ما بين أطلال النقا ورماله — Aloshari

ما بَين أَطلال النَقا وَرِماله

بَدر ثَوى في القَلب عِندَ كَماله

Between the ruins of al-Naqā and its sands

is a full moon that settled in the heart at its fullness.

ما جئت ألتمس الوِصال بجفنه

إِلا وَأشغل ناظِري بِخياله

Never did I come seeking union through his eyelid

but he occupied my gaze with his image.

ظَبي إِذا نَظر المشوق لِوَجهه

رشق الفُؤاد بِلَحظه وَنِباله

A gazelle: when the yearning lover gazes at his face,

he shoots at the heart with his glance and arrows.

صلت الجَبين إِذا أَماطَ لِثامه

أَبصَرت بَدراً لاحَ مِن سرباله

Smooth-browed: when he removes his veil,

I behold a full moon shining from his robe.

تَهوى النُجوم بِأَن تَكون عُقوده

وَهِلالها المعوج شسع نعاله

The stars long to become his necklaces,

and their curved crescent is the thong of his sandals.

غزلت لَواحظه وَكَم مِن عاشق

كتبت مَنيته بِلَحظ غَزاله

His glances flirted; and how many a lover

has had his doom written by his gazelle's glance!

ملك وَأفئدة المُلوك جُنوده

وَالحسن وَالإحسان مِن عماله

A king: the hearts of kings are his soldiers,

and beauty and beneficence are among his officials.

وَالنحس يدبر إن رآه مُقبِلاً

وَالسَعد وَالإقبال مِن إِقباله

And ill fortune retreats if it sees him approaching,

and good fortune and prosperity come from his approach.

عنت الغُصون المائِسات لِقَده

فَتَكَسرت شغفاً بِحسن دَلاله

The swaying boughs bowed to his stature,

and bent in passion for his lovely coquetry.

رَيان مِن ماء الشَباب لأَنَّهُ

غُصن يَنقطه الصبا بِزلاله

Well-watered by the water of youth, for he is

a bough that the east wind sprinkles with its clear water.

سقياً لأَيام مَضَت فَكَأَنَّها

طيف تمثل في الكَرى بِخَياله

May rain bless the days gone by, as though they were

a phantom taking shape in slumber in his likeness.

حَيث اشتملت عَلى الحَبيب عشية

وَظفرت مِن دون الوَرى بِوصاله

When I enfolded the beloved one evening,

and, alone among humankind, gained union with him,

وَقَد اصطَبَحت بَريقه وَبَريقه

وَقَد استَضأت بِنوره وَجَماله

and had taken my morning draught of his saliva and radiance,

and had been illumined by his light and beauty.

وَضَممته بِيَدي اليَمين فَمُذ رَأى

صدق المَحبة ضمني بِشَماله

I clasped him with my right hand; and when he saw

the sincerity of my love, he clasped me with his left.

فَدهشت مِن فَرحي بِهِ فَكَأَنني

شاهَدت أَحمَد عِندَ بَذل نَواله

So I was dazed by my joy in him, as though I

saw Ahmad as he bestowed his bounty.

الأَلمعي الواحد الخريت من

قرن الكَمال بفضله وَكَماله

The perceptive, peerless, consummate expert, who

joined perfection to his excellence and his own perfection.

نحر العُلوم بِفكرة لَو صافحت

جَبلاً لَضاقَ البر مِن أَوصاله

He mastered the sciences with a thought that, had it shaken hands with

a mountain, the land would have been crowded by its limbs.

فَغَدا يَروض أَبيها بِأَبيه

وَيُنير حالكها بِنير باله

Thus he came to tame their unruly parts with his indomitable mind,

and illumines their darkness with the brightness of his mind.

متوقر لَولا برودة حلمه

لَخشيت أَن يجني عَلى سرباله

Dignified—were it not for the coolness of his forbearance,

I would fear that it might harm his robe.

مُتَأنياً لا يَنثني عَن حكمه

مُتحركاً لا كَالجَهول الواله

Deliberate, not swerving from his judgment,

active, unlike the bewildered fool.

مُتَعرِضاً للوافدين نَواله

فَينال ذا الحاجات قَبل سُؤاله

His bounty presents itself to visitors,

so it reaches the man in need before he asks.

متهيئاً للمكرمات فَإِن وَنَت

يَوماً يُحركها بحسن فعاله

Ready for noble deeds; if they falter

one day, he stirs them with his worthy deeds.

جود الزمان وَحسنه وَوَقاره

في كَفه وَجَماله وَجَلاله

The age's generosity, beauty, and dignity

reside in his palm, his beauty, and his majesty.

حزم تَرى التَوفيق في حيزومه

وَتشم ريح النَصر مِن إِقباله

Resolute: you see success within his breast,

and smell victory's scent as he approaches.

طَلعت طَلايع جُنده مِن مَجده

وَبَدَت كَتائب نَصره من حاله

His army's vanguards rose from his glory,

and his victory's battalions emerged from his bearing.

ذو همة تَطأ القُلوب بِنعلِها

فَتَرى الخُطوب الدهم تَحتَ نِعاله

A man of high resolve that treads on hearts with its sandal,

so you see dark calamities beneath his sandals.

يغضي عِن الفَحشاء حاشا مَجده

يَرضى إِذا عبث السَفيه بِقاله

He turns his eyes from obscenity; far be it from his honor

to approve when a fool makes mischief with his words.

هَيهات يا رَمضان قَد فارقته

هَلا بَقيت لَهُ كَبَعض عِياله

How far away, O Ramadan! You have left him.

Why did you not stay with him, like one of his dependents?

لم لا ذكرت صِيامه وَقِيامه

وَصَلاته وَصَلاته مِن ماله

Why did you not recall his fasting and his night prayers,

and his prayers and his gifts from his wealth,

وَقِراءة القُرآن طول نَهاره

وَقِيامه لِلّه طول لَياله

and his recitation of the Qur'an throughout his day,

and his standing in prayer for God throughout his nights,

وَغِذاءه الصرف الحَلال وَغَيره

لَم يَدر بَين حَرامه وَحَلاله

and his pure, lawful food, while another

could not distinguish his forbidden food from his lawful?

فَأَجابَني ماذا عَلي فَإِنني

رَجل فداه بِنَفسه وَرِجاله

He answered me, 'What blame is mine? For I am

a man who ransomed him with his own life and his men.

فَلهُ البَقاء وَإِنَّني سَأَعوده

بِالخَير مَوصولاً بحَبل وِصاله

So may he live on, and I shall visit him again,

with goodness, joined to the cord of union with him.

أَو ما عَلمت بِأَن أَحمد سَيد

رَمضانه قَد خافَ مِن شَواله

Or did you not know that Ahmad is a lord

whose Ramadan has feared his Shawwal?'

يا ابن الغَطارفة الكِرام أقل فتى

عَبث الزَمان بِنَفسه وَبِحاله

O son of noble grandees, rescue a young man

whose life and fortunes time has toyed with.

أهدي إِلَيك خَريدة مَنقوشة

آوت لبيتك تَحتمي بِظلاله

I offer you an adorned maiden.

She has taken refuge in your house, sheltering in its shade.

جاءَت عَلى كَيد الحَسود وانَّها

بَصَقَت بلحيته وَفَوق سباله

She came despite the envious man's plotting, and indeed she

spat on his beard and over his moustache.

فَاهنأ بِهَذا العيد دمت بِنعمة

وَصَلت حبالك سَيدي بِحباله

So rejoice in this feast; may you remain in a blessing

that has joined your cords, my lord, to the feast's cords.

نَقطت هَذا الشَهر مِنكَ قلامة

في وَجهِهِ فتَشكلت بِهلاله

A nail-paring from you dotted this month

upon its face, taking the shape of its crescent.

فاشكر إلهك بِالسَلامة ثُم قُل

يا رَب صَل عَلى النَبي وَآله

So thank your God for safety, then say:

O Lord, send blessings upon the Prophet and his family.