أرجى الوسائل طه أكرم الرسل — Omar Onsi

أَرجى الوَسائل طَهَ أَكرَم الرُسلِ

شَفيعنا مِن هَدانا أَوضَح السُبُلِ

Taha, noblest of messengers, is the most promising means of approach,

Our intercessor, who guided us along the clearest paths;

وَمَن هُوَ الرَحمَة العُظمى لذي أَلَمٍ

وَمَن هُوَ النعمة الكُبرى لذي أَملِ

And he is the greatest mercy for one in pain,

And he is the greatest blessing for one with hope;

وَمن هُوَ الغَوث وَالغَيث المُفيض نَدى

بنانه كُلّ هطّال وَمنهملِ

And he is succor and rain, pouring forth the dew

Of his fingertips in every heavy shower and downpour.

وَمَن إِذا ما تَوسَّلنا بِحُرمته

وَجاهِهِ زالَ بُؤس الكرب وَالوَجلِ

And he is the one: when we seek intercession through his sanctity

And his standing, the misery of anguish and dread vanishes.

أَدعوك يا مالك المُلك العَظيم بِهِ

دُعاء عَبد كَسير القَلب مُبتهلِ

O Master of mighty dominion, I invoke You through him,

With the prayer of a broken-hearted, beseeching servant,

بِأَن تُديم لَنا أَيّام دَولَتنا

بِكُلّ عزٍّ عَلى التأييد مُشتملِ

That You prolong for us the days of our state,

With every honor that embraces support;

وَتَمنَح السَعد وَالإِقبال ناظرنا

بِعَين رَحمَتِهِ في الحادث الجَللِ

And grant felicity and success to him who looks upon us

With the eye of his mercy in the grievous calamity.

فَهوَ الفُؤاد الَّذي عَمَّت مَراحمه

بِالحلم وَالحلمُ أَسنى حلية الرَجلِ

For he is Fuad—the heart—whose mercies embrace all,

With forbearance—and forbearance is man's brightest adornment.

جَلّى لَنا العَدل عَن أَحكام حكمته

ما كانَ مِن ريب هَذا الخَطب غَير جلي

Through the decrees of his wisdom, justice made clear to us

What had been obscure amid the uncertainties of this calamity.

أَقام كُلّ صِراط غَير مُعتدل

حَتّى اِستَقامَ فَأَضحى خَير مُعتدلِ

He set right every path that was not straight,

Till it grew straight, becoming the best of straight paths.

حازَ العِناية بِالفَتح المُبين إِلى

أن سَدَّ ما في بلاد الشام مِن خَللِ

He gained favor through manifest victory, until

He mended every breach in the lands of al-Sham.

حَتّى غَدا وَمَباني الحَزم تُنشده

أَصالة الرَأي صانَتني عَن الخَطلِ

Till the edifices of resolve came to recite to him:

“Soundness of judgment has kept me from error.”

شَهم شَمائله الإِحسان عَن كَرَم

وَطَبعهُ العَدل وَالإِنصاف في الخولِ

A noble-hearted man, whose traits are kindness born of generosity,

And whose nature is justice and fairness toward his servants.

ما قيس ما مَعن ما سَيف بن ذي يَزن

ما تبّع وَرِجال الأَعصر الأُولِ

What is Qays? What is Ma'n? What is Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan?

What are Tubba' and the men of the earliest ages?

يُرجى وَيُخشى فَيَعفو عَفو مُقتدر

مَنّاً وَيَمنح جود الوابل الهَطلِ

He inspires hope and fear, and pardons as one with power,

As a favor, and bestows the bounty of a pouring rainstorm.

أَحيا البِلاد كَما أَحيا العِباد عَلى

وفق المُراد سَديد القَول وَالعَملِ

He revived the lands as he revived their people, in

Accord with what was desired, sound in word and deed.

حَتّى غَدا وَلِسان الحال يَحمده

ملأَ الرُبوع وَمِلأَ السَهل وَالجَبَلِ

Till the tongue of circumstance came to praise him,

Filling the dwellings, and filling plain and mountain.

أمّلت مِنهُ يَقيناً أَن سَيَرحَمُني

فَبتّ وَالقَلب مِن كرب الهُموم خَلي

I hoped, certain that he would show me mercy,

So I passed the night, my heart free of the anguish of cares.

أَحسَنت ظَنّي بِمَرجوِّ السَماح فَلا

خابَت ظُنوني بِبرٍّ مِنهُ مُتَّصلِ

I trusted the one whose bounty is hoped for; never

Were my hopes disappointed, thanks to his unceasing kindness.

وَطالَما ذمَّني الواشون عَن حَسَد

وَاللَه أَعلَم بِالصافي مِن الزغلِ

And often the slanderers have maligned me out of envy;

And God knows best the pure from the dross.

هُم أَضمَروا ليَ كَيداً وَالمهيمن لا

تَخفى عَلَيهِ ضُروب المَكر وَالحِيَلِ

They harbored a plot against me; from the All-Watchful no

Kinds of cunning and trickery are concealed.

وَاللَه يَعلم أَنّي مِن زَخارفهم

مبرَّأٌ لَستُ بِالواني وَلا الوَكلِ

And God knows that of their fabrications I am

Free; I am neither remiss nor dependent on others.

حافَظت أَوطانهُم حَتّى غَدَت حَرَماً

أَمناً مِن الضدّ في حلِّ وَمُرتَحلِ

I guarded their homelands until they became a sanctuary,

Safe from the foe, whether settled or on the move.

وَباتَ كُلٌّ قَرير العَين في حَرس

وَقُمت أَطرد سرح النَوم عَن مُقلي

And all passed the night with eyes at peace, under guard,

While I stayed up, driving sleep's flock from my eyes.

وَإِنَّما سوء حَظّي ساء مجتهدي

فَما تَجرّعت غَير الصاب لا العَسَلِ

And only my ill fortune thwarted my endeavors,

So I drank nothing but bitter sap, not honey.

وَالدَهر مِن نُسخة المَقدور يَقرأ لي

ما كانَ في اللَوح مَخطوطاً مِن الأَزَلِ

And time reads to me from destiny's transcript

What was inscribed upon the Tablet from all eternity.

قَد طالَ سجني فَصَبري وَالهُموم مَعاً

تَخالفا بَين مَوصول وَمُنفَصلِ

My imprisonment has dragged on; my patience and my cares together

Have parted ways: cares unbroken, patience severed.

أَشكو عَسى تَنفغ الشَكوى فَيسعدني

حَظّي لَدى ذي المَعالي عُمدة الدولِ

I complain; may complaint help, and may I be favored

By my fortune before the man of high honors, the pillar of states.

مَولاي عَطفاً عَلى هَذا الرَقيق فَقَد

أَوهى اِصطِباريَ جهدُ الفَقر وَالعللِ

My lord, show compassion to this bondservant, for

The strain of poverty and illness has sapped my endurance.

كَم قَد مَنَنت عَلى عافٍ بِمَكرُمَةٍ

حَتّى غَدا وَهوَ مِن جَدوى يَدَيك مَلي

How often you have bestowed a noble gift upon a petitioner,

Till he grew wealthy from the bounty of your hands.

وَكَم عَطَفت عَلى مِثلي بِمرحمة

وَالحَظّ يَمنَع مِن إيصال برِّكَ لي

And how often you have shown mercy to one like me,

Yet fortune bars your kindness from reaching me.

فَاِنظُر لِحالي واِرحم فَقر عائِلة

تَحَمَّلت ضيق عَيش غَير مُحتمَلِ

So look upon my plight, and pity the poverty of a family

That has borne unbearably straitened living:

ثَلاث عَشرَة نَفساً بَين عاجزَةٍ

وَقاصرٍ ما لَهُ بَين الأَنام وَلي

Thirteen souls, some helpless,

And some underage, with no guardian among humankind.

حالٌ حَيائي مِن علياك يَمنَعني

مِن شَرحِها المسهبِ المفضي إِلى المللِ

A plight my modesty before your eminence keeps me

From explaining at length, to the point of weariness.

فَإِن مَنَنت بِإِطلاقي جزيت ثَناً

عَلَيهِ مِن قِبل المنّانِ لا قِبلي

So if you graciously grant my release, you will be rewarded with praise

For it by the Bestower of favors, not by me.

إِنّ الذي قَد حَباك الفَضل مِن يَده

أَعطاك كُلّ كَمال مِنهُ مُكتملِ

Indeed, He who bestowed favor on you from His hand

Has given you, from Himself, every excellence in its fullness.