قلب المشوق بأن يساعد أجدر — Alarjani

قلب المشوقِ بأن يساعدَ أجْدَرُ

فإذا عَصاهُ فالأحِبّةُ أعذرُ

The lovesick one's heart ought most to aid him;

if it defies him, his beloveds have more excuse.

لا طالَبَ اللّهُ الأحِبّةَ إنّهم

نامُوا عن الصّبِّ الكئيب وأسهَروا

May God not call the beloveds to account, for they

slept heedless of the grieving lover and kept him awake.

هجَروا وقدَ وصَّوا بهَجْري طيفهم

يا طيفُ حتّى أنت مِمَّنْ يَهْجُر

They deserted me and charged their phantom to desert me.

O phantom, even you are among those who forsake!

دونَ الخَيالِ ودونَ مَن تَشتاقُه

ليلٌ يطولُ على جفونٍ تَقْصُر

Between you and the phantom, and the one you yearn for,

lies a night that lengthens over eyelids that fall short.

وَمُخيِّمون معَ القطيعة إن دَنوا

هَجَروا وإن راحوا إلينا هَجَّروا

They camp beside estrangement: if they draw near,

they forsake us; if they come to us, they come at noon.

طاروا إلى شُعَبٍ وهم من قَبْلها

كانوا إذا سَمِعوا الرَّحيلَ تَطَيّروا

They flew to ravines, though before that

they used to dread the very mention of departure.

قَصروا الزّمانَ على صُدودٍ أو نوىً

والعُمْرُ من هذا وذلكَ أَقْصَر

They confined our time to coldness or separation,

yet life is shorter than either of these.

أرأيتَ يومَ الجِزعِ ما صنعوا بنا

والحَيُّ منهم مُنجِدٌ ومُغَوِّر

Did you see, on the day at al-Jiz‘, what they did to us,

their tribe bound, some for the uplands, some for the lowlands?

سَفَروا فلما عارضَ القومُ اتَّقوا

بمعاصمٍ وكأنّهم لم يَسفِروا

They unveiled; when the company drew alongside, they shielded themselves

with their wrists, as though they had never unveiled.

وغَدوا ومن عيني لهن منيحةٌ

تُمْرَي ومن قلبي وَطيسٌ يُسعَر

They left at dawn: my eye lent them a milch-beast

to be milked, and my heart a furnace stoked to flame.

أعقيلةَ الحيِّ المُطنَّب بيتُها

حيث القَنا من دُونها تَتكَسَّر

O noble lady of the tribe, whose tent is secured with ropes,

where spears shatter in her defense!

كَالبْدرِ إلاّ أنّها لا تُجتلَى

والظّبْيِ إلاّ أنّها لا تُذعَر

Like the full moon, except that she cannot be seen unveiled,

and like the gazelle, except that she cannot be startled.

أخْفَى إذا فارقتُ وجْهَكِ من ضنىً

فأدِقُّ عن دَرْكِ العيونِ وأَصغُر

When parted from your face, I fade through wasting illness,

growing too fine and small for eyes to perceive.

وأرى بنورِكِ كلّما أدنَيْتنِي

وكذا السّها ببناتِ نَعْشٍ يُبصَر

By your light I am seen whenever you draw me near,

as Suha is seen beside the Daughters of the Bier.

مَن زائري واللّيلُ أدهمُ صافِنٌ

ومُودّعي والفجرُ أَشقَرُ مُحضِر

Who visits me when night is a black steed standing poised,

and bids me farewell when dawn is a galloping chestnut?

خطَرتْ إليَّ فزادَني طرَبا لها

أنْ لم تكن بالبال مِمّا يَخْطُر

She glided toward me; what heightened my delight in her

was that she had not even crossed my mind.

وغَدت مُودِّعةً فقلبٌ يلْتظي

حتّى تَعودَ ومُقلةٌ تَستَعْبِر

She left at dawn, bidding farewell: a heart burns

until she returns, and an eye overflows with tears.

فكأنّما تَركتْ بخَدِّي عِقْدَها

ليكونَ تَذكِرةً بها يُتذَكَّر

As though she had left her necklace upon my cheek

to serve as a keepsake, bringing her to mind.

يَلْقَى الحسودُ تجلُّدي فيَسوؤهُ

أَنّي على رَيْبِ الحوادثِ أَصبِر

The envious man encounters my endurance, and it grieves him

that I bear the reversals of fortune patiently.

مالي وما لعِصابةٍ مُغتابةٍ

هل فيَّ إلاّ أن سَعيْتُ وقَصَّروا

What have I to do with a band of backbiters?

Is my only fault that I strove while they fell short?

إنّي لأُصبِحُ للفضيلةِ ساتراً

مِنّي كَمَنْ هو للنّقيصةِ يَستُر

Indeed, I make a practice of concealing excellence

in myself, like one who conceals a defect.

وأرى أَمامي ما ورائي دائماً

مثْلَ الذي هو في مِراةٍ يَنظُر

I always see before me what lies behind,

like someone looking into a mirror.

لا تضطربْ عند الخطوبِ فإنّما

يَصفو إذا ما أُمِهلَ المُتكَدَّر

Do not be shaken by calamities, for

what is turbid clears when left to settle.

وإذا تَولّى مَعشَرٌ كَرمُوا فلا

تَهلِكْ أسىً حتّى يُوافيَ مَعشَر

If a noble company passes away, do not

die of grief before another arrives.

فصحيفةُ الدّنيا الطّويلةُ لم تَزَلْ

يُطوى لها طَرَفٌ وآخَرُ يُنشَر

The long scroll of this world has always

had one end rolled up and another unfurled.

ما زالتِ الأيّامُ حتّى أَعقبَتْ

يوماً ذُنوبُ الدَّهرِ فيه تُغفَر

The days went on until they brought forth

a day on which Time's sins are forgiven:

يومٌ أَغرَّ مُشهَّر في صَدرِه

أَحيا الوَرى صَدْرٌ أَغرُّ مُشَهَّر

a radiant, renowned day, at whose outset

a radiant, renowned chief revived mankind

بِوزارةٍ راحتْ وكُل يشتكي

من دَهْره وغدتْ وكلُّ يَشكُر

through a vizierate that at evening found everyone complaining

of their age, and at morning found everyone grateful.

فكأنَّ آمالَ الخلائقِ كُلَّها

رِممٌ مُفرَّقةٌ أتاها المحْشَر

It was as though all the hopes of mankind

were scattered remains to which resurrection had come.

حتّى إذا غَصَّ الفضاءُ بمَوكِبٍ

من وَطْئهِ كَبِدُ الحَسودِ تَفطَّر

Then, when the open space was choked by a procession

at whose tread the envious man's liver burst,

والأرضُ من ضيقِ المسالكِ تَشتكي

والجَوُّ في نَسْج السَّنابِك يَعثُر

and the earth complained of its crowded roads,

and the air stumbled in the fabric woven by hooves,

وعلى النّظامِ ابنِ النّظامِ مَهابةٌ

تَنْهَى عيونَ النّاظرِينِ وتَأْمُر

and upon Nizam, son of Nizam, lay an awe

that forbade and commanded the eyes of onlookers,

مشَتِ الملوكُ الصِيّدُ حولَ رِكابهِ

رَجْلَي وكان لهم بذاكَ المَفْخَر

the proud kings walked around his mount

on foot, and found glory in doing so.

وتَبسّمَتْ خِلَعٌ عليه كأنّها

رَوضٌ تَقمّصها غمامٌ مُمطِرِ

Robes of honor smiled upon him, as though they were

a meadow that a rain-bearing cloud had donned.

ومُرصَّعاتٌ يأتلقْنَ وراءه

تَشكو السّواعدُ حَمْلَها والأظْهُر

Jeweled objects glittered behind him,

whose burden forearms and backs complained of.

وأمامَه جُرْدٌ يُقَدْنَ جَنائباً

مَرْحَى تَخِفُّ بها الخُطا فتَوقَّر

Before him, sleek horses were led as spare mounts,

frisky, their footsteps light, yet their bearing stately.

يَظْلَلْنَ في بحرِ النُّضارِ سَوابِحاً

والجَوُّ من عَكْسِ الأشِعّة أحمَر

They swam all day within a sea of gold,

while the air glowed red with reflected rays.

وبدا الجوادُ على الجوادِ كأنّه

طَوْدٌ أظَلَّ عليه نَجْمٌ أزهر

The generous man appeared upon the noble steed, as though it were

a mountain shaded by a radiant star.

وأتَى به واليُمْنُ منه أيمَنٌ

مُتَكِنّفاً واليُسْرُ منه أيسر

It bore him on, with good fortune at his right,

close beside him, and ease upon his left,

حتّى ثنَى عنه لِيَنْزلَ عِطْفَهُ

في مَوْقفٍ فيه الجِباهُ تُعفَّر

until he turned his side away from it to dismount,

in a place where foreheads were rubbed in dust.

فالجوُّ طولَ اليومِ تبرٌ ماطرٌ

والتُربُ طولَ العام مِسْكٌ أذْفَر

All day the air rained gold,

and all year the earth was fragrant musk.

ولَقلّتِ الأرواحُ لو نَثَروا له

لو كانتِ الأرواحُ مِمّا يُنثَر

Souls would have been a paltry scattering before him,

if souls were things that could be scattered,

لأغرَّ يَعتذِرُ الزّمانُ بوَجْهِه

عمّا جناهُ من الذُّنوبِ فيُعْذَر

for a radiant man, through whose face Time excuses itself

for the sins it has committed, and is forgiven.

ويُريكَ منه إذا بدا لك منظراً

ما فوقَهُ في الحُسْنِ إلاّ المَخْبَر

When he appears, he shows you an outward beauty

surpassed only by his inward worth.

وعليه من سِيما أبيهِ شواهدٌ

ودلائلٌ تَبدو عليهِ وتَظْهَر

Upon him are marks of his father's bearing,

and signs that appear upon him, plain to see.

ولئن تأَخَّرَ في الوِزارةِ عَصرُه

فلكُلِّ أمرٍ غايةٌ تَتأخّر

Though his era in the vizierate came late,

every affair has a culmination that comes last.

كانتْ تنقَّلُ في الرّجال كأنّها

سارٍ يُنَوَّخُ تارةً ويُثَوَّر

It kept passing from man to man, as though it were

a night-traveling camel, made to kneel at times, then roused.

حتّى انتهتْ شوقاً إليه وإنّه

ما مِن وراء نهايةٍ مُتنَظَّر

Until, longing for him, it reached him; indeed,

beyond an ultimate end there is nothing to await.

اليومَ عَزَّ حِمَى الرّعيّةِ أنْ غَدا

يَرعاهُمُ حَدِبٌ يُنيمُ ويَسْهَر

Today the people's sanctuary has grown strong, since

a caring guardian tends them, letting them sleep while he keeps watch.

فالعدْلُ ثَغْرُ الدَّهرِ منه ضاحِكٌ

والأمنُ غصْنُ العيشِ فيه أخْضَر

By his justice the mouth of Time smiles,

and in his security the branch of life grows green.

وافَى فقيلَ أواحدٌ أم جَحفَلٌ

وسخا فقيل أَنمُلٌ أم أبحُر

He came, and they asked: is this one man or an army?

He gave, and they asked: are these fingertips or seas?

وتَيمّنَ السّلطانُ منه بصاحبٍ

نَدْبٍ يَهُمُّ بما يَرومُ فَيظْفَر

The sultan found in him a companion of good omen,

a bold man who resolves upon his aim and wins.

لمّا رأى فَتْحَ الدَّواةِ بكَفّهِ

وافاه فَتْحُ القلعةِ المُتَعذّرِ

When he saw the opening of the inkwell in his hand,

the once-unattainable conquest of the fortress came to him.

فتفاخَرَ الفَتْحانِ حتّى لم يَبِنْ

للنّاسِ أيُّهما أجَلُّ وأكبَر

The two openings vied in glory, till none could tell

which of them was nobler and greater.

للهِ أيةَ ليلةٍ في صُبحِها

تَبِعَ اللّواءَ إلى الجهادِ العَسكَر

By God, what a night! At its dawning

the army followed the standard into holy war.

سَمتِ الجنودُ إليهمُ حتّى إذا

طلَعوا الثّنِيّةَ بالبنُودِ وَكبّروا

The troops advanced upon them until,

cresting the pass with banners, they proclaimed God's greatness.

ما كان إلاّ من نهارٍ ساعةً

حتّى جَرَتْ مِمّا أرَاقوا أنْهُر

Only an hour of daylight had passed

before rivers flowed from what they spilled.

مَطَروا عليهم بالسِّهامِ ولم تكُن

من قبلِ نهضِتهمْ سماءٌ تَمطُر

They rained arrows down upon them, though

before their advance no sky had rained:

من كلِّ أزرقَ ذي جناحٍ طائرٍ

غَرثانَ عن حَبِّ القلوبِ يُنَقِّر

each a blue, winged flyer,

hungry, pecking for the kernels of hearts.

يُطعِمْنَ قَتْلاها النُّسورَ جَوازياً

إذ كُنّ طِرْنَ بما كسَتْهُ الأَنسُر

They fed their slain to vultures in repayment,

for they had flown in plumage the vultures had provided.

حتّى انثنَوا والبِيضُ في أيمانِهم

حُمْرٌ تُقَطِّرُ بالغُواةِ وتَقطُر

At last they turned back, the bright swords in their right hands

red, striking down the misguided and dripping blood.

وغدا عدوُّ اللّهِ طَوْعَ أَكفِّهم

يَجْري مُقلَّدَ رِبْقةً ويُجَرَّر

God's enemy fell into the power of their hands,

running with a halter round his neck, dragged along.

مثْلَ البعيرِ تَقودُه بسِبالِه

فيَخِفُّ وهْو من الجهالةِ مُوقَر

Like a camel you lead by its whiskers,

he hurried, though weighed down with ignorance.

وكأنّ لِحْيتَهُ هشيمٌ ماحِلٌ

وكأنّ أيدي القوم رِيحٌ صَرْصَر

His beard was like dry, brittle brush,

and the men's hands like a howling wind.

ولَوَ انّه تَرَكَ الخبيثَ هُنَيْهةً

لتَصافنوا دمَهُ الذي هو أَقذَر

Had he left the vile man a little longer,

they would have shared out his still fouler blood.

قد قَدَّروا للمسلمينَ عجائباً

واللّهُ غيَّر كلَّ ما قد قَدَّروا

They had planned marvels for the Muslims,

but God changed everything they had planned.

كم خَوَّفوا سَنةَ القِرانِ وخَيّلُوا

أنّا سنَخْرُجُ عندَ ذاكَ ونَظْهَر

How often they spread fear of the conjunction's year and made believe:

We shall rise at that time and prevail!

أرواحُهم خرجَتْ وهم لم يَخْرُجوا

وهَناتُهم ظهَرتْ وهم لم يَظْهَروا

Their souls departed, but they never rose,

and their shame appeared, but they never triumphed.

تاللّهِ ما فَتَحوا البلادَ وإنّما

فتَحوا العيونَ فأَبصَروا ما أبصَروا

By God, they did not conquer lands; they only

opened their eyes and saw what they saw.

تلك الأكاذيبُ المُلفَّقةُ التي

غَرُّوا بها شِيَعَ الضَّلالِ وغَرّروا

Those fabricated lies with which

they deceived the sects of error and led them into peril

بلغَتْ بهم سَلْخَ الجُلودِ كما رَأَوا

والسَّلْخُ عِندَهُمُ البَلاغُ الأكبَر

brought them, as they saw, to the flaying of their skins—

and flaying, among them, is the supreme attainment.

فاسأَلْ بني العّباسِ عمّا شاهَدوا

زمَنَ البَساسيريِّ هل يُتذَكَّر

Ask the sons of al-‘Abbas what they witnessed

in al-Basasiri's time—can it be recalled?

لم يُكْفَ قائِمُهم إذا ما قايَسوا

ما قد كُفِي في هذه المُستَظهِر

Their al-Qa'im was not spared, if they compare,

what al-Mustazhir has been spared in this affair.

كلاّ ولا ارتجَعَ الخِلافةَ طُغْرِلٌ

مِثْلَ ارْتجاعِ مُحمّدٍ لو فَكَّروا

No, nor did Tughril recover the caliphate

as Muhammad recovered it, if they would reflect.

بيَمينهِ آلَى يميناً سَيْفُه

ألا يُغادِرَ بالهُدَى مَن يَغْدِر

In his right hand his sword swore an oath

to spare no one who betrays true guidance.

فعِداهُ إن طلَبوا القَرارَ تَعَجَّلوا

حتْفاً وإنْ طلَبوا الفِرارَ تَحَيَّروا

If his foes seek to stand their ground, they hasten

their doom; if they seek flight, they lose their way.

يُمسُونَ أمّاليلُهم فيُريهِمُ

قَتْلاً وأمّا صُبحُهم فَيُفَسّر

At evening, their night shows them

slaughter, and their morning interprets it.

يا ماجداً رَوِيَتْ بسَجْلِ نَوالِه

كلُّ الورى باديهمُ والحُضَّر

O noble man, whose bounty's brimming bucket has quenched

all mankind, their nomads and their townsfolk,

يَكِفي الممالكَ أن يُديرَ بكَفّهِ

قَلماً له الفَلكُ المُدارُ مُسَخّر

to govern kingdoms, he need only turn in his hand

a pen to which the circling heavens are subject.

يُمِلي وأيدِي القَطْرِ تَنْسَخُ جودَه

ولَما يفوتُكِ يا قِطارُ الأكثَر

He dictates, while the hands of rain copy his generosity,

yet what eludes you, O showers, is the greater part.

فِفداءُ كفِّكَ وهْي بحرُ سماحةٍ

قومٌ إذا ورَد العُفاةُ استَحْجَروا

May your hand, a sea of generosity, be ransomed by

men who turn to stone when suppliants arrive.

قَدَروا وما سَدُّوا لِحُرٍّ خَلّةً

بصنيعةِ فكأنّهم لم يَقْدِروا

They had the means, yet met no noble man's need

with any favor, as though they had no power.

وتَصدَّروا من غيرِ فضْلِ عطيّةٍ

والصّدْرُ مَنْ مِنْه العطايا تَصدُر

They took foremost seats without the merit of giving,

but the foremost man is he from whom gifts come forth.

إن يَشْكُرِ السّلطانُ غُرَّ فَضائلٍ

وشمائلٍ لك فالرّعيّةُ أشكَر

If the sultan thanks you for radiant virtues

and noble qualities, the people are more grateful still.

أو كان مُلْكُ محمّد بكَ عامِراً

فافْخَرْ فديِنُ مُحمّدٍ بك أعَمَر

Or if Muhammad's realm flourishes through you,

take pride: Muhammad's faith flourishes through you still more.

جاءتْكَ مِثْلَ العِقْدِ وهْو مُفَصَّلٌ

حُسْناً ومثْلَ البُردِ وهْو مُحَبَّر

It has come to you like a necklace, finely arranged,

in beauty, and like a richly patterned mantle.

أنا غَرْسُ بيتِكمُ الكريمِ بجودكم

يُسقَى وبالمِدَح الغرائبِ يُثْمِر

I am a sapling of your noble house, by your bounty

watered, and bearing fruit in rare songs of praise.

فإنِ ارتضَوا حُكْمِي فغيرُ بديعةٍ

من مثْلِ ذاكَ البحرِ هذا الجوهر

If they accept my judgment, it is no marvel

that such a sea should yield this gem.

فاسْلَمْ لنا ما انجابَ لَيْلٌ مُظلِمٌ

عن ناظرٍ وانتابَ صُبْحٌ مُسْفِر

May you remain safe for us as long as dark night parts

from an eye, and radiant morning returns,

وبَقِيتَ بينَ بني أبيكَ كما بدا

بَدْرٌ تَحُفُّ بهِ نُجومٌ تَزْهَر

and may you remain among your father's sons, appearing like

a full moon, encircled by shining stars.