إذا نثرَ الناسُ الهِرَقْليَّةَ الصُّفْرا

نثرتُ على عليائك الحمدَ والشُّكرا

When people scatter saffron,

I scatter praise and thanks upon you.

وصغتُ من الذهن المصفَّى بدائعا

أقرِّط أسماعَ الرُّواةِ بها شَذْرا

I compose from a pure mind masterpieces

To please the ears of transmitters with them somewhat.

فلا تحسبَنَّ الدُّرَّ في البحرِ وحدَه

فقد تُخرِج الأفواهُ من لفظها دُرَّا

So do not think that only the sea contains pearls -

Mouths can also bring out pearls from their speech.

ومن كان جسمَ المكرمات وروحَها

تحلَّى ثناءً لا لُجينا ولا تِبرا

And whoever was the body and soul of honors

Was adorned with praise, not coarseness or reprimand.

يُحيَّا برَيحان المحامدِ سمعُه

ويكفيهِ أن كانت مناقبه عِطرا

His hearing is greeted with the basil of praises,

And it suffices him that his merits are fragrant.

ولست براضٍ غيرَ وصفك تحفةً

ولا قاضيا إلا بمِدحتك النَّذرا

I am not pleased with any gift but your description,

Nor a judge except with praising you as compensation.

بلغتَ عميدَ الدولة الغايةَ التي

ركائبُ أنباءِ المنى دونَها حَسرَى

You reached the ultimate goal of power,

Below which the conveyors of wishes fell short.

وما زلتَ تُغلى المجدَ حتى جعلتَهُ

عليك حبيسا لا يباعُ ولا يُشرى

You kept heating glory until you made it

Yours, not to be sold or bought.

وكم طالبٍ فيه نصيبا وإنه

ليَقبِضُ كفَّيْه إذا عَرف السِّعرا

How many a seeker claims a share in it yet

He folds his palms if he knows the price!

تطيعك في المعروف نفسٌ حيِيَّة

إذا سُئلتْ جدواك تستقبحُ العُذرا

An energetic soul obeys you in kindness -

If asked about your generosity, it sees apology as ugly.

أظنُّك في الدنيا تُريد زهادةً

فلستَ بمستبقٍ لعاقبةٍ ذُخرا

I think you want asceticism in the world,

For you are not one who stores up for a future consequence.

وقد كانت النَّعماءُ جادت بنفسها

فأنشأتَها في عصرك النشأةَ الأخرى

Blessings volunteered with herself,

So you recreated her in your time with another birth,

مواهبُ يُعطين الغنىَّ على الغِنَى

مَزيدا ويتركن الفقيرَ كمن أثرى

Gifts that give wealth over wealth

As extra and leave the poor as if he were rich,

يوافين سراًّ والسحابُ برعدها

تبوح بما توليه إن أرسلتْ قَطرا

Coming in secret while the clouds thunder with it,

Announcing what they grant if they pour rain.

فدّى لك صيفىُّ الغمامة في الندى

يَظُنّ سؤالَ السائلين به مكرا

My summer cloud in the dew has ransomed you,

Suspecting the request of petitioners to be a trick.

إذا حامت الآمالُ حول حِياضه

سمعنَ بها من كلِّ ناحيةٍ زَجرا

When hopes flock around his coasts,

They hear from every side a rebuke.

ألستَ من القوم الذين نداهُمُ

حبائُلهم والراغبون بها أسرى

Are you not one of those people whose tents

And those who desire them are captivated?

يبيتون في المشتى خِماصاً وعندهم

من الزاد فضلاتٌ تُصان لمن يُقرى

They spend nights in places of enjoyment while having

Leftover provisions protected for whoever is fed,

خشَوا أن يضِلَّ الضيفُ عنهم فرفَّعوا

من النار في الظلماء ألويةً حُمرا

Fearing the guest gets lost from them, so they raised

From the darkness banners of red fire.

أفادوا الذي شاءوا وأفنَوه عاجلا

فقد جمعتْ أيديهم العُسرَ واليُسرا

They benefited those they wanted and destroyed them promptly -

Thus their hands gathered ease and hardship.

تواليك حباَّتُ القلوب كأنما

خُلقتَ سرورا في الضمائِر أو سِرّا

The hearts' seeds succeed you as if

You were created a secret in consciences or a mystery.

فإن كانت العينان داعيةَ الهوى

فقد أبصرتْ من شخصك الشمسَ والبدرا

So if the two eyes invite love,

They have seen in your person the sun and the moon.

وإن كان للنفس الطروبِ تتيُّمٌ

فأجدرُ أن تَهوَى خلائقَك الزُّهرا

And if the soul has a longing for warmth,

It is most deserving to yearn for your blossoms.

فقد جنَح الأعداءُ للسّلم رغبةً

إليك وأىّ الناس لا يعشق البِرّا

Even enemies have inclined toward peace with you

And what person does not love righteousness?

فأما سَقام الحاسدين فما له

شفاءٌ وقد كادتهُمُ نِعَمٌ تَتْرَى

As for the illness of enviers, it has no cure,

And blessings that can be picked have almost ended.

تسوت يداك بسطةً وسماحةً

فلم تفخر اليمنى بفضل على اليسرى

Your hands are equal in extension and generosity

So the right did not boast over the left of any favor.

ومعترَكٍ للقوم مزَّقتَ جمَعه

بحدِّ لسانٍ يُحسن الكرّ والفرّا

You tore apart the group of people that quarrel

With the edge of a tongue that alternates between attack and defense.

وفحشاء أدّتها إليك جهالةٌ

جعلتَ رتاجَ الحلم من دونها سِترا

And vulgarity that ignorance led to you

Made the refuge of forbearance without it a veil.

سما بك فوق العزّ قلبٌ مشيَّعٌ

إذا ركب الأهوالَ لم يستشر فكرا

Over glory flies a protected heart -

If it undertakes fears it does not consult a thought.

وهمّةُ وثَّابٍ على كلّ ذِروةٍ

يَنال على أكّدها النَّهىَ والأمرا

And the determination of a rewarder on every peak

Attains the prohibition and command at its firmest.

ألا ربَّ ساعٍ في مَداك كَبتْ به

مطاياه أو قالت له رِجلُه عَثْرا

Oh, many an hour in your succession that

His steeds stumbled with him or his leg tripped!

وملتمِسٍ في عدِّ فضلك غايةً

ومن يَشبُر الخضراءَ أو ينزِف البحرا

And a seeker of the limit of your favor

And whoever wades into the green or bleeds the sea!

خذوا عن غُبار الأعوجيَّات جانبا

وإلا فقد ضيعتمُ خَلفها الحُضرا

Take a side from the dust of crookedness

Otherwise you have wasted prime pursuit.

وخلُّوا لهذا البازلِ القَرِم شَولَه

فإنكُمُ لم تَحذِقوا الهَدْر والخَطْرا

And leave this firm hero his whim -

You have not mastered loss and danger.

فتىً سالَبَ ألأعداء حِرصا على العلا

فأجلَوا له عنها وما عَقَد الأُزْرا

A young man who deprived enemies of eagerness for heights

So they submitted to him and did not tie a knot.

وهل يُعجب الروضُ المنوّرُ أعينا

رعَتْ في محيّاه الطلاقةَ والبِشرا

Does the illuminated garden not please eyes

That have grazed in its beauty and cheer?

كأنَّ الحياءَ انهلَّ في وجَناته

فكانَ لها ماءً وكانت له غُدْرا

As if modesty has poured in his cheeks

So it was his water and his excess was its basins.

تحدّثه الغيبَ الخفىَّ طنونهُ

فتحسبُها قد أودِعتْ صُحُفا تُقرَا

Its intimate whispers speak to him of hidden secrets

So you think they were deposited in pages being read.

وقالوا هو الغيث الذي يغمرُ الربىَ

فقلت لهم ما زدتموني به خُبرا

They said he is the pouring rain that floods the land

So I said to them you have not added to me any news.

فقالوا هو الليثُ المعفِّر قِرنَهُ

فقلت بحقّ الله أيُّهما أجرا

They said he is the lion whose mane hair is dusty

So I said, by God, which of them is more fitting?

حلفت بها تَهوِى على ثَفِناتها

من الأين مرخاةً أزمَّتُها صُعرا

I swore that it descends upon its shoulders

Let down, tightening them, with raised hair.

تجرِّر أذيالَ الرياح وراءَ ها

إذا كتبتْ سطرا محتْ قبلَه سطرا

It drags behind it the trains of winds

When it writes a line, it erases what came before.

تَنَزَّهُ عن حَمل الأوانسِ كالدُّمى

وتحمِل في كِيرانها الشُّعثَ والغُبْرا

It abstains from carrying riders like statues

And carries in its raids dishevelment and dust,

إلى حيث لا تُجزَى بحسن صنيعها

إذا ما قضَوا نُسكا جزَوها به نَحرا

To where good treatment is not rewarded

When they fulfill a ritual, the reward is their slaughter.

وبالبيت محفوفا بمن طاف حوله

إطافةَ سِمطىْ لؤلؤ قلّدا نحرا

And a house, surrounded by those who circled around it

Circling of commoners wearing necklaces of pearls.

تُفاضُ سجوفُ الرَّقم في جبناته

على ماثلٍ تَعرَى السيوفُ ولا يعرى

The cheeks of its inscriptions reveal in their shells

To a viewer the swords are bared and not bared.

حمىً لا يخاف الطيرُ في شجراتهِ

قنيصا ولا تخشى الظباءُ به ذُعرا

A sanctuary whose trees birds do not fear

Any shirt, nor do deer fear any startling with it.

وبالحجرِ الملثومِ سمعا وطاعة

ونعلم أنْ ما يملك النفع والضرا

By the firmly twisted stone of hearing and obedience,

We know that He who controls benefit and harm.

لأنت إذا صَكُّوا القِداح على العلا

أحظُّهمُ سهما وأسرعُهم قَمرا

When they clink the drinking cups for heights

I am most deserving of an arrow and fastest in shooting.

وأعلاهُمُ كعبا وأحلاهُمُ جَنىً

وأوفاهُمُ عهدا وأرفعُهم ذِكرا

Highest of heel, sweetest of booty,

Most faithful in promise and highest in mention.

كفاك نجاحُ السعى في كلّ مطلب

هممت به أن تزج الأدم والعفرا

The success of the effort in every goal

That you have desired to accomplish suffices you.

بعزم كما أطلقن أنشوطة الحبى

وجِدٍّ كما نفَّرتَ عن مَربإ صَقرا

With resolve, like the freedom of yearning was released,

And passion, like an eagle startled from its nest was scared.

رأيتك طودا للخليفة شامخا

وسيفا على شانيه يختصر العمرا

I saw you as a towering mountain peak for the caliph's seat,

A sword above its sheath that shortens lifetimes.

إِذا عرَضتْ حَوجاءُ كنتَ قضاءَها

وإن طرَقتْ غَمّاءُ سَدّ بك الثغرا

When distressful needs come to you, you judge them,

And if sorrows knock, the gap is closed by you.

دعاك لأمرٍ ليس يُحكِم فتلَه

سواك وهجِيِّراك أن تُبرمَ الأمرا

An order called you for an affair that none but you

Can execute, and it deemed you carry out the command.

فأرسلتَها من بابلٍ وكأنما

تُقلِقلُ من تحت السروج قَطاً كُدْرا

So you sent it from Babylon as if

You disturb a cat from under the saddles, purring.

صدمَت بها الأجبالَ والقُرُّ كالحٌ

تجلّلها ثلجا وتُنعلها صخرا

It hit the mountains and ruins like tattooed patches -

It dresses them with snow and shoes them with boulders.

تَذكَّرُ مَرعىً بالعراقِ ومورِدا

وهل ينفع المشتاقَ ترديدُه الذكرا

It remembers a pasture in Iraq and a watering place -

And does repeating recollection benefit the ardent?

إذا رَبأتْ في قُنَّةٍ خِلت أنها

خُدارِيّةُ العِقبانِ طالبةً وَكرا

When it loitered in a pass, it thought it

A place for crows seeking a den.

فزاحمن فيها الشُّهب حتى طمعن أن

يحلَّين منهنّ القلائدَ والعُذْرا

So they competed therein with meteors until they aspired

To adorn from them necklaces and finery.

بكلِّ منيفٍ يقصُر الطيرُ دونه

ولا تجد النكباءُ من فوقه مَجرى

With every minaret whose height the birds fall short of

And which the starlings do not find a way above.

وطودٍ بحولىّ الجليدِ معمَّمٍ

كما زار لونُ الشيب في هامةٍ شَعرا

And a towering mountain peak clad in snowy turban

As the color of white has visited the forelock's hair.

كأنا كشطنا عنه جِلدةَ بازلٍ

كسا شحمُه جنبيه والمتنَ والظهرا

It is as if we peeled off it the skin of a mule

That covered its sides, back, and belly with fat.

أقامت به ألأنواءُ تُهدى لك القِرى

ولم تقتنع بالماء فاحتلبت دَرَّا

The various types of weather resided in it to guide villages to you,

And did not suffice with water so they milked pearl.

فرشنَ بِكافورِ السماء لك الربىَ

فشابهنَه لونا وخالفنَه قِشرا

They furnished the land for you with camphor of the sky

So it resembled it in color and opposed it in crust.

اذا خلَصت منها الجيادُ رأيتها

وما خالطت لونا محجَّلةً غُرّا

When the steeds were saved from it, I saw them

Adorned with no color mixed in, covered in dust.

وقاسمها بُعدُ المدى في جسومها

فأفنى بها شطرا وابقى لها شطرا

And the distance of the journey separated them in their bodies

So it did away in them with half and left for them half.

ولما دَحَت قُود الهضاب وراءَها

ورنّحها طولُ القيادِ لها سُكرا

And when the tethers of plateaus draped behind them

And the length of the leading intoxicated them.

رمتْ صحصحانَ الرَّى منها بأعين

تردّد في أعطافه نظرا شَزرا

It cast the neighing of delight from them with eyes

Looking from their corners with a glancing wink.

هناك دعا داعٍ من الله مسمِعٌ

فلبَّاك من ضمَّتْ معالمُها طُرَّا

There called a caller whom the Hearer answered -

So you received when its features gathered soil.

يحيُّون ميمونَ النقيبةِ ماجدا

ويَلقون بالتعظيم أعظمَهم قدرا

They congratulate the blessed rising auspiciously

And show utmost reverence to their greatest in rank.

ولا قيتَ ربَّ التاج يرفعُ حُجْبَهَ

ويطردُ ما ناجيته التيهَ والكِبرا

You did not see the Lord of the Crown raise his veils

And banish what you have whispered to Him of misguidance and arrogance.

وحاورتَه حتى شغفتَ فؤادَه

ألا ربّما كان البيانُ هو السحرا

You conversed with Him until you have fascinated His heart -

Beware, perhaps rhetoric itself is magic!

رأى فيك ما يهواه مجدا وسؤددا

فما كنت إلا في مجالسه صدرا

He saw in you what he loves of glory and happiness

Thus you were none but foremost in his gatherings.

وحسبُك فخرا أن تجَهزّتَ غاديا

فقضَّيتَ أوطار النبوّة من كِسرى

It suffices you pride that you marched a departure

And accomplished the ends of prophethood from Ctesiphon.

مليكٌ حمَى الرحمنُ بيضةَ مُلكه

فما في الورى من يستطيع لها كَسرا

A King whom the Merciful has protected the egg of his dominion -

Thus none in existence can break it.

كتائُبه في كلّ شرق ومغرب

مدرَّعةٌ فتحا مؤيّدةٌ نصرا

His regiments are armored with openings for conquests

In every east and west, victorious.

كَفاه نظامُ الملك أكبرَ همّة

وأتعبَ في آرائه السرَّ والجهرا

The systemization of the Kingdom sufficed the greatest ambition

And busied his counsel of hidden and public.