سفرَتْ فبَرْقَعَها حِجابُ جَمالِ
وصحَتْ فرنّحَها سُلافُ دَلالِ
She traveled, so the veil of her beauty was lifted,
And she woke up, so the predawn breeze stirred her,
وجَلَتْ بظُلمةِ فرعِها شمسَ الضُحى
فمَحا نهارُ الشّيبِ ليلَ قَذالِ
And the sun of noon rose behind the darkness of her hair,
So the day erased the night of her bluish-black hair.
وتبسّمَتْ خلفَ اللّثامِ فخِلتُها
غيماً تخلّلَهُ وميضُ لآلي
She smiled behind her veil, so I imagined
A cloud pierced by the gleam of lightning.
ورنَتْ فشدّ على القُلوبِ بأسرِها
أسدُ المنيّةِ من جُفونِ غَزالِ
She moaned, so she provoked hearts with her captivity,
The lion of death roared in the eyes of a gazelle.
ما كُنتُ أدري قبلَ سودِ جُفونِها
أنّ الجُفونَ مكامِنُ الآجالِ
I did not know before the blackness of her eyes
That eyelids are the abode of death.
بِكرٌ تقوّم تحت حُمرِ ثيابِها
عرَضُ الجمالِ كجوهَرٍ سيّالِ
A virgin, whose cheeks under her red dress
Display the flow of beauty like molten jewelry.
ريّانةٌ وهَبَ الشّبابُ أديمَها
لُطْفَ النّسيمِ ورقّةَ الجِريالِ
A soft and delicate being to whom youth gave its skin
The gentleness of breeze and the delicacy of pliable silver.
عذُبَتْ مراشِفُها فأصبحَ ثغرُها
كالأُقحوانِ على غَديرِ زُلالِ
Her pillows were sweet, so her mouth became
Like cherries over a pool of clear water.
وسَرى بوجنَتِها الحياةُ فأشبَهَتْ
ورْداً تفتّحَ في نَسيمِ شَمالِ
On her cheek life journeyed, so it resembled
A rose blossoming in the breath of the north wind.
وسخا الشقيقُ لها بحبّةِ قلبِه
فاِستعمَلَتْها في مكان الخالِ
Her devoted lover offered her his heart,
So she used it in place of a mole.
حتّام يطمعُ في نَمير وصالِها
قلبي فتورِدُه سَرابَ مِطالِ
My heart hopes to attain union with her,
So it is tempted by a mirage of wishes.
عُلّتْ بخمرِ رُضابِها فمِزاجُها
لم يصْحُ يوماً من خُمارِ مَلالِ
She was intoxicated by the wine of acceptance, so her disposition
Was never sober from the intoxication of weariness.
هي مُنيَتي وبها حُصولُ منيّتي
وضياءُ عَيني وهْي عينُ ضَلالي
She is my death, and through her my wishes are fulfilled,
The light of my eye, though she is the eye of one who has lost his way.
أدنو إليها والمنيّةُ دونَها
فأرى مَماتي والحياةُ حِيالي
I approach her, though death lies between us,
So I see my death, while life is before me.
تخفى فيُخفيني النُحولُ وينجَلي
فيقومُ في الليلِ التّمامِ ظِلالي
She disappears, so emaciation hides me and the darkness gathers me in,
So my shadows rise up in the dead of night.
علِقَتْ بها روحي فجرّدَها الضّنى
من جِسمِها وتملّقَتْ بمِثالِ
My soul clings to her, but privation has stripped it
From her body, though it aspires to her image.
فلوَ اِنّني من غيرِ نومٍ زُرْتُها
لتوهّمَتْني زُرتُها بخيالِ
If I were to visit her without sleeping,
She would imagine I visited her in a dream.
لم يُبقِ منّي حُبُّها شيئاً سوى
شوقٍ ينازعُني وجذبةِ حالِ
Of me, her love has left nothing but
A longing that torments me and draws me to the present moment.
من لم يصِلْ في الحبّ مرتبةَ الفَنا
فوجودُه عدمٌ وفرضُ مُحالِ
Whoever has not reached the stage of annihilation in love,
His existence is nothingness, and his claim is impossible.
فكري يصوّرُها ولم ترَ غيرَها
عَيني ورسْمُ جَمالِها بخَيالي
My mind pictures her, and sees nothing but her,
My eye, and the image of her beauty is in my imagination.
فوقي وقدّامي وعكسُهُما أرى
منها المِثالَ ويَمنَتي وشمالي
Above me, before me, and opposite them I see
Her ideal image, my right side, and my left side.
بانت فلا سجَعَتْ بلابلُ بانةٍ
إلّا أبانتْ بعدَها بَلبالي
She appeared, so the bulbuls of appearance never trilled
Except to reveal my own bulbul after her.
أنا في غديرِ الكرختَيْن ومُهجَتي
معها بنجدٍ في ظِلالِ الضّالِ
I am in the pools of anguish with my love,
While with her in the shade of going astray in Nejd.
حيّا الحَيا حيّاً بأكنافِ الحِمى
تحميهِ بيضُ ظُباً وسُمرُ عَوالي
Greet eternally the living one, greetings eternal,
In the valley of protection, guarded by the whiteness of gazelles and the brownness of wild cows.
حيّاً حَوى الأضدادَ فيه فنَقْعُهُ
ليلٌ يقابلُهُ نَهارُ نِصالِ
Greetings, he who combines opposites - his night
تلْقى بكلٍّ من خُدودِ سَراتِه
شمساً قدِ اِعْتَنَقَتْ ببَدْرِ كَمالِ
Is met by day, the blades of swords.
The sun kisses each of his two cheeks,
جمعَ الضّراغِمَ والمَهى فخيامُه
كُنُسُ الغَزالِ وغابةُ الرّئبالِ
Embracing the full moon of perfection.
His tents gather gloom and joy,
وسَقى زَماناً مرّ في ظَهْرِ النّقا
وليالِياً سلَفَتْ بعينِ أثالِ
Like a herd of gazelles and a forest of cunning foxes.
He quenched a bitter time in the prime of youth,
لَيْلاتِ لذّاتٍ كأنّ ظلامَها
خالٌ على وجهِ الزّمانِ الخالي
And nights that passed with the eyes of legends.
Nights of pleasures as if their darkness
نُظِمَتْ على نسَقِ العُقودِ فأشبَهَتْ
بيضَ اللآلي وهْيَ بيضُ لَيالي
Were a beauty mark on the cheek of time.
Strung like pearls, they resembled
خيرُ الليالي ما تقدّم في الصّبا
كم بين منْ جلّى وبين التّالي
The crescents of new moons - and they were the white nights.
The best nights are those of early youth,
للَّهِ كم لكَ يا زَماني فيَّ منْ
جُرحٍ بجارحةٍ وسَهْمِ وَبالِ
What a difference between one who has enjoyed them and one who awaits them!
O my time, how many wounds from an assailant's blade you have inflicted in me,
صيّرتَني هدَفاً فلو يسْقي الحيا
جدَثي لأرْبَتْ تُربَتي بنِبالِ
And arrows and tribulations!
You have made me a target - if the living were to water my burial ground,
ألِفَتْ خُطوبَك مُهجَتي فتوطّنَتْ
نفسي على الإقدامِ في الأهوالِ
My earth would be saturated with their tears.
My ardour has grown accustomed to your afflictions,
وترفّعَتْ بي همّتي عن مِدحةٍ
لسِوى جَنابِ أبي الحُسينِ العالي
So my soul is determined to face terrors.
My ambition has risen above praising
وقطعْتُ من كلِّ الأنامِ علائِقي
ووصَلْتُ فيه وفي بَنيه حِبالي
Any but the noble kinsman, Abu al-Husayn the Sublime.
I have severed all connections with people
حُرٌّ تولّد طاهِرٌ من طاهِرٍ
فأتى بكلِّ مطهّرٍ مِفضالِ
And joined ties only with him and his sons.
A free man, born pure from the pure,
هو نيّرٌ كم قد أتى من صُلبِه
قمرٌ وكم من كوكبٍ مِفصالِ
Who came with every means of purification and grace.
He is a brilliant light; how many moons and planets
من كلّ وضّاحِ الجبينِ كأنّما
مسحَتْ عليهِ راحةُ الإقبالِ
Separated from him have come from his loins!
From every clear-browed, auspicious, glorious one, it is as if
أو كلِّ مأمونِ النجيبةِ ماجدٍ
نَجِسِ الصّوارمِ طاهرِ الأذيالِ
The palm of destiny had touched him.
Forms over us resembling the stars have converged
صورٌ علينا بالنّجومِ تشابهَتْ
لتَناسُبِ الآثارِ والأشكالِ
In their traces and shapes.
They are ten, like fingers outstretched to the sublime,
همْ عشرةٌ مثلُ الأصابعِ للعُلا
خُلِقَتْ لضرْبِ طُلىً وبَذْلِ نَوالِ
Created for striking coats of mail and bestowing bounty.
The ten nights know that in their cycles
تَدري الليالي العَشْرُ أنّ بُدورَها
لوجوهِ تلك العَشرةِ الأقيالِ
Lie the faces of those weighty ten.
So refrain from swearing any oaths about them, and swear only by those men,
فدعِ اليَمينَ بها وأقسِمْ فيهم
فلقد تحوّل فضلُها برجالِ
For their grace has been transformed into men.
In the highest sphere are set minds
في العالم العُلوي عُقولٌ رُتّبتْ
وهمُ لها في الأرض كالأمثالِ
And they are their counterparts on earth.
Equal to them in number, equal to the nights in sublimity,
ساوَتْهُمُ عدداً وساوَوْها عُلاً
فالفرقُ لا يخلو من الإشكالِ
The difference cannot be devoid of problems.
They are then the forms of good fortune and misfortune,
هي ثمَّ أشكالُ السّعادةِ والشّقا
وهمُ نتائجُ تلكُمُ الأشكالِ
And those men are the results of those forms.
A group - in reality they are one,
جمْعٌ همُ عند الحقيقةِ واحدٌ
كاللّجِّ فُرِّقَ موجُهُ المتوالي
Like waves divided in their continuous surge.
Some - if asked, they are seas, and if
نفرٌ إذا سُئلوا فأبحارٌ وإنْ
حفّ الكُماةُ فراسياتُ جِبالِ
The veils were lifted, they are towering mountains.
They rode steeds, so I said they were a hill of light, upon which
ركبوا الجيادَ فقلتُ رُبْدٌ فوقَها ال
عِقبانُ أو تحتَ الأسودِ سَعالي
Were eagles, or beneath which were roaring lions.
They unsheathed swords, so I said they were a squadron of angels
ونَضوا السّيوفَ فقلتُ غُرُّ مَلائِكٍ
هزّتْ يَدَيْها أنيبُ الأغوالِ
Whose hands shook the hilts of blades.
They turned away from vain talk, judged with
عزلوا عنِ السّمعِ المَلامَ وحكّموا
بيضَ العَطايا في رِقابِ المالِ
The white of gifts upon the necks of property.
For their love of blades and spears, they are lions -
أُسدٌ لحبّهمِ الصوارمَ والقَنا
قطعوا بأنّ النّقْعَ ليلُ وِصالِ
They cut with the thought that notches are the night of union.
Before maturity, they met foes and donned
قبلَ البُلوغِ لقوا العِدا وتقمّصوا
بالزّغفِ وهْيَ طويلةُ الأذيالِ
The gown, long of trains.
They suckled the milk of eloquence and high morals,
وتراضَعوا لبنَ الفصاحةِ والنُهى
فتكلّموا بالفصلِ قبل فِصالِ
So they spoke decisively before separation.
Begotten from the loins of the lightning in those clouds
نُتِجوا نِتاجَ الصّاعقاتِ على العِدا
من صُلبِ ذاكَ العارضِ الجَلْجالِ
Upon that sublime, majestic horizon.
So they took on his character and donned
فتخلّقوا في خُلقِه فتخلّقوا
بدمِ الأسودِ وأنفُسِ الأبطالِ
The blood of lions and the souls of heroes.
They followed his traces and so tried
وتتبّعوا الآثارَ منهُ فحاولوا
فوقَ النّجومِ مداركَ الآمالِ
To ascend beyond the stars to realms of hopes.
He continues to send them clouds of mercy
ما زالَ يُرسلُهُمْ سَحائِبَ رحمةٍ
طوراً وطوراً بارِقاتِ نَكالِ
From time to time, lightning bolts of redemption.
In brief, every virtue resides in him,
فيه على الإجمالِ كلُّ فضيلةٍ
وهمُ مفصّلُ ذلك الإجمالِ
And they are the detailed exposition of that brief totality.
The mysteries of God's subtle kindness have appeared through them,
أسرارُ لُطفِ اللَّه قد ظهرَتْ بهم
ومظاهِرُ الأسرارِ في الأفعالِ
And they are the manifestations of mysteries in deeds.
They entered the Verse of Purification; and had
من عِترةٍ عندي أعُدُّ ولاءَهم
وثناءَهُم من أعظمِ الأعمالِ
They come before, He would have included them among the Household.
And their father (Ali bin Abi Talib) is my master -
في آية التطهير قد دخلوا ولو
سبقوا لضمَّهُم العَبا في الآلِ
None but him do I befriend and follow.
My heart, all my organs, and my joints
واليتُ والدَهم عليّاً فهو لي
مولىً ولا أحداً سواهُ أوالي
Praise him, along with what my cloak contains.
I am astute - when praising him I feel
قلبي وكلُّ جوارحي ومفاصلي
تُثْني عليه وما حوى سِربالي
I place gems in the hands of a connoisseur of gems.
Noble, by him my blind poet's soul found relief,
فطِنٌ كأنّي إذ له أُهدي الثّنا
أضعُ اللآلي في يديّ لآلي
So it flowed, and the epoch was set aright through him.
Citing his verses, he taught me poetry, so I listened
سمْحٌ به اِنفرجَتْ عُيونُ قريحَتي
فجرَتْ وحلَّ به الزّمانُ عِقالي
And came up with embellished words.
I spoke by him, though the epoch was barren,
بنداهُ علّمني القريضَ فصُغتُه
فأتيتُ فيه مرصَّعَ الأقوالِ
So by his moods I made it fertile.
I uttered some of the gems of his words,
ولَهجْتُ فيه وكان دهراً عاطِلاً
فأزَنْتُهُ منه بحَلي خِصالِ
Making them the centerpiece of my discourse.
I recite his eulogies, so their fragrance spreads,
ولفظْتُ بعضاً من فرائِدِ لفظِه
فجعلْتُه وسَطاً لعقدِ مَقالي
As do the sublime rhymes, my trilling.
O beauty of the world - and I do not exaggerate -
أتلو مدائحَهُ فيعْبَقُ طيبُها
وكذا القوافي العالياتُ غَوالي
And noblest of its people - and I do not exaggerate!
You have been graced with joys, O lion of combat,
يا زينةَ الدُنيا ولستُ مبالِغاً
وأجلَّ أهليها ولستُ أُغالي
By the wedding of a grandson, most noble of youths.
A grandson through whom honor came to his father and grandfather,
هُنّيتَ بالأفراحِ يا أسدَ الشّرى
بخِتانِ سِبْطٍ أكرمِ الأشبالِ
And the nobility of his uncles and in-laws.
What strength and generosity reside in his father the Sayyid,
سِبطٍ تشرّفَ في أبيه وجدّه
ونَجابةِ الأعمامِ والأخوالِ
Since he first displayed them, no snakes have given birth but to slithering creatures.
In the cradle he was granted perfection, though
ما في أبيه السيّدِ اللاوي به
من فتكةٍ وسماحةٍ ومَعالي
The habits of children predominated over him.
A light came from two brilliant sources, both of whom
منذُ اِستهلّ به تبيّن ذا ولم
تلدِ الأفاعي الرُقْمُ غيرَ صِلالِ
Drew from you any light of majesty.
They were brought together and coupled, so they became three
بالمَهْدِ قد أوتي الكَمالَ وإنّما
غلبَتْ عليه عادةُ الأطفالِ
With the forehead of which blessed youth!
Childhood flows through his twigs, so you would think him
نورٌ أتى من نَيّرَينِ كلاهُما
منكَ اِستفادا أيّ نُورِ جَلالِ
A sapling in which the water of polishing flows.
The light of glory gleams while he is in his cradle,
سَعداهُما اِقترَنا معاً فتثلّثا
بجبينِ أيّ فتىً سعيدِ الفالِ
So you would reckon it the rays of lightning.
May you after him circumcise his sons
يَجري الصِّبا في عُودِه فتظنُّهُ
نَصْلاً ترقْرَقَ فيهِ ماءُ صِقالِ
In the best times and deeds.
And may the Merciful grant my prayer for you,
ويلوحُ نورُ المَجْدِ وهْوَ بمَهْدِه
فيهِ فتَحْسَبُهُ شُعاعَ ذَبالِ
And answer regarding you and your sons my request!
فعساكَ تختُنُ بعدَه أولادَه
في أحسنِ الأوقاتِ والأعمالِ
وعسى لك الرحمنُ يقبَلُ دعوتي
ويُجيبُ فيكَ وفي بَنيكَ سؤالي
