كفي فأيسر من مرد عناني — Ibn Hani Andalusia

كُفّي فأيَسرُ من مَرَدِّ عِنَاني

وَقْعُ الأسِنّةِ في كُلَى الفُرْسانِ

Desist: easier than turning back my rein

Is the thrust of spearpoints into horsemen's kidneys.

ليسَ ادّخارُ البَدْرَةِ النّجلاءِ من

شِيَمي ولا مَنعُ اللُّهَى من شاني

Hoarding a bulging moneybag is not among

My habits, nor is withholding gifts my way.

هلْ للفتى في العَيشِ مِن مَندوحَةٍ

إلاّ اصطِفاءُ مَوَدّةِ الإخْوانِ

Has a man in life any refuge

Except choosing the affection of his brothers?

وإذا الجوادُ جرَى على عاداتِهِ

فَذَرِ الجوادَ وغايَةَ المَيدانِ

And when the noble steed runs as is its wont,

Then leave the steed to the course's farthest end.

لا أرهَبُ الإعدامَ بَعدَ تَيَقُّني

أنّ الغِنى شَجَنٌ منَ الأشجانِ

I do not fear destitution, now that I know

That wealth is a sorrow among sorrows.

مَلأتْ يَدي دَلْوي إلى أوذامِها

وأعَرْتُ للعافي قُوَى أشطاني

My hand filled my bucket up to its straps,

And I lent the suppliant the strands of my well-ropes.

ولقد سمعتُ اللّهَ يندُبُ خَلْقَهُ

جَهْراً إلى الإفضالِ والإحسانِ

Indeed, I have heard God summon His creatures

Aloud to generosity and kindness.

وإذا نَجا من فتنَةٍ الدّنيا امرُؤٌ

فكأنّما يَنجو من الطُّوفَانِ

And if a man escapes the world's temptation,

It is as though he escapes the Flood.

يَأبَى ليَ الغدرَ الوَفاءُ بذِمّتي

والذَّمَّ آبَاهُ كما يأبَاني

Faithfulness to my pledge forbids me treachery;

And blame I reject, just as it rejects me.

إنّي لآنَفُ أنْ يَميلَ بي الهَوَى

أوْ أن يَراني اللّهُ حَيثُ نَهاني

Indeed, I disdain to let desire sway me,

Or to let God see me where He has forbidden me.

حِزْبُ الإمامِ منَ الوَرَى حِزْبي إذا

عُدّوا وخُلصانُ الهدَى خُلصاني

The Imam's party among mankind is my party when

They are reckoned, and guidance's intimates are my intimates.

لا تَبعَدَنَّ عِصابَةٌ شيعِيّةٌ

ظَفِرُوا ببغيَتِهمْ منَ الرّحمَنِ

May a Shi'i company never perish,

Who have won from the Merciful what they sought.

قوْمٌ إذا ماجَ البرِيّةُ والتَقَى

خَصْمانِ في المعَبودِ يختَصِمَانِ

A people who, when mankind seethes and

Two opponents meet to dispute over the One worshipped,

تركوا سُيُوفَ الهندِ في أغمادِها

وتَقَلّدُوا سَيفاً منَ القرآنِ

Leave the swords of India in their sheaths

And gird themselves with a sword from the Qur'an.

عقَدوا الحُبَى بصُدورِ مجْلسهمْ كمنْ

عَرَفَ المُعِزَّ حَقيقَةَ العِرفْانِ

They fastened their knee-wraps at their assembly's head, like one who

Knew al-Mu'izz with true knowledge.

قد شرّفَ اللّهُ الوَرَى بزَمانِهِ

حتى الكَواكبُ والوَرَى سِيّانِ

God has ennobled mankind through his age,

Until the stars and mankind stand as equals.

وكَفَى بمنْ ميراثُهُ الدّنيا ومَن

خُلِقَتْ لهُ وعَبيدُهُ الثَّقَلانِ

And sufficient is he whose inheritance is the world, and he

For whom it was created, with men and jinn his servants.

وكَفَى بشيعَتِهِ الزّكيّةِ شِيعَةً

وكَفَى بهم في البرّ من صِنْوانِ

And his pure followers suffice as followers;

And in righteousness they suffice as kindred brothers.

عُصِمتْ جَوارِحهم من العدوَى كما

وُقيَتْ جَوانحُهُمْ منَ الأضغان

Their limbs were guarded against transgression, just as

Their hearts were guarded against rancor.

قد أُيّدوا بالقُدْسِ إلاّ أنّهُمْ

قد أُونِسوا بالرَّوحِ والرَّيحانِ

They have been strengthened by holiness; yet they

Have been comforted with repose and sweet basil.

للّهِ دَرُّهُمُ بحيثُ لَقيتُهُم

إنّ الكِرامَ كَريمَةُ الأوْطانِ

God bless them wherever I meet them!

Indeed, the noble are their homelands' treasure.

يَغشَوْنَ ناديَ أفْلَحٍ فكأنّما

يَغشَوْنَ رَبَّ التّاجِ من عَدنانِ

They frequent Aflah's gathering, as though

They frequent the crowned lord of Adnan's line.

حَيَّوا جَلالَةَ قَدرِهِ فكأنّما

حَيَّوا أمينَ اللّهِ في الإيوانِ

They salute the majesty of his rank, as though

They salute God's trusted one in the palace hall.

يَرِدونَ جَمّةَ عِلْمِهِ ونَوالِهِ

فكأنّهمْ حَيثُ التَقَى البَحرانِ

They come to the brimming pool of his knowledge and bounty,

As though they stood where the two seas meet.

حُفّتْ بِهِ شُفعاؤهمْ واستَمطَرُوا

مِنْ جانِبَيهِ سَحائبَ الغُفرانِ

Their intercessors were gathered around him, and they called for

Clouds of forgiveness to rain from his two sides.

ورأوْهُ من حيثُ التَقَتْ أبصارُهمْ

مُتَصَوَّراً في صورةِ البُرْهانِ

And wherever their gazes converged, they saw him

Embodied in the form of proof.

تَنْبُو عقولُ الخَلْقِ عن إدراكِهِ

وتكِلُّ عنهُ صَحائحُ الأذهانِ

The minds of creatures recoil from comprehending him,

And sound intellects falter before him.

تَستَكْبِرُ الأملاكُ قبلَ لِقائِهِ

وتَخِرُّ حينَ تَراهُ للأذْقانِ

The angels are proud before meeting him,

And fall upon their chins when they behold him.

أبلِغْ أميرَ المؤمنينَ على النّوَى

قَوْلاً يُريهِ نَصيحتي ومكاني

Convey to the Commander of the Faithful, despite the distance,

A message showing him my loyalty and my station.

إنّ السّيوفَ بذي الفَقارِ تشَرّفَتْ

ولَقَلَّ سَيفٌ مثلُ أفلَحَ ثانِ

Swords were ennobled by Dhu al-Fiqar,

And rare indeed is a second sword like Aflah.

قد كنتُ أحسبُني تَقَصّيتُ الوَرَى

وبَلَوْتُ شِيعَةَ أهلِ كلّ زَمانِ

I had thought I had thoroughly surveyed mankind

And tested the partisans of the men of every age.

فإذا مُوالاةُ البَرِيّةِ كُلّها

جُمِعَتْ لهُ في السّرّ والإعلانِ

Then behold, all the loyalty of mankind

Was gathered for him, in secret and in public.

وإذا الذينَ أعُدُّهمْ شِيَعاً إذا

قِيسُوا إليهِ كعُبَّدِ الأوْثانِ

And those whom I count as followers, when

Measured against him, are like worshippers of idols.

نُضِحَتْ حرارَةُ قَلبِهِ بمَوَدّةٍ

ضَرَبتْ علَيهِ سُرادِقَ الإيمانِ

His heart's heat was cooled by a love

That pitched over it the pavilion of faith.

وحَنا جَوانحَ صَدرِهِ مَملوءةً

عِلماً بما يأتي منَ الحِدْثان

And he enfolded the ribs of his breast, filled

With knowledge of the events to come.

يَتَبَرّكُ الرّوحُ الزّكيُّ بقُرْبِهِ

نُسْكاً ويُرْوي مُهجَةَ الهَيمانِ

The pure spirit seeks blessing in his nearness,

In devotion, and quenches the thirsting one's heart.

أمُعِزَّ أنصارِ المُعزّ من الوَرَى

والمُنزِلُ النُّصّابَ دارَ هَوانِ

O strengthener of al-Mu'izz's supporters among mankind,

And you who consign the Nasibis to the abode of humiliation!

بكَ دانَ مُلْكُ المشرقينِ وأهلُهُ

وأنابَ بَعدَ النّكثِ والخُلعانِ

Through you the realm of the two Easts and its people submitted,

And returned to obedience after broken oaths and renunciation of allegiance.

إنّا وَجَدْنا فَتْحَ مصرٍ آخِراً

لكَ ذِكرُهُ في سالِفِ الأزْمانِ

We have found Egypt's conquest, though recent,

Mentioned as yours in ages long past.

فبعزْمكَ انهَدّتْ قُوَى أركانِها

وبقُرْبكَ امتدّتْ إلى الإذْعانِ

For by your resolve the strength of its pillars crumbled,

And at your approach it reached toward submission.

وَطّأتَ بالغاراتِ مَركَبَ عِزّها

والجيشَ حتى ذَلّ للرُّكْبانِ

With raids you tamed the mount of its pride,

And the army, until it grew docile to the riders.

فإلَيكَ ينُسَبُ حيثُ كنتَ وإنّما

فخرُ الصُّلِيِّ لقادِحِ النّيرانِ

So it is credited to you, wherever you are; for

The glory of the blaze belongs to the kindler of fires.

عَصَفتْ على الأعرابِ منكَ زَعازعٌ

سَفَكَتْ دَمَ الأقرانِ بالأقرانِ

Storms from you swept over the Bedouins,

Spilling champions' blood by champions' hands.

ما قَرّ أعيُنُ آلِ قُرّةَ مُذ سُقُوا

بكَ ما سُقُوهُ منَ الحَميمِ الآني

The eyes of Qurra's house have known no comfort since they were given

By you their draught of scalding, seething water.

وقَبيلَةً قَتّلْتَها وقَبيلَةً

أثكَلْتَها بالبَرْك في الأعطانِ

One tribe you slaughtered, and another

You bereaved of the camels kneeling at the watering places.

أخْلى البُحيرَةَ منهُمُ والبِيدَ مَا

خَسَفَ الصّعيدَ بشِدّةِ الرَّجفَانِ

Al-Buhayra and the deserts were emptied of them by what

Made Upper Egypt sink with violent trembling.

فشغَلْتَ أهلَ الخَيمِ عن تَطنيبِها

وأسَمتَهُم شَرْداً معَ الظُّلمانِ

So you kept the tent-dwellers from pegging their tents,

And pastured them as fugitives among the ostriches.

وَسَمتْ إلى الواحاتِ خَيلُكَ ضُمَّراً

حتى انتَهَتْ قُدُماً إلى أُسْوانِ

And your lean horses pressed on toward the oases,

Until they reached Aswan, pressing onward.

قد ظاهَرُوا لِبَدَ الدّرُوعِ عليهِمُ

وتأجّمُوا أجَماً منَ الخِرْصانِ

They had layered thick coats of armor upon themselves,

And formed thickets made of lances.

وغَدَوْا حَوالَيْ مُتْرَفٍ لا يَنثَني

عَلَماهُ عَن إنْسٍ وَلا عن جانِ

And they stood around a pampered man; never would yield

His two banners to man or jinn.

فكَأنّ دينَكَ يوْمَ أرْدى كُفرَهُ

أجَلٌ بَطَشتَ لهُ بعمرٍ فانِ

It was as though your faith, the day it slew his unbelief,

Was an appointed doom, for which you seized a fleeting life.

وكأنّ أسرابَ الجِيادِ ضُحىً وقَد

خَفّتْ إليهِ كَواسِرُ العِقبانِ

And the bands of steeds at forenoon, as they

Sped toward him, seemed like predatory eagles.

عطَفَتْ علَيهِ صدورَها وكأنّما

عَطَفَتْ على كِسرَى أنُوشروانِ

They turned their breasts toward him, as though

They turned against Kisra Anushirwan.

وكأنّما البَرّاضُ صَبّحَ أهلَهُ

وكأنّهنّ هَجائنُ النّعمانِ

And as though al-Barrad fell upon his people at dawn,

And as though they were al-Nu'man's noble camels.

ظَلّتْ سيوفُكَ وهيَ تأخُذُ روحَه

كالنّارِ تَلفَحُهُ بغيرِ دُخانِ

Your swords kept taking his soul,

Like fire scorching him without smoke.

حكَمَتْ بسَعدِ المُشتري لك ساعةٌ

حكَمَتْ لهُ بالنَّحسِ من كيوانِ

An hour decreed Jupiter's good fortune for you,

And decreed for him ill fortune from Saturn.

فأتَى جُيوشَكَ إذْ أتَتْهُ كأنّهُ

رَكضْاً إلَيها طالبٌ لرِهانِ

So he came to your armies when they came to him, as though

At a gallop toward them, he were seeking a racing wager.

فعَجِبتُ كيفَ تخالَفَ القَدَرانِ في

عُقْباهُما وتَشابَهَ الأمَلانِ

And I marveled how the two destinies differed in

Their outcomes, while the two hopes were alike.

رُعْتَ الأوابِدَ في الفَدافِدِ فجأةً

بعَجارِفِ الرَّدَيانِ والوَخَدانِ

You suddenly terrified the wild beasts in the wastes

With the violent rush of bounding and swift striding.

وتَعَوّذَ الشّيطانُ منكَ وكَيدُهُ

لمّا ذَعَرْتَ جزيرَةَ الشّيْطانِ

And Satan and his cunning sought refuge from you

When you terrified the Island of Satan.

سارَتْ جِيادُكَ في الفَلا سَيرَ القَطا

يحمِلْنَ ظُلْماناً على ظُلْمانِ

Your steeds crossed the wilderness as sandgrouse travel,

Bearing ostriches upon ostriches.

ضَمّنْتَ صَهْوَةَ كلّ طِرْفٍ مثلَهُ

وحَمَلتَ سِرْحاناً على سِرْحانِ

You entrusted every courser's back with its equal,

And mounted a wolf upon a wolf.

في مَهْمَهٍ ما جابَهَ الرُّكْبانُ مُذْ

طُرِدَتْ منَ الدّنيا بَنو مَرْوانِ

In a trackless waste that riders had not crossed since

The sons of Marwan were driven from the world.

لوْ سارَ فيهِ الشَّنْفَرَى فِتراً لَمَا

حَمَلَتْهُ في وَعْسائِهِ قَدَمانِ

Had al-Shanfara traveled there even a handspan,

His two feet could not have borne him through its loose sands.

يَجْتَبْنَ كلّ مُلَمَّعٍ بالآلِ ما

للجِنّ بالتّعريسِ فيهِ يَدانِ

They traverse every tract shimmering with mirage, where not

Even the jinn have strength to halt for the night.

خُضْنَ الظّلامَ إلَيهِ ثمّ اجْتَبْنَهُ

ومَرَقنَ من سِجفَيْهِ كالحُسبانِ

They waded into the darkness toward him, then cut through it,

And darted from between its two curtains like arrows.

فأتَيْنَهُ من حيثُ يأمَنُ غِرّةً

مَنْ لامرىءٍ من دَهرِه بأمانِ

They came upon him unawares from where he felt secure;

Who can guarantee a man safety against his own fate?

كَم غُلْنَ من مُستَكبِرٍ في قَوْمِه

متَمَنِّعٍ بالعِزّ والسُّلطانِ

How many men proud among their people they destroyed,

Entrenched in might and authority!

أو في دروُعِ البأسِ من مُستَلْئِمٍ

أو في ثِيابِ الخَزّ من نَشوانِ

Or men armored in the coats of mail of war,

Or drunken men clothed in silk!

باتَتْ تُحَيّيهِ سُقاةُ مُدامَةٍ

فغَدَتْ تُحَيّيهِ سُقاةُ طِعانِ

Cupbearers of wine had saluted him all night;

At dawn, cupbearers of spear-thrusts saluted him.

يَهوي السِّنانُ إليهِ وهوَ يظنُّهُ

كأسَ الصَّبوحِ على يَدِ النَّدمانِ

The spearpoint hurtles toward him, while he thinks it

The morning wine-cup in his drinking companion's hand.

ولكمْ سَلَبْتَ بها عزيزاً تاجَهُ

وتركتَ فيها من عَبيطٍ قانِ

How often with them you stripped a mighty man of his crown,

And left there fresh, crimson blood,

ومُجَدَّلاً فوْقَ الثَّرَى ونَجيعُهُ

والرّوحُ من وَدَجَيهِ مُختَلطانِ

And a man felled upon the earth, his gore

And soul mingling from his two jugular veins.

وكمِ استبَحنَ وكم أبحنكَ من حمىً

وحُقوفِ رَملٍ في مَعاطِفِ بانِ

How many protected grounds they overran and opened to you,

And curved sand dunes among bending ban-trees,

وكَواعِبٍ مَحفُوفَةٍ بعَصائِبٍ

قد كُلِّلَتْ بالدُّرّ والمَرْجانِ

And full-breasted maidens framed by headbands

Crowned with pearls and coral.

والمِسكُ يَعبَقُ في البُرُودِ كأنّها

زَهُر الرّبيعِ مُفَوَّفُ الألوانِ

Musk breathes fragrance through their robes, as though they were

Spring flowers, variegated in color.

لم يَبْقَ إلاّ السّدُّ تَخرِقُ رَدْمَهُ

فلقَدْ أطاعَكَ في الوَرَى العَصرانِ

Nothing remains but the barrier, whose rampart you will pierce;

For day and night have obeyed you among mankind.

وبلَغتَ قُطرَ الأرْضِ بالعزْمِ الذي

لم تُؤتَهُ الأفلاكُ في الدّوَرَانِ

You reached the earth's bounds with a resolve

Not granted even to the spheres in their revolutions.

وجَمَعتَ شَملَ المُتَّقينَ على الهدى

وتألّفَتْ بكَ أنفُسُ الحيوانِ

You united the God-fearing in guidance,

And through you the souls of living creatures came together.

فزَكَتْ بكَ الأعمالُ حَقَّ زكاتِها

ونجَتْ بكَ الأرْواحُ في الأبدانِ

So through you deeds were purified as they should be,

And through you souls within bodies were saved.

لوْ يَقِرنُ اللّهُ البِلادَ بمِثْلِها

ضاقَتْ بعَزمِكَ والصَّبيرِ الدّاني

Were God to join the lands to their like,

They would be cramped by your resolve and the low-hanging cloud.

تُندي بآلافِ الألوفِ إلى مَدىً

يَعيا على الحُسّابِ والحُسْبانِ

You shower down thousands upon thousands, to an extent

Beyond the power of reckoners and reckoning.

يا سَيفَ عِتْرَةِ هاشِمٍ وسِنانَها

وشِهابَها في حالِكِ الأدجانِ

O sword of Hashim's kin, and its spearpoint,

And its meteor in the blackest darkness!

لوْ سِرْتُ أطلبُ هل أرَى لك مشبهاً

لطَلَبتُ شيئاً ليسَ في الإمكانِ

If I set out to seek whether I could find your like,

I would be seeking something impossible.

كلُّ الدُّعاةِ إلى الهُدَى كالسّطرِ في

بَطنِ الكتابِ وأنتَ كالعنوانِ

All callers to guidance are like a line in

The body of the book, while you are its title.

أنتَ الحَقيقَةُ أُيّدَتْ بحَقيقَةٍ

وسِواكَ عَينُ الإفْكِ والبُهتانِ

You are truth strengthened by truth,

And all besides you are the very essence of falsehood and slander.

إنّي لأستَحيي منَ العَليا إذا

قابَلْتُ ما أوْلَيتَني بعِيانِ

I am indeed ashamed before greatness when

I behold with my own eyes what you have bestowed upon me.

أعْجَلتَ في يوْمي رَجائي في غَدٍ

فكأنّني في جنّةِ الرِّضْوانِ

You hastened into my today what I hoped for tomorrow,

As though I were in the garden of divine pleasure.

ولبِسْتُ ما ألبَستَني من نِعمَةٍ

فبِها شكَرْتُكَ لا بطولِ لِساني

And I wore the blessing in which you clothed me;

Through it I thanked you, not through the length of my tongue.

إنّي مدَحتُك إذ مدَحتُك مُخلِصاً

حتى إذا ما ضاقَ ذَرْعُ بَياني

When I praised you, I praised you sincerely,

Until, when my eloquence's reach grew too narrow,

كادَتْ تَسيلُ معَ المَدائحِ مُهجتي

لوْلا ارتِباطُ النّفسِ بالجُثمانِ

My lifeblood almost flowed out with the praises,

But for the soul's attachment to the body.