هل للنوى ذلك الظبي الأغن سرى — Alkadawi

هَل للنوى ذلكَ الظبيُ الأغنُّ سرى

أَم سارَ هاجرةً أم راحَ أم بكَرا

Did that mellow-voiced gazelle journey by night to part,

or journey at midday, or leave in the afternoon, or depart at dawn?

وَهَل مدامعهُ يومَ النوى سُفحَت

وَهَل تَبرقعَ في التوديعِ أَم سَفَرا

And were his tears poured out on the day of parting,

and did he veil himself at farewell, or uncover his face?

بِهِ تجلّى لنا عندَ الوداعِ وَقَد

تَجلجلَ الدمعُ مِن جفنيهِ واِنحدَرا

With it he revealed himself to us at farewell, while

the tears rolled from his eyelids and streamed down.

كَأنّما دمعهُ في الخدِّ حينَ جرى

ذرّ عَلى ذهبٍ قد لاح مُنتثِرا

As though his tears, when they ran upon his cheek,

were fine grains, scattered and gleaming upon gold.

يا حبّه حبّه مِن شادنٍ جُمعت

فيهِ صفاتُ الجمالِ الدلِّ وَالخفرا

How dear he is, how dear—a young gazelle in whom were gathered

the qualities of beauty, coquetry, and modesty.

وَناشد قَد شَدا للوجدِ قَد سكبت

مَدامعي عبراتٍ تمتري قطرا

And a minstrel sang of longing; I poured out

my tears in drops that drew forth showers.

كَأنّه ناسكٌ في الزهدِ مُنفردٌ

يَتلو الحواميمَ والأعرافَ والزمرا

As though he were an ascetic, secluded in renunciation,

reciting the Ha-Mim surahs, Al-A'raf, and Az-Zumar.

فَهيَّج الوجدَ لمّا أن سمعتُ له

سجعاً وبتُّ لِعصرٍ كان مدّكرا

He stirred my longing when I heard from him

rhythmic verses, and I spent the night remembering an age—

عصر بهِ طالَ باعُ الملهيات لنا

مِن حيثُ نرجو وَباعُ البؤسِ قد قَصرا

an age when diversions stretched their reach for us

from where we hoped, while misery's reach grew short;

أيّام حوض الرِضى من هند لم يك في

ما بَيننا أجنى كلّاً ولا كدرا

the days when Hind's pool of favor had not, in

what lay between us, yielded weariness or murk.

غيداء كَم سلَبت عَقلي وَكم غَصَبت

روحي وكَم طرفُها في مُهجَتي سَحرا

A supple beauty—how often she stole my reason, and how often she seized

my soul, and how often her glance bewitched my heart's blood.

تَميسُ في بردِها تيهاً فَتحسَبُها

عوداً منَ الخَيزُران اللدنِ إن خَطرا

She sways proudly in her mantle, so you would think her

a stem of supple bamboo when it sways.

عَيناء في جنّةٍ مِن روضِ بَهجتها

وَالقلبُ يصلى مدى أيّامهِ سَقرا

Wide-eyed, in a paradise of her beauty's meadows,

while the heart burns in Saqar throughout all its days.

غنجاءُ فاترةُ الألحاظِ قَد رسمت

بدائع الحسنِ في ألحاظِها الحَوَرا

Coquettish, languid of glance; her eyes have been painted

by beauty's marvels with their dark-and-white contrast.

يَهنا اِبن نبهانَ إِن اللّه ناصرهُ

َوإنّه في الأعادي أُعطيَ الظَفَرا

May Ibn Nabhan rejoice: God is his helper,

and he has been granted victory over his enemies.

وَإنّه نالَ أخذَ الثأرِ مدّركاً

بِدولةٍ حكمها تستخدمُ القَدَرا

And he has won his vengeance, attaining it

through a realm whose rule puts destiny to its service.

جاءَ الهلاليُّ مِن أَقصى الشمالِ إِلى

غمدانَ يقدمُ جيشاً أرعباً مَجرا

Al-Hilali came from the farthest north to

Ghumdan, leading a formidable, vast army,

وَقال لا أَنتهي عَن حَربكم أبداً

حتّى يردّ حزامٌ بعد ما قهرا

and said, 'I shall never cease warring against you

until Hizam is restored after being vanquished.'

وَدونَ ملكِ حزام في تطلّبهِ

خرط القتادِ ولم بالعاقباتِ دَرى

But before the kingship he sought for Hizam

lay stripping the thorny qatad shrub; he knew nothing of the consequences.

قَد دبّر الملك الأستاذ هيبته

بتدبيرِ مَن في الأحامي أَرسل النظرا

The masterful king planned how to wield his fearsome prestige,

with the foresight of one who cast his gaze over the defended lands.

وفرّقَ الكتبَ مِن بهلا إلى سمدٍ

إِلى دبا آمر بالحربِ مُنتَصِرا

And he sent letters from Bahla to Samad,

to Diba, commanding war and seeking victory,

مُضمّناً كلّ طرسٍ كلّ معجزةٍ

تصمّ سمعَ العدا أَو تُذهِبُ البَصَرا

putting into every sheet every marvel

that deafens the enemies' hearing or takes away their sight,

حتّى تَكاملتِ الراياتُ جامعةً

عَساكراً تَجمعُ الأملاكَ وَالوُزَرا

until the banners were fully assembled, gathering

armies that brought together kings and ministers.

وَقَد تكاثَرَتِ الأنذارُ عنهُ إلى

أَن صدَّقَ الخصمُ لمّا اِستكثَرَ النذَرا

And warnings about him multiplied until

the adversary believed them, seeing the warnings so numerous.

فَحينَ أَيقنَ أنَّ الأمرَ مُشتَكِلٌ

وَإِنّما اللَيثُ في غاباتهِ زَأَرا

When he became certain that the affair was tangled

and it was the lion that had roared within his thickets,

فَمالَ نَحو صحار في ممالكهِ

يَرى منَ الأمرِ ما لا كانَ قَبل يَرى

he turned toward Suhar, within his dominions,

seeing things he had never seen before.

وَأَسعرَ الحرب حتّى بعد جيء بهِ

في الآلة الأسر موثوقاً وقد أسرا

He stoked the war, until afterward he was brought

in captivity's bonds, securely bound, having been captured.

وَاِستفتحت منهُ قسراً ثمَّ قيلَ له

عَفواً لَكَ اليوم إنّ الذنبَ قَد غُفِرا

And it was taken from him by force; then he was told,

'Pardon is yours today; the offense has been forgiven.'

فَجدّدَ الحربَ مِن بعد الفكاكِ من ال

أسرِ الّذي كان فيهِ الحظّ قَد عَثُرا

Yet he renewed the war after his release from the

captivity in which his fortune had stumbled.

فَحلحلَ اليشجبيّ القرم طالبهُ

كتائباً في الوغى يحملنَ أسدَ شَرا

Then Al-Yashjubi, the mighty chief pursuing him, deployed

battalions in battle bearing the lion of Shara.

فَاِنهاجَ عنهُ هزيماً والجيوشُ على

آثارهِ في الموامي تتبعُ الأثَرَا

He fled from him in rout, with the armies on

his tracks, following his trail through the desert wastes,

حتّى أَتى مالك الرستاقِ مُلتجئاً

مِن حيثُ لا مَلجأ يوماً وَلا وَزرا

until he reached the ruler of Al-Rustaq, seeking refuge,

from a place with no refuge, ever, and no shelter.

فَظلَّ والحربُ بالرستاقِ قائمةٌ

ما بينَ قصرٍ أو بين السوقِ مُحتضرا

He remained, while war raged in Al-Rustaq,

somewhere by a palace or the marketplace, near death.

وَاِستفرغَ الجيشَ من خيلٍ ومن رجلٍ

قتلاً وقتل صغير الشرِّ قد كبرا

He depleted the army of cavalry and foot soldiers

by slaughter; killing, once a small evil, had grown great.

ومدّ طول الوغى فيه الكماة وقد

تعاضلَ الأمرُ بينَ القومِ واِشتَجَرا

The champions prolonged the fighting there, while

the affair grew intractable among the people and raged in strife.

ثمَّ اِنثنى هارباً مِنها إِلى نحلٍ

حتّى اِستدارت برحى الهيجا وقد نصرا

Then he turned and fled from it to Nahl,

until the millstone of battle turned, and he was granted victory.

وشبَّ فيها سعيرُ الحربِ ثالثة

حتّى جَرى في وَغاها ما هُناكَ جرى

The blaze of war flared there a third time,

until what happened there happened amid its fighting.

وَاِستبشروا حينَ نالوا مِن وقائِعِها

قَتلَ الحُسين وقالوا قَد مَضى هَدرا

They rejoiced when, through its battles, they achieved

the killing of Al-Husayn, saying, 'He has died unavenged.'

فَأَصبَحوا مثلَ عادٍ في بَشائرهم

بِالمُزنِ يَرجو مِن نوائهِ المَطرا

They became like 'Ad in their glad tidings

at rain clouds, hoping their storm would bring rain.

وَسارَ مِن بعدُ يَبغي النصرَ مُتّجهاً

نزوى فَحاشت جيوشاً حوله زمرا

Afterward he marched on, seeking victory, heading

for Nizwa, which mustered armies around him in bands.

فَهزّه عجبهُ مِن حيث ما اِجتَمعوا

عشرينَ ألفاً وَقالوا النصر قَد حَضرا

His pride stirred him at the sight of their gathering:

twenty thousand, who said, 'Victory is here.'

فَصبّحتهُ جيوشُ اليشجبيّ أبي

سلطانَ يرجى له الحتف الّذي قدرا

At dawn he was struck by the armies of Al-Yashjubi, Abu

Sultan, with the death decreed for him now awaited.

فَحينَ خرّ صريعاً في المكرِّ غدوا

مثلَ النعامِ الّذي في البيدِ قد ذعرا

When he fell slain in the charge, they became

like ostriches frightened in the desert wastes.

وَقد أَحاطَت بِهم تلكَ الجيوشُ ضحىً

كأنّها البحرُ في تيّارهِ زخرا

Those armies had surrounded them in the forenoon,

like the sea surging in its current.

وَاِستَسلموا بعدما حمّ الردى فعفا

عَنهم وَعادتهُ يَعفو إِذا اِقتَدرا

They surrendered when death drew near, and he pardoned

them; his custom is to pardon when he has the power.

يا سائلاً عنه هَذا سرجُ مذهبهِ

فَاِفهَم مقالي وَكُن في ذاك مُختبرا

O you who ask about him, this is the saddle of his way:

so understand my words, and examine this for yourself.

هَذا الّذي فضلهُ بِالمُعجِزاتِ أَتى

حتّى غَدا خبير الدهرِ منتظرا

This is he whose excellence brought marvels,

until the sage of time stood waiting.

هَذا الّذي سَبَق الأجوادَ كلّهم

هَذا الّذي لَم يَدع للناسِ مُفتخرا

This is he who outstripped all the generous,

this is he who left people nothing to boast of.

يُطيعهُ الفلكُ الدوّار حيثُ جرى

وَيَفعلُ الدهرُ ما قَد شاءَ أو أَمَرا

The revolving celestial sphere obeys him wherever he moves,

and time does whatever he wishes or commands.

يا ثالثَ الشمسِ والبدر المنير فهل

مِن رابعٍ بعد في دستِ العُلا ذُكِرا

O third beside the sun and the shining full moon, is there

a fourth yet named on the throne of exalted rank?

أَعطاهُ ربُّك مِن فتحِ المدائنِ ما

لَم يُعط قبلُ أَبا بكرٍ ولا عُمَرا

Your Lord granted him such conquests of cities as

He had not granted before to Abu Bakr or 'Umar.

وَاِسل وَدُم واِبق واِفلح يا فلاح مدى ال

أيّام مُلتَحفاً بالحمدِ مُتّزرا

And take comfort, endure, remain, and prosper, O Falah, throughout the

days, cloaked and girded in praise.