إذا لم يخن صب ففيم عتاب — Alarjani

إذا لم يَخُنْ صَبُّ ففيمَ عِتابُ

وإن لم يكنْ ذَنْبٌ فمِمَ يُتابُ

If a lover has not betrayed, why the reproach?

And if there is no sin, what is there to repent of?

أجلْ مالنا إلاّ هواكمْ جِناية

فهل عندَكم غيرَ الصُّدودِ عقاب

Yes, we have no offense but loving you;

have you no punishment but turning away?

أيا دُرَّةً من دونِ كَفٍّ تَنالُها

لبحر المنايا زَخْرةٌ وعُباب

O pearl, before any hand can reach you,

the sea of death surges and swells.

أما تَتّقينَ اللهَ في مُتَجَرِّعٍ

كُؤوسَ عذابٍ وهْيَ فيكِ عذاب

Will you not fear God in your treatment of one who drains

cups of torment, yet finds them sweet for your sake?

تُريدينَ أن اَشْفي غليليَ بالمُنى

ومن أينَ أروَى والشَرابُ سَراب

You would have me quench my burning thirst with wishes;

how can I drink my fill when the drink is a mirage?

وقفْتُ بأطلالِ الدِيارِ مُسَلِّماً

وعَهْدِي ومْلءُ الواديَيْنِ قباب

I stood greeting the ruins of the dwellings;

when last I knew them, domed tents filled both valleys.

فأبرَق عُذّالي مَلاماً وأرعَدوا

وأمطرَ أجفاني فتَمَّ سَحاب

My reproachers flashed with blame and thundered;

my eyelids rained, and thus the rain cloud was complete.

بهِ غَنِيتْ أرضُ الحِمىَ عن مُصبَّحٍ

يقول سقَى دارَ الرّبابِ ربَاب

Through it, the sanctuary's land needed no morning well-wisher

to say, “May rain clouds water Rabab's dwelling!”

ولم أنسَها لمّا تَغنّتْ حُداتُهم

وللعيسِ من تحتِ الرحالِ هِباب

Nor have I forgotten her when their camel-drivers sang,

and the pale camels surged beneath their saddles;

وقد حان منّي أنْ رَميتُ بنظرةٍ

وقد حُطَ عن شمسِ النهارِ نِقاب

the moment came for me to cast a glance,

and the veil had been removed from the daylight sun.

وأذْرَيت لمّا خانَني الصَّبرُ عَبْرةً

فسالتْ بأعلَى الأبرقّينِ شِعاب

When patience failed me, I shed a tear,

and ravines flowed in upper al-Abraqayn.

فقالتْ ليَ الحَسْناءُ غالطْتَ ناظري

وبعضُ بُكاءِ العاشقينَ خِلاب

The beauty said to me, “You have deceived my eye;

some lovers' weeping is deceptive.

فوَجْهِيَ شمسٌ والفراقُ ظَهيرةٌ

وخَدُّك أرضٌ والدُّموعُ سَراب

For my face is a sun, and parting is noon;

your cheek is earth, and tears are a mirage.”

فقلتُ معاذَ اللهِ أخدَعُ خُلّةً

على حينَ زُمّتْ للرّحيلِ رِكاب

I said, “God forbid that I should deceive a beloved

when riding camels have been haltered for departure!

فما دونَ دُرِّ الدّمعِ خِيفةَ نَهْبه

إذا بِتُّ من جَفنَيَّ يُغلَقُ باب

For before the pearls of tears, for fear they might be plundered,

no gate of my eyelids is closed when I pass the night.

ولكنّني ما كنتُ أوّلَ صاحبٍ

تَجنّى عليه ظالمِينَ صِحاب

Yet I was not the first companion

against whom companions unjustly invented charges,

فكُذِّبَ في دَعْوَى الهوَى وهْو صادقٌ

وصُدِّقَ للواشِينَ فيه كِذاب

whose claim of love was called a lie, though he was truthful,

while the slanderers' lies about him were believed.

وما ارتابَ بي الأحبابُ إلا بأنّهم

إذا نُظِروا كانوا الّذينَ أَرابوا

My loved ones only came to doubt me because,

when scrutinized, they themselves were the ones who aroused doubt.

وها أنا قد أرضيَتُ جُهْدي وأسخَطوا

وأصفَيْتُ ما شاؤوا الودادَ وشابوا

Here I have done my utmost to please them, yet they angered me;

I gave them love as pure as they wished, while they adulterated theirs.

وقد رابني دهرٌ بَنوهُ بهِ اقتَدوا

كما اطّردتْ خلْفَ السِنانِ كِعاب

Time has troubled me, and its children followed its example,

as shaft-joints line up behind the spearhead.

ولم يَدْعهُم داعي الزّمانِ ليُسرِعوا

إلى الغَدْرِ إلا دَعْوةً فأجابوا

Time's summoner had only to call them to hasten

to treachery once, and they answered.

وخَطٍّ عَلاهُ الوَخطُ فاغبرَّ قَبلما

تَترّبَ في كَفِ العَجولِ كتاب

And a line of beard gray flecks overlaid, turning ashen before

a letter could be dusted in a hurried writer's hand.

وما أدّعِي أن الهمومَ اقتَنَصنَني

ببازٍ بَدا من حيثُ طارَ غُراب

I do not claim that sorrows hunted me down

with a falcon appearing where a raven had flown.

ولا أنّ تاجَ الشَّيبِ أَضحَتْ لعَقْدهِ

مَمالكُ أَطرابي وهُنّ خَراب

Nor that, beneath the binding of gray hair's crown,

the kingdoms of my delights have turned to ruins.

فمِن قبلِ الشَيبِ لم يَصْفُ مَشْربٌ

لِعَيْشي وأغصانُ الشبابِ رِطاب

For even before gray hair, no drinking-place ran clear

for my life, though youth's branches were tender.

وقَلّ غناءً عن فؤادٍ مُعَذّبٍ

بأنْ يتَجّلى كيف شاء إهاب

It avails a tormented heart little

for the skin to shine however it will.

إذا مَرّ في الهمّ الشبابُ على الفتَى

فإنّ سوادَ الشَّعْرِ منه خِضاب

If youth passes over a man amid sorrow,

then the blackness of his hair is merely dye.

وإنْ شابَ في ظلّ السّرور فَفَرعُه

نهارٌ بياضُ اللْونِ منه شَباب

And if he grays in the shade of joy, his locks

are daylight, whose white hue is youth.

وما عَجَبي من غَدْرةِ الفَوْدِ وَحْدَه

فعِندي أمورٌ كُلُّهُنَّ عُجاب

I marvel not merely at the treachery of my temple-lock;

I have matters, every one of them astounding:

زمانٌ يَجُرُّ الفضْلُ فيه مَهانةً

كأنّ مديحَ النّاس فيه سباب

an age in which merit brings humiliation,

as though men's praise in it were abuse;

وعينٌ رأتْ منهم هَناتٍ فأَغمضَتْ

وقومٌ رَجَوا منّي السِقاطَ فخابوا

an eye that saw their faults and shut itself,

and people who hoped for lapses from me, but were disappointed.

يُجاذبُنِي فضْلَ الوقارِ مَعاشرٌ

وهل من مُزيلٍ للجبالِ جِذاب

People try to wrest from me the distinction of dignity;

but can tugging ever dislodge mountains?

وحَسْبُ امرىءٍ ألا يُعابَ بخَلَّةٍ

ولكنْ زمانُ السّوء فيه يُعاب

It suffices a man that no trait of his be faulted,

while the evil age is what is blamed in his case.

فكم قائلٍ لمّا تدَبّر والفتى

له خطَأٌ فيما يُرَى وصواب

How many have said, after reflection—and a man

may be wrong or right in what he sees—

لقد هَرِم الدُّنيا فلو بُدِّلَتْ لنا

بأُخرى تَجيءُ النّاسَ وهْي كَعاب

“The world has surely grown decrepit; if only it were replaced for us

by another coming to mankind as a budding maiden!

وما هذه الأفلاكُ إلا مُدارةٌ

على شكلٍ الأحرارُ فيه غِضاب

These celestial spheres are set revolving only

in a configuration that leaves the noble angry.

فلو نقِضَتْ يوماً وأُحدِثَ نَصبْهُا

وما في صنيع اللهِ ذلك عاب

If one day they were dismantled and set up anew—

and that would put no flaw in God's handiwork—

رَجونا من الشكلِ الجديدِ لفاضلٍ

أطالَ سلاماً أنْ يكونَ جَواب

we might hope, under the new configuration, that a worthy man

who has long offered greetings might receive a reply,

كما نُقِضَ الشَطْرَنْجُ لليأسِ نَقْضةً

وعاد رَجاءٌ حين عادَ لِعاب

as a chess position is cleared away in despair,

and hope returns when play begins again.”

فقلتُ له هَوِّنْ عليك فطالما

تذلَّلتِ الأحداثُ وهْي صِعاب

I told him, “Take it lightly; how often

have events grown tame, though once intractable!

ولا يأْسَ من روْحٍ منَ اللهِ عاجلٍ

فكم نالَ شَمساً ثُمَّ زالَ ضبَاب

Do not despair of swift relief from God:

how often mist has overtaken a sun, then vanished!

وكم قد هَوى من قُلّةٍ الأُفْقِِ كوكبٌ

وكم ثارَ من تحتِ النِّعالِ تُراب

How often a star has fallen from the horizon's summit,

and how often dust has risen from beneath men's sandals!

ولكنْ لكُلٍّ غَيْبةٌ عن مكانِه

وعمّا قليلٍ رَجْعَةٌ فإياب

Yet each is only absent from its proper place,

and soon comes a return, a homecoming.

فلا تُكْثِرَنْ شكْوى الزّمان فإنّما

لكُلِّ مُلمٍّ جَيْئةٌ وذَهاب

So do not multiply your complaints against time, for

every affliction has its coming and its going.”

وقد كان ليل الفضلِ في الدهرِ داجياً

إلى أنْ بَدا للناظِرينَ شِهاب

The night of merit in this age was dark indeed,

until a bright star appeared to onlookers,

بِعَوْدٍ كما عاد الكَليم بنُجْحِه

إذا جَدَّ بالعاشي إليه طِلاب

returning as Moses, whom God addressed, returned successful,

when urgent seeking drove the night-seeker toward him.

هُمامٌ تَجَلّى في الزمانِ فأقبلَتْ

إلى العِّز منّا تَشرئبُّ رِقاب

A high-hearted man shone forth in time, and

our necks rose, stretching toward glory.

وكالشّمس ما إن تُضرَبُ الحُجْبُ دونه

ولكن بفَضْلِ النّورِ عنه حِجاب

Like the sun, no curtains are drawn before him;

the very excess of light is his veil.

غمامُ ندىً والمادِحونَ جَنوبُه

إذا ضَمّهم والزائرين جَناب

A cloud of bounty, with his panegyrists its south wind,

when his court gathers them together with his visitors.

فمن فضّةٍ طُولَ الزّمانِ فَضيضةٍ

ومن ذَهَبٍ يَنهَلُّ منه ذِهاب

Of silver, ever scattered throughout time,

and of gold, showers pour from him.

وبيتُ عُلاً عنه صَوادِرَ لم تَزَلْ

حقائبُ وَفْدٍ مِلّؤهنّ ثَواب

A house of glory, from which there have always departed

delegates' saddlebags filled with rewards.

تَقاسمُ أيدي الوافدينَ تِلادَه

كأنّ لُهاهُ للأكُف نِهاب

The hands of those who come divide his inherited wealth,

as though his gifts were plunder for their palms.

من القوم أمّا في النّدَى فأكفُّهم

رياحٌ وأمّا في الحُبا فهِضاب

He is of a people whose palms, in generosity,

are winds; in seated repose, they are hills.

يُريكَ الكرامَ الذّاهِبينَ لِقاؤه

فلُقْيَتُه حشْرٌ لهم ومآب

Meeting him shows you the noble men departed;

to meet him is their resurrection and return.

طليقُ المُحيّا لم يزلْ من لسانِه

تَفِرُّ خطوبٌ إذ يُكرُّ خِطاب

Bright of countenance; from his tongue, unceasingly,

calamities flee as his speech charges forward.

لكشْفِ نقابِ الغيبِ عن وجه ما انطوَى

عنِ الخَلْقِِ يغْدو الدهرُ وهْو نِقاب

To lift the unseen's veil from the face of what is hidden

from mankind, he is ever a penetrating investigator.

له مَنْطِقٌ ماءُ النهى منه صَيبٌ

وفِكْرٌ سهامُ الرأي عنه صِياب

He has speech from which reason's water falls in showers,

and thought from which the arrows of judgment strike true;

وأَعطيةٌ للفاضلينَ جزيلةٌ

وأفنيةٌ للزّائرينَ رِحاب

ample gifts for men of merit,

and spacious courtyards for visitors.

حوَى من ثناء النّاسِ أوفَى نصيبهِ

كريمٌ له في الأكرمينَ نِصاب

He has won the fullest share of people's praise,

a generous man with noble stock among the noblest;

وغَيْثٌ على حين البلادُ جديبةٌ

وليثٌ على حين الأسنّةُ غاب

rain when the lands are barren,

and a lion when spearheads form a forest.

من الغُلْبِ فَرّاسُ الفوارسِ ضَيغمٌ

له الرُّمح ظُفْرٌ والمُهنّدُ ناب

Among thick-necked lions, a lion who rends horsemen,

whose lance is a claw, whose Indian blade a fang.

قليلُ احتفالٍ بالحروبِ وهَوْلِها

إذا بَرقَتْ تحت العَجاج حِراب

He cares little for wars and their terrors,

when lances flash beneath the dust-cloud.

إذا اهتزّ رمْحٌ قال راوغَ ثعلبٌ

وإن صَلّ سَيْفٌ قال طَنّ ذباب

If a lance shakes, he says, “A fox dodged”;

if a sword rings, he says, “A fly buzzed.”

أَمِنْتُ على عَلياه عينَ زمانِه

وأضحَى لِسيفِ اللهِ عنه ضِراب

I feel his eminence secure from his age's evil eye,

for God's sword now strikes in his defense.

فَمرْآهُ مِرآةٌ من البِشْرِ كُلّما

رنَتْ حَدقُ الأقوامِ وهي صِلاب

His countenance is a mirror of cheer whenever

people's eyes gaze upon it, hard though they are.

متى مارَموْها بالعيونِ فإنّما

لأنفُسهم لو يَعلمَونَ أصابوا

Whenever they shoot their eyes at it,

they only strike themselves, if they but knew.

فِدّىً لك قومٌ في العلاء أُشابةٌ

فأنت من الغُرّ الكرام لُباب

May those of mixed stock among the lofty be your ransom;

you are the finest essence of the radiant noble.

وهل يَبلُغُ الحُسّادُ شأوَك في العُلا

ويأْتي على فَضْلٍ حَوْيتَ حساب

Can the envious reach your course in eminence,

or any reckoning encompass the merit you have amassed?

وللمُلْكِ أسرارٌ حَفِظْتَ وضيَّعوا

وللنّصرِ أيامٌ شَهِدْتَ وغابوا

Kingship has secrets you preserved while they squandered them;

victory has days you witnessed while they were absent.

فلو كان ضوءُ الشَّمس مُمسي كمُصَبحٍ

لقُلْنا لها في الأرض عنكِ مَناب

Were the sun's light at evening like its light at dawn,

we would tell her, “On earth there is a substitute for you.”

ولو كان لُجُّ البحرِ عذْباً مُجاجُه

لقيلَ لكأسٍ من ندّاكَ حَباب

And were the sea's depths sweet in what they spew,

it would be called foam from a cup of your bounty.

ألا يا مُجيرَ الدّولتَيْنِ دُعاءَ مَنْ

يَجوبُ بعيداً ذِكُره فَيُجاب

O protector of the two states, hear the prayer of one

whose renown travels far, and whose plea is answered.

إليك غَلْبنا الدّهْرَ قِرْناً مُكاوِحاً

إلى أن بلَغْنا والعلاءُ غِلاب

On the way to you, we overcame Time, a rival grappling head-on,

until we arrived; eminence is a contest of strength.

وقد جبْت أرضاً كالجبال سُهولُها

فقُلْ في جبالٍ ثُمّ كيف تُجاب

I crossed a land whose plains were like mountains;

then think of its mountains—how can they be crossed?

أطيرُ إلى ناديكَ فَرْطَ صَبابةٍ

كأنّيَ في تلك العِقابِ عُقاب

I fly to your assembly from sheer longing,

as though among those mountain passes I were an eagle.

فحتّى متَى دَلْوِى يُقَعْقَعُ شَنُّه

وقد مُلِئتْ للآخرينَ ذِناب

How long must my bucket's worn leather rattle,

while large buckets have been filled for others?

ومالي بفَضْلٍ فَضْلُ مالٍ تَحوزُه

يَدايَ فذاك الشُّهْدُ عنديَ صاب

I count no merit in the surplus wealth acquired

by my hands; that honey is bitter sap to me.

ولكنْ حُقوقٌ ما أُقيمَتْ فُروضُها

ففاتَت وقاضي الفائتاتِ مُثاب

But there are dues whose obligations were not fulfilled,

and so fell overdue; whoever makes up missed duties is rewarded.

وصُحْبةُ أسلافٍ قديمٌ تَحَرُّمِي

بها نَسَبٌ لي لَو رَعَيتَ قُراب

And fellowship with forebears, whose protection I have long invoked,

is a close kinship of mine, if you would honor it.

وعندي دِلاصٌ للكريمِ مُضاعَفٌ

لها الدَّهرَ أفواهُ الرُّواةِ عِياب

I have double-wrought, shining mail for the generous,

whose cases, forever, are the mouths of reciters.

به في صُدورِ النّاسِ يُفرَش لي هوىً

ويُحرَشُ من بينِ الضُّلوع ضِباب

Through it, affection for me is spread in people's breasts,

and lizards are stirred from between their ribs.

فَدُونك بالعِقْدِ الثّمين تَحَلّياً

إذا نيطَ بالجيدِ الذَّليلِ سِخاب

So adorn yourself with this precious necklace,

when a lowly neck is hung with a scent-bead string.

وعشْ للعُلا ماكَرَّ فارسُ أَدْهَم

له الصُّبْحُ سيفٌ والظلامُ قِراب

Live for glory as long as a rider on a black steed charges,

with dawn as his sword and darkness as its sheath.

جَمعْتَ لأهلِ الدَّهرِ بأْساً ونائلاً

فلا زِلْتَ فيهم تُرتَجَى وتُهاب

You have joined might and bounty for the people of this age;

may you ever remain among them both hoped for and feared.