لائمي في الحب مهلا فلقد — Alkadawi

لائِمي في الحبّ مهلاً فلَقد

هيَّجتَ بِاللومِ غَرامي وَالفند

My reproacher in love, go gently, for you have

stirred my passion and folly through reproach.

هيَّجت شوقاً لفتى ذكرتهُ

مِن عهودِ الحبِّ ما كان عهد

You stirred longing in a youth, reminding him

of the days of love he once had known.

لا ترجّي الصبرَ منهُ واِعلَمَن

إنّما الصبرُ تقضّى ونَفَد

Do not expect patience from him, and know for certain:

patience has simply run its course and is exhausted.

مُذ تولّت زينب ما طعمَ الن

نومَ جفني لا ولا كادَ هَجَد

Since Zaynab turned away, my eyelid has not tasted

sleep—no, nor has it even nearly slumbered.

كَم بِها قَلبي اِشتقى في هَجرِها

وَلَكم في وصلِها ما كانَ اِستَعَد

How often my heart has suffered through her, in her estrangement,

and how often it found happiness in union with her!

أَنا بِالروحِ عليها جايدٌ

وهيَ لي بِالوصلِ منها لم تَجُد

I lavish my very soul upon her,

yet she has not granted me union with her.

عَجباً بل عَجباً بالدِما

ما لَه أرشٌ عليها وَقَوَد

How strange—how strange indeed—the blood

for which she owes neither compensation nor retaliation.

أَوقدت بالهجرِ لي جمرَ جوى

شبَّ ما بينَ ضُلوعي وَاِتّقَد

She kindled for me, through estrangement, an ember of anguish;

what lay between my ribs flared up and blazed.

وَتصَدّت بِصدودٍ كونه

قَد أَذابَ القلبَ منّي وَالكَبِد

And she confronted me with aversion, whose very existence

has melted my heart and liver.

وَنَأَت مِن بعدِ قربٍ وَاِنقَضت

لِنواها مدّةً بعدَ مُدَد

And she drew far away after being near, and there elapsed

in her absence, a span after many spans.

ما تَثنّت في الخطا إلّا غَدا

لِتثنّي قدّها قَلبي قدَد

She never swayed in her steps without leaving

my heart in shreds at the swaying of her figure.

أيّها المخبرُ عَن أهلِ اللِوى

كَرِّرِ الأخبارَ عَنهم وَأَعِد

O bearer of news about the people of al-Liwa,

repeat their news and tell it again.

هَل رأيتَ الحيَّ ساروا جملةً

أَم همُ ساروا شعاعاً وبدَد

Did you see the tribe depart all together,

or did they depart scattered and dispersed?

وَالرسوم الربع هَل أَبصَرتها

دارِساتٍ بالياتٍ أَم جُدد

And the traces of the encampment—did you see them

effaced and worn away, or new?

كَيفَ ذاكَ النوء وَالعرصة بَل

كَيفَ ذاكَ المُصطلا وَالمُنتَضَد

How is that rain-star and the clearing—rather,

how are that hearth and that stacked pile?

وَغرابُ البينِ هَل أَبصرتَه

ناعباً بينَ الأثافي والوَتَد

And the raven of separation—did you see it

cawing between the hearthstones and the tent peg?

رَحَل الحيُّ وَكانوا روحَه

فَبقي مِن غيرِ روحٍ كالجَسَد

The tribe departed; they had been its soul,

so it remained without a soul, like a body.

هَكَذا صرفُ اللّيالي حكمه

تَترك الموجودَ منها مُفتَقَد

Such is the rule of the nights' vicissitudes:

they leave what was present among them missing.

وَأمونُ السيرِ أَضحى مَركبي

في المسيرِ المتن منها والكَبِد

And a she-camel dependable in travel became my mount,

her back and liver beneath me upon the road.

جسرة قَد أثّرت في بَطنِها

وَالقرى الأنساع مِنها وَالقَتَد

A sturdy she-camel, with marks left on her belly

and her back by her girth-straps and saddle-frame.

كَم بِها قَد جُبتُ في أدويةٍ

وَقفارٍ موحشاتٍ وَجدَد

How often upon her I have traversed valleys,

and desolate wastes and firm, level ground,

قاصداً نحوَ النبيِّ المُصطفى

خير مأمولٍ وَأزكى مُقتصَد

heading toward the Chosen Prophet,

the best of those hoped for, the purest of those sought.

لَم أَكُن مِن جُملةِ الخلقِ سوى

أحمدَ المختارِ مختاراً أحَد

Of all creation, I have chosen no one but

Ahmad, the Chosen One.

هاشميّ خُصّ بالوحيِ فأخ

جلَ ما في قلبهِ كانَ اِعتَقَد

A Hashimite, singled out for revelation, who put to shame

what he had believed in his heart.

وَأَقامَ العدلَ والإنصافَ في

كلِّ إِقليمٍ وفي كلِّ بَلَد

And he established justice and fairness in

every region and in every land.

وبهِ قَد حَصحصَ الحقّ وَقَد

نَسخَ الإصلاح منهُ ما فَسَد

And through him the truth became clear, and

the reform that came from him abolished what was corrupt.

وَتَراهُ خاضعاً وَهو له

رُتبةٌ تَعلو عَلى برجِ الأسَد

And you see him humble, although he has

a rank soaring above the constellation of Leo.

أَنقذَ الناسَ منَ الجهلِ إِلى ال

إِستقاماتِ وَمنهاجِ الرَشَد

He rescued people from ignorance, bringing them to

upright ways and the path of right guidance.

وَقناة الدينِ قد ثقّفها

فَهمُ بعدَ اِعوجاجٍ لرَشَد

And he straightened the spear-shaft of religion;

thus, after crookedness, they attained right guidance.

وَهوَ في آياتِهِ مغتربٌ

وَبِها أَضحى وحيداً مُنفَرِد

And in his signs he stands apart,

and through them he became unique, without peer.

كَم منَ الآياتِ والفضل بهِ

قَد حباهُ الواحدُ الفردُ الصَمَد

How many signs and graces there are with which

the One, the Unique, the Eternal Refuge has endowed him!

كَلّمتهُ ظبيةُ الصائدِ وه

يَ معَ الصائدِ مرساة بِيَد

The hunter's gazelle spoke to him while she

was with the hunter, held fast in his hand.

وَبعيرُ القومِ قد كلّمهُ

شاكيَ الضرّ إِليهِ وَالنكَد

And the people's camel spoke to him,

complaining to him of harm and misery.

وَكَذا قَد كانَ عضو الشاةِ أخ

برهُ بالسمِّ جَهراً واِرتَعَد

And likewise, a limb of the sheep had told

him openly of the poison, and trembled.

وَكذاكَ الجذعُ قَد طَأطأهُ بالر

رأسِ إجلالاً إِليهِ وَسَجَد

And likewise, the trunk lowered its

head in reverence toward him, and prostrated.

وَغمامُ الجوِّ قَد ظلّله

وَوقاهُ من حراراتِ الرَمَد

And the clouds of the sky shaded him,

and shielded him from the burning pains of inflamed eyes.

يا رَسولَ اللّه إنّي خائفٌ

مِن ذنوبٍ لستُ أُحصيها عَدَد

O Messenger of God, I am afraid

of sins whose number I cannot count,

يَومَ لا ينفعني مطرفٌ

كنتُ قَد جمّعته ومتّلَد

on the day when newly acquired wealth will not avail me—

wealth I had amassed—nor inherited wealth.

ما اِعتِذاري عندَ ربّي يوم لا

عذرَ ينجي مِن عذابٍ مستمد

What excuse shall I have before my Lord on the day when no

excuse can save me from ever-renewed torment?

كَيفَ عُذري بعدَما أخبرَ بالذ

ذنب منّي كلّ عضوٍ وَشَهِد

How can I make excuse, once my sin has been reported

by every limb of mine, each bearing witness?

وَصَلاةُ اللّه قد تغشاك ما

جدّ في مسراهُ سارٍ واِجتَهَد

And may God's blessing enfold you as long as

a night-traveler presses on his way and strives.