شربنا على ذكر الحبيب مدامة — Bin Alfard

شَرِبْنَا على ذكْرِ الحبيبِ مُدامَةً

سكِرْنَا بها من قبل أن يُخلق الكَرْمُ

We drank wine in remembrance of the Beloved,

And through it were drunk before the vine was created.

لها البدرُ كأسٌ وهيَ شمسٌ يُدِيرُهَا

هلالٌ وكم يبدو إذا مُزِجَتْ نَجم

The full moon is its cup, and it is a sun passed round

By a crescent; how many stars appear when it is mixed!

ولولا شذَاها ما اهتدَيتُ لِحانِها

ولولا سَناها ما تصَوّرها الوَهْمُ

Were it not for its fragrance, I would not have found its tavern;

Were it not for its radiance, imagination could not conceive it.

ولم يُبْقِ منها الدّهْرُ غيرَ حُشاشَةٍ

كأنّ خَفاها في صُدور النُّهى كتْم

Time has left nothing of it but a last remnant,

As though its concealment within the breasts of minds were a secret.

فإن ذُكرَتْ في الحَيّ أصبحَ أهلُهُ

نَشاوى ولا عارٌ عليهمْ ولا إثم

If it is mentioned among a people, their folk awake

Intoxicated, with neither shame nor sin upon them.

ومِنْ بينِ أحشاء الدّنانِ تصاعدتْ

ولم يَبْقَ منها في الحقيقة إلاّ اسمُ

From within the innermost parts of the wine jars it rose,

Though in truth nothing of it remains but a name.

وإن خَطَرَتْ يوماً على خاطرِ امرىءٍ

أقامتْ به الأفراحُ وارتحلَ الهمّ

If one day it crosses a person's mind,

Joys take up residence there, and sorrow departs.

ولو نَظَرَ النُّدْمَانُ خَتمَ إنائِها

لأسكَرَهُمْ من دونِها ذلكَ الختم

If the drinking companions merely saw the seal upon its vessel,

That seal alone, without the wine, would make them drunk.

ولو نَضحوا منها ثرَى قبرِ مَيّتٍ

لعادتْ اليه الرّوحُ وانتَعَشَ الجسم

If they sprinkled some of it upon the soil of a dead person's grave,

The spirit would return to him, and the body revive.

ولو طَرَحُوا في فَيءِ حائطِ كَرْمِها

عليلاً وقد أشفى لفَارَقَهُ السّقم

If they laid beneath the shade of its vineyard wall

A sick man nearing death, the illness would leave him.

ولو قَرّبُوا من حانِها مُقْعَداً مشَى

وتنطِقُ من ذِكْرَى مذاقتِها البُكْم

If they brought a cripple near its tavern, he would walk,

And the mute would speak from remembering its taste.

ولو عَبِقَتْ في الشرق أنفاسُ طِيبِها

وفي الغربِ مزكومٌ لعادَ لهُ الشَّمُّ

If breaths of its perfume spread through the East,

One congested in the West would regain his sense of smell.

ولو خُضِبت من كأسِها كفُّ لامسٍ

لمَا ضَلّ في لَيْلٍ وفي يَدِهِ النجم

If the palm of one who touched its cup were stained with it,

He would not lose his way at night, with a star in his hand.

ولو جُليتْ سِرّاً على أَكمَهٍ غَدا

بَصيراً ومن راووقِها تَسْمَعُ الصّم

If it were secretly revealed to one born blind, he would become

Sighted; and from its strainer the deaf would hear.

ولو أنّ رَكْباً يَمّموا تُرْبَ أرْضِهَا

وفي الرّكبِ ملسوعٌ لمَا ضرّهُ السّمّ

If a caravan made for the soil of its land,

A snake-bitten rider among them would suffer no harm from the venom.

ولو رَسَمَ الرّاقي حُرُوفَ اسمِها على

جَبينِ مُصابٍ جُنّ أبْرَأهُ الرسم

If the healer inscribed the letters of its name upon

The brow of a man struck by madness, the inscription would cure him.

وفوْقَ لِواء الجيشِ لو رُقِمَ اسمُها

لأسكَرَ مَنْ تحتَ اللّوا ذلك الرّقْم

If its name were written above the army's banner,

That writing would intoxicate everyone beneath the standard.

تُهَذّبُ أخلاقَ النّدامى فيّهْتَدي

بها لطريقِ العزمِ مَن لا لهُ عَزْم

It refines the drinking companions' character, so through it

One who lacks resolve is guided to the path of determination.

ويكرُمُ مَن لم يَعْرِف الجودَ كَفُّه

ويحلُمُ عند الغيظ مَن لا لهُ حِلم

The hand of one who never knew generosity becomes generous,

And one without forbearance grows forbearing when angered.

ولو نالَ فَدْمُ القومِ لَثْمَ فِدَامِها

لأكْسبَهُ مَعنى شمائِلها اللّثْم

If the dullest of the company attained a kiss of its stopper,

That kiss would impart to him the meaning of its noble qualities.

يقولونَ لي صِفْهَا فأنتَ بوَصفها

خبيرٌ أَجَلْ عِندي بأوصافها عِلم

They say to me, “Describe it, for in describing it

You are experienced.” Yes, I possess knowledge of its qualities:

صفاءٌ ولا ماءٌ ولُطْفٌ ولا هَواً

ونورٌ ولا نارٌ وروحٌ ولا جِسْمٌ

Purity—but no water; subtlety—but no air;

Light—but no fire; spirit—but no body.

تَقَدّمَ كُلَّ الكائناتِ حديثُها

قديماً ولا شكلٌ هناك ولا رَسم

The account of it preceded all created beings

In eternity, when there was neither shape nor form.

وقامت بها الأشياءُ ثَمّ لحكمَةٍ

بها احتَجَبَتْ عن كلّ من لا له فَهْمُ

Through it things arose there for a wisdom;

Through them it veiled itself from everyone without understanding.

وهامتْ بها روحي بحيثُ تمازَجا اتّ

تِحاداً ولا جِرْمٌ تَخَلّلَه جِرْم

My spirit became enamored of it until the two were mingled in

Union, though no body penetrated another body.

فَخَمْر ولا كرْم وآدَمُ لي أب

وكَرْم ولا خَمْر ولي أُمُّها أُمّ

Thus there was wine without vine, while Adam is a father to me,

And vine without wine, while its mother is a mother to me.

ولُطْفُ الأواني في الحقيقة تابع

لِلُطْفِ المعاني والمَعاني بها تَنْمُو

The subtlety of the vessels is, in truth, dependent

Upon the subtlety of the meanings, and through it meanings grow.

وقد وَقَعَ التفريقُ والكُلّ واحد

فأرواحُنا خَمْرٌ وأشباحُنا كَرْم

Distinctions have arisen, though the whole is one:

Our spirits are wine, and our bodies are vines.

ولا قبلَها قبل ولا بَعْدَ بَعْدَهَا

وقَبْليُّة الأبْعادِ فهْي لها حَتْم

Before it there was no “before,” nor after it any “after”;

The priority assigned to dimensions is necessarily its own.

وعَصْرُ المَدى من قَبله كان عصرَها

وعهْدُ أبينا بَعدَها ولها اليُتم

The age of endless duration before our father was its vintage,

And our father's era came after it, while it remained motherless.

محاسِنُ تَهدي المادِحينَ لوَصْفِهَا

فَيَحْسُنُ فيها منهُمُ النّثرُ والنّظم

Its beauties guide its praisers in describing it,

So both their prose and poetry about it become beautiful.

ويَطْرَبُ مَن لم يَدْرِهَا عند ذِكْرِهَا

كَمُشْتَاقِ نُعْمٍ كلّما ذُكرَتْ نُعم

One who does not know it is enraptured when it is mentioned,

Like one yearning for Nuʿm whenever Nuʿm is named.

وقالوا شَرِبْتَ الإِثمَ كلاّ وإنّما

شرِبْتُ التي في تركِها عنديَ الإِثم

They said, “You drank what is sinful.” No—rather,

I drank that whose abandonment, to me, is the sin.

هنيئاً لأهلِ الدّيرِ كمْ سكِروا بها

وما شربوا منها ولكِنّهم هَمّوا

Joy to the people of the monastery—how often they were drunk through it,

Though they drank none of it; they merely aspired to it.

وعنديَ منها نَشْوَةٌ قبلَ نشأتي

معي أبداً تبقى وإنْ بَليَ العَظْم

From it I possess an intoxication preceding my creation,

Remaining with me forever, even when the bone decays.

عليكَ بها صِرْفاً وإن شئتَ مَزْجَها

فَعَدْلُكَ عن ظَلْم الحبيب هو الظُّلم

Take it undiluted—or mix it, if you wish—

For your turning from the Beloved's injustice is itself injustice.

فَدُونَكَهَا في الحانِ واستَجْلها به

على نَغَمِ الألحان فهيَ بها غُنْمُ

Here it is: take it in the tavern, and behold it through him,

To the melody of songs, for with them it is a treasure.

فما سكنَتْ والهمَّ يوماً بموضع

كذلك لم يسكُنْ مع النَّغَم الغَم

Never has it dwelt in one place together with care;

Likewise, sorrow does not dwell beside melody.

وفي سكرةٍ منها ولَوْ عُمْرُ ساعةٍ

تَرَى الدَّهْرَ عبداً طائعاً ولك الحُكْم

In one intoxication from it, though a lifetime only an hour,

You would see Time as an obedient slave, with command belonging to you.

فلا عَيْشَ في الدُّنْيا لمَن عاشَ صاحياً

ومَن لم يَمُتْ سُكْراً بها فاته الحزم

There is no life in this world for one who lives sober,

And whoever does not die drunk through it has missed true wisdom.

على نفسه فليَبْكِ مَن ضاع عُمْرُهُ

وليسَ لهُ فيها نَصيبٌ ولا سهمُ

Let whoever has wasted his life weep for himself,

For in it he has neither portion nor share.