أربرب بالكثيب الفرد أم نشأ — Ibn Al Haddad Al Andalu…

أَرَبْرَبٌ بالكثيبِ الفَرْدِ أم نَشَأُ

ومُعْصِرٌ في اللِّثام الوَرْدِ أم رَشَأُ

Is that a herd of gazelles on the lone dune, or young maidens?

And a maiden in a rosy veil, or a young gazelle?

وباعثُ الوَجْدِ سِحْرٌ منكِ أم حَوَرٌ

وقاتِلُ الصّبِّ عَمْدٌ منكِ أَم خَطَأُ

Is what awakens longing magic from you, or your dark-eyed beauty?

And is your killing of the lover deliberate, or accidental?

وقد هَوَتْ بهوَى نَفْسِي مَهَا سَبَأٍ

فهل دَرَتْ مُضَرٌ مَنْ تَيَّمَتْ سبَأُ

Saba's oryxes have carried away my soul's desire.

Does Mudar know whom Saba has enslaved with love?

كأنَّ قلبِي سليمانُ وهُدْهُدُه

لَحْظِي وبِلْقِيسُ لُبْنَى والهَوَى النَّبَأُ

My heart is like Solomon, and his hoopoe

Is my glance; Bilqis is Lubna, and love the tidings.

فأعجَبْ لهمْ وَتَرُوا نَفْسِي وما شَعَرُوا

ولا دَرَوْا مَنْ بِعَيْنَيْ رِيمِهِمْ وجَأُوْا

Marvel at them: they wounded my soul without knowing,

Nor knew whom they stabbed with their gazelle's eyes.

إِذا تجلَّى إِلى أبصارِهِمْ صَعِقُوْا

وإِن تَغَلْغَلَ في أفكارِهِمْ هَمَأُوْا

When he appears before their eyes, they are thunderstruck;

And if he penetrates their thoughts, they melt away.

لو أَغْلَظَ المَلْكُ أَمْراً فيهِمُ ائتَمروا

لو اقتضى الجيشُ رَدّاً منهُمُ رَدَأَوْا

Were the king to issue them a stern command, they would obey;

Were the army to require reinforcement from them, they would assist.

وكلُّ ما شاءَ مِنْ حُكْمٍ ومُحْتَكَمٍ

يمضي على ما أحبُّوا منه أو نَدَأُوْا

And whatever he wishes in judgment and arbitration

Takes effect, whether they like it or reject it.

أَغَرُّ في مجده الأعلى وغُرَّتِهِ

للُّبِّ مُنْحَسِنٌ واللَّحْظُ مُنْخَسَأُ

Resplendent in his highest glory and his radiant countenance,

He offers beauty to the mind, while the gaze recoils.

وفي سَناهُ ومَسْناهُ ونائِلِهِ

للشُّهْبِ والسُّحْبِ مُسْتَحْياً ومُنْضَنَأُ

In his brilliance, his eminence, and his bounty,

The stars and clouds are put to shame and made to shrink.

جَلالةٌ لسليمانَ ومُلْتَمَحٌ

ليوسفٍ يومَ للنِّسْوانِ مُتَّكَأُ

His is Solomon's majesty, and the visible beauty

Of Joseph, the day a banquet was laid for the women.

وللملوكِ اختفاءٌ أنْ تُشابِهَهُ

وليس تَشْتَبِهُ العِيْدانُ والحَفَأُ

Kings must shrink from claiming any likeness to him;

Tall palms and papyrus reeds are not alike.

والكلُّ مُعْتَرِفٌ بالسابقاتِ له

ومَنْ زَكَا فله بالحقِّ مُنْزَكَأُ

All acknowledge his foremost achievements;

Whoever is noble rightly deserves recognition.

مُمَلَّكٌ هو من سَمْتِ الهُدَى مَلْكٌ

وواحدٌ هو في شَيْد العُلى مَلأُ

A crowned sovereign, in his bearing of guidance an angel;

One man, yet a multitude in building lofty greatness.

يَقِلُّ أنْ يَطَأَ العَيُّوْقُ أَخْمَصَهُ

وكلُّ مَلْكٍ على أعقابِه يَطَأُ

Even Capella falls short of treading the hollow of his foot;

Every king follows at his heels.

حَوَى المحاسنَ في قولٍ وفي عَمَلٍ

فَمِثْلَ مَهْنَئِهِ الأَملاكُ ما هَنَأوا

He encompasses excellence in speech and action;

No kings have enjoyed felicity like his.

وللثُّغُورِ بذكرى عَدْلِهِ وَلَعٌ

وللقلوبِ لِمَثْوَى حُبِّه لَطَأُ

Lips delight in recalling his justice;

Hearts cling to the dwelling of his love.

والمالكون سِواهُ مِثْلُ عَصْرِهِمُ

فكلما دَنَأَتْ أحداثُهُ دَنَأُوا

Rulers other than he resemble their age:

Whenever its events grow base, they grow base.

والعَدْلُ أَلْزَمُ ما تُعْنَى الملوكُ به

فَلْيُزْجَرُوا عن سبيلِ الحَيْفِ ولْيَزَأُوا

Justice is the most binding concern of kings;

Let them be restrained from injustice, and let them desist.

وكيف يَلْقَى قناةَ الدَّهْرِ قائمةً

وفَوْقَنَا لِقِسيِّ الشُّهْبِ مُنْحَنأُ

How can one find Time's spear upright,

When above us the bows of the stars are bent?

وما الزَّمانُ على حالٍ بمُعْتَدِلٍ

كأَنَّما أَهْلُهُ في شَخْصِهِ دَنَأُوا

Time is never evenly balanced in any condition,

As though its people had grown base within its person.

فالدهرُ ظَلْماءُ والمعصومُ نورُ هُدىً

يُضِيءُ والشمسُ في أنوارها تَضَأُ

Time is darkness, but the protected one is a guiding light:

He shines, while the sun pales amid that radiance.

فَخَلِّ ما قيل عن كَعْبٍ وعن هَرِمٍ

فلِلأَقاويلِ مُنْهارٌ ومُنْهَرَأُ

Leave aside what was said of Ka'b and Harim:

Tales have their collapse and their decay.

وتلك أنباءُ غَيْبٍ لا يقينَ لها

وقلَّما في التَّنائي يَصْدُق النَّبَأُ

Those are reports of unseen things, with no certainty;

At a distance, tidings seldom prove true.

وما اختبارٌ كأخبارٍ وما مَلِكٌ

إلاَّ ابنُ مَعْنٍ وَذَرْ قوماً وما ذَرَأوا

Experience is not hearsay, and there is no king

But Ibn Ma'n; leave others and what they have begotten.

تُغْني أياديه ما تُغْني صوارِمُهُ

وللْغِناءِ هو الإِقلالُ والفَنَأُ

His favors enrich as much as his sharp swords avail;

Yet the swords' gain is impoverishment and annihilation.

سِيّانِ منه فُتُوْحٌ في العِدَى طرأتْ

ومُعْتَفُون على إنعامه طرأوا

Alike from him are conquests that befall his enemies

And seekers of bounty who arrive to receive his favors.

فكم أناسٍ أَقاصٍ عنده نَبَهُوا

كأنهمْ قُرْبَةٌ في حِجْره نَشَأوا

How many people from far away have risen to distinction with him,

As though they were kin, reared in his lap!

وكيف تُحْصَى عَوَافي مَرْتَعٍ مَرِعٍ

للهائمينَ به مَرْويً ومُحْتَصَأُ

How can one count the seekers of a verdant pasture,

A watering place and full refreshment for those who thirst for it?

ومَنْ نَبَا وَطَنٌ مِنه كمثلِهِمُ

مَضَى به مُنْتَأىً عنه ومُنْتَبَأُ

Whoever, like them, finds his homeland estranged from him,

Is carried onward by a distant retreat and a new lodging.

وللظُّبَى والطُّلَى لَثْمٌ ومُعْتَنَقٌ

وللقَنَا والكُلَى ضَمٌّ ومُرْتَشَأُ

Sword-edges and necks have kisses and embraces;

Spears and kidneys have a clasp and a lodging.

وحيثُ ما أَزْمَعَتْ عُلْياكَ واعْتزمَتْ

حَدَا جَحافِلَكَ التأييدُ والحَدأُ

Wherever your Highness resolves and sets its purpose,

Divine support and the driving chant urge your legions onward.

فلا تَضَعْ مَرْبَأً للجيشِ تَنْهَدُهُ

فالنصرُ مُرْتَبِئٌ والسَّعْدُ مُرْتَبَأُ

Erect no lookout for the army you lead forth:

Victory is its watcher, and good fortune its watchtower.

تَحِيْدُ عن أُفْقِكَ الأملاكُ مُجْفِلَةٌ

ولا تُحَوِّمُ حيثُ اللَّقْوَةُ الحِدَأُ

Kings veer from your horizon, fleeing in alarm;

Kites do not circle where the eagle is.

فَوَيْحَهُمْ يومَ للأعلامِ مُلْتَطَمٌ

عليهِمُ وبِهِمْ للجُرْدِ مُلْتَطَأُ

Alas for them, the day the banners clash

Above them, and lean steeds find a trampling-ground among them!

وَوَيْلَهُمْ إِنْ شآبيبُ القَنَا هَمَأَتْ

وحاقَ باللامِ والأجسام مُنْهَمَأُ

Woe to them if showers of spears pour down,

And a downpour encompasses armor and bodies!

والحَيْنُ يظهر في وادي سوالِفِهِمْ

كما به في ثغور البِيْضِ مُنْكَمَأُ

Doom appears in the valley of their necks,

As it lies concealed in the mouths of bright blades.

وقد بَدَا عن عَرانين الظُّبَى شَمَمٌ

وفي أنوفِهِمُ الإِرغامُ والفَطَأُ

The noses of the sword-edges display proud height,

While their noses meet abasement and flattening.

وللقَنا مُنْهَوىً فيهمْ ومُنْسَرَبٌ

وللظُّبى مُنْبَرى فيهمْ ومُنْبَرَأُ

Spears find in them a place to plunge and a passage;

Blades find in them a whetting-ground and a cutting-ground.

كأنَّ سُمْرَكَ والإِقبال يَعْطِفُها

بَنانُ قومٍ إليهمْ بالرَّدَى وَمَأُ

As though your brown spears, bent by advancing fortune,

Were men's fingers signaling death toward them.

وقد غَدُوا قُضُباً بالهامِ مُثْمِرَةً

ومُجْتَنِيْها من الصَّمْصَامِ مُجْتَنَأُ

They have become branches bearing heads as fruit;

Their harvester finds in the keen sword a means of reaping.

وصالَ مُطَّعِنٌ فيهمْ ومُمْتَصِعٌ

فسال مُنْهَزِمٌ منهمْ ومُنْهَزَأُ

A spear-thruster and a swordsman assailed them;

So the routed and fleeing streamed away from them.

وقال حَوْضُهُمْ والسَّيْلُ يَغْمُرُهُ

قَطْنِيْ فقد هَدَمَ الأَرْجاءَ مُمْتَلأُ

Their basin said, as the flood overwhelmed it:

Enough for me! What fills me has shattered my banks.

هناك يَبْغُون لو يَلْقَوْنَهُ لَجَأً

وما لِخَلْقٍ عن المقدورِ مُلْتَجَأُ

There they seek a refuge, if only they could find it;

No creature has a refuge from what is ordained.

وكم لِبَاسِكَ فيهمْ من مَصالِ وَغىً

لِلَّيْثِ من سَمْعِهِ رَوْعٌ ومُجْتَبأُ

How many onsets of battle your might has made against them,

At whose sound the lion feels terror and seeks concealment!

وكان في ذَأْلِهِمْ وُدٌّ ومُتَّعَظٌ

لوْ صَحَّ من مِثْلِهِمْ وَعْظٌ ومُتَّدَأُ

Their scurrying offered goodwill and a lesson,

If counsel and composure could ever come from their like.

هاجُوا ظُباكَ التي بالسِّلْمِ قد هَجِئَتْ

فَسَوْفَ يَسْكُنُ منها الظِّمْءُ والهَجَأُ

They roused your blades, which peace had left hungry;

Soon their thirst and hunger will be stilled.

راعَيْتَ تَقْواكَ حتى في جَزائِهمُ

وما رَعَوْا ما تُراعيه ولا كَلأُوا

You observed your piety even in requiting them;

They neither observed what you observe nor guarded it.

والآن قد آنَ من شُهْب الصِّفاح لهمْ

دَرْءٌ ومن صافناتِ الخيلِ مُنْدَرَاُ

Now the time has come for them to receive, from bright blades,

Repulsion, and from poised horses a charging onset.

تَهْوي لقلبِ أعاديه مَكائدُهُ

كأنها قُتَرٌ للأُسْدِ أو بُرَأُ

His stratagems swoop toward his enemies' hearts,

As though they were hunting blinds for lions, or nose-rings.

مُذَهَّبُ الشمسِ ما في نُورِها كَلَفٌ

ورايةُ الشُّهْبِ ما في سَيْرِها خَطَأُ

Sun-gilded, with no blemish in its radiance,

And the stars' banner, with no error in their course.

وهِمَّةٌ فَوْقَ ما ظَنَّ الغُواةُ بِهِ

والقَوْمُ آمِنَةٌ إِنْ أَمْكَنَ الغَوَأُ

His ambition rises above what the misguided supposed of him;

The people feel safe—if safety is possible amid error.

وبالمعاقل لِلأَمْلاكِ مُقْتَنَعٌ

وما له بِسِوَى الأفْلاكِ مُجْتَرَأُ

Kings find contentment in fortresses;

He ventures nowhere short of the celestial spheres.

ولو يَرُوْمُ نِزالَ الطَّوْدِ يَبْلُغُهُ

أو يَنْزِلوا من صَياصيْه كما زَنَأُوا

If he seeks to challenge the mountain, he will reach it,

Or they must descend from its strongholds as they climbed.

وبَرْدُ أيامِهِمْ مَرْفُوُّ سِلْمِهِمُ

والحرْبُ تَخْرِقُ منهُمْ كلَّما رَفَأُوا

The cloak of their days is patched with their peace;

War tears it whenever they mend it.

مَلْكٌ له العِزُّ من ذاتٍ ومن سَلَفٍ

فَحَسْبُ كلِّ الملوكِ الهُوْنُ والجَزَأُ

A king whose glory comes from himself and his forebears;

Abasement and bare sufficiency are enough for every other king.

نَمَتْهُ بَدْراً نجومُ السَّرْوِ من يَمَنٍ

وما كَمِثْلِ النُّجُومِ النَّقْع والحَيَأُ

The stars of nobility from Yemen reared him into a full moon;

Neither dust nor rain is like the stars.

تَكَسَّبَا عَصْرُهُ فَخْراً وعُنْصُرُهُ

فقد عَلاَ الفَلَكَ الأعلى به سَبَأُ

His age and his lineage have both gained glory;

Through him Saba has risen above the highest sphere.

إِذا صُمادِحَهُ أَبْدَى وعامِرَهُ

فَلِلْمُبِيْرِيْنَ مُسْتَخْفىً ومُنْضَنَأُ

When he displays his Sumadih and his Amir,

The destroyers find only concealment and abasement.

مِنَ الأُلَى مَلَكُوا الدنيا وما بَرِحُوا

يَبْنُوْنَ أَسْمِيَةَ العُلْيَا وما فَتَأُوا

Of those who ruled the world and never ceased

Building the roofs of loftiness, without relenting.

فالحُسْنُ في سِيَرٍ منهمْ وفي صُوَرٍ

إِنْ مُوْجِدُوا مجدوا أو رُوْضِئوا رَضَأوا

Beauty lies in their conduct and in their forms:

If angered, they show nobility; if placated, they are pleased.

وأبدعوا في صنيع الجُوْد وابتدعوا

فكلَّما سُئِلوا من مُعْوِزٍ سَلأُوا

They wrought marvels of generosity and devised new ones;

Whenever a needy person asked them, they gave freely.

لولاهُمُ ما يَصُوبُ المُزْنُ مُسْتَهِماً

متى رَوَى سُيَّباً من وَبْلِهِ مَتَأَوا

Were it not for them, the clouds would not pour rain in torrents;

Whenever a downpour waters with gifts, they extend their bounty farther.

وبَيْتُ وَفرِهِمُ إيمانُ وَفْدِهِمُ

فَهُمْ مياسيرُ من حَمْدِ الوَرَى تُكَأُ

The storehouse of their abundance is their visitors' trust;

They are wealthy, with mankind's praise as their cushions.

أقمارُ مُلْتَئِمٍ آسادُ مُلْتَحَمٍ

يَرُوْعُنا مُجْتَلىً منهمْ ومُخْتَلأ

Moons in gatherings, lions in close battle,

Their appearance and their private retreat fill us with awe.

وما صوارِمُهُمْ إِبلاً وقد سَرَحُوا

وليس إِفْرِنْدُها عُرَى وقد هَنَأوا

Their sharp swords are not camels, though they have let them roam;

Their patterned steel is not scab, though they have smeared it with tar.

ولا عوامِلُهُمْ غِيْداً وقد وَمَقُوا

ولا أَسِنَّتُها شَيْباً وقد حَنَأوا

Their spear-shafts are not slender maidens, though they have loved them;

Their spearheads are not gray hairs, though they have dyed them with henna.

ومِنْ مُناهُمْ مناياهُمْ إِذا حَمَلُوا

وليس بالجالِهِ الهَيّابةِ الخُبَأ

Among their wishes are their deaths when they charge;

They are not the fainthearted, fearful, hiding sort.

إنْ قَوَّضوا خِلْتَ أنَّ الهُوْجَ ما رَكِبُوا

أو خَيَّموا خِلْتَ أنَّ الشُّهْبَ ما خَبَأُوا

If they break camp, you imagine they ride the raging winds;

If they pitch camp, you imagine they have sheltered the stars.

لا يَعْبَأُوْنَ بمَكْرٍ في مُقَاوِمِهِمْ

وليس للأُسْدِ بالسِّيْدانِ مُعْتَبَاُ

They heed no cunning in their opponents;

Lions take no account of wolves.

إِذا خَطُوْا وَتَروا في الأَرض شانِئَهُمْ

وللخطوبِ بها مَسْرىً ومُنْسَرَأُ

When they stride, they leave their enemy bereft upon the earth;

Calamities find there a course and a passage by night.

فإنْ رَمَيْتَ بهمْ أقصى النَّدَى بلغوا

وإن مَنَيْتَ بهمْ شُوسَ العِدَى نَكَأُوا

If you send them toward generosity's farthest reach, they arrive;

If you set them against fierce enemies, they wound them.

والخَلْقُ من مَلَكَاتِ الظُّلْمِ في ظُلَمٍ

وقد مَضَتْ هِنأُ مِنْ بَعْدِها هِنَأُ

Mankind lives in darkness from the habits of oppression;

One trouble has followed another.

ومُخْلِبٍ منه للأهواءِ مُخْتَلِبٌ

ومُرْتَمٍ فيه للعَلْيَاءِ مُرْتَمَأُ

And many a captivating one, whose allure ensnares desires,

And many an aspiring one, in whom high glory finds its aim.

إذا جَلاَ النَّصْرَ مِنْ خِرْصانِهِ وَضَحٌ

عَلاَ الغزالةَ من قَسْطاله صَدَأُ

When the sheen of his spear-points reveals victory,

A rust-colored haze from his battle-dust veils the sun.

مِنْ كلِّ أَحْوَسَ نَثْرُ النَثْرِ دَيْدَنُهُ

إذا يَرَى لُدْنَهُ مُسْتَلْئِماً يُرَأُ

From every bold warrior whose habit is scattering noses:

When he sees an armored foe before his supple spear, he strikes.

يجيءُ كالهَصِرِ الفَضْفاضِ مقتتلاً

أَصَمُ كالأرقم النَضْناض إذْ يَجَأُ

He comes battling like a broad-bodied, crushing lion,

Deaf as a tongue-flicking speckled serpent when he thrusts.

وللمَنُوْنِ بِيُمْنَاهُ عُيُونُ دِمَا

في جدولٍ يتحامَى وِرْدَهُ الظَّمَأ

Death has springs of blood in his right hand,

In a stream whose drinking-place even thirst avoids.

فراح نحو دَمِ الأبطال تَحْسِبُهُ

راحاً لها بالقَنا العَسّالِ مُسْتَبَأُ

He sets out toward the heroes' blood, which you might deem

Wine, procured with the quivering spears.

في مَوْقِفٍ للمَنَايَا فيه مُرْتَكَضٌ

على الجِيَادِ وللأجْنادِ مُنْهَدَأُ

In a field where deaths have room to gallop

Upon steeds, and armies have a place to fall.

وتلك عَنْقاؤُنا وافَتْكَ مُغْرِبَةً

بِحُسْنها فاستوى العِقْبانُ والحدَأُ

Our 'Anqa has come to you, wondrously strange

In its beauty, making eagles and kites alike.

بِدْعٌ من النَظْمِ مَوْشِيُّ الحُلَى عَجَبٌ

تُنْسي الفحولَ وما حاكوا وما حكَأَوا

A wonder newly fashioned in verse, with embroidered ornaments,

It makes one forget the master poets, what they wove and bound.

وكلُّ مُخْتَرَعٍ للنَّفْس مُبْتَدَعٍ

فمنه للرُوْح رَوْحٌ والحِجَى حَجَأُ

Every invention freshly fashioned for the soul

Brings the spirit relief, and gives the mind a refuge.

أَنْشَأْتُهَا للعقول الزُهْر مُصْبِيَةً

كأنّها للنُّفوْسِ الخُرَّدُ النَشَأُ

I composed it to captivate radiant minds,

As though it were young, secluded maidens for the souls.

لم يأتِ قبليْ ولن يأتي بها بَشَرٌ

وحُقَّ أَنْ يَخْبَأوا عنها كما خَبَأُوا

No one brought its like before me, nor will any mortal bring it;

It is fitting that they hide from it, as indeed they have.

قَبَضْتُ منها لُيُوثَ النَّظْمِ مُجْتَرِئاً

وغيرُ بِدْعٍ من الضِّرْغام مُجْتَرَأُ

I boldly seized from it the lions of verse;

Boldness is no novelty in a lion.

وفي القريض كما في الغِيل مَأْسَدَةٌ

والقومُ حَوْزٌ بمرعى البهَمِ قد جَزَأُوا

Verse, like the thicket, contains a lions' den;

The others are a herd, content with the pasture of lambs.

وجَمْعُ بعضِ قوافيها يَؤُودُهُمُ

ولو مُنُوا بمبانيها إذاً وَدَأُوا

Collecting even some of its rhymes weighs them down;

Were they tried with its structures, they would perish.

أَشْجَى مسامِعَهُمْ تِيْهاً بما سَمِعُوا

ولا تَقَرُّ لهمْ عَيْنٌ إِذا قرأوا

In proud triumph, it torments their ears with what they heard;

Their eyes find no comfort when they read.