نَزلَ الأحبّةُ خِطّةَ الأعداءِ

فغدا لقاءٌ منهمُ بلِقاءِ

The loved ones descended with the stratagem of enemies,

So a meeting of them became with meeting.

كم طعنةٍ نَجْلاءَ تَعرِضُ بالحِمىَ

من دون نَظْرةِ مُقلةٍ نَجْلاء

How many clear stabs expose feverishly,

Without the glance of a clear doe eye.

يا مَعْهدَ الرَشأ الأغَنّ كعَهْدِنا

بالجْزعِ تحت البانةِ الغَنّاء

O habitat of soft most verdant youth, like our covenant

With composure beneath the melodious arch.

بك أصبَحتْ سَمْراءُ وهي منَ القنا

في ظلِّ كلِ طويلةٍ سَمْراء

By you, Samra became brown, though she is from Qina,

In the shadow of each long brown one.

هل تُبلِغانِ ليَ الغداةَ تحيّةً

تُهدَى على حَذَرٍ منَ الأحياء

Will you two convey to me in the morning a greeting,

Sent carefully from the living?

إنْ تبلُغا شَرَفَ العُذَيبِ عشيةً

فَتيامناَ عنه إلى الوعساء

If you convey it by nightfall to Al-Udhayb,

We will avoid it towards Al-Wa’sa.

وقِفا لصائدةِ الرّجال بدَلّها

فَصفا جِنايةَ عينها الحوراء

Stand in place of the hunter of men instead of her,

Describe the crime of her doe eyes.

وتَحدَّثا سِرّاً فحولَ قبابها

سُمرُ الرّماحِ يَمِلنَ للإصغاء

And talk secretly, so the horsemen of its domes

Incline their spears to listen.

من كلِّ باكيةٍ دماً من دُونها

يومَ الطّعان بمُقلةٍ زرقاء

From every weeping woman, blood without her,

The day of stabbing with a blue doe eye.

وسميعةٍ صوتَ الصّريخِ وإن غدَتْ

مَدعوَّةً بالصعدة الصمّاء

And Samira, the voice of screaming, even if she becomes,

Invited by deaf ridge.

يا دُميةً من دونِ رَفعِ سُجوفها

خوْضُ الفتى بالخيلِ بحْرَ دِماء

O doll without raising her insides,

The plunging of the young man with horses in a sea of blood.

خَوفي لإقصاءِ الرّقيبِ لوَ أنّني

أَجدُ الحبيبَ يَهُمُّ بالإدناء

My fear of the watcher's eviction, if I

Find the beloved intending proximity.

لو ساعدَ الأحبابُ قلتُ تجلُّداً

أَهوِنْ عليّ برِقبةِ الأعداء

If the loved ones helped, I would say with composure,

The enemies' necks are easier for me.

ولئن صدَدْتِ فلستُ أوّلَ خاطيءٍ

يَتوقَّعُ الإحسانَ من حسناء

And if you refuse, I am not the first sinner

Who expects kindness from a beautiful one.

هل تأذنين لمُغرمٍ في زَورةٍ

فلعلّها تَشفي من البُرحاء

Do you allow an infatuated one a visit?

Maybe it will heal him from distress.

فلقد ملكْتِ عنِ السُّلوِّ مقادتي

وحشوت من نارِ الجوى أحشائي

For you have led me away from comfort,

And filled my insides with the fire of passion.

وصبَرْتُ عَشراً عنكِ مُذْ شَطَّ النّوى

والعِشْرُ أقصى غايةِ الإظماء

And I have endured ten years without you, since the bending of An-Nawa,

And ten is the utmost extent of endurance.

ولقد كَتَمتُ عنِ العَذول صَبابتي

لكنّ دَمْعيَ لَجَّ في الإفشاءِ

And I have concealed my love sickness from the censurers,

But my tears have burst forth in disclosure.

فلْيهنأِ الغَيرانَ أنّ صدودَها

مِمّا يُروّحُ مَعشراً وبكائي

So let the jealous ones rejoice that her rejection

Of me is what comforts a group, while my crying distresses them.

قُولا لخائفةٍ علينا رِقْبةً

ووِشايةً من معشرٍ بُعَداء

Say to a watcher over us, suspicious

And gossipy from a group of enemies:

دَمْعي وبُخْلُكِ يَسلُكانِ طريقةً

تُغْنِي عنِ الواشينَ والرُّقَباء

My tears and your frugality follow a path

That makes observers and guardians needless.

وبمَسْقِطِ العلَمَيْنِ من طُررِ الَّلوى

دِمَنٌ شكَوْنَ تَطاوُلَ الإقواء

And in the place where the two banners fell from the folds of passion,

There are blood stains complaining of the aggression of enemies.

كَررّتُ ألحاظي إلى عَرَصاتها

وذكَرتُ عهْدَ أولئك القُرناء

I glanced repeatedly at its yards,

And remembered the era of those companions.

وسقَيْتُ صاديَ تُرْبِها بمَدامعٍ

تَنهلُّ مثْلَ الدِيمةِ الوطْفاء

And I gave its attacker's soil my tears to drink,

That flow like the still dew.

والدّمعةُ البيضاءُ قَلّتْ عندَها

فمَطرتُها بالدّمْعةِ الحَمراء

And the white teardrop diminished there,

So I watered it with the red teardrop.

فكَمِ التجَرُّعُ للتّحسُّرِ أن خلا

من ساكنيهِ مُنحنَى الجَرْعاء

So how much anguished drinking for grief when it was empty

Of its inhabitants, the bend of Al-Jur’a.

صبْراً وإنْ رحَل الخليطُ فإنّما

ذُخِرَ العَزاءُ لساعة الأرزاء

Patience, even if the mixed company departed,

For solace is stored for the time of funerals.

واسألْ عِتاق العيسِ إن ثَوّرْتَها

سَيراً يمزّقُ بُردةَ البيداءِ

And ask the knights of Jesus if you provoked them,

It will tear the garment of the white desert.

فعَسى المطايا أن يُجدِّدَ وخْدُها

لك سَلوةً بزيارةِ الزَّوراءِ

Maybe the horses will renew their affection for you

With a visit to Az-Zawra.

فوسَمتُ أغفالَ المهامةِ واطئاً

وجَناتِها بمناسمِ الوجنْاء

So I marked the ignorances of Mahama silently,

And its gardens with the signs of tattooing.

حتّى أُنيخَ بشّطِّ دجلةَ أَينُقى

والجَوُ في سمْكٍ من الظّلماء

Until An-Nukha was laid to rest at the shore of the Tigris,

And the atmosphere was thick with darkness.

والجسْرُ تَحسَبُه طِرازاً أسْوداً

قد لاح فوق مُلاءةٍ بيضاء

And the bridge you'd think is a black thread

That appeared over a white scarf.

والّليلُ قد نَسخ الكواكبَ نُسخةً

للأرضِ غير سقيمةِ الأضواء

And the night copied the planets a copy

For the earth, imperfect in illumination.

والأصل للخضراء فهْوَ بِكَفّها

وبهِ تُقابِلُ نُسخةَ الغَبراء

For the green one has the original, so it is in her hand,

And with it she meets the copy of dust.

فكأنّما الفَلَك المُدار بمَشْقِها

أبدى كتابتَه لعَيْنِ الرائي

So it is as if the revolving heavens have displayed

Their writing to the beholder's eye.

أًمسى وقد نسخَ السّماءَ جميعَها

من حِذْقِه في صَفحةٍ للماء

It made the entire sky a copy,

From its skill on a page of water.

كي يَخْدُمَ المولَى المُعين لو ارتضَى

بالنسْخِ في ديوانِ الاستيفاء

So that it may serve the Helper Master if He wished,

With copying in the diary of requitals.

ولو ارتَضاه خادماً لرأى له

ماذا يُضاعَفُ من سناً وسنَاء

And if He accepted him as a servant, He would see for him

What multiplies from year to year.

مَن ظَلَّ بين يدْيهِ أدنى كاتبٍ

تَلْقاه واطىء هامةِ الجوزاء

Who has remained between His hands lesser than any scribe,

You will find him with bowed forehead.

مَن بلَّغ الأقلامَ فوق مدى القنا

للمُلْكِ يومَ تَطاعُنِ الآراءِ

Who conveyed the pens beyond the span of the spear

For the kingdom the day of conflicting opinions.

مَن حَلَّ من درَجِ الكِفاية غايةً

أَعيا تَمَنّيها على الأكْفاء

Who has surpassed the degree of competence, a limit

The equally matched cannot wish for.

بخلائقٍ خُلِقَتْ لإدْراك العُلا

وطَرائقٍ حَظيَتْ بكُلّ ثناء

With morals created for attaining the heights,

And ways endowed with all praise.

ويدٍ تَشِحُّ بذرّةٍ إن حاسبَتْ

وببذرةٍ منها أقَلُّ سَخاء

And a hand that is stingy with a seed if it reckoned,

And stingier than it with a seed if it dispersed.

إنْ لم ُيُسامِحْ ثَمّ فاطْلُبْ رِفْدَه

لِيُريك كيف سَماحةُ السَّمحاء

If he doesn't forgive, then seek his grace,

To show you the generosity of the forgiving ones.

مَلِكٌ يَشُبُّ لبأَسِه ولجودِهِ

ناريْنِ في الإصباح والإمساء

A king who in his might and generosity

Resembles two fires in the morning and evening.

قَسمتْ يَداه عُداتَه وعُفاتَه

قسمْينِ للإغْناء والإفناء

His hands have apportioned his weapons and pardons

In two portions, for enriching and annihilating.

ذو هِمّةٍ تَلْقى معَالمَ دارِهِ

مَعمورةً أبداً من العُلماء

One whose ambition finds the landmarks of his abode

Ever inhabited by the learned.

تتناثَرُ الدُّررُ الثّمينةُ وسْطَها

قُدّامَهُ بتَناظُرِ النُّظراء

Precious pearls are scattered amidst it

Before him with the gazing of peers.

وكأنّ بدراً في أسرّة وجْهِه

للنّاظرِين يُمدُّهم بضياء

And it is as if a full moon in the privacy of his face

Provides illumination for onlookers.

تَتزعزع الأعطافُ منه هِزّةً

عند استماع تلاوِة القُرّاء

Shoulders shake from him a shudder

When hearing the recitation of readers.

فمسائل الفقهاء مُنشَدةٌ على

آثارهنَّ مدائح الشُّعراء

So the jurists' issues are chanted over

Their traces, like the poets' praises.

هذي المكارمُ والمعالي الغُرُّ لا

شدو القيان وضجّة الندماء

These noble traits and lofty principles do not

Rouse the singing of singers and clamor of callers.

لله مختص الملوك فلم تزل

تَختَصُّ هِمَّتُه بكُلِّ علاء

To God belongs the exclusive right of kings, so the ambition

Of his soul continues to opt for the highest.

من دوحةٍ للمجدِ عاليةِ الذُّرا

يوم الفخارِ مديدةَ الأفياء

From a lofty palm for glory, high of branches,

On the day of pride, extensive of shade.

كلٌّ رأى كَسْبَ الثّراء غنيمةً

فأَبتْ يداه غير كَسْبِ ثنَاء

Everyone saw acquiring wealth as spoils,

But his hands refused anything but praise.

ولأحمدَ بنِ الفضلِ شيمةُ سُؤْددٍ

وقفَتْ عليه مَحامِد الفُضلاء

And Ahmad ibn Al-Fadl has the traits of glory,

Which the virtuous have lauded in praise of him.

قد أصبح ابنَ الفضل فهْو يبرُّه

برَّ البنين لما جِدِ الآباء

Ibn Al-Fadl has become a dutiful son, so he deals kindly with him

Like the dutifulness of sons to fathers.

ويَظَلُّ يكرِم مَن إليه يَنتحي

مِن زائريه كرامَةَ النُّسباء

And he continues to honor whoever seeks refuge with him

Of his visitors, with the nobility of Genealogists.

فالفضلُ قَرَّتْ عَينُه بك يا ابنَه

إذ كنتَ من أبنائه النجباء

So virtue has delighted him through you, O son,

Since you were of his respectable sons.

يا مُحسناً بيَدِ النّدى بين الورى

تَقليد جيدِ الهمّةِ العَلياء

O you who have been charitable with the hand of bounty among mankind,

Following the excellent ambition of the Sublime.

للهِ درُّك من فتَىً علْياه في

وجهِ الزّمان كغُرّةِ الدَّهْماء

By God, your worth among the people of the time,

Is like the pearl in the sea foam.

يا مَن إلى بيتٍ تَحُلُّ فناءه

يُمسى ويُصبح حَجُّ كُلِّ رجاء

O you whose house courtyard

Becomes every morning and evening crowded with all hopes.

أضحَى الرّجاءُ إلى ذُراك وجُوهه

مَصروفَةً من سائر الأرجاء

Hopes have become focused on your abode,

Diverted from all other places.

ومن العجائبِ أنَّ كَفَّك لم تزلْ

كالبحرِ يومَ الجُودِ فَرْطَ عطاء

And among the wonders is that your palm has never

Ceased being like the sea in day of generosity, overflowing in gifts.

والبحر أسماء له معروفة

والكَف لم تَكُ قطُّ في الأسماء

Yet the sea has well-known names,

While the palm has never been among names.

أمّا جَداكَ فمِن فِنائك قد سَرى

حتّى أتاني نازلاً بِفنائي

As for your grandfather, from your courtyard he travelled,

Until he came down, visiting my courtyard.

وأنا بأرضِي للمُقامِ مُخَيمٌ

وركائبي مَعقولةٌ بإزائي

And I was in my land, camped for residence,

With my mounts tied next to me.

فَبِكَمْ على صِلَةٍ أجيءُ وراءها

تُربِي إذا صلةٌ تَجِىء ورائي

So with what, after a connection, should I come following,

When a connection comes following me?

والذِّكْرُ منك على المغيبِ مُفرِّحى

والمالُ أصغَرُ نائلِ الكُبَراء

And your mention of the absent one gladdens me,

While wealth is lesser than the greatest.

فلأَشكُرنّكَ ما صنَعْتَ مُواصِلاً

شُكْرَ الرّياضِ صنائعَ الأنواء

So I will thank you, maintaining gratitude

Like the gratitude of meadows for the work of clouds.

ولأّحبُوّنّكَ من حِبائكَ جازياً

بسَماعِ كُلّ قصيدةٍ غَناء

And I will love you among your loved ones, reciprocating

With listening to every poem of singing.

غَنّى بها راوٍ وأغنى مُنِعمٌ

فاستُطرِبَتْ لِغنىً لها غَرّاء

Sung by a reciter, and enriched by a benefactor,

So it was fascinated by singing for it of a charming voice.

أنا ألأمُ اللُّؤماء إن لم أجتهِدْ

في حُسْنِ مدحةِ أكرمِ الكرماء

I would be most cowardly if I did not strive

In a praise poem for the most generous of generous ones.

يا بادِئاً بالمكرماتِ وفعْلُه

في العَوْدِ أكرَمُ منه في الإبداء

O you who initiate generosity, and his action

In returning is more generous than in initiating.

ما فوقَ يَومكَ في الجَلالِ لدى الوَرى

إلاّ الغَدُ المأمُولُ للعلياء

Nothing above your day in might among mankind,

Except the hoped-for tomorrow of the Sublime.

فاسلَمْ لأبناء الرّجاء سلامةً

مَوْصولةً بتَظاهُرِ النّعْماء

So submit to the sons of hope in safety,

Continuous with the gathering of bounties.

أرضَيْتَ بالنُّصْحِ الإمامَ وإنّما

يُرضِي الأئمّةَ طاعةُ النُّصَحاء

You have pleased the Leader with advice, and indeed

Advisors' obedience pleases leaders.

وبَلاكَ سلطانُ الأنامِ فما رأى

لك مُشْبِها يا أَعظَمَ الأُمَناء

And you have been appointed by the Sultan of mankind, so he has not seen

For you an equal, O greatest of trustees!

ولئن غدوْتَ وأنت مالك دولةٍ

فلقد سَبقْتَ لها إلى الإحياءِ

And if you have become, while possessing a state,

You had preceded it in revival.

المُلْك مَغْنىً أنت آهِلُ رَبْعهِ

لامَلَّ يوماً منك طُولُ ثَواء

Kingship is dispensable, while you are the adorner of its abode,

Never coveting a day of rest.

والدّهرُ كالعِقْدِ المُفصَّلِ نَظمُه

نَسَقاً من البيضاءِ والسّوداءِ

And time is like a threaded necklace, its arrangement

An order of white and black beads.

فبَقيِتَ واسطةً له لتَزينَه

ولكَيْ تُحاكِيَه امتدادَ بَقاء

So you remained an intermediate for it to adorn it,

And so you emulate its eternal extension.