Poems
- أبدا تباشر وجه غزوك ضاحكاYou always face your campaign smiling,
- أبدا تنكب عن ضلال سادراForever you turn a heedless wanderer away from error
- أبوك أب لو كان للناس كلهمYour father was such a father that, had he been to all mankind
- أترى يثنيه عن قسوتهDoes his cheek's softness dissuade him
- أحلى الهوى ما تحله التهمSweetest is the love that accusations make permissible,
- أخلى فصد عن الحميم وما اختلىHe departed, turning from his close friend, yet was not alone.
- أخليفة الله الذي ضمنت لهO God's caliph, for whom
- إذا غضب الأنام وأنت راضIf all mankind is angry while you are pleased
- أرحها فهي أزلام المعاليGive them rest, for they are glory's divining arrows.
- أرق من الماء لولا الشعاعMore delicate than water—were it not for the radiance,
- أسنى الممالك ما أطلت منارهاThe loftiest kingdoms are those whose beacon you raised,
- أصغى لهيثمة الواشي فقال سلاHe heeded the slanderer's murmuring [reading uncertain] and said, “He has forgotten.”
- أقوى الضلال وأقفرت عرصاتهError lies deserted, and its courtyards are desolate.
- الدهر أنت ودارك الدنيا ومنYou are Time, and the world your dwelling; those
- الدهر مارضته بالجود والباسTime has not marred his generosity and dignity
- ألف الصدود وحين أسرف أسعفاHe grew accustomed to turning away, and when he went too far, he offered relief;
- المجد ما ادرعت ثراك هضابهGlory is that whose hills have donned your soil as armor,
- إلى المرتضى حث المطي فإنهUrge the mounts toward al-Murtada, for he
- اليوم نور جيب الدجن مزرورToday the light of the fold's bosom is visited,
- أما الرعايا فإنها رشفتAs for the subjects, they have sipped
- إن كنت لست معي فالذكر منك معيIf you are not with me, the remembrance of you is with me.
- إن يمتر الشكاك فيك فإنكIf doubters question you, then you are the
- أنا حزب والدهر والناس حزبI am one faction; time and people are another.
- أنكرت مقلته سفك دميHis eye denied shedding my blood;
- أهتوف بان في سرار الواديO cooing bird of the ban-tree in the valley’s heart,
- أيا حسنها من روضة ضاع نشرهاOh, how lovely a garden, whose fragrance has spread!
- أيا خير الملوك أبا وجداO best of kings in father and grandsire,
- أيا سيفا أعز الدين منهO sword, the faith was exalted by your—
- أيا صنو مائدة لأكرم مطعمO twin of a table set for the finest fare,
- أيا ملك الدنيا الحلاحل والذيO mighty king of the world, for whom
- أيا ملك النحو والحاء منO king of grammar—the letter ḥāʾ in
- أيا ملكا ألقى على الشرك كلكلاO king who laid his breast upon polytheism,
- أين مني الصبر عن وجهك أينWhere can I find patience apart from your face—where?
- بأبي شادن توثقت بالأيمانMay my father be ransom for a young gazelle; I secured myself with oaths
- بأبي من صد عني وصدفMay my father be ransom for him who shunned me and turned away!
- بجدك أصحب الجد الحزونThrough your good fortune, rugged ground grew yielding,
- بعماد الدين أضحت عروة الدينThrough Imad al-Din, the bond of faith has become
- بنور الدين روض كل محلThrough Nur al-Din every barren tract
- ترنح معطف الزوراء لماAl-Zawra’s flank swayed when
- ترى أراك وأنت في دست العلىShall I see you, I wonder, upon the throne of glory,
- تطبب برأي الصبي والمرهTreat yourself on the advice of a boy and a woman;
- تولت الأعياد لا زلت لهاThe festivals have passed; may you ever remain for them,
- جعل القطيعة سلما لعتابهHe made estrangement a ladder to his reproaches—
- جنى وتجنى والفؤاد يطيعهHe did wrong and laid false blame, yet the heart obeys him.
- حي الديار على علياء جيرونSalute the dwellings on the heights of Jayrun,
- خدع الخدود يلوح تحت صفائهاThe cheeks' guile shines under their clarity
- خنس الثعالب حين زمجر مصحرThe foxes slunk back when a lion in the open growled,
- رأينا الملوك وقد ساجلوكWe saw the kings as they vied with you;
- رغيفه من ذرةHis loaf—from a speck
- رنا وفي طرفه احمرارHe gazed, and in his eye was a redness
- روحي الفداء لمن إذا آلمتهMy soul be ransom for him: when I wound him
- سقاني العسجدية ذو عذارOne with cheek-down served me golden wine—
- سقاها وروى من النيربينMay she be watered and drenched, from al-Nayrabayn
- صفات مجدك لفظ جل معناهYour glory's attributes are words of sublime meaning.
- عاتبته فاستطالاI reproached him, and he grew haughty,
- عتبت على قط ابن منيرI reproached Ibn Munir's cat,
- عدمت دهرا ولدت فيهMay I be rid of the age in which I was born!
- عذبت طرفي بالسهرYou tormented my eyes with sleeplessness,
- عذبوني بهجركم عذبونيTorment me with your abandonment—torment me.
- عزت سيوفك فالعراق عراقهاYour swords have prevailed: Iraq is their bone to gnaw,
- عطفوه فتمادى ولهاThey sought to soften him, yet he persisted and turned away
- عقل الحق ألسن المدعيناTruth has fettered the tongues of pretenders.
- غدا الدين باسمك سامي العلمThrough your name, the faith has become lofty of banner,
- فإن عظيمات الأمور منوطةFor momentous affairs depend
- فداك من صام ومن أفطراMay those who fasted and those who broke the fast be your ransom,
- فدتك القلوب بألبابهاThe hearts have ransomed you with their intellects,
- فدتك الملوك وأيامهاMay kings and their days be your ransom.
- فنائي فيك أعذب من بقائيMy perishing in you is sweeter than my survival,
- في ذرى ملك هو الدهرIn the heights of a king who is Time
- قالوا التحى وانكسفت شمسهThey said, “He has grown a beard, and his sun has been eclipsed.”
- قف قليلا لأسألكStop a moment, so I may ask you:
- قل لابن يحيى مقال غير غوSay to Ibn Yahya the words of one not astray:
- قلت لقوم كووا بنارهمI said to people seared by their fire,
- كأن خديه ديناران قد وزناAs though his cheeks were two dinars that had been weighed,
- كسا الحرمين لبسة عبد شمسHe clothed the Two Sanctuaries in the garb of ʿAbd Shams
- لا نؤدي لأنعم الله شكراWe cannot give due thanks for God's blessings
- لا وحبيك لا عبدتك سراNo, by your love, I have not worshipped you in secret.
- لاح لنا عاطلا فصيغ لهHe appeared to us unadorned, so there were fashioned for him
- لام عذار بداA lām-shaped line of cheek-down appeared,
- لائمي قد سددت باب التعزيMy reproacher, I have barred the door to solace.
- لعلائك التأييد والتأميلMay support and hope attend your eminence,
- لقد أوطأت دين الله عزاYou have indeed set God's faith upon such glory,
- للسبعة النيرات عن شرفيFor the seven radiant orbs to attain my eminence—
- لله ليلتنا إذ صاحباي بهاHow wondrous our night, when my two companions there
- لملكك ما نشاء من الدوامMay your reign have all the endurance we desire.
- لنواعيرها على الماء ألحانUpon the water, its waterwheels have melodies
- لي سيد بعض اسمه جنةI have a master: part of his name is Paradise,
- ما الملك إلا ما حواه نجادهKingship is only what his sword-belt encompasses.
- ما برقت بيضك في غمامهاYour whiteness did not flash in its clouds
- ما فوق شأوك في العلا مزدادBeyond your reach in loftiness there is no further ascent.
- محدث تحدث أمراضناA speaker—our ailments are brought on
- محمود المربي على أسلافهMahmud, who surpasses his forebears,
- مظفر العزم ممدود الرواق علىVictorious in resolve, with his canopy spread over
- ملك كسا الإسلام من ذبهA king who clothed Islam with his stabbing
- ملك ما أذل بالفتح أرضاA king who never humbled a land by conquest
- من ركب البدر في صدر الردينيWho set the full moon on the breast of a Rudayni lance,
- من زار قبري فليكن موقناWhoever visits my grave, let him be certain
- نذرك بالغوطتين قد ضمنتYour vow in the two Ghoutas—already guaranteed are
- هذي المساعي قياسا أيها الناهيThese endeavors, by analogy, O you who dissuade,
- هنيت روزي فذاك صومكFelicitations, Ruzi: that is your fast, and the
- هو الجد بز التمام البدوراIt is fate that robbed the full moons of their fullness.
- هو قاض كما تقول ولكنHe is a judge, as you say, but
- هي الخيل خير عتاد الكريمHorses are the noble man's finest equipment;
- هيهات يعصم من أردت حذارNever can caution shield the one you have marked.
- وجئت بأحمد فملأت حمداAnd you brought Ahmad, thus filling with praise
- ودمشق في دمشق رجال سلمAnd men of peace hastened in Damascus;
- وذات شجو أسالتAnd a sorrowful one has let flow
- ورد الكتاب فداه أسود ناظرThe letter arrived—may an eye’s dark pupil be its ransom—
- وصاحب لا أمل الدهر صحبتهAnd a companion whose company I never tire of, all my life:
- ولعمري لولا بقية عبد الواحدAnd by my life, were it not for the remnant of ʿAbd al-
- وما يوم الفرنجة منك فذNor is your day against the Franks a lone exploit,
- ومضعف الطرف حياني بمضعفةAnd one with languid eyes greeted me with a double-petaled rose,
- ويا غصنا يؤرقنيAnd O bough that keeps me awake,
- ويلي من المعرض الغضبان إذ نقلWoe to me from the angry one who turns away, when the
- يا بأبي من وصلاAh, may my father be ransom for him who came to me,
- يا بدر لا أفل ولا محاقO full moon, may you neither set nor wane,
- يا حائزا غاي كل فضلO possessor of the utmost of every excellence,
- يا سمي المرمي في ظلمة الجببO namesake of the sovereign in the darkness of the wel—
- يا شمس لا كسف ولا تكدارO sun, may no eclipse or dimming touch you,
- يا عفيف الدين الذي يده صرفO ʿAfif al-Din, whose hand is pure coin—
- يا غريب الحسن ما أغناكO peerless beauty, how little need you have—
- يا محيي العدل ويا منشرهO reviver of justice, O its restorer,
- يا من أتانا سرقهO you who came to us in secret,
- يا نحاة الزموا الشككO grammarians, cling to doubt,
- يجل عن التشبيه في الحسن وجههHis face is beyond comparison in beauty;
No poems found.