نَمَّتْ بأسرارِ لَيْلٍ كان يُخْفيها
وأطْلَعتْ قَلْبَها للنّاسِ مِنْ فِيها
She blossomed with the secrets of a night that used to conceal her,
And she revealed to people the heart that she hid within.
قلبٌ لها لم يَرُعْنا وهْو مُكْتَمِنٌ
ألاّ تَرى فيه ناراً مِن تَراقيها
A heart whose burning we did not tend when it was concealed,
Do you not see a fire blazing from its flames?
سَفيهةٌ لم يَزلْ طُولُ اللِّسانِ لها
في الحَيِّ يَجْني عليها ضَرْبَ هَاديها
A foolish woman whose sharp tongue has not stopped harming her
Among the living, inflicting the blows of a guide upon her.
غَريقةٌ في دموع وهَيَ تُحرِقُها
أنفاسُها بدَوامٍ من تَلَظِّيها
A woman drowning in tears that she keeps igniting,
Her breaths constantly kindling them with her tongue’s movement.
تَنَفّسَتْ نَفَسَ المَهْجورةِ ادَّكَرَتْ
عَهْدَ الخَليطِ فباتَ الوَجْدُ يُبْكيها
She breathed the sigh of an abandoned woman and recalled
The days of commingling, so yearning cried for her at night.
يُخْشَى عليها الرَّدَى مهما ألَمَّ بِها
نَسيمُ ريحٍ إذا وافَى يُحيِّيها
Destruction is feared for her whenever a gentle breeze comes to her
And enlivens her, arriving at the peak of its blowing.
بدَتْ كنَجْمٍ هَوَى في إثْرِ عِفْرِيَةٍ
في الأرضِ فاشْتَعَلَتْ منه نَواصيها
She appeared like a star that fell in pursuit of a meteorite
Into the earth, so it was set ablaze and its flames intensified.
نَجْمٌ رأى الأرضَ أولَى أنْ يُبوَّأَها
منَ السّماء فأمسَى طَوْعَ أهليها
A star that saw the earth as more deserving to house it
Than the sky, so it submitted to its people by night.
كأنّها غُرّةٌ قد سالَ شادِخُها
في وَجْهِ دَهْماءَ يَزْهاها تَجَلّيها
As if she were a partridge in the darkness of night, mutinying,
Her lower half watered by irrigation flooding her upper half.
أو ضَرّةٌ خُلِقَتْ للشّمْسِ حاسدةً
فكلما حُجِبَتْ قامَتْ تُحاكِيها
Like the darkness of night, whether darkness draws near
Or recedes, the dawn has emerged for companionship to kindle it.
وَحيدةٌ بشَباةِ الرُّمْحِ هازمةٌ
عساكرَ اللّيْلِ إن حَلَّتْ بِواديها
And a summer resort you cannot judge straight and fairly
If you do not crown it, adorning it with a crown.
ما طَنَّبَتْ قَطُّ في أرضٍ مُخَيِّمةً
إلاّ وأقمرَ للأبصارِ داجيها
A blonde Indian in complexion if she is described,
And in stature and religion, if you complete the comparison.
لها غَرائبُ تَبدو من مَحاسِنها
إذا تَفكّرْتُ يوماً في مَعانيها
For India kills its own souls with fire,
Believing that in doing so, it brings them to life.
فالوجْنةُ الوَرْدُ إلاّ في تَناوُلِها
والقامةُ الغُصْنُ إلاّ في تَثَنِّها
She does not cease inflamed throughout the night,
Yet she has no burning anguish in her chest to erase her.
قد أثمرَتْ وَرْدةٌ حَمْراءَ طالعةً
تَجْني على الكَفِّ إن أهويتَ تَجْنيها
She enlivens the nights with light, and kills them -
What a wretched reward, by God’s life, she gives them!
وَرْدٌ تُشاكُ بها الأيدي إذا قُطِفَتْ
وما على غُصْنِها شَوكٌ يُوقِّيها
An exhibitionist who has never worn clothes for eyes to see,
Nor has she concealed her nudity from them.
صُفْرٌ غَلائلُها حُمْرٌ عَمائمُها
سُودٌ ذَوائبُها بيضٌ لَياليها
She lengthens herself on the height of a garment she wears,
Yet clothes were not destined to clothe her.
كصَعْدةٍ في حَشا الظَّلْمَاءِ طاعنةٍ
تَسْقى أسافِلَها رِيّاً أعاليها
A noisy crow, never ceasing her cawing,
Sometimes muttering her prattle and sometimes trilling it.
كَلوءةُ اللَّيْلِ إمّا أقبلَتْ ظُلَمٌ
أَمسَتْ لها طَلْعةٌ للصَّحْبِ تُذْكيها
Grey-haired and disheveled, her locks are not clothed
In the color of youth except when she dyes them.
وَصيفةٌ لستَ منها قاضياً وَطَراً
إن أنت لم تَكْسُها تاجاً يُحَلّيها
A gloomy canal whose fangs constantly devour it,
Whether stabbing a long stab or ripping it violently.
صَفْراءُ هِنديةٌ في اللَّوْنِ إن نُعِتَتْ
والقَدِّ والدِّينِ إنْ أتْمَمْتَ تَشبيها
Eyes wide open, she spends her night sleepless -
Yes, and her wakefulness in turn exhausts her.
فالهِنْدُ تَقْتُلُ بالنِّيرانِ أنْفُسَها
وعندَها أنَّها إذْ ذاكَ تُحْييها
And perhaps sickness has afflicted her edges
That will not be cured but by cutting to heal her.
ما إن تَزالُ تَبِيتُ اللَّيلَ لاهِبةً
وما بِها غُلّةً في الصَّدْرِ تُظْميها
Woe to her mother, in the darkness of night happily approving
When worries call my heart to theirSCI Summarizer gates.
تُحْيي اللّياليَ نُوراً وهْيَ تَقْتُلُها
بئْسَ الجَزاءُ لعمْرُ اللهِ تَجْزيها
Were it not for the differing temperaments between us, only one -
And temperaments differ in their essence.
وَرْهاءُ لم يَبْدُ للأبصارِ لابِسُها
يوماً ولم يَحْتَجِبْ عنهُنَّ عاريها
For she displays herself in the darkness of night
While she conceals in the darkness of the heart what I hide.
قُدَّتْ على قَدِّ ثَوْبٍ قد تَبَطَّنَها
ولم يُقَدَّرْ عليها الثّوبَ كاسِيها
There are glances between us, if they look carefully -
I conceal them in fear of a gossip, though they flow from me.
غَرّاءُ فَرعاءُ ما تَنْفَكُّ فاليةً
تَقُصُّ لِمّتها طَوراً وتَفْلِيها
She would not complain, if only she were grateful,
Of the burning I suffer which I endure from her.
شَيْباءُ شَعْثاءُ لا تُكسَى غَدائرُها
لَوْنَ الشَّبيبةِ إلاّ حينَ تُبْليها
The nights did not refuse her requests,
Nor did fate turn her away from her pursuits.
قناةُ ظَلْماءَ ما تَنْفَكُّ يأكُلها
سِنانُها طُولَ طَعْنٍ أو يُشَظّيها
It did not cast her far from her loved ones
As it cast me, and near to her enemies.
مفْتوحةُ العَيْنِ تُفْني ليلَها سَهَراً
نعَمْ وإفْناؤها إيْاهُ يُفْنيها
She does not endure enviers whom I endure,
Nor contend with the sons of time as I contend.
ورُبمَّا نالَ من أطْرافِها مَرَضٌ
لم يُشْفِ منه بغَيْرِ القَطْعِ مُشْفيها
She does not complain of the hardship of her exile,
Nor are her feet bound by hands.
وَيلُ امِّها في ظلامِ اللَّيلِ مُسعِدةً
إذا الهمومُ دعَتْ قلبي دَواعيها
To no attainable goals despite our ample striving -
Rather, far from even their outskirts.
لولا اختلافُ طباعَيْنا بواحدةٍ
وللطِّباعِ اخْتلافٌ في مَبانيها
So let it delight her that I have spent the night sleepless,
With none of my concerns or worries troubling or engaging her.
بأنّها في سَوادِ اللَّيْلِ مُظهِرةٌ
تلك الَّتي في سوادِ القَلْبِ أُخْفيها
She smiled amidst crying and my streaming tears -
I am but pure sorrow welling within me.
وَبَيْنَنا عَبَراتٌ إن هُمُ نَظَروا
غَيّضْتُها خَوْفَ واشٍ وهْي تُجْريها
So I said in the wing of night as she stood
While we were in the presence of hands that rose high:
وما بها مَوهناً لو أنّها شَكَرَتْ
ما بي من الحُرَقِ اللاّتي أُقاسيها
If only she knew, in her proximity to the one erected
Among the people, she would turn her cheek confused.
ما عانَدتْها اللّيالي في مَطالبها
ولا عَدتْها العوادي عن مَباغيها
And that it was not sadness that stirred her
But joy of the soul that made her weep excessively.
ولا رمَتْها ببُعْدٍ من أحِبَّتها
كما رَمتْني وقُرْبٍ من أعاديها
Who is like her? When she glanced with her eyes and saw
The cheek of the morning dew while it glistened in its meadow.
ولا تُكابِدُ حُسّاداً أُكابِدُها
ولا تُداجي بني دَهْرٍ أُداجيها
And she was brought to where her partridge
Gave its age, so it increased in its rises.
ولا تَشكَّى المَطايا طُولَ وِحْلَتها
ولا لأرجُلِها طَرْداً بأيديها
On a night when she dwelt near a sun, pierced by
A light that multiplied and whitened its darknesses.
إلى مَقاصدَ لم نَبْلُغْ أدانيَها
مَعْ كَثْرَةِ السَّعْي فَضْلاً عن أقاصيها
One of thirty like a necklace, intricately strung -
Beads competing in brilliance, lighting up its lines.
فَلْيَهْنِها أنّها باتَتْ ولا هِمَمي
ولا هُمومي تُعَنّيها وتَعْنيها
She sees the lamps as flowers on its sides
As it revealed the cheek of the horizon, illuminating it.
أبدَتْ إليِّ ابتِساماً في خلالِ بُكاً
وعَبْرتي أنا مَحْضُ الحُزْنِ يَمْريها
As if they were stars of the horizon, descending
To kiss the ground you tread, arriving in its midst.
فقلتُ في جُنْحِ ليلٍ وهْي واقفةٌ
ونحن في حَضْرة جَلَّتْ أَياديها
Marvels in the nights, amazingly crafted -
Among them are the darkness' tresses, relaxing it.
لو أنّها عَلِمتْ في قُرْبِ مَن نُصِبَتْ
من الورَى لَثنَتْ أعطافَها تِيها
The recitation in it, and the villages combined,
Are for you, its devoted reader, reciting it.
وخَبَّرتْ أنّها لا الحُزْنُ خامَرَها
بَلْ فَرحةُ النّفْسِ أبكاها تَناهيها
Her night is no more preoccupied with your prayers
Than her day with prayers in it you fulfil.
مَنْ مِثْلُها حينَ ردَّتْ عَيْنَها فرأتْ
خِدْنَ النَّدى وهْو مُحتلٌّ بِناديها
A month counted in days like you unceasing
In sleep, if its meanings are combined.
وأنّها قُدِّمَتْ في حيثُ غُرَّتُه
تُهْدي سَناها فزادَتْ في تَلاليها
As if the crescent's light emerged, so the flowers of stars
Faded, while it began to shine from its sides.
في ليلةٍ جَاورَتْ شَمْساً فمزَّقَها
نُورٌ تضاعَفَ فابْيَضَّتْ دَياجيها
The judges of Persia glanced, so its processions
Hastened after its judge, veiled from sight.
إحدى ثلاثينَ مِثْلِ العِقْدِ قد نُظِمَتْ
غُرّاً تبارى بأنوار تُجَليِّها
O Majid, neither sun nor moon shone
But by the grace of its light guiding her.
تَرى المصابيحَ زُهراً في جَوانبِها
وقد جَلا صَفْحَةَ الغَبْراءِ ذاكيها
Whenever the noble ancestors boasted,
The first of them surpassed the next in glory.
كأنّهنَّ نُجومُ الأُفْقِ نازلةً
جاءتْ تُقبِّلُ أرضاً أنت واطيها
They chose Persia as their abode, and its shade
Encompassed the plain, its farthest and nearest parts.
شَرائفٌ في اللّيالي رُصِّعَتْ عَجَباً
منها ذَوائبُ للظَّلْماء تُرْخيها
Like the eye that penetrates horizons, observing -
Yes, and its eyelid protects it, containing it.
لك القراءةُ فيها والقِرَى جُمِعا
فأنت قارِئُها نُسْكاً وقاريها
As if it were an invincible forest, since
The lion of lions began dwelling within it.
ما لَيْلُها بصَلاةٍ منكَ أشْغَلَ مِن
نَهارِها بصِلاتٍ فيه تُسْديها
May it forever adorn itself with them,
And may it never detach itself from them.
شَهْرٌ يُعَدُّ من الأيّامِ مثْلَكَ في ال
أنامِ فَرْداً إذا عُدَّتْ مَعانيها
As for the Sacred Law, since it came to you,
You have removed from its essence what injured it.
كأنّ ضَوْءَ هلالٍ لاحَ فابْتدَرَتْ
زُهْرُ النُجوم تَبدَّى مِن نَواحيها
I do not see any allies like the Faizis
Whose names derive from its meanings.
قُضاةُ فارسٍ التَفّتْ مَواكبُها
تُخبُّ مُسرِعَةً في إثْرِ قَاضيها
From the clan of Badr and Hisn they appointed you to it -
A full moon guiding it, and a fortress protecting it.
يا ماجداً لم يُنِرْ شَمسٌ ولا قَمَرٌ
إلاّ بفَضْلةِ نُورٍ منه يُهْديها
Superiority is yours, by my life, and knowledge together
An inheritance the fathers of nobility established.
يَعُدُّ آباءَ صِدْقٍ كلّما افْتَخَروا
يَفوقُ أوّلَها في المَجْدِ ثانيها
From the Secret of Qais, kings none can equal
In might, present or absent.
تَخَيّروا فارِساً داراً وظِلُّهمُ
على البسيطة قاصيها ودانيها
The sun of guidance dawned upon the horizon of Islam
Guiding to the ways of righteousness, directing it.
كالعَيْنِ تَخْتَرِقُ الآفاقُ ناظرةً
أجَلْ ومَحْجِرُها للصَّونِ يَحْويها
A towering flame and brilliant fire together,
And the fire increases above the tower kindling it.
كأنّها غابَةٌ تَغْدو مُمَنَّعةٌ
ما أصبحَتْ وأبو الأشبالِ يَأويها
A brilliant mind whose thoughts
Know hidden matters as if openly stating them.
ألا فَدامَ تَحلِّيها بهمْ أَبَداً
ولا أُتيحَ لها منهم تَخَلّيها
A soul guided in all it undertakes -
Its efforts are praised wherever directed.
أمّا الشّريعةُ مُذْ فاءتْ إليكَ فقد
ضَرَحْتَ عن عَيْنها ما كانَ يُقْذِيها
Hastiness has never caused it to slip,
Nor has a predecessor ever eluded it while truth follows it.
وما أرَى كالفَزارِيّينَ مِن عُصَبٍ
مُشْتَقَة من مَعانيها أساميها
And a lofty ambition like a star's position,
Seeking the heights and gifts from its summits.
من آل بَدْرٍ وحِصْنٍ رَشّحوكَ لَها
بَدْراً هَداها وحِصناً ظَلَّ يَحميها
It attained heights, so they said that was its limit -
But I said, "Do not err, this is its beginning."
لك العُلُو لعَمْري والعلومُ معاً
إرْثاً جُدودُ بني العَلْياء بانيها
Rather, they belittled it by possessing it -
Stages they fell short of wishing for.
مِن سِرِّ قَيْسٍ مُلوكٌ لا يُقاسُ بهم
في العزِّ حاضِرُ أحياءٍ وباديها
A tear that increases in generosity as it grows,
And the doing of good - its rewards repay it.
لقد جَلا أُفُقَ الإسلامِ شمسُ هُدىً
تَهْدي إلى طُرُقِ المعروفِ هاديها
The noble traits of a custodian never satisfy it -
Its actions in the world suffice until they equal it.
طَوْدٌ وقارٌ ونارٌ في الذَّكاء معاً
والنّارُ تَزْدادُ فوقَ الطّوْدِ تَنْويها
So God has encompassed it with a kingdom whose treasuries
Hands of the destitute cannot reach, even if outstretched.
مُحدِّثٌ بصَوابِ الرَّأْيِ خاطرُه
خافي الأُمورِ لدَيْهِ مثلُ باديها
Its wealth among the people it hoards
For storing, not burying in the earth.
نَفْسٌ مُوفّقةٌ في كُلِّ ما شَرَعَتْ
من أمرِها حُمدَتْ فيه مُساعيها
It is beautified by the grace of richness, not the grace of wealth -
The soul's dignity, nothing else, enriches it.
لم يُوطِها زَلّةً يوماً تَسرُّعُها
ولم يُفِتْ سابقةً والحَقُّ تاليها
The outstanding dynasty was never self-sufficient in an era
Except that the loyalty of the pillar of religion sufficed it.
وهِمّةً بمَناطِ النّجمِ ساميةٌ
تَبغي العُلا والعَطايا من مَراقيها
Nor did it complain of an enormous calamity
Except that the perspicacity of his opinion cured it.
نالَ المَعالي فقالوا تلْكَ غايتُها
فقلتُ لا تَغْلَطوا هذي مَباديها
He has an ambition the orbits envy its loftiness -
So no planet competes with its towering height.
وإنّما أكْبَروا منه تَملُّكَهُ
مَراتباً قَصَروا هُمْ عَنْ تَمَنّيها
A sky of glory whose features are its planets,
Returning it to the world adorned and revealing it.
خِرْقٌ إذا زادَ جُوداً زادَ مَقْدرةً
وفَعلَةُ الخيرِ يَجْزيها جَوازيها
You are shown the unity of supremacy and glory, arranged -
For it are features that have softened its margins.
وما عَوارِفُ يُوليها بمُقْنعةٍ
فِعالُها في الوَرى حتّى يُواليها
All people henceforth have become brothers of deceit
Seeking to justify their falsehood with truth.
فَحاطَهُ اللهُ من مَلْكٍ خَزائنُه
أيدي العُفاةِ إذا جاءتْ تُرَجيِّها
While he remains pure, ever pure, like his name -
From all that is suspect in manners or faith.
أموالُه في رقابِ النّاسِ يَكْنِزُها
للذُّخْرِ لا في بُطون الأرض يُلْقيها
Take it, pillar of religion, walking to you -
No star in the highest horizon rivals it.
يُزْهَى بفَضْل غَناءٍ لا بفَضْلِ غنىً
والنّفْسُ عزَّتُها لا غَيْرُ تُغنيها
I wanted to praise a youth, so I was enticed
By elegy - so its rhymes came to me as couplets.
ما اسْتَكفَتِ الدَّولةُ الغّراءُ في زَمَنٍ
إلاّ ونُصْحُ عمادِ الدِّينِ يَكْفيها
As if they were goblets he went around serving,
A server, but without a server offering them.
ولا اشْتَكَتْ مَرْضةً من حادثٍ جَلَلٍ
إلاّ نِطاسيُّ رَأْيٍ منه يَشْفيها
A server - when hands circulated them like its likeness,
They were difficult, so they were passed from mouth to mouth.
ذو همّةٍ تَحسُدُ الأفلاكُ رِفْعَتها
فما لَها كَوكبٌ أمسى يُساميها
O best of those who travelled far and near,
Singing their melodies, the camel-driver chanting them!
سَماءُ مجدٍ سَجاياهُ كواكبُها
يُعيدُها للوَرى زُهْراً ويُبْديها
The dawn of fasting - I do not know, has it come
To congratulate you proudly or congratulate it?
تُريكَ شَمْلَ العُلا والمَجْدِ مُنتظِماً
له شَمائلُ قد رَقَّتْ حَواشيها
The days of your year, as far as they are concerned, have a course -
So delight in the joy of those past and remaining!
كُلٌّ غدا من بَني الدُّنْيا أَخا خُدَعٍ
يَبْغي لباطِله بالحَقِّ تَمْويها
Thriving through your noble sons' embrace,
In a state the ages will not disappoint when hopeful.
وطاهِرٌ طاهِرٌ مِثْلُ اسْمِه أَبداً
من كُلِّ ما شان تَهْذيباً وتَنْزيهاً
They remain in lasting bounty like sprinkling rain
Accompanying its valleys, succeeding each other.
خُذْها إليك عمادَ الدِّين سائرةً
ما النَّجْمُ في الأفُقِ الأعلَى يُباهيها
It is unclear which of the two is more weary:
The heart of her envier or the palm counting her.
أَردْتُ مدْحَ فتىً نَدْبٍ أَغرَّ بها
فأقبلَتْ كلُّها غُرّاً قَوافيها
كأنَّهنَّ كؤوسٌ راحَ يُتْرِعُها
راحٌ ولكنْ بلا راحٍ تُعاطيها
راحٌ إذا طافَتِ الأيدي بمُشْبِهها
عَزَّتْ فكانَ بأفواهٍ تَهاديها
يا خَيْرَ مَنْ راحَ من قُرْبٍ ومِنْ بُعُدٍ
إلى مَغانيهِ يَحدو العِيسَ حاديها
صَبيحةُ الصَّومِ ما أدْري وقد وفَدَتْ
بها نُهَنّيكَ فَخْراً أَم نُهَنِّيها
أَيّامُ عامِكَ فيما عِندَها شَرَعٌ
فاسْعَدْ ببَهْجةِ ماضِيها وباقيها
مُمَتَّعاً بِبَنيكَ الغُرِّ تَكْنُفُهمْ
في دولةٍ لا يَخيبُ الدَّهْرَ راجيها
يَبْقونَ في نِعمةٍ كالقَطْرِ دائمةٍ
مَقْرونةٍ بهَواديها تَواليها
لم يُدْرَ أَيُّهما أَوفَى بها تَعَباً
فُؤادُ حاسدِها أَم كَفُّ مُحْصِيها
