أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ الشَّيءَ لِلشَّيءِ عِلَّةٌ
يَكونُ لَها كَالنَّارِ تُقدَحُ بِالزَّنْدِ
Have you not seen that everything has a cause
That ignites it like fire sparked by flint?
كَذلِكَ جَرَّبنا الأُمورَ وَإِنَّما
يدلكَ ما قَد كانَ قَبلُ عَلى البعْدِ
Thus we have tested matters, and indeed
What has passed indicates what is yet to come.
وَظَنِّي بِإبْراهيمَ أَنَّ مَكانَهُ
سَيَبعَثُ يَوماً مِثلَ أَيَّامه النُّكْدِ
And my thoughts of Ibrahim are that his place
Will one day rise again, like his arduous days.
رَأَيتُ حسيناً حِينَ صارَ مُحَمَّدٌ
بِغَيرِ أَمان في يَدَيهِ وَلا عَقْدِ
I saw Hussein when Muhammad had no protection,
No pact in his hands or covenant.
فَلَو كانَ أَمضى السَّيفَ فيهِ بِضَربَةٍ
تُصَيِّرُهُ بِالقاعِ مُنعَفِرَ الخَدِّ
Had he but struck with his sword one fatal blow
That would have left him prone, cheek dragging the ground.
إِذا لَم تَكُنْ لِلجُندِ فيهِ بَقِيَّةٌ
فَقَد كانَ ما بُلِّغت مِن خَبر الجُنْدِ
Were there no soldiers left for him to command,
Then the news I received of the troops would be confirmed.
هُم قَتَلوهُ بَعدَ أَن قَتَلوا لَهُ
ثَلاثينَ أَلفاً مِن كهولٍ وَمِن مُرْدِ
They killed him after killing thirty thousand for him,
Veterans and youths.
وَما نَصَروهُ عَن يَدٍ سَلَفَتْ لَهُ
وَلا قَتَلوهُ يَومَ ذلِكَ عَن حِقْدِ
They did not help him against the hands that betrayed him,
Nor did they kill him that day out of hatred.
وَلكِنَّهُ الغَدْرُ الصراحِ وَخفّة الْ
حلومِ وَبُعدُ الرَّأيِ عَن سُنَنِ القَصْدِ
But it was blatant treachery, reckless minds,
And an opinion far removed from the path of integrity.
فَذلِكَ يَومٌ كانَ لِلنَّاسِ عِبرَةً
سَيَبقى بَقاءَ الوَحْيِ في الحَجَر الصَّلْدِ
Thus it was a day that would serve as a lesson for all people
Remaining like the inscriptions on tablets of stone.
وَما يَوم إِبراهيمَ إِن طالَ عُمرهُ
بِأَبعَدَ في المَكروهِ مِن يَومِهِ عِنْدي
And the day of Ibrahim—no matter how long he lives—
Will not be more hateful to me than his day.
تَذَكَّرَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ قِيامَه
وَإيمانَهُ في الهَزل مِنهُ وَفي الجدِّ
I remember the Commander of the Faithful, upright
In jest and earnest.
أَما وَالَّذي أَصبَحتُ عَبْدَ خَليفَةٍ
لَهُ خَيرُ إيمانِ الخَليفَةِ وَالعَبْدِ
By Him in whose service I have risen this morning
As a servant succeeding the Caliph,
إِذا هَزَّ أَعوادَ المَنابِر باستِهِ
تَغَنّى بِلَيلى أَو بِمَيَّة أَو هِنْدِ
None surpasses the Commander's sincere faith,
Whether lord or vassal.
وَوَاللَّهِ ما مِن تَوْبَةٍ نَزَعَتْ بِهِ
إِلَيكَ وَلا مَيلٍ إِلَيكَ وَلا وُدِّ
Willingly he came to you of his own accord,
Though against his wishes, with God claiming all praise.
وَلكِنَّ إِخلاصَ الضَّميرِ مُقَرَّب
إِلى اللَّهِ زُلفى لا تخيبُ وَلا تكْدي
So do not leave any room for doubt among the people,
For you will recompense according to what you dispense.
أَتاكَ بِهِ طَوْعاً إِلَيكَ بِأَنفِهِ
عَلى رُغْمِهِ وَاِستَأثَرَ اللَّهُ بِالحَمْدِ
They have certainly wrongly accused people in a case like his,
With no son of al-Mansur’s nor of al-Mahdi’s.
فَلا تَترُكَنْ لِلنَّاسِ مَوضِعَ شُبهَةٍ
فَإِنَّكَ مجزيٌّ بِحَسْبِ الَّذي تُسْدي
How then with one whom all the people pledged allegiance,
And riders from the deserts to Najd responded to his oath of fealty?
فَقَد غَلَطوا لِلنَّاسِ في نَصْبٍ مِثله
وَمن لَيسَ لِلمَنصورِ بِابن وَلا المَهْدي
One whose appointment as Caliph was stamped with approval,
And who was proclaimed among the high nobility?
فَكَيفَ بِمَن قَد بايَعَ النَّاسُ وَالتَقَتْ
بِبَيعَتِهِ رُكْبانُ غَوْرٍ إِلى نَجْدِ
What man ever aspired to it and then relinquished it
Until he passed away and was buried in a grave?
وَمَن صَكَّ تَسليمُ الخِلافَةِ سَمعَهُ
يُنادى بِها بَينَ السماطين مِن بُعْدِ
Yet they claim for the likes of him leadership,
To guide them in what they disclose and conceal!
وَأَيُّ اِمرئٍ سامى بِها قَطُّ نَفْسَهُ
فَفارَقَها حَتّى تَغَيَّبَ في اللَّحْدِ
They say he is a Sunni, but what tradition
Is upheld by the likes of blue eyed Sa’al, the shifty one?
وَترجمُ هذي النَّابتيَّةَ أَنَّهُ
إِمامٌ لَها فيما تُجِنُّ وَما تُبْدي
And they have made the food allowed in his time
A leader for them, along with the lucky constellation.
يَقولونَ سُنِيٌّ وَأَيَّةُ سُنَّةٍ
تَقومُ بِجَونِ اللَّونِ صَعلُ القَفا جَيْدِ
Whenever they see a day of high prices, you see them
Yearning for those days, filled with regret.
وَقَد جَعَلوا رُخْصَ الطَّعامِ بِعَهدِهِ
زَعيماً لَهُم بِاليُمنِ وَالكَوكَبِ السَّعْدِ
And he came on the day of Eid leading hyenas around him,
The snorting of steeds, and the clanging of coat mail.
إِذا ما رَأَوا يَوماً غَلاء رَأيَتهم
يَحِنُّونَ تَحناناً إِلى ذلِكَ العَهْدِ
With horsemen walking about in chainmail behind him
Bearing staffs and spears.
وَأَقبَلَ يَومَ العيدِ يوجِفُ حَوْلَهُ
وَجيف الجِيادِ وَاِصطِكاك القَنا الجُرْدِ
If you say that others have sought the Caliphate
Yet were not granted what they strove hard to obtain,
وَرجّالَةٌ يَمشونَ في البيضِ دونَهُ
وَقَد تَبعوهُ بِالقَضيبِ وَبِالبُرْدِ
I do not fault him whose endeavor God foiled
For being mistaken since he did so deliberately.
فَإِنْ قُلتَ قَد رامَ الخِلافَةَ غَيرُهُ
فَلَم يُؤتَ فيما كانَ حاولَ مِن جَدِّ
Nor am I pleased after forgiveness unless I supply him,
For the bitten one is more deserving of shelter and care.
فَلَم أجزِهِ إِذ خَيَّبَ اللَّهُ سَعيَهُ
عَلى خَطَأٍ إِذ كانَ مِنهُ عَلَى عَمْدِ
One who was cast out by the foolishness of others' opinions
Is not the same as one whose own reasoning led him astray.
وَلَم أَرضَ بَعدَ العَفوِ حَتّى رَفَدتُهُ
وَلَلعَمُّ أَولى بِالتَّغَمُّدِ وَالرِّفْدِ
A gang of bandits assisted him,
Just to importune, never to export him from exile.
فَلَيسَ سَواءً خارِجِيٌّ رَمى بِهِ
إِلَيكَ سَفاهُ الرَّأيِ وَالرَّأيُ قَد يُردي
Another was in the house of the Caliph, associating
With you and the glorious fathers before you.
تَعاوَت لَهُ مِن كُلِّ أَوبِ عصابَةٌ
مَتى يورِدوا لا يُصدِروهُ عَنِ الورْدِ
Your master was his master, your troops his troops.
Can one scabbard contain two swords?
وَآخَر في بَيتِ الخَليفَةِ يَلتَقي
بِهِ وَبِكَ الآباءُ في ذُروَةِ المَجْدِ
I was surprised by your family saying
That they were most fond of him.
فَمَولاكَ مَولاهُ وَجُندُكَ جُندهُ
وَهَل يَجمَعُ القَينُ الحُسامَينِ في غَمْدِ
They say, "Do not distance yourself from the son of a freedwoman,
Forbearing, though it wearied his soul, a man of great resilience."
وَقَد رابَني مِن أَهلِ بَيتِكَ أَنَّني
رَأَيتُ لَهُم وَجْداً بِهِ أَيَّما وَجْدِ
So he drew near and his soul became cheap to attain our kingdom,
At that time when few would sacrifice themselves.
يَقولونَ لا تَبْعُدْ مِن اِبنِ مُلِمَّةٍ
صَبورٍ عَلَيها النَّفس ذي مَرَّةً جَلْدِ
At the time when people extended to you the palms of their hands
Ali ibn Musa was given the succession to the Caliphate.
فَدانا فَهانَت نَفسُهُ دونَ مُلكِنا
عَلَيهِ عَلى الحِينِ الَّذي قَلَّ مَنْ يُفْدي
None but he refused that injustice,
But to accept or reject was enough for us.
عَلى حين أَعطى النَّاسُ صَفوَ أَكُفِّهِم
عَلِيُّ بنِ موسى بِالوِلايَةِ لِلعَهْدِ
And Ibrahim readied himself for death,
Bearing arms above a breast bursting with resolve.
فَما كانَ مِنَّا مَن أَبى الضَّيْمَ غَيرهُ
وَلكِن كَفانا في القَبولِ وَفي الرَدِّ
He did his utmost, and one who reaches the limit
Of his affair is not to be blamed, even if he falls short.
وَجَرَّدَ إِبراهيمُ لِلمَوتِ نَفسَهُ
وَأَبدى سِلاحاً فَوقَ ذي مَيْعَةٍ نَهْدِ
These are matters those hesitant to face evil
May fear the consequences of. But God guides you to integrity.
فَأَبلى وَمَن يَبلُغْ مِنَ الأَمرِ جَهدَهُ
فَلَيسَ بِمَذمومٍ وَإِن كانَ لَم يُجْدِ
فَهذي أُمورٌ قَد يَخافُ ذَوو النُّهى
مَغَبَّتَها وَاللَّهُ يَهديكَ لِلرُّشْدِ
