هنيته عيدا فصل وانحر — Ibn Al Maqri

هنيتهُ عيداً فصلِّ وانحرِ

شانئكُ الأبتر نحرَ الجزرِ

May you enjoy the feast: pray, and slaughter

your cut-off hater, as camels are slaughtered.

وضحِّ بالأعدا متى شئت فما

وقيت نحرهمُ بيوم المنحر

And sacrifice your enemies whenever you wish; you have not

spared their throats on the Day of Sacrifice.

وزينِ العيدَ بما عودته

من زينةِ الملك التي لم تقدرِ

Adorn the feast with what you have accustomed it to,

of royal splendor that cannot be measured.

هذي رجالاتُ الصباحِ أصبحت

بالبابِ أمثالَ النجوم الزهرِ

These morning dignitaries are now

at the gate, like bright stars.

قد أبكروا لحظهم من نظرةٍ

منك ومن لثم الثرى المعتبِر

They have come early for their share of a glance

from you, and of kissing the revered dust.

وأخذوا مجالساً رتبتهم

فيها كستهم من ثيابِ المفخرِ

They have taken seats; their rank

there has clothed them in garments of glory.

إذا رأى الانسانُ منهم نفسهُ

أبصر منها اليوم ما لم يبصرِ

When one of them looks upon himself,

he sees in himself today what he had never seen.

ينتظرون الإِذن في تقبيلهم

بين يديك الأرض فأذن واخترِ

They await permission to kiss

the earth before you; permit it, and choose.

وإنهم يلقون دون لثمها

من هيبةِ السلطان هول المنظرِ

And indeed, before kissing it, they encounter

the terrifying sight of the sultan's majesty.

تركٌ وحجّابٌ قيامٌ دونه

لا ينطقون مثل من في المحشرَ

Turks and chamberlains stand before him,

silent, like those at the Resurrection gathering.

قد أطرقوا مهابةً لو وقفت

طيرٌ على رؤوسهم لم تنفرِ

They have lowered their heads in awe; were there to perch

birds upon their heads, they would not fly away.

ملكٌ ترى عوج الرقاب عندَه

أذل من فقعِ الفلا المعفرِ

A king before whom you see bowed necks

more abased than dust-covered desert truffles.

يبركُ كلٌ كالبعيرِ عندَه

ويلثم الأرض بخدٍ أصغرِ

Each kneels before him like a camel,

and kisses the earth with a humbled cheek.

والملك فوق تختهِ متوجاً

بدررٍ قد نضدّت وجوهرِ

And the king is upon his throne, crowned

with pearls arrayed in rows and gems.

فاعجب بقلب من دنا مسلّماً

في هذه الحال ولم ينفطر

Marvel, then, at the heart of one approaching in greeting

in this state, yet not bursting apart.

يؤخذ حين يدنو أيديه

اخذَ العزيزِ للذليل الأحقرِ

He is seized by the hands as he draws near,

as a mighty man seizes the lowly and most contemptible.

وكلما مشى به أومى له

إن قبل الأرض هنا وابتدر

And whenever he leads him forward, he gestures to him:

‘Kiss the earth here, and hasten!’

وان دنا من السرير دفعوا

في صدرِه ورد رد المجتري

And if he nears the throne, they thrust

against his chest and repel him like a presumptuous intruder.

سوا الوزير والأمير عندهم

ما فيهم ذو منصب لم يزجر

Except for the vizier and emir among them,

no officeholder escapes rebuke.

لكنَّ ذو المنصب يبقى قائماً

وغيرهُ يذهب غير منظرِ

Yet the officeholder remains standing,

and anyone else departs, allowed no respite.

بيناهم في حيرةٍ مما رأوا

وشغلٌ بالفكر والتدبُّرِ

While they were bewildered by what they had seen

and occupied with thought and reflection,

إذ نعق الجاووش منهم مثبتاً

على المليك بالثناء العطرِ

the herald among them suddenly bellowed, proclaiming

fragrant praise of the king.

يرفعُ صوتاً لم يمر مثله

بمسمع كالضيغم المزمجر

Raising a voice whose like had never passed

into an ear, like a growling lion.

فارتعدوا لصوتِه عند الثنا

رعدتهم للرعد عند المطرِ

They trembled at his voice during the praise,

as they trembled at thunder in the rain.

ملك عقيم وسطا وعزة

ومنتهى الجود وحسن الأثرِ

Barren kingship, dominance and might,

and the utmost generosity and a noble legacy.

حتى إِذا قضى الصباح شأنه

وما بقى لأهله من وطرِ

Until, when the morning had finished its business,

and its people had no wish left

إلا التهيي للصلاةِ إِنها

ريحك والإِسلام مالُ المتجرِ

except preparing for prayer—for it is

your wind [perhaps ‘profit’], and Islam is the capital of trade—

وقرّبَ المركوب واستدعي به

فارتجت الأرض من التموّرِ

the mount was brought forward and called for,

and the earth shook with surging movement.

واضطربَ الخلقُ وثاروا ثورةً

فثار نقع كالدجا المنعكرِ

The people stirred and rose in a rush,

and dust rose like thickening darkness,

حتى طلعتَ مطلع الشمس ضحىً

يقهرّ ضوءُها مبادى النظر

until you rose as the sun rises at forenoon,

its light overpowering the first glances.

فأشرقت بوجهك الأرض لنا

وانجاب عنها غشو ذاك العثير

The earth shone for us with your face,

and the veil of that dust lifted from it.

والخيلُ تعدو والجيوشُ انبعثت

بعسكرٍ يتبعُ إثر عسكرِ

The horses raced and the armies set forth,

one host following in the wake of another.

والناسُ ما بين يدٍ مشيرةٍ

وبين طرف شاخصٍ للبصرِ

The people were divided between pointing hands

and eyes fixed in a staring gaze.

قد ذُهلوا لما رأوا منك فلو

يضرب عنقُ بعضهم لم يشعرِ

They were stunned by what they saw of you; even if

the neck of one of them were struck, he would not notice.

وأنت ماضٍ للصلاة خاضعاً

لله مصروفاً عن التكبِّر

And you proceeded to prayer, humbled

before God, turned away from pride.

تمشى الهوينى وجلاً مكبراً

مستغفرا والعفو للمستغفر

You walked gently, fearful, proclaiming God's greatness,

seeking forgiveness—for pardon is for those who seek it.

وقمت للجند ترى تذريبهم

فالطعنُ للحرب من التبررِ

You stood to watch the soldiers' training,

for spear-thrusting in war is an act of piety.

نصبت عرضاً شاخصاً ممتحناً

لحذقهم كخاتم في الصغرِ

You set up an upright target, testing

their skill, as small as a ring.

فمخطئٌ يطرق راسا خجلاً

وصائب يبدو بوجه مسفرِ

One who missed lowered his head in shame,

while one who hit appeared with a radiant face.

إن النضالَ كان عند المصطفى

والطعنُ محتاج إلى التذكرِ

Archery contests were held before the Chosen One,

and spear-thrusting calls for mindful recollection.

ثم أنثنيتَ للمصلى قاصداً

حتى استقريت حذاء المنبرِ

Then you turned toward the prayer ground,

until you settled opposite the pulpit,

مستمعاً موعظة موقعها

ومن يحبُ الله غير منكرِ

listening to the admonition of its deliverer;

and whoever loves God is no denier.

وعدتَ عنها طاهراً مطهراً

من كل ذنبٍ أكبر وأصغرِ

You returned from it pure and purified

of every sin, great and small.

إنك ملك تنصر الله ومن

ينصره عز وجلِ لا ينصر

You are a king who champions God; and anyone

He supports—mighty and exalted—is not aided [wording unclear].

ويغفر الله تعالى ذنبه

لو كان كالتراب وقطرَ المطرِ

And God Most High forgives his sin,

even were it as dust and the drops of rain.

فما سمعنا مذ نصرت ربنا

طاغ على اللهَ تعالى يفترىِ

Since you championed our Lord, we have never heard

a rebel fabricating lies against God Most High.

يفديك كل مغرس مستنبطٍ

في الملك غير مغرق في العنصرِ

May every newly sprung stock be your ransom,

in kingship, not deeply rooted in ancestry.

من عد في الملك أباً فاعدد له

نيّفا على ألف أبٍ فأكثرِ

Whoever counts a father among kings, count for him

over a thousand fathers—then count still more.

فملكهم من آدم منتظمٌ

إلى المليك الطاهر المستظهرِ

For their kingship runs unbroken from Adam

to King al-Tahir, al-Mustazhir,

ابن المليك الأشرف بن الفاضلِ

ابن علي بن داوود فتى المظفر

son of King al-Ashraf, son of al-Fadil,

son of Ali, son of Dawud, scion of al-Muzaffar.

قوم تربى الدهرُ في بيوتهم

طفلاً وكهلاً طاعنا في الكبرِ

A people in whose houses Time was raised

as a child, a grown man, and one far advanced in age:

التبعيّونَ وكم من ملكٍ

من آل قحطان وآلِ حميرِ

the descendants of Tubba‘—and how many a king

of the house of Qahtan and the house of Himyar!

اسلاميُّ الملك وجاهليه

قد كان فيكم ياملوكَ حميرِ

Kingship, Islamic and pre-Islamic,

has been among you, O kings of Himyar.

وأنتَ أسخى من رأينا منهمُ

ومن سمعنا أنتَ بحرُ الأبحرِ

You are more generous than any of them we have seen,

and any we have heard of: you are the sea of seas.

فالحمدِ لله ظفرتَ بالمنى

بلغني دولة يحيى عمري

Praise be to God: you have attained your desires.

My lifetime has brought me to Yahya's reign.