هذي الربوع وما بها من منزل — Mufti Fathallah

هَذي الرّبوعُ وَما بِها مِن مَنزلِ

فَاِذكُرْ عُهودكَ في الزَّمانِ الأوّلِ

These are the abodes, yet not a dwelling stands within them.

So recall your bygone days in former times:

أَيّامَ قَصفِكَ بِالصّبابَةِ والصِّبا

إِبّانَ وَجدِك بِالجَمالِ المُعتَلي

the days of your revelry in ardent love and youth,

the season of your passion for exalted beauty.

إِذ كُنتَ ريعانَ الشّبابِ وَشَرخَه

يُسقى المَحاسِنَ وَهيَ أَعذَبُ مَنهَلِ

When you were in youth's first bloom and prime,

given beauties to drink—the sweetest spring;

إِذ كُنتَ تَرتَعُ في المِهادِ مَعَ المَها

سَكرانَ مِن خَمرِ الغَرامِ المُذهِلِ

when you reveled on the couch among the oryxes,

intoxicated by the wine of bewildering love;

مُتَعلّقاً غَيداءَ بِنتِ مَحاسِنٍ

تَدَعُ الشّموسَ كَواسِفاً لا تَنجَلي

attached to a graceful woman, daughter of charms,

who leaves the suns eclipsed, never to emerge.

حَوراء يَنسجُ لَحظها سِحرَ الهَوى

فَلَه العُقولُ تَقولُ ما شِئتَ اِفعَلِ

Dark-eyed, her glance weaves the spell of love;

so minds say to it, 'Do whatever you wish.'

غَزّالةٌ مِن سِحرِهِ ثَوبَ الضّنى

تَكسو بِهِ جِسمَ المُولَّعِ وَالخَلي

A spinner, she fashions from its magic a robe of wasting,

with which she clothes the enamored and the heart-free.

حاكَتهُ مِن غَمزاتِها لِمُتيَّمٍ

قَد صَيّرَتهُ هائِماً لَم يعقلِ

She wove it from her winks for one enslaved by love,

whom she made distraught, bereft of reason.

إِنسانُهُ وَهوَ الضّعيفُ فَإِنَّه

يَقوى لِقَتلِ الضّيغَمِ المُستَبسِلِ

Its pupil, though feeble, is nevertheless

strong enough to kill the fiercely valiant lion.

أَهدابُها تَبدو السّهامَ وَلَحظُها

سَيفٌ يَذوبُ لدَيهِ أَمضى صَيْقلِ

Her lashes look like arrows, and her glance

is a sword before which the sharpest polished blade melts.

تَحمي بِه وَردَ الخُدودِ وَماءَها

أَحْصِنْ بِوَردٍ تَحتَ ظِلّ المِنْصَلِ

With it she guards the roses of her cheeks and their moisture.

How well fortified is a rose beneath the blade's shade!

وَلَقَد سَرى في وَجهِها ماءُ الحَيا

وَالحسنِ فَاِمتزَجَ العقارُ بِسلسَلِ

Indeed, the water of modesty flowed across her face,

and of beauty, so wine mingled with cool, limpid water.

فَبَدا بِهِ وَردٌ وَنِسرينٌ هُما

كُلُّ المَحاسِنِ في المُحيَّا الأَجمَلِ

There appeared a rose and a white wild rose—the two

are all the charms within the loveliest face.

وَبَدا اِنشِقاقُ البَدرِ لَمّا أَسبَلَت

سود السَوالِفِ مِثلَ لَيلٍ ألْيَلِ

The full moon appeared split when she let fall

her black side-locks, like a deeply dark night.

خَتَمَ الجمالُ ختامَهُ في خَدِّها

فَخِتامُه مِسْكٌ وَفي هَذا فَلِ

Beauty set its seal upon her cheek;

its seal is musk; in this, then [vie].

لَمياءُ يَشرَبُ مِن سُلافِ رُضابِها

دُرٌّ وَياقوتٌ هُما أَغلى الحلي

Dark-lipped—from her saliva's pure nectar drink

pearls and rubies, the costliest adornments.

تَفتَرُّ ثَغراً عَنهُما فَإِذا أَرى

بَرقاً مِنَ الشّفقِ البهيِّ يَلوحُ لي

She parts her mouth to reveal them, and suddenly I see

lightning flashing from the radiant twilight before me.

هَيفاءُ ناعِمَةٌ بِجِسمٍ مُترَفِ

يُدميهِ منْ مِثلي أَقلُّ تخيُّلِ

Slender-waisted and soft, with a pampered body

that the slightest imagining by one like me makes bleed.

خَوْدٌ رَداحٌ غادَةٌ رُعبولَةٌ

تَختَالُ في ثَوبِ الدّلالِ المسبِلِ

A youthful beauty, full-hipped, delicate, soft and fair,

she struts in the trailing robe of coquetry.

تَهتَزُّ عِطفاً وَالقناةُ قَوامُها

فَالاِعتِدالُ لِمَيلِها دَوماً يَلي

Her flank sways; her stature is a spear-shaft,

so uprightness always follows her bending.

عَلِقتُها روداً دَقيقٌ إِطلُها

قَد قَلَّ طَوْداً مِثلُهُ لَم يحملِ

I loved her, gentle, with a slender waist

that bore a mountain whose like had never been borne.

يَسري بِها ماءُ الشّبيبَةِ وَالبَها

جَرْيَ المُدامَةِ في مَجاري المِفْصَلِ

Youth's sap and radiance flow through her

as wine flows through the channels of the joints.

طارَحتُها بِحَديثِ وَجدي هائِماً

مِن كلِّ مُتّصِلِ الهَوى وَمسلسلِ

Distraught, I exchanged tales of my passion with her,

from every unbroken, chain-linked account of love.

وَسَأَلتُها بِجَمالِها وَصَبابَتي

رَفعَ التجَنّي وَالسّماعِ لعُذَّلي

I implored her, by her beauty and my yearning,

to cease her unjust reproaches and listening to my censurers.

وَطَلَبتُ مِنها أَن تزوّلَ لَوعَتي

وَلَهيبَ أَحشائي وَقلتُ لَها صِلي

And I asked her to dispel my anguish

and the blaze in my entrails, saying to her, 'Grant me union.'

إِنّي اِمرُؤٌ مِن أَهلِ مَجدٍ أَسَّسوا

بُنيانَهُ فَوقَ السِّماكِ الأَعزَلِ

I am a man of a people of glory, who founded

its edifice above al-Simak al-Aʿzal.

مِن أَهلِ عِزٍّ في الأَنامِ مُوطَّدٍ

مِن أَهلِ أَصلٍ في الأَنامِ مفضَّلِ

Of people whose might stands firmly among mankind,

of people whose lineage is distinguished among mankind,

وَعَليِّ قَدرٍ ما العُلى إِلا لَهُ

إِذ لَم تَكُ العَلياءُ إِلّا في عَلي

and lofty in rank—high honors belong to him alone,

since sublimity is found only in Ali.

سامي الذُّرى عالي الجنابِ قَدِ اِبتَنى

فَوقَ السّهى لِلمَجدِ أَرفعَ منزلِ

Lofty of summit, exalted in station, he has built

glory's highest dwelling above al-Suha.

وَقَدِ اِمتَطى العَلياءَ وَهيَ يَقودُها

شَرفُ السّيادَةِ بِالفَخارِ الأَكمَلِ

He has mounted sublimity, while it is led

by the honor of lordship with consummate glory.

مَلكَ المَعالي بِالعَوالي وَالفَتى

يَجني المَعالي بِالقَنا وَالقَسطَلِ

He won high honors with tall lances, and the gallant man

reaps high honors with spears and battle-dust.

أَسَدُ الشَّرى أَسيافُهُ أَظفارُهُ

وَرِماحُهُ أَنيابُهُ إِنْ يحملِ

A lion of al-Shara: his swords are his claws,

and his spears his fangs whenever he charges.

ما قُلِّمَت أَظفارُهُ لَكِنّها

فُلَّتْ بِفَلقِ الأُسْدِ لمّا تَعتَلي

His claws have not been clipped, but

blunted by cleaving lions when they rise aloft.

يَسطو هِزَبْراً تَعتَليهِ وَسامَةٌ

يَعدو عَلى طِرفٍ أَغرَّ محجَّلِ

He pounces like a lion, crowned with handsome grace,

racing upon a white-blazed, white-stockinged steed.

فَإِذا عَدا فَوقَ الجَوادِ وَشَتمِهِ

لم تَدْرِهِ أَبِمُدبرٍ أَم مُقبلِ

When he races upon the steed—and his reviling [wording unclear]—

you cannot tell whether he is retreating or approaching.

يَعلوهُ نورُ مَهابَةٍ وَوجاهَةٍ

فَتَظنُّهُ الأَعداءُ أَعظَمَ جَحفَلِ

A light of awe and dignity shines above him,

so his enemies think him the mightiest army.

كَم جالَ في مِضمارِ حَربٍ جائِلاً

أَمبارِز صَعب اللّقا وَالمَقتلِ

How often he roamed the arena of war, circling:

'Is there a champion formidable to meet and to slay?'

فَيُجيبهُ داني المَنيّةِ ماشِياً

مَشيَ الشّياهِ لِذَبحِها بِالأَرجُلِ

Then one near death answers him, walking

as sheep walk on their legs to slaughter.

فَبِلَمحَةٍ يَبدو الصّريعُ عَلى الثّرى

وَوَليمَةٍ قَد هُيِّئَت لِلمَأكَلِ

In an instant, the fallen man appears upon the dust,

and a feast has been prepared for eating.

تُدعى إِلَيها الطّيرُ مِن كَبِدِ السّما

يُفنينها أَكلاً بِدونِ تَمَهُّلِ

Birds are summoned to it from the heart of the sky;

they devour it utterly, without delay.

بَحرُ النّدى سَحُّ العَطايا رِفدُهُ

عَن مِثلِ مَعنٍ مثله لَم ينقلِ

A sea of generosity, pouring gifts—his bounty

has no equal reported even of one like Maʿn.

يُقري الضّيوفَ فَشِمْت نيران الوَرى

مِن نارِهِ جُزءاً بِعَينِ تَأمُّلِ

He feasts his guests; I beheld mankind's fires

as but a portion of his fire, with a pondering eye.

فَبِلادُهُ كانَت بِلا جَبلٍ لَها

وَالآنَ قَد صارَت بِذاتِ الأجبلِ

His land once had no mountain,

but now it has become a land of mountains.

تِلكَ الجِبالُ مِنَ الرَّمادِ رَمادِهِ

قَد كُوِّنَت وَلِغَيرهِ لَم تحصلِ

Those mountains of ashes—his own ashes—

have been formed; no one else has had them.

لا عَيبَ فيه غَيرَ أَنَّ نَوالَهُ

بَينَ الكِرامِ وَسيفُهُ في الأرذلِ

He has no fault, save that his bounty is

among the noble, and his sword among the base.

خِدنُ الشّهامَةِ صِنْوُ كلِّ مُروءَةٍ

عَينُ الفُتوّةِ روحُ كلّ تَجمّلِ

Companion of valor, twin to every noble virtue,

the essence of chivalry, the soul of every grace.

عَفُّ الإِزارِ بحلّةِ التَّقوى اِكتَسى

بِمَحاسِنِ الأَخلاقِ خيرُ مُسربَلِ

Chaste beneath his loincloth, he has donned piety's robe,

the finest man clothed in noble character.

في حُسنِ رَأيٍ لا يَضلُّ وكَيفَما

قَد مالَ مالَ إِلى السّدادِ الأَكمَلِ

With sound judgment he never errs, and however

he inclines, he inclines toward perfect rectitude.

في حُسنِ تَدبيرٍ بِفِكرٍ ثاقِبٍ

يَضَعُ الأمورَ عَلى الصّوابِ الأَفضَلِ

With fine management and penetrating thought,

he sets affairs upon the best and soundest course.

في حِذقِ فَهمٍ كَم أَلَمَّ بِغائِبٍ

لا فَرقَ فيه لواضحٍ عن مُشكلِ

With keen understanding, how often he grasps what is hidden:

to him the clear and the obscure are no different.

قَد نالَ حِلماً فاقَ فيهِ أَحنفاً

وَتَمامُهُ في أَنَّهُ لَم يجهلِ

He attained forbearance surpassing Ahnaf's,

and its perfection lies in his never acting foolishly.

وَحَميدِ صيتٍ في الأَنامِ كَعَنبَرٍ

تَحيا النُّفوسُ بِنشرهِ المُتَسلسِلِ

And praiseworthy renown among mankind, like ambergris,

whose ever-flowing fragrance revives souls.

قَد سادَ في الآفاقِ تَحمِلُهُ الصَّبا

وَتُذيقُه عَرفاً كَعَرفِ المندلِ

It reigns across the horizons, borne by the east wind,

which gives a taste of it, fragrant as sandalwood.

وَبَديعِ لَفظٍ كَالجَواهِرِ مُكتَسٍ

سحرَ البَيانِ أَجلَّ ثَوبٍ مسدَلِ

And wondrous speech, like jewels, clothed in

the magic of eloquence, the noblest flowing robe.

وَمَضاءُ عَزمٍ كلّ عَضبٍ دونهُ

كَالبَرقِ إِسراعاً إِذا لَم يعجلِ

And keen resolve, surpassing every sharp blade,

swift as lightning even when he is unhurried.

للَّهِ رَبّي دَرُّه مِن كامِلٍ

جَمَعَ الكَمالَ بمجملٍ ومفصَّلِ

How excellent he is, by God my Lord—a perfect man,

who gathers perfection in sum and in detail.

إِنّي إِلَيهِ مُرسَلٌ بِخَريدَةٍ

حَسناءَ بِكرٍ ذاتِ طَرفٍ أَشكَلِ

I am sent to him with a secluded maiden,

beautiful and virginal, with a red-tinged gaze.

بِنت الفَصاحَةِ وَالبلاغَةِ تَكتَسي

حُلَلَ البَيانِ مِنَ البَديعِ الأَجمَلِ

Daughter of fluency and eloquence, she clothes herself

in expression's robes, of the loveliest rhetorical art.

تَمشي الهُوَينا وَالحَياءُ خِباؤُها

لَم تُبدِ غَيرَ تَبسّمٍ وَتكحّلِ

She walks gently, modesty her tent,

showing nothing but a smile and kohl-adorned eyes.

أَركَبتها نِضْوَ القَريضِ مذَلّلاً

يَحدوهُ كلّ مُعوّذٍ وَمبسملِ

I mounted her on poetry's docile, travel-worn camel,

driven onward by everyone invoking protection and God's name.

تَسعى إِلَيهِ وَالقَبولُ رَجاؤُها

يا خَيبَةَ المَسعى إِذا لم تُقبَلِ

She hastens to him, acceptance her hope;

oh, the quest's failure if she is not accepted!

حاشاهُ مِن عَدَمِ القَبولِ وَمثله

يَهَبُ القَبولَ ولو لغير مؤمِّلِ

Far be rejection from him; a man like him

grants acceptance even to one who does not hope for it.

لا زالَ رَحبُ رِحابِهِ لِلمُرتَجي

كَهفاً وَلِلّاجينَ أَحصنَ معقلِ

May the breadth of his courts remain for the hopeful

a refuge, and for those seeking shelter the strongest fortress.

وَأَدامَهُ رَبّي بِمجدٍ راقياً

أَوجَ المَعالي عَلى السّماكِ الأعزلِ

And may my Lord preserve him, rising in glory

to honor's summit above al-Simak al-Aʿzal,

ما ماسَ غُصنٌ بِالنّسيمِ إِذا سَرى

ما طابَ في رَوضٍ غناءُ البُلبلِ

as long as a bough sways when the breeze passes,

as long as the nightingale's song delights a garden,

ما هامَ ذو وَجدٍ فَقيلَ لَه اِنتَبِه

هَذي الرّبوعُ وَما بِها مِن مَنزِلِ

as long as a lover wanders love-struck and is told, 'Awake!'

These are the abodes, yet not a dwelling stands within them.