أليوم تم الفرح الأكبر — Khalil Gibran

أَليَوْمَ تَمَّ الفرَحُ الأَكْبَرُ

وَانْجَابَ ذَاك العَارِضُ الأَكْدَرُ

Today the greatest joy is complete,

And that murkiest cloud has dispersed.

قَدْ رَأَبَ الصُّلحُ صُدُوعاً جَرَتْ

بِالدَّمِ مِنْ جَرَّائِهَا أَنْهُرُ

Reconciliation has mended rifts; there had flowed

Because of them, rivers of blood.

وَأَقْبلَ الأَمْنُ بِآلاَئِهِ

فَكُلَّ نَفْسٍ بِالرِّضا تَشْعُرُ

Security has come with its blessings,

So every soul feels contentment.

كَأَنَّما الأَمْنُ رَبِيعٌ لَهُ

فِي كُلِّ مَا مَدَّ بِهِ مَظْهَرُ

As though security were springtime, with

A visible sign in everything it bestows:

فَحَيْثُ يَخْفَى عَبَقٌ فَائِحٌ

وَحْيُثُ يَبْدُو غُصُنٌ مُزْهِرُ

Where it is hidden, a wafting fragrance;

And where it appears, a flowering branch.

وَالدَّهْرُ فِي أَثْنَائِهِ بَاسِمٌ

وَالعَيْشُ فِي أَفْيَائِهِ أَخْضَرُ

Time smiles within its folds,

And life is green beneath its shade.

وَلِلْمُنى مِنْ رَاحِهِ مَوْرِدٌ

وَلِلْغِنَى عنْ سَاحِهِ مَصْدَرُ

Hopes find a watering place in its hand,

And wealth finds its source in its domain.

مَا أَبْهَجَ السَّلمَ وَتَبْشِيرَهُ

وَغِبْطَةَ الْخَلْقِ بِمَا بُشِّرُوا

How delightful are peace and its glad tidings,

And humankind's joy at the good news they received!

قَدْ نَافَسَ الأَيامَ لَكِنَّهُ

نَافسَهُ اليَوْمُ الَّذِي نَحْضَرُ

It has rivaled the days, yet

The day we witness has rivaled it.

فَكَادَ لاَ يَدْرِي مُحِبُّوكُم

أَيُّ السُّرُورَيْنِ هُوَ الأَوْفَرُ

So those who love you can scarcely tell

Which of the two joys is greater.

سَلُوا الأُولَى تَفْتِنُ أَنْوِارُكمْ

أَمَا نَسُوا أَنَّ الدُّجَى مُقْمِرُ

Ask those whom your lights enchant:

Have they not forgotten that the darkness is moonlit?

سَلُوا الأُولَى تُعْجِبُ أَزْهَارُكُمْ

وَرْدُ الرُّبَى أَمْ وَرْدكُمْ أَفْخَرُ

Ask those whom your flowers delight:

Are the hills' roses or your roses more splendid?

أَوْفَى السعَادَاتِ لِمَنْ بَاتَ فِي

أَمْنٍ وَقَدْ أَدْرَكَ مَا يؤْثِرُ

The fullest happiness belongs to one who abides in

Security and has attained what he desires.

وأَشْمَلُ النُّعمَى بِأَفْرَاحِهَا

هِيَ الَّتِي يَحْظَى بِهَا الأَجْدَرُ

And the blessing most encompassing in its joys

Is that enjoyed by the most deserving.

أَلْحَمْد لِلّهِ عَلَى أَنْ خَلَتْ

حَرْبٌ بِهَا قُصِّمتِ الأَظْهُرُ

Praise be to God that there has passed

A war in which backs were broken.

كادَتْ تَرِيبُ الخَلْقَ لوْ لمْ يَرَوْا

فِي الغِبِّ أَن الْحَقَّ مُسْتظْهَرُ

It would almost have made humankind doubt, had they not seen

In its aftermath that right was vindicated.

كارِثةٌ أَعْظَمَهَا دهْرُهَا

وَمِثْلُهَا تُعْظِمَهُ الأَدْهُرُ

A calamity its age deemed immense,

And whose like the ages deem immense.

مَا أَكْرَبَتْ تَبدو بِآفَاقِهَا

نجُومُ نَحْسٍ شَرُّهَا مُسْعَرُ

How it brought anguish! Across its horizons appeared

Stars of ill fortune, their evil ablaze,

حَتَّى أَتَاحَ اللّهُ تِلْقَاءَهَا

نُجُومَ سَعْدٍ نَوْءُهَا خَيِّرُ

Until God provided, opposite them,

Stars of good fortune, their rising beneficent.

فِي مِصْرَ مِنْهَا كَوْكَبٌ نيِّرٌ

يَا حَبَّذَا كَوْكَبُهَا النَّيرَ

In Egypt, among them, is a radiant star;

How splendid is her radiant star!

كَأَنَّما الأُعُيُنُ كَاساتُهُ

كَأَنَّما لأْلاَؤُهُ كَوْثَرُ

As though eyes were its goblets,

As though its radiance were Kawthar.

أَوْفَى فَلَمْ يُحْجَبْ هُدَى نوِرهِ

إِلاَّ وَإِصْبَاحُ الْهُدَى مُسْفِرُ

It rose high; its guiding light was never veiled

Except when the dawn of guidance shone forth.

بِنْت الثُّرَيَّا أَنَا مُسْتَخْبِرٌ

لَعَلَّ ذَا مَعْرِفَةٍ يُخْبِرُ

Daughter of the Pleiades, I seek to know;

Perhaps someone knowledgeable will tell.

إِذَا بَدَا الفَجْرُ وَآيَاتُهُ

كَأَنَّها رَايَاتُهُ تُنْشَرُ

When dawn appeared, and its signs

Seemed like its banners being unfurled,

وَلَبِثَتْ كُلُّ نَؤْومِ الضُّحى

فِي لُجَجِ الأَحْلاَمِ تَسْتَبْحِرُ

And every late-morning sleeper lingered,

Sailing far out through the deep seas of dreams,

سَاهِرَةَ اللَّيْلِ عَلَى أَنَّها

لِمَرْقَصٍ أَوْ مَقْمَرٍ تَسْهَرُ

Having kept awake at night, but only

For a dance hall or a gambling den;

تَذْهَلُ أُمُّ الْوُلْدِ عَنْ وُلْدِهَا

وَتَسْتَخِفُّ الرِّيْبَةَ المُعْصِرُ

The mother neglects her children,

And the budding maiden makes light of suspicion.

مَنِ الَّتِي تَنْهَضُ مِنْ بُكْرَةٍ

وَحُرَّةُ القوْمِ الَّتِي تُبْكِرُ

Who is she who rises at daybreak—

Her people's noblewoman, early abroad—

فَتَهْجُرُ التَّرْفِيهَ فِي بَيْتِهَا

وَهْوَ الَّذِي مَا اسْطِيعَ لاَ يُهْجَرُ

Forsaking the comforts of her home,

Though comfort is not forsaken while it can be had,

وَتَغْتَدِي يُوِفضُ سَيْراً بِهَا

مُنْخَطِفٌ كَالبَرْقِ أَوْ أَسْيَرُ

Setting out in the morning, borne swiftly along

By a darting conveyance, like lightning or swifter still,

فِي مَلْبَسٍ شَفَّ بِظَلْمَائِا

عَنْ غُرَرٍ مِنْ شِيَمٍ تَزْهُرُ

In attire whose darkness reveals

The radiant distinctions of blossoming virtues?

تَبْدُرُ مَرْضَاهَا بِإِلْمَامِهَا

وَالعَهْدُ أَنَّ الأَحْوَجَ الأَبْدَرُ

She hastens to her patients with her visits,

Though the neediest are usually first to hasten.

تَأْلَفُ لاَ تَأْنَفُ مُسْتَوْصَفاً

لِلْبُؤْسِ فِي أَكْنَافِهِ مَحْشَرُ

She frequents, never scorns, a dispensary

Where misery gathers within its walls.

يُمَضُّ مَنْ مَرَّ بِهِ نَاظِراً

لِفَرْطِ مَا يُؤْلِمُهُ المَنظرُ

The passerby who looks is pained

By how intensely the sight hurts him.

مَا حَالُ مَنْ تَدْأَبُ تَنْتَابُهُ

تخْبُرُ مِنْ بَلْوَاهُ مَا تَخْبُرُ

What, then, of her who tirelessly visits it,

Experiencing all she does of its suffering?

مَعْشَرُهَا مِنْ أُنْسِهَا مُوحِشٌ

وَأَتْعَسُ الخَلْقِ لَهَا مَعْشَرُ

Her company, despite her warmth, is desolate,

And the most wretched people are her companions:

مِنْ صِبْيَةٍ فِيهِمْ سَدِيدُ الْخُطَى

وَفِيهُمُ الأَصْغَرُ فَالأَصْغَرُ

Children, some of them steady on their feet,

And others smaller and smaller still.

أَجَدُّهُمْ بَثّاً وَتَلْعَابُهُمْ

يُبْكِيك إِذْ يَهْذِي وَإِذْ يَهْذرُ

Their gravest in grief and their most playful

Make you weep when they rave and when they babble.

وَفِتْيَةٍ يُودِي بِهِمْ جَهْلُهُمْ

فَهَالِكٌ فِي إِثْرِهِ مُنْذَرُ

And young men whom their ignorance destroys:

One perishing, another forewarned in his wake.

وَمُرْضِعٍ مِنْ نَضْبِهَا تَشْتكِي

وَهَرِمٍ مِنْ ضَعْفِهِ يُهْتِرُ

And a nursing mother complaining that her milk runs dry,

And an old man rambling from his weakness;

وَطِفْلَةٍ مَا عَربَدَتْ عَيْنُهَا

لَكِنَّ سُقْماً لَوْنُهَا الأَحْمَرُ

And a little girl whose eye is not inflamed by drink,

But whose red hue comes from illness;

وَذَاتِ حُسْنٍ أَحْصَنَتْ عِرْضَهَا

وَإِنْ تَوَلَّى هَتْكَهَا المِئْزَرُ

And a beauty who has guarded her honor,

Though her waistcloth undertakes to expose her.

إِن خَفِرَ الْقَلْبُ فَذَاكَ التُّقى

مَا الثَّوْبُ إِلاَّ ذِمَّة تُخْفَرُ

If the heart is modest, that is piety;

Clothing is only a pledge that may be broken.

لَهْفِي عَلَى تِلْكَ النُّفُوسِ الَّتِي

هِيضَتْ وَوَدَّ الْبِرُّ لَو تُجْبَرُ

My anguish for those souls

That were broken, and that goodness longs to mend!

هِيَ الشَّقاوَاتُ لَقَدْ صُوِّرَتْ

فِي صُوَرٍ تُوحِشُ أَوْ تُذْعِرُ

They are miseries indeed embodied

In forms that unsettle or terrify.

لهَا وَجَوهٌ بَادِيَاتُ القَذَى

مُبْصِرُهَا يُؤْذِي بِمَا يُبْصِرُ

They have faces with grime plainly showing;

Whoever sees them is pained by what he sees.

تَعْبَسُ حَتَّى حِينَمَا تجْتَلِي

ذَاكَ المُحَيَّا طَالِعاً تَبْشرُ

They frown until, when they behold

That face appearing, they brighten with joy.

يَا حُْن تِلْكَ المُفَتَدَاةِ الَّتِي

آيَاتُهَا فِي البِرِّ لاَ تُحُصَرُ

Oh, the beauty of that cherished woman, whose

Signs of benevolence cannot be counted!

لاَحَتْ فَلاَحَ النُّورُ بَعْد الدُّجَى

جَاءَتْ فجَاءَ الدَّهْرُ يستَغْفِرُ

She appeared, and light shone after darkness;

She came, and Time came asking forgiveness.

تأْسُو بِرِفْقٍ أَوْ تُوَاسِي بِهِ

قدْ يَضجَرُ الرِّفْقُ وَلاَ تَضْجَرُ

She heals with gentleness, or comforts with it;

Gentleness itself may tire, but she never tires.

تسَامُ أَقْصى أَلَمِ المُشْتَكِي

وَفوقَ صَبرِ المُشْتَكِي تَصْبرُ

She is made to bear the sufferer's utmost pain,

And beyond the sufferer's endurance she endures.

تُطَارِدُ الفَقْرَ بِمَعْرُوفِهَا

وَإِنَّه لَلخاتِل الأَنْكَرُ

She pursues poverty with her kindness,

And it is indeed the most odious deceiver.

تُحَارِبُ الْجُوعَ بِإِيمَانِهَا

وَالْجُوْعُ عَيْنُ الكُفْرِ أَوْ أَكْفَرُ

She combats hunger with her faith,

And hunger is unbelief itself, or more faithless still.

تَظَلُّ بِالْجُودِ تُعَفِّي عَلَى

مَا يُتْلِفُ التَّسهِيدُ وَالمَيْسِرُ

She keeps erasing, through generosity,

The harm done by sleeplessness and gambling;

وَبِالْيَدِ البَيْضَاءِ تَبْنِي الَّذِي

يَهْدِمُهُ الإِدْمَانُ وَالمسْكِرُ

And with her white hand she builds what

Addiction and intoxicants tear down.

يَلُومُ قَوْمٌ طَوْلَهَا بِالنَّدَى

وَلاَ تَلُومُ الْقَوْمَ إِنْ قَصَّرُوا

Some people reproach her abundant generosity,

But she does not reproach them if they fall short.

وَمَا تُبَالِي كيْفَ كَانتْ سِوَى

مَا طاهِرُ الْوَحْيِ بِهِ يَأْمرُ

And she cares not how she fares, save for

What pure inspiration commands.

عَاذِرَةٌ لِلنَّاسُ وَالنَّاسُ قدْ

تَتَّهمُ الْحُسْنَى وَلاَ تَعْذِرُ

She excuses people, while people may

Suspect goodness and refuse to excuse.

وَبَعْدَ هَذَا كمْ لهَا جَيْئةٍ

فِي يَوْمِهَا أَوْ رَوْحَةٍ تشكرُ

And beyond all this, how many a visit of hers

Or daily outing earns gratitude!

كمْ خِدْمَةٍ فِي كُلِّ جَمْعِيَّةٍ

لِلْخَيْرِ لاَ تَأْلُو وَلاَ تَفْتُرُ

How many services in every association

For charity—she spares no effort and never flags!

كَمْ دَارِ تَنْكِيدٍ إِذَا أَقْبَلَتْ

عَادَ إِلَيْهَا صَفْوُهَا المُدْبِرُ

How many a house of misery, when she arrives,

Regains the serenity that had fled!

كَمْ هَالِكٍ تُنْقِذُهُ مِنْ شَفاً

وَكَادَتِ الدُّنْيَا بِهِ تَعْثُرُ

How many a doomed soul she rescues from the brink,

When the world had almost brought him down!

كَمْ دُونَ عِرْضٍ تَبْتَغِي صَوْنَهُ

تَمْهُرُ وَالأَقْرَبُ لاَ يَمْهُرُ

How often, to defend an honor she seeks to preserve,

She pays the dowry when the nearest relative will not!

كَمْ تَتَصَدَّى لِعَلِيلٍ وَمَا

مِنْ خَطَرٍ فِي بَالِهَا يَخْطُرُ

How often she tends an invalid, and no

Danger so much as crosses her mind!

لاَ تكْتَفِي بِالمَالِ لكِنَّها

تُعْطِي مِن الصِّحةِ مَا يُذْخَرُ

She is not content with money; rather,

She gives of the health one keeps in reserve.

كَبِيرَةُ الْقَدْرِ وَلَكِنْ لَدَى

كُلِّ صِغيرِ القَدْرِ تَسْتَصْغِرُ

Great in worth, yet before

Everyone of little worth she humbles herself.

تَاحَتْ لِمِصْرٍ أُخْتُهَا قَبْلَهَا

بِأَيِّ أُخْتٍ بَعْدَهَا تَظْفَرُ

Egypt was granted her sister before her;

What sister will it gain after her?

يتِيمَتَا العَصْرِ هُمَا هَلْ تُرَى

ثَالِثَةٌ تَأْتِي بِهَا الأَعْصُرُ

They are the age's two peerless gems; will we ever see

A third whom the ages bring?

سِسِيلُ هَلْ تَدْرِينَ تِلْكَ الَّتِي

أَذْكُرُهَا أَنْتِ الَّتِي أَذْكُرُ

Cecile, do you know that woman whom

I mention? You are the one I mention.

لاَ تغْضَبِي مِنْ مِدْحَتِي إِنَّهَا

قَدْ وَجَبَتْ وَالفَضْلُ قَدْ يُشْكَرُ

Do not be angry at my praise; it

Is indeed deserved, and virtue may be thanked.

مَا تُجْزِيءُ الأَقْوَالُ مِنْ هِمَّةٍ

فِيهَا تَقَضَّى عُمْرُكِ الأَنْضَرُ

Words cannot do justice to the devotion

In which the bloom of your life was spent.

حَيِّي الصِّبا حَسْنَاءَ أَمْثَالُهَا

بِسِنِّها فِي عَقْلِهَا تَنْدُرُ

Greet youth, fair one! Women like her

In age and in wisdom are rare.

فَرْعُ أَبٍ ذِكْرَاهُ فِي قَوْمِهِ

أَخْلَدُ ذِكْرى وَاسْمُهُ الأَشْهَرُ

Scion of a father whose memory among his people

Is the most enduring, and whose name is the most renowned;

صُورَةُ أُمٍ ذَاتِ خُلْقٍ سَمَا

يُظْهِرهُ الفَضْلُ وَمَا تُظْهِرُ

The image of a mother with a lofty character,

Revealed by her virtue, though she does not display it;

سَلِيلَةُ اْلآلِ الْكِرَامِ الأُولَى

فِي كُلِّ نَادٍ صِيتُهُمْ يَعْطَرُ

Descendant of the noble family whose

Reputation perfumes every gathering.

بِرِقَّة الْجُودِ اسْتَرَقُّوا النُّهَى

وَالْجُودُ مَنْ يُعْطِي وَمَنْ يَسْتُرُ

Through gentle generosity they have enthralled minds;

Generosity is in those who give and those who shelter.

بَيْتٌ عَتِيقٌ لَمْ تَزَلْ فِي النَّدَى

وَفِي الْهُدَى آثَارُهُ تُؤْثَرُ

An ancient house, whose marks of generosity endure,

And whose works of guidance are handed down.

إِلَى ابْنِ عِيدٍ زَفَّها قَلْبُهَا

وَالنَّاسُ بِالأَعْيَادِ تَسْتَبْشِرُ

Her heart has escorted her as a bride to Eid's son,

And people rejoice at festivals.

مُورِيسُ مِنْ بَيْتٍ رَفِيعِ الذُّرَى

مَوْضِعُهُ فِي الْجَاهِ لاَ يُنْكَرُ

Maurice is of a house with lofty summits,

Its standing in prestige cannot be denied.

أَبُوهُ عَالِي الْجَدِّ سَامِي الْحِجَا

وَأُمُّه الْجَوْزَاءُ أَوْ أَزْهَرُ

His father is high in fortune, lofty in wisdom,

And his mother is al-Jawza, or brighter still.

قَدْ صَدَقَتْ فِيهِ الصِّفاتُ الَّتِي

بِبَعْضِهَا يَفْخَرُ مَنْ يَفخرُ

In him have proved true those qualities

Even a few of which give others cause for pride.

فَاهْنَأْ بِمَنْ أُوتِيْتَ زَوْجاً فَمَا

زَوْجُكَ إِلاَّ المَلك الأَطْهَرُ

So rejoice in the spouse you have been given; for

Your wife is none other than the purest angel.

عِيشا بِسَعد وَانْمُوا وَاكْثُرَا

فالنَّسلُ خَيْرٌ مَا زكَا الْعُنْصُر

Live in happiness, flourish, and multiply;

For offspring are a blessing when the stock is pure.