تعالى الله من ملك تعالى — Aloshari

تَعالى اللَه مِن ملك تَعالى

أَبَدراً شمت أَم نوراً تلالا

Exalted is God—how exalted a King!

Was it a full moon I glimpsed, or a light that glittered?

وَخوط ماس بَل قَد رَطيب

ثَنى أَطرافه دلاً فَمالا

And a bough swayed—rather, a supple figure

Bent its limbs in coquetry and inclined.

وَطفل غادة عَذراء بانَت

عَلى ذعر فَشابهت الغَزالا

And a tender young maiden, a virgin, appeared

In fright, resembling a gazelle.

نَضَت سَجف الحجال فمذ رَأَتني

قَريب الرَكب حللت الحجالا

She drew aside the veil of the bridal chambers; when she saw me

Near the caravan, she unfastened her anklets.

رَنَت نَحوي بِطَرف بابلي

يُصوِّب نَحو ناظره نِصالا

She gazed toward me with a Babylonian glance

That aimed arrowheads at its beholder.

وَباشرها النَسيم فَفاحَ مِنها

شَذا عطر أَلَم بِنا وَغالى

The breeze caressed her, and from her wafted

A fragrant scent that reached us and grew overpowering.

فَغبت كَأَنَّني خامَرت خَمراً

معتقة وَواصلت الوِصالا

So I swooned, as though steeped in wine,

Long aged, and I prolonged our union.

فقلت لصاحبي من ذي وَدَمعي

عَلى الخَدين قد وطئ السبالا

I asked my companion: Who is this woman? And my tears

On both cheeks had trodden over my mustache.

فَقالَ هِيَ العَقيلة مِن لُؤي

وَخَير قَبيلة شدوا العِقالا

He said: She is the noble lady of Lu'ayy,

And of the finest tribe ever to fasten camel-hobbles.

سُراة يَمموا الدَهناء لَيلاً

وَقَد زموا القَلائص وَالجمالا

Noble chiefs who headed for al-Dahna by night,

Having haltered the young she-camels and the male camels.

سَأَلتهُم مِن الأَعراب أَنتُم

فَقالوا مِن رَبيعة لا محالا

I asked them: Of which Bedouins are you?

They said: Of Rabi'ah, beyond doubt.

كرام مِن بَني بَكر أَتينا

نرود الخَصب وَالماء الزلالا

Noble men of Banu Bakr, we have come

Seeking fertile pasture and crystal-clear water.

تَنكبنا النفانف وَالعَوالي

وَيممنا المَناهل وَالرِّمالا

We avoided the open wastes and the highlands,

And headed toward watering places and sandy tracts.

وَصبحنا دِيار بَني لُؤي

بِكُل طمرة تَهوى النِّزالا

We came at dawn to the lands of Banu Lu'ayy,

On every nimble mare that loves combat.

تَقَلدنا المهندة المَواضي

وَنَكسنا الأَنابيب الطوالا

We girded on the keen Indian swords,

And lowered the long spear-shafts.

وَإِنا نَستَضيء إِذا ضَلَلنا

بعَبد اللَه أَزكى الناس آلا

And we seek guiding light whenever we go astray,

From 'Abd Allah, purest of all men in lineage.

كَريم النجر مِن حسب وَفَخر

عَلى أم الجِبال الشُم طالا

Of noble stock, with ancestry and glory

Towering above the mother of the lofty mountains.

مِن الصيد الأولى بِالمَجد طالوا

لَهُم دانَت بَنو الدُنيا جَلالا

From proud lords who rose high in glory;

The world's sons bowed before them in reverence.

سَموا كُل العِباد أَباً وَأماً

وَفاقَ جَميعهم عماً وَخالا

They surpassed all people in father and mother,

And he surpassed them all in paternal and maternal uncle.

وَكَم مِن قائل هَل مِن شَبيه

لَهُ في ذا الزَمان فَقُلت لالا

How many a speaker has asked: Is there an equal

To him in this age? And I said: No, no.

كَفاكَ بجده حَسباً وَفَضلاً

وبِالمِغوار وَالده كَمالا

His grandfather suffices you for nobility and virtue,

And his intrepid father for perfection.

هُوَ النور الَّذي لَولاه خفنا

عَلى الدُنيا وَأَهليها الضَلالا

He is the light; without him we would fear

Misguidance for the world and its people.

لَهُ قَلم حَكى البيض المَواضي

فَصارَ مِداده للفَضل خالا

He has a pen that resembles keen white blades,

So its ink became a beauty mark upon excellence.

وَقَلب نير لَولاه خَفا

عَلى ما في جَوانحه اِشتِعالا

And a radiant heart that, but for it, would be hidden,

Despite the blaze within his breast.

وَعَقل وَطأ الحكم المعلى

بِكلكله وَلَولاه لمالا

And a mind that firmly established exalted rule

With its breast; without it, that rule would have tilted.

وَعلم بِالأُمور إِذا ألمت

يصرفها اِختِراعاً وَارتِجالا

And knowledge of affairs whenever they arise:

He manages them inventively and spontaneously.

وَذات كُلما تَلقاه بشت

وَكَف كُلما تَرجوه سالا

And a person who beams whenever you meet him,

And a hand that flows whenever you place hope in him.

وَكُل يَد إِذا مدَّت إِلَيه

يعلمها بِأَن تهب النّوالا

And every hand, whenever stretched toward him,

He teaches to bestow bounty.

كَريم علم الدُنيا سَخاء

وَعلم غَيث وابلها اِنهِمالا

A generous man who taught the world generosity,

And taught its torrential rain to pour down.

عَليم عِنده جمعت كُنوز

مِن العرفان ما تركت مَقالا

A learned man with whom treasures have been gathered

Of knowledge, leaving nothing more to say.

تَقي باسل تَعنو العَوالي

لحدته إِذا صَلى وصالا

Pious and valiant, the lofty spears bow

To his fierceness when he prays and charges.

مَضى شَهر الصِّيام وَعَنهُ راض

وَلَكن لَم يرد عَنهُ اِنتِقالا

The month of fasting passed, pleased with him,

Yet did not wish to depart from him.

وَأولى عيدنا مِنهُ سُروراً

وَأَورثه بغرته جَمالا

And bestowed on our feast delight from him,

And endowed it with beauty through his radiant brow.

وَأَومض مِن مُحياه وَميض

فَصارَ لِوَجه شَوال هِلالا

A gleam flashed forth from his countenance,

Becoming a crescent upon Shawwal's face.

وَلَولا اللبس كانَ عَلَيه بَدراً

تَماماً سَرمدياً لَن يزالا

Were it not for confusion, it would have been a full moon upon it,

Complete and eternal, never to pass away.

وَلَو تُعطى الأَهلة فَضل عَقل

غَدَت لِنعاله السامي قبالا

If crescents were granted the gift of reason,

They would become straps for his exalted sandals.

وَلَو سَمعت بِهَيبته الضَواري

لَجاوَرت السَباسب وَالجِبالا

If the beasts of prey heard of his majesty,

They would dwell in wastes and mountains.

وَلَو عَلمت بِحدته المَواضي

لأَورثها السآمة وَالكلالا

If the keen blades knew his sharpness,

It would leave them weary and blunted.

وَلَو طعنت أَسنته الرَّواسي

لَصارَ سَنامها العالي مهالا

If his spearheads pierced the rooted mountains,

Their lofty humps would become heaps of loose sand.

وَلَو تليت كتايبه لِجَيش

لفرقهم يَميناً أَو شِمالا

If his battalions were recounted to an army,

It would scatter them to the right or left.

وَلَو سحت يَداه في فَضاء

لَضاقَ بِمائِهِ الوادي وَسالا

If his two hands poured forth in open space,

The valley would be too narrow for his water and overflow.

وَلَو نظرت إِلَيه الشَمس حَقاً

لَذابَ شُعاعها خَجلاً وَحالا

If the sun truly looked upon him,

Its rays would melt in shame and fade.

وَلَو عَبثت يَداه بِبَحر ملح

لأَصبح ماؤه عَذباً زُلالا

If his two hands played with a salt sea,

Its water would become sweet and crystal-clear.

فَدُم وَاهنأ بِهَذا العيد وَاسمع

نِظاماً في مَديحك قَد تلالا

Live on, rejoice in this feast, and hear

A string of verses in your praise, gleaming bright.

لِغَيركم غَدا سحراً حَراماً

وَفيكُم قَد غَدا سحراً حَلالا

For others than you, it has become forbidden magic,

But in your praise it has become lawful magic.

سَأَلتُكُم القبول لَهُ وَإِني

وَحَق أَبيك حَرمت السُؤالا

I have asked you to accept it; and I,

By your father's honor, have forbidden myself to beg.

فَلا زالَت مَكارمكُم عراضاً

وَلا بَرحت مَناقبكُم طوالا

May your noble deeds remain ever broad,

And your virtues remain ever lofty.