لمن طلل نائي المزار بعيده — Ibn Alkhatib

لمَنْ طَلَلٌ نائِي المَزارِ بَعيدُهُ

وعهْدٌ كَريمٌ لا يُذَمُّ حَميدُهُ

Whose is this ruined campsite, remote to visit and far away,

And this noble past, its virtues beyond reproach?

عَفا غَيْرَ نُؤْيٍ كالسِّوارِ ومَوْقِدٍ

كَما جَثَمَتْ بيضُ الحَمامِ وسُودُهُ

It has faded, save a bracelet-like trench and a hearth,

Like white and black doves crouching.

إذا أخْلَفَ الغيْثُ الأباطِحَ والرُّبا

فتَسْكابُ دَمْعِ المُقلَتَيْنِ يَجودُهُ

When rain fails the gravel plains and hills,

Tears pouring from both eyes rain upon it.

مَحَلٌّ لسُعْدَى والزّمانُ مُساعِدٌ

وجَفْنُ اللّيالي لا يَريمُ هُجودُه

A dwelling of Su'da, when fortune was favorable,

And the eyelid of the nights never left its slumber.

وقَفْنا بهِ عُوجَ المَطيِّ كأنّهُ

عَليلٌ ومُجْتازُ الرِّكابِ يَعودُهُ

We halted our travel-bent mounts there, as though it were

A sick man whom passing riders came to visit.

فلَوْلا نَسيمٌ رَدّ رَجْعَ جَوابِنا

فسَكّنَ منْ حَرِّ الأُوامِ بَرُودُهُ

Had not a breeze returned the echo of our reply,

Its coolness soothing some of burning thirst's heat,

لَما حَمَلتْ منّا الضّلوعُ غَرامَها

ولا كانَ هَذا الشّوقُ يَخْبو وَقودُهُ

Our ribs could not have borne their passion,

Nor would this yearning's fuel have died down.

وتاللّهِ لوْلا أنّةٌ تُشْهِرُ الجَوى

فأضْحى وسرُّ الحُبِّ بادٍ جُحودُهُ

By God, were it not for a moan that reveals love's anguish,

Leaving love's secret exposed even in its denial,

لآثَرْتُ كَتْمَ الوجْدِ بيْنَ جَوانِحي

وبلّغْتُ في القَلْبِ الهَوى ما يُريدُهُ

I would have preferred to hide passion within my breast,

And let love in my heart attain what it desires.

خَليليَّ ما للرّكْبِ لا يَشْتَكي الوَجى

وما لِبِساطِ القَفْرِ يُطْوى مَديدُهُ

My two friends, why do the riders not complain of sore feet,

And why is the desert's long carpet being folded away?

يحُثُّ جَناحَ السّيْرِ حتّى كأنّما

رَجاءُ أميرِ المُسْلِمينَ يَقودُهُ

It spurs the wing of travel until it seems

Hope in the Commander of the Muslims is leading it.

أظنُّ ديارَ الحَيِّ منّا قَريبةً

وظمْآنُ هَذا البُعْدِ حانَ وُرودُهُ

I think the tribe's dwellings are near us,

And this distance's thirsty traveler is due to reach water.

وإلاّ فَما بالُ النّسيمِ كأنّما

أكبّتْ على النّارِ الكِباءَ هُنودُهُ

Otherwise, why does the breeze seem as though

Its Indians have tipped incense onto the fire?

تأَرّجَ في الآفاقِ مَسْرَى هُبوبِهِ

كَما حَمَلَتْ عنْهُ الثّناءَ وُفودُهُ

The course of its blowing grew fragrant across the horizons,

Just as his delegations carried praise away from him.

وما بالُ هذا العِيسِ لا تَسْأمُ السُّرَى

كَما جُهِّزَتْ عنْدَ المَغارِ جُنودُهُ

And why do these pale camels never tire of night travel,

Like his troops when equipped for a raid?

أميرٌ كَفى الإسْلامَ كلَّ عَظيمةٍ

وقدْ شابَ منْ طولِ العَناءِ وَليدُهُ

An emir who spared Islam every calamity,

When its infant had grown gray from long suffering;

وقادَ الى إصْراخِهِ كُلَّ سابِحٍ

مُعوّذَةٍ أنْ لا تُحَطَّ لُبودُهُ

And led to its rescue every swimming steed,

Charmed against ever having its saddle-felts removed.

وألّفَ أسْرارَ النّفوسِ على الُدَى

فأوْشَكَ منْ وَقدِ الشَّتاتِ خُمودُهُ

And united souls' innermost thoughts upon guidance,

So the blaze of division came close to dying out.

ولمّا عرَتْ هَذي الجَزيرةَ نَبْوَةٌ

وعُطِّلَ منْ فَرْضِ الجِهادِ أكيدُهُ

When a setback befell this peninsula,

And the binding obligation of jihad was neglected,

وأصْبَحَ ثَغْرُ الثّغْرِ بعْدَ ابتِسامِهِ

ولوْلا دِفاعُ اللّهِ فُضّتْ عُقودُهُ

And the frontier's mouth awoke after its smiling—

But for God's defense, its necklaces would have scattered.

تَبارَكَ آلُ النّصْرِ حِفْظَ ذَمائِهِ

فأعْقَبَ صِدّيقَ الجَلالِ شَهيدُهُ

Blessed be the House of Nasr for preserving its last breath;

Its martyr left Majesty's true friend as successor,

وأنْجَبَهُ للدّينِ يحْمي ذِمارَهُ

كما أنْجَبَتْ لَيْثَ العَرينِ أسودُهُ

And brought him forth for the faith, to guard its honor,

As its lions bring forth the lion of the lair.

فقامَ بأمْرِ اللهِ ناصِرُ دينِهِ

ولا عِبْءَ يَثْني عَزْمَهُ ويُؤودُهُ

Then the champion of His faith arose at God's command,

With no burden to bend his resolve or weigh him down.

وأسْلكَ نهْجَ الحقِّ مَنْ حادَ بعْدَما

تُنوسِيَ ذِكْراهُ وضَلَّ سديدُهُ

He led onto truth's path whoever had strayed, after

Its memory had been forgotten and its straight course lost.

إذا عُدِّدَ الأمْلاكُ مَجْداً ومَحْتِداً

فيُوسُفُ أنْصارُ النّبيّ جُدودُهُ

When kings are reckoned by glory and lineage,

Yusuf's ancestors are the Prophet's Helpers.

وإنْ قَعَدوا منْ دونِ مبْلَغِ غايةٍ

تَدانَى لهُ منْ كلِّ قَصْدٍ بَعيدُهُ

And if they fall short of reaching a goal,

The farthest reach of every aim draws near to him.

وأيُّ فؤادٍ مِنْهُمُ غيْرُ خافِقٍ

إذا خَفَقَتْ أعْلامُهُ وبُنودُهُ

And which heart among them does not flutter

When his standards and banners flutter?

لهُ فَتَكاتٌ ما تَجفُّ ظُباتُها

وعزْمُ اقْتِدارِ ما تُحَلُّ عُقودُهُ

His are deadly assaults whose sword-edges never dry,

And a mighty resolve whose knots are never untied,

ورأيٌ يَمُدُّ الشّمْسَ نوراً ومَشْهَداً

ملائِكَةُ السّبْعِ الطِّباقِ شُهودُهُ

And judgment that gives light to the sun, and a scene

Witnessed by the angels of the seven layered heavens.

فلِلنّاسِ في يومِ العَطاءِ هِباتُهُ

وللّهِ في اللّيلِ الطّويلِ هُجودُهُ

His gifts are for the people on the day of giving,

And his vigil is for God through the long night.

يَميناً لَما الأنْواءُ إلا يَمينُهُ

وما الجُودُ إلا ما سَقَى الأرْضَ جودُهُ

I swear: the rain-bearing stars are nothing but his right hand,

And bounty is only what his generosity rains upon the earth.

أميرَ العُلَى لوْلاكَ أصْبَحَ رَبْعُها

خَلاءً ودِينُ اللهِ وَاهٍ عَمودُهُ

Emir of exalted deeds, but for you their dwelling would become

Desolate, and God's religion weak in its pillar.

ولَكِنْ نَهَجْتَ العَدْلَ منْ بعْدِ فتْرَةٍ

وقدْ دَرَسَتْ آثارُهُ وعُهودُهُ

But you laid out justice's path after a lapse,

When its traces and its covenants had faded away.

وبَدّدْتَ شمْلَ الكُفْرِ بعْدَ ائتلافِهِ

فأضْحَى عَميداً في الرُّغامِ عَميدُهُ

You scattered unbelief's company after it had united,

And its chief lay stricken in the dust.

وجاهَدْتَهُ في اللّهِ حَقَّ جِهادِهِ

فأذْعَنَ عاصِيهِ وذلّ عَنيدُهُ

You strove against it for God with the striving due to Him,

Until its rebel submitted and its stubborn opponent was humbled.

فمُلْكُكَ مَنْصورُ اللِّواءِ سَعيدُهُ

وظِلُّكَ خفّاقُ الرواقِ مَديدُهُ

Your kingdom is fortunate, its banner victorious;

Your shade stretches far beneath a fluttering canopy;

وسيْفُكَ مرْهوبُ الغِرارِ حَديدُهُ

وسَيْبُكَ مسْكوبُ النّوالِ عَتيدُهُ

Your sword's steel is feared for its edge;

Your bounty's ready store pours forth gifts.

فلوْلاكَ لمْ تنْهَلَّ بالغَيْثِ ديمةٌ

ولا راقَ من زَهْرِ الرِّياضِ مَجودُهُ

But for you, no lasting raincloud would pour down rain,

Nor would the gardens' rain-fed blossoms delight,

وأخْفَقَ مسْعَى كلِّ آمِلِ غايَةٍ

وأخْلَقَ منْ عَصْبِ الزّمانِ جَديدُهُ

The striving of every seeker of a goal would fail,

And time's fresh striped cloth would wear out.

هَنيئاً لكَ العيدُ الذي أنْتَ عِيدُهُ

وفي اللهِ ما تُبْديهِ أو ما تُعيدُهُ

Joy to you in the feast, for you are its feast,

And all you begin or repeat is for God.

أتَيْتَ المُصَلّى والجُنودُ رَوائِحٌ

تَغَصُّ بِها أغْوارُهُ ونُجودُهُ

You came to the prayer ground, the troops marching,

Its lowlands and uplands thronged with them.

وقد أبْصَرَتْ منْكَ النّواظِرُ مِلأَها

جَمالاً تَمُدُّ النَّيِّراتِ سُعودُهُ

Eyes had beheld in you their fill

Of beauty, whose auspicious stars sustain the luminaries,

وآيةُ نَصْرٍ في حِجابِ مهابَةٍ

تُدافِعُ عنْ دينِ الهُدى مَنْ يَكيدُهُ

And a sign of victory beneath a veil of awe,

Defending the faith of guidance against whoever plots against it.

فلمّا قَضَيْتَ النّحْرَ أقْبَلْتَ راضِياً

عنِ اللهِ تُعْلي ذِكْرَهُ وتُشيدُهُ

When you had completed the sacrifice, you returned content

With God, exalting and proclaiming His remembrance.

وأوْرَدْتَنا منْ جُودِ كفّيْكَ مَوْرِداً

يبَرِّدُ غُلاّتِ الظِّماءِ بَرودُهُ

You brought us to a watering place from the bounty of your hands,

Its coolness soothing the burning thirst of the thirsty;

وألْبَسْتَنا الآلاءَ بِيضاً سَوابِغاً

فزادَكَ مِنْها اللهُ ما تَسْتَزيدُهُ

And clothed us in favors, white and ample;

May God grant you more of them, all that you seek.