أشدو بها وسط الندي الحاشد — Ibn Alabar

أشدو بها وَسطَ النّدِيِّ الحاشِدِ

وَضّاحَةً مِن غُرَرِ المَراشِدِ

I sing of it amid the crowded assembly,

radiant among the choicest paths of guidance.

سنا الصّباح مِن سَنَاها الواقِدِ

شِيدَت مَبانيها عَلَى قَواعِدِ

The morning's radiance comes from its blazing light.

Its structures were raised upon foundations—

وَأَيُّ مَرْأَى صَادِقٍ وَقَاصِد

صاعِدَةٌ إلى المَحلّ الصاعِدِ

and what a sight for the sincere and the purposeful!

Ascending to the lofty station,

سَعيدَة في زَمَنٍ مُسَاعِد

كَريمَةُ المَعْهَدِ وَالمَعاهِدِ

fortunate in a favorable age,

noble in its abode and its familiar haunts,

وانْتَسَبَت في أَشرَفِ المَحاتِد

فَلَيسَ عَنْها أَحدٌ بِحائِدِ

it traced its lineage to the noblest roots.

No one, then, turns away from it,

ولا لَها في الأرْضِ مِن مُعانِد

بَيْعَةُ رضْوَان وهَدْيُ خَالِدِ

and it has no opponent on earth.

A pledge of Ridwan and the example of Khalid,

ما بَينَ مَعْهودٍ لهُ وعَاهِد

مِيثَاقُها حَلَّ عُرَى المَكائِدِ

between the one receiving the pledge and the one pledging.

Its covenant has untied the knots of plots,

وَعَقْدُها جَلّ عَنِ العَقائِدِ

كانَت لَها السَعود بالمَراصِدِ

and its bond is exalted above all covenants.

The auspicious stars lay at watchposts for it,

فَالمُشتَري يُملي على عطارِد

مَا أمَّلَتْ مَنابِرُ المَساجِدِ

so Jupiter dictates to Mercury

what the pulpits of the mosques had hoped for

وأَسْمَعَتْ أَلْسِنَةُ القَصَائِد

وجدانُها المَنشودُ حَسبَ الناشِدِ

and the tongues of poems proclaimed.

Finding it, long sought, suffices the seeker,

وَزَنْدُها المَقدُوحُ غَيرُ صالِد

قد حَصْحَصَ الحَق فَما مِنْ جاحِدِ

and its struck fire-stick never fails to spark.

Truth has now become manifest; no one denies it,

وألْقَت الأمْلاك بِالْمَقالِد

فانْظُرْ إلى الجامِحِ طَوْع القائِدِ

and kings have surrendered the keys.

Look, then, at the restive steed obeying its leader!

كُلُّ عَميدٍ مَدّ يُمنَى عامِد

يَبْأى بوَسمي حامد وحافِدِ

Every chief deliberately extends his right hand,

proud of the two titles: praiser and eager servant.

إنَّ المَسودَ تَبَعٌ للسائِد

هِدايةٌ لِصادِرٍ وَوارِدِ

Indeed, the subject follows the sovereign.

Guidance for those departing and arriving,

ونَجْعَةٌ لِفَارِط ورائِد

وعِصْمَةٌ لِقَائِمٍ وقاعد

and pasture for the forerunner and the scout,

and protection for those standing and sitting.

وافَتْ بِها وافِية المَواعِد

كالغَمْضِ في عَينِ المُعنّى الساهِد

One faithful to her promises came with it,

like sleep in the tormented, wakeful eye,

كالأمنِ في قلبِ المروع الشارِد

للّهِ عَهدٌ مُحْكَمُ المَعَاقِد

like safety in the heart of one frightened and fleeing.

By God, a covenant with firmly fastened bonds!

قُلد مِنه أعْظَمَ القَلائِد

مُبارَكُ المَبادي والمَقاصِد

Through it he was invested with the greatest necklace,

blessed in its beginnings and its aims.

يَحوي لرحْبِ الباعِ طُولَ الساعِد

لَيس يَؤُودُهُ احتِمالُ الآيد

It holds a long forearm for a man of ample reach;

bearing heavy burdens does not weigh him down.

إنّ العُلى مَجموعَةٌ في واحِد

مِنْ زَكرِياءَ الأميرِ الماجِد

Indeed, all eminence is gathered in a single scion

of Zakariya, the illustrious emir.

مَلْكٌ يجلِّي عَن ثَناء الحامِد

وأينَ وَصْفُ شاكِرٍ مِن شاكِد

A king who outstrips the praiser's praise—

and how can a grateful man's description match the giver?

وَهّابُ كُلّ طارِفٍ وَتالِد

لِلْوافِدينَ مِنه حَظُّ الرافِد

A lavish giver of all wealth, new and inherited;

from him, visitors receive a benefactor's portion.

كَم مُقتِرٍ ألحقَه بِواجِدِ

وكَم أصابَ مُلْحِداً بِلاحِد

How many a poor man has he raised among the wealthy!

And how many a heretic has he struck with a grave-maker!

في كَفِّه مِثْلُ الشُعاعِ الحارِد

أسرَعُ في النّسِّ مِن الأساوِد

In his palm is something like a fierce ray,

swifter in darting than black serpents.

مَكرَعُهُ بحيثُ حقد الحاقِد

مُسْتَأسِدٌ للبَطَلِ المُستَأسِد

Its drinking place is where the hater's hatred lies,

lionlike against the lionlike champion.

سِنانُه الوقّادُ رَجْمُ المَارِد

لَهُ تثني القُضُبُ الموائِد

Its blazing spearhead is a missile against the rebellious demon;

before it the swaying boughs bow,

ولِبْسهُ الكواعِب النواهِد

به نفاقُ كل حَتف كاسِد

and full-breasted maidens are its attire.

Through it, every unsold death finds a buyer.

وَمُنتَضىً نازَعَ كفَّ الغامِد

كالرُّؤْدِ لا تُذْعِنُ لِلمُراوِد

And a drawn sword that wrestled with the sheather's hand,

like a tender maiden who will not yield to her wooer.

أُنجِبَ في معادِن الجرَائِد

لشَوكَة الأعداءِ أمضَى خاضِد

Nobly born in the mines of blades,

the keenest lopper of the enemies' thorn,

يَتركُ بالخُدودِ كالأخَادِد

لَهُ بنَقْرِ الهامِ خرْقُ الناقِد

it leaves furrow-like marks upon cheeks.

In pecking at skulls, it has an assayer's piercing skill.

نِجادُهُ مِنه عَلى مُنَاجِد

أرْصَدَه لخاتِرٍ وعاقِد

Its baldric hangs from him, a valiant defender;

he has readied it for traitor and covenanter,

حَيثُ الحُتوفُ مُرّةُ المَوارِد

بِمَعْزلٍ من الزُّلالِ البارِد

where death's watering places are bitter,

far removed from cool, clear water,

والهامُ زَرْعٌ يُجْتَنى بحاصِد

هُناكَ تَلْقاهُ أعزّ عاضِد

and heads are a crop reaped by a harvester.

There you find him the mightiest ally;

يَنْهَدُ فَرداً للخَميسِ الناهِد

في بادِئ مِنْ بأسِه وعائِد

alone he rises against the advancing army,

in the first surge of his might and its renewal.

وَجوده كالمُستَهلّ الجائِد

يُحيطُ بالأدْنَيْنِ والأباعِد

And his generosity is like a cloud pouring abundant rain,

embracing the nearest and the farthest.

وَرِفْدُه لِقَاطِنٍ ووَافِد

شِنْشِنَةٌ في وَلَدٍ مِن والِد

And his bounty is for resident and visitor—

a trait in the son inherited from the father.

تأثرُها البحارُ في المَشاهِد

تَحَدُّثَ الرُّواةِ بِالمَسانِد

The seas recount it in assemblies,

as narrators recount reports with their chains of transmission.

أسعد به من باهر المَصاعِد

سُلالة الخَضارِم الأجاوِد

How fortunate he is, dazzling in his ascents!

A scion of great, generous lords,

وعترة الأعاظِم الأماجِد

يَنْميهِ في أُرومَةِ الْمَحَامِد

and of the lineage of the mighty and illustrious.

His descent traces him, in the rootstock of noble deeds,

للمرْتَضى يَحيَى بن عبدِ الواحِد

ابن أبي حَفص وَهَل مِن زائِد

to al-Murtada, Yahya ibn Abd al-Wahid,

ibn Abi Hafs—can anything more be added?

بيْتٌ علا بَيتاً عَلى الفَراقِد

له من الإنجابِ أزْكى شاهِد

A house whose dwelling towers above the Farqad stars,

its noble offspring offer the purest testimony:

مُجاهِدٌ يُنمَى إلى مجاهِد

كُلٌّ يُشيدُ كأبيهِ الشائِد

a warrior for the faith descended from a warrior for the faith.

Each builds high, like his father, the builder.

عِصابَةٌ قُدْسِيةُ المَوالِد

يُولَد كُلٌّ مِنْهُم بحاسِد

A band whose births are sacred,

each of them born with an envier.

قد أُيِّدوا فَما لَهم من كائِد

وأُوجِدوا لِعَدمِ الشّدائِد

They have been strengthened, and have no plotter against them;

and were brought into being to abolish hardships.

كَم راكِعٍ لِسُمرِهِمْ وساجِد

ليْسَ لهُ فيها ثوابُ العابِد

How many bow and prostrate before their brown spears,

yet gain no worshipper's reward thereby!

هَذي العِدى من طائِحٍ وصائِد

أصولُهُم تُحْدَف كالزّوائِد

These enemies, both fallen men and hunters—

their roots are cut away like excess growth,

بكُلِّ عامِلٍ لَهُم مُطارِد

في صادمٍ مِن الوَغى وصامِد

by every pursuing spearhead of theirs,

amid battle's charging and steadfast fighters.

يَرْفُل للدّماء في مَجاسِد

من ذائِبٍ صَاكَ بهِ وجامِد

It struts in garments dyed with blood,

both the liquid that struck against it and the clotted.

لَوْلاهُمُ أعيا صَلاحُ الفاسِد

ولَحِقَ العامِر بِالفَدافِد

Without them, mending the corrupt would be impossible,

and inhabited land would join the barren wastes.

هُمُ مَصابيحُ الظلامِ الراكِد

وهُم حياةُ الأنْفسِ الهَوامِد

They are lamps in the motionless darkness,

and life to souls grown lifeless.

مِن كلِّ شَهْم مِثل سَهمٍ صارِد

لأصيدِ الكُماةِ سابٍ صائِد

Each a gallant man, like a piercing arrow,

a captor and hunter of proud champions,

مُجادِلٍ عَن الهُدى مُجالِد

سُؤْدَدُه العادِيّ غَيْر نَافِد

defending guidance in argument and in combat.

His age-old nobility is inexhaustible.

مَوْلايَ صَفْحاً فَهوَ جُهدُ الجاهِد

أمْتحُه مِن حُسنِ حسٍّ خامِد

My lord, pardon me: this is a struggler's utmost effort.

I draw it from the beauty of a dormant sensibility

يَأبى الهبوبَ من سِناتِ الراقِد

قلتُ لكَ الأمداحُ كالفَرائِد

that refuses to awaken from a sleeper's drowsiness.

I said to you: praises are like precious pearls

والرّوض في أزهارِهِ النّضائِد

قَد صُغتُ مَعناها بِلَفظٍ خالِد

and a garden with its closely arrayed blossoms.

I have fashioned their meaning in immortal words.