أهلا بوجهك من صباح مقبل — Alarjani

أَهْلاً بوَجْهِك من صَباحٍ مُقْبِلٍ

وبجُودِ كَفِّك من سَحابٍ مُسْبِلِ

Welcome to your face, a morning drawing near,

and to your hand's generosity, a cloud pouring rain.

وإذا الصّباحُ معَ السّحابِ تَرافَقا

مُتَسايرَيْنِ إلى مَعالمِ مَنْزلي

And when morning and cloud accompany one another,

traveling side by side toward the landmarks of my dwelling,

سَعِدَتْ فأشْرَق كُلُّ نادٍ مُظْلمٍ

منها وأخصَب كُلُّ وادٍ مُمْحِل

those places are blessed: every darkened gathering-place shines

among them, and every barren valley grows fertile.

قُلْ للعيونِ وللشّفاهِ منَ الوَرى

لمّا بدا كالعارِضِ المُتَهلِّل

Say to the eyes and lips of humankind,

when he appeared like a beaming rain cloud:

السّعْدُ في ذاك الجبينِ فطالعي

واليُمْنُ في تلكَ اليَمينِ فَقبِّلي

"Good fortune is in that brow, so gaze upon it;

and blessing is in that right hand, so kiss it."

أرأيتَ بَرْقاً بين خَمْسِ سَحائبٍ

يَسْرينَ في عَرْضِ الفلاةِ المَجْهَل

Have you seen lightning between five clouds

gliding across the uncharted wilderness's expanse,

إلاّ عِنانَ مُطَهَّمٍ ذي مَيْعةٍ

ألقاهُ منه بينَ تلك الأنْمُل

other than the rein of a well-built, vigorous steed,

which he cast from it among those fingers?

عالي المَواطيء بالنّجومِ مُسمَّرٍ

للنّاظِرين وبالأهِلّةِ مُنْعَل

High-stepping, studded with stars

to watching eyes, and shod with crescent moons.

فنأَى به ودنا بقاصيةِ المُنَى

إذ لم يكُنْ لِيَحُلَّ لو لم يَرْحَل

He rode far on it, yet brought the farthest hopes near,

for he could not have alighted had he not departed.

ما إن رَمَوْا بسديدِ دولةِ هاشمٍ

خَطْباً فأصبحَ منه مُخْطِئَ مَقْتَل

Never did they send the sure-aimed man of Hashim's realm

against a calamity only for him to miss its vital spot.

أضْحَى قرارَ الدَّولتَيْنِ بِسَعْيِهِ

وبعَزْمهِ الماضي مَضاءَ المُنْصُل

Through his efforts he became the stability of both states,

and through his decisive resolve, the blade's keenness.

والأرضُ ساكنةٌ لدَورٍ دائمٍ

يَعتادُه فَلَكٌ عليها مُعْتَل

And the earth stands still beneath a ceaseless revolution

repeated by a celestial sphere high above it.

أمسَتْ لغيبتِك النّفوسُ وأصبحَتْ

للخَلْقِ وهْي قليلةُ المُتَعلَّل

In your absence, souls spent evening and morning,

throughout humankind, with little consolation.

وتَركْتَ بغداداً ومَشرِقُ شَمْسِها

في عَينِ ساكنها طَريقُ المَوْصِل

You left Baghdad, and the rising-place of its sun,

in its inhabitants' eyes, was the road to Mosul.

وقَدِمْتَ والصّومُ المباركُ قادمٌ

فاسعَدْ بصَوْمٍ عيدُه في الأوّل

You arrived as the blessed fast was approaching;

so rejoice in a fast whose feast is at its beginning.

حتّى طلَعْتَ معَ السُّعودِ فأصبحَتْ

تلك الخُطوبُ عن النَّواظرِ تَنْجَلي

At last you rose with the auspicious stars, and

those calamities began to vanish from sight.

حُيّيتَ من قَمرٍ تَجلّى والورَى

من حَيْرةٍ في مِثلِ لَيْلٍ ألْيل

Hail to you, a moon unveiled, while humankind

lay bewildered as though in a pitch-dark night.

طَلَعتْ مواكبُه وغُرّةُ وجَهْه

تَزدادُ نُوراً في ظَلام القَسْطَل

His processions came into view, and the radiance of his face

grew brighter in the darkness of billowing dust.

ورَمَوا بأبصارِ العُيونِ سَوامياً

منه إلى بَدْرٍ بدا مُسْتكْمِل

They cast the gazes of their eyes aloft,

toward his full moon, revealed in perfect fullness.

فرَشوا بديباجِ الخُدودِ طريقَه

حُبّاً له من قادمٍ مُستَقْبَل

They carpeted his path with the brocade of their cheeks,

out of love for him, an arrival warmly welcomed.

وتناهبَ النّاسُ الثّرى بجباهِهمْ

إظهارَ شُكْرٍ للوَهوبِ المُجْزِل

The people vied to claim the dust with their foreheads,

in gratitude to the generous, lavish giver.

ولو استطاعَ الخَلْقُ يومَ قُدومِه

من فَرْطِ شَوْقٍ بالقُلوبِ مُوكَّل

Had humankind been able, on the day of his arrival,

from the overwhelming longing that possessed their hearts,

لمَشْوا إليهِ مِشْيةً قلَميَّةً

بالهامِ لا قَدمِيّةً بالأرْجُل

they would have walked toward him with the gait of pens,

on their heads, not with a footborne gait on their legs.

فَلْيَهْنِكَ العَوْدُ الحَميدُ ولا تَزلْ

يُكفَى الوَرى بك كُلَّ خَطْبٍ مُعْضِل

May your praiseworthy return bring you joy, and may

humankind always be spared, through you, every intractable calamity.

يا داعمَ البيتِ القديمِ بعِزّه

أشْرِفْ بمَجْدٍ قد بنَيْتَ مُؤَثَّل

O upholder of the ancient house through your might,

how exalted the firmly founded glory you have built!

ما سار في الآفاقِ ذِكْرُك فارساً

إلاّ على يَومٍ أغَرَّ مُحجَّل

Your fame has never ridden the horizons as a horseman

except upon a white-blazed, white-stockinged day.

بك قَرطَس الغَرَضَ الإمامُ وقد رمَى

فغَدا منَ الباغي مُصيبَ المَقْتَل

Through you the imam hit the mark when he shot,

and thus struck the rebel's vital spot.

وجلَوْتَ وجْهَ الحقِّ غيرَ مُدافَعٍ

لمّا نطَقْتَ غداةَ ذاكَ المَحْفِل

You unveiled the face of truth, unchallenged,

when you spoke on the morning of that assembly.

مُلِئَ البلادُ مَيامِناً لمّا الْتَقى

يُمْنُ الرّسولِ لها ويُمْنُ المُرْسِل

The lands were filled with blessings when

the envoy's blessing for them met the sender's blessing.

قُلْ للّذي أَغفَلْتُ نَفْسي ضَجْرةً

لكنّه عن عَبْدِه لم يَغْفَل

Say to him—for I neglected myself in vexation,

but he did not neglect his servant—

نَفْسي فِداؤك من كريمٍ لم يَزَلْ

عالي ذُراهُ منَ الحوادِثِ مَوْئلي

my soul be your ransom, noble man, whose

lofty heights have always been my refuge from calamities.

وعلى البِعادِ خلالَ أكبرِ شُغْلِه

عن ذِكْرِ أصغَرْ خادمٍ لم يُشْغَل

And even from afar, amid his weightiest business,

he was not too busy to remember his humblest servant.

يا باخِلاً بالعِرْضِ من كرَمٍ به

حتّى إذا سُئلَ اللُّها لم يَبْخَل

O you, miserly with your honor because you prize it,

yet, when asked for gifts, never miserly.

وذُراه مُزْدَحِمُ الوفودِ تَؤُمُّه

أبداً لأنّ نَداهُ عَذْبُ المَنْهَل

His heights are thronged with delegations seeking him

unceasingly, for his bounty is a sweet watering-place.

وتَراهُ يَسبِقُ بالعطاء سُؤالَهمْ

جُوداً كإلْثاثِ الغوادي الهُطَّل

You see him forestall their requests with gifts,

in generosity like the unceasing downpour of morning clouds.

وإذا أتَى المُمْتاحُ حَقَّق بالنّدى

كُلَّ الأماني ثُمَّ قال له سَل

And when a seeker comes to draw, he fulfills through bounty

every wish, then says to him, "Ask."

لم أمتدِحْ طلَبَ النّوالِ وإنّما

أغْنَى وُصولٌ عن طِلابِ تَوَصُّل

I did not praise you in pursuit of gifts; rather,

access already gained spared me seeking an approach.

لكنْ أَرى حادي المَطيّ وقد حدا

وأُثيرَ نِضْوُ الرّاكبِ المُستَعْجِل

But I see the camel-driver already chanting,

and the hasty rider's worn-out mount has been roused.

ولقد تُجَدِّدُ للضّيوفِ كرامةً

عند ارْتحالِ الظّاعنِ المُتحمِّل

Indeed, you renew your hospitality to guests

when the departing traveler sets out with his load.

تلك البقيّةُ بعدُ باقيةٌ كما

كانَتْ وعُقْدَةُ أمرِها لم تُحْلَل

That remainder is still outstanding, just as

it was; the knot of its matter has not been untied.

ولقد كفَلْتَ بها ورأْيُك وَحْدَه

حَسْبي لها سَبباً وإن لم تَكْفُل

You have indeed guaranteed it, and your judgment alone

is means enough for me to gain it, even without your guarantee.

فأعِدْ لها نظَر الكرامِ فليس في

تَحْصيلِها إلاّ عليكَ مُعوَّلى

So renew for it the regard of the generous; for

in obtaining it, I rely on you alone.

وأنا الّذي ما لي سوِاكَ ذخيرةٌ

فلقد خبَرْتُك في الزّمانِ الأوّل

And I am the one who has no treasure in reserve but you,

for I have tested you in earlier days.

من أيِّ وجْهٍ كنتُ جئْتُك راغباً

لاقَيْتُ تَطْويلي بفَرْطِ تَطوُّل

From whatever quarter I came to you in hope,

I found my lengthy pleas answered with overflowing generosity.

فإذا أردتُ الجاهَ كنتَ مُناوِلي

وإذا أردْتُ المالَ كنتَ مُنوِّلي

So when I wanted standing, you handed it to me;

and when I wanted wealth, you bestowed it on me.

ومتى اقتبَسْتُ رأيتُ أكبرَ فاضِلٍ

وإذا التمسْتُ رأيتُ أكرمَ مُفْضِل

Whenever I drew a spark of learning, I found the greatest man of merit;

and whenever I sought a gift, I found the noblest benefactor.

أم كيف يُمكِنُ فَوتُ ما أنا آمِلٌ

ولكَمْ رجَعْتُ بنَيْلٍ ما لم آمُل

Or how could what I hope for elude me,

when so often I have returned with bounty I had not hoped for?

وإذا طلبتُ النّصْرَ يومَ حفيظةٍ

جَرَّدْتَ دوني كُلَّ عَضْبٍ مِصْقَل

And when I sought aid on a day of wrath,

you unsheathed every keen, polished blade in my defense.

لا زلتَ تَلبسُ من حِسانِ قلائدي

أشباهَ دُرٍّ في النّظامِ مُفَصَّل

May you ever wear, from my fairest necklaces,

likenesses of pearls, set apart upon a string.

وبَقِيتْ تَخْطِرُ في عِراصِ سعادةٍ

وتَجُرُّ أذيالَ البقاء الأَطْول

And may you keep striding proudly through the courts of happiness,

and trailing the hems of the longest life.