رقدْتُ وما ليلُ الغريب براقدِ
وما راقدٌ لم يرْعَ نجماً كساهدِ
I slept, but the night of the stranger did not slumber,
And he who does not rest sees no stars don their veils.
وكيف رُقاد الصَّبِّ ما بين سائقٍ
من الشوْق يُقريه النزاعَ وقائدِ
How can the passionate one sleep amidst the ecstasy of yearning
That afflicts him with torment and guides him with zeal?
إذا ما تدانيْنا مُنعتُ وإن تَبِنْ
جَزِعْتُ وما في المنْع عذرٌ لواجِدِ
When we draw near, I'm denied, and if we're apart,
I'm distraught, though there's no excuse for one who finds.
تبيتُ ذراعي لي وساداً ومُنْصُلي
ضجيعاً إذا ما بتُّ فوق الوسائدِ
My arms become my pillow as I lay prostrate
When I spend the night atop cushions and pillows.
أحنُّ إلى بغداذ والبيدُ دونها
حنينَ عميدِ القلب حَرَّانَ فاقِدِ
I yearn for Baghdad although armies stand between us,
With a longing of one dispossessed, burning with fervor inside.
وأتركها قصْداً لآمِدَ طائعاً
وقلبي إليها بالهوى جِدَّ قاصِدِ
Yet I leave it willingly, obedient though my heart
To it is ardently and earnestly inclined.
ألا هلْ لأيام تعلَّلْتُ عيشها
بها عودةٌ أم ليس دهرٌ بعائدِ
Oh, will the days I spent with it ever return?
Or does time not flow back to where it began?
بلى ربما عاد الزمان بمثل ما
بدا فحمدنا فعلَه غير عامدِ
Yes, perhaps time will revert to what transpired before
And we'll praise what comes not by any design.
فما مثلُها للمُلْك دار خلافة
أجَلْ لا ولا للطيب مرتاد رائدِ
For the abode of succession, no city compares,
Nor for perfume is there a homestead so fine.
وما خِلْتُنا مستبدِلِي بقعةٍ بها
من الأرض لولا شؤْمُ صاحبِ آمِدِ
We've not replaced it with any other place,
Were it not for the ill-omen of one with dark deeds.
أظنَّ أميرَ المؤمنين كغيره
من الناس تَبَّاً للغَويِّ المعانِدِ
I reckon the Commander of the Faithful is like all men,
Curse the insolent enemy who disobeys!
ألم ير أن الأمر في الأرض أَمره
وأن الذي يعصيه ليس بخالدِ
Does he not see that rule of the world is his alone,
And that whoever defies him shall not endure?
وما عذر من ضلَّ الهدى وأمامَهُ
ضياءُ شهاب في دُجى الليل واقِدِ
No excuse for one who abandons the path of guidance
When before him shines the beacon’s light through the murk!
لقد رأبَ الله الثَّأى وجلا العمى
بمعْتَضِدٍ بالله للدين عاضدِ
God has dispelled discord and illuminated blindness
With one who supports faith and the religion upholds.
حليمٍ عليمٍ للرَّعية ناظرٍ
رؤوفٍ بهم يحنو عليهم كوالدِ
Clement and wise, watching over the flock,
Compassionate to them, caring as a parent would.
يريحُهُمُ إتعابُهُ نفسَه لهم
ويُسْهِرُهُ إصلاحُ أحوال هاجدِ
Their hardships bring ease to his soul,
And reforming their state keeps him wakeful at night.
إذا ما العِدا لم يستجيروا بعفْوه
ويُلْقوا إليه خُضَّعاً بالمقالدِ
When foes don't seek refuge in his pardon,
And fail to submit to him in meekness and grace,
سرى جَحْفَلٌ من بأْسه قاصداً لهم
فساقهمُ قهراً كسوْق الطَّرائِدِ
An army sets forth to confront them,
Driving them before it like chasing small game.
وإن أرْصدوا منه لإدراك غرَّةٍ
لقُوا دونها أسيافه بالمراصدِ
And if they lie waiting to ambush in stealth,
They find his swords meeting them at their posts.
وما غَرَّهم لا يَبْعَد اللَّهُ غيرَهُمْ
بليْثٍ على لجْبِ المحجَّة صائدِ
Their treachery does not make God forsake the rest,
For He is the Hunter of those lost from the path.
إذا ما انتضى للعزم صارمَ رأْيه
رأيتَ جميع الناس في مَسْك واحدِ
When the resolve of his purpose grows firm,
You see all mankind in awe as one.
ويكشف أعقابَ الأمور صدورُها
له فيراها غائباً كمشاهدِ
And the outcomes of all matters he lays bare,
Seeing the unseen as clearly as the present.
ألست الذي ساد الورى وحَوى العلا
على رغم أنفٍ من عدو وحاسدِ
Are you not the one who ruled the world and contained the sublime
Despite the spite of foe and hater alike?
منعتَ حِمى الإسلام ممن يكيدُه
وضاربتَ عنه قائماً غير قاعدِ
You protected the sanctuary of Islam from those who conspire
And you stood up in its defense, never sitting or waiting.
وباشرتَ فيه كل لينٍ وشدةٍ
وجاهدتَ عنه فوق جَهْد المجاهدِ
You have met it with gentleness and with severity,
And you have striven for it beyond the supreme struggle.
غلاماً أميراً ثم كهلاً خليفةً
بهمَّة ماضي العزم يقظانَ ماجدِ
A boy, then prince, then aged caliph,
With resolute ambition, vigorous, magnificent.
وكم مارقٍ من ربقة الدين خائنٍ
لنعمى الإله عنده فيك جاحدِ
How many dissenters from religion's brilliance were traitors
To God's blessings, denying them in your presence!
دَلَفْتَ إليه فاستبحتَ حَرِيمَهُ
بجيشٍ لُهامٍ كالمدود الزَّوائدِ
You overtook them and ravaged their sacrosanct abodes
With a ferocious army of lengthened columns.
وأسلفتَ إنذاراً وقدّمت عذْرَةً
لتقويم مُعوَجٍّ وإصلاح فاسدِ
You warned them first and offered excuse
To reform crooked ways and what was corrupt.
ولو شئتَ أطعمتَ المنية رُوحه
بأدنى غلامٍ أو بأصغر قائدِ
Had you wished, you could have fed the smallest page
Or the lowliest commander doses of demise.
وقد فَغرتْ فاهاً له غير أنها
تراقب إذناً منك غير مساعدِ
Yet its jaws gaped though it watched for your consent,
Not venturing on its own without your approval.
وأنت تراعي الله فيمن تضمُّه
مدينتُه من مسلم ومُعاهدِ
For you observe God's will toward those who dwell
In the lands of Muslim and those with whom treaties exist.
فلم يعصم ابن الشيخ تَشييدُ سُوره
على رأس نيقٍ بالصَّفا والجلامدِ
The Sheikh's son was not protected by building his wall
Atop pillars on Safa nor solid stone foundations.
بل اغترَّ بالإحْصار منه وسوَّلتْ
له النفس غَيّاً ليس غاوٍ كراشدِ
Rather he felt emboldened by the siege against him
As the soul deluded him, not wisely lead.
وما الحازمُ النِّحريرُ إلا الذي يرى
مصادرَ ما يأتيه قبل المواردِ
The wise and prudent one sees the sources of what comes to him
Before the streams arrive at their destinations.
وقد كان في الغيثِ المُواصل غوْثُهُ
يدافعنا عنه دفاعَ المُكايدِ
Our solace in the ceaseless rain was its downpour
Shielding us, defending against hazards and woes,
فلما تقضى حيْنُه وتفرَّغتْ
عَزاليه ثُرنا كالليوث اللوابدِ
But when his time had passed and emptied were
Our quivers like those of enraged lions bereaved,
فجادتْهُ من وُبل السهام سحابةٌ
تسح ذُعافاً من سمام الأساودِ
The clouds of arrows poured forth hailstones upon him
That scattered clusters like twinkling stars colliding.
وأمطرَه جذْبُ المجانيق جنْدلاً
وناراً تلظَّى كانقضاض الفراقدِ
And the hauling of the mangonels rained upon him spears
And fire that blazed like flashes of lightning unleashed.
ودبَّ عليه الموتُ غضبانَ مسرعاً
باباته من محكمات المصائدِ
Then death advanced upon him angrily racing forth
With its gates of well-laid snares and cunning devices.
ثلاثةُ أيامٍ فَقَطَّ عُددتها
به ساهراً في ليله غيرَ راقدِ
For but three days—I counted—you besieged him,
Not sleeping a night, keeping constant vigil.
فأخرَجْتهُ مستخزياً راجلاً بما
بَثَثْتَ عليه من صنوف المكايدِ
Then you forced him out disgraced and humiliated, on foot,
With the myriad stratagems you had unleashed against him.
ولو لم يَعُدْ بالعفو منك لأرْقلَتْ
إليه المنايا في رؤوس المَطاردِ
Had you not returned to pardon him, deaths
Would have galloped to him with all haste.
فأثبتَّهُ لما استقاد وقد دنت
ظُباتُ السيوف من مَناط القلائدِ
But you gave him sanctuary when he regained his feet,
Though the necks of swords were nearing his collar.
وأصبحتَ تحوي أرضه ودياره
وكلَّ طريف من حماه وتالدِ
And you came to possess his land, his home,
And every ally under his protection and domain.
أباح وما قامتْ عليه لسفكه
شهادةُ قاضٍ فهو أعدلُ شاهدِ
You deemed it permissible, though no judge sanctioned
His killing. But you were the most just of witnesses.
بنقض شروط كان أحمقَ ناقضٍ
عُراها ولكن كنتَ أحزم عاقدِ
By annulling terms of truce that the fool had breached
When he stripped them, though you were the wisest in pacts.
فآب ذميمَ الفعل خزيانَ نادماً
وأُبْتَ كريم العفو جمَّ المحامدِ
So the despicable deed brought him back repentant and ashamed,
While noble clemency garmented you in acclaim.
وأُبنا عِزازَ النصر تشكو ركابُنا
وَجاهاً ونشكو طولَ هجر الخرائدِ
And we reside in the glory of victory while our mounts complain of
Our absence, longing for the plunder taken away.
بأية ملأ مغنماً وسلامةً
حواها رفيعَ العيش خوضُ الشدائدِ
With what bounty and security has the plunge into hardships
Ever afforded elevation of life and station!
وليس كإغْذاذ المسير وحثِّه
لتقريب لُقْيان الصديق الأباعدِ
It is not like easy travel urgently spurred
To swiftly reunite with a dear friend now departed.
ولم أر مثل الشعر يَنْظم للعُلا
فنون الحُلى لو أنه غيرُ كاسدِ
And I've not seen any poetry praising the sublime
Compose such adornments, had the art not now waned.
