أَسَلَّةُ سَيْفٍ أَمْ عَقِيقَةُ بَارِقِ
أَضَاءَتْ لَنَا وَهْنَاً سَمَاوَةَ بَارِقِ
Are they the gleaming blades of swords or the radiance of carnelian gems?
They shone gently for us, the serene brilliance of lightning.
لَوَى الرَّكْبُ أَعْنَاقَاً إِلَيْهَا خَوَاضِعَاً
بِزَفْرَةِ مَحْزُونٍ وَنَظْرَةِ وَامِقِ
The travelers bowed their necks to it submissively,
With the roar of a grieving lion and the piercing gaze of lightning.
وَفِي حَرَكَاتِ الْبَرقِ لِلشَّوْقِ آيَةٌ
تَدُلُّ عَلَى مَا جَنَّهُ كُلُّ عَاشِقِ
And in the flickering of lightning there is a sign for yearning -
It indicates what is hidden in the heart of every lover.
تَفُضُّ جُفُوناً عَنْ دُمُوعٍ سَوَائِلٍ
وَتَفْرِي صُدُورَاً عَنْ قُلُوبٍ خَوَافِقِ
Eyelids overflow with cascading tears,
And breasts reveal hearts that ache.
وَكَيْفَ يَعِي سِرَّ الْهَوَى غَيْرُ أَهْلِهِ
وَيَعْرِفُ مَعْنَى الشَّوْقِ مَنْ لَمْ يُفَارِقِ
How can anyone but the initiated understand the secret of passion,
And recognize the meaning of longing unless they have experienced separation?
لَعَمْرُ الْهَوَى إِنِّي لَدُنْ شَفَّنِي النَّوَى
لَفِي وَلَهٍ مِنْ سَوْرَةِ الْوَجْدِ مَاحِقِ
By the passion that has tormented me since the bloom of youth faded,
I am lost in the intoxication of the first pangs of ardent love!
كَفَى بِمُقَامِي فِي سَرَنْدِيبَ غُرْبَةً
نَزَعْتُ بِهَا عَنِّي ثِيَابَ الْعَلائِقِ
My sojourn in exile in Sarandib is enough -
I have cast off the garments of worldly attachments.
وَمَنْ رَامَ نَيْلَ الْعِزِّ فَلْيَصْطَبِرْ عَلَى
لِقَاءِ الْمَنَايَا وَاقْتِحَامِ الْمَضَايِقِ
Whoever aspires to the glory of nobility must have patience
To face death and traverse perilous straits.
فَإِنْ تَكُنِ الأَيَّامُ رَنَّقْنَ مَشْرَبِي
وَثَلَّمْنَ حَدِّي بِالْخُطُوبِ الطَّوَارِقِ
If days have choked my ambitions,
And misfortunes have assailed me with sudden calamities,
فَمَا غَيَّرَتْنِي مِحْنَةٌ عَنْ خَلِيقَتِي
وَلا حَوَّلَتْنِي خُدْعَةٌ عَنْ طَرَائِقِي
No tribulation has changed my character,
Nor any deception turned me from my ways.
وَلَكِنَّنِي بَاقٍ عَلَى مَا يَسُرُّنِي
وَيُغْضِبُ أَعْدَائِي وَيُرْضِي أَصَادِقي
Rather, I remain as I desire,
Which angers my enemies and gratifies my friends.
فَحَسْرَةُ بُعْدِي عَنْ حَبِيبٍ مُصَادِقٍ
كَفَرْحَةِ بُعْدِي عَنْ عَدُوٍّ مُمَاذِقِ
So my sadness at separation from a beloved friend
Is like my joy at separation from a spiteful enemy.
فَتِلْكَ بِهَذِي وَالنَّجَاةُ غَنِيمَةٌ
مِنَ النَّاسِ وَالدُّنْيَا مَكِيدَةُ حَاذِقِ
Such is the state I am in, and survival is a prize
Snatched from deceitful people and the cunning world.
أَلا أَيُّهَا الزَّارِي عَلَيَّ بِجَهْلِهِ
وَلَمْ يَدْرِ أَنِّي دُرَّةٌ فِي الْمَفَارِقِ
O you who reproach me in your ignorance
Not knowing I am a pearl to the discerning!
تَعَزَّ عَنِ الْعَلْيَاءِ بِاللُّؤْمِ وَاعْتَزِلْ
فَإِنَّ الْعُلا لَيْسَتْ بِلَغْوِ الْمَنَاطِقِ
Shun the vulgar and withdraw into solitude,
For nobility lies not in clever rhetoric.
فَمَا أَنَا مِمَّنْ تَقْبَلُ الضَّيْمَ نَفْسُهُ
وَيَرْضَى بِمَا يَرْضَى بِهِ كُلُّ مَائِقِ
I am not one whose spirit accepts humiliation
Or is content with what satisfies all sycophants.
إِذَا الْمَرْءُ لَمْ يَنْهَضْ لِمَا فِيهِ مَجْدُهُ
قَضَى وَهْوَ كَلٌّ فِي خُدُورِ الْعَوَاتِقِ
When a man does not rise to what brings him glory,
He lives in futility among old maids.
وَأَيُّ حَيَاةٍ لاِمْرِئٍ إِنْ تَنَكَّرَتْ
لَهُ الْحَالُ لَمْ يَعْقِدْ سُيُورَ الْمَنَاطِقِ
What life can one have if fate turns against him
And he does not take hold of the reins of destiny?
فَمَا قُذُفَاتُ الْعِزِّ إِلَّا لِمَاجِدٍ
إِذَا هَمَّ جَلَّى عَزْمُهُ كُلَّ غَاسِقِ
The laurels of glory are only for the valiant -
When resolved, their determination dispels all darkness.
يَقُولُ أُنَاسٌ إِنَّنِي ثُرْتُ خَالِعاً
وَتِلْكَ هَنَاتٌ لَمْ تَكُنْ مِنْ خَلائِقِي
Some say I have rebelled and withdrawn,
But those are false accusations not in my nature.
وَلَكِنَّنِي نَادَيْتُ بِالْعَدْلِ طَالِبَاً
رِضَا اللَّهِ وَاسْتَنْهَضْتُ أَهْلَ الْحَقَائِقِ
Rather, I called for justice seeking
God's pleasure, and roused people of principle.
أَمَرْتُ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَأَنْكَرْتُ مُنْكَراً
وَذَلِكَ حُكْمٌ فِي رِقَابِ الْخَلائِقِ
I commanded right and forbade wrong,
Which is the duty over all mortal souls.
فَإِنْ كَانَ عِصْيَاناً قِيَامِي فَإِنَّنِي
أَرَدْتُ بِعِصْيَانِي إِطَاعَةَ خَالِقِي
If my disobedience was a sin, then my intention
Was to obey my Creator in rebelling.
وَهَلْ دَعْوَةُ الشُّورَى عَلَيَّ غَضَاضَةٌ
وَفِيهَا لِمَنْ يَبْغِي الْهُدَى كُلُّ فَارِقِ
How can advocating consultative rule be harmful to me
When it offers guidance to all who seek truth?
بَلَى إِنَّها فَرْضٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَاجِبٌ
عَلَى كُلِّ حَيٍّ مِنْ مَسُوقٍ وَسَائِقِ
Indeed, it is an obligatory command from God
Binding on every living soul, driven or driving.
وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ الْمَرْءُ حُرَّاً مُهَذَّباً
وَيَرْضَى بِمَا يَأْتِي بِهِ كُلُّ فَاسِقِ
How can one be truly free and refined
Yet accept whatever an evildoer decrees?
فَإِنْ نَافَقَ الأَقْوَامُ فِي الدِّينِ غَدْرَةً
فَإِنِّي بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ غَيْرُ مُنَافِقِ
If the people deal treacherously with religion,
Then know I am not of the hypocrites.
عَلَى أَنَّنِي لَمْ آلُ نُصْحَاً لِمَعْشَرٍ
أَبَى غَدْرُهُمْ أَنْ يَقْبَلُوا قَوْلَ صَادِقِ
Though I did not cease to advise a people
Whose treachery refused to accept the words of an honest man.
رَأَوْا أَنْ يَسُوسُوا النَّاسَ قَهْرَاً فَأَسْرَعُوا
إِلَى نَقْضِ مَا شَادَتْهُ أَيْدِي الْوَثَائِقِ
They saw fit to tyrannize the people by force, so they rushed
To violate what had been established by legal covenants.
فَلَمَّا اسْتَمَرَّ الظُّلْمُ قَامَتْ عِصَابَةٌ
مِنَ الْجُنْدِ تَسْعَى تَحْتَ ظِلِّ الْخَوَافِقِ
When an army faction arose pursuing shelter
Beneath the darkness of the clouds,
وَشَايَعَهُمْ أَهْلُ الْبِلادِ فَأَقْبَلُوا
إِلَيْهِمْ سِرَاعاً بَيْنَ آتٍ وَلاحِقِ
And the townspeople rallied around them, hastening
To join them, coming and going,
يَرُومُونَ مِنْ مَوْلَى الْبِلادِ نَفَاذَ مَا
تَأَلَّاهُ مِنْ وَعْدٍ إِلَى النَّاسِ صَادِقِ
Seeking fulfillment from the kingdom's guardian
Of what he had promised the people with honesty,
فَلَمَّا أَبَى الْحُكَّامُ إِلَّا تَمَادِيَاً
وَحَالَ طِلابُ الْحَقِّ دُونَ التَّوَافُقِ
But the rulers refused, persisting
While the seekers of truth were hindered from agreement,
أُنَاسٌ شَرَوْا خِزْيَ الضَّلالَةِ بِالْهُدَى
نِفَاقاً وَبَاعُوا الدِّينَ مِنْهُم بِدَانِقِ
Some people bartered the shame of misguidance for guidance,
Hypocritically selling their faith for a pittance.
فَجَاؤُوا إِلَيْهِمْ يَنْصُرُونَ ضَلالَهُمْ
بِخُدْعَةِ مُغْتَالٍ وَحِيلَةِ سَارِقِ
So they came to support their misguidance
With the deception of a betrayer and the cunning of a thief.
فَلَمَّا اطْمَأَنُّوا فِي الْبِلادِ وَأَيْقَنُوا
بِعَجْزِ الْمُحَامِي دُونَهَا وَالْموَاثِقِ
When they felt secure in the land, and saw
The inability of its lawyer to defend it and its covenants,
أَقَامُوا وَقَالُوا تِلْكَ يَا قَوْمُ أَرْضُنَا
وَمَا أَحَدٌ مِنَّا لَهَا بِمُفَارِقِ
They remained and said: “This, O people, is our land,
And none of us are foreign to it.”
وَعَاثُوا بِهَا يَنْفُونَ مَنْ خِيفَ بِأْسُهُ
عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَتْ تِلْكَ إِحْدَى الْبَوائِقِ
They pillaged it, expelling any who might resist them,
That was one of their terrible calamities.
وَأَصْبَحَ وَادِي النَّيلِ نَهْبَاً وَأَصْبَحَتْ
إِمَارَتُهُ الْقَعْسَاءُ نُهْزَةَ مَارِقِ
The Nile Valley woke to pillage, and its
Feeble Emirate became the jest of rebels.
فَهَذَا هُوَ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِينُ فَلا تَسَلْ
سِوَايَ فَإِنِّي عَالِمٌ بِالْحَقَائِقِ
This is the plain truth, so do not ask
Anyone but me, for I know the facts.
فَيَا مِصْرُ مَدَّ اللهُ ظِلَّكِ وَارْتَوَى
ثَرَاكِ بِسَلْسَالٍ مِنَ النِّيلِ دَافِقِ
O Egypt, may God extend your shade, and may you be watered
By the Nile in torrents ever bursting!
وَلا بَرِحَتْ تَمْتَارُ مِنْكِ يَدُ الصِّبَا
أَرِيجَاً يُدَاوِي عَرْفُهُ كُلَّ نَاشِقِ
The hand of the north wind has never ceased
To pluck your aromatic buds that soothe all who breathe.
فَأَنْتِ حِمَى قَوْمِي وَمَشْعَبُ أُسْرَتِي
وَمَلْعَبُ أَتْرَابِي وَمَجْرَى سَوَابِقِي
You are the sanctuary of my people, the refuge of my clan,
And playground of my peers where feats are contended!
بِلادٌ بِهَا حَلَّ الشَّبَابُ تَمَائِمِي
وَنَاطَ نِجَادَ الْمَشْرَفِيِّ بِعَاتِقِي
The place where my youth encamped, its banners unfurled,
And where the glory of my ancestry took root.
إِذَا صَاغَهَا بَهْزَارُ فِكْرِي تَصَوَّرَتْ
لِعَيْنِي فِي زِيٍّ مِنَ الْحُسْنِ رَائِقِ
When the flights of my imagination take shape,
You appear to my eyes beautifully arrayed.
تَرَكْتُ بِهَا أَهْلاً كِرَاماً وَجِيرَةً
لَهُمْ جِيرَةٌ تَعْتَادُنِي كُلَّ شَارِقِ
I left behind honored and noble people,
And a neighborhood whose dawn greeted me daily.
هَجَرْتُ لَذِيذَ الْعَيْشِ بَعْدَ فِراقِهِمْ
وَوَدَّعْتُ رَيْعَانَ الشَّبَابِ الْغُرانِقِ
I abandoned the sweetness of life after their loss,
And bid farewell to the prime of my exuberant youth.
فَهَلْ تَسْمَحُ الأَيَّامُ لِي بِلِقَائِهِمْ
وَيَسْعَدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا مَشُوقٌ بِشَائِقِ
Will days allow me to meet them again,
And in life, will an ardent lover reunite with the one he longs for?
لَعَمْرِي لَقَدْ طَالَ النَّوَى وَتَقَطَّعَتْ
وَسَائِلُ كَانَتْ قَبْلُ شَتَّى الْمَوَاثِقِ
By my life, the pining has grown long, and ties
That once held strong have been severed.
فَإِنْ تَكُنِ الأَيَّامُ سَاءَتْ صُرُوفُهَا
فَإِنِّي بِفَضْلِ اللهِ أَوَّلُ وَاثِقِ
If time has been unkind, though its fortunes shift,
Then know I am the first to have faith.
فَقَدْ يَسْتَقِيمُ الأَمْرُ بَعْدَ اعْوِجَاجِهِ
وَيَرْجِعُ لِلأَوْطَانِ كُلُّ مُفَارِقِ
Affairs may yet be set right after going astray,
And every exile return to his homeland.
