من كانَ كاتبَ نُونِ هذا الحاجِبِ
هَيهاتَ لَيسَتْ من صِناعةِ كاتبِ
He who wrote the nun of this eyebrow,
Alas, it is not the work of a writer,
ومَنِ الذي خَضَبَ الخُدُودَ بحُمرةٍ
يا مَيُّ أم لَيسَتْ بصَبْغةِ خاضِبِ
And who dyed the cheeks with redness,
Is it water, O Mayya, or is it not the dye of a dyer?
بأبي التِّي من آلِ بَدرٍ وَجْهُهُا
ولِحاظُها من رَهْطِ آلِ مُحاربِ
By my father, she who is from the family of Badr, her face,
And her glance from the tribe of the warring ally,
تغزو كما تغزو الكُماةُ وإنَّما
تَدَعُ العِدَى وتُرِيدُ غزوَ الصَّاحبِ
She raids as the brave warriors raid, except
She leaves the enemies and intends to raid the lover.
قُلْ للَّتي نَهَبَتْ فُؤادَ مُحبِّها
بئِسَ الغنيمةُ نَهبُ قلبٍ ذَائبِ
Say to her who plundered the heart of her lover,
"Evil is the booty, the plunder of a melting heart!"
نَهَبَتْ خُلاصةَ مالِها من بيتِها
نفسي فِداكِ فأينَ رِبحُ الناهِبِ
She plundered the essence of her property from her home,
My soul is her ransom, so where is the profit of the plunderer?
كم بينَ مَن يجفو الخَليِطَ وبينَ من
يصبو إلى حُبِّ البعيدِ الغائبِ
What a difference between one who rejects the mixture, and one
Who pours towards the love of the absent, far-off lover!
مَن كان يهوَى فلْيَكُنْ كَمُحمَّدٍ
يَهوَى ويُهوَى بالخليقِ الواجبِ
Let him who loves be like Muhammad,
He loves and is loved by the obligated creation.
ذَاكَ الذي منهُ المَحَبَّةُ نحوَنا
قَطَعَتْ سَباسِبَ أُرِدفَتْ بسباسبِ
That one from whom love towards us
Broke its fetters, supplemented by other fetters,
كلُّ الصِّحابِ نُريدُ تَجرِبةً لهم
وهوَ الغَنيُّ عنِ امتِحانِ تَجارِبِ
All the companions we want to test them,
While he is needless of the test of tests.
أهدَى إليَّ رسالةً آمَنتُ عنْ
ثِقَةٍ بها لما أتَتْ بعَجائِبِ
He guided to me a message I believed in
Out of confidence in it when it came with wonders,
حَمَلَتْ على ضُعفٍ بها من صَبْوةٍ
ما ليسَ تَحمِلُهُ مُتونُ نجائبِ
It carried due to the weakness of youth in it
What the backs of camels cannot carry,
عَرَبيةٌ جاءَت بلُطفِ حواضرٍ
من رِقَّةِ المَعْنى ولَفظِ أعاربِ
An Arabic that came with the gentleness of civilizations
From the softness of meaning and pronunciation of nomads.
نَقَشَتْ سَواداً في البَياضِ كأنَّهُ
نَقشُ الغَوالي في وجوهِ كواعبِ
It engraved blackness on the whiteness as if it were
The engraving of moles on the faces of lovely maidens.
يامن دعا فأجاب قلبي طائعاً
لبَّيكَ من داعٍ عزيزِ الجانبِ
O you who called and my heart obediently answered,
"At your service," from a caller, mighty and stern!
ذاكَ ابتِداءٌ مالَهُ من ناسخٍ
ولُ ارِتفاعٌ مالهُ من ناصِبِ
That is a beginning that has no eraser,
And an ascent that has no demolisher.
أنتَ الوفيُّ الصادقُ الحُبِّ الذي
يَبقَى على طولِ الزَّمانِ الكاذبِ
You are the faithful, the truthful, the love that
Remains throughout the lying, long time.
ولقَد تَوازَنتِ المحَبَّةُ بينَنا
كتَوازُنِ الأجزاءِ في المُتقاَربِ
And love was indeed balanced between us
Like the balance of counterpart components.
حَمَّلْتَني من فضلِ جُودِكَ مِنَّةً
عَظُمَتْ ولكن ليس تُثقِلُ غاربي
You burdened me with the favor of Your generosity, a favor
That has grown great but does not overburden my riding camel.
مِنَنُ الكِرامِ على الرِّجالِ خفيفةٌ
إذ ليسَ من عَيبٍ بِهِنَّ لعائبِ
The favors of generous people on men are light,
Since no defects in them are for the criticizer.
