1. My stalwart friend, why do you grieve for yourself?
The time of departure has come, so where can refuge be found?
١. جَلَداً خَلِيلِي ما لِنَفْسِكَ تَجْزَعُ
آنَ الرَّحيلُ فأَيْنَ منهُ المَفْزَعُ
2. When they set out to destroy the domes,
My tears then flowed down my cheeks.
٢. عَمَدُوا لِتَقْوِيضِ القِبَابِ فَعِنْدَهَا
أرْبَتْ على صَوْبِ الرَّبَابِ الأَدْمُعُ
3. They will not lack a place for their mounts
Where mirages form and hopes are dashed.
٣. لَنْ يَعْدَمُوا رَبَّابَها لِرِكَابِهِم
في حَيْثُ يَسْتَهْوِي السَّرَابُ ويَخْدَعُ
4. Alas! A watering place its visitors frequented
Is now tearful and abased without its noble guests.
٤. هَيْهَاتَ عافَتْ وِرْدَها وَرْدِيَّةٌ
نُجُبٌ غَدَتْ بِهِمُ تَخُبُّ وتُوضِعُ
5. Unless it is mingled with crimson snow
It appears blue when its torrents surge.
٥. إنْ لَمْ يُخَالِطْهَا نَجِيعِيَ أَحْمَراً
كَرَعَتْ بأَزْرَقَ سَيْحُهُ يَتَدَفَّعُ
6. Strange is a law not enforced against them
While it gleams through veils as it glistens!
٦. عَجَبَاً لِشُرْعٍ لا تُدارُ عَلَيْهِمُ
وَهيَ المُدامَةُ بالزُّلالِ تُشَعْشَعُ
7. When I wept, the doves wept in sympathy with me,
And their tears of pity for me kept flowing.
٧. لمَّا بَكَيْتُ بَكَى يُسَاعِدُنِي الحَيَا
فَدُمُوعُهُ مِنْ رِقَّةٍ لِيَ تَهْمَعُ
8. I sing their praises and weep in agony,
Just as the dove moans when it calls.
٨. أَشْدُو بِذِكراكُم وأَنْشِجُ لَوعَةً
وكَذا الحَمَامَةُ حينَ تَنْدُبُ تَسْجَعُ
9. O solace of my passion for those who have endured
And whose love in my heart has settled!
٩. يَا بَرْحَ شَوْقِي لِلذينَ تَحَمَّلُوا
وأَقامَ حُبُّهُم بِقَلْبِي يَرْبَعُ
10. Their abodes have become desolate wildernesses,
While my breast except for my agonies is a wilderness.
١٠. أَضْحَتْ بَلاقِعَ مِنْهُمُ دَاراتُهُم
فالصَّدرُ إِلا مِنْ شُجونِي بَلْقَعُ
11. I do not deny time'svicissitudes after companionship,
For parting has occurred with traveling, as expected.
١١. لا أُنْكِر البُرَحَاءَ في عَقِبِ النَّوَى
قَد حَلَّ بالتَّرْحالِ ما يُتَوَقَّعُ
12. The family of the Prophet are under Allah's protection,
Traveling by night with the wood-carrier who creeps furtively.
١٢. في ذِمَّةِ اللَّهِ الأُلَى أَمُّوا الفَلا
بِالعِيسِ تَخْدِي والصَّوَاهِلُ تَمْزَعُ
13. They arrived by night to their courtyard
While morning was clothed in the garb of darkness.
١٣. وَصَلُوا السُّرى لَيْلاً إلى أنْ عَرَّسُوا
والصّبْحُ في ثَوْبِ الدُّجَى مُتَلَفِّعُ
14. It was as if the blossoms of the stars were rioters
Whose intoxication the dawn exposed, to their regret.
١٤. وَكَأنَّمَا زُهْرُ الكَوَاكِبِ سَحْرَةً
جَشَمَتْ سُرَاهُم فَهي حَسْرَى طُلَّعُ
15. When the brigands returned to their market
Yearning returned crestfallen.
١٥. بانُوا فَبَانَ القَلْبُ لي عَن أَضْلُعِي
يا مَنْ لِقَلْبٍ أَسْلَمَتْهُ الأَضْلُعُ
16. If my inquiry were relieved by an answer,
What is between me and the distance that hopes?
١٦. كانَتْ سَلامَتُه لِوَقْتِ سَلامِهِمْ
صُدِعُوا بِرِحْلَتِهِ فَها هُوَ يصْدَعُ
17. Am I frightened where I was during his confusion,
Or is someone like me frightened by it?
١٧. يَصْلَى الهَواجِر في الظِّلالِ تَحَرُّقَاً
ويَحِنُّ إنْ سَلَت القُلُوبُ وَيَنْزَعُ
18. I did not know the time they purposed
To bid farewell to me or the ruler they would bid farewell.
١٨. لمَّا تَراجَعَتِ الحُداةُ لِسَوْقِهِمْ
رَجَعَ الهَوى أدْرَاجَهُ يَسْتَرْجِعُ
19. A king whose command is to obey -
So I must comply with whatever he aspires to.
١٩. أُخْفِي سُؤالي لَو شُفِيتُ إِجابَةً
مَا لِي وَما لِلْبَيْنِ بي يتَوقَّعُ
20. The seven fierce lions vie over him
And the four directions compete for him.
٢٠. أأنا المُرَوّعُ حَيْثُ كنتُ بهَوْلِهِ
أَمْ لي بهِ مَثَلٌ كَذَاكَ يُرَوّعُ
21. He is with the angelic realm, busy or at leisure, protected
And that cannot be prevented.
٢١. لَمْ أدْرِ ساعَةَ أَزْمَعُوها نِيَّةً
مَحْيَايَ أمْ يَحْيَى الأَميرَ أُوَدِّعُ
22. He rivals the angels in his principles,
By which the meadows of sanctity flourish.
٢٢. مَلِكٌ علَى الأَقْدارِ خِدْمَةُ أَمْرِهِ
فَقَصِيُّ ما يَسْمُو إلَيْهِ طَيِّعُ
23. And he rules the realms with his most mighty determination
Which will always submit to him and bow.
٢٣. هَامَتْ بِهِ السَّبْعُ الشِّدادُ يَحِلُّها
وَتَنَافَسَتْ فيهِ الجِهَاتُ الأَرْبَعُ
24. He sought the caliphate through election but obtained it
Through the one whose lineage cannot be disparaged.
٢٤. بِالْعَالَمِ العُلْوِيِّ في حَضَرٍ وفي
سَفَرٍ يُحَفُّ وذاكَ ما لا يُدْفَعُ
25. The nights take turns through the land acting under his approval:
enlivening whom he loves and helping whom he assists.
٢٥. ضَاهَى المَلائِكَ في ضَرائِبِهِ التِي
رَوْضُ الرُّبَى مِنْ عَرْفِها يَتَضَوَّعُ
26. So the rightly guided live by his grace,
And the misguided meet their doom through him.
٢٦. وقَضَى علَى الأَمْلاكِ أقْعَسُ عِزّهِ
أَلا تَزَالَ لَهُ تَذِلُّ وتَخْضَعُ
27. His armies filled the expanses
So that even the vast seemed cramped.
٢٧. خَطَبَ الخِلافَةَ بالقِرَاعِ فَنَالَها
مِنهُ قَريعٌ أنْفُهُ لا يُقْرَعُ
28. Their flashing swords made the eyes drunk,
And their blades, when they shone, were similar.
٢٨. صَرْفُ اللَّيالِي في الْوَرَى مُتَصَرِّفٌ
برِضَاهُ يُنْعِشُ مَنْ أحَبَّ وَيَصْدَعُ
29. He refuses to be confined in might and glory,
For he who scatters the eminent there gathers them.
٢٩. فَأَخُو الرَّشادِ لِعَيْشِهِ مُتَسَوِّغٌ
وأَخو الضَّلالِ لِحَتْفِهِ مُتَجَرِّعُ
30. Attaining the height of glory, most proud,
With his banner raised at the summit.
٣٠. هَجَعَتْ رَعاياهُ علَى فُرُشِ المُنَى
أَمْنا وباتَ لِرَعْيِها لا يَهْجَعُ
31. Through him guidance has been revived, led by the Imam of his choice,
And by him wrongdoing is fought, by the most intrepid.
٣١. يَصِلُ ابْتِساماً في الوَغَى بِطَلاقَةٍ
كَرَماً وَوَجْهُ اليَوْمِ أرْبَدُ أسْفَعُ
32. Does it seem the heavens produced one who acts
So for that reason what it produced suits him?
٣٢. فَكَأَنَّما النَّقْعُ المُثارُ دجُنَّةٌ
وَكأنَّ غُرَّتَهُ صَباحٌ يَسْطَعُ
33. The land, wherever he shifts from its edges
And settles, is either meadow or pasture.
٣٣. لَمْ يَسْلُ عَنْ شَوْقٍ إلَيْهِ مِنْبَرٌ
لَم يَخْلُ مِنْ حِرْصٍ عَلَيْهِ مَوْضِعُ
34. I have reproached the immaculate ones saying:
You have traversed the sea of dew, so be expansive
٣٤. نَادَى به الغَرْبُ القَصيُّ مُثَوِّباً
فأَجَابَهُ يَطْوِي الفَلاةَ ويَذْرَعُ
35. If you intend - do not be excluded or draw near,
Do not keep your distance or ask and be denied.
٣٥. ثِقَةً بأنَّ جُنُودَهُ وبُنُودَهُ
يَغْدُو الوُجودُ لَها يُطيعُ وَيَسْمَعُ
36. Oh what an age that has harmed me!
I have resigned myself to eternal captivity in it.
٣٦. حَفِظَ الذي شَرَعَ الإلَهُ حِفَاظَهُ
بالْبِيضِ تُنْضَى والأَسِنَّةُ تُشْرَعُ
37. No stratagem can extract safety from it,
So I will be content with its judgment.
٣٧. مَلأَتْ جَحافِلُهُ مَنَادِيحَ المَلا
وَلَرُبَّما ضاقَ الأَمَدُّ الأوْسَعُ
38. Whence do I have patience for the bitterness of parting
When the path to patience has been blocked?
٣٨. أَعْشَى العُيونَ بِها الْتِماعُ حَديدِهِمْ
فَتَشابَهَتْ لامَاتُهُمْ إذْ تَلْمَعُ
39. Were it not for my dislike of disobeying
I would strive to proceed straightforwardly and strongly.
٣٩. يَأْبَى عَلَى البَأْسِ اقْتِصاراً والنَّدَى
فَمُفَرّق العَلياء فيهِ مُجَمَّعُ
40. Since I have been assigned to serve Emir Muhammad -
Separation from him is most bitter.
٤٠. مُتَبَوِّئٌ للْمَجْدِ أَشْمَخَ ذِرْوَةٍ
ولَهُ بِأَعْلاهَا لِواءٌ يُرْفَعُ
41. A regret the evening clouds announced, from which dripped
The downpour - who compares to him in loftiness?
٤١. أحْيَا الهُدَى منهُ إمامٌ مُرْتَضىً
وغَزا العِدَى منهُ هُمَامٌ أرْوَعُ
42. His soul and heart judged him superior amid his peers -
A cultivated soul and a heart most wise.
٤٢. أَتُرَى السَّماءَ دَرَتْ بما هُوَ صانِعٌ
فَلِذاكَ ما دَرَّتْ لَهُ تَتَصَنَّعُ
43. No house equals his in purity,
Dawn has risen and its furthest limit is most resplendent.
٤٣. فَالأَرْضُ حَيْثُ يَحُولُ مِنْ أَطْرَافِها
وَيَحِلُّ إِمَّا مَرْتَعٌ أَوْ مَشْرعُ
44. What shall I say and how far shall I go praising
When the eloquent master poet sings their praise?
٤٤. ضَايَقْتُ في العُذْرِ العُفاةَ وقُلْتُ قَدْ
يَمَّمْتُمُ بَحْرَ النَّدَى فَاسْتَوْسِعُوا
45. Let me start over striving
Perhaps my mind will produce something original when it starts.
٤٥. إِنْ تَقْصدوا لا تُحْجَبوا أو تَقْرُبُوا
لا تبْعدُوا أو تَسْأَلُوا لا تمْنَعُوا
46. If my nature pours forth a string of pearls regarding them
Then the sweetest in the generous land springs forth.
٤٦. يا للزَّمانِ أَعَلَّنِي بِزَمَانَةٍ
أَصْبَحْتُ بالإخْلادِ فيها أقْنَعُ
٤٧. لا بُرْءَ مِنْهَا يُسْتَفَادُ بِحيلَةٍ
فإِلى الرِّضَى بالحُكْم فيها المَرْجِعُ
٤٨. مِنْ أيْنَ لِي صَبْرٌ عَلى مَضَضِ النَّوَى
سُدَّتْ إلَى الصَّبْرِ الطَّرِيقُ المَهْيَعُ
٤٩. لَوْلا التَّكَرُّهُ أَنْ أُخِلَّ بِطاعَةٍ
لَسَعَيْتُ زَحْفاً أَسْتَقيمُ وأَظْلَعُ
٥٠. وبِأَنْ وُكِلْتُ إلى الأَميرِ مُحَمَّدٍ
عَذُبَ الأَمَرُّ مِنَ الفِرَاقِ الأَقْطَعُ
٥١. نَدْبٌ نَبا عَنهُ الحِجَى نَزَقَ الصِّبا
رُبَّ اكْتِهالٍ مَا عَداهُ تَرَعْرعُ
٥٢. حَكَمَتْ لَهْ بالْفَضْلِ بَيْنَ لِدَاتِهِ
نَفْسٌ مُهَذَّبَةٌ وَقَلْبٌ أَصْمَعُ
٥٣. لا بَيْتَ يَعْدِلُ في الطَّهارَةِ بَيْتَهُ
نَصَعَ الصَّباحُ وَمُنْتَهاهُ أَنْصَعُ
٥٤. ماذَا أَقولُ وأَيْنَ أبْلُغُ مادِحاً
وبِمَدْحِهم غَنَّى البَليغُ المِصْقَعُ
٥٥. دَعْنِي أَعِدْ فيهِ وأُبْدِئُ جَاهِداً
فَلَعَلَّ فِكْرِي حينَ يُبْدِئُ يُبْدِعُ
٥٦. إنْ سَالَ طَبْعي في ذراهُمْ سَلْسَلاً
فالعَذْبُ في الأَرْضِ الكَرِيمَةِ يَنْبُعُ