حتّامَ أسألُها الدُّنوَّ فتنزَحُ
وأروضُ قلبي بالسّلُوِّ فيجْنَحُ
I ask her for affection, so she becomes aloof,
And I tame my heart with patience, so it takes wing.
وإلامَ لا أنفكُّ أُصرَعُ للهوى
وتَتيهُ في عزّ الجمالِ وتمرَحُ
Why can I not cease to be slain by passion?
And wander lost in the glory of beauty and take joy?
وعلامَ تمطُلُني فيحسُنُ مطلُها
وتَسومُني الصّبرَ الجميلَ فيقبُحُ
Why do you keep me waiting, though the waiting becomes it?
And allot me graceful patience, which then turns ugly?
تَجفو وما حُنِيَتْ عليه أضالعي
يحنو علَيْها والجوانحُ تجنَحُ
She is cold, though my ribs have not twisted toward her,
Yearning for her, while my wings are folded.
قلبي يضنُّ بها عليّ ومنطِقي
عنها يُكنّي والجفونُ تصرّحُ
My heart is stingy with her, while my words
Speak sparingly of her, though my eyelids are candid.
يا لائِمي فيها وعُذريُّ الهَوى
من وجهِها الوضّاحِ عُذري أوضحُ
O you who blame me for my passion, my passion itself
Is my best defense, clearer than her shining face.
خُنتُ التُّقى وقطعتُ أرحامَ العُلا
إن لمْ أَعُقْ في حبِّها مَنْ ينصَحُ
I have betrayed piety and severed family ties
If I do not restrain my love for her, whoever admonishes me.
لا تعذُلوا الدَّنِفَ المَشوقَ فقلبُه
كالزَّندِ يقرَعُه المَلامُ فيقدَحُ
Do not rebuke the passionate lover, for his heart
Is like flint, stricken by blame, only to spark.
ما بالُ تَضعُف عن ملامِك طاقَتي
وأنا الحَمول لكلِّ خطبٍ يَفدَحُ
Why has your blame weakened me,
When I can carry any momentous affair that swells?
لا يسنَحُ الأجَلُ المُتاحُ بفِكرَتي
إلّا إذا إجْلُ الجآذِرِ يسنَحُ
Fate grants me no lifetime, unless
The term of the Ever-Living One grants it.
يا ساكِني الجرْعاءِ لا أقوى الغَضا
منكُم ولا فقدَتْ مَهاكُم توضَحُ
O dwellers of al-Jurʿāʾ, I cannot endure separation,
Nor have your shelters lost their clarity.
هل في الزّيارةِ للنّسيمِ أذِنتُمُ
فلقد أشمُّ المِسكَ منه ينفَحُ
Have you permitted the breeze to visit?
For I smell its lingering musk.
لم تَحْسُنِ الأقمارُ بعدَ وجوهِكُم
عندي ولا نظَري إلَيها يطمَحُ
The full moons diminish after your faces, in my eyes,
And my gaze aspires to them no more.
لا تُنكِروا قتلَ الرُّقادِ ببَينِكم
أوَ لَيسَ ذا دمُه بخدّي يسفَحُ
Do not deny that your distance kills the slumberers,
Is not their blood pouring on my cheek?
عُذراً فكم قلبي بلَيلى حيِّكُم
قد ماتَ عُذريٌّ وجُنَّ ملوَّحُ
Excuse me, for however much my heart is loyal to you,
My excuse has died, and the salt flats are desolate.
للّه كم في سربِكُم من مُقلةٍ
تمضي وبيضُ صِفاحِها لا تجرَحُ
In your flock are gazelles gliding by,
Their white thighs unscarred.
ولكُم بزندِكُمُ سِوارٌ أخرَسٌ
أوحى الكلامَ إلى وِشاحٍ يُفصِحُ
Your bracelets are silent ornaments
That intimate speech to eloquent wrists.
أبصارُنا مخطوفةٌ وعُقولُنا
بثُغورِكُم وبُروقُها لا تُلمَحُ
Our eyes are captive, and our minds lost,
To your thorns, though their lightening is unseen.
يُرْدى بحيِّكُمُ الهزَبْرُ مسَربَلاً
ويمرّ فيه الظّبيُ وهْو موشّحُ
The abandoned place is worn out by your quarter,
Where the oryx wanders, adorned in patterned cloth.
لم يخشَ لولا مُهلِكاتُ صُدودِكم
بيضاً تُسَلُّ وعادياتٍ تضبَحُ
Were it not for your impenetrable bosoms,
The white antelopes could graze in peace at daybreak.
رِفقاً بمُنتَزِحٍ إليكُم رُوحه
تغدو بها ريحُ الصَّبا وترَوِّحُ
Be gentle with me, your spirit inclined toward you,
Borne by the morning breeze, solaced.
يصبو إلى برقِ الحجونِ فتَلتَظي
ويصوّبُ الدّمعَ الهَتونَ فتسبَحُ
It pours toward the lightning of your cheeks, flames arise,
And it aims its scattering tears, to flow.
رَعياً لأيّامِ الحِمى ورَعى الحِمى
وسقَتْ معاهدَهُ العِهادُ الرُوَّحُ
It was the preserves of ardor and the duty of ardor
That cultivated its covenant and tamed its savagery.
وعَدا البِلادَ الرَّوْحَ من مغنًى فلا الْ
أرواحُ فيها والقُلوبُ تروَّحُ
It roamed the dwellings of delight, without
Solace of spirit, or hearts eased.
كلُّ المواردِ بعدَ زمزَمَ حُلوُها
بفَمي يُمَجُّ وكلُّ عَذْبٍ يَملَحُ
The water of all springs after Zamzam’s
Sweetness is bitter in my mouth and brackish.
يا جِيرةً غلِطَ الزّمانُ بوصلِهم
فمحَوْهُ إذ وطَنوا إليه وصحّحوا
O neighbors, time has erred by uniting them,
So erase it, now that they have settled among you, and correct it.
لا تطلُبوا عندي الفؤادَ فدارُه
إمّا رُبوعُ مِنىً وإمّا الأبطَحُ
Seek not my heart with me, its home
Is only the hillsides of Minā or the dunes.
يا لَيتَنا بمنى حَوانا موسِمٌ
ولكُم به نُهدي القلوبَ ونذبَحُ
O would that we had a season at Minā with you
To give you our hearts and slaughter our souls!
خلّفتُمُ الوَجْدَ المبرِّحَ بعدَكُم
عِندي فروحي عندَكم لا تبرَحُ
You left fervent love behind you in me,
While my spirit remains unmovingly with you.
ما لي وما للدّهْرِ بمُنجِزٍ
وعْدي ولا أمَلي لديْكُم ينجَحُ
What is my pact with time worth, or my hope in you,
When none of my dreams in you come true?
أشكو الزّمانَ إلى بَنيهِ وإنّما
فسدَ الزّمانُ وليسَ فيهم مُصلِحُ
I complain of time to its children, but
Time is corrupt; no reformer is found in them.
ساءَتْ خلائِقُهم فساءَ فلا أرى
شيئاً به إلّا عليّاً يُمدَحُ
Their morals are base, so time is base. I see
Naught of good in it but one worthy of praise:
الماجدُ العذْبُ الّذي في نفسِه
وبمالِه يَشْري الثّناءَ ويسمَحُ
The glorious and gentle one, who purchases praise
With his soul and wealth, and freely gives.
حُرٌّ يُريكَ البِشرُ منه لدى النّدى
شِيَماً كأزهارِ الرِّياضِ تفتّحُ
A free man who shows humanity, with the dew,
Morals like flowers of gardens in bloom.
شِيمٌ تصرّحُ آيةُ التّطهيرِ عن
أنسابِها وبفضلِهنَّ تُلوّحُ
Morals that the verse of purification proclaims,
Praising their nobility through his merit.
قِرنٌ إذا أجرى جداوِلَ قُطبِه
أذْكَتْ على الهاماتِ ناراً تلفَحُ
A branch, pure of the palm tree of nobility,
Above which the leaves of the imamate rustle.
طلْقُ المحيّا والجيادُ سَواهِمٌ
والبيضُ تَبسِمُ في الوجوهِ فتكْلَحُ
A banner under which the wilderness is united
Into one for the doubters, the clearest proof.
فطِنٌ له علمٌ يَفيضُ ومنسَبٌ
من ضرعِه دَرُّ النّبوّةِ يرشَحُ
It is above your knowledge of it, so reflect upon it,
For regarding it, sights find a focus.
فرعٌ ذَكا من دوحةِ الشّرفِ الّتي
من فوقِها وُرْقُ الإمامةِ تصدَحُ
This is a summary of the Master’s copy, the lineage
Of the Prophet’s House. His superiority cannot be recounted.
علَمٌ على جعْلِ البريّةِ واحداً
للجاحدين هو الدّليلُ الأرجَحُ
Praise is insignificant and beneath him. So whoever
Praises him has merely struck the flints for fire.
هو فوقَ علمِكُمُ به فتأمّلوا
فيه فللأنظارِ فيه مَطرَحُ
If you wish to attain salvation, then be loyal to him.
For whoever is loyal to ʿAlī succeeds.
هذا ملخّصُ نُسخةِ السّاداتِ من
آلِ النّبيّ ففضلُه لا يُشرَحُ
Mountains firmly rooted quake, while his forbearance
In his breast is unshaken and unstirred,
صَغُرَ المديحُ وجلّ عنه فكلُّ مَنْ
يُثني عليه فكأنّما هو يقدَحُ
Showing no despair for the greatest of those departed from him,
Nor joy when that befell him.
إن شِئْتَ إدراكَ الفَلاحِ فوالِه
ولَكُلُّ مَنْ والى عليّاً يُفلِحُ
How many tears flow from fearful eyes,
And breasts that grieve for both fear and hope!
تَهوي الجِبالُ الرّاسياتُ وحِلمُه
في الصّدرِ لا يهوي ولا يتزحزَحُ
A lion whose blood of lions in battle
Is sweeter than the spittle of lambs.
لا مُبدياً جزَعاً لأعظَمِ فائِتٍ
منه ولا بحُصولِ ذلك يَفرَحُ
His white sword makes the darkness of battle dawn,
As if it is pure milk, rising and ripening.
كم بينَ شِدّةِ خوفِه ورجائِه
عينٌ تسيلُ دماً وصدرٌ يُشرَحُ
He surpassed men though his life never exceeded
A year. And fame did not reach him while still a child.
أسدٌ لديه دمُ الأسودِ من الطِّلا
أحلى ومن ريقِ الغَواني أملَحُ
How many nights pregnant with darkness he made bright,
Until the essence of dawn flowed from them!
تهوي مذاكِيه الصّباحَ كأنّه
لبَنٌ بخالِصِه تُعَلُّ وتُصبحُ
He draws enduring victory with his sword,
And with his counsel the gloom of tumult grows clear.
سبقَ الأنامَ وما تجاوزَ عُمرُه
حولاً ولم تَبلُغْ نَداهُ القُرَّحُ
If the barren wind were joined to him for a day,
She would be blessed with rain nearing a downpour.
كم من دُجىً أنضى أداهِمَها سُرىً
حتّى حميمُ الفجرِ منها يَنضَحُ
He fulfilled it when wishes ran out, and the cups
Of hopes had brimmed over, flooding excessively.
يستصْحِبُ النّصرَ العزيزَ بسيفِه
وبرأيهِ فدُجى الوغى يستصْبحُ
He gave the lofty honor, so his meadows became
Fertile; else, they had nearly withered.
لو تُنكَحُ الريحُ العَقيمُ برِفقِه
يوماً لَبِالبَرَكاتِ كادَتْ تُلقَحُ
The dew there nurtures the hidden garden of his praise,
And the scent of musk permeates all that lies open.
وافى وقد نضَبَ النّوالُ وأصبحَتْ
غُدْرُ المَطالبِ وهْيَ ملأَى تطفَحُ
He brought ease to kings by his hand and was nobler than them in lineage,
And kinder than them to the blameworthy and most clement.
وسقى العُلا عزّاً فأصبحَ روضُهُ
خِصباً ولولاهُ لكادَ يصوِّحُ
Say to the envious critic of his traits: Do you know
What light of the full moon is unseemly?
يُخفي النّدى فينمُّ عرْفُ ثنائِهِ
فيه وريحُ المِسكِ ممّا يفضحُ
Look on all his traits and deeds. For in their entirety
They instruct one who closely examines.
أندى المُلوكِ يداً وأشرفُهُم أباً
وأبرُّهُم للمُذنِبين وأصفحُ
How strange are the people who disbelieve in them! Had they
Understood—and not neglected right—they would have glorified.
قُلْ للّذي حسداً يَعيبُ صِفاته
أعلِمْتَ أيَّ ضياء بدرٍ يقبُحُ
O son of the Exalted, were it not for the mountains of their arrogance,
The expanse of the earth would not have settled in place.
اِنظُرْ جَميعَ خِصالِه وفِعالِه
فجميعُها عِبَرٌ لمنْ يتصفّحُ
You whose praise is without limit, who gives without cease,
Whose opinion hits the mark, with neither lion neither steed to rein.
عجباً لقومٍ يكفُرونَ بها ولو
عقَلوا وما غفَلوا الصّوابَ لسبّحوا
Win the heights! And enjoy, for you are worthy of them.
None but you in the world suits them.
يا اِبْنَ الأُلى لولا جِبالُ حُلومِهم
لم يَرْسُ ظهرُ الأرضِ وهْو مسطَّحُ
And find in my verse the rarely expressed pearls of thought
That, beyond you, its prime is never wed.
والكاسِب المِدَح الّتي لا تنتهي
والواهِبَ المنَحَ الّتي لا تُمنَحُ
Be joyful forever! A face like yours in its delight
Sates those who thirst and parches those who crave.
والثّابتَ الرأي المُسدَّدِ حيثُ لا
أسَدٌ يقرُّ ولا جَوادٌ يُكبَحُ
A feast whose crescent, perfected by your good fortune, appeared
For you are more perfect than it and brighter.
فُزْ بالعُلا واِنْعَمْ فإنّك أهلُها
ولَها سِواكَ من الورى لا يصلُحُ
May the fasting month keep ending in bounty for you,
And reward—for both are unlocked through you.
واِستَجلِ من نَظمي بدائِعَ فكرةٍ
بسِواكَ بكرُ ثنائِها لا تُنكَحُ
واِسعَد بعيدٍ مثلِ وجهِك بهجةً
تروى برؤيتِه القُلوحُ اللُّوَّحُ
عيدٌ تكمّل بالسّعودِ هِلالُه
فبَدا وأنتَ أتمُّ منه وألْوَحُ
لا زالَ شهرُ الصّومِ يُختَمُ بالهَنا
لكَ والثّوابِ وفيهِما يُستَفْتَحُ
