بغير العلا والفخر لا يحسن الجد — Mufti Fathallah

بِغَيرِ العُلا وَالفَخرِ لا يَحسُنُ الجدُّ

وَلَيسَ بِغَيرِ الفَضلِ يُكتسَبُ المجدُ

Without eminence and honor, striving is not commendable.

And glory is not acquired without merit.

وَما المَرءُ إِلّا بِالمُروءَةِ فَخرُه

وَما الفَخرُ إِلّا العَقلُ وَالذَوقُ وَالرِّفدُ

And a man's honor lies only in noble character;

and honor is nothing but reason, discernment, and generosity.

فَدونَكَ قَصْبُ السَّبقِ في حَلبةِ العُلى

وَدونَكَ خَيل الفَضلِ لِلسبقِ إِذ تَعدو

So claim the victor's reed in the racecourse of eminence,

and take the steeds of merit as they gallop for victory.

وَشاهِدْ نُجومَ العِزِّ فَوقَ سَمائِهِ

فَمُدَّ لَها هاماً إِلى العِزِّ تمتدُّ

And behold the stars of glory above its sky;

then raise toward them heads that reach for glory.

وَكُنْ بازِياً يَصطادُ كُلَّ فَضيلَةٍ

وَكُنْ رَجُلاً تَخشاهُ مِن خَوفِها الأُسْدُ

And be a hawk that hunts every virtue,

and be a man whom lions shrink from in fear.

وَكُن سَيِّداً بِالحَزمِ باتِرُ عَزمِهِ

يقدُّ بِهِ هامَ الصخورِ فَتَنقدُّ

And be a master through firmness, whose resolve is a cutting blade;

with it he cleaves the heads of rocks, and they split apart.

وَلا تَخشَ مِن رَيبِ الزَّمانِ وَصَدْعهِ

فما الحُرُّ ذا جُبنٍ إذِ الرّيْب يشتدُّ

And do not fear time's misfortunes and its sundering,

for a freeborn man is no coward when adversity grows fierce.

فَإِنّي اِمرُؤٌ لا يختشي قَهرَ دَهرِهِ

فَإِن كنتُ أَخشاه فإنّي اِمرؤٌ وَغْدُ

For I am a man who does not fear the oppression of his time;

for if I feared it, I would be a base fellow.

رَكِبت إِلى العَليا عَلى غارِبِ السُّها

وَخُضتُ بِحاراً في النّوى ما لها حَدُّ

I rode toward the heights upon al-Suha's withers,

and in separation I crossed seas without limit.

أَميل إِلى صَيدِ الكَمالِ وَكَسبِهِ

وَلَم تَكُ تُشجيني المَعاطِفُ وَالقَدُّ

I incline toward hunting perfection and winning it,

and curving forms and graceful stature never stirred my yearning.

وَلَستُ بِمَيّالٍ إِلى حُسنِ وَجنَةٍ

وَما لَذّ لي مِنها الوُرودُ وَلا الوردُ

Nor am I drawn to the beauty of a cheek,

and neither approaching it nor its roses delighted me.

وما لي اِلتِفاتٌ نَحوَ سَلمى وَعَبلَةٍ

وَما مَلَكت قَلبي سُعادٌ ولا دَعدُ

And I pay no heed to Salma and Abla,

and neither Suad nor Da'd has possessed my heart.

وَلا هَزَّني وَجداً مِنَ الغِيدِ غادَةٌ

يَزينها عِقدٌ كَما زانَها نَهدُ

Nor has a graceful maiden among the supple beauties stirred me to passion,

whom a necklace adorns as her breast has adorned her.

فَقَد سُدْتَ أَهلَ المَجدِ مِن قَبلِ مَجدِهم

وَمَجدي عَلى منوالِهِ جَلّ أَن يَسدوا

For you surpassed the men of glory before they gained their glory;

and my glory is too exalted for them to weave upon its loom.

وَإِنّي لَو صِرتُ المَليكَ على الورى

فَإِنّيَ طولَ الدَّهرِ لِلكزبري عبدُ

And even if I became king over all mankind,

I would still be al-Kuzbari's slave for all time.

إِمامٌ حَوى مِن كلِّ وَصفٍ حَميدَهُ

فَأَثنى عَلى أَخلاقِهِ المدحُ والحمْدُ

An imam who embodies what is praiseworthy in every quality,

so praise and acclaim extolled his character.

هُمامٌ إِذا ما لاحَ في البَحثِ جايلاً

فَلَيسَ سِواه عِندَ مَيدانِهِ يعدو

A champion who, whenever he appears ranging through inquiry,

no one but he races in his arena.

ذَكِيٌّ يَفكُّ المشكلاتِ بِفِطنَةٍ

وذِهنٌ له من نور خالِقِهِ وَقْدُ

An intelligent man who untangles difficulties with insight,

and a mind whose flame comes from its Creator's light.

هُوَ البدرُ وَالأَرواح مَشرِقُ نورهِ

هو الشَّمسُ لا زالَت يُلازِمُها السّعدُ

He is the full moon, and souls are where his light dawns;

he is the sun: may good fortune never cease to attend it.

هوَ اللُّؤلُؤُ المَكنونُ وَالدُرّةُ الّتي

تَجِلُّ اِرتِفاعاً أَن يَكونَ لَها نِدُّ

He is the hidden pearl and the precious pearl that

is too lofty in rank to have an equal.

تَفرَّدَ بِالأَفضالِ وَالفَضلِ مِثلَما

تَفَرَّدَ فيهِ المَجدُ وَاللّطفُ وَالزّهدُ

He is unmatched in benefactions and excellence, just as

glory, gentleness, and asceticism are unmatched in him.

يُقابِلُ مَن عاداهُ بِاللّطفِ وَالنّدى

وَحاشاهُ يَجزي الوَغْدَ ما فعل الوغدُ

He meets whoever is hostile to him with gentleness and generosity,

and far be it from him to repay a scoundrel with what the scoundrel did.

فَمِن نَفسِهِ لِلنّاسِ تَبدو تِهامَةٌ

وَمِن قَدرِهِ السامي لَقَد ظَهَرَ نجدُ

So from his soul, Tihama appears to people,

and from his lofty rank, Najd has indeed appeared.

وَعَن ثَغرِهِ الضحّاكِ نَروي جَواهِراً

تَودُّ نُحورُ الحُورِ لَو أَنّها عِقدُ

And from his smiling mouth we recount jewels,

which the necks of houris wish were a necklace.

فَقُل لِلَّذي قَد رامَ حَصرَ خِصالِهِ

تَكَلَّفتَ أَمراً فيهِ لا يَنفَعُ الجَدُّ

So tell whoever has sought to encompass his virtues:

You have undertaken a task in which good fortune is no help.

فَأَوصافُه هَيهاتَ علمُك كُنهَها

أَتُدركُ كُنْهاً لَيسَ يَضبِطُهُ الحدُّ

For his qualities—how far you are from knowing their essence!

Can you grasp an essence that no limit can contain?

فَلَستَ بِمُحْصٍ عُشرَ مِعشارِ عُشرِها

وَهَل أَنتَ مُحصٍ ما اِنتَهى دونَهُ العَدُّ

So you cannot count a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of them;

and can you count what counting falls short of?

فَإِن رُمتَ نَيلَ السَّعدِ فَاِخدم نِعالَهُ

لِتَخدِمَك العُليا وَيَلزمَكَ السَّعدُ

So if you seek to attain good fortune, serve his sandals,

that the heights may serve you and good fortune stay with you.

فَيا أَيُّها المَولى الَّذي حازَ هِمَّةً

وَعَزماً كَسَيفٍ لَيسَ يُمسِكُهُ غِمدُ

So, O master who possesses high aspiration

and resolve like a sword no sheath can hold,

فَهاكَ وَقاكَ اللَّهُ كلَّ كَريهَةٍ

وَليدةَ فِكرٍ هاجَها نَحوَكَ القَصدُ

here, then, take—may God protect you from every ill—

a daughter of thought, whom purpose has stirred toward you.

تَأَمّلُ غَضَّ الطرفِ عَن لَمحِ عَيبِها

وَأَنتَ غَضيضُ الطّرفِ قَبلُ وَمِن بَعدُ

She hopes you will avert your gaze from glimpsing her flaw,

and your gaze is lowered, both before and after.

وَتَرجو قَبولاً مِنكَ فَضلاً وَمِنّةً

وَتَقبيلَ راحاتٍ بِهِ يُنعَشُ الكبدُ

And she hopes for acceptance from you, as grace and favor,

and to kiss palms, by which the liver is revived.

وَدُم في أَمانِ اللَّهِ ما هَبَّتِ الصَّبا

وَقامَ هَزارُ الرّوضِ في غُصنِهِ يَشدو

And remain in God's protection as long as the east wind blows,

and the garden's nightingale stands on its branch, singing.

وَحَيثُ اِبنُ فَتحِ اللَّهِ يَلتَذُّ مدحَكم

وَلَيسَ عَجيباً أَن يَلَذَّ لَهُ الشّهدُ

And since Ibn Fath Allah delights in praising you,

it is no wonder that honey tastes sweet to him.