كَفى بِكَ داءً أَن تَرى المَوتَ شافِيا

وَحَسبُ المَنايا أَن يَكُنَّ أَمانِيا

It is enough of an illness that you see death as a healer,

Sufficient is the disease: to see death as a cure, / And that the fatal Dooms become one's heart's desire.

And it is enough for death that it be a wish.

You yearned for them when you had hoped to find / A loyal friend in vain, or a fawning, hidden liar.

تَمَنَّيتَها لَمّا تَمَنَّيتَ أَن تَرى

صَديقاً فَأَعيا أَو عَدُوّاً مُداجِيا

You wished for it when you wished to see

If you are well content to live a life of shame, / Then do not ready the Yemeni blade for war.

A friend restored or a reconciled enemy.

Nor raise the towering lances for the raid, / Nor choose the noble steed of pedigree.

إِذا كُنتَ تَرضى أَن تَعيشَ بِذِلَّةٍ

فَلا تَستَعِدَّنَّ الحُسامَ اليَمانِيا

If you are content to live in disgrace,

For modesty avails not the lion against his pangs, / Nor is he feared until he bares the claw.

Then do not ready the Yemeni swords,

I taught you, Heart, to love before you loved the one who fled; / He was treacherous, so you be faithful now.

وَلا تَستَطيلَنَّ الرِماحَ لِغارَةٍ

وَلا تَستَجيدَنَّ العِتاقَ المَذاكِيا

Nor make long the lances for an onslaught,

I know that separation makes you grieve for him; / Yet you are not my heart if I see you complain.

Nor train the spirited steeds.

For tears that flow are traitors to their lord, / If they run in the wake of those who break their vow.

فَما يَنفَعُ الأُسدَ الحَياءُ مِنَ الطَوى

وَلا تُتَّقى حَتّى تَكونَ ضَوارِيا

For shyness does not benefit the lion from attacking prey,

If bounty finds no safety from offense, / No praise is won, nor does the wealth remain.

Nor is it to be feared unless it becomes ferocious.

The soul displays the nature of the man: / Was it true giving, or a feigned display?

حَبَبتُكَ قَلبي قَبلَ حُبِّكَ مَن نَأى

وَقَد كانَ غَدّاراً فَكُن أَنتَ وافِيا

I loved you, my heart, before your love for one who is remote,

Curb your desire, O Heart! For often times, / I see you purge your love for one who pays no due.

And he was a traitor, so you be faithful.

I was made for friendship; were I to journey back to youth, / I’d leave my grey age weeping, heart in pain.

وَأَعلَمُ أَنَّ البَينَ يُشكيكَ بَعدَهُ

فَلَستَ فُؤادي إِن رَأَيتُكَ شاكِيا

And I know that separation makes you doubtful after it,

Yet in Fustat there lies a Sea I sought, / With life, and counsel, love, and rhyming verse.

So you are not my heart if I see you doubtful.

And lean steeds, 'twixt whose ears we held the spears, / That galloped light, pursuing the lance's height.

فَإِنَّ دُموعَ العَينِ غُدرٌ بِرَبِّها

إِذا كُنَّ إِثرَ الغادِرينَ جَوارِيا

For tears of the eye are a betrayal of their Lord

With hooves they pace; and when they strike the stone, / They carve upon it falcons' breasts, bare-hoofed.

If they follow the treacherous.

Gazing from dark and truthful eyes at night, / They see the distant shapes as clear as day.

إِذا الجودُ لَم يُرزَق خَلاصاً مِنَ الأَذى

فَلا الحَمدُ مَكسوباً وَلا المالُ باقِيا

If generosity is not granted deliverance from harm,

Pricking their ears to catch the faintest sound, / Deeming the conscience's whisper a loud call.

Then neither earned thanks, nor lasting wealth.

They tug the reins against the morning knights, / As though upon their necks great serpents coiled.

وَلِلنَفسِ أَخلاقٌ تَدُلُّ عَلى الفَتى

أَكانَ سَخاءً ما أَتى أَم تَساخِيا

And the soul has traits that show if the youth

By will the body rides within the saddle, / While in the body walks the steadfast heart.

Was generous in what he did or pretending.

Seeking Kafur, abandoning all else; / Who seeks the Sea must scorn the trickling streams.

أَقِلَّ اِشتِياقاً أَيُّها القَلبُ رُبَّما

رَأَيتُكَ تُصفي الوُدَّ مَن لَيسَ جازِيا

Lessen your longing, O heart, perhaps

They brought us to the Apple of the Age, / Leaving behind the eye-white and the tear.

You will clarify affection for one who is unrewarding.

We passed the benefactors to find him / In whom we see the source of every grace.

خُلِقتُ أَلوفاً لَو رَحَلتُ إِلى الصِبا

لَفارَقتُ شَيبي موجَعَ القَلبِ باكِيا

I was created for friendship - if I turned to my youth

A youth for whom, within our fathers' loins, / We traveled through the ages hoping to meet.

I would leave my grey hair grieving.

His rank transcends the aid of noble traits; / He performs deeds as virgins, fresh and new.

وَلَكِنَّ بِالفُسطاطِ بَحراً أَزَرتُهُ

حَياتي وَنُصحي وَالهَوى وَالقَوافِيا

But in Fustat I roamed a sea

He kills the tyrants' malice with his grace; / Or, failing that, destroys the tyrants too.

Of my life, advice, love and poetry.

O Abu al-Misk! This is the face I yearned for, / And this the moment I have long desired.

وَجُرداً مَدَدنا بَينَ آذانِها القَنا

فَبِتنَ خِفافاً يَتَّبِعنَ العَوالِيا

Barefoot we lingered between its minarets

Before you, I faced wastes and mountain peaks, / And crossed a heat that leaves the water parched.

Spending nights pursuing the heights.

Sire of all Scents, not Musk alone, you are; / And of all Clouds, not just the morning rain.

تَماشى بِأَيدٍ كُلَّما وافَتِ الصَفا

نَقَشنَ بِهِ صَدرَ البُزاةِ حَوافِيا

With hands, whenever they met sobriety,

Each boaster proves his worth by single trait, / But God combined all virtues within you.

They carved on the breasts of the devout.

If men win greatness through their gifts of dew, / You grant the very greatness in your gift.

وَتَنظُرُ مِن سودٍ صَوادِقَ في الدُجى

يَرَينَ بَعيداتِ الشُخوصِ كَما هِيَ

And they looked from truthful, dark eyes in the gloom

It is no wonder if a walker comes, / And leaves a King, the Iraqs' governor.

Seeing distant forms as they are.

You might bestow the invading army's might / Upon a single suppliant at your door.

وَتَنصِبُ لِلجَرسِ الخَفيِّ سَوامِعاً

يَخَلنَ مُناجاةَ الضَميرِ تَنادِيا

And they set up ears for the secret bell

You scorn the world with one who knows it well, / And sees all things, save you, must pass away.

That leave conversing with conscience calling.

You did not gain the realm by idle wish, / But by grim days that turned the forelocks grey.

تُجاذِبُ فُرسانَ الصَباحِ أَعِنَّةً

كَأَنَّ عَلى الأَعناقِ مِنها أَفاعِيا

They provoke the horsemen of dawn, restless,

Your foes behold these battles on the earth; / You see them as a stairway to the sky.

As if there were snakes on their necks.

You donned the dusty murk of war, as if / You saw the clear air foul, the dusty pure.

بِعَزمٍ يَسيرُ الجِسمُ في السَرجِ راكِباً

بِهِ وَيَسيرُ القَلبُ في الجِسمِ ماشِيا

With resolve the body rides in the saddle

You drove the sleek and swimming steeds to war, / That bear you angry, bring you back appeased.

While the heart walks in the body.

And drawn swords that obey your command to strike, / Yet disobey, should you command a halt.

قَواصِدَ كافورٍ تَوارِكَ غَيرِهِ

وَمَن قَصَدَ البَحرَ اِستَقَلُّ السَواقِيا

Seeking camphor, leaving other perfumes,

And tawny lance, full twenty measures long, / Glad of your grip as you quench it in the foe.

And whoever sought the sea belittled streams.

Battalions that tread down the tribes of men, / Having already trodden down the wilds.

فَجاءَت بِنا إِنسانَ عَينِ زَمانِهِ

وَخَلَّت بَياضاً خَلفَها وَمَآقِيا

So we came upon the man of the age,

With them you raided royal palaces; / Their hooves struck kings' heads and their dwellings down.

And they left whiteness behind them and watersheds.

You are the first to meet the charging spear; / You would disdain to be the second man.

نَجوزَ عَلَيها المُحسِنينَ إِلى الَّذي

نَرى عِندَهُم إِحسانَهُ وَالأَيادِيا

We wished the benefactors well for one

If India forged two battle-blades alike, / Your sword, held in your hand, proves superior.

Whose kindness and generosity we see in them.

Were Shem to see you, he would tell his kin: / 'For my brother's son, I give my life and gold.'

فَتىً ما سَرَينا في ظُهورِ جُدودِنا

إِلى عَصرِهِ إِلّا نُرَجّي التَلاقِيا

A man we never hoped in our ancestors' days

A limit which the Master's Lord has reached; / A soul content with nothing but the peak.

To meet in his time except hopefully.

It called him to the heights; he answered, 'Yes,' / While others shunned the call of high desire.

تَرَفَّعَ عَن عَونِ المَكارِمِ قَدرُهُ

فَما يَفعَلُ الفَعلاتِ إِلّا عَذارِيا

His worth transcended the aid of virtues

He stands above the world, in open sight; / Near in his grace, yet distant in his fire.

So he only does deeds competitively.

يُبيدُ عَداواتِ البُغاةِ بِلُطفِهِ

فَإِن لَم تَبِد مِنهُم أَبادَ الأَعادِيا

He destroys the enmities of rebels with his gentleness,

And if they do not perish he destroys the enemies.

أَبا المِسكِ ذا الوَجهُ الَّذي كُنتُ تائِقاً

إِلَيهِ وَذا الوَقتُ الَّذي كُنتُ راجِيا

O father of musk, whose face I longed for

And whose time I hoped for.

لَقيتُ المَرَورى وَالشَناخيبَ دونَهُ

وَجُبتُ هَجيراً يَترُكُ الماءَ صادِيا

I met those who pass by and the night clouds instead of you

And I became disconsolate, leaving the water raging.

أَبا كُلِّ طيبٍ لا أَبا المِسكِ وَحدَهُ

وَكُلَّ سَحابٍ لا أَخَصُّ الغَوادِيا

O father of all that is good, not just musk,

And every cloud, not only the rain-giver.

يَدِلُّ بِمَعنىً واحِدٍ كُلَّ فاخِرٍ

وَقَد جَمَعَ الرَحمَنُ فيكَ المَعانِيا

Every magnificent one indicates one meaning,

And the Merciful united meanings in you.

إِذا كَسَبَ الناسُ المَعالِيَ بِالنَدى

فَإِنَّكَ تُعطي في نَداكَ المَعالِيا

When people gain heights through gifts,

You give heights in your generosity.

وَغَيرُ كَثيرٍ أَن يَزورَكَ راجِلٌ

فَيَرجِعَ مَلكاً لِلعِراقَينِ والِيا

It is unlike many that a man visits you on foot

And returns governor of both Iraqs.

فَقَد تَهَبَ الجَيشَ الَّذي جاءَ غازِياً

لِسائِلِكَ الفَردِ الَّذي جاءَ عافِيا

You have granted the army that came as invaders

To your individual asker who came in good health.

وَتَحتَقِرُ الدُنيا اِحتِقارَ مُجَرِّبٍ

يَرى كُلَّ ما فيها وَحاشاكَ فانِيا

And you disdain the world with the disdain of the experienced

Who sees all in it, except you, as fleeting.

وَما كُنتَ مِمَّن أَدرَكَ المُلكَ بِالمُنى

وَلَكِن بِأَيّامٍ أَشَبنَ النَواصِيا

You were not one who attained rule through wishes,

But in days that resembled achievements.

عِداكَ تَراها في البِلادِ مَساعِياً

وَأَنتَ تَراها في السَماءِ مَراقِيا

Except you, it sees ambitions in the country,

While you see it in the heavens as a path.

لَبِستَ لَها كُدرَ العَجاجِ كَأَنَّما

تَرى غَيرَ صافٍ أَن تَرى الجَوَّ صافِيا

You wore its turbidity as if

You saw only the unclear sky as clear.

وَقُدتَ إِلَيها كُلَّ أَجرَدَ سابِحٍ

يُؤَدّيكَ غَضباناً وَيَثنِكَ راضِيا

And you led to it every bare swimmer

Who carries you angry and pleases you satisfied.

وَمُختَرَطٍ ماضٍ يُطيعُكَ آمِراً

وَيَعصي إِذا اِستَثنَيتَ لَو كُنتَ ناهِيا

And an outstretched walker obeying your command,

And disobeying if you made an exception or prohibited.

وَأَسمَرَ ذي عِشرينَ تَرضاهُ وارِداً

وَيَرضاكَ في إيرادِهِ الخَيلَ ساقِيا

And a dark twenty year old you accept when he arrives

And he accepts you in bringing the horses watered.

كَتائِبَ ما اِنفَكَّت تَجوسُ عَمائِراً

مِنَ الأَرضِ قَد جاسَت إِلَيها فَيافِيا

Columns that did not cease to scout buildings

Traveling to them from the land they traversed.

غَزَوتَ بِها دورَ المُلوكِ فَباشَرَت

سَنابِكُها هاماتِهِم وَالمَغانِيا

You attacked with them the abodes of kings so

Their lattices conversed with their anxieties and pleasures.

وَأَنتَ الَّذي تَغشى الأَسِنَّةَ أَوَّلاً

وَتَأنَفَ أَن تَغشى الأَسِنَّةَ ثانِيا

You are the one who overcomes tongues first

And disdain to overcome tongues secondly.

إِذا الهِندُ سَوَّت بَينَ سَيفَي كَريهَةٍ

فَسَيفُكَ في كَفٍّ تُزيلُ التَساوِيا

If India levels between the two blades of Karīha,

Your blade in a grip that removes the leveling.

وَمِن قَولِ سامٍ لَو رَآكَ لِنَسلِهِ

فِدى اِبنِ أَخي نَسلي وَنَفسي وَمالِيا

And from the words of Sām, if he saw you to his progeny,

My son is ransom for the progeny, self and money.

مَدىً بَلَّغَ الأُستاذَ أَقصاهُ رَبُّهُ

وَنَفسٌ لَهُ لَم تَرضَ إِلّا التَناهِيا

The distance the Master reached is the utmost his Lord granted,

And he has a soul that would not be content except with the farthest reaches.

دَعَتهُ فَلَبّاها إِلى المَجدِ وَالعُلا

وَقَد خالَفَ الناسُ النُفوسَ الدَواعِيا

It called him so he answered its call to glory and highness,

While people opposed the inclinations of souls.

فَأَصبَحَ فَوقَ العالَمينَ يَرَونَهُ

وَإِن كانَ يُدنيهِ التَكَرُّمُ نائِيا

So he came above both worlds who see him,

Even if intimacy makes him come closer.