كتابُ عبدٍ إلى مَولاهُ يَعتَذِرُ
ذي خَجلةٍ قَلْبُه مِمّا جنَى حَذِرُ
A servant's letter to his Master expressing remorse
His heart is filled with shame for the wrongs he has done, so he is cautious
فإنْ غدا وله في قَلْبِه أثَرٌ
لم يَبْقَ للعَبْدِ لا عَيْنٌ ولا أثَر
If tomorrow he still feels remorse in his heart
The servant will have neither eye nor trace left
وإنْ غدا قابِلاً أعذارَهُ كرماً
فلا يَزالُ على الأكفاء يَفْتَخِر
But if tomorrow he accepts his excuses generously
He will continue to pride himself on being equal to the noble
هل غافِرٌ أنت تَقْصيراً عثَرْتُ به
يا مَنْ بلُقياهُ ذَنْبُ الدّهرِ يُغتَفَر
Are you a Forgiver? I stumbled into an error
O You whose encounter erases the sins of an epoch
ومَن بقُربيَ منه غُربتي وَطَنٌ
ومَن مُقاميَ عنه نائياً سَفَر
You who through nearness to You my exile becomes a homeland
And whose distance from You is a journey
حَرمْتُ نَفْسيَ أعْلَى مَفْخَرٍ فغَدا
من الغبينةِ قلبي وهْو يَنْفَطِر
I deprived myself of the highest pride, so my heart became
Split open from foolishness and about to shatter
لكنْ تُعِلّلُ منّي النَفْسَ مَعرفتي
بأنّ عهدَ ولائي الدّهرَ مُدَّكَر
But my soul makes excuses for me because of my knowledge
That my loyalty has endured time immemorially
وأنّني من ذُرا المَولَى صفاءَ هَوىً
أُدْنَى وإن غبْتُ من قومٍ وإنْ حَضَروا
And that I am the most sincere to my Master in my love
Though I was absent from a people even if they were present
يا مَن غدا شاغِلي عن فَضْلِ خدمتِه
بفَضْلِ نعمتِه والصّدْقُ يَشْتَهِر
O You whose favor distracted me from serving You well
By the sincerity of Your blessing which is well known
أكثرتَ رِفْدِي فأكثَرتُ التّفكُّرَ في
إحرازِه وأخو التّحصيلِ يَفتكِر
You increased my provision, so I thought more
About securing it, and the brother of acquisition ponders
وقيل إن لم تُبادِرْ قَلَّ حاصِلُه
وفُرصةُ الشَّيءِ تُرجَى حينَ تُبتَدَر
It is said that if you do not take the initiative, little will be your gain
And seizing the opportunity is hoped for when it is undertaken
فمِن حَيائي ومن شَوقي إليك أرَى
نارَيْنِ كلتاهما في القَلْبِ تَستَعِر
So from my shyness and yearning for You I see
Two fires both blazing in my heart
فلا تَظُنَّنَّ أنّي عنك مُصطَبِرٌ
وإن رحَلْتَ فمالي عنك مُصطَبَر
Do not think I can endure separation from You
Even if You journey away, I have no patience without You
إن أصبحَتْ قُبلةُ التّوديعِ فائِتَتي
فَسَلْوتي أنّها للعَودِ تُدَّخَر
If the kiss of farewell comes to bid me adieu
My solace is that it is kept for the return
كأنّني بي وقد أعجلْتُ مُنصَرَفي
إلى ذُراكَ ولُطْفُ اللهِ مُنتظَر
It is as if I hastened my departure
To Your presence, and God's kindness is anticipated
وصدَّق اللهُ فأْلي في تَوجُّهِكُمْ
وصدْقُ فأليَ للأصحاب مُخَتَبر
May God fulfill my hopes in your return
And may the hopes of companions be tested sincere
وعُدْتَ أحسنَ عَوْدٍ عادَه أحَدٌ
من وِجهةٍ عَرضَتْ فاستبشَر البَشَر
You have returned in the best homecoming anyone returned
From a journey, so the mortals rejoiced
وأقبلتْ رايةُ السّلطانِ طالعةً
والنَّصرُ في ظِلِّها يَختالُ والظّفَر
The banner of the Sultan rose up
And victory parades in its shade and success
وزُرتُه قَلميَّ المشْي من طَرَبٍ
لمّا أتاني بهِ عن سَيْفِه الخَبَر
My pen danced in rapture
When it brought me news of his sword
وصغْتُ تَهنئةً بالفتحِ تَحسُدُها
من حُسْنِها في السماء الأنجمُ الزُّهُر
I offered congratulations on the conquest, envied
In their beauty by the stars in the heavens, the flowers
ونِلْتُ منه نَوالاً لا يُشاكِلُه
إلاّ قِطارُ الغَوادي وهْي تَنْهَمِر
I attained from him a bestowal unmatched
Except by lines of rain pouring forth
ولن يَفوتَ غِنىً أنت الضّمينُ له
وإنْ تَصدَّتْ ليالٍ دُونه أُخَر
Wealth will not elude you, for you are its guarantor
Even if other nights come before it
يا مُغْنِياً لي بآلاءٍ يُواصِلُها
إنّي إليك وإن أغنَيْتَ مُفتَقِر
O You who grace me with favors continuously
Though you enrich me, to You I am still poor
لي منك مَضْمونُ إدرارٍ إلى صِلَةٍ
كُلٌّ له حين يُسْمَى عندهُمْ خَطَر
From You I am guaranteed a flow to connection
Each has its time when it is considered by them
فلو جَرى قَلَمُ المَولَى بتَوصيةٍ
في بعضِ كتْبٍ إلى النُّوّابِ يُستَطَر
If the pen of the Master wrote a recommendation
In some books to the deputies to be referred to
كانتْ كعادةِ طَوْلٍ منه عَوَّدها
وعادةُ الطَّولِ طُولَ الدَّهر تُدَّكر
It would be like His custom of generosity which He made habitual
And the custom of generosity is remembered for all time
وَرْدُ الملوكِ كثيرُ الشّوكِ إن غفَلُوا
عن مُجتَنيهِ فأدْنى نَيْلِه عَسِر
The care of mighty kings, if they are heedless
Of their subjects, even the least of their care is difficult
وهْو الهنيءُ قِطافاً إن غدا كرماً
لهم إلى المُجتَني من بُعْده النّظَر
But He is gentle in gathering, so if He is generous to them
He looks after the reaper from afar
يا واهبَ الألْفِ جُوداً وهو يَحقِرُها
والرفُدُ أعظَمُ قَدراً حين يُحتقَر
O You who give thousands generously while deeming them paltry
For the provision is greater in value when it is belittled
بَقيِتَ للمُلكِ ألفاً في ظلالِ عُلاً
ودولة لك لا تنتابُها الغِيَر
You remained for the realm thousands in the shade of high rank
And a state for You which no other disputes
ألفاً إذا الدّهرُ أحصاها استقَلَّ كما
تَغْدو لنا واهباً ألفاً وتعتَذِر
Thousands, if fate enumerates them, are few, just as
You bestow thousands upon us and apologize
وبعدَ ألْفٍ أُلوفاً يَرتدِفْنَ كما
من جُودِ كفِّك تَتلو البِدرةَ البِدَر
After one thousand, thousands follow in succession, like
The full moons that succeed the crescent from Your open palm
مُمتَّعاً ببَنيكَ الغُرِّ أوجهُهم
مثْلَ الكواكب يبدو وَسْطَها القَمَر
Bringing joy to Your noble-faced children, their faces
Like stars with the moon in their midst
في ظلِّ مَن هو ظِلُّ اللهِ من شرفٍ
في أرضِه فهْو ظِلٌّ ليس ينحَسِر
In the shade of Him who is God's shade in nobility
In His land, so He is a shade that does not diminish
مَلْكِ الملوكِ العظيمِ المُلك حين غدا
منك الوزيرُ له في الدّهْرِ والوَزَر
The kingdom of the greatest King, when You became
For Him in fate the minister, and the office
تَبقَى ويَبقَونَ في نَعماءَ عاكفةٍ
وعيشةٍ ما لكم من وِرْدِها صَدَر
You remain, and they remain, focused on everlasting bounty
And a life for which your breasts lacked capacity
ومُشْبِهاً عيشَكم في الدّهرِ مُلكُكمُ
فلسَ يَعرضُ في صَفْويْهما كَدَر
Likening your life in fate to your kingdom
No dissension ever occurs in their serenity
بكم حَوى الفخْرَ دَهْرٌ ضمَّ شملَكمُ
ما قيمةُ السِّلْكِ إن لم تُغْلِهِ الدُّرَر
Through you fate contained pride when it gathered you together
What worth is lineage if it lacks pearls?
