سترن المحاسن إلا العيونا — Alarjani

سَتَرْنَ المحاسنَ إلاّ العُيونا

كما يَشْهَدُ المَعْرَكَ الدّارِعونا

They veiled their beauties, except their eyes,

as armored warriors enter the battlefield.

سَللْنَ سيوفاً ولاقَيْنَنا

فلا تَسألِ اليومَ ماذا لَقينا

They drew swords and met us;

do not ask today what we suffered.

كَسرْنَ الجُفونَ ولولا الرِّضا

بحُكْمِ الغرامِ كَسرْنا الجُفونا

They half-closed their eyelids; but for acceptance

of love's decree, we would have broken the scabbards.

وحَسْبُ الشَّهيدِ سُروراً بأَنْ

يُعايِنَ حُوراً مع القَتْل عِينا

It is joy enough for the martyr

to behold wide-eyed houris even as he is slain.

أفي كُلِّ يَومٍ هوىً مُعْرِضٌ

يَشُبُّ لنا الحسْنُ حرباً زَبونا

Must there be, each day, a love that turns away?

Beauty kindles for us a fiercely repelling war.

أعَيْنيَّ بَعْدَ زِيالِ الخليطِ

أعِينا على ما أُلاقى أَعِينا

O my two eyes, after the companions' departure,

help me bear what I encounter—help me!

وكنّا تركْنا غداةَ الوَدا

ع كُلَّ فؤادٍ بدَيْنٍ رَهينا

And on the morning of farewell we had left

every heart held as a pledge for a debt.

فلمّا أُتيحَ لنا مَوعِدٌ

يُعلِّلنَا ذِكْرُه ما بَقِينا

Then, when a rendezvous was granted us,

whose memory consoles us as long as we live,

قَضينا دُيونَ الهوَى كُلَّها

سوى أنّنا ما فَككْنا الرُّهونا

we repaid all the debts of love,

except that we did not redeem the pledges.

فَرُحْنا وقد كَمِدَ الحاسدون

لما يَعْلَمونَ وما يَجْهلونا

So we departed, while the envious grieved

over what they knew and what they did not know.

ولا عَيْبَ فينا سوى أنّنا

عَففْنا وظَنَّ الغَيورُ الظُّنونا

There is no fault in us except that

we were chaste, while the jealous man harbored suspicions.

عُهودٌ تَقضَّتْ وما خلّفَتْ

سوى أنْ نَذُمَّ الزَّمانَ الخَؤونا

Times passed and left nothing

but for us to blame treacherous time.

وكم قد جَرَرتُ ذيولَ الصِّبا

وجُنَّ العواذلُ منّي جُنونا

How often I dragged the trailing skirts of youthful dalliance,

and my reprovers went utterly mad because of me!

وحُبْلَى من الزَّنْج قد أضمَرَتْ

من الرُّومِ في البَطْنِ منها جَنينا

And a pregnant woman of the Zanj had hidden

a fetus of the Rūm within her belly.

قَطعتُ دُجاها ببَدرٍ يَعُدُّ

من البَدْرِ قَدْرَ اللّيالي سِنينا

I crossed her darkness with a full moon who counts

the full moon's measure of nights as years.

ولا عَيْبَ فيه سوى أنّه

إذا النّاسُ مَدُّوا إليه العُيونا

There is no fault in him except that,

when people turn their eyes toward him,

يَظُنُّ خيالاتِ أهدابِها

عِذاراً على خَدّه النّاظرونا

they take the shadows of their eyelashes

for sideburns upon his cheek—those who gaze.

تُميتُ وتُحْيي الفتَى نَظْرتَاهُ

كنفْختَيِ الصُّورِ للعاشِقينا

His two glances kill and revive a young man,

like the trumpet's two blasts for lovers.

يَكُمُّ أقاحِيَهُ في الشَّقيقِ

فَيفتُقُه الدَّلُّ حتّى يَبينا

He sheathes his daisies within an anemone,

and coyness parts it until it shows.

وقبلَ ثناياهُ والثّغْرِ مِنْ

هُ لم نَرَ مَنْ خَطَّ في الميمِ سِينا

And before his teeth and his mouth,

we had never seen anyone write a sīn inside a mīm.

لقَلْبي بَلابلُ تأْوي القُدودَ

حَكتْها بلابلُ تأْوي الغُصونا

My heart has sorrows that dwell among slender forms,

mirrored by nightingales that dwell among branches.

غُصونٌ قَدِ اتَّخذَتْ فَوْقَهُنْ

نَ منّا طُيورُ القلوبِ الوُكونا

Branches, above which have settled

the birds of our hearts in their nests.

وحاجَةُ نَفْسٍ رَحلْنا لها

مَطايا نُدارِسُهُنَّ الحَنينا

And for a longing of the soul, we saddled

mounts with whom we rehearse yearning.

ألِفْنا لها قَلِقاتِ البُرَى

وعِفْنا لها شَرِقاتِ البُرينا

For its sake, we grew accustomed to restless nose-ringed camels,

and shunned, for its sake, women with tight-fitting bracelets,

وكلُّ أناةٍ تُجيلُ الوِشاحَ

لكلّ وآةٍ تُجيلُ الوَضينا

and every languid woman whose sash swings,

for every sturdy she-camel whose saddle-girth swings.

هَجْرتُ الملاحَ وجُزْتُ المِراحَ

وماذا أُرجّي منَ الغادرينا

I abandoned the beauties and passed beyond the camp;

what can I hope for from the faithless?

وما ملك الدّهرُ قَطُّ الوفاءَ

فمِن أين يُورِثُه للبنينا

Time has never possessed loyalty;

where, then, could it get it to bequeath to its sons?

وقد كُنتُ قِدْماً مُعنَّى الفؤادِ

أُوالي جَواداً وأهْوَى ضَنينا

Long ago I was tormented at heart,

befriending a generous man and loving a miser.

فلمّا خلَصتُ نجِيَّ العُلا

وأقصرَ عن عذْليَ العاذِلونا

Then, when I became glory's confidant,

and the reprovers ceased reproaching me,

حلَفتُ على مَسْحةٍ للسّحاب

فعزَّتْ فقال ليَ القائلونا

I swore that I would touch the clouds;

but it proved hard, and those who spoke told me:

إذا ما لثَمْتَ يَمينَ الوزيرِ

سمَوْتَ فأبرَرْتَ تلكَ اليَمينا

If you kiss the vizier's right hand,

you will rise high and fulfill that oath.

إلى شَرَفِ الدّينِ تِرْبِ العُلا

أثَرْتُ منَ العيسِ حَرْفاً أمونا

To Sharaf al-Din, the peer of glory,

I roused a lean, trusty she-camel among the pale mounts.

ولو بِعتُ ساعةَ لُقيانه

بدهْرٍ سواهُ لكُنْتُ الغَبينا

If I sold an hour of meeting him

for a lifetime without him, I would be the loser.

كريمٌ مدائحُنا الغُرُّ فيه

ولكنْ صنائعُه الغُرُّ فينا

A generous man: our radiant praises concern him,

but his radiant favors are bestowed upon us.

تَرَى للعُفاةِ بأبوابه

مَطيّاً مُناخاً وخَيلاً صُفونا

At his gates you see, for the petitioners,

kneeling mounts and horses standing poised.

مَعينُ النَّدى ما تَرى من فتىً

يُعِدُّ رِشاءً عليه مُعينا

A flowing spring of bounty: you see no man

preparing a well-rope as an aid to draw from it.

وشمسٌ غدا بُرْجَهُ نَفْسُه

تَرَى بُردَه أُفْقَهُ والعرينا

And a sun whose zodiacal house is his own person;

you see his cloak as its horizon and lion's den.

تَغيمُ إذا شاء أقلامُه

بجَوْنٍ فَتُمْطُرُ للآمِلينا

His pens cloud over whenever he wishes,

with blackness, then rain for the hopeful.

فَيعتقدُ البحرُ أنْ قد حكاهُ

إذا بَعثَ السُّحْبَ للخَلْقِ جُونا

The sea believes it has imitated him

when it sends dark clouds forth to mankind.

غدَتْ مُذْ غدا وهْو صَدر العُلا

صُدورٌ بهِ لقلوبٍ سُجونا

Since he became the foremost in glory,

breasts have become prisons for hearts because of him.

وآلَى به النَّصرُ لا خانَه

فلم يَخْشَ في موقفٍ أنْ يَخونا

Victory swore by him never to betray him;

so he feared no betrayal in any encounter.

ولم يَعتمدْ بأبيهِ اليَمي

نَ إلاّ ليُومِنَنا أنْ يَمينا

Nor did he choose an oath by his father

except to assure us that he would not lie.

إذا سَدَّد الرُّمحَ يومَ الوغَى

وقد صقَلَ البِشْرُ منه الجَبينا

When he levels his spear on the day of battle,

while cheerfulness has polished his brow,

فكُلٌّ على خَدِّه في الثّرى

يَخِرُّ له طائعاً أو طَعينا

everyone, upon his cheek in the dust,

falls before him, willingly or pierced.

أأعداءه حاذِروا حِلْمَه

فقد تَخِذَ المَوتَ فيه كَمينا

O his enemies, beware his forbearance:

he has placed death within it in ambush.

ولا تأْمنوا لِينَ أخلاقِه

فشدّةُ بأْسِ القنا أنْ تَلينا

Do not trust the gentleness of his character:

the strength of spears lies in their bending.

هو الطَّودُ حِلْماً ولكنْ تَرى

لنارِ الحفيظةِ فيه كُمونا

He is a mountain in forbearance, yet you see

the fire of indignation lying hidden within him.

كذا الفَلكُ المُعْتلي كُلُّه

حَراكٌ وتَحسَبُ فيه سُكونا

Thus the lofty celestial sphere is all

motion, yet you imagine stillness within it.

ألا يا كلوءَ اللّيالي لِما

أُذيلَ من المُلْكِ حتّى تَصونا

O guardian through the nights of what

has been abased of kingship, that you may defend it!

بكَ الأنجمُ الزُّهْرُ في أنَّهُنَّ

يَبعْنَ الكَرى بالعُلا يَقْتَدينا

The radiant stars take you as their model,

selling sleep for glory in imitation of you.

ومن شَرَفِ اسْمك أنّ الهلالَ

تَقوَّسَ حتّى حكَى منه نونا

Among the distinctions of your name is that the crescent

curved until it copied a nūn from it.

إذا طالبَ الرَأْيَ منكَ الزَّما

نَ بالشّيء كان القَضاءُ الضّمينا

Whenever time seeks your counsel

on a matter, fate becomes the guarantor.

إذا ما الملوكُ اتّقَوا بالدُّروعِ

من الخوفِ أو بالحصونِ المَنونا

When kings shield themselves with armor

against fear, or with fortresses against death,

فلم تَرْضَ غيرَ السُّيوفِ الدُّروعَ

ولم تَرْضَ غيرَ الجيادِ الحُصونا

you accept no armor but swords,

and no fortresses but noble steeds.

ليَهْنِكَ أنّ مُغيثَ الأنامِ

غدا لك بالوُدِّ غَيْثاً هَتونا

May it gladden you that Mughith al-Anam

has become, through affection, a pouring rain for you.

وقبلَ المُغيثِ أبوه الغِياثُ

تَبوّأْتَ منه المكانَ المَكينا

And before Mughith, his father Ghiyath—

from him you gained a firmly established place.

فَورِّثهُ منك أُخْرى الزّما

نِ نُصحاً مُبيناً ورأْيَاً مَتينا

So bequeath to him, until the end of time,

your clear counsel and sound judgment.

وأوّلُ آثارِكَ الباهرا

تِ واحدةٌ تُرغِمُ الكاشِحينا

The first of your brilliant deeds

is one that humbles the hostile:

مَنالُ الخلافةِ والمُلْكِ منك

إعادةُ ظَنٍّ صفاءً بقينا

what the caliphate and kingship gain from you—

restoring suspicion to amity in which we remained.

وبالأمسِ أقْرَحْتَ شأنَ الحسودِ

بأنّك أصلحْتَ تلك الشُّؤونا

And yesterday you wounded the envious man's cause

by mending those affairs.

على حينَ أعضلَ داءُ العراق

وكان الَّذي لم تَخَفْ أنْ يكونا

At a time when Iraq's ailment proved intractable,

what you had not feared would happen came to pass.

أتَوْها فسالَتْ مياهُ الحديدِ

إلى أنْ أشَرْتَ فعادتْ أُجونا

They came to it, and the waters of iron flowed,

until you signaled, and they became stagnant.

وقد كان خطْباً أشابَ القُرونَ

ولولاك كان أبادَ القُرونا

It was a calamity that whitened locks of hair;

without you, it would have wiped out generations.

وبين الإمام ومَوْلَى الأنامِ

أَنْ فَتَن المُلْكَ قومٌ فُتونا

Between the Imam and the lord of mankind,

some men had grievously embroiled the realm in strife.

فمِنْ قبلُ بينَ نَبِيِّيْ هُدىً

جنَى السّامرِيُّ خصاماً مُبِينا

For earlier, between two prophets of guidance,

al-Samiri had brought forth open strife.

وكلٌّ له العُذْرُ فيما أتَى

كذلكَ يَعتقدُ المُؤْمنونا

Each has an excuse for what he did;

so the believers hold.

حروبٌ جَلتْ صَدأَ الدَّولتَيْنِ

كأنّ الصّوارمَ كانتْ قُيونا

Wars polished away the rust of the two states,

as though the sharp swords were smiths.

وما كان ثَمَّ شجارُ القلوبِ

وإن كان فيه شِجارُ القُنينا

There was no quarrel between hearts,

though spear-shafts clashed therein.

ولكنْ تمَخّضُ تلك الهَناتُ

ليَنْتِجْنَ يَوماً على المارِقينا

But those troubles undergo labor,

to bear their offspring one day against the renegades.

فمَنْ مُبِلغٌ لي مليكَ الوَرى

مَقالاً يُقرَّطُه السّامِعونا

Who will convey for me to the king of mankind

a saying the listeners will wear as earrings?

أسلطانَنا أيَّ ذي رأفةٍ

تَخيَّركَ اللهُ للمسلِمينا

O our sultan, how merciful a man

God has chosen in you for the Muslims!

خُلِقْتَ عقيداً لتاجِ العَلا

ءِ ظَهْرِ آدمَ إذ كان طينا

You were created a pledged ally to the crown of glory,

in Adam's loins, when he was clay.

كأنّ ملائكةَ اللهِ فيه

رأوكَ فخَرُّوا له ساجِدينا

It is as if God's angels, within him,

saw you and fell before him in prostration.

وقالوا يَميناً لهذا الَّذي

تُعِدُّ الخلافةُ منه يَمينا

And they swore: 'It was for this one,

whom the caliphate prepares as its right hand,

نظَرْنا على أنّه طالما

عَهِدْنا السّلاطينَ مُستَوْزِرينا

that we looked.' Yet we have long

known sultans appointing viziers.

ومثْلُ اخْتيارِكَ للصّلبِ ال

مُؤيّدِ ما عَهِدَ العاهِدونا

But a choice like yours of the firm,

supported man, no one of experience has known.

مَلِيَّ بإعْمالِه فِكْرتَيْ

ن يُرضيكَ ما شئْتَ دُنيا ودِينا

Able, by applying two thoughts,

to please you in all you desire, in world and faith.

جَمعْتَ المَعانيَ في لَفْظةٍ

وقد رُمْتَ عن قَدْرِه أن تَبينا

You gathered all meanings in one expression,

when you wished to make his worth clear.

فأقْرأْتَهُ آيةَ الإصْطِفاء

وقُلتَ غدوْتَ مكيناً أمينا

So you recited to him the verse of selection,

and said: 'You have become firmly established and trusted.'

فشَّبْهتَه بالنّبْيِّ الّذي

تَوزَّرَ في مصْرَ للمَلْكِ حِينا

Thus you likened him to the prophet who

served for a time as the king's vizier in Egypt.

ومَعْناهُ فارْعَ لنا ما رَعاهُ

وكنْ مثْلَه بامْتثالٍ قَمينا

Its meaning is: 'Tend for us what he tended,

and be, like him, worthy in obedience.'

وكانَ هُوَ الطّالبَ الشُّغْلَ منه

فحسْبُك أنّا لكَ الطّالِبونا

He was the one who sought the office from him;

it is enough for you that we are the ones seeking you.

وهل أنتَ أيضاً سوى صاحب

نَعُدُّكَ للمُلْكِ حصْناً حَصينا

Are you, too, anything but a companion

whom we count as a strong fortress for kingship?

أخو مَنْظَرٍ وأخو مَخْبَرٍ

يُسهْلُ يُمْنُكَ عنّا الحُزونا

A man of fine appearance and inner worth,

whose good fortune smooths rugged ground for us.

فوَجْهُكَ يُعطي البِلادِ السّناءَ

ورأيُك يَكفي العِبادَ السِّنينا

Your face gives radiance to the lands,

and your judgment spares the people years of famine.

ألا فابْقَيا ما حدَتْ بالمطيّ

حُداةٌ وحَجّوا صَفاً أو حَجونا

May you both endure as long as mounts are urged on in song

by camel-drivers, and they make pilgrimage to Safa or Hajun.

فنِعْمَ الوزيرُ اتّخذْتَ الوزيرَ

ونِعْمَ القرينُ ارتضَيْتَ القَرينا

How excellent the vizier you have taken as vizier!

How excellent the companion you have approved as companion!

عليمٌ بأخبارِ كُلِّ القُرونِ

وأخْبارُه نُزَهُ الدّارِسينا

Well versed in the accounts of all generations,

his accounts are delights for students.

كأنّ الفَتى عاش عُمْرَ الزَّمانِ

وعاشرَ أهليهِ مُسْتَجْمعينا

It is as if the man lived the lifetime of time,

and kept company with all its people together.

إذا ما دَرى قَصَصَ الذّاهبِينَ

وجادَ لِيُذْكَرَ في الغابِرينا

Since he knows the tales of those who passed,

and gives generously to be remembered among those to come,

فصوَّرَ هذا له الأَوّلِينَ

وَصَوَّرَهُ ذاك للآخِرينا

this has pictured earlier generations for him,

and that has pictured him for later generations.

فمَنْ يكُ عِلْمٌ وجودٌ له

فقد عاشَ عُمْرَ الوَرى أجْمَعِينا

Whoever possesses knowledge and generosity

has lived the lifetime of all mankind.