فَدَيناكَ مِن رَبعٍ وَإِن زِدتَنا كَربا
فَإِنَّكَ كُنتَ الشَرقَ لِلشَمسِ وَالغَربا
We ransom you with our lives, O ruined abode, though you add to our anguish,
For once you were the sunrise of our joy, and the sunset of our days.
وَكَيفَ عَرَفنا رَسمَ مَن لَم يَدَع لَنا
فُؤاداً لِعِرفانِ الرُسومِ وَلا لُبّا
Yet how could we know the traces of one who left us,
With neither heart to recognize the ruins, nor mind to understand?
نَزَلنا عَنِ الأَكوارِ نَمشي كَرامَةً
لِمَن بانَ عَنهُ أَن نُلِمَّ بِهِ رَكبا
We dismounted from our saddles to walk in reverence,
Too humble to approach as riders the ground where she once dwelt.
نَذُمُّ السَحابَ الغُرَّ في فِعلِها بِهِ
وَنُعرِضُ عَنها كُلَّما طَلَعَت عَتبا
We blame the white clouds for washing away her traces,
And turn our faces from them in reproach whenever they rise.
وَمَن صَحِبَ الدُنيا طَويلاً تَقَلَّبَت
عَلى عَينِهِ حَتّى يَرى صِدقَها كِذبا
He who keeps company with the world for long will see it turn,
Before his very eyes, until he deems its truth a lie.
وَكَيفَ اِلتِذاذي بِالأَصائِلِ وَالضُحى
إِذا لَم يَعُد ذاكَ النَسيمُ الَّذي هَبّا
How can I take delight in the twilight or the dawn,
If that sweet breeze which once blew returns no more?
ذَكَرتُ بِهِ وَصلاً كَأَن لَم أَفُز بِهِ
وَعَيشاً كَأَنّي كُنتُ أَقطَعُهُ وَثبا
Through it I recalled a union that seems I never won,
And a life that passed so swiftly, as if I leapt across its span.
وَفَتّانَةَ العَينَينِ قَتّالَةَ الهَوى
إِذا نَفَحَت شَيخاً رَوائِحُها شَبّا
A damsel of bewitching eyes, a slayer with her love,
Whose fragrance, if it wafted over an elder, would make him young again.
لَها بَشَرُ الدُرِّ الَّذي قُلِّدَت بِهِ
وَلَم أَرَ بَدراً قَبلَها قُلِّدَ الشُهبا
Her skin possesses the luster of the pearls she wears,
Yet never before have I seen a full moon adorned with stars.
فَيا شَوقِ ما أَبقى وَيالي مِنَ النَوى
وَيا دَمعِ ما أَجرى وَيا قَلبِ ما أَصبى
O longing! What have you left of me? O distance! Woe is me!
O tears! How freely you flow! O heart! How deep your yearning!
لَقَد لَعِبَ البَينُ المُشِتُّ بِها وَبي
وَزَوَّدَني في السَيرِ ما زَوَّدَ الضِبّا
Scattering separation has toyed with her and with me,
And provisioned me for the journey with the thirst of desert lizards.
وَمَن تَكُنِ الأُسدُ الضَواري جُدودَهُ
يَكُن لَيلُهُ صُبحاً وَمَطعَمُهُ غَصبا
He whose ancestors are the predatory lions,
Shall find his night as bright as day, and his sustenance seized by force.
وَلَستُ أُبالي بَعدَ إِدراكِيَ العُلا
أَكانَ تُراثاً ما تَناوَلتُ أَم كَسبا
And I care not, once I have attained the heights of glory,
Whether what I seized was an inheritance or my own gain.
فَرُبَّ غُلامٍ عَلَّمَ المَجدَ نَفسَهُ
كَتَعليمِ سَيفِ الدَولَةِ الطَعنَ وَالضَربا
For many a youth has tutored his own soul in glory,
Just as Sayf al-Dawla taught himself the thrust and the blow.
إِذا الدَولَةُ اِستَكفَت بِهِ في مُلِمَّةٍ
كَفاها فَكانَ السَيفَ وَالكَفَّ وَالقَلبا
When the State seeks his sufficiency in times of crisis,
He suffices it, becoming the Sword, the Hand, and the Heart.
تُهابُ سُيوفُ الهِندِ وَهيَ حَدائِدٌ
فَكَيفَ إِذا كانَت نِزارِيَّةً عُربا
The swords of India are dreaded though they are mere steel,
How much more then, when the sword is of noble Arab lineage?
وَيُرهَبُ نابُ اللَيثِ وَاللَيثُ وَحدَهُ
فَكَيفَ إِذا كانَ اللُيوثُ لَهُ صَحبا
The lion’s fang is feared even when the beast stands alone,
How much more when a pride of lions are his companions?
وَيُخشى عُبابُ البَحرِ وَهوَ مَكانَهُ
فَكَيفَ بِمَن يَغشى البِلادَ إِذا عَبّا
The swelling sea is feared even when confined to its bed,
How then with one who floods the lands when he surges forth?
عَليمٌ بِأَسرارِ الدِياناتِ وَاللُغى
لَهُ خَطَراتٌ تَفضَحُ الناسَ وَالكُتبا
He is learned in the secrets of faiths and tongues,
Possessing insights that shame both scholars and their books.
فَبورِكتَ مِن غَيثٍ كَأَنَّ جُلودَنا
بِهِ تُنبِتُ الديباجَ وَالوَشيَ وَالعَصبا
Blessed be you as a rain cloud! It is as if our very skins,
Sprout brocade, embroidery, and silks through your bounty.
وَمِن واهِبٍ جَزلاً وَمِن زاجِرٍ هَلاً
وَمِن هاتِكٍ دِرعاً وَمِن ناثِرٍ قُصبا
O giver of abundant gifts, O banisher of fear,
O render of coats of mail, O scatterer of entrails!
هَنيئاً لِأَهلِ الثَغرِ رَأيُكَ فيهِمِ
وَأَنَّكَ حِزبَ اللَهِ صِرتَ لَهُم حِزبا
Congratulations to the frontier guards for your care of them,
And that you, the Party of God, have become their partisan.
وَأَنَّكَ رُعتَ الدَهرَ فيها وَرَيبَهُ
فَإِن شَكَّ فَليُحدِث بِساحَتِها خَطبا
You have terrified Time and its calamities on their behalf,
If Time doubts you, let it dare bring a misfortune to their courtyard!
فَيَوماً بِخَيلٍ تَطرُدُ الرومَ عَنهُمُ
وَيَوماً بِجودٍ يَطرُدُ الفَقرَ وَالجَدبا
One day with cavalry you drive the Romans from them,
And another day with generosity you drive away poverty and drought.
سَراياكَ تَترى وَالدُمُستُقُ هارِبٌ
وَأَصحابُهُ قَتلى وَأَموالُهُ نُهبى
Your squadrons attack in waves while the Domesticus flees,
His companions slain, his treasures taken as spoil.
أَرى مَرعَشاً يَستَقرِبُ البُعدَ مُقبِلاً
وَأَدبَرَ إِذ أَقبَلتَ يَستَبعِدُ القُربا
I see Mar'ash, as you approach, drawing the distance near,
While the enemy retreats at your coming, making the near far.
كَذا يَترُكُ الأَعداءَ مَن يَكرَهُ القَنا
وَيَقفُلُ مَن كانَت غَنيمَتُهُ رُعبا
Thus does he who loathes the spear abandon his forces,
And he retreats, carrying nothing but terror as his spoil.
وَهَل رَدَّ عَنهُ بِاللُقانِ وُقوفُهُ
صُدورَ العَوالي وَالمُطَهَّمَةَ القُبّا
Did his stand at al-Luqan ward off from him
The chests of high spears and the lean, swift steeds?
مَضى بَعدَما اِلتَفَّ الرِماحانِ ساعَةً
كَما يَتَلَقّى الهُدبُ في الرَقدَةِ الهُدبا
He fled after the armies' spears had clashed for an hour,
Intertwined as closely as eyelashes meet in sleep.
وَلَكِنَّهُ وَلّى وَلِلطَعنِ سَورَةٌ
إِذا ذَكَرَتها نَفسُهُ لَمَسَ الجُنبا
But he turned his back while the thrusting had a fury;
Whenever his soul recalls it, he clutches at his side.
وَخَلّى العَذارى وَالبَطاريقَ وَالقُرى
وَشُعثَ النَصارى وَالقَرابينَ وَالصُلبا
He abandoned the maidens, the patriarchs, and the towns,
The unkempt Christians, the altar offerings, and the crosses.
أَرى كُلَّنا يَبغي الحَياةَ لِنَفسِهِ
حَريصاً عَلَيها مُستَهاماً بِها صَبّا
I see that every one of us seeks life for himself,
Clinging to it greedily, infatuated and enamored.
فَحُبُّ الجَبانِ النَفسَ أَورَدَهُ التُقى
وَحُبُّ الشُجاعِ النَفسَ أَورَدَهُ الحَربا
The coward’s love for his life leads him to caution,
While the brave man’s love for his self leads him to war.
وَيَختَلِفُ الرِزقانِ وَالفِعلُ واحِدٌ
إِلى أَن يُرى إِحسانُ هَذا لِذا ذَنبا
Their fates differ, though the impulse is one,
Until the virtue of the one seems a sin to the other.
فَأَضحَت كَأَنَّ السورَ مِن فَوقِ بَدئِهِ
إِلى الأَرضِ قَد شَقَّ الكَواكِبَ وَالتُربا
Thus the city walls rose, as if from their very foundations,
Down to the earth, they had split both the stars and the soil.
تَصُدُّ الرِياحُ الهوجُ عَنها مَخافَةً
وَتَفزَعُ مِنها الطَيرُ أَن تَلقُطَ الحَبّا
The gale winds veer away from it in fear,
And the birds are too terrified to peck at the grain there.
وَتَردي الجِيادُ الجُردُ فَوقَ جِبالِها
وَقَد نَدَفَ الصِنَّبرُ في طُرقِها العُطبا
The sleek warhorses gallop over its mountains,
While the icy wind scatters snow like carded cotton on its paths.
كَفى عَجَباً أَن يَعجَبَ الناسُ أَنَّهُ
بَنى مَرعَشاً تَبّاً لِآرائِهِم تَبّا
It is strange enough that people marvel that he,
Rebuilt Mar'ash—may their foolish notions perish!
وَما الفَرقُ ما بَينَ الأَنامِ وَبَينَهُ
إِذا حَذِرَ المَحذورَ وَاِستَصعَبَ الصَعبا
For what is the difference between ordinary mortals and him,
If he were to fear what they fear and find difficult what is hard?
لِأَمرٍ أَعَدَّتهُ الخِلافَةُ لِلعِدا
وَسَمَّتهُ دونَ العالَمِ الصارِمَ العَضبا
He is prepared by the Caliphate for a great destiny against the foe,
And named, above all others, the Sharp Sword.
وَلَم تَفتَرِق عَنهُ الأَسِنَّةُ رَحمَةً
وَلَم يَترُكِ الشامَ الأَعادي لَهُ حُبّا
The spear points did not part from him out of mercy,
Nor did the enemy abandon Syria to him out of love.
وَلَكِن نَفاها عَنهُ غَيرَ كَريمَةٍ
كَريمُ الثَنا ما سُبَّ قَطُّ وَلا سَبّا
Nay, he drove them away, stripped of all honor,
He of noble praise, who never reviled nor was reviled.
وَجَيشٌ يُثَنّي كُلَّ طَودٍ كَأَنَّهُ
خَريقُ رِياحٍ واجَهَت غُصُناً رَطبا
With an army that bends every mountain, as if,
It were a gale wind striking a tender branch.
كَأَنَّ نُجومَ اللَيلِ خافَت مُغارَهُ
فَمَدَّت عَلَيها مِن عَجاجَتِهِ حُجبا
As if the stars of the night feared his assault,
And drew veils of his battle-dust across their faces.
فَمَن كانَ يُرضي اللُؤمَ وَالكُفرَ مُلكُهُ
فَهَذا الَّذي يُرضي المَكارِمَ وَالرَبّا
So if there be one whose rule pleases baseness and unbelief,
Then here stands the one who pleases noble virtues and the Lord.
