شَيبٌ لِغَيرِ أَوانِهِ يَعتادُ
داءٌ وَلكِن أَبطَأُ العُوّادُ
Gray hair untimely appears,
An illness, though the cure be slow.
قَبل البَياضُ وَكَم بِقَلبِكَ عِبرَة
هَيهات أَن يَزَعَ البَياضَ سَوادُ
Before white hair, how many tears in your heart?
Alas, blackness cannot be removed by white.
لَو دامَ مُعتَرِضُ القَتيلِ بِحالِهِ
لَرَضيتُهُ لكِنَّهُ يَزدادُ
Had he who was killed remained as he was,
I would be satisfied, but he progresses.
أَو كانَ يَرضى بِالشَبابِ مُرافِقاً
لَقَنعتُ لكِن جُندُهُ أَبرادُ
Or if he was pleased to have youth with him,
I would be content, but his troops are cold.
أَو لَم يَكُن فَقدُ الشَبابِ نَقيصَةً
لَم تَشمُت الأَعداءُ وَالحُسّادُ
Or had not the loss of youth been a deficiency,
Enemies and enviers would not gloat.
ما شَيَّبَتني أَربَعونَ صَحبَتُها
أَنّى وَلَم يَعلُ بِها الميلادُ
Forty years of companionship did not make me gray,
How could it, when birth did not know it?
بَل شَيَّبَتني حادِثاتٌ أَخرجَت
آلَ النَبِيِّ الأَبطَحِيِّ شِدادُ
Rather, other events made me gray,
Driving out the family of the Prophet Shaddad.
نَوَبٌ تُطَبِّقُ بِالحداد نِساءهُم
أَبَداً لَهُنَّ عَلى الكِرامِ حِدادُ
Misfortunes clothe their women in mourning,
Their honor in grief forevermore.
يا سادَتي مِن أَهلِ بَيتِ مُحَمَّدٍ
أَنتُم عتادي يَومَ لَيسَ عتادُ
O my masters of Muhammad’s family,
You are my custom though custom has gone.
كُلٌّ لَهُ زادٌ يَدلُّ بِحملِهِ
وَولاكُم يَومَ القِيامَةِ زادُ
Each one has provision showing his burden,
While your provision on Judgment Day is generosity.
أَنتُم سراجُ اللَهِ في ظُلَمِ الدُجى
لَو كانَ يَدري القابِس المُرتادُ
You are God’s lamp in the darkness of night,
If only the lost traveler knew.
ها أَنتُمُ سُفُنُ النَجاةِ وَرافِعوا الد
دَرَجاتِ يَومَ تشاهَد الأَشهادُ
You are the ships of salvation, raising
Degrees on the day witnesses are brought.
بُعِثَ النَبِيُّ وَلا مَنارَ عَلى الهدى
وَالرشدُ قَد ضُرِبَت لَهُ الأَسدادُ
The Prophet was sent when no beacon of guidance remained,
And righteousness had been barred.
فَهدى وَأَدّى لَيسَ بِفِكرُ في العِدى
وَالكفرُ دونَ جلادِهِ أَجلادُ
He guided and fulfilled his duty, not thinking of transgression,
While unbelief, without his swords, was but skins.
فَزها عَلى شَجرِ الرَشادِ ثِمارُهُ
وَأَتى عَلى زَرعِ الضَلالِ حصادُ
So his teachings blossomed on the tree of guidance,
While the harvest of misguidance was reaped.
خُسِفَت بِهِ الأَصنامُ بَعد عُلُوِّها
فَكَأَنَّهُ ريحٌ وَهاتا عادُ
Idols were brought down by him after their loftiness,
As if he were wind and they were pegs.
وَوَزيرُهُ وَأَثيرُهُ وَنَصيرُهُ
أَسَدٌ تَزِلُّ لِبَأسِهِ الآسادُ
His vizier, his supporter, his helper,
A lion whose might makes thrones tremble.
ذاكَ اِبنُ فاطِمَة الَّذي عَزَماتُهُ
بيضٌ صَوارِمُ ما لَها أَغمادُ
That is the son of Fatima whose resolved mind
Is white blades whose sheaths are not still.
مَن سَيفُهُ حوَت وَلا يُروى وَاِن
وَرَدَ الدِماءَ حياضُها الأَجساد
He whose sword's edge is not sated with blood
Though bodies pour out their veins.
مَن عِلمُهُ لم يُبتَذِل بَكأ بِهِ
حاشاهُ من بِحرٍ لَهُ امداد
He whose knowledge is never made common
Far be he from a sea that ebbs.
مَن بَأسُهُ لا بَأسَ ان عَظَّمتَهُ
عَن أَن تُقاسَ بِقَدرِهِ الأَندادُ
He whose might cannot be deemed too great
To be matched with any peers.
عَجِبَت مَلائِكَةُ السَماءِ لِحَربِهِ
في يَومِ بَدرٍ وَالجِيادُ جِهادُ
The angels of heaven were amazed by his war
On the day of Badr when the steeds charged.
اِذ شاهَدَتهُ وَالمَنونُ تطيعُهُ
فيمَن يَهمُّ بِخَطفِهِ وَيَكادُ
When they saw him and fate obeyed him
Against those it sought to seize.
أَفَحكاهُ عَنهُم جِبرئيلُ لأَحمدٍ
اِسنادُ مجدٍ لَيسَ فيهِ سِنادُ
Did Gabriel relate that to Ahmad?
A chain of glory without chain links.
صَرَعَ الوَليدَ بِمَوقِفٍ شابَ الوَلي
دُ لِهَولِهِ وَتَهاوَتِ الأَعضادُ
He felled al-Walid in a stance that horrified al-Walid
By its terror and the crumbling of bones.
وَأَذاقَ عُتبَةَ بِالحُسامِ عُقوبَةً
حُسِمَت بِها الأَدواءُ وَهيَ تِلادُ
And he made Utbah taste punishment by the sword,
With it the illnesses were decided and multiplied.
وَعَدا عَلى عِشرينَ يَعتَرّونَ بِال
عُزّى فَجادوا بِالحَياةِ وَبادوا
He attacked twenty who prided themselves on glory,
So they generously gave their lives and perished.
من كُلِّ أَبلَجَ من قُرَيشٍ سيفُهُ
من فَوقِ أَكنافِ السَماءِ نجادُ
From every bright star of Quraysh his sword
Rose shedding blood from the clouds' edges.
أَحلافُ حَربٍ أَرضَعوا أَخلافَها
فَكَأَنَّهُم لِحُروبِهِم أَولاد
Sworn tribes nurtured their offspring for wars
As if for their wars they had borne them.
قَوم اِذا رَمَقَ الزَمانُ مَكانَهُم
أَقعى وَقالَ المَوتُ وَالمِرصادُ
A people, when time aims its blow at their place,
Fall down, and death with ambushes says:
وَرَأوا أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ فَأَيقَنوا
أَنَّ الوهادَ تَطولها الأَطواد
They saw the Commander of the Faithful and were certain
That even foxholes cannot protect against him.
يَفري الفَرِيَّ وَيَنزِلُ البَطلَ الكَمي
يَ وَحُلّتاهُ من الدِماءِ جِسادُ
The knight flees, and the tireless hero descends
While his garments are bodies pouring blood.
ما كانَ في قَتلاهُ الّا باسِلٌ
فَكَأَنَّما صَمصامُهُ نَقّادُ
In his killings was only a champion
As if his sword were threshing stalks.
لَكَ يا عَلِيُّ دَعا النَبِيُّ بِخَيبَرٍ
وَالقَومُ قَد كَذَّبوا القِتالَ وَعادوا
The Prophet called you at Khaybar, O Ali,
And the people had refused to fight and turned away.
فَأَخَذتَ رايَتَهُ بكفٍّ عُوِّدَت
عاداتِ نصرٍ لم تَزل تُعتادُ
You took his flag with a hand accustomed
To habitual victories unceasing.
فَصَدقتَهُم حَرباً غَدت نيرانُها
ثُمَّ اِنثَنَت وَالمُشرِكونَ رمادُ
You made true for them a war whose fires
Later subsided, and the polytheists became ashes.
وَثَلَلتَ مَعقِلَهُم لحرِّ جَبينِهِ
كَم قائِمٍ أَزرى بِهِ الاِقعاد
You made breaches in their fortress with your fierce forehead,
Like a pillar built by sitting.
وَرَجعتَ مَنصورَ الجَبينِ مُظَفَّراً
في المُسلِمينَ دَليلُكَ الاِرشاد
You returned, your brow triumphant and victorious,
A guide for Muslims in guidance.
كَم من رؤوسِ لِلضِّلالِ قَصَدتَها
فَتَبَرَّأت من حملها الأَجساد
How many heads of misguidance you sought out
So their bodies rejected bearing them.
وَاِذكُر لعمرُ اللَهِ عمراً عِندَما
أَورَدتَهُ اِذ أَعوزَ الايراد
And remember, by God’s life, Umar, when
You succored him when means failed.
جَبنَ الجَميعُ وَلا جموعَ تَطيقُهُ
وَالشرُّ منهُ مبدأ وَمَعادُ
All were afraid, and no groups could stand him
While evil from him was source and return.
حَتّى اِنبَرَيتَ لجسمِهِ فَبَرَيتَهُ
كَزنادٍ الوى مالَهُ اصلادُ
Until you rose against his body, saving him
Like tinder taking fire though having no flint.
بَدَّدتَ شَملَ الكافرونَ بَصارِمٍ
في حَدِّهِ الاِشقاءُ وَالاِسعادُ
You scattered the confederates with sharp blades.
Among them separation and happiness were limited.
لَو رُمتَ أَسرَهُمُ لَهانَ وَاِنَّما
بِكَ أَن يَعُمَّ المُشرِكينَ نفادُ
Had you sought to capture them, they would have despaired, but rather
Your way is for polytheism to exhaust itself.
مُلكتَهُم يَومَ الوَغى وَبَذَلتَهُم
وَكَأَنَّهُم مالٌ وَأَنتَ جَوادُ
You possessed them on the day of battle but pardoned them,
As if they were wealth and you were generous.
كَرم يشارُ اِلَيهِ بِالأَيدي الطوا
لِ وَمَفخر بِالمُكرَمات يَشاد
A nobility pointed to by outstretched hands
And a pride in generosity loudly proclaimed.
وَعمومَةٌ وَخؤولَةٌ في هاشِمٍ
لهما بِأَعلى الفرقَدَينِ مهادُ
A generality and distinction in Hashim
Whose resting place is the highest tombs.
وَعبادةٌ لو قَسِّمَت بَينَ الوَرى
عادَ العِبادُ وَكلُّهُم عُبّاد
A worship, if divided among creation,
Would return worshippers, all being worshippers.
وَخطابَة جذب القرآنُ بِضبعِها
لَم يُحتَكَم قَسٌّ لَها وَاياد
An eloquence that attracted the Quran to its bosom,
No judge was ever brought against it.
وَشجاعَةٌ لَمّا اِستَمَرَّ مَريرُها
لَم يُرضَ عَنتَرَةٌ وَلا شَدّاد
A courage that when its bitterness continued
Antarah would not be pleased with it, nor Dhaddad.
وَتَزَوَّجَ الزَهراءَ وَهيَ فَضيلَةٌ
غَرّاءُ لَيسَ تَبيدُها الآبادُ
And he married Fatima, and she is a virtue
Radiant, not annihilated by time.
قَد جاءَ بِالحَسَنينِ وَهو موفِقٌ
لِلحُسنَيَينِ وَنَجمُهُ صَعّادُ
He came with the two noble Hassan and Hussain, successful
For the two beauties, his star rising.
غادٍ إِلى الاِسلامِ يَحفظُ أَيدَهُ
لَو لَم يُحاوِل كيدَهُ أَو غادُ
Going to Islam, he protects his hands
Unless schemes or deceivers trouble him.
قَد دَبَّت الطَلقاءُ نَحو ضِرارِهِ
تَقتادُها الأَذخالُ وَالأَحقادُ
Camels marched toward his harm,
Driven by grudges and envy.
مِن بَعدِ أَن فُتِحَ الطَريقُ وَضَيِّعَ ال
عَهدُ الوَثيقُ وَأُخلِفَ الميعادُ
After the path was opened and pacts broken
And promised time was breached.
يا بَصرَةُ اِعتَرَفي بِأَنَّ بَصائِراً
فَقَدت لَدَيكَ رمى بِهِنَّ عناد
O Basra, confess that perceptions
Were lost with you, shot down by stubbornness.
يا كَربَلاءُ تَحَدَّثي بِبَلائِنا
وَبكربنا اِن الحَديثَ يعاد
O Karbala, speak of our afflictions
And sorrows, if speaking may be repeated.
أَسَدٌ نماهُ أَحمَدٌ وَوَصِيُّهُ
أَرداهُ كلبٌ قَد نَماهُ زِيادُ
A lion Ahmad grew, and his successor,
Mauled by a dog that Ziyad grew.
لا يَشتَفي الا بِسَبي بَناتِهِ
وَحُداتُها التَخويفُ وَالاِيعادُ
He is not sated but by capturing his daughters,
His threats are terror and warnings.
وَالدينُ يَبكي وَالمَلائِكُ تَشتَكي
وَالجَوُّ أَكلَفُ وَالسِنونَ جَمادُ
Religion weeps and angels complain,
The heavens darker, and years solid.
لا بَأسَ اِنَّ اللَهَ بِالمِرصادِ وَالر
رجسُ الزَنيمُ إِلى الجَحيمِ يُقادُ
No matter, God lies in ambush,
And filthy disgrace is driven to hell.
أَيا آلَ هِندٍ اِن عَثَرتُ بِحُبِّكُم
فَرَأَيتُ جَدّي عاثِراً يَنأَد
O family of Hind, if I stumble in loving you
And see my grandfather stumble, censured,
اِن لَم أَكُن حَرباً لحرب كُلِّها
فَنَفانيَ الآباءُ وَالأَجدادُ
If I am not at war with all wars,
Then my fathers and forefathers are forgotten.
اِن لَم أُتابِع لَعنَها فَتَرَكتُ دي
نَ الاِعتِزالِ وَتَركُهُ الحادُ
If I do not continue its curses, I have left
The religion of isolation and leaving the strayers.
اِن لَم أُفَضِّل أَحمَداً وَوَصِيَّهُ
فَهَدَمتُ مَجداً شادَهُ عَبّادُ
If I do not prefer Ahmad and his successor,
Then I have destroyed a glory built by worshippers.
يا سادَتي قَد صارَ هذا عادَتي
في حُبِّكُم يا حَبَّذا المُعتادُ
My masters, this has become my habit
In loving you, excellent accustomed.
أَرجو بِهِ حُسنَ الشَفاعَةِ عِندَكُم
في يَومِ يَنتَظِمُ العبادَ معادُ
I hope by it for gracious intercession with you
On a day when servants are herded to their return.
كَم شيعَةٍ تَصغي لِسِحرِ قَصائِدي
فَكَأَنَّما أَيّامُها أَعيادُ
How many Shia listen to the magic of my poems
As if their days are holidays.
وَمناصبين تَسمَّعوا وَقلوبُهُم
حَرّى تَفَتَّتُ دونها الأَكبادُ
And loyalists who listen while their hearts
Burn, and below them livers crumble.
يا أَيُّها الكوفِيُّ هذه غُرَّةٌ
في جَبهَةِ الدُنيا لَها اِفرادُ
O you of Kufa, this is an unmatched
Patch on the cheek of life.
قَد أُنشِدَت مِن حَيّ عبادِيَّةً
خَضَعت لَها الأَضدادُ وَالأَندادُ
It was composed praising my devoted ones,
To which opposites and peers submitted.
أَنشد وجوِّد فهيَ مِفتاحُ التُقى
يُزهى بِها التَوحيدُ وَالاِنشادُ
I compose praising, for it is the key to piety,
By which divine oneness and reciting are adorned.
وَاِذا سُئِلتَ لِقصدِها وَمقرِّها
فَالحَيرُ أَو كوفان أَو بَغداد
And if you are asked about its intention and place,
Then Kufa, Hira, or Baghdad.
