ألا يا ذا الهمام الألمعي — Nicolaos al Sayegh

أَلا يا ذا الهُمام الأَلمَعيُّ

ويا هذا الإِمامُ اللوذعيُّ

Hark, O you high-minded, keen-witted man,

And O you discerning leader!

تَرفَّق بي لاني تُربُ ارضٍ

وهل يسمو الثَرَى وهو الدنيُّ

Be gentle with me, for I am dust of the earth;

And can dust soar, lowly as it is?

فمَن انا في الورى حتى تراني

وانتَ هُوَ الخطيرُ الأَريحيُّ

So who am I among humankind that you should look upon me,

While you are the eminent, magnanimous one?

فغيرُ اللَهِ ليسَ اخا وِدادٍ

هو المودودُ والخِلُّ الوفيُّ

For none but God is a brother in affection;

He is the beloved and the faithful friend.

فكُن مسترشداً بسَنَى هُداهُ

فمن لم يرتشد منهُ غويُّ

So seek guidance by the radiance of His guidance;

For whoever takes no guidance from Him is astray.

هو العالي على كل البرايا

سِواهُ فلا سنيَّ ولا سميُّ

He is exalted above all creatures;

Apart from Him, none is exalted or His equal.

وما القومُ السَراةُ سِوَى هَباءٍ

فهل من دُونِ بارينا سَريُّ

And the people's nobles are nothing but dust;

So is there any noble one besides our Maker?

لهُ الافضال عمَّت كلَّ قُطرٍ

لهُ المِنَحات والبِرُّ الحفيُّ

His bounties have encompassed every land;

His are the gifts and attentive benevolence.

لهُ الجودُ العميمُ بكل فَجٍّ

لهُ الإِنعامُ واللطفُ الخفيُّ

His is the all-embracing generosity in every mountain pass;

His are favors and hidden kindness.

تُطارِحُني القريضَ وانت اهلٌ

لهُ حقّاً وانتَ به حريُّ

You exchange verse with me, and you are worthy

Of it indeed, and well suited to it.

قريضٌ كالعُباب لهُ المعاني

كلجَّتهِ وساحلُهُ الرويُّ

A poem like a surging sea: its meanings

Are like its depths, and its shore is the rhyme-letter.

اتتني منكَ بِكرٌ مُستحَبٌ

لها غَيَدٌ وحُسنٌ زينبيُّ

A pleasing virgin maiden came to me from you;

She has supple grace and beauty like Zaynab's.

فأَهدتني سَلامك باحتِشامٍ

فتاةٌ زانَها الفِكرُ الوريُّ

So she brought me your greeting with modest reserve—

A maiden adorned by glowing thought.

رعاكَ اللَهُ فاذمُمني لأَنّي

فتىً من كُلِّ مَحمَدةٍ عريُّ

May God watch over you; then disparage me, for I am

A young man bare of every praiseworthy quality.

فانك في امتِداحي كالمُنادي

يَباباً فالجوابُ لهُ الدَوِيُّ

For, in praising me, you are like one calling

To a wasteland: the reply he gets is an echo.

فاني راهبٌ والذَمُّ يحلو

لمثلي وَهوَ لي ابداً حُلِيُّ

For I am a monk, and censure is sweet

To one like me, and it is forever my adornment.

انا كالآل لا يَغرُركَ آلي

لان الآل قاصدُهُ ظميُّ

I am like a mirage; let not my mirage deceive you,

For whoever seeks the mirage is thirsty.

وان الشَينَ ان امعنت فكراً

ضعيفٌ قد يبارزُهُ قويُّ

And ugliness, if you ponder deeply,

Is weak: a strong one may challenge it.

فلا تغترَّ في برقٍ جَهامٍ

فآمِلُهُ وشائمُهُ صديُّ

So do not be deceived by lightning from a rainless cloud,

For those who hope in it and watch it remain thirsty.

فماذا الطَلُّ إِمَّا قيل وبلٌ

وما الوَسميُّ ان قيلَ الوَليُّ

So what is drizzle, even if called a downpour?

And what is the season's first rain, if called the rain that follows?

وتَضأَلُ أَنجُمٌ ان ضاءَ بدرٌ

ويمحو الظُلمةَ الصُبحُ الضويُّ

And stars grow faint when a full moon shines,

And radiant dawn wipes away the darkness.

فما خَبَرٌ كخُبرٍ عن عِيانٍ

واينَ الوهمُ والحقُّ الجليُّ

For a report is not like knowledge from direct observation,

And how can illusion compare with manifest truth?

فكم من دِمنةٍ ادهت بسارٍ

وكانَ دَهاءَهُ العقل الغبيُّ

For many a ruined campsite has brought a night traveler to grief,

And his foolish mind was his undoing.

اذا ما لم يكن للمَرءِ فَهمٌ

ذكيٌّ ما لهُ فِعلٌ زكيُّ

If indeed a man lacks understanding

That is keen, he has no virtuous deed.

فأَشرَفُ ما يُرامُ لكل مَرءٍ

ذَكاءُ العقل والذِكرُ الذكيُّ

So the noblest thing sought for every man

Is keenness of mind and fragrant renown.

وافضلُ ما يُرَى في كل نوعٍ

هو الآدابُ والوجه الحييُّ

And the finest thing seen in every kind

Is good manners and a modest countenance.

وخيرُ حِلَى الأَنامِ بلا ارتِياءٍ

شِعارُ الفضلِ والعِرضُ النقيُّ

And humankind's finest adornments, without need for deliberation,

Are the emblem of virtue and unsullied honor.

واقبحُ ما يكونُ بذي غُرورٍ

شَنارُ الفعلِ والظَنُّ الرديُّ

And the ugliest thing in a conceited man

Is shameful conduct and base suspicion.

وعقلك ايها الشيخُ المفدَّى

عِصاميٌّ وفعلك عَبقَريُّ

And your mind, O cherished sheikh,

Is self-made, and your conduct is extraordinary.

فيا لمحمَّدٍ في اسمٍ وفعلٍ

فبينهما اشتِقاقٌ مَعنَويُّ

So how wondrous is Muhammad in name and deed!

For a derivation in meaning links the two.

علوتَ مَكانةً وسَمَوتَ قَدراً

وأُسُّ بِناءِ رِفعتكم عليُّ

You have risen in station and soared in worth,

And Ali is the foundation of your exaltation's edifice.