من لصب تصاعدت حسراته — Maawali Omani

مَن لصَبٍّ تصاعدت حسراتُه

ومُحبٍّ تساقطت عَبَرَاتُه

Who will aid a lovesick man whose sorrows have mounted,

and a lover whose tears have fallen?

مَن له إن رماه بالهجر وال

بين حبيبٌ معشوقةٌ لمحاتُه

Who will aid him if he is struck with desertion and

separation by a beloved whose glances are adored?

وبنفسي الظبيُ الأغَنُّ إذا ما

قامَ يمشى تهزُّني خطراتُه

I would ransom with my soul the soft, nasal-voiced gazelle, whenever

he rises to walk: his swaying strides stir me.

وإذا حرَّكَ الشفاهَ بلفظٍ

منه أضنت جسومَنا حركاتُه

And when he moves his lips with an utterance

of his, his movements waste our bodies away.

أنا منه قتيلُ شوقٍ ووَجْدٍ

وأَخو الشوق ليس تُرْجَى حياتُه

I am slain by him, by longing and passion;

one possessed by longing has no hope of life.

عجباً منه كيف ينكِرُ قتلى

وشُهودِي عليه لي وَجَنَاتُه

How strange that he should deny my slaying,

when my witnesses against him are his cheeks.

أنا سكرانُ مثله في الهَوى لك

نّه لا تضرُّه سكراتُه

I am drunk like him with love, but

he is unharmed by his drunken spells.

أنا نشوانُ منه لكنه زا

نَتْ بعطِفَيْه في الصبا نشواتُه

I am intoxicated by him, yet lovely

upon his flanks, in youth, are his raptures.

يقتلُ العاشقين إن سلَّ سيفاً

مِن جفونِ حياتهم لحظاتُه

He slays lovers when he draws a sword

from eyelids; their life is in his glances.

وحبيبٍ يزيدُني إن جفاني

بعدَ قُرْبٍ مودةً جفواتُه

And a beloved who, if he shuns me, increases

my affection through his rebuffs after closeness.

فمماتي هجرانُه ونَوَاهُ

وحياتي بعدَ النَّوَى خلواتُه

His desertion and distance are my death;

his private meetings after separation are my life.

ما أَحْلَى لقاءَه بعد بَيْنِ

منه لولا حُسَّاُده ووشاتُه

How sweet to meet him after parting

from him, were it not for his enviers and slanderers!

أَنا مُضْنَي الفؤاد لولا هواه

ما سقتني كاسَ الغرامِ سقاتُه

I am wasted in heart; were it not for love of him,

his cupbearers would not have given me the cup of passion.

فلعلى أَفوزُ يوما بلقيا

هُ وتُحيى حَشاشتي نغماتُه

So perhaps I shall one day attain a meeting with

him, and his melodies will revive my waning life.

وبخيلٍ بالوصل أَرسلْتُ دمعي

نحو مَغْناه فارتوت عرصاتُه

And to one stingy with union I sent my tears

toward his abode, until his courtyards drank their fill.

فكأن الإمامَ سلطانَ أعدا

هُ سخاءً فإنما الجودُ ذاتُه

As though the Imam Sultan had infected

him with generosity, for munificence is his very essence.

والنَّدَى والإنعامُ والفضلُ والإ

حسانُ والمجدُ والعُلا عاداتُه

And generosity, bounty, favor, and

beneficence, glory, and loftiness are his habits.

راحةُ القلبِ عنده إن خَلَتْ من

ماله أو لُجَيْنِه واحاتُه

His heart finds ease when there is none of

his wealth or silver in his oases.

هو ربُّ الندى وربُّ الأيادي

الغُرِّ مرهوبةُ الظبا غاراتُه

He is the lord of generosity and of favors

resplendent; feared are the sword-edges of his raids.

وإمامٌ عدل يجورُ على الأموا

لِ جُوداً كأنهن عُصاتُه

And a just imam who tyrannizes over

wealth through generosity, as though it were his rebels.

وولىٌّ يولى جميلا ويسخو

طاعةُ الله في الورى طاعاتُه

And a patron who bestows kindness and gives freely;

his acts of obedience among mortals are obedience to God.

ورضىٌّ رضا الإله رضاه

وتقيٌّ أَعمالُه مرضاتُه

And one well-pleasing, whose pleasure is God's pleasure;

and devout, whose deeds bring His approval.

ومليكٌ له الملوكُ عبيدٌ

وسخىٌّ كل البرايا عُفاتُه

And a king to whom other kings are slaves;

and generous: all creatures are his petitioners.

وشجاعٌ يخوضُ بحر المنايا

لم تَهِلْهُ من الردى غمراتُه

And brave, he plunges into the sea of death;

its engulfing depths of destruction have not terrified him.

وقويٌّ يجشِّمُ النفس بأْساً

في وَطيسٍ مسودةٍ غاراتُه

And strong, he makes his soul endure battle

in a battle furnace, his raids darkened.

باسِلُ القلبِ ما له من نظير

في سَظاهُ مشهورةٌ كرَّاتُه

Brave-hearted, he has no equal;

in his [might], his charges are renowned.

يعربىّ الأعراب يستعبدُ الأح

رار تُرْجَى أفضالُه وصِلاتُه

A Ya'rubi among the Arabs, he enslaves the free

men; his favors and gifts are hoped for.

هَمُّه تدبيرُ الممالك في

الملك اجتهاداً وصومُه وصلاتُه

His concern is managing the kingdoms in

kingship with diligence, and his fasting and prayer.

حالُه في السراءِ حالٌ وفي الضرَّا

ءِ سيانِ فيهما حالاتُه

His state in prosperity, and in adversity,

is the same; in both, his conditions are alike.

فهْو للمجد غلةٌ والمعالي

في البرايا لا تنتهى غاياتُه

He is a harvest for glory and lofty honors;

among mortals, his aims have no end.

وله الكِبْرياءُ والملكُ والحمدُ

علاءٌ مشهورةٌ راياتُه

His are majesty, kingship, and praise,

and exaltation; his banners are renowned.

يعجزُ الواصفونَ أن يصفره

بصفاتٍ تجلٌّ عنهم صفاتُه

Those who describe him cannot [describe him]

with attributes: his attributes are beyond them.

فبه زانَ دهرَنا وتجلَّتْ

بسناه عن ديننا كلماتُه

Through him our age was adorned, and there shone forth

by his radiance, concerning our faith, his words.

واستقامَ الزمانُ بعدَ اعوجاجِ

وأنارت بعدله ليلاتُه

Time became straight after crookedness,

and by his justice its nights grew bright.

وبه انهدَّ ركْنُ أهل المخازي

فتداعَى وأقفرت ساحاتُه

Through him the pillar of the shameful collapsed;

it crumbled, and its courtyards fell deserted.

وغدا العدلُ في النواحي عميماً

بقضاياه واستقامت ولاتُه

Justice became widespread throughout the regions

through his judgments, and his governors grew upright.

واضمحلَّ الهوى وأهلوه أه

لُ الجورِ والجهل وانقضَى ميقاتُه

Caprice and its followers faded away—the

people of oppression and ignorance—and its appointed time ended.

إن مَن والاه على كل حالِ

ثقلت في مَعاده حسناتُه

Surely, whoever is loyal to him in every circumstance

will have weighty good deeds at his final return.

إن مَن عَصَى الأئمة في الدي

ن الحنبفيِّ عظيمةٌ زَلاَّتُه

Surely, whoever disobeys the imams in the

[upright] faith has grievous lapses.

ومَن انسلَّ عنهمُ فهو مَغْبو

نٌ سواءٌ حياتُه وحماتُه

And whoever slips away from them is

defrauded; his life and his protectors are alike.

قرَّبتْني زُلْفَى إليه فأمسيتُ

غنيّاً بجوده قرباتُه

Nearness brought me close to him, and I became

rich through his bounty and his acts of favor.

وانجلت شبهةُ الفؤاد ولولا

عدلُه الحقُّ ما انجلت شبهاتُه

The heart's doubt cleared away; were it not for

his true justice, its doubts would not have cleared.

إن قلبي لا يشتهي غير مدحيه

وإنِّي ومدحَه شهواتُه

Indeed, my heart desires nothing but my praising him;

and I, and his praise, are its desires.

يا إمامَ الأنامِ سلطانَ سيفِ

بِكَ زانت زماننا أوقاتُه

O imam of humankind, Sultan Sayf,

through you the moments of our age were adorned.

أنتَ نِعْمَ الإمامُ فينا لأن

الدهرَ عنَّا مأْسورةٌ آفاتُه

An excellent imam are you among us, for

Time's afflictions are held captive, away from us.

فاقضِ في الدهر ما تشاء فإنّ

الدهرَ عبدٌ مقِهورةٌ خطواتُه

Decree in Time whatever you wish, for

Time is a slave whose steps are subdued.

يا فَتى الأكرمين طُوبَى لدهرِ

أنتمُ اليومَ في الورى ساداتُه

O youth of the most generous, blessed is an age

whose masters among mortals today are you!

ولأنتم أئمةُ العدلِ في الدين

وأنتم ليونُه وحماتُه

Indeed, you are the imams of justice in the faith,

and you are its [lions] and defenders.

ولأنتم قصاتُه وولاتُه

ولأنتم شجعانُه وكُماتُه

Indeed, you are its [judges] and governors,

and you are its brave men and armored champions.

يا سراةَ الأنامِ عزَّ زمانٌ

قد أقمتم به وأنتم سَراتُه

O nobles of humankind, mighty is an age

in which you have dwelt, and whose nobles you are.

يا شموسَ الزمانِ لولاكُمُ

الدهرُ تَعَرَّى وأظلمت بهجاتُه

O suns of Time, were it not for you,

Time would be stripped bare, and its beauties darkened.

ولما كان دينُنا مستقيماً

ولما أينعت لنا ثمراتُه

Nor would our faith have stood upright,

nor would its fruits have ripened for us.

خلَّدَ الله ملككم وارتضاكُم

في زمانٍ زانت بكم جُمْعَاتُه

May God perpetuate your reign and be pleased with you

in an age whose Fridays you have adorned.

هابكم دهرنا فلو أنكم تَنْهَوْ

نَه لم تَجُرْ بنا ساعاتُه

Our age has feared you; if you should forbid

it, its hours would not treat us unjustly.

كيف يعصيكم الزمانُ وأنتم

حِزْبه بل لُيوثه وكُماتُه

How could Time disobey you, when you are

its company—nay, its lions and armored champions?

فمُرُوه فهْوَ المطيعُ لكم في

ما أمرتم وليس تُعْصَى سُعاتُه

Command it, then, for it is obedient to you in

whatever you order, and its envoys are not disobeyed.

أأذمُّ الزمانَ والعدلُ فيه

قائمٌ بيننا وأنتم ثِقاتُه

Shall I blame Time when justice within it

stands among us, and you are its trusted ones?

وبأيديكم الزمانُ وأهلوهُ

ومنكم حياتُه ومماتُه

Time and its people are in your hands,

and from you come its life and death.

وارفقوا سالمين في دَرَج العَليا

فإن العُلَى لكم درجاتُه

Proceed gently and safely on the steps of high estate,

for its steps are the heights that belong to you.

زانت الأرض والزمانُ بكم والْ

عِلْمُ صارت مجموعةً أشتاتُه

Earth and Time are adorned by you, and

knowledge's scattered parts have been gathered together.

هاكَ مدحاً يا ابن الكرام كأن

المسك منه تضوَّعَت نفحاتُه

Take this praise, O son of the noble, as though

musk's fragrant breaths were wafting from it.

بقَوَافٍ كأنها اللؤلؤ المكنون

نظماً قد زينته مَهاتُه

In rhymes like hidden pearls,

strung in order, adorned by its crystal gems.

وثنايا تحكى ثنايا حبيبٍ

بل حكَتْه من ثغره رشفاتُه

And turns resembling a beloved's front teeth;

nay, the sips from his mouth have resembled it.

فهو أحلى من المُنَى للموالي

والمعادي تكفيكمُ حُرقاتُه

For loyal friends it is sweeter than wishes;

and the foe—his burning pangs suffice you.

فاقَ كل القريض فاشتغل النا

سُ بتفسيره وتاهت رُواتُه

It surpassed all poetry, so the people became occupied

with interpreting it, and its reciters grew bewildered.

إنما صاغَةُ القريض قليلٌ

وكثيرٌ رُواتُه وشُداتُه

The craftsmen of poetry are but few,

while many are its transmitters and chanters.