رمى الموت في عين التصبر بالدم — Ibn Hamdis

رمى الموتُ في عين التصَبّرِ بالدّمِ

وقال لحسن الصبر بين الحشا دُمِ

Death hurled blood into the eye of endurance,

And told fair patience, "Abide within the breast,"

على القائد الأعلى الذي فُلّ عزمه

كما فُلّ عن ضرب الطلى حَدُّ مخذمِ

For the supreme commander whose resolve was blunted,

As a keen sword's edge, blunted, can no longer strike necks.

أرى زَمَنَ الدنْيا يُنَقِّلُ أهلها

إلى دار أخرى من غنيّ ومعدمِ

I see the world's time transferring its people

To another abode, rich and destitute alike.

وَخَانَ أمينَ الملك فيما انطوى له

على حفظِ أسرار الجلال المكتَّمِ

And it betrayed the king's confidant in what he inwardly undertook for him:

To safeguard the concealed secrets of majesty.

وصادره الحتفُ الذي حَطّهُ إلى

حشا القبر عن صَدرِ الخميس العرَمرَمِ

And death seized him, bringing him down into

The grave's depths from the forefront of the vast army.

وما شاءَهُ ذو العرشِ جلّ جلالُهُ

يدقّ وَيَخفَى عن خفيّ التوَهَّمِ

And whatever the Lord of the Throne wills—exalted be His majesty—

Is too subtle, too hidden, for the subtlest imagining.

فما دَفَعَتْ عنه جنودُ جنودِهِ

على أنّها في القرب كاليد للفمِ

So the hosts of his armies did not ward it off from him,

Though they were as close as a hand to the mouth.

ولم يُغنِ عنها الضرْبُ من كلّ مرْهَفٍ

ولا نافذاتُ الطعنِ من كلّ لهذمِ

Nor did blows from every keen blade avail those hosts,

Nor the penetrating thrusts of every sharp spear,

بأيدي كماةٍ منهمُ كلُّ مُقْدِمٍ

بإقْدامِهِ يحمي حِماهُ ويحتمي

In the hands of armored champions, each a bold warrior

Who guards his domain through his daring and defends himself,

ويُقْبِلُ في فضفاضةٍ فارسيّةٍ

تحدِّثُ عن أبطالِ عادٍ وجُرْهُمِ

And advances in a roomy Persian coat of mail

That tells of the heroes of 'Ad and Jurhum.

عليّ بن حمدون الذي كان حَمْدُهُ

تُرَفَّعُ منه همّةُ المتكلمِ

Ali ibn Hamdun, whose praise

Raised the aspirations of the speaker.

خَلَتْ منه يوْمَ الرّوْع كلّ كتيبةٍ

وكم عَمِرَتْ من بأسِهِ بالتقدّمِ

Every battalion was bereft of him on the day of terror;

How often it had flourished through his valor in advancing!

كأنّ عَلَيها للعجاج مُلاءَةً

مُطَيّرَةً في الجوّ من كلّ قشعمِ

As though over it lay a mantle of battle dust,

Sent flying through the air by every aged vulture.

متى تعبسِ الهيجا لهُ في لقائِهِ

رأتْ منه في الإقحامِ سِنَّ تبسمِ

Whenever battle frowned at him upon their meeting,

It saw his smiling tooth as he plunged into the fray.

تَنَقّلَ من سرجِ الكميّ بحتْفِهِ

إلى حفرةٍ في جوفِ لحدٍ مُسَنَّمِ

Through death he passed from the warrior's saddle

To a pit in the depths of a mounded grave.

وكم مُكْرَمٍ بالعزِّ فَوْقَ أريكةٍ

يصيرُ إلى بيت العلى المتهدّمِ

How many a man honored with power upon a couch

Passes into a house whose lofty parts have crumbled!

وكم كرمٍ تنهلّ جدوى يمينه

لأيدي عفاةٍ من مُحِلّ ومحرمِ

And how much generosity—his right hand's bounty pouring down

Into petitioners' hands, whether outside or within pilgrim consecration!

كأنّ صفَاءَ الجوّ يوْمَ عَطائِهِ

مشوبٌ بشؤبوب الغمام المديّمِ

As though the sky's clarity on the day of his giving

Were mingled with the downpour of steadily raining clouds.

فَظُلّلْتُ منه في تَوحّشِ غُرْبَةٍ

بظلّ جناح بين غبراءَ مظلمِ

So, through him, in the desolation of exile, I was sheltered

Beneath a dark wing's shade amid a dusty wilderness.

وأرضَعَني ثَدْيَ المنى فكأنّني

وليدٌ أتى عمرانَ شيخ التقدمِ

And he suckled me at the breast of wishes, so I seemed

A newborn come to Imran, the elder foremost in rank.

وما أبْتُ عن جدواهُ إلا مُشَيَّعَاً

بإفْضالِ ذي فضْلٍ وإنعام منعمِ

And I never returned from his bounty except escorted

By a generous man's munificence and a benefactor's favors.

فيا سيّداً زُرْناهُ حيّاً وميّتاً

فما زَالَ في هذا الجنابِ المعظمِ

O master whom we visited alive and dead,

And still, within this revered precinct,

نردّد تسليماً عليك محبّةً

وإن كنتَ لم تَرْدُدْ سلامَ المسلّمِ

We repeat greetings to you out of love,

Even though you have not returned the greeter's greeting.

وذي خفقات بالقرى تسحق الحصى

لهنَّ اجتراء من حديد التحدّمِ

And one whose pounding beats through the villages crush pebbles—

Their boldness comes from fiercely heated iron.

وراجي النّدى من غيره كمعوَّضٍ

من الماءِ إذ صلّى ترابَ التيمّمِ

And whoever hopes for bounty from another is like one supplied,

Instead of water, with dry-ablution dust when he prays.

ويبدي علاهُ من أسرّةِ وجهه

سناءَ نسيم الخير للمتوسّمِ

And his eminence reveals, from the lines of his face,

The radiance of goodness's breeze to the discerning observer.

وقد كان ذاك البشرُ منه مُبَشّراً

بأكْبَرِ مأمولٍ وأوفرِ مَغْنَمِ

And that cheerfulness of his would indeed herald

The greatest hoped-for gift and the richest gain.

وما زال ميالاً إلى البرّ والتّقى

تقيّ نقيّ القلب من كلّ مأثمِ

He ever inclined toward righteousness and piety,

Devout, with a heart pure of every sin.

تنَقّلَ والإكرامُ من ربّه له

إلى جَنّةٍ فيها له دار مكرمِ

He passed, with honor bestowed on him by his Lord,

Into Paradise, where he has an honored dwelling.

له كلّ نادٍ بالوقار مُكَرَّمٌ

بغيرِ وقورٍ منه مِقْوَلُ أبكمِ

Through him, every assembly was honored with dignity;

Without a dignified man like him, its eloquent speaker is mute.

وَصَفْحٌ عن الجاني بشيمةِ صَفْحِهِ

وَحِلْمٌ حكى في الغيظِ هضْبَ يلملمِ

And pardon for the offender, in keeping with his forgiving nature,

And forbearance that, amid anger, resembled the hills of Yalamlam,

ومدرسةٌ أبناؤها فُقَهاؤها

فَمِنْ عالمٍ منهمْ وَمِنْ متعلّمِ

And a school whose sons were its jurists,

Some among them scholars, and some learners.

ضراغمُ في الجيش اللهامِ وإنّما

فوارسُهُمْ في الحرب من كلّ ضيَغمِ

Lions in the vast army; indeed,

Every one of their horsemen in battle was a lion.

وقد كان في نصر الشريعة مُشْرعاً

عن الحقّ ما يَشْفي به كلَّ مُسْلمِ

And in defending sacred law, he would brandish

On truth's behalf what brought relief to every Muslim.

أرى قائدَ القوّادِ أعطى مَقَادَهُ

لحكم قضاءٍ في البرايا محكَّمِ

I see the commander of commanders surrendering his reins

To the judgment of a decree sovereign over all creation.

وأسْلَمَ للحتْفِ المقدَّرِ نَفْسَهُ

وقد كان لا يرقى إليه بِسُلّمِ

And he surrendered himself to his destined death,

Though no ladder had ever afforded ascent to him.

إذا المَلْك ناجاه بِوحْيِ إشارة

رأيتَ له نَهْضَ العقابِ المحرّمِ

Whenever the king addressed him privately with the hint of a gesture,

You saw him rise like an unassailable eagle.

فتستهدِفُ الأغراضَ آراؤهُ كما

تُقَرْطِسُ أغراضاً صوائبُ أسهمِ

His counsels then take the targets in their sights, just as

True-flying arrows strike their marks.

وتهدي له كفُّ تصولُ على العدا

إلى كفّ ميمون المضاءِ المصمّم

And a hand that assails the enemy guides him

To the hand of one blessed in resolve and unwavering.

أأبناؤهُ أنْتمْ سراة أكابرٍ

فكلكمُ من مُكْرَمٍ وابن مكرمِ

Are you his sons, chieftains among the great?

For each of you is honored, and the son of an honored man.

وأنتم سيوفٌ للسيوف مواضياً

وأيمانكم فيها ذوات تَخَتّمِ

And you are swords, keen against other swords,

And your right hands are ringed with them.

عزاءٌ جميل في المصاب فإنّكم

جبالُ حلومٍ بل طوالعُ أنجمِ

Noble consolation in this loss—for you are

Mountains of forbearance—nay, rising stars.

فدامَ لكمْ في العزّ شملٌ منظَّمٌ

وشَمْلُ الأعادي منه غير منظَّمِ

So may your union endure, well ordered in honor,

While your enemies' ranks remain disordered by it.