قَد كَسَتني بحلّةِ الأَوصابِ
مَنْ تَحَلَّتْ بِحلَةِ الإعجابِ
She has clothed me in a robe of ailments—
She clothed me in the garb of passionate love,
she who adorned herself in a robe of admiration.
She who was clad in the raiment of captivation.
وَاِستَباحَت عذابَ صَبٍّ مُطيعٍ
مَنَعته مِن الشِّفاهِ العِذابِ
And she deemed it lawful to torment an obedient lover,
She who made lawful the torment of a compliant lover,
whom she kept from the sweet lips.
Yet forbade his lips from attaining that torment.
خَضَّبَت مِن دَمِ الكئيبِ بَناناً
لَيتَ روحي فِداءُ ذاكَ الخضابِ
She dyed her fingertips with the sorrowful one's blood.
She dyed my teeth with the blood of the wretched one,
Would that my soul were ransom for that dye!
Would that my soul be ransom for that dye!
حينَ حَكَّت خُدودَها بِبَنانِ
أَثمَرَ الوردُ أَحمَرَ العُنّابِ
When she rubbed her cheeks with her fingertips,
When she scratched her cheek with her teeth
the rose bore red jujubes.
The roses bore fruit and the berries reddened.
أَسبَلَت سالِفاً فَجاءَ لِفيها
يَطلُبُ الشّربَ مِن طَهورِ الشّرابِ
She let a sidelock fall, and it came to her mouth,
She let down her tresses, and her flowing hair came,
seeking a drink of the pure beverage.
Seeking drink from the purity of the wine.
فَسَقاهُ مِنَ الرّضابِ وأحلى ال
آسِ ما كان شارباً للرضابِ
Her mouth gave it saliva to drink; and the sweetest
So she gave him to drink of pleasure and the sweetest
myrtle is that which has drunk saliva.
Nectar, what a drinker of pleasure he was!
حَدّثَتني بِريقِها عَن سُلافٍ
وَعَنِ السّكّرِ النباتِ المُذابِ
Through her saliva she told me of choice wine,
With her saliva she told me of the wine,
and of dissolved rock sugar.
And of the melted sugar, the planted cane.
كُلّما أَسبَلَت لِثامَ المحيّا
تَتَوارى شَمسُ الضُّحى بالحجابِ
Whenever she lowers the veil over her face,
Whenever she lets down the veil of her cheek,
the morning sun hides behind the veil.
The sun of the morn hides behind the veil.
أَتَصابى بِها وَإِنْ كُنتُ شَيخاً
وَحَميدٌ مِن الشّيوخِ التّصابي
I play the youth for her, though I am an old man,
Though I am an old man, I am smitten with love for her,
and in old men youthful play is praiseworthy.
Praiseworthy among old men that are love-smitten!
غادَةٌ تَجعَلُ النِّفارَ اِقتِراباً
يا بِعادي بِذَلكَ الاِقتِرابِ
A graceful maiden who turns aversion into nearness—
A gazelle who makes even the ostrich draw near,
ah, my distance through that nearness!
Oh, my remote one, with that nearing!
يَنسِجُ السّحرَ لَحظُها كشباكٍ
لِاِصطِيادِ الأسودِ أسْدِ الغابِ
Her glance weaves magic like nets,
The magic of her glance weaves nets,
to hunt lions—the lions of the forest.
To catch the lions, the lions of the jungle.
أَلبَسَتني جُفونُها وَهيَ مَرضى
مِن ثِيابِ النّحولِ أَردى الثيابِ
Her eyelids, themselves ailing, clothed me
Her eyelids clothed me, though sick,
in the worst of emaciation's garments.
In the garments of emaciation, the shabbiest clothes.
شَيَّبتني وَعارِضي كَغُرابٍ
بِبعادٍ وَجَفوةٍ وَاِغتِرابِ
She made me gray, though my cheek-beard was like a raven,
She made my hair white like a raven’s
through separation, coldness, and estrangement.
With distance, aloofness, and estrangement.
وَمَشيبي لا شكّ كانَ مُحالاً
إِذ مِنَ المُستَحيلِ شيبُ الغرابِ
And my graying was surely impossible,
Without a doubt my hair would not have turned white,
for a raven's graying is impossible.
Since it is impossible for the raven’s hair to turn white.
لَو حَبَتني بِوَصلِها بَعدَ شَيبي
عادَ بَعدَ المَشيبِ حسنُ شبابي
Had she granted me union with her after I turned gray,
If she had loved me after my hair turned white,
the beauty of my youth would have returned after my graying.
My youthful beauty would have returned after graying.
لَو ترى الصّبَّ بعد بُعدٍ وهجرٍ
أبصَرَتْه في ذلّةٍ وَاِكتِئابِ
If she saw the lover after separation and abandonment,
If you could see the passionate lover after distance and separation,
she would behold him in humiliation and dejection,
You would find him in misery and melancholy.
وَرَأتهُ كَمَيّتٍ لا يُوارَى
وَعَليهِ دُموعُهُ في اِنسِكابِ
and see him like an unburied corpse,
See him as a corpse, not to be concealed,
with his tears pouring over him.
With his tears streaming down in outpouring.
فَهيَ بَدرٌ وَإِنّها لَشهابٌ
تَأخُذُ الشّمسَ لَو بَدا في الغيابِ
For she is a full moon—indeed, she is a meteor.
She is the full moon, truly she is a shooting star
She would seize the sun, were that meteor to appear in its absence.
That seizes the sun, if it appeared in absence.
مَن رَأى البدرَ كَوكباً من نجومٍ
كان في ذاك مُخطئاً للصوابِ
Whoever sees the full moon as a star among stars
Whoever sees the full moon as one star among stars
is mistaken in that, missing what is right.
Is mistaken in that, wrong in judgment.
لَيسَ بَدراً مَن لَم يَكُن بشهابٍ
إِنّما البدرُ عَينُ ذاتِ الشّهابِ
He is no full moon who is not a meteor;
She is no full moon, whoever is not a shooting star,
the full moon is none other than the meteor himself:
Rather, the full moon is the essence of the shooting star.
أَحمَدُ البريرُ الإِمامُ المُفدّى
مُفردُ الوقتِ جُملةُ الأنجابِ
Ahmad al-Barir, the cherished imam,
Ahmad al-Barr, the guided imam,
peerless in his age, the sum of all noble men.
Peerless in his time, quintessence of the elite.
عَلَمُ الفَضلِ مَن يُشارُ إِلَيهِ
أَنَّه مُفردٌ بِغَيرِ اِرتِيابِ
A beacon of excellence, the one pointed out
The banner of excellence, to whom it is gestured,
as peerless, without any doubt.
That he is peerless, without any doubt.
ذي مَعالٍ عَلى دَعائِمِ عزٍّ
بُنِيَت وَهيَ عالِياتُ الجنابِ
Possessed of lofty merits that, on pillars of honor,
Possessor of sublime qualities upon pillars of honor
were built and stand exalted in dignity.
Built lofty, sublime foundations.
يَتَغابى وَهوَ الفريدُ ذكاءً
وَحَميدٌ مِنَ الكِرامِ التّغابي
He feigns ignorance, though peerless in intelligence,
He excels, though he is uniquely intelligent,
and feigned ignorance is praiseworthy among the noble.
Praiseworthy among the generous, the excelling.
ذي كَمالٍ عَلى المَحاسِن يَطوى
طَيّب النّشرِ في الثّنا المُستَطابِ
Possessed of perfection, enfolded in virtues,
Of perfect virtue over good traits he folds over
sweetly fragrant in delightful praise.
The good dissemination in excellent couplets.
وَهوَ فيهِ يُحيطُ ذاتاً وَفِعلاً
وَصِفاتٍ وَفي المَقالِ الصّوابِ
And in it he is all-encompassing, in essence and deed,
And in these he encompasses essence, deed,
and in attributes, and in speech that is right.
Attributes and, in speech, rectitude.
لَيسَ مِنهُ بِغَيرِه غَيرُ شيءٍ
نِيلَ مِنهُ تَكرُّماً بِاِكتِسابِ
Nothing of his is in another, save what
There is nothing else beside him but what
one acquires from him through his generous giving.
He attained generously through effort.
النّبيهُ الفَصيحُ أَعلى بليغٍ
قد حوى حكمةً وفصلَ خطابِ
The distinguished, articulate, loftiest of eloquent speakers,
The brilliant eloquent one, highest of the eloquent,
he has indeed gathered wisdom and decisive speech.
Who encompassed wisdom and separated discourse.
Sol 6.1