ألؤلؤ دمع هذا الغيث أم نقط — Ibn Hani Andalusia

ألُؤلُؤٌ دَمْعُ هذا الغيْثِ أم نُقَطُ

ما كان أحْسنَنَهُ لو كان يُلتَقَطُ

Are this rain's tears pearls, or drops?

How lovely it would be if it could be gathered!

بينَ السّحابِ وبينَ الريحِ مَلحمَةٌ

قعاقِعٌ وظُبىً في الجوِّ تُخْتَرَطُ

Between the clouds and the wind a battle rages:

Clashing sounds, and blades unsheathed in the sky.

كأنّهُ ساخِطٌ يَرضى على عَجَلٍ

فما يدومُ رِضىً منه ولا سَخَط

As though it were angry, yet swiftly appeased;

So neither its pleasure nor its anger lasts.

أهْدى الرّبيعُ إلينا روضةً أُنُفاً

كما تَنَفّسَ عن كافورهِ السَّفَط

Spring bestowed on us a fresh, untouched garden,

As a casket breathed forth its camphor.

غمائمٌ في نواحي الجوِّ عاكفَةٌ

جَعْدٌ تَحَدَّرَ منها وابلٌ سَبِط

Clouds linger in the reaches of the sky,

Curled, while a smooth downpour streams from them.

كأنّ تَهْتانَها في كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ

مَدٌّ من البحرِ يعلو ثم ينهبط

As though their pouring rain on every side

Were a tide from the sea, rising and then falling.

والبَرْقُ يَظهرُ في لألاءِ غُرَّتِهِ

قاضٍ من المُزْنِ في أحكامه شَطط

And lightning appears in its brow's radiant gleam,

A judge from the rainclouds, excessive in his judgments.

وللجَديدَينِ من طُولٍ ومِن قِصَرٍ

حَبْلانِ منُقَبضٌ عنّا ومُنبَسط

And day and night, in their length and shortness,

Have two cords: one drawn in from us, one extended.

والأرْضُ تبسُطُ في خدِّ الثرى وَرَقاً

كما تُنَشَّرُ في حافاتها البُسُطُ

And the earth spreads leaves upon the soil's cheek,

As carpets are unfurled along its borders.

والرّيحُ تَبعَثُ أنفاساً مُعَطَّرَةً

مثلَ العبيرِ بماءِ الوَرد يختلطِ

And the wind sends forth perfumed breaths,

Like perfume mingling with rosewater.

كأنّمَا هي أنفاسُ المعِزِّ سَرَتْ

لا شُبْهَةٌ للنّدى فِيهَا ولا غَلَط

As though they were al-Mu'izz's breaths, wafting forth;

Their bounty admits neither doubt nor error.

تاللّهِ لو كانتِ الأنْواءُ تُشْبِهُهُ

ما مَرَّ بُوسٌ على الدّنْيا ولا قَنَط

By God, if the rain-bearing stars resembled him,

No misery or despair would visit the world.

شَقّ الزمانُ لنا عن نورِ غُرّتِهِ

عن دولةٍ ما بها وَهْنٌ ولا سَقَط

Time parted for us to reveal the light of his brow,

To reveal a reign with neither weakness nor flaw,

حتى تسلَّطَ منْهُ في الورى مَلِكٌ

زينَتْ بدولتِهِ الأملاك والسُّلَط

Until a king from it held sway among mankind:

Kings and rulers were adorned by his reign.

يخْتَطُّ فوقَ النٌّجوم الزُّهْرِ مَنزِلَةً

لم يَدْنُ منها ولم يُقْرَنْ بها الخِطَط

He marks out a station above the shining stars,

Which no other stations have approached or equaled.

إمامُ عدْلٍ وفَى في كلِّ ناحِيةٍ

كما قضَوْا في الإمامِ العدلِ واشترطوا

An imam of justice who fulfilled in every respect

What they decreed and stipulated for a just imam.

قد بانَ بالفضلِ عن ماضٍ ومُؤتَنِفٍ

كالعِقدِ عن طرَفَيْه يفضُلُ الوسَط

He stands apart by excellence from those past and yet to come,

As a necklace's center surpasses its two ends.

لا يغتدي فَرِحاً بالمالِ يجمعُهُ

ولا يبِيتُ بدُنْيا وهو مغتبط

No morning finds him rejoicing in the wealth he gathers,

Nor does he spend the night delighted with worldly life.

لكنّهُ ضِدُّ ما ظَنَّ الحسُودُ بهِ

وفوقَ ما ينتهي غالٍ ومُنبسِط

But he is the opposite of what the envious suppose him to be,

And beyond the utmost reach of extravagant or unrestrained praise.

يُزْري بفَيض بحارِ الأرض لو جُمعتْ

بنانُ راحتهِ المُغلَولِبُ الخَمِط

The flood of earth's seas, were they gathered, would be shamed

By the fingers of his palm, surging and raging.

وجْهٌ بجَوْهَرِ ماء العرْشِ مُتّصِلٌ

عِرْقٌ بمحض صريحِ المجد مرتبط

A face linked to the essence of the Throne's water,

A bloodline bound to pure, unalloyed glory.

شمسٌ من الحقّ مملوءٌ مطالِعُها

لا يهتَدي نحوها جَورٌ ولا شَطَط

A sun whose rising places are filled with truth,

Toward which neither injustice nor excess finds its way.

يُرَوِّعُ الأُسْدَ منه في مكامنِها

سيْفٌ له بيمِينِ النّصْرِ مخترَط

From him comes terror to the lions in their lairs:

A sword of his, unsheathed in victory's right hand.

خابتْ أُمّيةُ منه بالّذي طلبَتْ

كما يَخيبُ برأسِ الأقْرَعِ المُشُط

Umayya failed in what it sought from him,

As a comb fails upon a bald man's head.

وحاولوا من حضيض الأرض إذ غضِبوا

كواكباً عن مرامي شأوِهَا شَحَطوا

And in anger, from the depths of earth, they sought

Stars whose farthest reaches lay far beyond them.

هذا وقد فَرّقَ الفُرقانُ بينكما

بحيْثُ يفترِقُ الرِّضْوانُ والسَّخَط

This, though the Criterion has already distinguished between you two,

Where favor and wrath stand apart.

الناسُ غيركُم العُرقوبُ في شَرفٍ

وأنْتُمُ حيْثُ حَلَّ التّاجُ والقُرُط

In nobility, all other people are the heel,

While you are where the crown and earring rest.

ولستُ أشكُو لنفْسي في مودَّتِكُم

لأنّكُمْ في فؤادي جِيرةٌ خُلُط

Nor do I complain on my own account in loving you,

For you are close-knit neighbors within my heart.

يا أفضلَ الناس من عُرْبٍ ومن عَجَمٍ

وآلِ أحمدَ إن شبّوا وإن شَمِطوا

O best of people among Arabs and non-Arabs,

And of Ahmad's family, whether young or gray-haired,

لِيَهْنَكَ الفَتْحُ لا أنّي سمِعتُ بهِ

ولا على اللّهِ فيما شاءَ أشْتَرِط

May the conquest gladden you—not that I have heard of it,

Nor do I impose conditions on God concerning what He has willed.

لكن تفاءلْتُ والأقدارُ غالِبَةٌ

واللّهُ يَبْسُطُ آمالاً فتنبسِط

Rather, I augured well, though fate prevails,

And God unfolds hopes, and they unfold.

ولستُ أسألُ إلاّ حاجَةً بَلَغَتْ

سُؤلَ الإمام بها الرُّكّاضَةُ النُّشُط

Nor do I ask for anything but a favor, whose plea was borne

To the Imam by vigorous, galloping couriers,

من فوْقِ أدهَمَ لا يَجتازُ غايَتَهُ

نجمٌ من الأفُقِ الشمسيِّ منخرط

From atop a black steed, whose utmost reach cannot be surpassed

By a star shooting from the sun's horizon.

يَحْتَثُّهُ راكبٌ ضاقَتْ مذاهبُهُ

بادي التشحُّبِ في عُثْنُونِه شَمَط

A rider urges it on, his paths grown narrow,

Pallor plain upon him, gray hairs in his beard.

إنّ الملوكَ إذا قِيسوا إليكَ معاً

فأنتَ من كثرةٍ بحرٌ وهم نُقَط

Indeed, when kings are all compared with you,

You are a sea in abundance, and they are drops.