عبسنَ مِن شَعَرٍ في الرأس مُبتَسِمِ
ما نَفرَّ البيضَ مثل البيضِ في اللِمَمِ
He frowned with poetry in his head, smiling,
Nothing made the eggs recoil like the eggs in adversity.
ظَنَّت شَبيبته تَبقى وَما علمت
أَنَّ الشَبيبة مرقاةٌ إِلى الهَرَمِ
His youth thought it would remain though it did not know
That youth is a stairway up to old age.
ما شابَ عَزمي وَلا حَزَمي وَلا خُلقي
وَلا وَفائي وَلا ديني وَلا كَرَمي
Neither my resolve nor my composure nor my manners
Nor my loyalty nor my faith nor my nobility has aged.
وَإِنَّما اِعتاضَ رأسي غَيرَ صِبغَتِهِ
وَالشَيبُ في الرأسِ دونَ الشيب في الشيمِ
Only the appearance of my head changed without its essence,
For grayness of the head, not of the morals, matters.
بِالنَفس قائِلَةٌ في يَوم رِحلَتنا
هَواكَ عِندي فَسِر إِن شئتَ أَو أَقِمِ
My soul said, on the day of our parting,
"Your love remains with me, so stay if you wish or go."
فَبُحتُ وَجداً فَلامتني فقلن لَها
لا تَعذُليهِ فَلَم يلؤم وَلَم يَلَمِ
So I cried desperately and she blamed me. I said, "Do not fault him,
For he has not erred or been unjust."
لَمّا صَفا قلبه شَفَّت سَرائره
وَالشَيء في كل صافٍ غير مُكتتمِ
When his heart was pure, his innermost thoughts were revealed,
For nothing in something pure remains concealed.
بعض التَفرق أَدنى للقاء وَكَم
لاءَمت شملاً بِشَملٍ غَير مُلتَئِمِ
Some separation is closer to reunion, though oft
A healed rift is blamed when the rift remains unhealed.
كَيفَ المُقام بِأَرض لا يَخاف بِها
وَلا يُرَجّى شَبا رُمحي وَلا قَلَمي
How can I stay in a land where I fear nothing
And hope for neither youthful vigor nor my pen?
فَقَبَّلَتنيَ تَوديعاً فَقُلتُ لَها
كُفّي فَلَيسَ اِرتِشاف الخَمرِ مِن شِيَمي
So she kissed me goodbye. I said, "Enough,
For drinking wine is not of my morals."
لَو لَم يَكُن ريقها خَمراً لَما نَطَقَت
بِلؤلؤٍ من حُباب الثَغر مُنتظِمِ
Had her saliva not been wine, her pearls
Would not have spoken from the crevices of her mouth in order.
وَلَو تَيَقَّنتُ غير الراح في فَمِها
ما كُنتُ مِمَّن يَصُدُّ اللَثم بِاللَتمِ
Had I not been certain it was only spittle in her mouth,
I would not have been one who wards off kissing with blaming.
وَزادَ رِيقتها بَرداً تحدُّرها
عَلى حَصى بَرَدٍ من ثَغرِها شَبِمِ
Her spittle made me colder as it trickled down
On the icy pebbles of her mouth’s crevice.
إِنّي لأَصرف طَرفي عَن مَحاسِنِها
تَكَرُّماً وَأَكُفُّ الكَفَّ عَن أَمَمِ
I do turn my gaze from her beauty out of chivalry
And I hold back my palm from ambitions.
وَلا أَهُمُّ وَلي نَفسٌ تُنازِعُني
أَستَغفِر اللَهَ إِلّا ساعَةَ الحُلُمِ
I care not if another soul rivals me.
I ask God’s forgiveness except in fantasies.
لا أَكفُرُ الطَيف نُعمى اِنشرَت رَمَماً
مِنا كَما تَفعَل الأَرواح بِالرِمَمِ
I do not deny a phantom happiness though it dispersed illusions
Among us just as spirits do among bodies.
حَيّا فَأَحيا وَأَغنَتنا زِيارَته
عن اِعتِساف الفلا بالأَنيق الرُسمِ
It lived so I lived, and its visit made us feel
We could do without sitting sadly alone withdrawn.
وَصلُ الخيال وَوصل الخود إن بخلت
سَيّا م أَشبه الوِجدانَ بِالعَدَمِ
Imagination and cheeks can be joined if she is miserly.
How like despair is being severed from the nonexistent!
فَالدَهر كَالطَيف يؤساهُ وَأنعمه
عَن غير قَصدٍ فَلا تَمدح وَلا تَلُمِ
Fate is like a phantom who gives and favors him
Not deliberately, so do not praise or blame.
لا تَحمَد الدَهر في بأساء يَكشفها
فَلو أَردت دوام البؤس لَم يَدُمِ
Do not praise fate when it unveils misfortunes,
For had it wanted lasting misery, it would not have lasted.
خالِف هَواك فَلَولا أَنَّ أَهوَنَهُ
شَجوٌ لَمّا اِقتُنِصَ العقبان بِالرَخمِ
Oppose your passions, for were it not that its slightest
Murmur is lament, hawks would not be hunted with nets.
تَرجو الشِفاءَ بِجفنيها وَسُقمِهِما
وَهَل رأَيت شفاء جاء من سَقَمِ
You hope to be cured by her eyes though they and their sickness
Caused you. Have you ever seen a cure come from sickness?
وَتَدَّعي بِصَبا نجد فَإِن خطرت
كانَت جوىً لك دونَ الناس كلِّهِمِ
You claim the passion of Nejd’s youth. If it crosses your mind,
It would be an oasis for you away from all the people.
وَكَيفَ تَطفي صَبا نَجدٍ صَبابته
وَالريحُ زائِدَة في كُلِّ مضطَرِمِ
How can the passion of Nejd’s youth quench its thirst
When the winds just make every spark blaze?
أَصبو وَأَصحو وَلَم يُكلَمِ بِبائِقَةٍ
عِرضي كَما تُكَلَمُ الأَعراض بِالكَلَمِ
I wake and sleep and nothing of my honor is reproached
Though honors are reproached with words.
وَلا أحبُّ ثَناء لا يُصَدِّقه
فِعلي وَلا أَرتَضي في المَجدِ بِالتُهَمِ
I do not like praise not confirmed by my deeds,
Nor do I accept glory stained with blame.
لا تَحسَبَن حَسَبَ الآباءِ مَكرُمَة
لِمَن يقصِّر عَن غايات مجدهم
Do not count the glory of forefathers a honor
For one who falls short of the peaks of their glory.
حُسنُ الرِجالِ بِحُسناهُم وَفخرهم
بِطولِهِم في المَعالي لا بِطولِهِم
The merit of men is in their own merit, their pride
In rising to great heights, not in their height.
ما اِغتابَني حاسِدٌ إِلّا شَرفتُ بِهِ
فَحاسِدي منعم في زيِّ مُنتَقِمِ
No envier has envied me but thereby I gain pride.
So my enviers do me a favor against their will.
فاللَه يَكلأ حُسّادي فانعُمهم
عِندي وَإِن وقعت عن غير قَصدِهِم
They point out my superiority when my scrolls
On greatness are titled with reference to them.
يُنَبِّهونَ عَلى فَضلي إِذا كُتَبت
صَحيفَتي في المَعالي عنونت بِهِمِ
O you who strive for glory across horizons exerting effort,
Glory is nearer than the shin to the foot.
يا طالِبَ المَجدِ في الآفاقِ مُجتَهِداً
وَالمَجدُ أَقرَب من ساقٍ إِلى قَدَمِ
Say: Helping the state of God’s religion is a hope of mine,
In word, though you have attained the utmost pinnacle of hopes.
قل نصر دولة دين اللَهِ لي أَمَلٌ
قَولاً وَقَد نِلتَ أَقصى غاية الهِمَمِ
How often I have shrunk from it but its virtues called me:
O seal of literature, praise the seal of nobility!
كَم حِدتُ عَنهُ فَنادتني فَضائِلُهُ
يا خاتِمَ الأَدَبِ امدَح خاتِم الكَرَمِ
So divine guidance led me to it, then it called:
“This path leads to the most high, so follow it straight.”
وَقادَني نَحوه التَوفيقُ ثُمَّ دَعا
هَذا الطَريق إِلى العَلياء فاِستَقِمِ
Its palace is Arafat where good character is known, so sing its praises,
And its pilgrim shrine is the Kaaba of perfections, so greet it.
وَقَصره عَرَفات العُرف فاِغنَ بِهِ
وكفُّه كعبة الأَفضالِ فاِستَلَمِ
You see kings humbly standing at its doors,
A delegation and ransom, so leave aside all other tribes.
تَرى المُلوك عَلى أَبوابه عُصُباً
وَفداً فَدَع غيرهم من سائِر الأُمَمِ
Every accompanied one is enveloped by its processions
In glory, and it is served by the army and servants.
يَحُفُّه كل مَحفوفٍ مَواكِبُهُ
عِزّاً وَيخدمه ذو الجند وَالخَدَمِ
Throngs crowd its processions,
Crowns of all who inspire awe and vengeance in people.
تَظَلُّ مزدحمات في مَواكِبُهُ
تيجان كل مَهيب الناس وَالنقم
They enjoy the shade of a king who exercises modesty,
While many a despised, immodest king rules others.
تفيّأوا ظل مَلكٍ منه مُحتَشِم
وَرُبَّ مَلِكٍ مُذالٍ غير مُحتَشَمِ
The king is like a forest, with a harmful, vicious snake
And a lion lurking for prey and blessings.
وَالمَلكُ كالغاب منه خدر ذي لِبَدٍ
ومنه مرتَبعٌ لِلشّاء وَالنَعَمِ
They are the greatest of people in status and fortune,
But his superiority came from above their superiority.
هُم أَعظَمُ الناس أَقداراً ومقدرة
لكن أَتى فَضله من فوق فَضلِهِم
When the sphere of kissing its courtyard appeared,
Not a handspan on earth remained unkissed.
إِذا بَدا طبَّق التَقبيل ساحته
فَما عَلى الأَرضِ شِبرٌ غير مُلتَثِمِ
The surface of the mouth is a mouth of a gap-toothed army,
Split open and overflowing with every mouth.
فَساحة الثَغرِ ثغر أَشنَبٍ رَتلٍ
مُفلَّجٌ فَهوَ مَرشوفُ بكل فَمِ
If it preferred fingers to mouths and the land of its procession,
It would not lack a palm print or a kiss.
فَلَو تُؤَثِّر في الأَفواهِ أَنمله
وَأَرض موكبه لَم يَخلُ من رَثَمِ
As if its land were a magnet attracting every mouth,
Nature draws them willingly and unwillingly.
كَأَنَّ أَرضك مَغناطيسُ كل فَمٍ
فَالطَبعُ يَجذِبها بِالطَوعِ وَالرَغمِ
When you rose high you flooded both worlds with dew,
And overflowing rain makes the land fertile.
لَمّا علوت غَمرت العالمينَ نَدىً
وَالمزن يَعلو فَيَروي الأَرض بِالديمِ
You have risen in rank but your blessings do not thin out for anyone,
“Blessed, blessed,” from the Sublime, the Harmonious!
تَرقا وَما رَقأت نُعماكَ عَن أَحَدٍ
بُورِكتَ بُورِكتَ من عالٍ وَمُنسَجِمِ
Apportioned in the Highest to the right in its good fortune,
The left in its good fortune, all for generosity.
مقسَّم في العُلى لِليُمنِ يُمنَته
وَاليُسرِ يسرته وَالكُلُّ لِلكَرَمِ
If he says no, it is repeated no’s,
If he says yes, it leads to even more blessings.
إِن قالَ لا فَهيَ لاءٌ مُضاعَفة
وَإِن يقل نعماً أَفضَت إِلى نَعَمِ
His firmness appears in the water of his kindness,
And water shares some qualities with the stern, strong man.
تَبدو صَرامته في ماء غُرَّتِهِ
وَالماء بعض صِفات الصارِمِ الخذمِ
He is bold in spending wealth he gives away,
While stinginess in generosity is like cowardliness in Resolution.
هوَ الجَريء عَلى مالٍ يَجودُ بِهِ
وَالكُرُّ في الجودِ مثل الكرِّ في البُهَمِ
The rain, when it flows with good, distributes it
Among the rivulets, streams, and watering places.
مُفرَّق الجودِ مَقسوم مواهِبه
في عليةِ الناس وَالأَوساط وَالحَشَمِ
Through it every height craves its sublimity,
Thirsting perpetually however much it drinks of its water.
وَالغيثُ إِن جادَ بِالمَعروفِ وَزَّعَه
بَينَ الشَناخيبِ وَالغيطانِ وَالأكمِ
A craving for divine bestowal comes over it.
Capacity encompasses that craving.
بِهِ إِلى كُلِّ شُربٍ لِلعُلى ظَمأٌ
بَرَح وَمَهما ارتَوى من مائهنَّ ظِمي
To you I composed poetry's treasures on
Parchment that loves the swoop of the voracious vulture.
وَيَعتَريهِ إِلى بذل اللهى نَهَمٌ
وَالظرف أَجمعه في ذَلِكَ النَهَمِ
As if the hides were scriptures written in chapters
With its veins in red, explaining every obscure meaning.
إِلَيكَ نَظَّمت أَجوازَ الفَلاة عَلى
خَرقاء تَهوى انقضاض الجارِحِ القرمِ
Their trotters match each convoluted problem
With red markings, elucidating all obscure texts.
كَأَنَّما البيد من دامي مَناسِمِها
مَصاحِف كُتِبَت أَعشارُها بِدَمِ
A clear, vivid bay horse sharing
Day and night, divided.
أَخفافُها شاكِلات كل مُشكِلَةٍ
بِحُمرَةٍ معلمات كل منعَجِمِ
His limbs shine except for his hooves.
For they and the skirt are for darkness.
وَأَدهَمٌ واضِحُ الأَوضاحِ مُشتَرِك
بَينَ النَهار وَبَينَ اللَيلِ مُنقَسِمِ
Your smooth riding beast’s forelock adorns him
As fire clung to kindling in the beginning.
للضَوءِ أَرساغه إِلّا حَوافِره
فَأَنَّهُنَ مَع الجِلبابِ لِلظُّلَمِ
He galloped, so dawn revealed his kindness,
Kissing and stroking with his legs and servants.
مَحلولك علق التَجميل أَكرعه
كَما تَعلَّق بدء النار في الفَحَمِ
He kissed dawn so it would reward him in return,
So it smiled back, reciprocating the kiss.
جَرى فَجَلّى فَحَيّا الصبح غُرَّته
لَثماً ومسح بِالأَرساغِ وَالخَدَمِ
Through your justice the mouth of mouths smiles now,
Though before it frowned and did not smile.
وَقَبَّل الفَجر كَي يُجزيه قُبلته
فاِرتد بِاللمظ المَشفوعِ بِالرَثمِ
It resents only that you erased a night
Of darkness from them when they were in darkness.
أَضحى بِعَدلِكَ ثغر الثَغر مُبتَسِماً
وَكانَ قَبلُ عَبوساً غير مُبتَسِمِ
You restrained yourself from them, so they grew more chaste and devout.
They are safe and faithful, inviolate.
ما ينقم الثغر إِلّا أَن مَحَوتَ بِهِ
لَيلاً مِنَ الظُلمِ كانوا منه في ظُلَمِ
God has magnified their rule, which Banu ‘Uqayl attained
Along with blessings they comprise.
عففتَ عنهم فَزادوا عِفَّة وَتُقىً
فَهم من الأَمنِ والإِيمانِ في حرمِ
Had your father Nasr not seized it, you would not have found
One whose origin and nobility could equal it.
قَد عَظَّمَ اللَهَ إِملاكاً مَلَكَت بِهِ
بَني عقيل وَما يَحوون مِن نِعَمِ
If the sun sought other than the moon, it would not have joined
Anything like it in splendor and greatness.
لَو لَم تَحُزها أَبا نَصرٍ لما وَجدت
كُفؤاً يُشاكل في أَصل وَلا كَرَمِ
With him Mudar gained more glory,
And sometimes lofty ones hunt prey in the protected zone.
لَو تَطلِبَ الشَمسَ غير البَدرِ ما اِتَّصَلَت
بمثله في سَناءِ القَدرِ وَالعِظَمِ
Fifty thousand cover the land altogether, their multitude
Like the wave of a raging sea crashing.
زادَت إِلى عِزِّها غِزّاً به مضرٌ
وَرُبَّما صيدت العَلياء بِالحَرَمِ
Of all who come to greet its visitor
With the new moon that signals the Feast clasped to their mouths.
خَمسونَ أَلفاً يُغطّي البرَّ جمعَهُم
بِمَوجِ بَحرٍ مِنَ الماذيِّ مُلتَطِمِ
Tested with seasoned old camels they were enriched
Needless of provisions, so they were needless of supplies.
مِن كُلِّ مَن يتلقّى وجه زائِره
بِكَوكَب بِهِلالِ الفِطرِ ملتَثِمِ
Wild game was their advance party and rain their water.
It sustained them, making them needless of homes.
مُجرّبون عَلى مخُبورَةٍ غنيت
عَن الأَعِنَّة فاِستَغنوا عَن الحُزَمِ
Beneath the spears, the horses wink at each other as if
They are lions roaring together in thickets.
فالوَحش زادهم وَالمزن ماؤهم
تَحمَّلتهم فَأَغنَتهم عَنِ الأَدمِ
A people who see living a short life as an honor,
So nothing leads them to old age.
تَصاهل الخيل من تَحتِ الرِماحِ بهم
كَما تَزاءَرُ علبَ الأسد في الأَجمِ
Most of them resemble you in manners, not in character.
Sometimes man is likened to an idol.
قَوم يَرون اختِصار العُمرِ مكرمة
فَلَيسَ يُفضي بِهِم شَيءٌ إِلى هَرَمِ
I do not deny the merit of poetry since narratives
Of glorious deeds are transmitted through it from ‘Aad and Iram.
وَنَغمةٌ السَيف أَحلى نَغَمة خُلِقَت
إِذا تَرَنَّم بَعض البيض في اللِمَمِ
The best traits are those expressed smoothly in words
And elaborated with maxims and wisdoms.
وَالعَيش في كَفِّ أَفراسِ مُكَلِّمَة
لِمِثلِهِنَّ وَفرسانٍ بِمِثلِهِمِ
Inherit from every miser whose palms withheld:
Most people are keepers of wealth for others.
إِذِ الأَسِنَّة في الهَيجاء أَلسِنَةٍ
يُعربنَ عَن كُلِّ مِقدامٍ وَمُنهَزِمِ
The generous man bequeaths blessings during his life
While the timid inherit after death and perishing.
محمَّرة من دَمِ الأَبطالِ أَنصُلهم
كَأَنَّما نَصَّلوا الأَرماحَ بِالعَنمِ
A man’s worth is what his hands have given away,
And your merit is the most precious appraisal.
قَد كُنتُ أَنكُرُ شِعري حينَ حاوله
مِنّي وَحاشاك أَملاك بِلا هِمَمِ
Excellence is diverse things whose entirety you embody
And whose meaning you are the exemplar for as long as you endure.
لا يأَلَمونَ لِنَقص اليُخلِ وَهوَ بِهِم
مُبرِّح كَيف لِلأَمواتِ بِالأَلَمِ
O you who strive ambitiously for glory in the horizons,
Glory is closer than the shin is to the foot.
يحكيك في الخُلقِ لا في الخُلُقِ أَكثرهم
وَرُبَّما شُبِّهَ الإِنسانُ بِالصَنَمِ
Say: “Supporting the state of God’s religion is a hope I have,”
In words, though you attained the utmost pinnacle of hopes.
وَلَستُ أَنكُرُ قَدرَ الشِعرِ إِنَّ بِهِ
نَقلُ المآثِر عَن عاد وَعَن إِرمِ
How often I have shrunk from it but its virtues beckoned me:
“O seal of literature, eulogize the seal of nobility!”
خَيرُ المَناقِبِ ما كانَ البَيانُ لَهُ
سِلكاً وَفًصِّلَ بِالأَمثالِ وَالحِكَمِ
So providence guided me to it, then it called out:
“This path leads to the Highest, so follow it straight.”
رِث كُلَّ من بَخِلَت كَفّاهُ من مَلِكٍ
فأكثر الناس خَزّانٍ لِغَيرِهِمِ
Its palace is Arafat where good character is known, so sing its praises,
And its pilgrim shrine is the Kaaba of perfections, so greet it.
ذو الجودِ يورث في مَحياهُ أَنعُمَهُ
وَالنِكس يورث بعد الموت وَالعَدَمِ
You see kings humbly standing at its gates,
A delegation and ransom, so leave aside all other tribes.
وَقيمة المرء ما جادَت بِهِ يده
وَقدرك الأَنفَسَ الغالي من القيَمِ
وَالفَضل أَشياءُ شَتّى أَنتَ جُملتها
وَصيغة أَنتَ مَعناها فَدُم تَدُمِ
