حلفت بالساعين يوم الموقف — Alarjani

حَلفْتُ بالسّاعِينَ يومَ المَوقِفِ

وكثْرةِ الدّاعين بالمُعرَّفِ

I swore by those hastening on the day of the standing,

and the multitude of supplicants at Arafat,

وضَجّةِ الشُّعْثِ المُلَبِّين ضُحىً

وزَحْمَةِ الحَجيجِ في المُطَوَّف

and the clamor of disheveled pilgrims chanting in the forenoon,

and the press of pilgrims in the place of circumambulation,

وزَمْزمٍ والمَرْوتَيْنِ ومِنَى

والجمْرَتَيْنِ والمَقامِ الأَشْرَف

and Zamzam, the two Marwas, and Mina,

and the two Jamras and the most honored Station,

والبُدْنِ تُدمَى والجِمارِ أصبحَتْ

تُرمَى وبَيتِ الحَرَمِ المُسجَّف

and the sacrificial camels being bloodied, and the Jamras being

pelted, and the draped House of the Sanctuary,

وكُلُّ عَينٍ قابلَتْه فانْثنَتْ

مَملوءةً من الدّموعِ الذُّرّف

and every eye that faced it and turned away

filled with streaming tears—

حَلْفةَ بَرٍّ في أَلا يا صادِقٍ

لو لم يَثِقْ من نَفسِه لم يَحْلِف

the oath of a righteous man, truthful in his oaths,

who would not swear unless he trusted himself:

لو أَنّ ما وجَدْتُه وصَفتُه

أَيّامَ عُمري كُلَّها لم يُوصَف

if I described what I experienced

throughout all the days of my life, it would remain undescribed—

من قَلقي السّالفِ حين اعْتادَني

وبَعدَه من طَربي المُستَأْنَف

my former anxiety when it beset me,

and afterward my newly kindled joy.

لِماجِدٍ طارَ فؤادي أَسَفاً

وفَرَحاً من بَعْدِ ذاكَ الأَسَف

For a noble man my heart flew with grief,

and with joy after that grief,

يومَ ارتَحلْتُ وهْو حاشاه اشْتكى

ويومَ عاوَدْتُ وقالوا قد شُفي

on the day I departed, when he—may he be spared—fell ill,

and the day I returned, when they said, 'He has recovered.'

فقلتُ للدُّنيا وقد تَجدَّدَتْ

أَنوارُها غِبَّ ظلامٍ مُسْدِف

Then I said to the world, whose

lights were renewed after enveloping darkness:

يا عَيْنَ يَعقوبَ ارْجِعي مُبصِرةً

فقد أَعادَ اللهُ وَجْهَ يُوسُف

'O eye of Jacob, return to sight,

for God has restored the face of Joseph,

خَيْر بَنِيك لا عَرفْتُ فَقْدَه

فليس عنه للعُلا من خَلَف

the best of your sons—may I never know his loss,

for lofty honor has no successor to him.

بَدْرُ جلالٍ لا استَسَرَّ أَبداً

وشَمسُ علياءَ فلا تَنْكَسِف

A full moon of majesty—may he never disappear,

and a sun of exalted honor—may it never be eclipsed.'

أبلَجُ يَعْصي العاذلِينَ في النّدى

فَعالَ صَبٍّ بالمعالي كَلِف

Radiant-faced, he defies reproachers in his generosity,

acting like an ardent lover enamored of high deeds.

ما مِثْلُه سَماحةً في شَرَفٍ

يُلْفَى ولا تَواضُعٌ في شَرَف

None like him in generosity joined to nobility

is found, nor such humility joined to nobility.

يَبْسطُ للسّائلِ كَفَّ حاتِمٍ

ويَمنَحُ الجاهِلَ سَمْعَ الأحْنَف

He extends to the petitioner Hatim's hand

and lends the ignorant man al-Ahnaf's ear.

ويُستعارُ من شَبا أَقلامِه

مَضاءُ أطْرافِ القنا المُثَقَّف

From the tips of his pens is borrowed

the keenness of the points of straightened spears.

فجُودُه نَثْرُ شآبيبِ الحَيا

ورأْيُه حَدُّ الحُسامِ المُرْهَف

His generosity scatters showers of rain,

and his judgment is the edge of a finely honed sword.

للهِ فَخْرُ الدِّينِ مثْل ماجدٍ

أَزْرَتْ يَداهُ بالغُيوثِ الوُكَّف

How wondrous is Fakhr al-Din, such a noble man,

whose hands put pouring rainclouds to shame!

من سابِقٍ في المكرُماتِ يُقْتَفى

في سَنَنِ الجُود وليس يَقْتَفي

A forerunner in noble deeds, he is followed

along generosity's paths, yet follows none.

يُصفي الإمامَ نُصْحَه ووُدَّه

وهْو له منَ الأنامِ مُصْطَفى

He gives the Imam his sincere counsel and affection,

and is his chosen one among mankind.

يُصبِحُ منه كُلَّ يومٍ حادِثٍ

لِبابِه ذا قُربٍ وزُلَف

Each new day he becomes, in his regard,

one close to his door, enjoying favor and access.

قد كان وَحْشاً مِدْحتي فاصطادَها

منه كريمٌ حَسَنُ التّألُّف

My praise had been a wild creature; it was captured

by his noble, gracious way of winning affection.

إذا انتدَى أَصبحَ ظَهْرُ كفِّه

ثَغْراً لباغي العزِّ حُلْوَ المَرْشَف

When he sits in council, the back of his hand becomes

a mouth, sweet to kiss, for one who seeks honor.

يُكرِمُ أهْلَ الفَضْلِ حتّى ما لَهُمْ

إلاّ ذُراه أبداً من مَأْلَف

He honors people of merit until they have

no familiar refuge ever but his heights.

يَمدَحُه بنو الزّمانِ كلُّهمْ

بما لَهمْ من مَنْطقٍ مُؤَلَّف

All the children of the age praise him

with whatever composed speech they possess,

مِن مُوجِزٍ في مَدْحِه ومُطْنِبٍ

ومن صَريح شِعْرُه ومُقْرِف

some concise in praising him, others expansive,

some whose poetry is purebred, others of mixed stock.

والطّيرُ إنْ جاء الرَّبيعُ كُلُّها

داعيةٌ بنُطْقِها المُخْتَلَف

And all the birds, when spring arrives,

call out in their differing voices.

لو كان يَفْنَى الشِّعْرُ أَفْنَوه إذنْ

من وَلَعٍ بمَدْحِه وشَغَف

If poetry could be exhausted, they would exhaust it then,

so obsessed and impassioned are they with praising him.

لكنْ إذا ما كان بَحْرُ جُودهِ

يَمُدُّ بَحْرَ مَدْحِهمْ لم يُنزَف

But if the sea of his generosity

feeds the sea of their praise, it cannot be drained.

إلى ذُراهُ قطَعتْ ركائبي

للمجدِ كُلَّ مَهْمَهٍ ونَفْنَف

To his heights my riding camels have crossed,

in pursuit of glory, every wasteland and empty expanse.

وقائلٍ يُظهِرُ لي تَعجُّباً

من عُظْمِ ما أَسرَعْتُ من مُنصَرفي

And someone expressed to me his amazement

at how swiftly I had hastened back:

أَكُلَّ عامٍ رحْلةٌ لنَحْلةٍ

هذي بتلك لو علمتَ لا تَفي

'A journey for a gift every year?

This does not compensate for that, if you knew.

والموقفُ الأسمَى يُنَالُ بِرُّه

على النّوى أَكرِمْ به من مَوقِف

The highest court's bounty can be obtained

even at a distance—how noble a court it is!

والمَجلِسُ السّامي الظّهيرِيَّ له

لك اعْتِناءٌ وهْو ذو تَلَطف

And the lofty Zahiri council has

care for you, and is full of kindness.

فلو أَقَمْتَ وبَعَثْتَ مِدَحاً

أَغنَتْ عنِ المَسيرِ والتَّعسُّف

If you stayed and sent poems of praise,

they would suffice instead of travel and arduous wandering.

والحَجُّ فَرضٌ مرّةً على الفتى

أن يأتيَ البَيتَ بحَمْلٍ الكُلَف

Pilgrimage obliges a man just once

to visit the House, bearing the burdens,

ثُمَّ يُقيمُ ويُصلّي شَطْرَه

واللهُ من عَبْدٍ بذاكَ يَكْتَفي

then remain at home and pray toward it;

God is content with this from a servant.'

قُلْتُ جُزيتَ الخيرَ لي من ناصحٍ

أصبحَ عن سَرائري مُستَكْشِفي

I said, 'May you be well rewarded as my adviser,

who has come to probe my inner secrets.

فكُلُّ ما أَسمَعْتَنيهِ كَلِمٌ

عن جِهةِ الصّوابِ لم تُحَرَّف

Everything you have said to me consists of words

that have not strayed from the path of right.

لكنّ لي مَولىً قصَدْتُ نَحوَه

فهْو لِنُعماهُ قديماً مُسْلِفي

But I have a patron whom I sought,

for he bestowed his favors on me long ago.

فارقْتُه مِن قبلِ ما شاهَدْتُه

فعُدْتُ عَجْلانَ عسى أن أَشْتَفي

I parted from him before I had seen him,

so I returned in haste, hoping to find relief.

أعني ظهيرَ الدّولةِ القَرْمَ الّذي

يَزيدُ بالقَصْدِ له تَشَرُّفي

I mean Zahir al-Dawla, the great lord who

increases my honor when I seek him out.

ما عَوْدَتي إلاّ إلى جَنابِه

واللهُ ربّي عالِمُ السِّرِّ الخَفي

My return is to his presence alone,

and God, my Lord, knows the hidden secret.

مَولىً لِقَصْدي وقَصيدي عندَه

أضحَى الزّمانُ مُسْعِدي ومُسْعِفي

A patron: through my seeking him and my poetry before him,

Time has become my helper and my provider.

صَرَّفْتُ دَهْري تحت حُكْمي صاغِراً

مُذْ كان تحت حُكْمِه تَصَرُّفي

I bent my days beneath my rule, submissive,

since my actions came beneath his rule.

وكنتُ قبلَ اليومِ مُستَعطِفَه

فصار من إِجْلالِه مُستَعطِفي

Before today I used to seek Time's sympathy,

but, through his honoring me, it began to seek mine.'

فقُلْ له تَفديه نَفْسي من فتىً

أَصبحَ عُذْرَ الزّمَنِ المُقْتَرِف

So tell him—may my soul ransom this noble man,

who has become the excuse for wrongdoing Time—

أنت العزيزُ فَمُرِ الدَّهْرَ إذنْ

يُوفِ لنا الكَيلَ ولا يُطَفِّف

'You are the mighty one, so command Time

to give us full measure without shortchanging us.

فقد حَثَثْتُ في عِقالِ أَملي

على النّوى إلى المَحَلِّ القُذُف

I have urged onward, tethered by my hope,

across the distance toward this far-flung abode.

واصْرِفْ إلى أوطانِه منّي فتىً

إلاّ إليكَ نَفْسُه لم تُصْرَف

And send home the young man in me,

whose soul has turned toward none but you.

فهكذا إذا أُضيفَ يَنْثَني

مُنْصرِفاً ما ليس بالمُنْصَرِف

Thus, when received as a guest, he turns back,

departing, though otherwise he would not depart.

بَحرُ أميرِ المؤمنين للنّدى

ورأْيُك السّاحلُ للمُغْتَرِف

The Commander of the Faithful's bounty is a sea,

and your judgment is the shore for those who draw from it.

فأنت في إيصالِ سَيْبِ كفِّه

مُستَخلِفٌ للقائمِ المُستَخَلف

In conveying the bounty of his hand, you are

one who deputizes for the reigning, appointed successor.

وكم هَممْتُ أن أُقيمَ ساكناً

وسالِكاً طريقةَ المُخَفَّف

How often I intended to remain still,

following the way of one lightly burdened!

لكنْ لسانُ مجدِكَ الماضي الشَّبا

قال لنفسي اقْترحي وأَسرِفي

But the tongue of your glory, keen of edge,

said to my soul, "Make requests, and be lavish."

فكيف لا يَبذلُ فَضْلَ جاهِه

مَنْ يَبْذُل الأموالَ بَذْلَ المُسْرِف

How could he fail to lend the aid of his rank,

who gives away wealth like a spendthrift,

مَنْ كَفُّه إذا اعتَفاه سائلٌ

أَسمَحُ من قَطْرِ الغمامِ الأَوطَف

whose hand, when a petitioner seeks his bounty,

is more generous than the rain of a thick cloud?

تَسخو لأبناءِ الزّمانِ كفُّه

بكُلِّ عَفْوٍ قَبلَه لم يُعْرَف

His hand gives freely to the children of the age,

with every spontaneous bounty unknown before him.

وخيرُ ما نالَ به الحَمْدَ الفتَى

مالٌ لسَهْمِ الدَّهْرِ كالمُستَهْدَف

The finest thing by which a man earns praise

is wealth exposed as a target for Time's arrow.

فجُدْ به وسُدْ به بَينَ الورَى

وابْذلْه بَذْلاً مِلْءَ كَفِّ المُعْتَفى

So give it freely, and win preeminence through it among mankind,

and bestow it, filling the petitioner's palm.

فالوَرْدُ من أَغصانهِ بطَبْعِه

مُنتَشِرٌ لابُدَّ إن لم يُقْطَف

For the rose, by its nature, from its branches

must fall scattered if it is not picked.

جاءتْكَ بِنْتُ ساعةٍ من لَيلةٍ

مَطْبوعةً من غَيرِ ما تكَلُّف

There comes to you a daughter of an hour of night,

born naturally, without affectation:

حَسناءُ تُجلَى من بديعِ لَفْظِها

في مثْلِ بُرْدِ الرَّوضةِ المُفَوَّف

a beauty unveiled through her marvelous wording,

in the likeness of a garden's striped mantle,

من خاطرٍ جارٍ متى ما أَدْعُه

إلى امتداحٍ لكمُ لم يَقِف

from a flowing mind that, whenever I summon it

to praise you, never halts,

كالبَحرِ يُلْقي الدَّهْرَ منه دُرَّه

ليس سوى فكْري لها من صَدَف

like the sea, ever casting forth its pearls;

she has no shell but my thought.

إن فُتِنَ النّاسُ بسِحْرِ بابلٍ

أو ملأوا منه بُطونَ الصُّحُف

If people are bewitched by Babylon's magic,

or fill the insides of their pages with it,

فلي يَدٌ بيضاءُ إن أظهرتُها

في النّظْمِ مهما يَأْفِكوا تَلَقَّف

I have a white hand which, if I reveal it

in verse, swallows whatever falsehood they devise.

وقلَمي في الطِّرسِ ثُعبانٌ إذا

نَضنَضْتُ قال الفَضلُ لي لا تَخَف

My pen upon the page is a serpent; whenever

I make it flick its tongue, Excellence tells me, "Do not fear."

إذا ذوو السِّحرِ رأوا آياتِها

أبْدَوْا لديها سَجدةَ المُعْتَرِف

When the masters of magic see her signs,

they bow before her in the prostration of acknowledgment.

إليك أهْدَى رَمضانُ يُمْنَه

فاقْبَلْ هَديّةَ الولِيِّ المُتْحف

Ramadan has offered you its good fortune;

accept the gift of the devoted gift-bringer.

وافَى َبشيراً بُعلُوٍّ زائدٍ

في ظِلِّ شَمسِ دَولةٍ مُؤتَلف

It arrives as a herald of ever greater eminence,

in the harmonious shade of a dynasty's sun.

ومَدَّ بالبُشرَى يدَيْ هِلالِه

مثْلَ سِوارٍ فوقَها مُعطَّف

With glad tidings it extends its crescent's two hands,

like a bracelet curved above them,

من خِلْعةِ اللهِ عليه إذ سَعَى

إلى ذُراكَ طَلبُ التَّشَرُّف

from God's robe of honor upon it, as it hastens

to your heights in pursuit of distinction.

بدَوْتَ تَسمو للمعالي وبَدا

يُجْلَى لعَيْنِ النّاظرِ المُستَشْرِف

You appeared, rising toward high honors, and it appeared,

revealed to the eye of the watcher gazing upward.

ورُؤْيةُ النّاسِ هلالَيْنِ معاً

في أوّلِ الشّهْرِ مِنَ المُستَطْرَف

For people to see two crescents together

at the start of the month is a rare delight.

فَزادَنا جَمعُكما أُنْساً ولو

وحْدَك للنّاسِ طَلَعْتَ لاكْتُفي

Your meeting has increased our joy; yet even if

you alone had risen for the people, it would suffice.

فزِدْ بذا الشّهْرِ الشّريفِ بَهجةً

وَرِدْ جِمامَ العَيشِ عَذْبَ النُّطَف

So increase in joy with this noble month,

and drink from life's full pools, whose drops are sweet.

واعْدُدْ منَ الأعوامِ أَلْفاً مثْلَه

حتّى إذا استْكملْتَها فَنَيِّف

Count a thousand years like it,

until, when you have completed them, add still more,

في دولةٍ مَحْسودةٍ عَلياؤها

ما شاقَ تَغْريدُ الحَمامِ الهُتَّف

in a dynasty whose grandeur is envied,

as long as the cooing of calling doves stirs longing.'