قَبَسٌ بَدَا مِنْ جَانِبِ الصَّحرَاءِ
هَلْ عَادَ عَهْدُ الْوَحْيِ فِي سِيناءِ
A gleam appeared from the side of the desert,
Has the era of revelation returned to Sinai?
أَرْنُو إِلى الطُّورِ الأَشَمِّ فَأَجْتَلِي
إيماضَ بَرْقٍ وَاضِحَ الإِيمَاءِ
I yearn for the most fragrant Mount, so I may kindle
A lightning flash of a clear gesture,
حَيْثُ الْغَمَامَةُ وَالْكَلِيمُ مَرَوَّعٌ
أَرْسَتْ وَقُوراً أَيَّما إِرْسَاءِ
Where the clouds and the fearful Moses were,
It hovered solemnly, however it settled,
دَكْنَاءُ مُثْقَلَةُ الْجَوَانِبِ رَهْبَةً
مَكْظُومَةُ النِّيرَانِ فِي الأَحْشَاءِ
Its darkened sides weighed down by awe,
Its fires stifled within its innards,
حَتَّى تَكَلَّمَ رَبُّها فَتَمَزَّقَتْ
بَيْنَ الصَّوَاعِبِ فِي سَنىً وَسَنَاءِ
Until its Lord spoke and it burst asunder
Among the thunderbolts in glory and loftiness.
وَتَنَزَّلَتْ أَحْكَامُهُ فِي لَوْحِهَا
مَكْتُوبَةً آيَاتُهَا بِضِيَاءِ
And His rulings descended in its tablets,
Its signs written in radiance.
أَتْرَى الْعِنَايَةَ بَعْدَ لأْيٍ هَيَّأتْ
للشَّرْقِ مَنْجَاةً مِنَ الْغَمَّاءِ
Do you see how Providence then prepared
For the East a salvation from gloom?
فَأُتِيحَ فِي لَوْحِ الْوَصَايَا جَانِبٌ
خَالٍ لَمُؤْتَنَفِ مِنَ الإِيصَاءِ
So a clear space was afforded in the tablets of behests
Empty for the inspired to fill with wisdom,
وَتَخَلَّفَتْ بَيْنَ الرِّمَالِ مَظِنَّةٌ
لِتَفَجُّرٍ فِي الصَّخرَةِ الصَّماءِ
And a spring remained among the sands
To gush forth from the silent boulder.
قَدْ آنَ لِلْعَاشِينَ فِي ظَلْمَائِهِمْ
حِقْباً خُرُوجُهُمُ مِنَ الظَّلمَاءِ
The time has come for those living in their darkness
For an era of their emergence from obscurity.
إِنَّي لِمَيْمُونُ النَّقيبَةِ مُلْهَمٌ
إِبْرَاءُ زَمْنَاهُمْ وَرِيُّ ظِمَاءِ
I am the inspired miner,
To heal their era and quench their thirst.
إِنْ لَمْ يَقُدْهُمْ قَائِدٌ ذُو مِرَّةٍ
وَالبَأْسُ قَدْ يُنْجِي مِنَ البْأْسَاءِ
If a leader of courage does not guide them,
War can sometimes save from wars.
هَلْ مِنْ بَشِيرٍ أَوْ نَذِيرٍ قادِرٍ
مُتَبَيِّن مِنْهُمْ مَكَانَ الدَّاءِ
Is there a herald or a warner, capable,
Clarifying for them where the malady lies,
يَهْدِيهُمُ سُبُلَ الرُّقِيِّ مُلاَئِماً
لِزَمانِهِمْ وَطَرائِقَ الْعَلْيَاء
To guide them to the paths of advancement, suiting
His time and the ways of the enlightened?
أَلشَّاعِرِيَّة لاَ تَزَالُ كَعَهْدِها
بَعْدَ النُّبوَّةِ مَهْبِطَ الإِيحَاءِ
Poetry has not fallen from its former station
After prophecy, the descent of inspiration.
وَالصَّوْتُ إِنْ تَدْعُ الْحَقِيقَةُ صَوْتُهَا
وَالنُّورُ نُورُ خَيَالِهَا الْوَضَّاء
If truth calls out, its voice is poetry,
And its light, the light of its imagination's brilliance.
يَا شَيْخَ سِينَاءَ الَّتي بُعِثَ الْهُدَى
مِنْ تِيهِهَا فِي آيَةٍ غَرَّاءِ
O sheikh of Sinai from whence guidance stemmed
From its wilderness in a wondrous sign!
سَنَرَى وَأَنْتَ مُعَرِّبٌ عَنْ حَقِّها
كَيْفَ الموَاتُ يَفُوزُ بِالأَحْيَاءِ
We shall see, while you translate its truth,
How barrenness can gain life.
هَذِي النِّيابَةُ شَرَّفَتْكَ وَشَرَّفَتْ
بِكَ فِي الْبِلاَدِ مكَانَةَ الأُدَبَاءِ
This deputyship has ennobled you, and through you
Gave the status of men of letters its esteem in the lands.
قَأَهْنَأْ بِمَنْصِبِهَا الرَّفِيعِ وَإِنْ تَكُنْ
أَعْبَاؤُهَا مِنْ أَفْدَحِ الأَعْبَاءِ
I congratulate you on its lofty post, though
Its duties are among the gravest burdens.
حَسْبُ القَرِيضِ زِرَايَةً فَاثْأَرْ لَهُ
وَارْفَعْ بِنَاءَكَ فَوْقَ كُلِّ بِنَاءِ
Let the ode suffice as a token, so take revenge for it
And raise your edifice above all others.
وَأَرِ الأُلى جَارُوا عَلَى أَرْبَابِهِ
آفَاتِ تِلْكَ الخُطَّة العَوْجَاءِ
Show the kin of Ula tyrants the harms
Of that crooked conspiracy.
إِنَّ التَّوَاكُلَ وَالتَّخاذُلَ وَالقِلَى
لأَقَلُّ مَا جَلَبَتْ مِنَ الأَرْزَاءِ
Indolence, cowardice and slothfulness
Are the least of what misfortunes have brought.
وَتَنَزُّلِ الأَقْوَامِ عَنْ أَخْطَارِهَا
وَتَعَسُّف الحُكِّامِ وَالكُبَرَاءِ
The decline of nations from their perils
And the tyranny of rulers and grandees,
أَبْنَاءُ يَعْرُبَ فِي أَسىً مِنْ حِقْبَةٍ
شَقِيتَ بِهَا الآدابُ جِدَّ شَقَاءِ
Children of Arabs in sorrow for an era
In which literature was most miserably wretched,
جَنَفَ البُغَاةُ بِهَا عَلَى أَهْلِ النُّهَى
وَاسْتُعْبِدَ العُلَمَاءُ لِلْجُهَلاَءِ
Wherein the wicked treated unjustly the people of virtue
And the learned were enslaved to the ignorant,
وَتَخَيَّل السَّادَاتُ فِي أَقْوَامِهِمْ
شُعَرَاءَهَا ضَرْباً مِنَ الأُجرَاءِ
And the elite imagined among their peoples
Their poets were a kind of hirelings,
وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ تَنَاشَدُوا أَقْوَالَهُمْ
لِلْفَخْرِ آوِنَةً وَلِلتَّأسَاءِ
While they are those whose words were recited
For pride, solace and consolation,
وَبِفَضْلِهِمْ غُذِيَتْ غِرَاثُ عُقُولِهِمْ
مِنْ كُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ أَلَذَّ غِذَاءِ
And by whose grace the meager minds of these
Were fed from every most delicious fruit,
وَبِنفحَةٍ مِنْهُمْ غَدَتْ أَسْمَاؤُهُمْ
مِنْ خَالِدَاتِ الذِّكْرِ فِي الأَسْمَاءِ
And by whose breath their names became
Part of the immortal names remembered,
أصْلِحْ بِهِمْ رَأْيَ الأُولَى خَالُوهُمُ
آلاتِ تَهْنِئَةٍ لَهُمْ وَعَزَاءِ
Reform through them the opinion of the kin, who opposed them,
Implements of congratulation and consolation to them,
وَلْتَشْهَدِ الأَوْطَانُ مَا حَسَنَاتُهُمْ
فِي المَنَصِبِ الْعَالِي وَفِي الإِثْرَاءِ
And let the homelands witness their virtues
In this lofty office and in enrichment.
وَلْتَعْلَمِ الأَيَّامُ مَا هُوَ شأْنُهُمْ
فِي كُلِّ مَوْقِفِ عِزَّةٍ وَإِبَاءِ
And let the days know their quality
In every station of pride and refusal.
يَا بَاعِثَ المَجْدِ الْقَدِيمِ بِشِعْرِه
وَمُجَدِّدَ الْعَرَبِيَّة الْعَربَاء
O reviver of ancient glory through his poetry
And renewer of pure Arabic!
أَنْتَ الأَمِيرُ وَمَنْ يَكُنْهُ بِالْحِجَى
فَلَهُ بِهِ تِيهٌ عَلَى الأُمَرَاءِ
You are the prince, and whoever rivals you
His madness rivals only princes.
أَلْيَوْمَ عِيدُكَ وَهْوَ عِيدٌ شَامِلٌ
لِلضَّادِ فِي مُتَبَايَنِ الأَرْجَاءِ
Today is your feast day, and it is one encompassing
The letter D across far-flung regions.
فِي مِصْرَ يُنْشِدُ مِنْ بَنِيها مُنْشِدٌ
وَصَدَاهُ فِي الْبَحْرَيْنِ وَالزَّوْرَاءِ
In Egypt, one of its sons recites poetry,
And its echo resonates in the Two Seas and Al-Zawra.
عِيدٌ بِهِ اتَّحدَتْ قُلُوبُ شُعُوبِهَا
وَلَقَدْ تَكُونُ كَثِيرَةُ الأَهْواءِ
A feast day in which its people's hearts united,
Though they are often of diverse opinions.
كَمْ رِيمَ تَجْدِيدٌ لِغَابِرِ مَجْدِهَا
فَجَنَى عَلَيْهَ تَشَعُّب الآرَاءِ
What renewal of its lost glory, which sectarianism
Preyed upon with its proliferation of views!
مَا أَبْهَجَ الشَّمسَ الَّتِي لاَحَتْ لَهَا
بَعْدَ الْقُنُوطِ وَطَالَعَتْ بِرجَاءِ
How the sun shining upon it gladdened,
After despair, rising with hope!
أَلشِّعرُ أَدْنَى غَايَةً لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ
إِدْنَاءَهَا عَزْمٌ وَحُسْنُ بَلاَءِ
Poetry cannot be lowered from the summit
Which no determination and patience have attained.
مَا السِّحرُ إِلاَّ شِعْرُ أَحْمَدَ مَالِكاً
مِنْهَا الْقِيَادَ بِلُطْفِ الاسْتِهْوَاءِ
What sorcery but Ahmad Shawqi's poetry
Gently leading it with subtle suggestion?
قَدْ هَيَّأتْ آيَاتُهُ لِوُفُودِهَا
فِي مِصْرَ عَنْ أُمَمٍ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءِ
As if its verses prepared for its delegations
In Egypt the happiest of meetings.
لاَ يُوقِظَ الأَقْوَامَ إِلاَّ مُنْشِدٌ
غَردٌ يُنَبِّه نَائِمَ الأَصْدَاءِ
Only a singer awakens slumbering peoples,
A warbler alerting the heedless echoes.
كَلاًّ وَلَيْسَ لَهَا فَخَارٌ خَالِصٌ
كَفَخَارِهَا بِنَوَابِغِ الشُّعرَاءِ
Never did it have a special pride
Like its pride in its brilliant poets.
يا مِصْرُ بَاهِي كُلَّ مِصْرٍ بِالأولَى
أَنْجَبْتِ مِنْ أَبْنَائِكِ الْعُظَمَاءِ
O Egypt, most splendid of Egypts!
You mothered among your children the greatest.
حَفَلُوا لأَحْمَدَ حَفْلَةً مَيْمُونَةً
لَمْ تَأْتِ في نَبَإٍ مِنَ الأَنْبَاءِ
They gathered about Ahmad in fortunate assembly
The like of which news never proclaimed.
مَا أَحْمَدٌ إلاَّ لِوَاءُ بِلاَدِهِ
فِي الشَّرْقِ يَخْفُقُ فَوْقَ كُلِّ لِوَاءِ
Ahmad is but the banner of his country
Fluttering over every banner in the East.
عَلَمٌ بِهِ الوَادِي أَنَافَ عَلَى ذُرىً
شُمِّ الْجِبَالِ بِذُرْوَةٍ شَمَّاءِ
A flag by which the Nile knew the heights
Of mountain peaks loftier than any summit.
بَسَمَتْ ذُؤَابَتُهُ وَمَا زَانَ الرُّبَى
فِي هَامَهَا كَالحِلْيَةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ
His cheeks shone, and what ornament graced
Its zeal like a pure white necklace!
هَلْ فِي لِدَاتٍ أَبِي عَلِيٍّ نِدُّهُ
إِنْ يَصْدُرَا عَنْ هِمَّة وَمَضَاءِ
Is there in the works of Abi ‘Ali a match for him,
If they embarked with fervor and purpose?
أَوْ شَاعِرٍ كَأَبِي حُسَيْنٍ آخِذٍ
مِنْ كُلِّ حَالٍ مَأْخَذَ الْحُكَمَاءِ
Or a poet like Abi Husayn, who adopted
The ways of the wise in every situation?
فَهِمَ الحَيَاةَ عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ أَمْرِهَا
فأَحَبَّها مَوْفُورَةَ النَّعمَاءِ
He understood life in its reality,
So loved it, rich in blessings.
يَجْنِي دَوَانِيهَا وَلاَ يَثْنِيهِ مَا
دُونَ القَواصِي مِنْ شَدِيدِ عَنَاءِ
He plucks its fruits without being discouraged by
Anything less than the greatest tribulation,
يقْضِي مُنَاهُ أَنَاقَةً فِي عيْشِهِ
وَيَفِيَ بِحَقِّ المَجْدِ أَيَّ وَفَاءِ
Spending his days in comfort and in his life,
And fulfilling the right to glory, loyally.
عَظُمَتْ مَوَاهِبُهُ وَأَحْرَزَ مَا اشْتَهَى
مِنْ فِطْنَةٍ خَلاَّبَةٍ وَذَكَاءِ
His talents have grown, and he has attained what he desired
Of subtle wit and clear intellect.
إِنْ تَلْقَهُ تَلْقَ النُّبوغَ مُمَثَّلاً
فِي صُورَةِ لَمَّاحَةِ اللَّأْلاَءِ
If you meet him, you meet brilliant genius
In the image of the sheen of pearls.
طُبِعَتْ مِنَ الحُسْنِ العَتِيقِ بِطَابَعٍ
وَضَّاحِ آيَاتٍ بَدِيعِ رُوَاءِ
It was stamped with enduring beauty in a way
Clear, lucid signs, gently flowing.
زَانَ الخَيَالُ جَمَالَهَا بِسِمَاتِهِ
وَأَعَارَهَا قَسَمَاتِهِ لِبَقَاءِ
Imagination adorned its beauty with its traits
And gave it shares of its perpetuity.
واليَوْمَ إِذْ وَلَّى الصَّبَا لَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ
أَثَرٍ عَلَيْهَا عَالِقٍ بَفَنَاءِ
And now, when youth has passed, no trace
Clings to it of decay and demise.
لاَ شَيءَ أَرْوَعُ إِذْ تَكُونُ جَلِيسَهُ
مِنْ ذلِكَ الرَّجُلِ القَرِيبِ النَّائِي
Nothing is more wondrous than when she is his companion,
That man, strange yet familiar,
أَبَداً يُقَلَّبُ نَاظِرَيْهِ وَفِيهِمَا
تَقْلِيبُ أَمْوَاجٍ مِنَ الأَضْوَاءِ
Whose eyes forever rove, and in them
Crash waves of lights and illuminations.
يرَنْو إِلى العَلْيا بِسَامي طَرْفِهِ
وَيُلاَحِظُ الدُّنْيَا بِلاَ إِزْرَاءِ
He aspires to the heights with his noble gaze,
And observes the world without disdain.
يُغْضِي سَمَاحاً عنْ كَثِيرٍ جَفْنُهُ
وَضَمِيرُهُ أَدْنَى إِلى الإِغْضَاءِ
His eyelids overlook much in kindness,
And his conscience tends to forgiveness.
فَإِذَا تُحَدِّثُهُ فَإِنَّ لَصَوْتَهَ
لَحْناً رَخِيمَ الْوَقْعِ في الْحَوْبَاءِ
So when you converse with him, his voice has
A gentle tone, softly thrilling in serenity.
فِي نُطْقِهِ الدُّرُّ النَفِيسُ وَإِنَّما
تَصْطَادُهُ الأَسْمَاعُ بِالإِصْغَاءِ
In his speech is precious pearl, and only
The ears hunt it through attentive listening.
لَكِنَّ ذَاكَ الصَّوْتَ مِنْ خَفْضٍ بِهِ
يَسْمُو الْحِفَاظُ بِهِ إِلى الْجَوْزَاءِ
But that voice, with its quietness,
Raises the barrier between them to loftiness.
أَعْظِمْ بِشَوْقِي ذَائِداً عَنْ قَوْمِهِ
وَبِلاَدِهِ فِي الأَزْمَةِ النَّكرَاءِ
Inform al-Shawqi, keeping ill-will from his people
And land in their painful situation,
لَتَكَادُ تَسْمَعُ مِنْ صَريرِ يَرَاعِهِ
زأْراً كَزَأْرِ الأُسْدِ فِي الْهَيْجَاءِ
That you can almost hear in his growling
A lion’s roar in fury,
وَتَرَى كَأّزْنِدَةٍ يَطِيرُ شَرَارُهَا
مُتَدَارِكاً فِي الأَحْرُفِ السَّوْدَاءِ
And see, like blazing embers spraying sparks,
His invectives rushing to blackened letters.
وَتُحِسُّ نَزْفَ حُشَاشَةٍ مَكْلُومَةٍ
بِمَقَاطِرِ الْياقُوتَةِ الحُمْرَاءِ
And you sense the oozing of stifled madness
In showers of crimson ruby.
فِي كُلِّ فَنٍ مِنْ فُنُونِ قَرِيضِهِ
مَا زَالَ فَوْقَ مَطَامِعِ النُّظرَاءِ
In every poetic genre he remains
Above the aspirations of his peers.
أَمَّا جَزَالَتُهُ فَغَايَةُ مَا انْتَهَتْ
شَرَفاً إِليْهِ جَزَالَةُ الفُصَحَاءِ
As for his gravity, it has reached the utmost limits
To which the gravity of the eloquent aspired.
وَتَكَادُ رِقَّتهُ تَسِيلُ بِلَفْظِهِ
فِي المُهْجَةِ الظَّمأَى مَسِيلَ المَاءِ
And his gentleness almost flows in his words
Into the arid soul, like water.
لَوْلاَ الْجَديدُ مِنَ الْحَلَى فِي نَظْمِهِ
لَمْ تَعْزُهُ إِلاَّ إِلى الْقُدَمَاءِ
Were it not for the novel delicacies in his prosody,
Only the ancients would value him.
نَاهِيكَ بِالْوَشْيِ الأَنِيقِ وَقَدْ زَهَا
مَا شَاءَ فِي الدِّيبَاجَةِ الْحَسْنَاءِ
Not to mention the refined elegance which he has adorned
However he wished with the most beautiful fabrics.
يَسْرِي نَسِمُ اللُّطْفِ فِي زِينَاتِهَا
مَسْرَى الصِّبا فِي الرَّوْضَةِ الْغَنَّاءِ
The breeze of subtle kindness blows through its ornaments
Like the morning breeze in a singing garden.
هَتَكَتْ قَريحَتُهُ السُّجوفَ وَأَقْبَلَتْ
تَسْبِي خَبَايَا النَّفسِ كلَّ سِبَاءِ
His talent tore away gloom and turned
To plunder the soul's secrets, sparing none.
فَإِذَا النَّوَاظِرُ بَيْنَ مُبْتَكرَاتِهِ
تُغْزَى بِكُلِّ حَيِية عَذْرَاءِ
So sights are overwhelmed among its innovations
By every vitality of an unspoiled virgin.
فِي شدْوِهِ وَنُوَاحِهِ رَجْعٌ لِمَا
طَوِيَتْ عَلَيْهِ سَرَائِرُ الأَحْيَاءِ
In his singing and weeping are echoes of
What the lives of the living have obscured.
هَلْ فِي السَّماعِ لِبَث آلامِ الْجَوَى
كَنُوَاحِهِ وَكَشَدْوِهِ بِغِنَاءِ
Is there any listening to the expression of the agony of passion
Like his elegies and songs?
يشْجِي قَدِيمُ كَلاَمِهِ كَجَدِيدهِ
وَأَرَى الْقَدِيمَ يَزِيدُ فِي الإِشْجَاءِ
His ancient words revive the new,
And I see the old grow more moving.
فَمِنَ الْكَلاَمِ مُعَتَّق إِنْ ذُقْتَهُ
ألْفَيْتَهُ كَمُعَتَّق الصَّهبَاءِ
Some speech, when you taste it, you find
Aged like the vintages of arrow poison.
مَلأَتْ شَوَارِدُهُ الْحَوَاضِرَ حِكْمَةً
وَغَزَتْ نُجُوعَ الْجَهْلِ فِي البَيْدَاءِ
His passions have filled the cities with wisdom
And invaded the habitats of ignorance in the wilderness.
وَتُرَى الدَّرَارِي فِي بُحُورِ عَرُوضَهِ
وَكَأّنَّهنَّ دَنَتْ بِهِنَّ مَرَائِي
You see the pearly lights in the seas of his prosody
As if they approached with their shimmering luster.
كَمْ فِي مَوَاقِفِهِ وَفِي نَزَعَاتِهِ
مِنْ مُرْقِصَاتِ الْفَنِّ وَالإِنْشَاءِ
How much in his positions and tendencies
Of the dances of art and composition!
كَمْ فِي سَوَانِحِهِ وَفِي خَطَرَاتِهِ
مِنْ مُعْجِزَاتِ الْخَلْقِ وَالإِبْدَاءِ
How much in his ideas and thoughts
Of the miracles of creation and innovation!
رَسَمَ النُّبوغُ لَهُ بِمُخْتَلِفَاتِهَا
صُوَراً جَلاَئِلَ فِي عُيُون الرَّائِي
Genius depicted for him in their diversities
Sublime images in the eyes of the beholder.
أَلمَمْتُ مِنْ شَوْقِي بِنَحُوٍ وَاحِدٍ
وَجَلاَلُهُ مُتَعَدِّدُ الأَنْحَاءِ
I have united in my longing in one approach,
While his grandeur has diverse aspects.
مَلأَتْ مَحَاسِنُهَا قُلُوبَ وَلاَتِهِ
وَتَثَبَّتتْ فِي أَنْفْسِ الأَعْدَاءِ
Its beauties have filled the hearts of his nation,
And settled in the souls of his enemies.
لِلهِ شَوْقِي سَاجِياً أَوْ ثَائِراً
كَاللَّيْثِ وَالْبُرْكَانِ وَالدَّأْمَاءِ
For God, al-Shawqi raging or defiant
As a lion, volcano, and lightning!
لِلهِ شَوْقِي فِي طَرَائِقِ أَخْذِهِ
بِطَرَائِفِ الأَحْوَالِ وَالأَشْيَاءِ
For God, al-Shawqi in the ways he seizes
Marvels of circumstances and things!
فِي لَهْوِهِ وَسُرُورِهِ فِي زُهْوِهِ
وَغُرُورِهِ فِي الْبَثِّ وَالإِشْكَاءِ
In his amusement, joy, pride and crying his sorrows
In his love for the Nile, worship of the Bountiful.
فِي حُبِّه للِنِّيلِ وَهْوَ عِبَادَةٌ
للِرَازِقِ الْعُوَّادِ بِالآلاَءِ
In his devotion to his land and infatuation
With the beauty of that luxuriant garden!
فِي بِرِّهِ بِبِلاَدِهِ وَهِيَامِهِ
بِجَمَالِ تَلْكَ الْجَنَّة الْفَيْحَاءِ
In his pride in its rebirth from decay
Where the pillars of its brilliant youth collapse!
فِي وَصْفَهِ النْعَمَ التِي خصت بِهَا
مِن حُسْنِ مُرْتَبُعٍ وَطِيبِ هَوَاءِ
In thanking those who protect its meadows
And guardians of its seed from martyrs!
فِي ذِكْرِهِ مُتَبَاهِياً آثَارَهَا
وَمَآثِرَ الأَجْدَادِ وَالآباءِ
In urging the supporters of its oneness to
Affection that gathers and unifies them as brothers!
فِي فَخْرِهِ بِنُهُوضِهَا حَيْثُ الرَّدَى
يَهْوِي بِهَامِ شَبَابِهَا النُّبهَاءِ
Firmly constructed in its pillar, for the cohesion
Of its limbs and members!
فِي شُكْرِهِ لِلْمَانِعِينَ حِياَضَهَا
وَحُمَاةِ بَيْضَتِهَا مِنَ الشُّهدَاءِ
In advising knowledge, which protects its people
From disbelief and confusion!
فِي حَثَّه أَعْوَانَ وَحْدَتِهَا عَلَى
وُدٍّ يُؤَلِّفُ شَمْلَهُمْ وَإِخَاءِ
In describing the wonders wrought
By nations who awoke while we slumber!
مَتَثَبِّتينَ مِنَ الْبِنَاءِ برُكْنِهِ
لِتَمَاسُكِ الأَعْضَادِ وَالأَجْزَاءِ
A description he mastered, enticing his people
To learn the noblest things from them!
فِي نُصْحِهِ بِالعِلْمِ وَهْوَ لأَهْلِهِ
حِرْزٌ مِنَ الإِيهَانِ وَالإِيهَاءِ
He left no strange marvel, whether in earth
Or highest heaven, that remains concealed!
فِي وَصْفِهِ الآيَاتِ مِمَّا أبْدَعَتْ
أُممٌ يَقِظْنَ وَنَحْنُ فِي إِغْفَاءِ
This, alongside what my mind cannot encompass
Or describe, even briefly, in praise.
وَصْفٌ تَفَنَّن فِيهِ يُغْرِي قَوْمَهُ
بِالأَخْذِ عَنْهَا أشْرَفَ الإِغْراءِ
The wonders of genius in him have attained completion,
Surpassing all eulogies in every way.
لَمْ يُبْقِ مِنْ عَجَبٍ عُجَابٍ خَافِياً
فِي بَطْنِ أَرْضٍ أَوْ بِظَهْرِ سَمَاءِ
So if I falter and do not fulfill its rights,
Then forgiveness remains a sufficient excuse.
هَذَا إِلى مَا لاَ يُحِيطُ بِوَصْفِهِ
فِكْرِي وَدُونَ أَقَلَّهِ إِطْرَائِي
What blame to one turning from a summit,
While the distance is for equals and peers?
بَلَغتْ خِلاَلُ الْعَبْقَرِيَّة تِمَّها
فِيهِ وَجَازَتْ شَأْوَ كُلِّ ثَنَاءِ
You know what I desire for him, woven
From a lifetime of friendship and sacrifice.
فَإذَا عَيِيتُ وَلَمْ أَقُمْ بِحُقُوقِهَا
فَلَقَدْ يَقُومُ الْعُذْرُ بالإِبْلاءِ
O keeper of the covenant to whom I pray, without fear
My call will fail before him!
مَاذَا عَلَى مُتَنَكِّب عَنْ غَايَةٍ
وَالشَّوْطُ لِلأَنْدادِ والأَكْفَاءِ
Help your brother, and make him victorious
In a way none equals among the eloquent!
أًعَلِمْتَ مَا مِنّي هَوَاهُ وَإِنَّهُ
لَنَسِيجُ عُمْرٍ صَدَاقَةٍ وَفِدَاءِ
The occasion is momentous, and my spirit
Restrains me, so minimize, God reward you, his due!
أَيْ حَافِظَ الْعَهْدِ الَّذِي أَدْعُو وَمَا
أَخْشَى لَدَيْهِ أَنْ يَخِيبَ دُعَائِي
Nobility refuses you be seen
As other than first among the loyal.
أَدْرِكْ أَخاكَ وَأَوْلِهِ نَصْراً بِمَا
يَنْبُو بِهِ إِلاَّكَ فِي الْبُلَغَاءِ
The lofty East, delighted,
Cherishing the brilliant for the brilliant!
جل المَقَامُ وقَدْ كَبَتْ بِي هِمَّتي
فَأَقِلْ جَزَاكَ اللهُ خَيْرَ جَزَاءِ
O you whose friendship proved pure, and whose
Was proven to me in fortune and trial!
يَأْبَى عَلَيْكَ النُّبلُ إِلاَّ أَنْ تُرَى
فِي أَوَّلِ الْوَافِينَ لِلزُّمَلاَءِ
Honor me the day of obligation with his patronage,
And honor him the day of obligation with my loyalty!
وَالشَّرْقُ عَالِي الرَّأْسِ مَوْفُوُرُ الرِّضَى
بِرِعَايَةِ النُّبغَاءِ لِلنُّبغَاءِ
In the literary club I knew his station,
And his finest station was beyond doubt!
يَا مَنْ صَفَا لِي وُدُّهُ وَصَفَا لَهُ
وُدِّي عَلَى السَّرَّاءِ والضَّرَّاءِ
May this feast day bring you, in future years,
The like of it in health and clarity!
فَأَعَزَّنِي يَوْمَ الْحِفَاظِ وَلاَؤُه
وَأَعَزَّهُ يَوْمَ الْحِفَاظِ وَلاَئِي
وَعَرَفْتُ فِي نَادِي الْبَيَانِ مَكَانَهُ
وَمَكَانُهُ الأَسْنَى بِغَيْرِ مِرَاءِ
يَهْنِيكَ هَذَا الْعِيدُ دُمْ مُسْتَقْبِلاً
أَمْثَالَهُ فِي صِحَّة وَصَفَاءِ
