محب لكم من هجركم يتوجع — Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani

مُحِبٌّ لَكُم من هجركُم يَتَوجَّعُ

نديماهُ مُذ غِبتُم أَسىً وَتفجُّعُ

A lover of yours suffers from your abandonment.

Since you vanished, his two companions are grief and lamentation.

سَرى نفساً عَنكم فَأَضحى وَنفسُهُ

تَذوبُ جَوىً مِن طَرفِهِ فَهيَ أَدمُعُ

He journeyed away from you by night in person; by morning his soul

melts with burning longing through his eye, becoming tears.

أَأَحبابَنا حَتّى الخَيالَ قَطَعتُمُ

عذرتُكُمُ بَل مُقلَتي لَيسَ تَهجَعُ

O our beloved ones, have you cut off even your dream-vision?

I excused you—rather, my eye does not sleep.

فَلا وَحياةِ القُربِ لَم أَنسَ عَهدَكُم

وَلَو أَنّني في البُعدِ بِالروحِ أَفجَعُ

No—by the life of closeness, I have not forgotten your covenant,

even though in separation I am bereaved of my soul.

سَلوا النجمَ يَشهَد أَنَّني بِتُّ ساهِداً

وَإِلّا الدُجى هَل طابَ لي فيهِ مضجعُ

Ask the star: it will testify that I spent the night sleepless.

Or ask the darkness: was my resting place pleasant to me within it?

أُطالِعُ أَسفارَ الحَديثِ تَشاغُلاً

لأَقطَعَ أَسفاري بخُبرٍ يجمَّعُ

I pore over volumes of hadith to occupy myself,

to get through my journeys with knowledge gathered together.

أُقضّي نَهاري بِالحَديثِ وَبِالمُنى

وَفي اللَيلِ ما لي مؤنِسٌ يَتَوَجَّعُ

I spend my day with hadith and with hopes,

and at night I have no companion to share my pain,

سِوى أَنَّني أَبكي عَلَيكُم وَأَشتَكي

إِلى مَن يَرى ما في الضَميرِ وَيَسمَعُ

except that I weep for you and complain

to the One who sees what lies within the heart and hears.

يُذكّرني سَلعٌ وَرامَةُ عهدكم

وَلَكِن بِأَشجاني أُغَصُّ وَأَجرَعُ

Salʿ and Ramah remind me of our days together,

yet I choke on my sorrows and gulp them down.

وَقَد أَشبهَ الدَمعُ العَقيقَ بِسَفحِهِ

فَها هوَ أَضحى مِن عُيونيَ يَنبعُ

My tears, as they stream down, have come to resemble al-Aqiq;

behold, it now springs from my eyes.

عَسى أَن يَعودَ الوَصلُ قالَت عَواذلي

وَكَم ذا أُماريهم وَهَيهاتَ أَن يعوا

'Perhaps reunion will return,' my reproachers said.

How often I dispute with them—and how far they are from understanding!

نَعَم إِن أَعِش عادَ الوِصالُ مهنّأً

وَمَن ذا الَّذي في البينِ بِالعيش يَطمعُ

Yes, if I live, reunion will return joyfully;

but who can hope to live through separation?

تُرى هَل أُلاقي زينَ خاتون بَعدَما

تَناءَت بِنا السُكنى وَعادَ المودِّعُ

I wonder: shall I meet Zayn Khatun after

our dwellings have drawn us far apart and the farewell-bidder has returned?

وَهَل أَلتَقي تِلكَ الطُفيلَة فَرحَةً

قَريباً كَما فارَقتُها وَهيَ تَرضَعُ

And shall I meet that little girl, Farha,

soon, as when I left her while she was still nursing?

صَغيرَةُ سِنٍّ نابَها أَمرُ فُرقَتي

فَمِن أَجلِها سِنُّ النَدامَةِ يُقرَعُ

Young in years, she was afflicted by my departure;

for her sake the tooth of remorse is gnashed.

فَواللَه ما فارَقتُهُم عَن مَلالَةٍ

وَهَل مَلَّ ظامٍ مَورِداً فيهِ يَشرَعُ

By God, I did not leave them out of weariness.

Has a thirsty man ever tired of a watering place where he comes to drink?

وَلَكِنَّ ضيقَ العَيشِ أَوجَبَ غُربَتي

وَسَعيي لَهُم في الأَرضِ كي يَتَوسَّعوا

But hardship in earning a living made my exile necessary,

and my striving for them throughout the land, so they might prosper.

فَإِن يَسَّرَ اللَهُ الكَريمُ بِلُطفِهِ

رَجعتُ وَمِثلي بِالمسرّةِ يَرجِعُ

If God, the Generous, makes things easy through His kindness,

I shall return—and one like me returns with joy.

فَيا عاذِلي رِفقاً بِقَلبي فَإِنَّهُ

عَلى دونِ مَن فارَقتُ يُبكى وَيُجزَعُ

O my reproacher, be gentle with my heart, for

even those less dear than the ones I left are wept for and mourned.

مشيبٌ وَهَمٌّ وَاِنكسارٌ وَغربةٌ

وَمِن دونِ ذا صُمُّ الصَفا يَتَصَدَّعُ

Gray hair, worry, brokenness, and exile—

even less than this makes solid rock split.

صَبرتُ عَلى تَجريعي الصَبرَ علَّهُ

شِفائي فَكانَ الصَبرُ ما أَتجرَّعُ

I endured being made to swallow patience, hoping it

would heal me; but bitter aloes were what I swallowed.

بُليتُ بِخَصمٍ ظَلَّ للحينِ حاكِمي

أَذلُّ لَهُ مِن بَعدِ عزّي وَأَخضَعُ

I was afflicted with a foe who became my judge, to my ruin;

I abase myself before him after my former glory, and submit.

وَأَجمَلُ ما عِندي السُكوتُ لأَنَّني

لِمَن أَتَشَكّى أَو لِمَن أَتَضَرَّعُ

The best course I have is silence, for

to whom can I complain, or to whom can I plead?

أغِبُّ مَزاري أَحمِلُ الثِقلَ عَنهُمُ

وَأَخضَعُ وَالأَيّامُ لي لَيسَ تَخضَعُ

I make my visits infrequent, lifting the burden from them;

I submit, though the days do not submit to me.

وَفَضلُ فلانِ الدينِ عَمَّ وَوَجهُهُ

لِغَيري يُبدي الإبتسامَ وَيسطَعُ

The bounty of Fulan al-Din reaches everyone, yet his face

shows smiles and shines for someone other than me.

أحاشيهِ أَن يَرضى بِشَكوايَ عامِداً

وَإِنّي بِما قَد دَلَّ أَو قَلَّ أَقنَعُ

I deem him above deliberately consenting to my suffering;

and I am content with what is indicated, or with little.

إِلى ابنِ عَليٍّ قَد رفعتُ قَضيَّتي

وَأَرجو بِهَذا أَنَّ قَدري يُرفَعُ

I have laid my case before Ibn Ali,

and hope that through this my standing will be raised:

إِلى الأَوحَدِ القاضي الأجلِّ وَمَن لَهُ

ثَناءٌ تَفوقُ المِسكَ إِذ يَتَضَوَّعُ

before the peerless, most illustrious judge, whose

praise surpasses musk as its fragrance wafts.

رَئيسٌ إِذا ما اِستبطأَ الوَفدُ جودَ مَن

أَتَوهُ أَتاهُم جودُهُ يَتَسَرَّعُ

A leader: when visitors deem slow the bounty of the man

they have come to, his bounty hastens toward them.

وَفيهِ مَع القَدرِ العَليِّ تواضُعٌ

وَفيهِ عَنِ الفِعلِ الدَنيِّ تَرفُّعُ

In him, alongside lofty rank, is humility;

in him is aloofness from base deeds.

وَذو هِمَّةٍ تَفري السُيوفَ وَإِنَّها

لأَمضى مِن السَيفِ اليَماني وَأَقطَعُ

He possesses resolve that cleaves swords, and it is

surely keener than a Yemeni sword, and sharper.

وَحلمٍ حَكاهُ الطَودُ وَالطَودُ شامِخٌ

يَعِزُّ لَديهِ المُستَجيرُ وَيُمنَعُ

And forbearance mirrored by a mountain—and that mountain towers;

in his presence the seeker of refuge is honored and protected.

وَجودٍ حَكاهُ الغيثُ وَالغيث هامِرٌ

وَلَكِن عَلى طولِ المَدى لَيسَ يُمنَعُ

And generosity mirrored by rain—and that rain pours down;

yet throughout all time it is never withheld.

رَئيسٌ إِذا أَنشدتَهُ مَدحَكَ اِنثَنى

وَفي وَجهِهِ نورٌ مِن البِشرِ يَلمَعُ

A leader who, when you recite your praise to him, inclines,

while a light of joy shines in his face.

تَواضَعَ لَمّا لاحَ يَمشي عَلى الثَرى

وَفَوقَ الثُرَيّا كَم لَهُ ثَمَّ مطلعُ

He humbled himself when he appeared walking on the earth,

though he has many a rising-place there above the Pleiades.

لَهُ قَلَمٌ في مَدَّةٍ من مِدادِهِ

يعظِّم أَحباباً وَللضِّدِّ يَقمَعُ

He has a pen that, in one stroke of its ink,

exalts friends and subdues the foe.

يَفوحُ وَيُجنى يُطرِبُ الصحبَ يَطعَنُ ال

عِدى فَهوَ عودٌ فَضلُهُ مُتنوّعُ

It gives fragrance, is harvested, delights companions, and pierces the

foes: it is wood with manifold virtues.

فَلا قاطِعٌ حَبلاً لِمَن هوَ واصِلٌ

وَلا واصِلٌ حَبلاً لِمَن هُوَ يَقطَعُ

So no one can sever a cord for one whose bond he maintains,

nor tie a cord for one whose bond he severs.

أَيا اِبنَ الكِرامِ اِسمَع شكايةَ مفردٍ

غَريبٍ لَهُ في بَحرِ جودِكَ مَشرَعُ

O son of the noble, hear the complaint of a solitary

stranger with a watering place in the sea of your bounty.

لَقَد ضاقَتِ الدنيا عَليّ برحبها

وَإِن ضاقَتِ الدُنيا فَعَفوكَ أَوسَعُ

The world, for all its vastness, has closed in upon me;

and if the world is narrow, your pardon is wider.

وَلي فيكَ وُدٌّ ما يُزَعزِعُهُ الجَفا

وَهَل زَعزعَت صُمَّ الرَواسي زَعزَعُ

I hold a love for you that coldness cannot shake;

has a fierce wind ever shaken the solid mountains?

فَإِن لَم تُعامل مِثلَ عَبدِكَ بالرضى

فَمَن فيهِ بَعدي لِلصَنيعَةِ مَوضِعُ

If you do not treat one like your servant with favor,

who, after me, is a fitting recipient of your kindness?

لَئِن كُنتَ قَد بُلِّغتَ عَنّي مَقالَةً

لَمُبلِغُكَ الواشي أَغَشُّ وَأَخدَعُ

If indeed some statement about me has been reported to you,

the slanderer who informed you is most dishonest and deceitful.

رأوك إِلى ما ساءَ عبدك مُسرِعاً

فَقالوا وَزادوا ما أَرادوا وَأَسرَعوا

They saw you hastening toward what hurt your servant,

so they spoke, added whatever they wished, and hurried.

وَلَو كُنتَ تَرعى الوُدَّ ما مِلتَ نَحوهُم

بِسَمعٍ رَعاكَ اللَهُ دَهراً وَلا رُعوا

Had you cherished our affection, you would not have inclined toward them

with a listening ear. May God guard you forever, but not them!

وَكَيفَ يُعادي آلَ بَيتِكَ عاقِلٌ

وَآلُ عَليٍّ لِلمُوالاةِ مَوضِعُ

How could a rational man show enmity to your household,

when Ali's family is worthy of allegiance?

لَظَهرُكَ أَحمى من مُحيّا عدوّهِ

وَيُسراكَ مِن يُمناهُ أَندى وَأَنفَعُ

Your back is surely more protective than his enemy's face,

and your left hand is more generous and helpful than his right.

سأُثني عَلَيكَ الدَهرَ ما أَنتَ أَهلُهُ

وَبَحرُ اِمتِداحي زاخِرٌ فيكَ مُترَعُ

I shall praise you forever as you deserve,

and the sea of my praise for you is surging and brimming.

وَقُل لي إِذا لَم تَنخَدِع بِمَدائحي

أَلَم تَتَيَقَّن أَنَّ مَن جادَ يُخدَعُ

Tell me, if you are not beguiled by my praises:

have you not become certain that the generous are beguiled?

وَمَن يَزرَع النُعمى بِأَرضٍ كَريمَةٍ

سَيَحصُد أَضعافَ الَّذي ظَلَّ يَزرَعُ

Whoever sows kindness in noble soil

will reap many times what he kept sowing.

وَما الشِعرُ إِلّا دونَ قَدرِكَ قَدرُهُ

وَما يَستَوي في القدرِ باعٌ وَإِصبَعُ

Poetry's worth is merely below your own,

and an arm-span and a finger are not equal in measure.

وَلَكِنَّما سَنَّ الكِرامُ اِستماعَهُ

وَتَعظيمَ مُنشيهِ الَّذي يَتَصنَّعُ

But the noble established the custom of listening to it

and honoring its composer as he exercises his craft.

وَما كُلُّ مَن قالَ القَريضَ أَجادَ في ال

مقالِ وَلا كُلُّ المجيدينَ مُبدِعُ

Not everyone who composes verse excels in

expression, nor is every accomplished poet an innovator.

فَهاكَ قَصيداً شَجَّعَتني صِفاتُكُم

عَلَيها فَفاقَت كُلَّ ما قالَ أَشجَعُ

So take a poem: your qualities emboldened me

to compose it, and it surpasses all that Ashjaʿ has said.

وَدُم في سَعاداتٍ وَعِزٍّ وَنِعمَةٍ

تُقارِعُ أَبكارَ المَعالي وَتفرَعُ

May you endure in good fortune, honor, and blessing,

contending for the virgin heights of glory and surmounting them.

وَلا رافِعٌ قَدراً لِمَن أَنتَ واضِعٌ

وَلا واضِعٌ قَدراً لِمَن أَنتَ تَرفَعُ

And no one can raise the rank of one you lower,

nor lower the rank of one you raise.