أو لست من لاك الكلام وصاغه — Ibn Alkhatib

أوَ لَسْتُ مَنْ لاكَ الكَلامَ وصاغَهُ

قيْدَ الرِّكابِ وطُرْفَةَ الأسْمارِ

Am I not the one who chewed speech and fashioned it

Into a tether for riding-camels and a delight of evening tales?

فإذا مدَحْتُ هيَ النّجوم قِلادَةً

وإذا نسَبْتُ فنَسْمَةُ الأسْحارِ

When I sing praise, it is a necklace of stars;

And when I sing of love, a breeze before dawn.

وظلِلْتُ أطْلُبُ في الكِرامِ نَشيدَتي

حتّى أنَخْتُ بعَقْوَةِ الأنْصارِ

And I kept seeking among the noble what I longed for,

Until I made my camel kneel in the Ansar's precincts.

فحطَطْتُ رَحْلي بيْنَ نيرانِ القِرى

ورَميْتُ بيْنَهُمُ عَصا التّسْيارِ

So I set down my saddle among the fires of hospitality,

And cast down among them the staff of journeying.

للّهِ مثْوى جنّةٍ يمّمْتُهُ

حِزْبُ الرّسولِ وأُسْوَةُ المُخْتارِ

How wondrous the garden-abode I sought:

The Messenger's company and the Chosen One's example.

يا وافِدَيْ بَرٍّ وبَحْرٍ لُذْتُما

بمَريع مرْتَبَعٍ وعِزِّ جِوارِ

O two arrivals from land and sea, you have sought refuge

In a fertile spring pasture and mighty protection.

نصَروا الرّسولَ وقد دَجا ليْلُ الهَوى

والرّوعُ دامي النّابِ والأظْفارِ

They aided the Messenger when passion's night grew dark,

And terror's fang and claws were bloodied.

ورَعَوا لهُ بعْدَ الوَفاةِ حُقوقَهُ

فمَرتْ سُيوفِ اللهِ كلَّ مَمارِ

And after his death they upheld his rights,

So God's swords drew blood from every disputant.

قومٌ منَ العَرَبِ اليَمانِينَ الأُلى

نصَروا الهُدى وتبوّأوا بالدّارِ

A people of the Yemeni Arabs, those who

Supported guidance and settled in the abode.

قامُوا بأمْرِ اللهِ والإسْلامُ ما

بيْنَ العدوِّ ومُزْبِدٍ رخّارِ

They upheld God's command, while Islam lay

Between the enemy and a foaming, roaring sea.

واسْتَرْهَفوا البيضَ العِضابَ كأنّما

تُمْضى بكَفَّيْ خالِدٍ وضِرارِ

And they sharpened the bright, keen swords, as though

Wielded by the hands of Khalid and Dirar.

أَخليفَة الرّحْمانِ وابْنَ عَميدِهِمْ

والمُرْتَجى لجِلائلِ الأخْطارِ

O caliph of the All-Merciful, son of their chief,

And the one looked to in mighty perils,

حيّاكَ بالإرْشادِ والإسْعادِ مَنْ

أحْيا بكَ الإسلامَ بعْدَ تَبارِ

May He greet you with guidance and good fortune, He who

Through you revived Islam after ruin.

وحَباكَ بالنّصْرِ العَزيزِ مُهَيْمِنٌ

نَعَشَ الوَرى بكَ بعْدَ طولِ عِثارِ

And may the Guardian grant you mighty victory,

Who raised humankind through you after long stumbling.

أرْعاكَ أمْر عِبادِهِ فرَعَيْتَهُمْ

في حالي الإعْلانِ والإسْرارِ

He entrusted you with His servants' affairs, and you tended them

In both openness and secrecy.

ونهجْتَ طُرْقَ العَدْلِ مُهْتَدياً بِما

شهِدَتْ علَيْهِ صَحائِحُ الأخْبارِ

And you followed justice's paths, guided by what

The authentic reports bore witness to.

وافَيْتَ والإسلامُ صوّحَ نبْتُهُ

فأتَيْتَهُ بالدّيمَةِ المِدْرارِ

You arrived when Islam's growth had withered,

And brought it steady, abundant rain.

وصدَمْتَ بحْرَ الخَطْبِ دونَ ذِمامِهِ

ما بيْنَ غرْبِ مثقّفٍ وغِرارِ

And you confronted calamity's sea in defense of its honor,

Between a straightened spear's point and a sword's edge.

للّهِ يا للّهِ سيرَةَ يوسُفٍ

مُحْيي العُفاةِ وقاتِلِ الإقْتارِ

How wondrous—oh, how wondrous—is Yusuf's conduct,

Reviver of supplicants and slayer of poverty.

رُحْمى بِلا مَنٍّ أمْنٌ دونَما

رهَبٍ وحِفْظُ أذِمّةٍ وذِمارِ

Mercy without reminders of favors, safety without

Fear, and the keeping of covenants and honor.

نورٌ كما متَعَ الصّباحُ لناظِرٍ

وخَلائِقٌ كالرّوْضِ غِبَّ قِطارِ

A light like morning as it rises before the eye,

And virtues like a garden just after rain.

إنْ راعَ خطْبٌ أو عَرا جَدْبٌ تُرى

كفّاهُ تدْرأُ ذا وذاك تُداري

If calamity alarms or drought strikes, one sees

His hands repel the one and relieve the other.

لوْ كانَ في جَفْرِ الهَباءَةِ ماثِلاً

لَعَدا على النّقْدِ الهَزَبْرُ الضّاري

Had he been present at Jafr al-Haba'a,

The ravening lion would have pounced upon the sheep.

أو كانَ في قَنْصِ بْنِ مَعْدٍ ثاوِيّاً

دَهَمَ العَفا رَبيعةَ بْنَ نِزارِ

Or had he been dwelling among Qans ibn Ma'add,

Ruin would have overwhelmed Rabi'a ibn Nizar.

ولَما تلاشَوْا جُفَّلاً ورَمتْ بهِمْ

أيْدي النّبيطِ أقاصيَ الأنْبارِ

Nor would they have scattered in panic, flung

By Nabataean hands to the remotest parts of al-Anbar.

أو كانَ في يومِ الصّريمِ لَما غَدا

حَكَمُ ابْنُ زِنْباعٍ رهينَ إسارِ

Or had he been there on the day of al-Sarim, never would

Hakam ibn Zinba' have become a prisoner in bonds.

أو أمّةُ عَمرُو بنُ ذُهْلٍ ما طَفَتْ

مُهْجاتُ صِبْيَتِهِ على ذي قارِ

Or had he been among 'Amr ibn Dhuhl's people, never would

His children's lifeblood have floated at Dhi Qar.

ولوَ انّ حِمْيَرَ أغْفَلَتْ أيّامُها

لشَكَتْ إلَيْهِ عِياثَ ذي الأذْعارِ

And had Himyar's days neglected her,

She would have complained to him of Dhu al-Adh'ar's ravages.

يا ابْنَ الخَلائِفِ والذينَ إذا احْتَبوْا

أبْصَرْتُ في النّادي هِضابَ وَقارِ

O son of caliphs and of those who, when they sit clasping their knees,

I behold in the assembly as hills of dignity,

حامينَ يوْمَهُمُ الذِّمارَ ونارُهُمْ

باللّيْلِ تَهْدي في الظّلامِ السّاري

Guarding their honor by day, while their fire

At night guides the traveler through the darkness.

خُذْها كما شاءَ الخَلوصُ بَديعَةً

تُزْهى بِشارَتها على بَشّارِ

Take it, a marvel, as sincerity wished it,

Glorying in its finery over Bashshar.

سكَنَتْ مَعانيهَا سَوادَ مِدادِها

إنّ المُدامَةَ سِرُّها في القارِ

Its meanings dwell in the blackness of its ink;

Indeed, wine's secret lies in pitch.

ما ضرّني أنْ لمْ أجِئْ متقدِّماً

السّبْقُ يُعْرَفُ آخِرَ المِضْمارِ

It has not harmed me that I did not arrive first;

The winner is known at the racecourse's end.

ولَئِنْ غَدا رَبْعُ البلاغَةِ بلْقَعاً

فلرُبَّ كنْزٍ في أساسِ جِدارِ

And though eloquence's abode has become a wasteland,

Yet many a treasure lies in a wall's foundation.

وعلى احْتِفالِ المدْحِ فيكَ فإنّما

هيَ نُقْطَةٌ منْ بحْرِكَ الزّخّار

And despite the fullness of this praise of you, it is only

One drop from your overflowing sea.