هوى فيه الملامة كالهواء — Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani

هَوى فيهِ المَلامة كَالهَواء

فَلا يَطمَع لِناري في اِنطِفاءِ

A love in which reproach is like air,

so let none hope that my fire will be quenched.

أعاذِلُ إِنّ نار الشوق تَذكو

وَلَم يخمِد تلهُّبها بُكائي

O reproacher, the fire of longing burns fiercely,

and my weeping has not quenched its blaze.

ويبعد طفوُها بِرياح لوم

ومن جفنيّ لَم تخمد بِماءِ

Its quenching by winds of blame is unlikely,

for water from my eyelids has not put it out.

وَذِكري أَرض نعمانٍ بِها قَد

رَوَت عَينايَ عَن ماء السَماءِ

And as I recall the land of Nu'man, there

my eyes have narrated from heaven's rain.

وَسَفحُ مَدامِعٍ مع خَفقِ قَلبٍ

لأهل السَفح شَوقاً وَاللواءِ

And tears are shed with a heart's beating,

in longing for the people of the slope and al-Liwa.

أَبى سَمعي المَلام وَجَدَّ شَوقاً

وَعَمَّ العاشِقينَ هوى إِبائي

My hearing refused reproach and persisted in longing,

and my defiant passion swept through all lovers.

وَأظلم من حبيبي لَيلُ صدٍّ

طَويل لَيسَ يؤذِنُ باِنقِضاءِ

And more cruel than my beloved is a night of rejection,

long, giving no sign of an end.

تَسلسلت الرواية عَن جُفوني

عَلى ضعف بِها من فرط دائي

The narration flows in an unbroken chain from my eyelids,

despite their weakness from the severity of my illness.

ثَقُلتُ مِن الضنى لَكِنّ جِسمي

بِرِقّته أَخَفُّ مِن الهَباءِ

I have grown heavy from wasting sickness, yet my body,

in its thinness, is lighter than dust.

لأيّامِ الجَفا خَبَرٌ طَويل

ونادرة لييلات اللِقاءِ

The days of estrangement have a long tale,

and rare are the brief nights of meeting.

قَضيت هَوى بهجرك يا حَبيبي

وعاملت المَحَبَّة بالأَداءِ

I discharged love's debt through your abandonment, my beloved,

and dealt with love by paying its due.

وَإِنّي إِن تَشأ قُربي فَدانٍ

إِلَيكَ وَإِن نَوَيتَ نَوى فَنائي

And if you desire my nearness, I am near

to you; and if you intend separation, I am far away.

بِقُربِكَ لي المسرّةُ في صَباحي

وَبعدك لي المساءَة في مَسائي

Your nearness brings me joy in my morning,

and your distance brings me sorrow in my evening.

قَسَوتَ جَوانِحاً وَتَقول قَلبي

صفا قلنا صَدَقتَ مِنَ الصَفاءِ

You have hardened at heart, yet say, 'My heart

has grown pure.' We say, 'True—it is made of stone!'

وَلا أَنسى غداة البين لمّا

رآني اليأسُ مُنقَطِعَ الرَجاءِ

Nor do I forget the morning of parting, when

despair saw me bereft of hope.

وَقَد زُفَّت لَهُم نجبٌ تهادى

كأَمثال العَرائِسِ للجِلاءِ

And noble camels had been led forth for them, swaying,

like brides brought forth for unveiling.

وَخَطَّت مِن مَناسمها سُطوراً

وساروا فَهي خطّ الإِستواءِ

And with their foot pads they traced lines,

and they departed: those tracks were the equator's line.

فَقلتُ لَها خُذي جِسمي وَروحي

لطيبةَ حيث مجتمع الهناءِ

So I said to them, 'Take my body and my soul

to Tayba, where happiness gathers.'

مَنازِلُ طيبةَ الفَيحاءِ عرفاً

مَنازه طيبةٍ وَمَلاذ نائي

The dwellings of Tayba, spreading fragrance far and wide,

are Tayba's pleasure grounds and a refuge for one far away.

فَإِن رمِدَت مِنَ التَسهيد عَينٌ

فإِثمد تربها عَينُ الدَواءِ

So if an eye grows inflamed from sleeplessness,

then the kohl of its soil is the very cure.

وَإِن قَنَطَت مِن العصيان نفسٌ

فَباب محمّد باب الرَجاءِ

And if a soul despairs because of disobedience,

Muhammad's door is the door of hope.

نَبيّ خُصَّ بالتَقديم قِدماً

وآدم بَعدُ في طين وَماءِ

A prophet granted precedence long ago,

while Adam was still in clay and water.

كَريمٌ بِالحَيا مِن راحتيهِ

يَجود وَفي المُحيّا بِالحَياءِ

Generous with life-giving rain from his two palms,

he gives freely, with modesty upon his face.

تُنادي العَينُ مَرأى بِشرِهِ ما

عَلى صبح لِراءٍ مِن غِطاءِ

At the sight of his cheerfulness the eye cries: 'No

veil covers dawn for one who sees.'

وَيَروي طالِبٌ بِرّاً وَعِلماً

لَدَيهِ عَن يَزيدَ وَعَن عَطاءِ

And a seeker of kindness and knowledge narrates

in his presence, from Yazid and from Ata.

بَدا قَمَراً بِبَدرٍ في نجومٍ

مِنَ الأَصحاب أَهل الإِقتِداءِ

He appeared as a moon at Badr, among stars

from among the Companions, worthy to be followed.

فخُصّوا بِالتَمام وَعَمَّ نَقصٌ

ومحقٌ بالأعادي الأَشقياءِ

So they were favored with fullness, while waning

and obliteration swept over their wretched enemies.

وَثَوبُ الشّركِ مُزِّقَ في حَنين

وأُلبِسَ من طغى قُمُصَ الشَقاءِ

And the garment of polytheism was torn apart at Hunayn,

and whoever transgressed was clothed in shirts of misery.

سَرى لِلمَسجدِ الأَقصى بِلَيلٍ

مِنَ البَيتِ الحَرام إِلى السَماءِ

He journeyed by night to the Farthest Mosque,

from the Sacred House, and onward to heaven.

رَفيقُ الروحِ بِالجِسم اِرتَقى في

طِباقٍ حُفَّ فيها بِالهَناءِ

With the Spirit as companion, he ascended bodily through

heavenly tiers, where he was surrounded by bliss.

عَلا وَدَنا وَجاز إِلى مَقام

كَريم خُصَّ فيهِ بالاِصطِفاءِ

He rose, drew near, and passed on to a station,

a noble one, where he was specially chosen.

وَلَم يَرَ ربّه جَهراً سواه

لسرّ فيه جَلَّ عَن اِمتِراءِ

And none but he beheld his Lord openly,

for a mystery within him, exalted beyond doubt.

وأخدمه العيونُ فَعَينُ ماء

جَرَت مِن كَفِّهِ للإِرتِواءِ

And the 'eyes' were placed at his service: a spring of water

flowed from his palm to quench thirst.

وَعَينُ المال جاد بِها سَخاءً

فَلَيسَ يَخاف فَقراً مِن عَطاءِ

And ready coin he gave away with generosity,

for he fears no poverty from giving.

وعين الشمس رُدَّت بَعدَ حجب

لِذي الحسنينِ مِنهُ بِالدُعاءِ

And the sun's disc was restored after being veiled,

for Dhu al-Hasanayn, through his supplication.

وَعين قَتادةٍ سالَت فَرُدَّت

وَمُدَّت مِن يَدَيهِ بِالضِياءِ

And Qatada's eye flowed out, then was restored,

and was endowed with light from his hands.

وَعين القَلب ما لبست هجوداً

فَما عَنها لشيء مِن عَطاءِ

And the eye of his heart never wore sleep,

so there is no giving from it to anything [Arabic wording unclear].

وعين الفكر مِنه أسدُّ رأياً

نعم وَأَشدّ مَرأىً في المَرائي

And his mind's eye is soundest in judgment,

yes, and keenest of vision in all that is seen.

وأعكسَ عَين حاسده فَعادَت

مِنَ الرَمي المصوّب كَالهَباءِ

And he turned back his envier's eye, and it returned

from its well-aimed attack like drifting dust.

نبيّ اللَه يا خَيرَ البَرايا

بِجاهِكَ أَتَّقي فصل القَضاءِ

Prophet of God, O best of creation,

through your rank I seek protection from judgment's final decree.

وَأَرجو يا كَريم العَفو عمّا

جَنَته يَدايَ يا رَبّ الحباءِ

And I hope, O generous one, for pardon for what

my hands have committed, O master of bounty.

فَكَعبُ الجود لا يُرضى فِداءً

لِنَعلِكَ وَهوَ رأس في السَخاءِ

For Ka'b of generosity is not accepted as ransom

for your sandal, though he is a leader in generosity.

وسنَّ بمدحك ابن زهير كَعبٌ

لِمثلي مِنكَ جائِزَةَ الثَناءِ

And Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, by praising you, set the precedent

for one like me to receive from you a reward for praise.

فَقُل يا أَحمد بن عليٍّ اِذهَب

إِلى دارِ النَعيم بِلا شَقاءِ

So say, 'O Ahmad ibn Ali, go

to the abode of bliss, without misery.'

فَإِن أَحزَن فَمدحك لي سروري

وَإِن أَقنط فحمدك لي رَجائي

So if I grieve, praising you is my joy,

and if I despair, extolling you is my hope.

عَلَيكَ سَلام رَبّ الناس يَتلو

صَلاة في الصَباح وَفي المَساءِ

Upon you be the peace of mankind's Lord, following

His blessing in the morning and in the evening.