عظم الأجر عن عظيم المصاب — Mahmoud Qabadu

عظمَ الأجرُ عن عظيمِ المصابِ

في جميلَي تصبّر واِحتسابِ

Great is the reward for grievous affliction,

through the twin virtues of patient endurance and seeking God's reward.

وَقضاء الإله ماضٍ على الرا

ضين من خلقه به والغضابِ

God's decree runs its course upon those

of His creation who accept it, and those who rage.

إنّما يملكُ الفتى عقد قلبٍ

لِيجازى بالكسبِ والإكتسابِ

A man controls only his heart's resolve,

to be requited for what he earns and acquires.

فهو إمّا إلى تأسّ وأجرٍ

صائرٌ أو إلى أسى وعقابِ

Thus he goes either toward consolation and reward,

or toward sorrow and punishment.

إِنّ في البؤسِ والنعيمِ اِبتلاءً

كشفهُ فهم سرّ ذاك الخطابِ

In hardship and comfort alike there is a trial,

unveiled by understanding the secret of that address.

وَمُراد الإله أَن يخفى في ها

ذين كانا من البلايا الصعابِ

God's purpose, when hidden in these

two, makes them among the hardest trials.

وَإِذا ما فهمته كنت في الحا

لينِ عبداً مسدّداً للصوابِ

Once you understand it, in both

states you are a servant guided aright.

لا يظنّ المصاب فقد نعيمٍ

قَد يكون النعيم عين المصابِ

Do not suppose affliction to be the loss of comfort;

comfort itself may be the very affliction.

أيّ خيرٍ لمؤمن في نعيم

صار منه عن ربّه في حجابِ

What good is comfort to a believer

if it veils him from his Lord?

إنّ جلّ النفوسِ أمست عبيداً

لِهواها وعيشها المستطابِ

Most souls have become slaves

to their desires and their pleasant life.

وَعِباد الرحمنِ قومٌ لديه

نَفَضوا الإختيار نفض الجرابِ

The servants of the All-Merciful are a people who, before Him,

have shaken off choice as one shakes out a pouch.

وَتعرّوا عَن ملبسٍ مستعارٍ

مِن وجودٍ يحكي وجود السرابِ

They have stripped off a borrowed garment:

an existence resembling that of a mirage.

فَبه أَصبحوا شهوداً وكشفاً

قائمينَ في الفعل والإجتنابِ

Through Him, in witnessing and unveiling, they have become

steadfast in action and abstention.

لَيسَ غيرُ الإله شيءٌ لديهم

يُرتَجى إِن دعوا لردّ الجوابِ

They have nothing but God

to hope in for an answer when they call.

وَحّدوا اللّه ربّهم فاِستراحوا

مِن ركونٍ لغيره واِنتسابِ

They affirm God, their Lord, as One, and find rest

from leaning upon, or belonging to, any other.

مِن جميعِ الوجود آياته تت

لى عليهم مسطورة في كتابِ

From all existence His signs are recited

to them, inscribed in a book.

فلهم مخرجٌ بكلّ مضيقٍ

وَأنيسٍ بكلّ قفرٍ يبابِ

They have an escape from every strait,

and a companion in every desolate waste.

قَد أقيموا في حالِ صبرٍ وشكرٍ

موقف الإتّباع للآدابِ

In patience and gratitude they have been placed

in the station of observing proper conduct.

أيّها المعتزي إليهم تمسّك

من هداهم بأوثق الأسبابِ

You who claim affiliation with them, hold fast

to the surest bonds of their guidance.

إنّما أنت بين أجرين من صب

رٍ وشكرٍ فَاِشرب بكأس مشابِ

You stand between two rewards, for patience

and gratitude: drink, then, from a mingled cup.

كأسُك الشكر وهو شهدٌ مصفّى

مُزِجت لك فيه قطرة صابِ

Your cup is gratitude, pure honey,

with a drop of bitter sap mixed in for you.

وَقد اِعتدته مراراً فلم تش

رب بكفّ الرعديد والهيّابِ

You have grown used to it time and again; you did not drink

with the hand of one trembling and afraid.

إنّ رزء المشير أحمد قد كش

شَف منك عن ضيغم ليث غابِ

The loss of Marshal Ahmad has indeed revealed

in you a mighty lion, a lion of the forest,

حيث فارقت منه كهف اِعتصامٍ

كنت منه محلّ بيض العقابِ

when you parted from him, your protective refuge,

with whom you had the sheltered place of an eagle's eggs.

فَتماسكت ثابتَ الجأشِ حتّى

بان شمس اليقين قشع السحابِ

You held firm, steadfast of heart, until

the sun of certainty appeared, clearing the clouds.

وَكَذا عند فقد ثاني المشيري

نِ صررت للحزم ناباً بنابِ

Likewise, at the loss of the second of the two marshals,

you clenched fang against fang in resolve.

فَفريت الخطبينِ حينَ اِدلهمّا

باِغتراب ماضٍ مضاء الشهابِ

You cut through both calamities when they darkened,

with a piercing detachment, keen as a shooting star.

أَنت أنت والرأي رأيك والخط

ب يسيرٌ على ذوي الألبابِ

You are yourself; the judgment is yours, and calamity

is slight to those endowed with understanding.

فقد شخص أبرّ كفأيه قبر

لك منه عنه تسلّي مثابِ

The loss of a most dutiful person to the grave [wording partly unclear]

brings you, for his loss, the consolation of reward.

غيرَ أنّ الحنان والعطف والرأ

فَةَ وَالألف باعثات اِحتزابِ

Yet tenderness, affection, compassion,

and attachment stir up sorrow.

وَبِنا رغبة برأيك عن هم

مٍ قضت باِرتجال هذا الخطابِ

Our wish to spare your judgment cares

prompted this impromptu address:

عرض بعض الّذي لديه عليه

كي ليكفي الأعمال في الإنتخابِ

presenting him with some of what he already possesses,

to spare him the effort of selection.

غير بدعٍ في الموتِ مَن كان حيّاً

فَعَلام إنكار غير العجابِ

There is nothing novel in the death of one who lived;

why protest at what is no wonder?

لا ولا يستردّ بالحزن ميتٌ

فإلام تطاول الإكتئابِ

No, sorrow will never bring back the dead;

why prolong despondency?

لا ولا المرءُ أوحدٌ في مصابٍ

فَالتأسّي مآل كلّ مصابِ

No one is alone in affliction;

finding consolation is every sufferer's eventual recourse.

إنّما هذهِ الحياة متاعٌ

بِعوارٍ مردودة باِغتصابِ

This life is only a possession

on loan, to be reclaimed by force.

ربقُ الموتِ ما تراخَت أواخ

قد أحاطت من الورى بالرقابِ

Death's nooses are tethers that have never slackened;

they have encircled the necks of humankind.

إنّ في الإبتلاءِ هدي قلوبٍ

قَد أضلّت بفتنة الأسبابِ

In affliction there is guidance for hearts

led astray by the allure of worldly means,

راكنات بالاعتيادِ إِلَيها

في اِجتلابٍ لِنَفعها واِجتنابِ

habitually relying upon them

to gain benefit and ward off harm.

فَهي تدعو الإله مهما دَعته

لِهواها من خلف ألفي حجابِ

Whenever they call upon God, they call

for their own desires, from behind two thousand veils.

حُجبٌ قبضها يثير اِضطراراً

باعثاً لإنابة الأوّابِ

Veils whose withdrawal stirs helpless need,

prompting the penitent's return.

إنّ من لا يصابُ في الأهل والما

ل مُملّى له بدار الخرابِ

Whoever suffers no affliction in family or wealth

is merely granted respite in the abode of ruin.

سنّة اللّه في الّذين اِصطفاهم

مسّهم بالبلاء من أغيابِ

God's way with those He has chosen

is to touch them with afflictions from the unseen,

كَي يروا خاشعين داعين لل

هِ بحالِ الإرغاب والإرهابِ

that they may be seen humble, calling upon God,

in a state of yearning and fear.

لن ينال الموفّق البرّ إلّا

بعد إِنفاق منفسٍ مستطابِ

The rightly guided will not attain righteousness until

he has spent something precious and cherished.

وأشدّ السماح أن تسمحَ النف

س بفقدِ نتيجة الأصلابِ

The hardest generosity is for the soul to yield

to the loss of the offspring of one's loins.

ذاكَ أمرٌ ليست تطيب به

نفس لغير المهيمن الوهّابِ

That is something no soul willingly accepts

for anyone but the All-Watchful, the Bestower.

صابرٌ فيه ذو اليقينِ وذو العق

لِ فذا عن رِضا وذا عن غلابِ

Both the man of certainty and the man of reason endure it:

the former from acceptance, the latter through struggle.

وَقبيحٌ بموقنٍ أنَّ بلوا

هُ من اللّه أن يرى ذا اِضطرابِ

It ill becomes one certain that his trial

is from God to be seen distraught.

مَن رأى اللّه فاعلاً مستريحٌ

آمنٌ قلبه من الإنقلابِ

Whoever sees God as the doer is at peace,

his heart secure against upheaval.

إنّما يأسَفُ اللبيبُ لخطبٍ

ناله من سلوكِ غير الصوابِ

The wise man grieves only for a calamity

that befell him through straying from the right path.

وَسياجُ التوحيدِ قَد يوهمُ التك

ليف فيه خرقاً من الإكتسابِ

The fence of divine oneness: moral obligation may suggest

a breach within it through the acquisition of deeds.

وَلِهذا يدعى ظلوماً جهولاً

حاملٌ لأمانة الآدابِ

For this, he is called unjust and ignorant:

the bearer of the trust of proper conduct.

أيّها السيّد الوزير الّذي قد

خصّه اللّه بالسجايا العذابِ

O noble lord and minister, whom

God has singled out for gracious qualities,

وَأَتاه محاسِن الخَلق والخُل

ق وخصل العلى وفصل الخطابِ

and given beauty of form and

character, lofty virtues, and decisive speech,

واِصطفاه وزيرَ خيرِ مليك

صادقِ الفعلِ والمقال الصوابِ

and chosen as minister to the best of kings,

true in deeds and sound in speech.

جرّرت تونس بهِ ذيلَ فخرٍ

بَينَ سبع أقالم وقبابِ

Through him Tunis trails the hem of pride

among the seven climes and domes.

إِنّ في بعض ما علمت وما أو

تيت بعثاً على اِغتنام الثوابِ

In some of what you know and have been given

there is a spur to seize the reward.

أَيراكَ الإله تَرفل في نع

مائه ساخطا لمسّ اِرتيابِ

Should God see you trailing your robes amid His

blessings, yet resentful at a touch of doubt?

إِنّ عين الزمان قد عجبت من

ك فردّت تبّاً لها بنصابِ

The eye of time marveled at

you, then answered—perdition upon it!—with affliction.

وَفدى اللّه مجدَك المعتلي من

ها فداء العيون بالأهدابِ

God ransomed your exalted glory from

it, as eyes are ransomed with eyelashes.

بضعةٌ منك عجّلت لجنان ال

خلدِ قبل اِقتبال سنّ الشبابِ

A part of you was sent ahead to the gardens of

eternity, before reaching the prime of youth,

لِترى ذاكراً لأخراك في دن

ياك ذكرى منازل الأحبابِ

that you might remember your hereafter in this

world, as one recalls the dwellings of loved ones,

وَتُرى عامراً لداريك بالسع

يِ الجميلِ في النفس والأعقابِ

and be seen building both your abodes through

good endeavors for yourself and your descendants.

درّةٌ قاربت يدا جوهريّ

لمسها فاِنزوت بضمّ الحجابِ

A pearl that a jeweler's two hands came close

to touching withdrew behind the closing veil.

فرطٌ خارها لك اللّه ذخراً

فهيَ نعم زلفى لحسن المآبِ

A forerunner whom God chose as your treasure:

a blessed means of nearness toward a good return.

وهبت مرّة إليك متاعاً

ثمّ أُخرى في صورة الإستلابِ

She was given to you once as a joy,

then again in the guise of being taken away.

فهي في الحالتين منكَ بمرصا

دٍ من الإتّحاد والإقترابِ

In either state she keeps a watch for you,

in union and nearness.

وَإذا حُقّت الحقائقُ قلنا

أَجلٌ سابق لها في الكتابِ

When the truths are established, we say:

her appointed term was already written in the Book.

نُقلت من أبٍ رحيمٍ لربٍّ

أرحم الراحمين مرمى الطلابِ

She was moved from a merciful father to a Lord,

the Most Merciful of the merciful, the goal of all seeking.

عِندَ من لا ترى لها من سواه

نعمة منذُ أنشئت من ترابِ

With Him, from whom alone she has received

every blessing since she was created from dust.

إنّما جِسمها ثيابٌ نَضتها

لَم تُمتّع بطولِ لبس الثيابِ

Her body was only clothing she cast off;

she was not granted long enjoyment of wearing it.

خَلعتهُ ولم يدنّس ولم تع

لَق بِهِ نَفسها لفرط اِصطحابِ

She took it off unstained, nor had

her soul grown attached to it through long companionship.

غايةُ الموتِ قَطعها عن نعيمٍ

هيّنٍ في نعيمِ ذاك الجنابِ

Death did no more than sever her from a pleasure

trifling beside the bliss of that Presence.

وَلو اِنّ الفداء فيها تأتّى

فُديت بالنفوسِ لا بالرغابِ

Had it been possible to ransom her,

she would have been ransomed with lives, not riches.

وَلو اِنّ الّذي تسامى إليها

غير حكمٍ من قادرٍ غلّابِ

Had what reached up to her been

anything but the decree of an Almighty, Overpowering One,

كان دونَ الخطورِ حولَ حماها

عودُ عصرِ الصبا وشيب الغرابِ

sooner than a thought could stray near her sanctuary,

youth would return, and the raven grow gray.

كُن بِها اليومَ صابراً ومعزّى

وَمُهنّا بها ليوم الحسابِ

Be patient today in her loss, and consoled,

and congratulated on her for the Day of Reckoning.

واِحتَسِبها لدى حفيظٍ يوفّي الص

صابرين أجراً بغير حسابِ

Count her with the Guardian, who pays the patient

their reward without measure.

واِرتقب من فواتها خلفاً يأ

تيكَ من فيض فاتحٍ وهّابِ

Expect, for her loss, a replacement that comes

to you from the bounty of the Opener, the Bestower.

وَتلطّف لِبَعلها ببرورٍ

فَهو فيها أحرى معزّى مصابِ

Show gentle kindness to her husband,

for in her loss he most deserves a mourner's consolation.

وَبقيت الوسطى لشملٍ نظيمٍ

في سلوك البقا على الأحقابِ

May you remain the central jewel of a well-strung gathering,

on the threads of enduring life through the ages,

بينَ أبنائك الكرام وأهلي

ك ومن ضمّه حمى الإنتسابِ

among your noble sons and your family,

and all whom the shelter of kinship embraces,

فائقاً نظمكم نظامَ الثريّا

في مَزيدٍ وألفةٍ واِقترابِ

your company surpassing the arrangement of the Pleiades,

in increase, affection, and nearness.