بعد الصباح الذي ودعتكم فيه — Alarjani

بعد الصّباحِ الّذي ودَّعتُكُم فيهِ

لم أَلْقَ للدَّهْرِ صُبْحاً في لَياليهِ

After the morning in which I bade you farewell,

I found no dawn in time's nights.

قد كان أَوَّلَ صُبْحٍ بعْدَ عَهْدِكمُ

مضَى ولم تَكْتَحلْ عَيْني بثانيه

There was a first dawn after my time with you;

it passed, and my eye never wore a second as kohl.

فالدَّهرُ بعْدَكمُ لَيْلٌ أُلابِسُه

والعَيشُ دُونكمُ هَمٌّ أُقاسيه

For time without you is a night I inhabit,

and life without you is a sorrow I endure.

قد كِدْتُ أخْتِمُ طَرْفي وَحْشةً لكُمُ

عن كلِّ خَلْقٍ من الدُّنْيا أُلاقيه

I have almost sealed my eye, lonely for you,

against every creature in this world I meet.

لكنّما يتَلقّاني خيالُكمُ

في النّاسِ من كُلِّ مَنْ باللّحْظِ أَرميه

Yet your image comes to meet me

in every person among the people at whom I cast a glance.

قد صَوَّر الوهْمُ في عَيْني مِثالَكمُ

من طُول ما أَنا بالذِّكْرَى أُراعيه

Imagination has fashioned your likeness in my eye,

from how long I have watched over it in remembrance.

فكُلُّ ناظرِ إنسانٍ أُقابلُه

أَرَى خيالَكُمُ من ناظري فيه

Thus, in every human eye I face,

I see your image, reflected from my own eye.

يَلومني في هوى الأحبابِ كُلُّ فتىً

سَهْمُ الصّبابةِ يُصْميني ويُخْطيه

Every youth reproaches me for loving my loved ones—

love's arrow strikes me dead and misses him.

يَعيبُني في الهوَى بَغْياً ويَعذُلني

وإنَّما يَبْتليني مَنْ يُعافيه

He faults my love unjustly and reproaches me;

yet the one who afflicts me is the one who spares him.

تَكْليفُك الصّبَّ صَبْراً عن أَحِبّته

قولٌ يُعنّيهِ فيما ليس يَعْنيه

Your demanding that the lovesick endure without his loved ones

is talk that troubles him about what does not concern him.

أَقِلَّ من عذَلٍ تَلْقَى المشَوقَ بهِ

فقَلبُه بسهامِ اللّوْمِ تَرْميه

Lessen the reproach with which you greet the yearning lover:

you shoot his heart with arrows of blame.

والمرءُ مثْلُ نفوذِ السّهْمِ من يَدِه

إلى القلوبِ نُفوذُ السّهْمِ مِن فِيه

As a man's arrow flies piercingly from his hand,

so the arrow from his mouth pierces hearts.

دَعْ عنك قلبي فإنَّ الحُبَّ آمِرُه

أَضعافَ ما أَنت بالتّثْريبِ ناهيه

Leave my heart alone, for love commands it

many times more strongly than your reproaches forbid it.

إنّي لأشكرُ إلْفي في تَباعُدهِ

وطالما كنتُ أَشكو في تَدانيه

Indeed, I thank my beloved for his distance,

though I long used to complain when he was near.

إذا أَعَلَّنيَ الأشواقُ عَلّلَني

منه خيالٌ يُسرّي الهَمَّ ساريه

When longings make me ill, I am soothed

by a vision of him, wandering by night to dispel sorrow.

يُزهَى على البُعدِ طَرْفي حينَ يَطْرُقه

من عندِ أَحبابهِ طَيْفٌ يُوافيه

Despite the distance, my eye grows proud when it is visited

by a phantom arriving from its loved ones,

كما زهَتْ أَصفهانٌ إذْ ألَمَّ بها

مُؤيّدُ المُلْكِ فاهتزَّتْ من التيه

as Isfahan grew proud when it was visited

by Mu'ayyid al-Mulk, and swayed with pride.

كعارضِ يَسْبِقُ الإيماضَ وابلُهُ

إذا تَعرّضَ للمعروف راجيه

He is like a raincloud whose downpour precedes its lightning,

whenever one hoping for bounty comes forward.

ويَكْشِفُ الهَوْلَ في الهَيْجا إذا شَرَعتْ

يَمينُهُ ماضياً فيها يَمانيه

And he dispels terror in battle whenever

his right hand thrusts his keen Yemeni sword into it.

ماضٍ على سَنَنِ التحقيقِ يَنْصُرُه

فلا يُرَى عنده سُوقٌ لِتَمْويه

He advances along the path of truth, upholding it,

and no market for deceit is found with him.

في كَفِّه قَلمٌ تَلْقاهُ مُنْصَلتاً

يَجْري القَضاءُ مُجدّاً في مَجاريه

In his palm is a pen you find unsheathed;

decree moves diligently through its channels.

إذا انْثنَى ساجِداً نحْوَ الكتابِ له

يوماً فلا مَلِكٌ إلاّ ويَحكيه

Whenever it bows in prostration toward the page for him,

on any day, there is no king who does not imitate it.

وإنْ بدا غائصاً في بَحْرِ أنْمُله

ألْقَى إلى الطِّرْسِ من أسْنَى لآليه

And when it appears diving into the sea of his fingertips,

it casts upon the parchment some of its most splendid pearls.

يا مَنْ تَوحَّدَ في الدُّنْيا برُتْبتِه

منَ الجَلالِ فلا خُلْقٌ مُدانيه

O you who stand alone in this world in your rank

of majesty, with no character matching yours.

سِواكَ مَنْ باتَ حَرْبُ الدَّهرِ تُقْلقُه

إذا دهَتْه وسِلْمُ الدّهرِ يُطْغيه

Others than you are shaken by time's warfare

when it strikes them, and made arrogant by its peace.

أنت الّذي لم يَنَلْ نَقْصاً بعُطْلَتِه

من حيثُ ما زادَهُ فَخْراً تَحلِّيه

You are the one who lost no stature when unadorned,

since adornment had added nothing to your glory.

فمَنْ يُبلِّغُها السُّلطانَ مَاْلُكَةً

يَسْعى بها مِن مَواليه مُواليه

Who, then, will convey this message to the Sultan,

a loyal supporter carrying it from among his retainers,

بحيثُ يَعْقِدُ منه تاجَهُ قَسَماً

يَظلُّ في الصِّدقِ خافيهِ كباديه

there swearing an oath by his crown,

remaining as true inwardly as outwardly:

لأنتَ حقّقْتَ من تَثْبيتِ دَوْلتِه

ما لم تكُنْ تَقْدِرُ الأحلامُ تَحْكيه

You indeed achieved, in securing his dynasty,

what dreams could never have pictured.

ما المُلْكُ يَومئذٍ لولا مؤيدهُ

إلاّ بعُرْضةِ مَن قد جاء يَبْغيه

The realm that day, but for its supporter, was nothing

but exposed to anyone who came to seize it.

غابٌ أُصيبَ أبو شِبلَيْهِ فاخْتلَفا

فاستأْسدَ الذّئبُ حتّى كادَ يأْويه

A thicket: its two cubs' father was struck down, and they quarreled;

so the wolf grew lion-bold and nearly made it his refuge.

فلو تأخَّر عن تأييدهِ نَفَساً

لكان مِن ذاك ما أعْيا تَلافيه

Had he delayed supporting it even for a breath,

what followed would have been beyond repair.

برأيهِ قام يَحْميهِ ورايته

وكان عاليه أمضَى مِنْ عَواليه

He rose to protect it with his counsel and his banner,

and his lofty counsel was keener than his spearpoints.

حتّى إذا تَمَّ الفَتْحُ من يَدِه

للمُلْكِ أصْغَى إلى ما قالَ واشيه

But when victory was accomplished by his hand

for the realm, the ruler heeded his slanderer's words.

وكان كالمُنتضي للحَرْبِ صارِمَه

فإذْ تقَضَّتْ رأى إغْمادَ ماضيه

He was like one who draws his keen sword for war,

then, when it ends, decides to sheath his sharp blade.

إنْ نَفَّذوا دونَه أَمراً فلا عَجَبٌ

مَنْ يُعْملُ السّيفَ حيثُ السَّوطُ يَكْفيه

If they carry out a matter without him, it is no wonder:

who employs a sword where a whip suffices?

هذا زَمانٌ على ما فيه مِن كَدَرٍ

يَحكي انْقِلابُ لَياليه بأهْليه

This age, for all the murk within it,

in the way its nights overturn its people, resembles

غديرَ ماءٍ تَراءى في أسافِلِه

خَيالُ قَومٍ قيام في أعاليه

a pool of water in whose depths appears

the reflection of people standing above it:

فالرِّجْلُ تُبصَرُ مَرْفوعاً أَخامِصُها

والرّأسُ يُوجَدُ مَنْكوساً نَواصيه

the foot is seen with its arches raised,

and the head is found with its forelocks inverted.

هذا على أنّ أَمراً غيْرَ مُحتَسَبٍ

كأنّنا بكَ في ذا الدَّهْرِ تُبديه

Even so, an unforeseen event—

it is as though we see you revealing it in this age.

صابِرْ زمانَكَ تَعْبُرْ عنكَ شِدَّتُه

وأَمهلِ الرَّنْقَ يَخْلُصْ منه صافيه

Bear patiently with your age, and its hardship will pass you by;

give the murk time, and its clear water will emerge.

فاللّيلُ إنْ أَنت لم تَعجَلْ وإنْ مطَلَتْ

ظَلْماؤه فلَهُ صُبْحٌ يُجلِّيه

For night—if you are not hasty, though long may linger

its darkness—has a dawn that dispels it.

لو أَمكنَ الدّهرَ أَن يَبقَى على نَسَقٍ

ما زال باديه حتّى جاءَ تاليه

If time could remain in one unchanging pattern,

its first state would not have vanished to make way for the next.

فانْهَضْ إلى الأملِ المطلوبِ مُعْتزماً

نُهوضُ مثْلك يَقْرُبْ منكَ قاصيه

Rise resolutely toward the hope you seek;

the rising of one like you brings its distant goal near you.

ولا تَقولَنَّ إنَّ الدَّهرَ مُضْطَرِبٌ

فكيف فيه بمَقْصودٍ يُسَوّيه

And never say, "Time is unsettled,

so how can a sought goal within it be set straight?"

فالقوسُ مُذْ لم تزَلْ في خَلْقِها عِوَجٌ

والسَّهْمُ يَمضي سديداً في مَراميه

For the bow has always had a curve in its making,

yet the arrow flies straight to its targets.

يأبَى ضِياءُ شهابِ الدّينِ حينَ بدا

ألا يُضيءَ سَبيلَ الرُّشْدِ هَاديه

Shihab al-Din's radiance, once it appears, cannot fail

to light the path of right guidance as its guide.

وإنّما هو نُورُ اللهِ يُشْعِلُه

أنَّى بأفواهها الحُسّادُ تُطْفِيه

It is God's light, which He kindles;

how could the envious extinguish it with their mouths?

فِدىً عِداهُ لعَلْياهُ وقَلَّ له

كلُّ البَرِيَّةِ طُرّاً لو تُفَدِّيه

Let his foes be ransom for his eminence; too little for him

would all creation be, were it all to ransom him.

سَعْوا على مَجْدِه من كُلِّ ذي حَسَدٍ

يَظلُّ يَنْشُرهُ بَغْياً ويَطْويه

They worked against his glory, each one envious,

ever unfolding it in malice and folding it away.

ما كان يَخفَى عليه اليومَ مَوْضِعُه

لو كان بالأمسِ أمضَى العزْمَ مُمْضيه

His position today would not have been hidden from him,

had its executor carried out the resolve yesterday.

إنْ كان في الدَّهْرِ خَوْفٌ من تَقلُّبِه

فما لذي الحَزْمِ يُغْضي عَن أعاديه

If time holds fear because of its reversals,

why does the prudent man overlook his enemies?

وإنّما مَثَلُ الباغي وصاحبِه

كالنّارِ والشّمْعِ يُبْقيها لِتُفْنيه

The aggressor and his companion are only

like fire and wax: the wax keeps the fire alive to consume it.

بَقِيتَ يا ابْنَ نظامِ المُلْكِ تَخْلُفُه

في مَجْدِه ومَعاليه فتُحيِيه

May you live on, O son of Nizam al-Mulk, succeeding him

in his glory and noble deeds, and so reviving him.

ودُمْتَ والإخوةُ الزُّهْرُ الكرامُ معاً

كالبَدْرِ والشُّهْبِ يَعْنيها وتَعْنيه

And may you and your radiant, noble brothers remain together,

like the full moon and the stars: it cares for them, and they for it,

في طُولِ عُمْرٍ لكمْ مُدَّتْ أواخِرُه

وظلِّ مُلْكٍ بكمْ شُدَّتْ أواخيه

in a long life for you, its last days prolonged,

and the shade of a realm whose stakes are made fast through you.

ولا عدا المَرقَد المَسْعود سَاكِنُه

وَفْدٌ من المَلأ الأعلَى يُحَييه

And may the resting place whose inhabitant is blessed never be bypassed

by a delegation from the highest assembly, greeting him.

يَأْتيهِ من صلَواتِ اللهِ في مَدَدٍ

تَتْلو رَوائحَهُ منها غَواديه

It comes to him in a continuous supply of God's blessings,

its morning visits following its evening ones.

أصبحتُمُ دَوحة المجدِ الّتي شَرُفَتْ

حقيقةً لا بتَمْثيلٍ وتَشْبيه

You have become the great tree of glory that stands ennobled

in truth, not by metaphor or comparison.

أنتمْ فُروعٌ سَما في الأُفْقِ ناضرها

وذاكَ أصْلٌ رَسا في التُّرْبِ زاكيه

You are branches whose flourishing growth rises into the horizon,

and he is the root, its thriving stock anchored in the soil.

فَدُمْتُمُ بَعْدَهُ تُوجَدْ مَكارِمُه

مَدى الزّمانِ ولا تُفْقَدْ مَعاليه

May you endure after him, so his noble qualities remain

throughout all time, and his high deeds are never lost,

حتّى يكونَ أبوكمْ آيةً نُسِخَتْ

لَفْظاً وما نُسِجَتْ منه معانيه

until your father becomes a verse abrogated

in wording, while his meanings have not been woven from him.