دَعنِىَ مِن ذِكرِ حُدَاةِ الأَينُقِ
ونَدبِ رَسمٍ لِلبِلَى مُعتَنِق
Let me forget the memory of the slender beauties
And the lamenting of a drawing destined for decay
وَارنُ لها جوَّابةً أُفقَ الفضَا
مَدَّت جَنَاحى طائِرٍ مُحَلِّق
And I view for it a vast horizon as a response
Where a soaring bird has stretched its wings
تسيرُ ليلاً وضُحًى وسَيرُهَا
رأدَ الضُّحَى كسَيرِها في الغَسَق
It moves by night and by day and its movement
By day is like its movement in the darkness
وهىَ إذا ما أسرَعَت في لَيلهَا
مِثلَ شِهابٍ للدُّجَى مُختَرِقِ
And when it speeds in its night
Like a shooting star piercing the gloom
وتارةً تبدُو كنجمٍ لاَمعٍ
بينَ الثُّريَّا والثَّرَى مُعَلَّقِ
And it sometimes appears like a shining star
Suspended between the Pleiades and the ground
أُفقُ الفضاءِ مَدَّنُوناً حولَها
وهىَ كَنقطةٍ لنُون الأفقِ
The horizon surrounds it on all sides
And it is like a dot for the letter noon in the horizon
افترشَت متنَ الهَوا والتحَفَت
من السماءِ برداءٍ أزرق
It spread out on the body of the air and was cloaked
From the sky in a blue gown
فَتارةً مِن مشرقٍ لمَغرب
وتارةً مِن مَغربٍ لمَشرِق
So sometimes from east to west
And other times from west to east
وليقف لحظُكَ بالأرضِ أُختهَا
تنسَابُ في مُنعَرَجاتِ الطُّرقِ
And your moment on earth, its sister
Flows in the winding paths
تُسابِقُ الرِّيحَ فَيبقَى خلفها
وسَابقَت ظِلاَّلهَا لَم يُسبَق
It races the wind so it remains behind it
And it raced its shadows which were not outrun
كأُفعُوانٍ خلفَ صَيدِه جرَى
رامَ التِحَاقَه ولم يَلتَحِقِ
Like snakes behind their prey they ran
Wanting to catch up but could not reach
وقد حَنَت ضلُوعُها علَى حَبي
بٍ لفِراقِ شخصِه لم أطِقِ
And its ribs have yearned for a beloved
Whose separation I could not endure
عَصرٌ بِمعجزاتِه جادَ لَنا
وبالعُلُوم والفنُونِ والرُّقِي
An age with its miracles has been generous to us
With knowledge, arts and advancement
يقفُ فِكرُ المَرءِ فيه صَاغِرا
أمَام واقعٍ ألمّا يَصدُقِ
Human thought in it stands humbled
Before a painful reality that is hard to believe
أكبرُ مُعجِزاتِه كما تَرَى
إيجَادُه شَخصِيَةً لم تُسبَقِ
Its greatest miracle, as you see
Is creating a personality that is unmatched
هُوَ هُوَ الباشا التهاميِّ الذي
قد حازَ في العليَاءِ قصبَ السَّبَقِ
He, he is the brilliant Al-Tahami
Who has won the supremacy among the elite
باشا مَقامَه الملوكُ ترتَجِي
لِكَى تفوزَ بالمَقامِ الأليَقِ
Pasha, even kings esteem his position
So they may win a more fitting station
مَن به عَصرُه قدِ ازدَهَى عَلَى
كلِّ العُصورِ ما مَضَى ومَا بَقِى
Through him, his age has become more glorious
Than all the past and future ages
كلَّلَهُ المجدُ بتَاجِ عِزِّه
وهوَ بِعَرشِ كلِّ قَلبٍ مُرتَقِ
Glory has crowned him with the crown of might
And he sits on the throne of every heart
بِطلعَةٍ وضَّاءةِ بنُورهَا
قد أشرَقت في الكَون شمسُ الأُفُقِ
With a shining appearance whose light
Has risen in the universe like a sun on the horizon
إذا تبدَّى في جلاَل هَيبَةٍ
فأىُّ قلبٍ عندهُ لم يخفِقِ
When he appears in his majestic awe
Which heart in his presence does not palpitate?
فقلبُ مُحتَاجٍ رَجَاء خائِفٍ
وقلبُ بَاغٍ خَائِفٍ مِن فَرَقِ
The heart of a needy person hoping and fearful
And the heart of a rebel fearful of separation
أمَامَه تَقف وهُوَ مُفرَدٌ
كأنَّمَا أنتَ أمامَ فيلَق
You stand before him alone
As if you are before an army
مَن قَاس غَيرَهُ به فَهو كَمَن
نَجمَ السُّهَا قاسَ ببَدرٍ مُشرِقٍ
Whoever compares others to him is like
One who compares stars to a shining full moon
ماذا أقولُ في كَريم لَو يُنَا
دَى أحدٌ في مَغربِ أو مَشرقِ
What can I say about a generous one, if
Anyone were called out in east or west
مَن منكُمُ ما عمَّه نوَالُه
لخَرِسَ الكلُّ ولمَّا يَنطِقِ
Who of you has not been covered by his blessings
All would fall silent and not speak a word
أو قيلَ مَن غَريقُ بَحرِ جُودِه
لَصَاح كلٌّ كلُّنا ذُو غَرَق
Or it was said whoever drowned in the sea of his generosity
Would shout, all of us have drowned
ماذا أقولُ في كريمٍِ أخجلَ الس
سَيلُ أمامَه فلم يَندَفِق
What can I say about a generous one who has shamed
The torrent before him so it did not flow
كأنَّه في الجُود قبلَ سُؤلِه
بابُ سَماءٍ سَحَّ في تدفُّقِ
As if before being asked, in generosity
He is a door to the sky flowing in abundance
مَناصبٌ لم تُغنِ عن مكَاسِبٍ
وذَهبٌ لم يُغنِه عن وَرِقِ
Positions did not avail like virtues do
And gold did not avail him like leaves do
يضُوعُ عَرفُ المِسكِ عندَ ذِكرِه
لا سِيمَا في ذكرِه بالخُلُقِ
The fragrance of musk spreads when he is mentioned
Especially when mentioned with manners
بل كلُّ مِسكٍ عَبِقِ العَرفِ فمَا
بِغيرِ ذكرِه شَذاً لَم يَعبَقِ
Rather, every musk diffusing fragrance, without
Mentioning him, did not exude aroma
ذُو همَّةٍ قد زانَها تواضُعٌ
كهضَبَةٍ تَزهَى بزَهرٍ آنِقِ
A man of ambition adorned by humility
Like a plateau adorned with delicate flowers
إذا جلَستَ مَعَه مُذَاكِرا
فأنتَ للأزهَارِ ذو تَنَشُّقِ
When you sit with him conversing
You are like flowers blossoming
فكَم وكَم مِن نُكتَةٍ تفعَلُ بِال
ألبَابِ فِعلَ القُرقُفِ المُعَتَّقِ
So many witticisms that make
Minds work like aged vine
كم حِكمةٍ مشفُوعَةٍ بحِكمَةٍ
في كُلِّ ما لَفظٍ له ومَنطِقِ
Wisdom after wisdom
In everything he says and pronounces
كأَنَّ لُقمان غَدا مُختَبئا
تحتَ لِسانِه البَليغِ الذَّلِقِ
As if Luqman has become hidden
Under his eloquent agreeable tongue
ووَجهُه يزدادُ نوراً كلَّما
ردَّدتَ فيه الطُّرفَ لمَّا يَطرُقِ
And his face shines more every time
You glance at it when it beams
إذ لستَ تَقوَى مِن مَهابته أَن
ترَاهُ وهو فِيك ذو تَحَقُّقِ
Since you cannot withstand his awe
To see him manifest before you
ألطَّرفُ إن رآه يرتَدُّ حَسي
را مِن ضيَاء وجههِ المُؤتَلقِ
A glance, if it sees him, recoils, dazzled
By the radiance of his shining face
سَار أمامَه الجلالُ خاضِعا
فأىُّ ذي جَاهٍ له لم يُطرِقِ
Majesty walked before him humbled
So which person of status before him did not bow?
هو لِرَأسِ المجدِ أضحَى خاضِعا
لأنَّه للمجدِ تاجُ المَفرِقِ
He is the pinnacle of glory submitting
For he is glory's differentiating crown
إذا القلوبُ في هوَاها افترَقَت
فهِىَ في حُبِّ عُلاها تَلتقِي
When hearts in their passion disagree
They in love of its loftiness concur
مَرآه للقلبِ الكَليمِ مُنعِشٌ
كأنَّه صوبُ الحَياء الوَدقِ
Seeing him is heartening for an arid heart
As if he is the direction of vitality
ما أنجبَ الدهرُ مثيلاً لَهُ في
شأن عَلائِه الذِي لم يُلحَقِ
The ages have not created his equal in
His lofty affair that none can attain
أولا فكَذّبني وجِىء بوَاحِدٍ
إِن قلتَ فيما قلتَ لم أصَدِّقِ
First he would call me a liar, and then bring one
If I said in what I said I am not truthful
بَيَّضَ وَجهَ دَهرِه جُوداً ومَج
دا فهوَ فَخرُ مَغربٍ ومَشرِقِ
He whitened the face of his age with generosity and glory
So he is the pride of west and east
تُخبِرُ عن غَيبٍ لَه فِراسَةٌ
فمَا تنبَّأَ به فَلتَثِقِ
He has insight into the unseen, so
Whatever he prophesies, you can trust
قد أعجزَت صِفاتُه الحُسنَى جَمي
عَ قالَةِ الشِّعرِ الكثيرِ الرَّونَقِ
His excellent traits have frustrated the endeavor
Of the abundant poetry of beautiful subtlety
هَيهَات مارامَ اليراعُ عدَّها
ولو يُراعِي رَامها لم يُطِقِ
Alas, the she-camel's gait cannot count them
And if it tried to count them, it would not endure
لكنَّ شِعري يَزدهي بِمدحهِ
كالعِقدِ يزدهِي بحُسن العُنُقِ
But my poetry flourishes more by his praise
Like a necklace enhanced by the beauty of a neck
واللهِ لولاَه لَبِتُّ أبكَمَا
مُطَلِّقا لِلشِّعرِ دون حَنَقِ
By Allah, were it not for him I would remain
Mute, renouncing poetry in discontent
كَسَدَ سوقُ الشِّعر لَولاه فلاَ
حُرٌّ كريمُ القولِ إن لم يُنفِقِ
The market of poetry would be dead without him
So no noble person of eloquent words would spend
غَمَرنِي إحسانُه فهوَ الذِي
لولاَه عُودِي لم يَكن بالمُورِقِ
His benevolence has overwhelmed me, for he
Without whom my lute would not shine
مولاي يامن هطَلت علَىَّ نَع
مَاؤُه في مصطَبَحِي وغَبَقِي
My Master, O You whose favors rained on me
In my despair and confusion
باللّهِ إنى ومتَى وكيفَ لِي
أفِي بدَينٍ لك أحنَى عُنُقِي
By Allah, how and when can I
Fulfill a debt to You, I bend my neck
لا لاَ فما أنا مُطِيقٌ له لَو
اَفنيتُ في مَدحكَ شعرِي المُونَقِ
No, no, I cannot endure it even if
I exhausted my refined poetry in praising You
ولو علَى خدِّي كتَبتُه وكا
نَ عِوضَ الحِبرِ سوَادُ حَدَقِي
Even if on my cheek I wrote it and
Instead of ink, the blackness of my eyelids
فأغدقَ النُّعمَى علىَّ سَيِّدي
نعَم نعم ولتَكُ خيرَ مُغدِقِ
Bestow abundance on me, my Master
Yes, yes and may You be the best giver
إِن خُصَّ مَدحُهم بطِيبِ ألسُنٍ
فمدحُهُ خُصَّ بِطِيبٍ عَبِقِ
If their praise is privileged with good tongues
Then praising him is privileged with good fragrance
أو خصَّ بالقولِ ثَناءً لهمُ
فَهوَ بفِعلٍ للثَّنَا مُحَقّقِ
Or if praised in words for them
Then by action, he makes praise real
كلُّ عظِيمٍ سوفَ يأتِي أو مَضَى
أو حاضِرٍ لمَجدِه لم يَلحَقِ
Every great person who will come or passed
Or present, his glory did not attain
يا لَيثَ إفرقيَا وسيِّدَهَا
وفَخرَ أهلِها الكرامِ السُبَّقِ
O lion of Africa and its master
And pride of its generous, foremost people
مَن لم يكن كريمَ كَفٍّ فليكُن
واشَقوَةً له كرِيمَ المَنطِقِ
Whoever is not generous of palm should be
Eloquent of speech, generous man
إنَ ابنَ زائدةٍ أضحَى زائدا
ودُلَفٍ ذُو دُلَفٍ في الطُّرُقِ
The son of Za'ida has become surplus
And Dulaf, a man of dulaf in the paths
ألسَّيِّدُ المُوَفَّقُ ابنُ السَيِّد ال
مُوَفَّقِ ابنِ السّيِّد المُوَفَّقِ
The fortunate Master, son of the fortunate Master
Son of the fortunate Master
