لما اِنجَلَت مِن حُجُب الزَمانِ

مَرابِعُ الخُلودِ وَالمَغاني

When the gardens of immortality and melodies emerged

From the veils of time,

ضاقَ عَلى النَفسِ الكيانُ الفاني

وَعالمٌ يَغَصُّ بِالأَشجانِ

The transient existence became constricted,

And a world full of sorrows and sighs

وَيفجعُ القُلوبَ بِالأَماني

لاحَ لَها مِن الخُلود ما اِستَتر

That saddens hearts with wishes.

It had no glimpse of eternity that could be concealed,

وَاِمتَلَك السَمعَ عَلَيها وَالبَصَر

وَاِمتَزَجت مَع النَسيمِ في السَحَر

And it seized the hearing and the sight.

It mingled with the morning breeze,

وَاَرتَفَعَت عَلى أَشِعّةِ القَمَر

شَفّافةً عُلويةَ الأَلحانِ

And rose on the rays of the moon,

Transparent, lofty tunes.

وَلَم يَطُل بِها المَدى حَتّى دَنا

أَبعدُ ما تَرجوه مِن غُرِّ المُنى

Its journey was not long until

The farthest of what you hope for in the bitterness of destiny drew near.

هُنا هَياكلُ الخُلودِ وَهُنا

كُلُّ عَظيمِ القَدرِ وَضّاح السَنا

Is all the great and shining glory.

So it set out loose-reined,

فَاِنطَلَقَت مُرسَلَةَ العِنانِ

طافَت عَلى المُلوكِ وَالقَياصِرَه

Touring the kings and emperors.

Then it returned saying mockingly:

فاِنقَلَبَت تَقولُ وَهِيَ ساخِرَة

أَضخمكم أُسطورةٌ أَو نادِرَه

"Your greatest are myths or rare ones,

Immortality is only for the geniuses,

وَإِنَّما الخُلودُ للعباقِرَه

جَبابر النُفوسِ وَالأَذهانِ

The titans of souls and minds."

The prophets have the highest status,

للأَنبياءِ أَرفَعُ المَقامِ

يُحَفُّ بِالجَلال وَالاكرامِ

Surrounded by majesty and honor.

With them are the marvels of inspiration,

وَعِندَهُم رَوائِعُ الإِلهامِ

فيها الهُدى وَالنُورُ للأَنامِ

In them is guidance and light for mankind,

And the utmost perfection in faith.

وَغايةُ الكَمالِ في الإِيمانِ

وَالشُهداءُ بَعدَهُم في المَرتَبه

After them in rank are the martyrs,

The people of ransom in tortured nations.

أَهلُ الفِدى في الأُممِ المُعَذَّبَه

صَبَّ الشَهيدُ دَمَهُ وَقَرَّبَه

The martyr poured his blood and offered it.

He says: "I sacrifice my bleeding soul

يَقولُ إِنَّ المهجَ المخضَّبَه

أَدفع للضَيمِ عَن الأَوطانِ

To ward off injustice from the homelands."

Magic gathered with temptations

وَاِجتَمَعَ السِحرُ إِلى الفُتونِ

بَينَ رُبى الخُلودِ وَالعُيونِ

Between the lovely immortality and eyes,

Talents from a hidden essence

قَرائِحٌ مِن جَوهَرٍ مَكنونِ

تَشِعُّ بِالعُلومِ وَالفُنونِ

That shine with knowledge and arts,

And flood the world with benevolence.

وَتَغمُرُ العالمَ بِالإِحسانِ

أُولَئِكَ الشُموسُ وَالبُدورُ

Those are the suns and the full moons,

Ever shining, never setting.

دائِمَة الإِشراقِ لا تَغورُ

أَفلاكَها ما كَرَّت الدُهورُ

Their orbits are untouched by the ages.

Love, beauty, and joy,

الحُبُّ وَالجَمالُ وَالسُرورُ

وَالخَيرُ وَالحِكمَةُ في الإِنسانِ

And goodness, wisdom in man.

I listened to my soul saying:

أَصغيتُ لِلنَفس تَقولُ ما لَيه

طوَّفتُ في الخُلود كُلَّ ناحيَه

"I toured immortality in every direction,

But did not find anything like that sublime one,

فَما وَجَدتُ مثلَ تِلكَ الرابيَه

مُشرِفَةً عَلى الوجود عاليَه

Towering over existence, lofty,

Sturdy, solid pillars."

عاتيةً وَطيدة الأَركانِ

رَأَيت ظِلاً شامِلاً ظَليلا

I saw an all-encompassing, shady shadow

Embracing a towering, majestic edifice.

يَضُمُّ صَرحاً ماثِلاً جَليلا

فَاِرتدَّ طَرفي عَنهُما كَليلا

My eyes turned away from them belittled

If they sought a representation,

إِذا طَلَبتُ لَهُما تَمثيلا

فَالحَدَثُ الحَمراءُ في بوّانِ

For the Event of the Red Canyon is in Buwan.

I saw whites embracing browns,

رَأَيتُ بيضاً يَعتنقنَ سُمرا

هُنَّ النُجومُ يَأتَلِقنَ زُهرا

There the stars shone like flowers

In the hand of every gallant knight

في يَد كُلِّ فارِسٍ أَغَرّا

يَلتَمسُ المَجدَ الأَثيلَ قَسرا

Seeking precious glory forcibly,

While glory will not be for cowards.

وَالمَجدُ لَن يَكونَ للجبانِ

رَأَيتَ غيداً مِن أَعاريب الفَلا

I saw a herd of the beauties of empty quarters,

Red gowns, strange adornments.

حُمرَ الجَلابيبِ غَرائِبَ الحِلى

خُلِقنَ مِن حُسنٍ وَفِتنَةٍ فَلا

Created from beauty and temptation, so

Neither haughty nor heavily adorned,

تَطرِيَةً تَرى وَلا تجمُّلا

وَهَكَذا فَلتَكُن الغَواني

And so let the songs be.

That one who stood beside them,

ذاكَ الَّذي وَقَفنَ عَن جَنبيهِ

خِلتُ مُلوكَ الأَرض في بُردَيهِ

I left the kings of earth in his furs

Or people under his feet.

أَو الأَنامَ تَحتَ أَخمصَيهِ

قِيلَ اِسجُدي خاشِعَةً لَدَيهِ

I was told: "Bow submissively before him."

For Al-Mutanabbi is the lord of the place.

فَالمُتَنَبي سَيِّدُ المَكانِ

إِن كُنتِ مِمّن يَصحَبُ الكِتابا

If you are one who befriends the book

And composes sarcasm and lashing,

وَيَألفُ الطِعانَ وَالضِرابا

وَيَهجرُ النَديمَ وَالشَرابا

And abandons the boon companion and drink,

You have come to hurt immortal Khaled.

جئتِ أَعزَّ خالدٍ جَنايا

وَفزتِ بِالإِكرام وَالأَمانِ

And you have transgressed hospitality and security.

I bowed my head and stumbled nearer,

نَكَستُ رَأسي وَدَنَوتُ أَعثُرُ

فَأَين كِسرى هيبَةً وَقَيصرُ

So where is Kisra's awe and Caesar's?

Before him a lion with a shaggy mane

بَينَ يَدَيهِ أَسدٌ غَضَنفَرُ

عَلَيهِ مِن ضربَةِ سَوطٍ أَثرُ

Bearing from a whip stroke a mark

That makes Ibn Ammar dispense with rhetoric.

يُغَني ابنَ عَمّارٍ عَن البَيانِ

وَمُضحكٌ مُشقَّقُ الكَعبينِ

And laughable is the split-hoofed

Black-lipped, with two incisors,

أَسوَدُ لابيٌّ بِمشفرينِ

عِهِدتُهُ يُشَدُّ بِالأُذنَينِ

Whose custom is to be led by his two ears,

And whose worth is counted in coins

وَقَدرُهُ يُرَدُّ بِالفِلسَينِ

يَوم تَروجُ سِلعَةُ الخِصيانِ

The day the goods of the castrated are hawked.

It was disgrace and shame for Egypt

كانَ لِمصرَ سُبَّةً وَعارا

يَومَ أَثارَ الشاعرَ الجَبّارا

The day the magnificent poet provoked him.

I do not know whether the satire was fire

لَم أَدرِ هل كانَ الهِجاءُ نارا

أَم عاصِفاً هُيّجَ أَم تَيّارا

Or a storm that stirred up or currents

Or that chest split open from a volcano.

أَم شُقَّ ذاكَ الصَدرُ عَن بُركانِ

وَثَمَّ وَحشٌ فَمُهُ دامي الزَبَد

And there was a beast whose foamy mouth overflowed,

On his neck a thick rope of plaited palm-leaf fibers.

في جيدِهِ حَبلٌ غَليظٌ مِن مَسَدْ

قُلتُ أَلا أَسألُ ما هَذا الجَسَد

I said, "Should I not ask what is this body?"

He said, "Yes, this is our envious enemy,

قالَ بَلى هَذا غَريمُنا الحَسَد

مُرتَبِكُ الأَخلاطِ في شَيطانِ

Confused in nature, possessed by a demon."

I saw him blinding his own blind eyes.

رَأَيتُهُ يَطمِسُ عَينيهِ العَمى

سَعيرُ قَلبِهِ طَغى عَلَيهما

The blaze of his heart overwhelmed them.

I said, "And is this Khaled too, so what

قُلتُ وَهَذا خالد أَيضاً فَما

أَعجَبَ أَن يَبقى الأَذى وَيَسلَما

A wonder that harm remains and they are safe,

And evil prospers with a second lifetime?"

وَيَنعمَ الشَرُّ بِعُمرٍ ثانِ

تَبَسَّمَ الشاعرُ ثُمَّ رَدَّدا

The poet smiled then cast

At the beast a look as if it were destruction.

في الوَحشِ نَظرَةً كَأَنَّها الرَدى

قالَ لَئن نَكَّدَ عَيشي بِالعِدى

He said, "Even if he soured my life with enmity

To the point I called my son envied,

حَتّى دَعَوتُ وَلَدي مُحَسَّدا

فَإِنّه خُلِّدَ في الهَوانِ

He is still immortalized in disgrace."

Come forward, O soul, and ask me

تَقدَّمي يا نَفسُ وَاسأَليني

عَن أَثَر المفتاحِ في جَبيني

About the effect of the key on my forehead.

With his villainy he changed me

بَدَّلني بِكيدِهِ اللَعينِ

ذُلَّ الوِجار مِن حِمى العَرينِ

From the degradation of the neighbor's protection

To the protected sanctuary of the kings, the Hamdanids.

حِمى المُلوكِ مِن بَني حمدانِ

وَما اِبتَلى الحَسودُ إِلا جَوهَرا

And the envious are tested with nothing but essence

That is perfected into light and refined nature.

يَتمُّ نوراً وَيَطيبُ عُنصرا

وَالفَضلُ لا بُدَّ لَهُ أَن يَظهَرا

Superiority inevitably appears.

The ages speak of it to the ages,

تُحدِّثُ الأَعصُرُ عَنهُ الأَعصرا

وَلِلحَسودِ غَمرَةُ النِسيانِ

While for the envious there is the darkness of oblivion.

Return to your world, O world of the Arabs,

عودي إِلى دُنياكِ دُنيا العَرَبِ

بِجَذوَةٍ تُضرِمُ رُوحَ الأَدَبِ

With an ardor that kindles the soul of literature

And floods the East with this flame.

وَتُغمِرُ الشَرقَ بِهَذا اللَهَبِ

قَد يَستَردُّ الحَقَّ بَعضُ الكُتُبِ

Some books may regain truth,

And glory may be in the Diwan.

وَقَد يَكونُ المَجدُ في ديوانِ