أنصر أخاك مسعدا في ما حزب — Alarjani

أنصُرْ أخاكَ مُسعِداً في ما حَزَبْ

ولا تَقولَنَّ إلى ماذا نَدَبْ

Help your brother, lending aid in whatever trouble befalls him.

Never say, 'To what has he summoned me?'

ساعِدْ بعَضْبٍ مُصْلَتٍ وساعد

فالنَصرُ بالنّصلِ إذا الشَرُّ اقتَرَب

Help with a keen, unsheathed sword and an arm;

aid comes through the blade when evil draws near.

واسبِقْ إلى الدّاعي رجوعَ طَرْفهِ

فاللّيثُ ما استَثرْتَه إلا وَثَب

Reach the caller before his glance returns;

a lion, whenever you stir it, leaps.

قَلِّبْ لسانَ السّيفِ في جَوابِه

فمَنْ أُجيبَ باللّسانِ لم يُجَب

Turn the sword's tongue in answering him;

whoever is answered with words has not been answered.

شِمْ نظرةً إليه والسّيفَ معاً

من جَفْنِ عينَيْكَ وجَفْنِ ذي شُطَب

Draw a glance toward him and your sword together

from your eyes' sheaths and the sheath of the grooved blade.

مُجيبٌ أُولى دعوتَيْه إذْ دَعا

إن كنتَ عنه فارجاً إحدى الكُرَب

Answer the first of his two calls when he calls,

if you would relieve him of one of his troubles.

قَلَّ غَناءً والصّريخُ شاخِصٌ

يَنظُر تسآلُكَ عنه ما السَّبب

Little use is served, while the caller stands expectantly,

looking on, by your asking him, 'What is the cause?'

سُلَّ حُسامَ المَشرفّي ثمَّ سَلْ

وأبْدأ بتَقديمِ الخُطا قبلَ الخُطَب

Draw the keen Mashrafi blade, then ask;

begin by putting footsteps before speeches.

إنْ لم يُهِبْ إلى الحِمام بالفَتى

فخاضَهُ دونَ الحليفِ لم يُهَب

If no summons drives a young man toward death,

to brave it for his ally, he will not be feared.

أقدِمْ على الموتِ تَعِشْ فإنّما

يومُ الفتى مسُتطَرٌ ومُكتَتَب

Advance upon death and live, for indeed

a young man's day is written and recorded.

ما أجَلُ الهاربِ عنه هارباً

لا بل يَزيدُ طَلباً إذا هَرب

The fugitive's appointed end does not flee him;

no, it pursues him harder when he flees.

ما تَبرحُ الآجالُ من مكانِها

فلا تُضِعْ فُرصةَ ذِكرٍ يُكْتَسَب

Appointed deaths never leave their places;

do not waste a chance to win remembrance.

كنِ ابنَ يومٍ لك تَحوِى فَخْرَهُ

لا تَقْتَنِعُ بَعَدِ آباءٍ نُجُب

Be the son of a day whose glory you win yourself;

do not be content with counting noble forefathers.

فأشَرفُ الأقوامِ أمّاً وأباً

مَن عافَ أن يَسْمو بأُمٍ وبِأب

The noblest of people in mother and father

is one who disdains to rise through mother and father.

لا يكُ مِن كُلِّ عُلاه قانعاً

فتيً بأنْ قيل كريم المنتَسَب

Let a youth not be content, for all his lofty standing,

merely to be called 'noble in lineage.'

فَخْراً إذا عُدَ أبوه سافراً

حتّى إذا ما ذُكرَ الابِنُ انتقَب

Pride stands unveiled when his father is reckoned,

but veils itself when the son is mentioned.

عاقِد على النّصرِ يَدَيْ مُضافرٍ

وسِرْ بنا نَرمي النجومَ عن كَثَب

Clasp a fellow helper's two hands for victory;

come with us to aim at the stars from close at hand.

واعزِمْ وإن أعرضَ أهوالٌ ففي

مُضطَربِ الأرضِ لقومٍ مُضطَرب

Resolve, even if terrors appear, for

in the earth's restless arena a people has room to strive.

في كلِّ قُطْرٍ قَطَريُّ قد بدا

ومِنبرٌ لذي ضَلالٍ انصب

In every region a Qatari has appeared,

and a pulpit has been raised for a man of error.

فما الذي يرجوه من زمانِه

ذو شَرَفٍ يَبْغى الغِنَى أو ذو أدَب

What, then, can hope from his times

a noble man seeking wealth, or a man of learning?

والأرضُ طُرّاً أصبحَتْ مسبِغةً

لا شِبْرَ إلاّ وبهِ حَرْبٌ تُشَبّ

The whole earth has become fully clad:

not a span but has a war kindled in it.

عَجِبتُ من حوادثٍ حتّى إذا

تَتابَعتْ لم يَبْقَ في عَيني عَجَب

I marveled at events, until, when

they followed one another, no wonder remained in my eyes.

حتّى متى أشكو الصّدى مُطوِّفاً

ولا أرى في الأرضِ صَفْواً لم يُشَب

How long shall I lament thirst while wandering,

and see nowhere on earth clear water untainted?

والفَضْلُ فضْلُ المالِ في زمانِنا

إن فاخَروا والنَسَبُ اليومَ النَشَب

Merit in our time is abundance of money,

when people boast; today's lineage is possessions.

كم خاطبٍ لمّا اغتَربْتُ مِدْحَتْي

قلتُ له لوْ بأبانَيْنِ خَطَب

How many sought my praise when I went abroad!

I told each—even had he sought it at Abanayn—

ردَدْتُه بغُصّةٍ ولن تَرَى

أتعبَ من قلبِ محبٍ لا يُحبّ

I would turn him away in anguish; you will never see

anything wearier than the heart of an unloved lover.

وجاهلٍ قد غَرّهُ عداوتي

لم يَدْرِ في أيّ إناءٍ احتلَب

And many an ignorant man, deluded by his enmity toward me,

knew not into what vessel he had milked.

عَيْنيَّ مَغْناطِيسُ كلّ عَجَبٍ

في الدّهرِ ما كان إلى قُربى انجذَب

My two eyes are magnets for every wonder

in time: whatever exists is drawn close to me,

بأيّ أرضٍ وَطِئتْها قَدَمي

وللمُلمّات إذا جاءتْ شَغَب

in whatever land my foot has trodden;

and calamities, whenever they come, bring turmoil.

مُنازِعي في شَرَفٍ أرومُه

نِكْسٌ أَمُرُّ صَعَداً وهْو صَبَبْ

My rival in the honor I seek

is a weakling: I climb upward while he descends.

وأيُّ بُرْجٍ حَلّه رأْسُ عُلاً

قابَلَه بالطّبْعِ لا بُدَّ ذَنَب

Whatever zodiacal house the head of greatness enters,

a tail must naturally face it.

أرى أُناساً لا أنيسَ فيهمُ

فلا أرى إلا جَناباً يُجتَنب

I see people with no companion among them;

I see only a presence to be avoided.

كيف السبيلُ والسّجايا هذه

منهم إلى أُنْسٍ بحالٍ يُجتلَب

How can a way be found, with such dispositions

among them, to companionship gained by any means?

هم مُمْعِنونَ هَرَباً من قُرْبِنا

وجانبي مُمتَنِعٌ معَ الطّلَب

They persist in fleeing our nearness,

and my side is unapproachable even when sought.

عِزّةُ نَفْسٍ لا يُصادُ وَحْشُها

إلا بأكرامٍ وإلا بِقُرَب

Such pride of soul: its wild creature cannot be caught

except through honors and acts of closeness.

سكبتُ ماءَ العينِ ما شاء النّوى

في غُرْبتي وماءُ وجهي ما انسكَب

I poured out tears as much as separation willed

in my exile, but the water of my face was not spilled.

بينَ العراقِ والجبالِ عارِقي

فَواغرُ الدّهرِ بأنيابِ النُّوَب

Between Iraq and al-Jibal, those gnawing me are

time's gaping jaws, with the fangs of calamities.

في كلِّ يوم زَورةٌ لأُممٍ

لمَطْلَبٍ لا أمَمٍ ولا صَقَب

Every day brings a visit to peoples

in pursuit of an aim neither nearby nor close at hand.

وتَمَلأُ الدَّلْوَ الحُظوظ والفتى

بكَفِّه شَدُّ العِناجِ والكَرَب

Fortunes fill the bucket, while the young man

has in his hand only the tying of its supporting cords.

يُحكِمُ أسبابَ النَّجاحِ جاهِدٌ

والنَّبعُ ما لم يُسعِدِ الجَدُّ غَرَب

One striving perfects the means of success;

yet fine bow-wood is willow unless good fortune helps.

ويُظْهِرُ العَتْبَ إذا امتَدَّ المدى

وهل زَمانٌ مُعتِبٌ لمَنْ عَتَب

He voices reproach when the wait grows long;

but does time ever appease one who reproaches it?

ويَذهَبُ العُمْرُ وماذا يُرتَجى

من ذَهَبٍ يأتي إذا العُمْرُ ذَهَب

Life departs, and what can be hoped

from gold that comes when life has gone?

وكُلُّ هذا والفؤادُ ذاكِرٌ

عهْدَ التَّصابي ما انقضّى وما انقَضَب

Through all this, the heart remembers

the days of youthful love, unended and unbroken,

وشادِناً إذا رمَى بنَظرةٍ

إلى المشوقِ هَزّ عِطْفَيْهِ الطَّرَب

and a young gazelle who, when he casts a glance

toward the yearning lover, has his sides swayed by rapture.

جَبينهُ والصُّدْغُ صُبْحٌ ودُجَى

وخَدُّه والثَغْرُ خَمْرٌ وحَبَب

His brow and temple-lock are dawn and darkness;

his cheek and mouth are wine and bubbles.

لَقيتُه والصّبرُ دِرْعي ضافياً

فقتَل الصَبَّ المُعنَّى وسَلَب

I met him with patience as my ample armor;

he killed the tormented lover and plundered him.

وكان قَلْبانا على عَهْدٍ مضَى

بُرْجَى هوىً لكنْ ثَبَتُّ وانقلب

Our two hearts, under a bygone pact, were

two towers of love; but I stood firm while he turned away.

هل تُبْلِغَنّيِهمُ وإن شَطّ النوى

ورُبّما عاجَ البعيدُ فاقتَرَب

Will they bring me to them, though separation stretches far?

Perhaps the distant may turn back and draw near:

هُوجٌ إذا غنَّى الحُداةُ خلفَها

تكادُ من أنساعِها أن تَنْسَلِب

headstrong she-camels, when the drivers sing behind them,

almost slip free of their straps.

يُفْري ذُراها قَطْعُ كُلِّ مَهْمَهٍ

حتّى يُرَى أَكْوَمُها وهو أجَب

Crossing every wilderness wears away their humps,

until their loftiest-humped one is seen humpless.

متى أُراني ظافراً بقُربِهم

من بعْدِ بُعْدٍ إنما الدُنْيا عُقَب

When shall I see myself winning their nearness

after distance? The world is only successive turns.

كانتْ لعَمْري خُلَساً من لذّةٍ

وَلَّيْنَ لمّا أخلَسَتْ منّى القَصب

They were, by my life, snatches of pleasure

that fled when my locks began to gray.

والدّهرُ خاطَ العينَ عنّي راقداً

حتّى إذا أصبحَ ليلُ الرأسِ هَب

Time had sewn its eye shut against me, asleep,

until the night of my head became morning, and it awoke.

كان الشَّبابُ للَّيالي خِلعةً

عليّ قد أفاضَها ماضي الحِقَب

Youth was a robe of honor from the nights,

which bygone ages had draped upon me.

فارتُجِعَتْ من قبلِ إمتاعي بها

والدّهرُ شَرُّ راجِعٍ فيما وَهَب

It was reclaimed before I could enjoy it;

time is the worst reclaimer of what it gives.

حيُيَّتِ يا أيّامَنا من زَمَنٍ

إلا بوَشكِ الإنقراضِ لم يُعَب

Greetings to you, our days, a span of time

faulted only for its swift passing!

أيّامَ لا وَخْطُ المشيبِ قد بدا

ولا غُرابُ الاغترابِ قد نَعب

Days when no flecks of gray had yet appeared,

nor had the crow of exile yet cawed.

فاليومَ قال الخَطْبُ للعَيْنِ اسهري

فِكْراً وقال النّأيُ للمَفْرِقِ شِب

Today misfortune tells the eye, 'Stay awake,'

in thought; and distance tells the hair-parting, 'Turn gray.'

لي بعدَ أُلاَّفى الّذينَ رحَلوا

وخَلَّفوا صَبْرِي كلُبّى مُنتَهَب

After my companions departed, I am left with—

they left my patience plundered, like my wits—

إنسانُ عَيْنٍ لم يَزُرْهُ غَيرُهم

إلا وألقَى سِتْرَ دَمْعٍ فاحتَجَب

an eye's pupil that no one but they has visited

without its dropping a curtain of tears and hiding.

لعلّ سُكّانَ فؤادي ظَنُّهم

أنْ قد سلا على البعاد أو كَرَب

Perhaps the dwellers in my heart suppose

that it has forgotten them through distance, or nearly has.

لا والّذي أطلَع شُهْباً للورَى

مَعدودةً قَسَّمها على رُتَب

No, by the One who raised bright stars for mankind,

numbered and apportioned by rank:

فللسّماء سَبْعةٌ وواحدٌ

للأرضِ والفَضْلُ له على الشُّهب

seven for heaven, and one

for earth, whose excellence surpasses the stars.

شهابُ دِينٍ ما تَوشَحتْ لنا

بمِثْلِه دُهْمُ اللّيالي والشُّهُب

Shihab al-Din, whose like has never adorned for us

the nights, whether dark or bright.

نَوْءُ ندىً يُستمطَرُ الوَفدُ به

ففي يدَيْهِ أبداً عَشْرُ سُحُب

A rain-star of bounty, through whom delegations seek rain;

in his two hands there are always ten clouds.

ما جاد بالطّبعِ الحيا وإنّما

ذَيْلٌ له يوماً على السُّحبِ انسحب

Rain did not give generously by nature; rather,

a train of his robe once swept across the clouds.

إن يكُ للأفلاكِ سَعْدٌ طالعٌ

يَحمدُهُ قَوم لحظٍّ قد يُهَب

If the spheres have a rising lucky star,

praised by people for fortune that may be bestowed,

فللورى أسعَدُ إن كان لها

سَعْدٌ وللأرجحِ ما زال الغَلَب

then mankind has As'ad, if it has

good fortune; victory always belongs to the weightier.

نّدْبٌ أحَبَّ المجدَ حتّى أنّه

لو لم يَرثْه من أبيهِ لاغتصَب

A gallant man who loved glory so much

that, had he not inherited it from his father, he would have seized it.

يَعصي العذول في النّدى وما عصَى

لُوّامَه إلاَّ فتىً بالجُوِد صَب

He disobeys the reprover in generosity; none disobeys

his reprovers but a youth enamored of giving.

له صَلاةٌ من صِلاتٍ دائما

يُقيمها من واجبٍ ومُستَحب

He has a perpetual prayer made of gifts,

which he performs, both obligatory and commendable.

يَرُبُّ ما يَصنَعُ من مَعروِفه

ورُبّ إحسانٍ وليدٍ لم يُرَب

He nurtures the kindness he bestows;

many a newborn kindness goes unnurtured.

لم أر أوْفَى أدباً منه ولا

عن عِرْضِ وافِي أدَبٍ منه أذَب

I have seen none more complete in learning than him, nor

one more protective of a cultivated man's honor.

يا تابعاً إلى العلاء خَطْوَه

في تَبَعِ النّجم إلى الأُفْقِِ تَعَب

O you who follow his footsteps toward the heights:

following a star to the horizon is toil.

فِعالُه مادِحُه وشِعْرُنا

يَروِي فلا يَمَسُّنا فيه نصب

His deeds are his praise-giver, and our poetry

recounts them, so no weariness touches us in it.

ما دارَ عالي فَلكٍ من لَفظنا

بمدحِه إلاّ ومَعناه القُطب

No lofty sphere of our words has revolved

in his praise without his essence being its pole.

إذا الكماةُ خَضّبوا أرماحَهم

أخجلَها بقَلَمٍ له خَضِب

When armored warriors dye their spears,

he shames them with a dyed pen of his:

طِرْفُ نُهىً لكنْ بفَرْدِ طِرفٍ

له به ما شاء جَرْىٌ وخَبَب

a steed of intellect, but with a single tip,

with which he runs and trots as he wills.

يُزْهَى بعُرْفٍ أسودٍ ولَبّةٍ

تَرى لها من أنمُلٍ بيضٍ لَبَب

It takes pride in a black mane and a breast

whose breast-strap you see made of white fingers.

إذا استّوى بنانُه في مّتْنه

بَرَّز سَبْقاً في مضاميرِ الكُتب

When his fingertips sit firm upon its back,

it excels in racing through the racecourses of books.

له يَدٌ آثارُها عُلوّيةٌ

قَطْرٌ إذا جادَ وبَرْقٌ إن كتب

He has a hand whose effects are heavenly:

rain when he gives, lightning when he writes.

طَبٌّ بأسرارِ الأمورِ حازمٌ

يُهْدِي شِفاء المُلْكِ من كلِّ وَصَب

Expert in the secrets of affairs, resolute,

he brings the realm healing from every illness.

مُناصِحٌ سلطانَ عَصْرٍ تُشرق ال

أرضُ إذا ما هو بالتّاج اعتَصَب

A faithful counselor to his age's sultan: radiant is the

earth whenever he girds himself with the crown.

مَولىً إذا جَرَّ الجيوشَ للوغَى

لم يَبْقَ فوق الأرض للرّيحِ مَهَب

A lord who, when he leads armies to war,

leaves nowhere above the earth for wind to blow.

تَبقَى طوالَ الدّهرِ حيث صَفّها

من قصَدِ المرّانِ وهْو مُحتَطَب

They remain through all time where he arrayed them,

as fragments of ash-wood lances, gathered like firewood.

إذا غزا شاغَلَ عَرْضُ خيْلِه

شمسُ الضّحى حتّى تَوارَى بالحُجُب

When he campaigns, the breadth of his cavalry engages

the forenoon sun, until it hides behind veils.

من كُلٍ مُبْقيِ شَفَقٍ من عَلَقٍ

مُعتَبِطٍ يَطلُع من حيث غَرَب

Each leaves a twilight glow of clotted blood,

freshly shed, rising where it sank.

مُعتصِميُّ العَزْمِ حَثَّ خيلَهُ

للغَوْوِ حتّى حازَ حُسنَ مُنقلَب

With al-Mu'tasim's resolve, he urged his horses

to battle, until he won a fine return.

مُكْتفياً برأيهِ عن صاحبٍ

والجِدُّ في أيدي ذوىالرأي لَعِب

Self-sufficient in his judgment, needing no companion:

serious matters are play in the hands of men of judgment.

كأنّما أَبدَى احتقارَ قِرْنِه

فطَرح الفِرزانَ طَرْحاً وغَلَب

As though displaying contempt for his opponent,

he discarded the chess vizier and still prevailed.

لا زال للمُلْكِ ولا زلْتَ له

تَقضي لحقِّ المُرتجينَ ما وَجب

May he endure for the realm, and you for him,

fulfilling what is owed to the rights of those who hope.

قلتُ لقلبي ولَرُبَّ عارضٍ

غدا فلم يَقْطُرْ وراح يَنسكب

I told my heart: many a rain-cloud

comes in the morning without a drop, then pours in the evening.

لا تَأيَسَنْ إن خان حظٌّ مَرَّةً

كم صَدَق الفجرُ عُقَيْبَ ما كذبَ

Never despair if fortune betrays you once;

how often dawn proves true just after proving false!

خُذها إليك مِدْحةً صاحبُها

كما اقتضى تَراكمُ الفِكْرِ اقتَضب

Take this ode of praise, whose author

improvised as the crowding of thoughts required:

تحيةً لكنّها من زائرٍ

أَوصَلَ ما كان هوىً إذا أَغَب

a greeting, but from a visitor

most constant in love when his visits are spaced.

إن كان من عامٍ بيومٍ قانعاً

ولم تكُن دون المُلاقاةِ حُجُب

If he is content with one day out of a year,

and no barriers stand before the meeting,

فوَقفةٌ من الفتى واحدةٌ

في عَرَفاتٍ فَرْضُ عُمْرٍ تُحتَسَب

a young man's single standing

at Arafat counts as a lifetime's obligation.

جاءتْكَ من صَوبِ المعاني رَوضةٌ

قد جَمعَتْ زَهْرَ الكلامِ المُنتخَب

A garden has come to you from the quarter of meanings,

gathering the flowers of choicest speech.

تُحفةُ نَيروزٍ أَتَتْك غَضّةً

فَخُذْ لعِيدِ الفُرْسِ من قِيلِ العَرب

A Nowruz gift has reached you fresh;

take for the Persians' festival words from the Arabs.

واسْعَدْ به وافِدَ يُمْنٍ يُجتَلى

ومِثْلُه في العِزّ أَلفْاً يُرتَقَب

Rejoice in it, a visitor of good fortune to be admired,

and may a thousand like it be awaited in glory.