هو الغرام أقام الحي أم ظعنوا — Alarjani

هو الغرامُ أقامَ الحيُّ أم ظَعَنوا

إن هاجَروا قَتلوا أو واصلوا فَتَنوا

It is passion, whether the tribe stays or departs:

if they forsake me, they kill; if they grant union, they bewitch.

تاللهِ ما سكنَتْ نَفْسي إلى أحدٍ

مذْ سار في الجيرةِ الغادينَ لي سَكَن

By God, my soul has found repose with no one

since my solace departed among the neighbors setting out at dawn.

مَن ناشِدٌ لي مهاً سارتْ بها قُلُصٌ

حُماتُها أُسُدٌ تَجْري بها حُصُن

Who will seek for me the oryx-does borne away by young she-camels?

Their protectors are lions, borne swiftly by stallions.

ساروا يَؤُمّونَ مِن أرضِ الحمى بلَداً

بالظُّعْنِ تُحدَى إذا مرَّتْ بهِ الظُّعُن

They departed from the protected pasture's land, heading for a country

where camel-litters urge you onward whenever the litters pass through.

ورُبّما تَركوا البيداءَ بحرَ دمٍ

كأنّما العِيسُ في تَيّارِه سُفُن

And often they left the wilderness a sea of blood,

as though the pale camels were ships within its current,

من كلِّ طائرةٍ بالرَّحْلِ أربَعُها

كأنّما هي في جَوْز الفلا فَدَن

each one's four legs flying along with its saddle,

as though it were a lofty palace in the heart of the wastes.

هِيمٌ أطالَ صداها أنّ مُورِدَها

لا يَستقي الماءَ إلاّ والقنا شُطُن

Thirst-maddened, their thirst prolonged because their waterer

draws water only when spears serve as well-ropes.

ضوامرٌ تَمْلأُ الأنساعَ إن ظَفِرَتْ

فلا تَجولُ على أثباجِها الوُضُن

Lean camels that fill out their girths when they find water,

so the woven girths do not shift upon their backs.

تَشتاقُ نَجْداً كما أشتاقُ ساكنَهُ

وهل لحيٍّ فؤادٌ مالَهُ شَجَن

They long for Najd as I long for its inhabitant;

and has any living being a heart free of grief?

وفوقَها كُلُّ مَمْطولٍ صَبابَتُهُ

مُتَيَّمٍ وَجْدُهُ باقٍ ومُكْتَمِن

And on them rides each lover kept waiting in his longing,

enslaved by love, his passion enduring and concealed.

تَبْكي وتَطْرَبُ من رَجْعِ الحُداةِ كما

يَهتزُّ من دَوحةٍ مَمْطورةٍ فَنَن

They weep and thrill at the camel-drivers' refrain, as

a bough of a rain-drenched tree sways.

قُلْ للَّتي سفَرتْ يومَ النَّوى فبدا

للصّبِّ مُبْتسِمٌ منها ومُحْتَضَن

Say to her who unveiled herself on the day of parting, revealing

to the lovesick man her smiling mouth and her bosom:

فما رأتْ عَينُ خَلْقٍ قبلَ رُؤْيتِها

أقاحياً وشقيقاً ضَمَّها غُصُن

no mortal eye, before seeing her, had ever seen

daisies and anemones gathered on a single bough.

يا مُنيةَ النّفْسِ لِمْ أصبَحْتِ قاطعةً

صِلى مَشوقَكِ حَيّا عهدَكِ المُزُن

O my soul's desire, why have you become estranged?

Grant union to your longing lover; may rain-clouds revive your familiar haunts.

ومَن سَباهُ جَمالٌ منكُمُ عَرَضاً

فإنّه بجَميلٍ منكُمُ قَمِن

And whoever your beauty has captured by chance

is worthy of kindness from you.

ما زلتُ أُسرِحُ طَرْفي في الورَى عجَباً

فلا أرَى الحُسنَ بالإحسانِ يَقْترن

I kept letting my gaze roam among humankind in wonder,

yet never saw beauty joined with beneficence,

حتّى تَجلَّى ظهيرُ الدّينِ لي فرأَيْ

تُ اسْماً ووجهاً وفِعلاً كلُّه حَسَن

until Zahir al-Din appeared to me, and I saw

a name, a face, and conduct, all beautiful.

فقُلتُ والحقُّ بادٍ لا خفاءَ له

سُبحانَ مُنشئِ غَيْثٍ صَوبُه هَتِن

So I said, with the truth apparent and nothing hidden:

Glory to the Maker of life-giving rain whose downpour is unceasing!

فَرْدٌ يَنوءُ بما تَعْيا الألوفُ به

وللرّجالِ مَقاديرٌ إذا وُزِنوا

One man who shoulders what thousands cannot bear;

and men have their measures of worth when they are weighed.

لا خَلْقَ في كَرم الأخلاقِ يُشْبهُهُ

هذا الورى فتأمَّلْهمْ وذا الزَّمَن

No one resembles him in nobility of character;

here is humankind—consider them—and here is the age.

إنّ الخليفةَ للقُصّادِ إن وفَدوا

بيتُ النَّدى وابْنُ عبد الواحدِ الرُّكُن

Indeed, for petitioners when they come, the caliph is

the house of generosity, and Ibn Abd al-Wahid its pillar.

خِرْقٌ على أنّ بذْلَ المالِ عادَتُه

مالُ الإمامِ لدَيْه الدَّهْرَ مُخْتَزَن

An astute man: although giving wealth is his habit,

the imam's wealth is always kept securely with him.

مالانِ أمّا على هذا فمُتَّهَمٌ

جُوداً وأمّا على هذا فمُؤْتَمَن

Two fortunes: concerning this one he stands accused

of generosity; concerning the other, he is trusted.

لو لم يكُنْ خيرَ ما أولَى الملوكُ فتىً

من الورى حِفْظَ ما حازوا وما خَزَنوا

Were it not the finest charge kings confer on a man

among humankind—to guard what they acquire and store—

ما قالَ يوسفُ اجْعَلْني لدَيكَ على

خزائنِ الأرضِ وانظُرْ كيف تَمْتحِن

Joseph would not have said, 'Appoint me in your service over

the land's storehouses, and see how you put me to the test.'

يا سَيِّداً فَطِناً يَحْمي العُلا وأَبَى

أَنْ يُدرِكَ المجدَ إلاّ سَيِّدٌ فَطِن

O discerning lord, who guards high honor and has refused

to let glory be attained except by a discerning lord;

ومَن علَتْ رُتَبٌ في الدَّوْلَتَيْنِ له

فوق السُّها والعدوُّ النِّكْسُ مُضْطَغِن

and you whose ranks in the two states have risen

above al-Suha, while the base enemy harbors rancor.

بكتْ لها إذ رأَنْك الحاسدون بها

كأنّهمْ بك في أَحداقِهمْ طُعنوا

The envious wept over those ranks when they saw you in them,

as though, because of you, they had been stabbed in their eyes.

إذا بدوْتَ لهمْ أَغضَوْا على حَنَقٍ

كأنّما الذُّلُّ في أَجفانهمْ وَسَن

When you appear before them, they lower their eyes in rage,

as though humiliation were drowsiness upon their eyelids.

يَفْديك قومٌ إذا زَلَّتْ لهمْ نِعَمٌ

أَبدَوْا بها مِنَناً تَغْنَى بها المِنَن

May men ransom you who, when a kindness slips from them,

parade reminders of it that make all other reminders needless.

يا مُنْقِذَ الدَّولةِ اسمعْ قولَ ذي مِقَةٍ

صفَتْ فلا رِيَبٌ فيها ولا ظِنَن

O savior of the state, hear the words of one whose affection

is pure, with neither doubts nor suspicions within it.

قد كان جاهُك لي ذُخراً أُرفِّهُه

وقد قَصدْتُك لمّا ضاقَ بي العَطَن

Your influence was a reserve for me that I kept untouched,

and I sought you when my resting-place grew too narrow for me.

ولا يَمُدُّ الفتَى كلتا يدَيْهِ إلى

أَغْلَى الذَّخائرِ إلاّ وهْو مُمْتَحَن

And no man stretches both his hands toward

the most precious treasures unless he is put to the test.

فاعطِفْ عليَّ رعاكَ اللهُ من مَلِكٍ

بنَظْرةٍ منكَ أَمري اليومَ مُرْتَهَن

So turn kindly toward me—may God preserve you, king that you are—

my fate today hangs upon a glance from you.

والْبَسْ بُرودَ ثناءٍ حاكَها صَنَعٌ

من خَزِّ فكْريَ ما في نَسْجِها وَهَن

And wear the striped robes of praise woven by a skilled craftsman

from the silken fabric of my thought: no weakness mars their weave.

نَزِّهْ عطايا أَميرِ المؤمنينَ لنا

عن أَنْ يُعارِضَها التّنْغيصُ والمِنَن

Keep the Commander of the Faithful's gifts to us unsullied

by vexation and reminders of obligation.

ولن تُطيقَ اللَّيالي أَن تُكدِّرَها

ولن تَراها المعالي حيثُ تُمْتَهَن

The nights will never be able to cloud them,

and lofty honors will never see them treated with contempt.

فللخلافةِ أنت اليومَ خالصةٌ

ما إنْ لها دُونَه سِرٌّ ولا عَلَن

So for the caliphate today, you are its chosen confidant,

without whom it has neither private nor public affairs.

ما الدّولةُ اليومَ إلاّ شَخْصُ مكْرمةٍ

فيما نَراها وأنت العَينُ والأُذُن

The state today is nothing but nobility embodied,

as we see it, and you are its eye and ear.

فدُمْ كذاكَ فأنت المُستَجارُ به

إذا بدا للَّيالي جانِبٌ خَشِن

Remain thus, for you are the one in whom refuge is sought

when the nights reveal a harsh side.

إنّي لآمُلُ أنْ تُعنَى بها كرَماً

كما الملوكُ قديماً بالعفاةِ عُنوا

I do hope you will attend to it generously,

as kings of old attended to petitioners,

وأنْ تَحُلَّ عِقالَ الدّهرِ عن أَمَلي

فيَدْنو النّازحانِ الأهلُ والوَطَن

and loosen time's tether from my hope,

so the two distant ones—my family and homeland—draw near.

طلعتَ طلعةَ سَعْدٍ للأنامِ وقد

خافوا الزّمانَ فلّما جئْتَهمْ أَمِنوا

You rose auspiciously for humankind, who had

feared time; when you came to them, they felt secure.

فالحمدُ للهِ هذا حينَ أُكمِلَتِ النْ

نُعْمَى وأُذهبَ عنّا الخوفُ والحَزَن

So praise be to God, now that the

blessing is complete, and fear and sorrow have been removed from us.

لا زالَ من حُسْنِ صُنْعِ اللهِ واقيةٌ

دونَ اللّيالي على عَلْيائكمْ جُنَن

May there always be, through God's gracious working, a protection—

shields over your lofty station against the nights—

ما طاف بالبيتِ زُوّارٌ وما رُفعَتْ

فيه الأكُفُّ وما سِيقَتْ له بُدُن

as long as visitors circle the House, and hands are raised

therein, and sacrificial camels are driven to it.