كأنك تهوى أنّ عذلك ينفع
وهل كان عند الصبّ للعذل مسمع
As if you wish that your blame benefits me,
Yet when was blame ever heard by a lover?
إذا كان من ذاتي رجوعي إلى الهوى
فما نفع قولي إنّني لست أَرجع
If my return to love comes from my nature,
Then my words "I shall not return" are of no use.
وهل وقع الملزوم يوماً ولم يكن
لِلاَزِمِهِ في ساحة الكون موقع
Has consequent ever occurred without antecedent
Having a place in the universe?
لذاك تراني كلّما شِمْتُ بارقاً
تُسابقه من برق وَجْدِيَ أَدْمُعُ
Thus you see me, whenever a lightning flashes,
My tears compete with it in flowing.
فأمّا إذا تبدو محاسنُ بَيْرَمٍ
فكيف ترى الحِرْبا إذا الشّمس تطلع
When the charms of Bayram appear,
How then could Harb stand when the sun rises?
سماءُ علومٍ كلّما لاح لامعٌ
تقفّاه منها أَلْمَعٌ ثم أَلْمَعُ
A sky of sciences, whenever a brilliant one appears
He is followed by even more brilliant ones.
وَبَحْرُ علومٍ يزدري الدرَّ عِقْدُهَا
على أنّه للنّقل والعقل مجمع
And a sea of knowledge, its necklace of pearls
Looks down on being a means of transmission and intellection.
وفي هذه الحَسْنا التي برزت لنا
بألوانِ حُسْنٍ للمنازع مقنع
And in this beauty which has appeared to us
With beautiful colors convincing for all disputers,
بَدَتْ للمُنَى رَوْضاً وللعين قُرَّةً
وفيها الذي من ذا ومن ذاك أَنْفَعُ
She appeared to the seeker as a meadow, and a delight to the eye,
In her is that which from this and that is most beneficial.
فجاءت تهَادَى لا سوى السّحر غنجُها
ولا ما سوى ماء الوَسامة بُرقُعُ
So she came, gracefully swaying, nothing but the magic of her coyness,
And nothing but the water of honor in her bowl.
ترى بين معناها ورقّةِ لفظِها
عِناقاً على نَوْلِ الطبيعةِ يُصْنَعُ
You see between its meaning and the delicacy of its words
An intimate embrace on the text of nature being crafted.
إذا اختصمَ النّعمانُ فيها ومالكٌ
تقول لكلّ منكما فيَّ منزع
When al-Nu‘man and Malik disputed over her
She said to each of you I am a means to attain.
ومهما ادّعاها العقلُ ردّ اختصاصَه
بها نصُّ نقلٍ بالحقيقة يَقْطَعُ
And however much reason claims her specifically,
A verse of transmission by reality nullifies his claim.
وإنْ تَفْخَرِ الْفَتْوَى بها فلَكَمْ بها
لأهل القضا مِن تاج عزٍّ يُرصَّعُ
And if jurisprudence boasts of her, for by her
The people of law have many a splendid crown.
فسبحان مختار الإِمام محمّدٍ
لها وهو أدرى أيّهم هو موضع
So glory to the Choicer, the Imam Muhammad,
For her, and He knows best which one is most appropriate.
وكيف وبيتُ الدّين والعلم بَيْتُه
وللمجد والتّقوى مَقِيلٌ ومَرْبَعُ
And how when the House of religion and knowledge is his House,
And for glory and piety a place to retire and square.
عفافٌ على وجدٍ وعفوٌ بقدرةٍ
وَجَاهٌ ولكن لم يُدَنِّسْهُ مطمعُ
Chastity during rapture, and pardon when able,
Glory, but avarice has not tainted it.
وخفضٌ على رفعٍ وتليينُ منطقٍ
على أنّه لَلصّلْدُ في الحقّ يصدع
And humility despite prestige, and softness of eloquence
Despite its flint-like quality in truth that splits foreheads.
وفَضْلُ ثباتٍ ما الرّواسي راوسخاً
لدَيْه إذا طارت نُهًى وهي وُقَّعُ
And steadfastness, before which foundation stakes
Are not firmly fixed when prohibitions take flight.
وقدرٌ تمنّى النُّجْمُ نَيْلَ مَحَلِّهِ
فكيف ترى مَنْ في الثّرى فيه يطمع
A decree the stars crave to attain like his station—
What then of one in the earthly realm hoping for it?
إلى ما يفوت الْعَدَّ مِنْ كلّ حِلْيَةٍ
بها شَمْلُ أشتاتِ الكمال مُجَمَّعُ
Encompassing the scattered completeness of perfection
Beyond enumeration—such is she.
فَدُمْ واحداً لا مَنْ يضاهيك في الورى
وعزُّك موصولٌ وأَمْرُكَ يُسْمَعُ
Remain uniquely peerless in the world,
Your glory connected, your command heard.
ولا تحتقِرْ شِعْرِي وإن كان أهله
فَقَدْرُكُمُ من أبلغ الشّعر أَرْفَعُ
And do not look down on my poetry, though its people
Were deemed—your stature is highest of all poetry.
ولكنّني حاولتُ شرحَ مودّةٍ
وشافِعُ شعري في الوِداد مشفّعُ
Rather I have tried to explain an affection,
And my poetry in amity intercedes.
وأَزْكىَ سلامٍ من سَلِيمِ مودّةٍ
عليك بِرَيْحَانِ الرّضى يتضوَّعُ
The purest greetings of sincere devotion to you,
With the basil of acceptance it is scented.
