ضُمّي قِناعَكِ يا سُعادُ أَو اِرفَعي
هَذي المَحاسِنُ ما خُلِقنَ لِبُرقُعِ
My happiness, veil your beauty or lift it,
These charms were not made to be covered.
اَلضاحِياتُ الضاحِكاتُ وَدونَها
سِترُ الجَلالِ وَبُعدُ شَأوِ المَطلَعِ
The radiant laughing girls below it,
Are veils of glory and far from noble sights.
يا دُميَةً لا يُستَزادُ جَمالُها
زيديهِ حُسنَ المُحسِنِ المُتَبَرِّعِ
Oh doll whose beauty cannot be exceeded,
Add to it the beauty of the generous benefactor.
ماذا عَلى سُلطانِهِ مِن وَقفَةٍ
لِلضارِعينَ وَعَطفَةٍ لِلخُشَّعِ
What can stop his authority,
For the pleading and kindness to the humble?
بَل ما يَضُرُّكِ لَو سَمَحتِ بِجَلوَةٍ
إِنَّ العَروسَ كَثيرَةُ المُتَطَلِّعِ
What would harm you if you allowed some coquetry?
The bride looks around frequently.
لَيسَ الحِجابُ لِمَن يَعِزُّ مَنالُهُ
إِنَّ الحِجابَ لَهَيِّنٌ لَم يُمنَعِ
The veil is not for one who cannot attain her,
The veil is flimsy, unforbidden.
أَنتِ الَّتي اِتَّخَذَ الجَمالَ لِعِزِّهِ
مِن مَظهَرٍ وَلِسِرِّهِ مِن مَوضِعِ
You are the one beauty has chosen for its glory,
For its appearance and its secret place.
وَهوَ الصَناعُ يَصوغُ كُلَّ دَقيقَةٍ
وَأَدَقَّ مِنكَ بَنانُهُ لَم تَصنَعِ
He is the artisan forming each detail,
More delicate than you, none he made.
لَمَسَتكِ راحَتُهُ وَمَسَّكِ روحُهُ
فَأَتى البَديعُ عَلى مِثالِ المُبدِعِ
His hand caressed you and his soul imbued you,
So the sublime came in the image of the creator.
اللَهَ في الأَحبارِ مِن مُتَهالِكٍ
نِضوٍ وَمَهتوكِ المُسوحِ مُصَرَّعِ
God, among the monks is one shaky,
Calm yet worn out, decorated robe.
مِن كُلِّ غاوٍ في طَوِيَّةِ راشِدٍ
عاصي الظَواهِرِ في سَريرَةِ طَيِّعِ
From every transgressor in the quarters of the righteous,
Disobeying appearances, obedient in private.
يَتَوَهَّجونَ وَيَطفَأونَ كَأَنَّهُم
سُرُجٌ بِمُعتَرَكِ الرِياحِ الأَربَعِ
They shine and fade out as if they are,
Lamps in the battle of the four winds.
عَلِموا فَضاقَ بِهِم وَشَقَّ طَريقُهُم
وَالجاهِلونَ عَلى الطَريقِ المَهيَعِ
They knew so their path narrowed and split,
While the ignorant are on the terrible path.
ذَهَبَ اِبنُ سينا لَم يَفُز بِكِ ساعَةً
وَتَوَلَّتِ الحُكَماءُ لَم تَتَمَتَّعِ
Ibn Sina is gone, he never won you for an hour,
The wise men turned from you, never enjoying you.
هَذا مَقامٌ كُلُّ عِزٍّ دونَهُ
شَمسُ النَهارِ بِمِثلِهِ لَم تَطمَعِ
This position, all glory is below it,
The sun never dreamed of its like.
فَمُحَمَّدٌ لَكِ وَالمَسيحُ تَرَجَّلا
وَتَرَجَّلَت شَمسُ النَهارِ لِيوشَعِ
So for you Muhammad and the Christ humbled themselves,
And for Joshua the sun of day humbled itself.
ما بالُ أَحمَدَ عَيَّ عَنكِ بَيانُهُ
بَل ما لِعيسى لَم يَقُل أَو يَدَّعِ
Why did Ahmed tired speaking of you?
Jesus never said or claimed anything.
وَلِسانُ موسى اِنحَلَّ إِلّا عُقدَةً
مِن جانِبَيكَ عِلاجُها لَم يَنجَعِ
Moses’ tongue is paralyzed but for a knot,
From your side, its treatment never succeeded.
لَمّا حَلَلتِ بِآدَمٍ حَلَّ الحِبا
وَمَشى عَلى المَلَأ السُجودِ الرُكَّعِ
When you were with Adam, rapture was allowed,
And he walked erect before the bowing multitude.
وَأَرى النُبُوَّةَ في ذَراكِ تَكَرَّمَت
في يوسُفٍ وَتَكَلَّمَت في المُرضَعِ
And I saw prophesy honored in your threading,
In Joseph and speaking in the suckling infant.
وَسَقَت قُريشَ عَلى لِسانِ مُحَمَّدٍ
بِالبابِلِيِّ مِنَ البَيانِ المُمتِعِ
And you gave Quraish to drink in the tongue of Mohammed,
Of revelations, from the most pleasant eloquence.
وَمَشَت بِموسى في الظَلامِ مُشَرَّداً
وَحَدَتهُ في قُلَلِ الجِبالِ اللُمَّعِ
And you walked with Moses in darkness bewildered,
And guided him on the lit mountain peaks.
حَتّى إِذا طُوِيَت وَرِثتِ خِلالَها
رُفِعَ الرَحيقُ وَسِرُّهُ لَم يُرفَعِ
When you were folded up, and inherited her conditions,
The perfume was raised up and its secret not raised.
قَسَمَت مَنازِلَكِ الحُظوظُ فَمَنزِلاً
أُترَعنَ مِنكِ وَمَنزِلاً لَم تُترَعِ
The fortunes divided your dwellings, so a dwelling,
Was looked after because of you, and a dwelling you did not look after.
وَخَلِيَّةً بِالنَحلِ مِنكِ عَميرَةً
وَخَلِيَّةً مَعمورَةٍ بِالتُبَّعِ
And a cell with bees from you busily occupied,
And an empty cell you did not occupy.
وَحَظيرَةً قَد أودِعَت غُرَرَ الدُمى
وَحَظيرَةً مَحرومَةً لَم تودَعِ
An enclosure where the wild animals’ treasures were deposited,
And an enclosure you deprived, nothing deposited in it.
نَظَرَ الرَئيسُ إِلى كَمالِكِ نَظرَةً
لَم تَخلُ مِن بَصَرِ اللَبيبِ الأَروَعِ
The president looked at your perfection, a look
That did not lack the insight of the most perceptive.
فَرآهُ مَنزِلَةً تَعَرَّضَ دونَها
قِصَرُ الحَياةِ وَحالَ وَشكُ المَصرَعِ
He saw it a position before which,
The lifetimes bow down, and the appointed time of death.
لَولا كَمالُكِ في الرَئيسِ وَمِثلِهِ
لَم تَحسُنِ الدُنيا وَلَم تَتَرَعرَعِ
Were it not for your perfection in the president and his like,
The world would not be good and would not flourish.
اللَهُ ثَبَّتَ أَرضَهُ بِدَعائِمٍ
هُم حائِطُ الدُنيا وَرُكنُ المَجمَعِ
God established His land with pillars,
They are the barrier of the world and pillar of the assembly.
لَو أَنَّ كُلَّ أَخي يَراعٍ بالِغٌ
شَأوَ الرَئيسِ وَكُلَّ صاحِبِ مِبضَعِ
If every brother were striving maturely,
For the president’s glory, and every owner of a mare,
ذَهَبَ الكَمالُ سُدىً وَضاعَ مَحَلُّهُ
في العالَمِ المُتَفاوِتِ المُتَنَوِّعِ
Perfection would vanish in vain, and its place lost,
In the uneven diverse world.
يا نَفسُ مِثلُ الشَمسِ أَنتِ أَشِعَّةٌ
في عامِرٍ وَأَشِعَّةٌ في بَلقَعِ
Oh soul, you are like the sun, rays
In a cultivated land, and rays in a patch.
فَإِذا طَوى اللَهُ النَهارَ تَراجَعَت
شَتّى الأَشِعَّةِ فَاِلتَقَت في المَرجِعِ
So when God folds up the day, the rays retreat,
The scattered rays meet in the place of return.
لَما نُعيتِ إِلى المَنازِلِ غودِرَت
دَكّاً وَمِثلُكِ في المَنازِلِ ما نُعي
When you were invited to the dwellings,
You were called to, and like you, none were called to dwellings.
ضَجَّت عَلَيكِ مَعالِماً وَمَعاهِداً
وَبَكَت فُراقُكِ بِالدُموعِ الهُمَّعِ
Places and covenants cried over you,
And your separation wept with copious tears.
آذَنتِها بِنَوىً فَقالَت لَيتَ لَم
تَصِلِ الحِبالَ وَلَيتَها لَم تَقطَعِ
You told them of a vow, so they said would that,
The ropes were not joined, would that they were not cut.
وَرِداءُ جُثمانٍ لَبِستِ مُرَقَّمٍ
بِيَدِ الشَبابِ عَلى المَشيبِ مُرَقَّعِ
The garment of an embroidered body you wore,
Patched by youth over old age.
كَم بِنتِ فيهِ وَكَم خَفيتِ كَأَنَّهُ
ثَوبُ المُمَثِّلِ أَو لِباسُ المَرفَعِ
How many daughters were in it, and how you hid them, as if,
It were the actor’s robe or the judge’s attire.
أَسَئِمتِ مِن ديباجِهِ فَنَزَعتِهِ
وَالخَزُّ أَكفانٌ إِذا لَم يُنزَعِ
I asked about its brocade so you took it off,
And the linen shroud, when not taken off.
فَزِعَت وَما خَفِيَت عَلَيها غايَةٌ
لَكِنَّ مَن يَرِدِ القِيامَةَ يَفزَعِ
She panicked but no point was hidden from her,
Except whoever wants the resurrection will panic.
ضَرَعَت بِأَدمُعِها إِلَيكِ وَما دَرَت
أَنَّ السَفينَةَ أَقلَعَت في الأَدمُعِ
With her tears she implored you but did not know,
That the ship had sailed with the tears.
أَنتِ الوَفِيَّةُ لا الذِمامُ لَدَيكِ مَذ
مومٌ وَلا عَهدُ الهَوى بِمُضَيَّعِ
You are the faithful, not the one to blame, for you have,
No blameworthy acts, nor are your covenants broken.
أَزمَعتِ فَاِنهَلَّت دُموعُكِ رِقَّةً
وَلَوِ اِستَطَعتِ إِقامَةً لَم تُزمِعي
You intended departure so your tears flowed gently,
If you could have stayed, you would not have intended to leave.
بانَ الأَحِبَّةُ يَومَ بَينِكِ كُلُّهُم
وَذَهَبتِ بِالماضي وَبِالمُتَوَقَّعِ
The loved ones were seen on that day, all of them,
And you left with those past and awaited.
