِيُّ مَا بَعْدَ الرّضَا مِنْكَ بَعْدَهَا

لِذي صَفوَةٍ صُبَّتْ عَلَيهِ أمَانِي

Hopes beyond which, after your approval, there are no others

for a pure-hearted soul upon whom hopes have rained.

يُقَرّبُهَا مِنِّي رَجَاءٌ يُقِيمُنِي

وَيُقعِدنِي عنها شَحِيح زَمانِي

Hope draws them near me and makes me rise,

while my miserly time keeps me seated far from them.

إذا انْبعَثتَ مِنْ جانِب الغَرب رِفقةً

لِنَحْوكَ هَمَّ القَلْبُ بِالطَيَران

When a caravan sets out from the western side

toward you, my heart yearns to fly.

وَقَلَّبْتُ طَرفاً جَاريَ الرفع ماله

بِقيمة طَرْف لِلجُنُوحِ يَدَان

And I turned a gaze that raced upward, but it had no

means to pay a steed's price and set out.

وَلَو أمكنت مَا بِتُّ إلاَّ مُعَانِقاً

بِسَاحَة فَتْح الله حُمرَ هِجَان

Were it possible, I would spend my nights only embracing

in the square of Fath Allah, red thoroughbred camels.

أحَدّثُهَا عَجْمَاء عَنْ طِيب نُجْعَتِي

فَتُصْغِي وَلاَ تَعْيَا مِنَ الوَخَذَان

I tell her, a speechless beast, of the sweetness of my quest;

she listens, never tiring of her swift trot.

وتُصْبِح كَالإمْسَاء فِي كُلّ مَنْزل

تُقَصِّر طُولَ الخَطْو بِالنَّزَوَان

At every stage her morning is like her evening:

she makes the long march short with bounding leaps.

وَتَخْتَصر التوْديعَ منْ قَبْل رَادِس

لِتنزِلَ مِنْ بَعدِ عَلَى صَلَتَانِ

And she cuts farewells short before Radis,

to alight afterward at Salatan.

إذا أبصَرَتْ قَصْرَ الفَلاَحِينَ لاَئِحاً

فَفِي المَحرِسِ التْعريسُ بَعْدَ ثَمَانِ

When she sees Qasr al-Fallahin appearing,

her night's halt is at al-Mahris after eight.

وإنْ قَابَلَتْهَا قابُسٌ أودَنَتْ لَهَا

طَرابُلُسٌ مَرَّتْ بِغَيرِ عِنَانِ

And if Gabes meets her, or there draws near to her

Tripoli, she passes without a rein,

لِتَطوي إلَى مِصْرَ مَنَازِلَ بَعضُهَا

لِبَعْضٍ وَإنْ طَالَ المَدَى مُتَدانِ

to traverse the stages to Egypt, some of them

close to others, however long the distance.

تَقُولُ فَمَا فِي البِرْكَةِ الآنَ مَبْرَكٌ

يَطِيبُ وَقَلبِي لِلبُويْبِ دَعَانِي

She says, 'At al-Birka now there is no kneeling-place

that pleases me, for my heart has called me to al-Buwayb.

وَلاَ فِي رُبا الخضْراءِ يَثْبُتُ مَنسِمِي

وَلاَ في القِبابِ يَسْتَقِرُّ جِرَانِي

Nor will my hoof stay on the hills of al-Khadra,

nor at al-Qibab will my neck rest.

وَشَوقِي لِبِئْرِ النخل من قَبلِ إيلَة

وَقُرْبِي لِقُرّ زَادَ فِي هَيَمَانِي

My longing for Bir al-Nakhl, before Ayla,

and my nearness to Qurr have increased my lovesick wandering.

كَأنِّي إذا جِئتُ المَغَارَةَ حَالِمٌ

لَهُ النبْكُ وَالأقصَابُ يَلتَقِيانِ

When I reach al-Maghara, I am like a dreamer

for whom al-Nabk and al-Aqsab meet.

فَمَا لِي وَلِلحَورَاءِ يَنْبُعُ دَمْعُهَا

وَدَمْعِي بِذاتِ الدَّهْنَوَينِ ثَوَانِ

What have I to do with al-Hawra, whose tears well up,

while my tears linger at Dhat al-Dahnawayn?

أحِنُّ إلَى مَرْآى حُنَيْنٍ وَمَقْصَدِي

مَبَادَرَتِي بَدراً بِغَيرِ تَوانٍ

I yearn for the sight of Hunayn, and my aim is

to hasten to Badr without delay.

لَعَلِّي أرَى مِنْ رَابِغِ بَعْدَ بَزوةٍ

وَبِئرِ عَلِي عَزمَةَ المُتوانِي

Perhaps I shall see from Rabigh, after Bazwa

and Bir Ali, the laggard's resolve.

فَأخلُصُ مِنْ وادِي السَّوِيقِ وَعَسْفِهِ

إلَى مَجمَعِ الخَلصَا إلَى عَسَفَانِ

Then I escape Wadi al-Sawiq and its hardship,

to the junction of al-Khalsa, to Usfan.

وَمِنَ بَطنِ مُرَّ وَالمَسَاجِدُ دُونَهَا

بُيُوتٌ إلى البَيْتِ العَتِيقِ دَوَانِ

And from Batn Marr, with mosques on the nearer side,

dwellings lie close to the Ancient House.'

مَنَازِلُ لِلإسْعَادِ لاَ غَيرُ كُونَتْ

كَفَتْنَا عَنِ الشَّرْطَيْنِ وَالدَّبَرَانِ

Stages created for felicity alone,

they have spared us al-Sharatayn and Aldebaran.

بَلَغْنَا بِهَا لاَ بِالسَّماكَينِ مَطمَحاً

بِهِ الوَحْيُ وَالإرْسَالُ يَلتَقِيانِ

Through them, not the two Simaks, we have reached a goal

where revelation and messengership meet.

مَزَارٌ يَرُوحُ الزَّوْرُ مِنْهُ بِمَا أتَوا

لَهُ مِنْ مِنىً عُظْمَى وَعقد أمَانِ

A shrine whose visitors depart with what they came

for: great hopes and a pledge of safety.

إذا مَا أفَاضُوا مُصدِرِينَ وَمَسَحُوا

بِأيمَانِهِم منْ أسوَدٍ وَيَمَنِي

When they stream away, homeward bound, and have touched

with their right hands the Black Stone and the Yemeni Corner,

دَعَتْهُمْ إلَى الإقلاعِ كُدمٌ مُسِنةٌ

تَخَيّرَهَا العَرَّافُ غَيْرَ سِمَانِ

dark, mature camels call them to set out,

chosen by the expert, not fat ones.

تُبَاري مَهَبَّ الرّيِحِ إن قِيلَ طَيبَةٌ

وَتُذرِي عَلَى الأطوَاقِ عِقدَ جُمَانِ

They race the blowing wind when Tayba is named,

and scatter a necklace of pearls over their neckbands.

أمِن طَرَبٍ تَبكِي وَحَقَّ لِصَخرَةٍ

تَكُونُ كَذا فَضلاً عنِ الحَيَوانِ

Is it from ecstasy that she weeps? Even a rock would rightly

be like this, let alone a living creature.

لِذاكَ تَرَى الرَّكْبَ المُجِدّينَ نَحوَهَا

يَخُوضُونَ في بَحرٍ منَ الغَشيانِ

Thus you see the riders hastening toward her,

wading in a sea of swooning.

سَكَارَى وَلَكِنْ بِالحَبِيبِ وَذِكرِهِ

جَرَى طَرَبُ الجِريَالِ فِي الشَّرَيَانِ

Drunk, but with the Beloved and remembrance of him;

the rapture of red wine courses through their arteries.

فَكَيفَ إذا قَامُوا وَمِنْ دُونِ قَبرِهِ

إذا حُرّرَ التقْدِيِرُ قَيدَ بَنَانِ

How, then, when they stand, and between them and his grave—

if precisely measured—is a fingertip's breadth?

هُناكَ فَحَدَثْ كَيفَ شِئْتَ عنِ الذي

تَراهُ فَإنِّي مَا ارتَضَيتُ بَيَانِي

There, tell as you wish of what

you see; for I am not satisfied with my own expression.

وَلاَ لَومَ إنْ أفحِمْتَ مِثْلِي فَإنهَا

مَعَانٍ تُكِلُّ الفِكرَ إثرَ مَعَانِ

Nor is there blame if, like me, you are silenced, for these are

meanings upon meanings that weary thought.

إذا مَدَحَتْهُ الآيُ قَبلِي فما عَسَى

يُخَمِّنُ قَلبِي أو يَقُولُ لِسانِي

If the Qur'anic verses praised him before me, what could

my heart conjecture, or my tongue say?

حِمَاكَ رَسُولَ اللهِ يَقبَلُ لاجِئاً

أقَامَتْ لَهُ الأيامُ سُوقَ طِعَانِ

Your sanctuary, Messenger of God, receives a refugee

for whom the days have set up a market of spear-thrusts.

إلَى أين إنْ أغلَقْتَ بَابَكَ دُونَنَا

وَحَاشَاكَ أنْ يُؤذَى بِعِرضِكَ جَانِي

Where could we go if you shut your door against us?

And far be it from you that an offender be harmed under your protection.

أمَا إنَّكَ المَبْعُوثُ لِلخَلقِ رَحمَةً

فَلَستُ إذا مَا كُنتَ لِي بِمهَانِ

Surely you are the one sent as mercy to creation,

so, if you stand by me, I am not abased.

وَمن شرْعكَ المَحمُودِ أنْ نُخلص الدُّعا

لِذِي الأمرِ في حُبّ وَفِي شَنَآنِ

And part of your praiseworthy law is that we pray sincerely

for the holder of authority, in love and in hatred.

وَهَذا عَلِيُّ بنُ الحُسَينِ كَمَا تَرَي

بِذِكرِكَ مَشغُولٌ بِكُلّ أوانِ

And here is Ali ibn al-Husayn, as you see,

occupied with remembering you at every moment.

يُعَامِلُ مِنْ جَرَّاكَ أمَّتَكَ التِي

تُوصّي بِهَا خَيْراً بِكُلّ حَنَانِ

For your sake he treats your community, which

you urge should be treated well, with all tenderness.

وَيَروي أحَادِيثاً إلَيكَ استِنَادُهَا

لِتَجزِيهِ خَيراً عَنْ فلٍ وَفُلاَنِ

And he narrates traditions whose authority goes back to you,

that you may reward him well on behalf of this man and that.

وَلاَ تُلهِهِ الأشغَالُ عنْ نَشرِ طَيهَا

صِحَاحٍ عَلَى طُولِ المَدَى وَحِسَانِ

Nor do duties distract him from unfolding what lies folded in them:

sound traditions and good, through the long span of time.

وَلَكِنَّ فِي الجَعْفِي مِنْهُ مَحَبةً

تُخلِصٌُ مِنْ ضِيقٍ وَمَسّ هَوَانِ

Yet he has a love for al-Ju'fi

that frees one from distress and the touch of humiliation.

كَمَا أنهُ لَما بَنَى القُبَّةَ التي

أجَادَ لَهَا الإحْسَانَ خَيْرَ مَكَانِ

Just as, when he built the dome for which

he perfected his good work in the finest place,

حَمَى وَطْأهَا إلاَّ بِخَتْمِ صَحِيحِهِ

بِإخلاَصِ نِياتٍ وَبَثَ مَثَانِي

he barred entry to it except with a full reading of his Sahih,

with sincere intentions and the spreading of oft-repeated verses.

فَكَانَ ابْتِداءُ الخَتمِ بَدْءَ دُخُولِهَا

وَكَانَ بِلَيلِ القَدرِ فِي رَمَضَان

Thus the start of the reading was the beginning of entry into it,

and it was on the Night of Decree, in Ramadan.

وَأنْتَ بِهَا يَا أكْرَمَ الخَلقِ حَاضِرٌ

تُشَاهِدُ مَا يَأتِي بِهِ الثقَلاَنِ

And you are present there, O noblest of creation,

witnessing what humankind and jinn bring.

عَسَى نَفْحَةً مِنْ فَيضِ فَضلْكَ تحتَوي

وَتَشْمَلُ هَذا الجَمْعَ بِالسَّرَيَانِ

May a breath from the overflow of your grace embrace

and enfold this gathering as it spreads,

فَيَرْجِعُ رَاوٍ لِلحَدْيثِ وَسَامِعٌ

وَمُنْبِي بمَا يَشْفِي الغَليلَ وَبَانِي

so a narrator of traditions and a listener may return,

and a teller of what quenches yearning, and a builder.

عَلَيكَ صَلاَةُ اللهِ ثُمَّ سَلاَمُهُ

وَذَلِكَ طُراً ما التَوى المَلَوَان

Upon you be God's blessing, then His peace,

and all of that, as long as night and day entwine.