عفا اللهُ عنكم ما لكم أَيُّها الرَّهطُ

قسطتمْ ومن قلب المحبِّ لكم قسْطُ

May God forgive you, O people!

You have wronged me, though my heart bore love for you.

شرطتمْ له حفظَ الودادِ وخُنْتُمُ

حنانيكمُ ما هكذا الوُدُّ والشَّرْطُ

You stipulated loyalty, yet betrayed me.

Your affection was not what loyalty and covenant dictate.

جعلتم فؤادَ المستهامِ بكم لكمْ

مَحَطاً فعنه ثقْلَ هَمِّكُمُ حُطُّوا

You made the smitten heart a receptacle for your troubles -

Unburden yourselves of your worries upon it!

إذا كنتمُ في القلبِ والدارُ قد نأَتْ

فسيّانِ مِنْ أَحبابهِ القربُ والشَّحْطُ

When you dwelt in the heart and home, the loved ones'

Distance and estrangement seemed wrong and separation, a sin.

ثوى هَمُّهُ لما ثَوَى الوجدُ عنده

مقيماً وشطَّ الصّبرُ في جيرةٍ شَطُّوا

His worries remained when passion remained with him,

Lingering, though patience on the verge of collapse.

وأَرَّقَهُ طيفٌ طَوَى نحه الدُّجَى

وقد كادَ جيبُ الليلِ بالصُّبحِ يَنْعَطُّ

A specter that veiled him with night's darkness

And almost burst open the bosom of night at dawn.

تشاغلتمُ عنه وشوقاً بودِّهِ

كأنّ رضاكم عن محبكمُ سُخْطُ

You ignored him, though passionate for your love,

As if being content with your lover were a sin!

جزعتُ غداةَ الجزْعِ لمّا رحلتمُ

وأَسْقطني من بينكمْ ذلكَ السِّقطُ

I despaired the morning after despairing, when you left,

and that abandonment cast me out from among you.

ملكتمْ فأنكرتمْ قديمَ مودَّتي

كأنْ لم يكن في البينِ معرفةٌ قَطُّ

You possessed, then denied, my longtime devotion -

As if no intimacy had ever existed between us!

فَدَتْ مهجتي مَنْ لا يُذَمُّ لمهجتي

إذا حاكَمتْهُ وهو في الحُكْمِ مُشْتطُّ

My soul ransoms those who do not disparage my soul,

When it contends with them, though they insist on wronging me.

يُريكَ ابتساماً عن شتيتِ مُقَبَّلٍ

كَأنَّ نظيمَ الدرِّ أَلّفَهُ السِّمْطُ

His smile hides the distraction of a tender kiss,

As if the author of such pearls were natural simplicity.

وما كنتُ أَدري قبل سطوةِ طرفهِ

بأَنَّ ضعيفاً فاتراً مثْلَهُ يَسْطو

Before the might of his glances assailed me,

I knew not one so weak and frail could be so mighty.

وهبْ أَنَّ بالقُرْطينِ منه مُعَلّقٌ

لذنبِ الهوى قلبي فَلمْ عُلِّقَ القُرْطُ

Were earrings hanging from his ears for the sin of passion,

My heart would hang for that sin, not the earrings.

وأَهيفَ للإشفاقِ من ضعفِ خصرهِ

محلُّ نطاقٍ للقلوبِ بهِ رَبْطُ

The waist that inspires pity by its delicate form

Bears a belt binding hearts, not clothes, around it.

على قُربهِ في الحالتين مُحَسّدٌ

من الثّغرِ والشّعْرِ الأَراكةُ والمشطُ

For his lips and hair, he is envied

By the cheeks' freshness and the comb's order.

بوجنتهِ نورُ المُدامةِ مُشْرِقٌ

ومقلته نَشْوَى وفي فيه إسْفَنْطُ

The light of wine radiates from his shining cheeks,

While joy plays on his mouth and white teeth gleam within.

تزينُ عِذاريه كتابةُ حُسنهِ

ومن خاله في وجنتيه لها نَقْطُ

The script of his beauty adorns his smooth cheeks,

And moles upon his cheeks serve as its diacritics.

فؤادكَ خالٍ يا خليلي فلا تَلُمْ

فؤاداً سباه الخالُ والخدُّ والخَطُّ

My heart, O intimate friend, is an empty page; do not blame

A heart whose void the mole, the cheek, and the line fill!

يلازمُ قلبي في الهوى القبضُ مثلما

يلازمُ كفَّ النّاصرِ الملكِ البَسْطُ

In passion, clutching holds my heart constantly,

As the grasping of the victorious king's hand holds might.

مليكٌ حوى الملكَ العقيمَ بضبطه

كريمٌ وما للمالِ في يدهِ ضَبْطُ

A sovereign who governs barren rule with his grip,

Noble, though no wealth fills his hands or is grasped.

ومولى سريرُ الملكِ حفَّ بشخصهِ

كما حفَّ بالإنسانِ من ناظرٍ وسْطُ

The lord of the royal court protected his person

As the pupil's center protects the human being's sight.

مليكٌ لنجمِ النُّجحِ من أُفْقِ عزِّهِ

سناً ولطيرِ السّعْدِ في وكرِهِ قَحْطُ

A sovereign whose star of success rose from the horizon of glory -

Fortune's bird nests only in his refuge in good times or in want.

إذا لُثمَتْ أيدي الملوكِ فعندَهُ

مدى الدَّهرِ إجلالاً له تَلْثمُ البُسطُ

When the hands of kings are kissed, then by his hands

The outstretching of eras pay him homage and kiss the palm.

لنومِ الرَّعايا وادعين سهادُهُ

إذا وادِعوا الأملاك في نومهم غَطُّوا

The slumber of subjects and their tranquil dreams -

When they fall asleep dreaming of hopes - is veiled by his vigilance.

أَكفُّ ملوكِ العصر لا وَكْفَ عندها

وكفُّ المليكِ النّاصرِ البحرُ لا الوقطُ

The palms of the era's greatest kings cannot compare,

For the palm of the victorious king is the sea, not a small pond!

عطايا نقودٌ لا نَسايا فكلُّها

تُعَجِّلُ لا وعدٌ هناك ولا قَسْطُ

His gifts are ready money, not promises - all of them -

He does not delay, promising later payment or installment.

أغرُّ لكفِّ الكفرِ كفٌّ ببأسهِ

كما لفقارِ الفَقرِ من جوده وَهْطُ

The ugliest poverty by his spending is beautiful,

Just as the emptiest want has meaning through his generosity.

أياديهِ غرٌّ وهيَ غيرُ مُغِبَة

وإحسانهُ غَمْرٌ وليس له غَمْطُ

His hands pour without tiring, and his favor is a flood

With no ebb - it knows nolimits or shores.

يحب ضجيجَ الشّاكرين إذا دَعَوا

ويهوى سؤال المعتفين إذا أطوا

He loves the clamor of those who thank, when they pray,

And desires the request of those confessing, when they petition.

ويَعْبَقُ عَرْفُ العُرفِ والقِسط عندهُ

ونَدُّ النّدَى لا البانُ والرَّندُ والقسطُ

The fragrance of chivalry and fairness emanates from him,

Not hypocrisy, pretense, or fraud.

إلى طوله المعروفِ طولُ يدِ الرَّجا

وفي بحرِ جدواه لآمالنا غَطُّ

When ignoramuses call him, he is slow to respond,

But when the noble call him, he does not delay.

صنائعُهُ رُبْطُ الكرامِ وإنّها

لوفد أَياديهِ المصانعُ والرُّبْطُ

They sucked the teat ofvileness in their cradles -

Glories, though the layers of their ignobility are thick.

يَمُرُّ ويحلو حالةَ السُّخطِ والرِّضا

فنعمتُه دأبٌ ونقمتهُ فَرْطُ

They pour their arrows however they want,

Never missing the flattering sycophants they target.

من القومِ تلقاهم عن النكرِ إن دُعوا

بطاءً وإن يُدْعَوا إلى العُرفِ لا يُبْطُوا

When able, they forgive; when they make promises, they keep them;

When they give, they enrich; when asked, they give.

هم رَضَعوا دَرَّ الحجَى في مهودهمْ

أَماجدُ وانضمتْ على السؤددِ القُمْطُ

Those who seek their doors attain their aims;

While those with other intents go astray in their quests.

يصبون فيما يقصدون فكم رَمَوا

بسهم الثّراءِ المملقين فلم يُخطوا

Happy the rule whose gates horses bear

The sons of hope every dawn, trotting without stop.

متى يَقدِروا ويَعفوا وإن يعدوا يَفوا

وإن يبذُلوا يَغْنوا وإن يسألُوا يُعطوا

No garden rivals in beauty, as though

Its foliage were woven by its shimmering streams.

يصيبُ الذي يصبو إلى قصدِ بابهم

في غيرِ هذا القصدِ يُخْطِي الذي يخْطُو

When one with brilliant cheeks leads me to the vivid narcissus,

Followed by a tender sprig of lilac plucked.

وما أَسعدَ المَلْكَ الذي نحوَ بابهِ

مطايا بأَبناءِ الرَّجاءِ غدتْ تَمْطوا

Next, a cheek blushing with coyness like a rose,

And the throat of eternity, forever flowing.

وما روضةٌ غناءُ حُسْناً كأنّما

لوارفها من نَسْج نُوّارِها مِرْطُ

The trees line up as if verses in a book,

With the stream as its diacritics.

إذا قادني للنرجسِ النّضرِ ناضرٌ

تلاهُ عذارٌ للبنفسج مُخْتَطُّ

The leaves sing upon their branches,

As the tribes chant the Torah's melodies.

وللوردِ خدُّ للحياءِ مُوَرَّدٌ

وللبانِ قَدٌ جيدُهُ أَبداً يَعْطو

The falling dew like tears of a passionate lover,

And its droplets sparks of fiery anguish.

تلوحُ به الأشجارُ صَفّاً كأنّها

سطورُ كتابٍ والغديرُ لها كَشْطُ

You see the sun's shame behind the veil of vapor;

No barrier as modest lowers around it.

تُغَنِّي على أَعوادِها الوُرْقُ مِثْلَما

يرتِّلُ للتوراةِ أَلحانَها سِبْطُ

More beautiful and intelligent than you - though in truth

My pride in you, not the garden, brings good fortune.

كأنَّ سقيط الطلِّ عبرةُ مغرمٍ

وبارقَةُ من نارِ لوعته سِقْطُ

Yours are the vast chest and outstretched hand in eminence,

And that open cheek and thick sidelock in childhood.

ترى لمُحيّا الشمسِ من هامرِ الحيا

لثامِ حياءٍ دونه ليس ينحَطُّ

For your admirer, the water of joy and dew -

While the envier gets the fire and smoke.

بأزكى وأَذكى منكَ حُسْناً وإنّما

بحسناكَ لا بالرَّوضِ للعائذِ الغَبْطُ

You effortlessly attained the flooding of Egypt and Tigris,

Iraq bent in obedience, and Arab and foreigner submitted.

لكَ الصدرُ والباعُ الرَّحيبان في العلى

وذاكَ المحيا الطلقُ والأنملُ السُّبْطُ

The Nile has one channel reaching its estuary,

While your Nile floods those hopeful without coast or shore.

لراجيكمُ ماءُ البشاشة والنّدَى

جميعاً وحظُّ الحاسد النارُ والنّفطُ

Your pardon is a meadow, and heaven its gardens;

Your white is a thorn in the hands of foes drawing their blood.

عَنالكَ طوعاً نيلُ مصرٍ ودجلةُ ال

عراقِ ودانَ العُرْبُ والعُجْمُ والقِبْطُ

Your enemy is like a candle in the fire of his hatred -

Reforming his twisted neck is cutting it off.

وللنيل شطٌّ ينتهي سيبهُ به

ونَيْلُكَ للراجينَ نِيلٌ ولا شَطُّ

Ransoming you, of endless generosity, is one concealed

Behind a veil of deprivation - your giving is his release.

وعفوكَ وَرْدٌ والجناةُ جُناتُهُ

وبيضُكَ شوكٌ في العداةِ لها خَرْطُ

Ransoming you, a people of generosity and bounty -

Their faces arrows, and their arrowheads well-honed.

عدوُّكَ مثلُ الشّمعِ في نارِ حقدهِ

له عنقٌ إصلاحُ فاسدِه القَطُّ

The enemy's eye will shed blood, for there flowed

On earth from his veins his darkened gore.

فداؤكَ ممتدُّ المِطالِ مُحجّبٌ

وحاجبُهُ للكُبرِ والعُجْبِ مُمْتَطُّ

You defended the sanctity of Islam for victory,

Giving on the morrow, while only the ravenous wolves gathered.

فداؤكَ قومٌ في النّديِّ وفي النّدَى

وجوههم سُهْمٌ وأَسهمهم مُرْطُ

You reconciled and relieved many sorrows for us

With the arrows of misfortune in the noble drawing blood.

لتبكِ دماً عينُ العدو فقد جرى

على الأرضِ من أَوداجهِ دَمُهُ العَبْطُ

With your return the truth returned and guidance cleared,

The breeze of triumph blew, and tightness eased.

منعتَ حمى الإسلامِ للنصرِ معطياً

غداةَ عوتْ من دونهِ الأذؤبُ المُعْطُ

You rescued Syria from its ominous neighbor;

The infidels' horde did not stop until they betrayed loyalty.

وصُلْتَ وكم فرَّجْتَ عنّا مُلمّةً

بسهم الرَّزايا في الكرامِ لها لَهْطُ

You rescued when they attacked, drew near when they transgressed,

Forgave when they fell short, and gently spoke when they erred.

بعودِكَ عادَ الحقُّ واتّضحَ الهدى

وهبَّ نسيمُ النّصرِ وانفرجَ الضّغْطُ

The Master is not troubled by those whose passion

Is misguidance, and those whose army is a rabble of fools.

وأَنتَ أَجَرْتَ الشّامَ من شُؤْمِ جاره

ولم يكفِ رهطُ الكفرِ حتى بغى رهطُ

Many you count, yet few true - their glory

Is silence, and without guidance, they are a flock of sheep.

أَجرتَ وقد جاروا ودنتَ وقد عدوا

وصلت وقد خاروا ولنت وقد لطُوا

You act without injustice, desire without excess,

Speak without bent, and give without holding back.

فلا يعبأ المولى بمن مِلءُ جأشهِ

هوىً وبقومٍ حَشْوُ جيشِهمُ زُطُّ

Distinguish the place of the sincere, for only

Some people have confused thoughts in their minds.

كثيرٌ تَعدِيهمْ قليلٌ غَناؤهُمْ

وهمْ ولا أَصابوا رشدَهم هملٌ رَهْطُ

Draw near a loyal friend whose conscience is sound with you,

And do not trust the crocodile whose habit is deceit.

عَدلْتَ فلا ظلمٌن وطُلْتَ فلا مدىً

وقُلتَ فلا مَينٌ وجُدتَ فلا قَحطُ

The ignorant ones' abode disgusted me; though their

Snakes sharpened fangs to bite me, I pardoned them.

فميِّزْ مكانَ المخلصين فإنّما ال

أَعادي أُناسٌ في رؤُوسهمُ خَلْطُ

They rejected my requests when hopeful and seeking;

Some arrogant, some greedy, some twisted inside.

وقرِّب وليّاً صحَّ فيكَ ضميرُهُ

ولا يأمنِ التمساحَ مَنْ دأبُهُ السَّرطُ

Though many had cheerful faces from your goodness,

And some still showed you their evil inside.

نَبا بي مقامُ الجاهلينَ فَعِفْتُهُ

وقد نَضْنَضَتْ للنهش حَيّاتُهُ الرُّقطُ

I exposed my merits without excuse, though the chaste

Fled from a debaucher in whom even serpents are ashamed.

همُ مَنَعوا رِفْدَيْ قبولٍ ونائلٍ

وذا وَشَلٌ بَرضٌ وذا أُكُلٌ خَمطُ

I came to you, throwing glory itself before you,

Casting for the ears necklaces of its pearls picked up.

وكم مُطْمعٍ في خيره بشرُ وجهه

ومشتملٍ منه على شَرِّهِ الإبْطُ

Honor me generously and grant me success! I describe

Your beauty - let the envious plotter grieve!

لأَبدى بلا عذر حظوظَ فضائلي

نفارُ العَذارى من عذارٍ به وَخْطُ

Help me, for the eye of favor is bound

By the shackle of deprivation - only your activity releases it.

وجئتكَ ألقى العزَّ عندك مُلْقياً

قلائدَ للأَسماعِ من دُرِّها لَقْطُ

And ordain my prestige and appointment, for praising you

Is the recompense that seals our bargain.

أَعرْني جميلاً واصطنعنيَ واصفُ لي

جميلَكَ حتى يشمتَ الحاسدُ المِلْطُ

How long will my time continue to unleash

Its fanged snakes from its bosom, whose venom is ruin?

أَعنّي فعينُ الفضل عانٍ مُقيَّدٌ

بعُقلةِ حرمانٍ نداكَ لها نَشطُ

My hopes' steeds stretched out to you,

So I could ride them to success by your side.

وأَوْعزْ بتشريفي ورسمي فإنّهُ

لحمدي جزاءٌ قد تقدَّمَهُ الشّرْطُ

Remain victorious, O Father of Victories, over enemies -

An ally of acceptance whom failure cannot thwart!

إلامَ زماني لا يزالُ مُسَلّطاً

على نابهٍ من أَهلهِ نابُهُ المّلْطُ

You remain while nothing benefits without you,

Bringing fortune, though incapable of rising or descending.

سَعَتْ نحوكم منّي مطايا مطالبٍ

لأَنْسعُها في النّجح عندكم مَغْطُ

Had you neighbored the poet al-Ma'arri, he would not have said:

"Let whoever has a neighbor ask the share"- they would not have needed to ask!

فَدُمْ ظافراً أَبا المظفر بالعِدَى

حليفَ قبولٍ لا يكون لها حَبْطُ

بقيتَ ولا زالتْ عداكَ مُفيدةٌ

سعوداً ولا تُحْسنْ صعوداً ولا هَبْطُ

ولو كنتَ جاراً للمعريِّ لم يقل

لمن جيرةٌ سيموا النوالَ فلم يُنْطوال