هلمّ بنا يا برْقُ في أبرقِ الحِمى

نُساقطُ دُرَّ الدّمْعِ فرداً وتوأما

Come with us, O lightning, amidst the flashing fever,

Let us shed the pearls of tears, one by one and in pairs.

هلمّ بِنا نقضي من النّدْبِ واجِباً

لعصرٍ مضى فيه وعهدٍ تقدّما

Come with us, let us fulfill the duty of lament,

For an era that has passed, and a covenant that is over.

فإن كُنتَ لي يا برقُ عَوناً فقُم بِنا

نروّي قُلوباً صادياتٍ وأرسُما

If you are a helper for me, O lightning, then rise with us,

To quench the thirsting hearts, and trace out their tracks.

تشبّهتَ بي دعوى ولو كنتَ مُشبِهي

بوجدٍ إذاً أصبحتَ تَبكي معي دَما

You pretended to imitate me in calling out, and if you were my likeness,

Then you would have wept blood with me.

فكم بين باكٍ مُستهامٍ وبين مَنْ

تباكى خليّاً وهو يُبدي التبسُّما

How far between a perplexed weeper, and one

Who laments sincerely while expressing a smile!

تقمّصْتُ ثوباً من دُخانٍ ومهجتي

عليها قميصٌ من لظاكَ تجسّما

I wore a garment of smoke, and my essence

Is clad in a shirt of blazing embers that took form.

فوا عجباً تسقي الرّبوعَ مدامِعي

وقلبي إلى سُكّانِها يشتكي الظّما

How strange! My tears quench the meadows,

While my heart complains to its inhabitants of thirst.

أروحُ ولي قلبٌ إذا ما نضَحْتُه

بماءِ عُيوني كي يَبوخَ تضرّما

I wander with a heart - if I spill it

With the water of my eyes to make it gush -

وأُمسي ولي دمعٌ يَجودُ بمُقلَتي

وثوبٌ إذا ما أحجَمَ الصّبرُ أقدَما

And I spend the night with a tear that flows from my eyelids,

And a garment - if patience withholds, I will tear.

فللّهِ ما أجراهُ في مَعرَكِ النّوى

إذا الوجدُ أجرى جيشَهُ كَرّ مُعلما

By my life! What it wrought in the battle of purpose,

When passion deployed its army attacking and withdrawing.

فمَنْ لي بعصرٍ كلّما مرّ ذِكرُه

بسمعي حَلا عندي ووصلٍ تضرّما

So who can I have in an era, whenever its mention

Sounds in my ear, it melts in me, and I yearn?

وليلاتِ أُنس نادمَتني بُدورُها

وفي الأرضِ زارتْني بها أنجمُ السّما

And nights of intimacy, their cycles comforted me,

And stars of the sky visited me through them.

شِهابٌ تظنّ الشُهْبَ فيها لحُسنها

ثُغورَ الغواني البيضِ في حوّةِ اللّما

A shooting star you'd think its falling lights

Were the dimples of the white-cheeked gazelles in the darkness.

سقى اللّه مغنىً بالحِمى صوبَ مُزنِه

يَحوكُ له وشيَ الرّبيعِ المُسهّما

May Allah water Muzainah's singer towards its fever,

Relating to it the bracelets of springtime adorned.

ولا برحَتْ فيه الأقاحي ضواحِكاً

ولا صرفَتْ منها يدُ الدّهرِ دِرْهَما

The meadows in it never ceased smiling,

Nor did the hand of fate withdraw a single penny from them.

محلٌّ به حلّ الشبابُ تمائِمي

فلا نقصَ إذ أصبحْتُ فيه متمِّما

A place where my youthful charms reside,

So it never decreased as I became complete in it.

ومصرعُ أسرى موثَقينَ قُلوبُهم

بحَومَتِه أضحتْ مع الطّيرِ حُوَّما

And a death place for captivated prisoners,

Their hearts bound by its protection, became with the birds, a place of mourning.

حَمى حُرمةً مسّ الصّعيد صِعادَه

وأصبح فيه السّيفُ بالحِلِّ مُحرِما

A sanctuary whose sanctity the ground touched -

And in it the sword alongside peace became forbidden.

وثغرٌ غدت منه الثّنايا منيعة

فأضحى بنقْعِ الصّافِناتِ ملثّما

And a mouth whose dimples became impregnable -

So it wore the striking of the blades veiled.

قد اِشتبهَتْ آفاقُه في عِراصِه

فكلٌّ حَوى منها بُدوراً وأنجُما

Its horizons in its plains became indistinct -

Each encompassed from them rounds and stars.

فكم ثَمّ من شمس بلَيلٍ تقنّعتْ

وبدرِ ظلامٍ بالنّهارِ تعمّما

How many suns in darkness that donned attire,

And moons of darkness that wore daytime turbans!

وليثِ عَرينٍ بالحديدِ مسرْبَلٍ

وخِشفِ كِناسٍ بالنُضارِ تخزّما

And lions of dens armored in iron,

And brave knights in vigor fully armed!

تميلُ بأثوابِ الحرير غُصونُه

وتنطِقُ بالسحرِ الحلالِ به الدُمى

Its branches lean with silken clothes,

And its affectionate gazes speak with magic allowed in it.

وتفترُّ عن ميماتِ تِبرٍ حِسانُه

يكادُ بهنّ الحُسنُ أن يتختّما

And its coquettish glances reveal minarets of incense -

Almost with their beauty using kohl as a seal.

مكانٌ به كنزٌ من الحُسنِ لم يزل

بآياتِ أرصادِ الحديدِ مطَلْسَما

A place in it a treasure of beauty that never ceased

To be engraved with signs of the striking iron.

حمَتْهُ سَراةٌ لا تزالُ رُماتُهم

مفوّقةً للحَتفِ هُدْباً وأسهُما

It is protected by horsemen whose spears

Remain towering upon victory, striking swiftly with arrows.

قد اِتّخذوا للفتكِ والطّعنِ آلةً

قُدودَ العذارى والوشيجَ المقوَّما

They have taken for murder and stabbing, means -

Slender waists and double-edged Indian swords.

يرونَ هَوانَ الحُبّ عِزّاً وسُؤدداً

وأحسنَ آجالِ النّفوسِ التّيتّما

They see humiliation in love as honor and luck,

And the best lifespans of souls as orphanhood.

تكادُ الأقاحي خجْلةً من ثُغورِهم

تَعودُ ثناياها شقيقاً مُعَندَما

The meadows are almost ashamed from their mouths

To return their dimples contracted.

إذا نظرتْ أقمارُهم عينَ مُبغضٍ

يُطالبُهم في مَغرَمٍ عاد مُغرَما

When their moons look upon the eye of a hater

Demanding them in passion that returned impassioned.

بروحيَ منهم جيرةٌ جاوَروا الحمى

فجاروا على قلبٍ بهم قد تذمّما

By my soul! Among them are neighbors who joined the fever,

So they aggressed upon a heart among them it befriended.

همُ ألهَبوا صدري وفيه توطّنوا

فللّه جنّاتٌ ثوَتْ في جهنّما

They ignited my chest and settled in it -

For them are gardens tangled in hellfire.

حلا لي بهِم مُرُّ العَذابِ كما حَلا

لنفْسِ عليٍّ خوضُها الحتفَ مطْعَما

The bitterness of torment was sweetened for me by them,

As was for Ali's soul to meet his death as his feast.

هُمامٌ لدى الهيجاءِ لو أنّ بأسَه

ببحرٍ طَما في مدّه لتحجّما

They are ambitions - if their might

Were a sea, it would shrink in its surge out of apprehension.

وذو عزَماتٍ لو تُصاغُ صوارِماً

لأوشكْنَ في صُمِّ الصّفا أن تُصمّما

And one of resolves - if his swords were forged

They'd almost deafen Mount Safa howling.

سُلالةُ خيرِ المرسَلين مطهّرٌ

أتى طاهِراً من كلّ أبلجَ أكرَما

The lineage of the best of messengers, purified -

He came pure of all blemish, most generous.

أجلُّ مُلوكِ الأرضِ قدراً وقُدرةً

وأشرفُهم نفْساً وأطيبُ مُنتَمى

The greatest kings in worth and capability,

And the noblest in soul and most fragrant lineage.

جوادٌ أتى والجوّ جَونٌ فأصبحتْ

أياديه فيه كالشِّياهِ بأدْهَما

A generous one who came while the atmosphere was arid,

So his hands in it became like the flashing lightning in the darkness.

ووافى المَعالي بعدما خرّ سقفُها

فشيّد من أركانِها ما تهدّما

He attained the heights after its ceiling collapsed -

So he rebuilt its pillars that had fallen.

إذا الدهرُ أجرى جَحْفَلاً كان قبلَهُ

وإنْ هزّ سيفاً كان كفّاً ومِعصَما

When fate brought forth a torrent, he was before it,

And if it brandished a sword, he was a shield and a protector.

كريمٌ عُيونُ الجودِ لولا وُجودُه

لَفاضَتْ جواريها وأغضَتْ على عَمى

A generous one whose eyes of generosity - if not for his existence,

Would have overflowed upon the blind.

ولُطفٌ بَراهُ اللّه للنّاس مُجمَلاً

فنوّعَهُ بالمَكرُماتِ وقسّما

And a gentle one whom Allah made beautiful to people -

So He diversified him with benevolence and apportioned.

هو العدلُ إلّا أنّه إذ يَرومُه

عدوٌّ بظُلمٍ كان أدهى وأظلَما

He is justice, except when an enemy intends injustice with him,

He was more calamitous and more unjust.

هِلالُ حِمامٍ فوقَه من دِلاصِه

هِلالُ حياةٍ يترُك الحتفَ أقصَما

A crescent of life that leaves fate one maimed,

And a full moon of perfection whose houses were lit.

وبدرُ كمالٍ بالسّروجِ بُروجُه

وليثُ نِزالٍ بالعوالي تأجّما

And a lion of fighting roaring in the heights -

His flashing blade deafened for death a piercing sound.

يرى عاملَ الخطّيّ قدّاً مُهفهفاً

ويحسَبُ إيماضَ اليمانيّ تبسّما

A young man who repaired the days after their corruption,

And completed the helpers of the generous and perfected.

إذا ما تولّى للوثوبِ على العِدا

يكادُ عليه الدِّرْعُ أن يتفصّما

And clarified what was between misguidance and guidance -

So he elucidated a path long obscured.

غنيٌّ لديه لا يزالُ من الثّنا

كنوزٌ وإن أضحى من المالِ مُعدما

And corrected the deviation of the faith after its crookedness -

So he became in it supporting after one leaning.

له نِقَمٌ محذورةٌ عند سُخطِه

ولا غَرْوَ أن عادتْ من العفوِ أنعُما

And obliged the people of hypocrisy with loyalty, so they transgressed -

And their rhetoric was made ineloquent and muted.

ضَحوكٌ إذا اِستمطرتهُ فهو بارقٌ

يجودُ وإن جرّبتَهُ كان مِخذَما

So were it not for him, the pool would not have rid itself of filth -

And it would have become a depression with its water congealed.

وصعبٌ إذا اِستعطَفتَه لانَ جانباً

وعذْبٌ إذا عادَيْتَه صارَ عَلقَما

He enlightened it with evidence of his understanding -

With floods, so it became fragrant with aromatic flowers.

حوى البأسَ والمعروفَ والنُسكَ والنُهى

وحازَ المعالي والتُقى والتكرّما

When the volumes of his praise are recounted -

The breath of morning blows musk sealed.

أعارَ وميضَ الصّاعقاتِ حُسامَه

وصاغَ لسانَ الموتِ للرُمحِ لهذَما

He has a pen that makes time flow with what flowed -

And fate proceeds in the wake of its course wherever directed.

وبرقَع في فجرِ الصّباحِ جِيادَه

وجلّلها ليلاً من النّقعِ معلَما

His tongue sometimes gushes forth the nectar of bees,

And sometimes his fang spews lethal venom.

فتىً أصلحَ الأيّامَ بعد فسادِها

وكمّل أعوانَ الكِرامِ وتمّما

He is a shepherd whose decree’s flashing

You'd think the white sheep were feathered with ink.

وبيّن ما بينَ الضّلالةِ والهُدى

فأوضحَ نهجاً طالما كان أقْتَما

He translates what his soul inspires to him -

So he scatters pearls in the lines composed.

وقوّم زَيغَ الدينِ بعد اِعوِجاجِه

فأصبحَ فيه بعدَما كان قيّما

Eloquent, from the names his pronunciation thundered -

And his meaning made hearts hear and understand.

وألزَمَ أهل النُصْبِ بالنّصّ فاِغتدى

فصيحُهمُ لا يُحسنِ النُّطْقَ أبْكَما

By my soul! From him is comfort breathed

By his fingers from his tablet, so they spoke.

فلولاهُ لم يصْفُ الغديرُ من القَذى

وأصبحَ غوْراً ماؤهُ وتأجّما

They followed the green line until balanced with it -

So it descended upon the horizon of life and pitched its tent.

أفاضَ عليهِ من أدلّةِ فَهمِه

سُيولاً فأضحى طيّبَ الوِردِ مُفعَما

And neared from it the garden of holiness, so he claimed

Kinship to Moses’ staff and Mary’s pens.

ذكيٌّ إذا قُصّتْ دواوينُ مَدحِه

تنفّسَ صُبحُ الطّرسِ مِسكاً مختّما

You were sanctified from the Mount Sinai of its greatness -

A generous one who quenched the thirst of discourse and translated.

له قلمٌ يجري الزّمان بما جرى

ويسعى القَضا في إثر مَسعاهُ حيثُما

My patron! Time surely knows your merit,

And recognizes you as the most splendid of its children and most noble.

يمجّ رُضابَ النّحلِ طوراً لسانُه

وينفثُ طوراً نابُه سُمَّ أرْقَما

You possessed the tender youth of time and its people -

So for us the nights in it are only for you to determine.

يراعٌ يُريعُ البيضَ إمضاءُ حكمِه

فتحسَبُ أمضاهنّ ظُفْراً مقلّما

Truly, the face of the earth was an obscure atlas -

So by you it became like the horizon, luminous with stars.

يترجم ما يوحي إليه جَنانُه

فينثُرُ دُرّاً في السّطورِ منظّما

Your humility is the lowest of your stations to us,

While your worth is above the heavens, already sublime.

فصيحٌ عن الأسماءِ جمجمَ لفظُه

وأسمعَ معناهُ القُلوبَ وأفهَما

By your life, the clouds are not by nature generous!

But you taught them, so they learned.

بروحيَ منه راحةٌ نفحَتْ بها

أناملُه من دوحِه فتكلّما

You flowed with the destinies in every aspiration -

So we know not who of you was the influencer.

تتبّع خُضْرَ الخطِّ حتّى اِستوى بها

فحلّ على عينِ الحياةِ وخيّما

By the decree of your brother the sword, the heights were married -

So the protection of its sanctuary became invincible where you were its keeper.

وشارفَ منها روضةَ القُدسِ فاِدّعى

إخاءَ عَصا موسى وأقلام مريَما

So stay healthy for as long as the dawn alerts a bird,

Or passion excites the longing of one chanting poetry.

تقدّسْتَ من طودٍ بأيمَنِ طُورِه

كريمٌ روى فصلَ الخِطابِ وترجَما

And you never ceased being a rain whose lightning strikes the enemy,

And grows the blossoms of youth when it resolves.

أمَولايَ إنّ الدهرَ يعلمُ فضلَكُم

ويعرِفُكُم أندى بَنيه وأكرَما

And time with its wars when it swept never ceased

To visit you with joys, submitting in peace.

تملّكتُمُ رِقَّ الزّمانِ وأهلَه

فليس الليالي فيه إلّا لكُم إمَا

And the festival of breaking the fast came to you always in might,

While the fasting of time recompensed you with immense reward.

لقد كان وجهُ الأرضِ أطلسَ مغبَراً

فأمسى لكم كالأفقِ يزهو منجِّما

تواضُعُكم أدنى مواضعَكُم لنا

وقدرُكم فوقَ السّمواتِ قد سَما

لعمرُك ما جُودُ السّحابِ غريزةً

ولكنّه علّمتَهُ فتعلّما

جرَيْتَ مع الأقدارِ في كلّ غايةٍ

فلم نَدْرِ من كان المؤثّرُ منكُما

بِفَتوى أخيكَ السيفِ زُوِّجت العُلى

فعزّ حِماها حيثُ صِرْتَ لها حِمى

فَدُمْ سالماً ما نبّه الصُبحُ طائِراً

وما هيّجَ الأشواقَ شادٍ ترنّما

ولا زِلْتَ غيثاً برقُه يصعقُ العِدا

ويُنبِتُ نُوّارَ النُّضارِ إذا هَمى

ولا برِحَ الدّهرُ الحَروبُ إذا سَطا

يزورُك بالأفراحِ سِلماً مُسلِّما

ووافاكَ عيدُ الفِطر بالعزّ دائماً

ووفّاك صومُ الدهرِ أجراً معظَّما