أَلَمّ صُبحاً وجَمْرُ الحَلْيِ قد بَرَدا
وقد بَدا يَخْطِفُ الأبصارَ مُتّقِدا
The morning dawned in pain, and the embers of my campfire had cooled,
When there appeared, igniting glances, one with burning embers.
فهل رأَتْ قَطُّ عينٌ قبل رُؤْيتِه
جَمْراً به تَخْصَرُ الأيدي وما خَمَدا
Had any eye before this sight ever seen
Embers that scorched hands, yet did not diminish?
وافَى شبيهَ خيالٍ منه مُستَرِقاً
وفي جفوني خَيالٌ منه قد وَفدا
An apparition of him stole to me like his image in my mind,
And in my eyelids came a specter of him that arrived unbidden.
واستَشخصَ الطّيفُ في عَيْني فقلتُ له
أَفي كرىً زائري أم يقظةٍ قَصدا
The phantom took shape before my eyes, so I asked it:
“Does my frequent visitor come to me in a dream or waking?”
فقُمتُ للعينِ منّي ماسِحاً بيَدِي
ولاثماً منه رِجْلاً تارةً ويدا
I rose to touch the apparition, wiping it with my hand,
At times embracing its leg, at others its hand.
مُغازِلاً لغزالٍ منه ذي غَيَدٍ
منه غَزالُ الفلاةِ استَوهَب الغَيدا
Caressing the gazelle of the wilderness that had come from him,
The gazelle of the wilderness that had been granted grace.
وِشاحُه حاسِدٌ في خَصْرِه هَيَفاً
والعِقْدُ في الجِيدِ منه يَحسُدُ الجَيدا
Its cloak was jealous of the slimness of its waist,
And the beads around its neck envied its necklace.
ذو عارِضٍ مُشرِقٍ يَفْتَرُّ عن بَرَدٍ
فَسمِّهِ إن أردتَ العارِض البَرَدا
With a shining cheek that puts the full moon’s face to shame,
Name it “radiant cheek” if you wish to name the full moon.
مُضرَّجُ الخَدِّ إن قَرّبتَ مُقتَبِساً
من وجنَتَيْهِ سراجاً في الدُّجى وَقَدا
When brought near, the rose-red of its cheeks
Would light a lamp in the darkness if lit from its cheeks.
فقلتُ يا بدرُ ما هذا الطُّروقُ لنا
ولا طريقَ أرى إلاّ وقد رُصِدا
I said, “O full moon, what is this sudden appearance to us,
When I see no path but that it has been watched?”
فكيف والحَيُّ أيقاظٌ مَررْتَ بهم
وما بدَوْتَ ونجمٌ لو سَرى لَبَدا
“How did you pass by them while the people were awake,
Yet not appear, while any star that rose would show itself?”
فقال في ليلِ أصداغي خَفِيتُ سُرىً
فكان مَن هَبَّ بالوادي كَمنْ هَجَرا
It replied, “I hid in the darkness of my cheeks by night,
So one who came down to the valley was like one who deserted.”
والحَيُّ قد أزمَعوا سَيْراً غداةَ غدٍ
كُلٌّ أعدَّ له عَيْرانةً أُجُدا
“The people made ready to travel at dawn tomorrow,
Each one preparing mounts for himself.
والعِيس أعناقُها شَطْرَ الحُداةِ لها
ميْلٌ كأنّك بالحادي بها وخَدا
The camel-litter’s necks incline tomorrow at first light,
As if their leader urges them onward.”
وليس يَعْشَقُ طولَ اللّيلِ ذو كَلَفٍ
إلاّ إذا خَبَّروا أنّ الرّحيلَ غَدا
“No enamored person stays up all night
Unless they are told the time of departure is tomorrow.”
وقال هذا وَداعي فاستَعِرْ جَزعاً
من وَشْكِ فُرقتِنا أو فاستَعِرْ جَلَدا
It spoke these words and said, “Now show anguish at our imminent parting,
Or show fortitude.” Then like a breath exhaled in haste,
وعاد كالنَّفَسِ المُرتَدِّ من سَرعٍ
والقومُ قد أخَذوا للرِّحلةِ العُدَدا
It returned while the people readied themselves for the journey,
Passing the night conversing with cares and keeping vigil.
وَلَّى وفي الخَدِّ ما في العِقْدِ من دُرَرٍ
كأنّ ذائبَها في جِيدِه جَمَدا
It slipped away while its cheeks still held the pearls of its necklace,
As if their radiance in its cheek had frozen.
وقامَ يَعثُر في أذيالِهِ دنِفٌ
للإلْفِ والقَلْبِ منه راح مُفْتَقِدا
It left stumbling over its train, distressed and heartsick at parting,
Turning back like a breath sharply inhaled.
صَبّ أقامَ وقد سارَتْ أحِبَّتُهُ
يُسامِرُ الهَمَّ طولَ اللّيلِ والسُّهُدا
The dawn came, and its beloved ones had gone.
All night it conversed with sorrow and kept solitary vigil.
وَلْهانَ يبكي بماءٍ أَحمرٍ أَسَفاً
كأنّما هو من آماقِه فُصِدا
It wept red tears of sorrow, as if
Those tears had been squeezed from its innermost depths.
قَتيلَ عينَيْهِ أو عَينَيْ مُنَعَّمةٍ
فليس يَعْلمُ مِمَّنْ يَطلُبُ القَودا
Slain were its eyes, or the eyes of one enamored,
So it knew not whose death it sought vengeance for.
قد كنتُ أحسَبُ أنّي إن يَغِبْ سَكَني
يوماً أَمُتْ خجَلاً إن لم أَمُتْ كَمَدا
I used to think that if my solace ever left me one day,
I would die of shame if I did not die completely.
فقد تَدرَّبْتُ حتّى ما يُتَعْتِعُني
سُكْرُ الفِراقِ لِما قد راحَ بي وغَدا
So I inured myself until parting’s intoxication no longer disturbs me,
Now that it has departed and left me.
فلستُ أخشَى عِثاراً في طريقِ نوىً
لأنّني منه أغدو سالِكاً جَددا
I do not fear stumbling on the path of a new love,
For I tread it anew every day.
أمِنْتُ من فُرْقةِ الاُّلاّفِ غَيبْتَها
فمِنْ عزاءٍ كسَوْتُ الصّدْرَ لي زَرَدا
I felt safe from the separation of intimacy once absence veiled it,
And from consolation I clothed my heart in armor.
عندي منَ الدّهرِ مالو أنّ أَهْونَه
يَغْشى الثُّريّا رأوا مجموعَها بَدَدا
What I own of fate - if its least of it
Were seen heaped up by the noble - they would wish it scattered.
حَدٌّ يُكَلّفُني إقصاءهُ عُدَداً
ولستُ مُمتلِكاً إحصاءه عَدَدا
It burdens me to distance it, while I lack
The ability to enumerate it in number.
لو حَمَّلوا عِبْءَ قلبي مَتْنَ شاهقةٍ
صارتْ طرائقَ من أقطارِها قِدَدا
If the burden of my heart were loaded onto a towering caravan,
Its routes would stretch from end to end of the earth.
قلبٌ من الهَمّ ما يعلو له نَفَسٌ
كأنّما هو في أحشائهِ وُئدا
A heart weighed down by cares from which no breath can rise,
As if suppressed and suffocated in its depths.
فالدّهرُ لولا بنوهُ وهو أقبَلَ في
جَيشِ الحوادثِ لم أَشعُرْ به أَبَدا
If not for fate's children, while it streamed forth
In a surge of afflictions, I'd never feel it at all.
عَبِيدُ صَوْتٍ وسَوْطٍ يَملِكانِهمُ
لو أصبح البُخْلُ شَخصاً فيهمُ عُبِدا
They are slaves of voice and whip whose master is anger.
If greed gained human form, it would be worshipped by them.
يا مَنْ يظَلُّ خطيبُ القومِ يَجمَعُهم
حتّى إذا حَلَّ خطْبٌ كان مُنْفَرِدا
O you whose sermon assembles the people until,
When danger draws near, you stand alone!
خُضْ وقعةَ الدّهرِ خَوضاً غيرَ هائبِها
فما غَنيمتُها إلاّ لمَنْ شَهِدا
Face the days of fate undaunted by their tumult,
For the only gains are to those who witness.
كم تَقطَعُ العُمْرَ حِلْفاً للشّقاء كذا
وكم تُكابِدُ هَمّاً يَقْرَحُ الكَبِدا
How many times you've sworn allegiance to misery itself!
How much anguish you've endured, corrupting the liver!
وما السّعادةُ إلاّ مطْلَبٌ أمَمٌ
مَن قال أَسعَدُ مأْمولي فقد سَعِدا
Joy is but a hoped-for prize. One who says,
“My hopes have brought me joy” has found joy.
شهابُ الشُّهْبُ مَرْآها له أَبَداً
من العُلُوِّ كمَرآنا لها بُعُدا
The shooting star's mirror is its sublime ascent,
Seen from afar like a mirror's reflected gleam.
سُدٌّ لمملكةِ السّلطانِ فِكْرتُهُ
وماله منه سُدٌّ لا يُعَدُّ سُدى
A bulwark for the kingdom is his deliberation,
While his assets are a barrier than cannot be crossed.
إجالةُ الرّأيِ منه رايةٌ رفِعَتْ
وخَطّةُ السّطْرِ منه جَيشٌ احْتَشَدا
The sagacity of his view is a banner raised aloft,
And the line of his prose a massed army on the field.
ليثُ الكتابةِ أو ليثُ الكتيبةِ مَن
طلبْتَ في بُرْدهِ لم تَعْدُ أن تَجِدا
He is the lion of literature or the lion of the armed forces.
Seek as you will in his cold resolve, you'll find no slackening.
ما بالْقَنا عَسَلانٌ في أكفِّهمُ
من خوفِ أقلامِه تُبدي القنا رِعَدا
With their pens, the scribes’ fingers shed their claws in fear
As he straightens the quills of the state with justice.
متوِّجُ الكُتْبِ في طُغْرى يُنَمِّقُها
تاجاً به الكُتْبُ تَستَعْلِي إذا عُقِدا
He crowns books with excellence upon his ascent to heights,
The books made lofty by his crown once placed upon them.
قَوْساً وسَهْماً معاً يُمسى مَجازُهما
حقيقةً في حَشا المُخْفِي له حَسَدا
His metaphor is both bow and arrow, and in the thick of battle,
It is reality shot from the concealed quiver of his envy.
تَبْرِي أناملُه الأظفارَ من قَصَبٍ
مقوِّماً من قناةِ الدّولةِ الأَوَدا
His fingers trim the reeds into pens,
Straightening the channels of the state into right channels.
لا غَرو إن صالَ في يُمْنَى يدي أَسَدٍ
ما ضَمّ غابُ اللّيالي مِثْلَهُ أَسَدا
No wonder that, lodged in the grip of his right hand,
Is a lion the nights' thickets have not bundled like it!
لَعزَّما منه قد يُهدَي لأنمُلِه
مُشَجِّعٌ نبتُهُ في الغَيْضةِ الأَسَدا
He possesses a firmness nurtured in the heat of resolve
That bends the bodies of foes and splits heads with its sword.
له يَراعٌ يُراعُ الدّارعون له
يَثْني مُتون الأعادي والقَنا قِصَدا
A blossom - when they rode, they were stars guiding the way,
Yet when angered, they were shooting stars of destruction.
وغُرُّ خَيلٍ عليها غُرُّ أغلِمةٍ
تَرْدِي فَتَرْدَى إذا ما مارِدٌ مَرُدا
Steadfast on their horses in the fury of battle, their offspring
Seem born in the stirrups, so naturally did they ride.
زُهْرٌ إذا ركبوا كانوا نجومَ هُدىً
حتّى إذا غَضِبوا كانوا رُجومَ رَدى
O you whose heart dwells in your courtyard endlessly,
Whether my person draws near or remains far!
ثَبْتٌ على الخيلِ في الهَيْجا وليدُهُم
كأنّه في سَراةِ الطِّرفِ قد وُلِدا
God knows that since I left your presence,
Loyalty to our covenant has not clothed my ears with rings
يا عاكفاً لم يَزْل قلبي بساحتهِ
إنْ كان شَخْصي دنا في الأرضِ أو بَعُدا
Or any word but news of you, arriving from your region.
The best outcome for one in life is to gain praise.
قد يَعلَمُ اللهُ مذْ فارقْتُ حضْرتَه
أنّ الولاءَ على العَهْدِ الّذي عَهِدا
And why should I not wish an easy life for one by whom
I live an easy life? How often I say:
لم تَلْبِسِ القُرْطَ أُذْني قَطُّ من كَلِمٍ
إلاّ إذا خَبرٌ من شَطْرِه وَرَدا
“My Lord, grant long life to the one for whom
You created spirit, making the world its body.”
بأنّ عُقْبَى الّتي قد أقبلَتْ حُمِدتْ
وخيرُ عُقْبَى امرئ في الدّهرِ ما حُمِدا
“Grant us well-being through a ruler by whom we can live,
And grant him success through triumph and help.”
وكيف لا أتمنّى عيشةً رغَداً
لمَنْ به صِرْتُ أُزجِي عيشةً رغَدا
He who does not elevate my estate in my dwelling
Sees all I own as some of what he grants.
كم قلتُ يا رب هَبْ طولَ البقاء لمَنْ
خلَقْتَه الروحَ معنىً والورى جَسَدا
How often, when one greets me with congratulations
Upon my wearing some new garment, I say to him:
أعِشْ لنا سالماً مَولىً نَعيشُ به
وأحْيِه هو بأْسا في الورى ونَدى
“He renews what the days of my life have ruined—
One who says ‘Wear out and renew’ did not say ‘Perish and fade.’”
مَن لم أُجِلْ مُقلتي في مَنزلي نَظَراً
إلاّ أرى كُلَّ مالي بعضَ ما رفَدا
So God gives life to religion and world eternally,
Or extends the life of all time.
كم قلتُ للمَرْء يَلْقاني يُهنّئُني
لَمّا لَبِستُ جديداً وهْو منه جَدا
He made obedient saints who are shields
Against evil and enemies made ransoms of them.
هو المُجدِّدُ ما أَفنَى مدى عُمُري
مَن قال أَبْلِ وجَدّدْ لم يقُلْ فَنَدا
A people whose ambition is to benefit all people,
And those who rightly elevate when they rise high.
فاللهُ للدّينِ والدُّنيا مُعَمِّرُه
عُمْرَ الزّمانِ جميعاً أو أَمَدَّ مَدى
Leave Quran recital to people who judge therewith—
If you believe in judging by the Quran.
وجاعِلُ الأولياءِ الطّائعين له
من الرّدى والأعادي الرّاغمين فِدى
Recite! For God has guaranteed the Quran's survival,
And whoever fulfills what he promises is truest to his vow.
قَوْمٌ تُناطُ بنَفْعِ النّاسِ همَتُه
ومَن بحقٍّ سَما لمّا سَما صُعُدا
What benefits people remains eternal for them,
While what is superficial rises and passes like foam.
دعِ القِرانَ لقومٍ يَحكمون به
إن كنتَ للحُكْمِ بالقُرآنِ مُعتَقدا
So take it here, smiling like a meadow,
With pearls arrayed as a necklace and spears fixed straight.
واقرأْ فقد ضَمِن اللهُ البقاءَ له
ومَنْ مِنَ اللهِ أَوفَى بالّذي وعدا
It matters not that you are no shooting star
If I liken you to shooting stars in my recital.
ما ينفَعُ النّاسَ يَبْقَى ماكثاً لهمُ
وذاهبٌ زائلٌ ما يَرتَقي زبَدا
If you are no shooting star, you rise
By one whose ascension lifts those who do not rise.
فهاكَها فِقَراً كالرّوضِ مُبتَسماً
والعِقْدِ منتظماً والرُمْحِ مُطّرِدا
A star of faith that fills those who watch it with joy—
If those gone astray kohl their eyes with its radiance.
ما ضَرّ أن لم تكن سيّارةً شُهُباً
مادُمْتُ أَقرِضُها سَيّارةً شُرُدا
A gleam and ablution - when you behold its rising,
It gives the world, from its first light, dew and guidance.
إن لم تكن شُهُباً في نَفْسِها طَلَعَتْ
ففي مَنِ الشهْبُ لا يَصعِدْن ما صَعِدا
Whenever a pen flows praising it, it brings back
Goods of merit for them, renewed perpetually.
شهابُ دينٍ يُسَرُّ النّاظرون به
إن يَكْتحِلْ بسَناهُ مَنْ غَوى رَشدا
If they gain insights from its wisdom, they light
A torch of gratitude to God that lasts forever.
نَوْءٌ وضَوءٌ إذا عايَنْتَ طَلْعتَه
فلِلورَى من مُحَيّاهُ ندىً وهُدى
O you whose hand, when extended, does not cease
Perusing a book or imparting wisdom's radiance!
حَبْرٌ متى أنفذَتْ في مَدْحِه عُصَبٌ
بضائعَ الفَضلِ يَردُدْها لهم جُدُدا
Dividing its benevolence between the two realms of its sight,
Never seen as blameworthy in its life.
إذا استفادُوا لُهاً من عِنده اقْتَبسوا
نهىً تكون على شُكرِ اللُّها مَدَدا
Think not eternity beyond reach
For one who ties convention to gratitude ever striving.
يا مَن يَمُدُّ يَداً ما إن يَزالُ بها
مُطالِعاً في كتابٍ أو يُفيدُ نَدى
He accompanies time with never-ending life
Who couples generosity with exertion.
مُقسِّماً بين إحسانَيهِ ناظِرَهُ
ما إن يُرَى لائماً في عُمرِه أبَدا
No glory was tripled when the intellect relied
Upon the two pillars of thought and remembrance.
لا تَحسبَنَّ خلودَ الدّهرِ مُمتَنِعاً
مَن ناط عُرْفاً بعِرفانٍ فقد خَلَدا
Thought on the past makes you feel
As if you lived in those bygone ages.
يُعايشُ الدّهرَ عيشاً لا انقضاءَ له
مَن يَقُرنُ الفَضلَ بالإفضالِ مُجتَهدا
While remembrance, among surviving nations, puts you
As if not lost to them when gone from them.
الفِكُر والذِكُر لم يُثلِثْهُما شرفٌ
إذا اللّبيبُ على رُكنَيهما اعتَمَدا
Only in this way, my friend, acquire
Meaning in the words of men, "Live forever!"
بالفِكر في سِيَر الماضينَ تَحْسَبه
كأنّما عاش فيهم تِلكُم المُدَدا
والذّكْرُ في الأمَمِ الباقين يَجعلُه
كأنّه غيرُ مفقودٍ إذا فقِدا
وليس إلاّ على ذا الوجْهِ فاقتَنِه
مَعنىً يَصِحُّ لقَول النّاسِ عِشْ أبدا
