ربة الشعر عن رجال الوفاء — Elias Fayyad

ربة الشعر عن رجالِ الوفاءِ

حدثينا وابغي جميل الثناء

Muse of poetry, of men of fidelity,

tell us, and seek beautiful words of praise.

حدثينا عن قومنا العرب أهل

المجد قدماً والعزة القعساء

Tell us of our Arab people, possessors

of ancient glory and unassailable might;

عن رعاةٍ جاءوا حفاةً من القف

ر فحازوا ملكاً على الدنياء

of shepherds who came barefoot from the barren

wilderness and won dominion over the world.

رفعتهم أخلاقهم فتعالوا

ثم هانوا من بعد ذاك العلاء

Their virtues raised them, and they rose high,

then were brought low after that exaltation.

وبناءُ الأخلاق أعلى وأبقى

من بناء المعاقلِ الشماء

The edifice of virtue is loftier and more enduring

than the building of towering strongholds.

إن عفت منهم الربوع فلم يع

ف حديث لهم طويل البقاء

Though their dwelling places have vanished, not so

their story, which endures for ages.

صفحات التاريخ ملأى بما يؤ

ثر عنهم من نخوةٍ وإباء

The pages of history are full of what is handed

down of their gallantry and proud defiance.

والذي تسمعونه اليوم مني

قطرةٌ من عُباب ذاك الماء

What you hear from me today

is a drop from the swell of that water.

فتك السيف في أُميَّة فالشا

م وحمصُ كالوردة الحمراء

The sword ravaged the Umayyads; al-Sham

and Homs were like a red rose.

راح من راح منهم طعمة السي

ف وهامَ الباقون في الصحراء

Those of them who perished became food for the sword,

while the survivors wandered in the desert.

أين قصرٌ لابرهيم منيفٌ

كان أبهى القصورِ في الفيحاءِ

How far Ibrahim's lofty palace—

once the loveliest of palaces in al-Fayha—

وفراشٌ من الحرير وثيرٌ

من فراشِ التراب والجصباءِ

and his soft silken bed

are from a bed of dust and gravel!

ذل نجلُ الملوك والدهر مش

غوفٌ بذلِّ الأقيالِ والعظماءِ

The son of kings was humbled; Time is enamored

of humbling princes and great men.

هائِمٌ في القفارِ يعلنهُ اللي

لُ ويخفيهِ عنك طرف ذُكاءِ

Wandering the wastelands, revealed by the night

and hidden from you by the eye of Dhuka, the sun.

متزيٍّ خوف الرفيبِ بزيِّ ال

غيد من كان فارسَ الهيجاءِ

Disguised, for fear of the watcher, in the guise of

graceful women—he who had been a knight of battle.

عندما أبصرَ النجاةٍ محالا

ووهى عزمه من الأعياءِ

When he saw that escape was impossible,

and his resolve grew weak from exhaustion,

عاج بالكوفةِ ابتغاءَ صديقٍ

يختفي عندهُ من الأعداءِ

he turned toward Kufa, seeking a friend

with whom he could hide from his enemies.

غيرَ أنَّ العيونَ كانت عليهِ

تقتفي إِثرَهُ أَشدَّ اقتفاءِ

But spies were watching him,

following his trail with relentless pursuit.

ورأى الجندَ في الدروبِ وقد سدُّ

وا عليه طريق كل رجاءِ

He saw soldiers in the streets, and they had barred

every path of hope before him.

فانتحى جانبَ المدينة يبغي

منزلاً قد رآهُ فخم البناءِ

So he turned aside toward the edge of the city, seeking

a house he had seen, grandly built.

حطَّ عنهُ القناعَ واستقبلَ الب

بابَ فأَمسى في رحبِ ذاك الفناءِ

He took off his veil and approached the

door, and found himself in that spacious courtyard.

وإِذا صاحبُ المكانِ وقد أَقب

لَ بين الأَعوانِ والندماءِ

And there was the master of the house, coming

forward among attendants and companions.

قال من أنت قال اني ضعيفٌ

مستجيرٌ بكم من الأَقوياءِ

'Who are you?' he asked. 'I am a weak man,' he replied,

'seeking your protection from the strong.'

مرحباً مرحباً وأَفرد في القص

رِ لهُ حجرةً بلا إِبطاءِ

'Welcome, welcome!' And he set aside in the

palace a room for him without delay.

فأَقامَ الأَيامَ في خير ما ير

غب فيهِ من غبطةٍ وهناءِ

He spent his days amid the best he could

desire of happiness and ease.

ليس يدري المضيف من هو ولم يس

أَلهُ عن ذاك عادة الكرماءِ

The host did not know who he was, nor did he

ask him about it—the custom of the generous.

ورأى أن صاحب القصر يمضي

كل يوم من رهطهِ الأَوفياءِ

He noticed that the master of the palace went out

each day from among his loyal kinsmen.

يذهبُ الصبحَ وهو طلق المحيا

ثمَّ يأوي مقطباً في المساءِ

He would leave in the morning with a cheerful face,

then return scowling in the evening.

فاعتراهُ ريبٌ فقال لهُ يو

ماً وقد أجلسا معاً للعشاءِ

Misgivings stirred in him, so one

day he spoke to him as they sat together for supper:

بأبي أنت ما الذي أوجبَ اله

مَّ ومالي أراكَ نضوَ عناءِ

'May my father be your ransom! What has caused your

distress, and why do I see you worn out with care?'

قال قد كان إبرهيم بنُ سل

مان بغانا بالظلم والاعتداءِ

He said, 'Ibrahim ibn Salman had

wronged us with injustice and aggression.

قتلَ الوالدَ الحنون وأبقى

حسرتي بعده وطول بكائي

He killed my loving father and left

me grieving after him and weeping long.

وأتاني بالأمس أن غريمي

مختفٍ ها هنا عن الرقباءِ

Yesterday word reached me that my adversary

is hiding here from those who watch for him.

فأنا باحثٌ عليهِ لأقضي

منهُ ثاري وتشتفي حوبائي

So I am searching for him to exact

my vengeance from him, and let my soul find relief.'

قال من هو أبوكَ قال هوَ اللي

ثُ بن يحيى بن أكرم الآباءِ

'Who is your father?' he asked. 'He is al-Layth,' he replied,

'son of Yahya, son of the noblest of fathers.'

فَلَوَ أنَّ الجبالَ دُكَّت عليهِ

لم تَرُعهُ كهذه الأَنباءِ

Had the mountains been shattered upon him,

they would not have terrified him like this news.

عجباً ساقهُ القضاءُ إلى بي

تِ أَلدِ الخصوم والأَعداءِ

How strange: fate had led him to the

house of his fiercest foes and enemies.

كرَهت نفسهُ الحياةَ وقد ضا

ق بعينَيهِ رحبُ ذاك الفضاءِ

His soul loathed life, and all

that spacious expanse seemed narrow to his eyes.

قال يا هذا إِنَّ حقَّك عندي

واجبٌ بعدَ هذهِ الآلاءِ

He said, 'Sir, what I owe you

is a duty after all these favors.

فأَنا مُرشدٌ خُطاكَ إلى خص

مِك أَقضي بذاكَ بعض الوفاءِ

I will guide your steps to your

enemy, thus fulfilling some of the loyalty I owe.'

قالَ من ذاكَ قال أني أنا ال

قاتلُ فاثأر واسفُك بعدلٍ دمائي

'Who is he?' he asked. 'I am the

killer,' he replied. 'Take vengeance and justly shed my blood.'

ضحك الشابُ قال ويحك هَل

ملَّك طولُ البِعادِ والانزواءِ

The young man laughed: 'Woe to you! Has

your long absence and seclusion wearied you,

فابتغيتَ الردى أجابَ بلِ

الحقُ الذي قلتُهُ وربِّ السماءِ

so that you seek death?' He answered, 'No—

what I have said is the truth, by the Lord of heaven.'

وأقامَ الدليلَ حتى جلا الش

كَّ عن السامعينَ كلَّ جلاءِ

He presented proof until he had cleared

all doubt away from the listeners.

فاستشاطَ الفتى عليه وصارت

مُقلتاهُ كالجمرةِ الحمراءِ

The youth flew into a rage against him, and

his two eyes became like a glowing red ember.

همَّ يقضي عليهِ في الحال لكن

حال أَمرٌ أَهمُّ دون القضاءِ

He was about to kill him at once, but

a more important matter stood in the way of killing.

قال كن من تشاءُ إِنَّكَ ضيفي

وَهوَ عندي من أقدسِ الأسماءِ

He said, 'Be whoever you will: you are my guest,

and to me that is among the holiest of names.

لستُ واللَهُ خافراً ذمَّتي مع

كَ وقد نِلتَ من طعامي ومائي

By God, I will not break my pledge to

you, for you have shared my food and water.

إِن تكن والدي قتلتَ فعند

م اللَه تلقى الجزاءَ يوم الجزاءِ

If it was my father you killed, then before

God you will receive recompense on the Day of Recompense.

غير أني أرجو ابتعادّكَ إِذ أخ

شى من النفسِ ثورةَ الأهواءِ

Yet I ask you to leave, for I

fear an uprising of passions within my soul.'

فانصرف آمناً وأعطاهُ من أو

صلهُ سالماً إلى البيداءِ

So he departed safely, and his host provided someone who

escorted him unharmed to the wilderness.

تلك آباؤنا وذاك تُراث

م المجدِ باقٍ منهم إلى الأبناءِ

Those are our forefathers, and that legacy

of glory endures from them to their children:

شرفٌ في سماحةٍ وذكاءٌ

في وقارٍ وقدرةٌ في وفاءِ

honor in generosity, intelligence

in dignity, and power in fidelity.