يا عُلوَ أَغرَيتِ السُهادَ بِناظِري
وَرَقَدتِ عَن لَيلِ المُحِبِّ الساهِرِ
O heights that have tempted the sleepless with my gaze,
And slept through the night of the enamored watcher.
ماذا يَضُرُّكِ لَو سَمَحتِ عَلى النَوى
بِمُرورِ طَيفٍ مِن خَيالِكِ زائِرِ
What harm if you allowed the phantom of your reflection
To pass by the ambition for a fleeting visit?
كَم قَد رَكِبتُ إِلَيكِ أَخطارَ الهَوى
أَفَما يَمُرُّ لَكِ الوِصالُ بِخاطِرِ
How often have I embarked upon the perils of passion toward you,
Does union with you ever cross your mind?
هَل أَنتِ يا لَمياءُ ذاكِرَةٌ عَلى
شَحطِ النَوى عَهدَ الوَفِيِّ الذاكِرِ
O radiant moon, do you remember on the horizon of ambition
The pact of the faithful lover keeping you in remembrance?
أَضلَلتُ بَعدَكُمُ الرُقادَ فَما لِأَش
جاني وَلَيلي بَعدَكُم مِن آخِرِ
After you all, I lost sleep so none consoled me,
And my night had no end without you all.
وَأَطَلتُمُ سَهَري وَكَم مِن لَيلَةٍ
مَرَّت بِوَصلُكُم كَظِلِّ الطائِرِ
You made my vigil long, and how many nights
Passed with your union like the shadow of a bird.
حَجرٌ عَلى الأَجفانِ أَن تَرِدَ الكَرَى
مِن بَعدِ أَيّامِ العَقيقِ وَحاجِرِ
It's difficult for the eyelids to wish again
After the days of berries and early beginnings.
أَيّامَ أَنظُرُ في دَواوينِ الهَوى
وَأَميسُ في بُردِ الشَبابِ الناضِرِ
I watch the days in the books of passion
And stroll in the coolness of flourishing youth.
ما كانَ مِن نَولِ الحِسانِ البيضِ أَن
يَغدُرنَ بي لَولا بَياضُ عَذائِري
It was no fault of the fair, white hands
That they betrayed me, were it not for my white temples.
لَولا الصَبابَةُ ما سَمَحتُ لِباخِلٍ
يَومَ الوِداعِ وَلا وَفَيتُ لِغادِرِ
Were it not for my youth, I'd not forgive a miser
On the day of farewell, nor be faithful to one who departed.
وَلَقَد أَراني لا يَلينُ لِشامِسٍ
عِطفي وَلا أُبدي الوِصالَ لِهاجِرِ
You'd see me unmoved by a coquette's charm
Or showing affection to one who distanced himself.
وَعَلَيَّ مِن حُلَلِ الشَبابِ مُلاءَةٌ
إِنسُ الجَليسِ وَمِلءُ عَينِ الناظِرِ
My adornment is the vivacity of a companion
And the joy in the eye of the onlooker.
وَقَصيرِ عُمرِ الوَصلِ يَرجِفُ بِالقَنا
مِن دونِ زَورَتِهِ أَسِنَّةُ عامِرٍ
How short the life of union quivers with old age
Like a neglected horse beyond its heyday.
كَالظَبيِ مَصفودِ التَرائِبِ فاتِرِ
اللَحَظاتِ ما وَجدي عَلَيهِ بِفاتِرِ
A captured gazelle, slackened are its bonds,
Moments cannot be found slower than it.
أَسرى إِلَيَّ وَكَم رَقيبٍ حَولَهُ
يَقظانَ مِن سُمرِ الرِماحِ وَسامِرِ
He came to me, so many guards around him
Awake with the slumber of spears and conversation.
فَغَدَوتُ نِضوَ الهَمِّ لَيلَةَ زارَني
فَرِحاً بِزَورَتِهِ وَباتَ مُعاقِري
I woke up relieved when he visited me one night,
Happy with his visit, he stayed conversing with me.
يَجلو عَلَيَّ سُلافَةً مِن ثَغرِهِ
عَذراءَ ما دَنِسَت بِوَطءِ العاثِرِ
A salute of purity broke from his lips,
An untouched maiden not defiled by the stumbler.
حَتّى بَدا فَلَكُ الصَباحِ كَأَنَّهُ
عَدلُ الخَليفَةِ في الزَمانِ الجائِرِ
Until the sphere of dawn appeared as if
The just Caliph in the tyrannical era.
بِتنا ضَجيعي عِفَّةٍ وَتَقِيَّةٍ
نَضوي هَوىً بَينَ الضُلوعِ مُخامِرِ
We both slept in chastity and piety,
Harboring passion in secret between our breasts.
مُتَنَزِّهَينِ عَنِ المَحارِمِ خيفَةً
لِسُطى أَميرِ المُؤمِنينَ الناصِرِ
Avoiding prohibitions in fear
Of the authority of the Commander of the Faithful.
الذائِدِ الحامي حِمى الإِسلامِ بِال
بيضِ الرَواعِفِ وَالقَنا المُتَشاجِرِ
The driving force protecting the sanctity of Islam with the
White banners and the clashing swords.
وَالجَحفَلِ المَنصورِ تَخفُقُ حَولَهُ
عَذَباتُهُ وَالنابِلِ المُتَناصِرِ
And the victorious army fluttering around him
And the hurling allies aiding each other.
بَأسٌ يُشَبُّ عَلى العَدُوِّ ضَرامُهُ
وَنَدى كَتَيّارِ الفُراتِ الزاخِرِ
His might kindles against the enemy and his sharp blades
Are like the overflowing Euphrates in its streaming.
فَإِذا تَغايَرَتِ الخُطوبُ نَضا لَها
عَزماً يَفُلُّ شَبا الغِرارِ الباتِرِ
When adversities exchange, he rises to them
With resolve that defeats the devious plotter.
مَلِكٌ إِذا حَلَّ الجُماةُ بِبابِهِ
أَلقَوا عِصِيَّهُمُ بِعَفوَةِ غافِرِ
A king, when transgressors arrive at his door,
They throw aside their staffs with forgiving release.
يَعفو وَقَد مَلَكَ العِدى عَن قُدرَةٍ
وَالعَفوُ يَحسُنُ بِالمَليكِ القادِرِ
He forgives though he has power over the enemy,
And forgiveness befits the powerful king.
خِرقٌ أَهانَ الوَفرَ مِن أَموالِهِ
حَتّى تَفَرَّدَ بِالثَناءِ الوافِرِ
A rent that disgraced the ample wealth of his treasury
Until he alone earned abundant praise.
رُعتُ الحَوادِثَ بِاِسمِهِ فَكأَنَّني
رُعتُ الظِباءَ بِلَيثِ غابٍ خادِرِ
I take shelter with his name so it's as if
I take shelter with a roaring lion from a creeping hyena.
وَاِنتاشَني لَمّا عَلِقتُ بِحَبلِهِ
مِن بَينِ أَنيابٍ لَها وَأَظافِرِ
And I was elated when I held on to his rope
From the jaws and claws that grip.
وَلَجَأتُ مِنهُ إِلى مَقيلٍ بارِدٍ
وَحَلَلتُ مِنهُ عَلى مُقيلِ العاثِرِ
And I sought refuge in his cool harbor
And landed safely from his ship the fallen one.
فَلَأُثنِيَنَّ عَلى صَنائِعِهِ كَما
أَثنى الرَبيعُ عَلى السَحابِ الماطِرِ
So I will praise his deeds as the spring praises
The pouring rainclouds.
فيهِ رَضيتُ عَنِ الحُظوظِ وَكُنتُ ذا
صَدرٍ عَنِ الحَظِّ المُجانِبِ واغِرِ
Through him I was content with fortunes and I had
A heart open to depriving fortune the unkind one.
بِكَ يا أَبا العَبّاسِ أَحمَدُ أُنشِرَت
رِمَمُ المَكارِمِ وَالسَماحِ الداثِرِ
Through you, O Abu Al-Abbas Ahmad, the banners of
Generosity and giving freely have been raised.
أَحسَنتَ في الدَهرِ المُسيءِ بِأَهلِهِ
وَوَفَيتَ في الزَمَنِ الخَؤونِ الغادِرِ
You have done good in this mean world against its people,
And fulfilled in the treacherous time against the treacherous one.
يا مُنهِضَ الأَمَلِ المَهيضِ جَناحُهُ
بِقَوادِمٍ مِن جودِهِ وَعَواشِرِ
O you who revived the withering hope, its wing
Strengthened by his generosity to come and its peers.
لِلَّهِ كَم لَكَ مِن يَدٍ مَشكورَةٍ
بَسَطَت عَوارِفُها لِسانَ الشاكِرِ
By God, so many grateful hands you have
Whose favors have extended the tongue of the grateful one.
وَعَطِيَّةٍ بِكرٍ يَجِلُّ حِباؤُها
عَن أَن يُثَمَّلَ بِالحَبِيِّ الباكِرِ
And an unspoiled gift, its love too grand
To be blemished by the early rising critic.
رُعتَ العَدُوَّ بِكُلِّ أَزرَقَ لَهذَمٍ
وَأَصَمَّ عَسّالٍ وَأَبيَضَ باتِرِ
You routed the enemy with every sharp sword,
And deaf spear, and white piercing blade.
وَبِكُلِّ سابِحَةٍ إِذا طَلَبَت مَدىً
طارَت بِقادِمَتي عُقابٍ كاسِرِ
And every swimming ship when it sought great depths,
It sailed with your arriving eagles the crushing ones.
وَبِغمَةٍ مِثلِ الشُموسِ عَوابِسٍ
خَلَطوا البَسالَةِ بِالجَمالِ الباهِرِ
And the frowning like suns, their courage mixed
With stunning beauty and dazzling splendor.
فَلَهُم إِذا اِعتَقَلوا أَنابيبَ القَنا
نَظَرُ الضَراغِمِ مِن عُيونِ جَآذِرِ
When the swords were sheathed in luster,
They concealed the beauty of their faces with masks.
مِن عُصبَةِ التُركِ الَّذينَ بِبَأسِهِم
وَدَّت شَوارِدُ كُلِّ مُلكٍ شاغِرِ
They surpassed their peers on the day of battle
With the blossoms of beauty in blushing cheeks.
غُرٌّ إِذا صينَ الجَمالُ بِبُرقُعٍ
سَتَروا جَمالَ وُجوهِهِم بِمَغافِرِ
Every dust-stirring warrior raging ahead,
Hardened at shedding blood, the risk-taker.
تاهوا عَلى أَقرانِهِم يَومَ الوغى
بِرِياضِ حُسنٍ في الخُدودِ نَواضِرِ
He made the club-bearers deaf with his blows
And shot hearts with his glances the deadly ones.
مِن كُلِّ خَوّاضِ الغَمارِ مُلَجِّجٍ
مَرنٍ عَلى سَفكِ الدِماءِ مُغامِرِ
The wisdom of the victorious Mansur keeps vigil
Over guarding the kingdoms awake and watchful.
أَصمى الكُماةَ بِمَقصَدٍ مِن كَفِّهِ
وَرَمى القُلوبَ مِنَ اللِحاظِ بِعائِرِ
The flash of his sword and the shine of his forehead
Are two gleams in the night of the raging darkness.
تَدبيرَ مَنصورِ الجُيوشِ مُؤَيَّدٍ
يَقظانَ في رَعيِ المَمالِكِ ساهِرِ
His promises are like arrows from the sturdy bow,
Shooting from above the likes of arrows the piercing ones.
إيماضُ مُنصُلِهِ وَضَوءُ جَبينِهِ
بَرقانِ في لَيلِ العَجاجِ الثائِرِ
They left the shadows of life in their homelands
And exposed themselves to adversity and departure.
أَومى وَأَمثالُ القِسِيِّ لَواعِبٌ
مِن فَوقِ أَمثالِ السِهامِ ضَوامِرِ
Every disheveled one in the caravan, loyal
To God, penitent to Him, an emigrant.
هَجَروا ظِلالَ العَيشِ في أَوطانِهِم
وَتَعَرَّضوا لِسَمائِمٍ وَهَواجِرِ
Thirsty, throwing himself forward feeling
The fear of Judgement in the vacant wasteland.
مِن كُلِّ أَشعَثَ في الرِحالَةِ مُخلِصٍ
لِلَّهِ أَوّابٍ إِلَيهِ مُهاجِرِ
Their corpses taken by the south so their necks surrendered
To the blades of butchers the slaughtering ones.
ظَمآنَ يَقذِفُ نَفسَهُ مُستَشعِراً
خَوفَ القِيامَةِ في الهَجيرِ الواغِرِ
And God's sacraments, magnified without
What Mecca guaranteed of purity and places of devotion.
يَرمي بِهِم أَهوالَ كُلِّ تَنوفَةٍ
عيسٌ كَخيطانِ النَعامِ النافِرِ
The House, and the Holy Precinct circled by it,
And what screens and covers it has.
مِن كُلِّ والِعَةٍ بِحِرَّتِها إِذا
ظَمِئَت تُعَلَّلُ بِالسَرابِ الساحِرِ
Surely the Caliph is best of those who trod
The courtyards, from the best people, present and past.
وَجناءَ تَحمِلُ مِن هِضابِ يَلَملَمٍ
رُكناً وَتَنظُرُ مِن قَليبٍ غائِرِ
A people whose love and obedience will distinguish
The believer from the nonbeliever on Judgement Day.
يَرجونَ مَوقِفَ رَحمَةٍ تُلقى بِها
أَعباءُ أَوزارٍ لَهُم وَكَبائِرِ
Their gatherings are scrolls of precedence
In every principle or branches of the pulpits.
وَالبُدنُ خاضِعَةَ الرِقابِ دَوامِيَ ال
لَبّاتِ تَفحَصُ في البَخيعِ المائِرِ
When their people slip into a tight spot,
The anxieties of every alarming crisis are calmed.
أَخَذَت مَصارِعَها الجَنوبُ فَأُسلِمَت
مِنها النُحورُ إِلى شِفارِ الجازِرِ
When lineages boast, their ancestry can be traced
Back through pedigrees, glories, and ancestral trees.
وَشَعائِرِ اللَهِ الَّتي عَظُمَت وَما
ضَمِنَتهُ مَكَّةُ مِن صَفاً وَمَشاعِرِ
They cling to the staff of prophecy and lean
On the courtyard of the house of prophethood the pure one.
وَالبَيتِ وَالحَرَمِ المُطيفِ بِهِ وَما
واراهُ مِن حُجُبٍ لَهُ وَسَتائِرِ
In praising you, O House of Abbas, I have
Covered over my blemishes and faults in my lineage and clan.
إِنَّ الخَليفَةَ خَيرُ مَن وَطِئَ الحَصا
مِن خَيرِ بادٍ في الأَنامِ وَحاضِرِ
Your patronage is my treasure for the Hereafter when
My hands are emptied of acquiring treasures.
مِن مَعشَرٍ وَرِثوا النَبِيَّ خِلافَةً
أَفضَت إِلَيهِم كابِراً عَن كابِرِ
You are guides for people, and intercessors in
This life and on the Day of Requital to come.
قَومٌ بِحُبِّهِمُ وَطاعَتِهِم غَداً
في الحَشرِ يُعرَفُ مُؤمِنٌ مِن كافِرِ
The world is beautified by traces of you
Praised among its people and memorials.
غُلبٌ مَجالِسُهُم مُتونُ سَوابِقٍ
في كُلِّ رَوعٍ أَو فُروعُ مَنابِرِ
And to you the eminent turn, and every
Boaster ends with you in glory and pride.
وَإِذا تَخَمَّطَ قَومُهُم في مَأزِقٍ
سَكَنَت شَقاشِقُ كُلِّ خَطبٍ هادِرِ
So give greetings to the Commander of the Faithful from a nation
Immersed in the dew of your hands the copious ones.
وَإِذا القُرومُ تَرَدَّدَت أَنسابُهُم
في الفَخرِ بَينَ مَرازِبٍ وَأَكاسِرِ
And a state whose rule has conquered kingdoms,
With prevalent authority and manifest might.
نَزَعوا إِلى عيصِ النُبوَّةِ وَاِنتَدوا
بِفِناءِ بَيتٍ لِلرِسالَةِ طاهِرِ
Its caliphate tied in the happiest fortune
And most blessed fate and auspicious omen.
بِمَديحِكُم يا آلَ عَبّاسٍ سَما
قَدري وَسُدتُ قَبائِلي وَعَشائِري
And may you enjoy it as a feast returning
With good tidings of its like for you again and again.
وَوَلاؤُكُم ذُخرٌ لِآخِرَتي إِذا
صَفِرَت يَدي مِن مُقتَناتِ ذَخائِري
And seek from the elite of praise an elite utterance
whose owner suffers no loss in a failed deal.
أَنتُم هُداةُ الناسِ وَالشُفَعاءُ في ال
دُنيا وَفي يَومِ الجَزاءِ الآخِرِ
Rural and refined, so judge it
With eloquence of nomad and grace of city dweller.
تَتَجَمَّلُ الدُنيا بِآثارٍ لِكُم
مَحمودَةٍ في أَهلِها وَمآثِرِ
It comes to you flaunting in the clothes of its beauty
In abundant, luxurious fabrics and veils.
وَإِلَيكُمُ يُنمى العَلاءُ وَيَنتَهي
في الفَخرِ كُلُّ مُساجِلٍ وَمُفاخِرِ
It slipped away with an elegant subtle meaning -
I am a nation in its prosody, limit, and enchanting utterance.
فَاِسلَم أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ لِأُمَّةٍ
مَغمورَةٍ بِنَدى يَدَيكَ الغامِرِ
I opened my mouth with it out of poverty and made it
A means to cover my deficiencies and needs.
وَلِدَولَةٍ قَهَرَ المَمالِكَ مُلكُها
بِنَفاذِ سُلطانٍ وَعِزٍّ ظاهِرِ
Gifts and favors pass, while their remembrance remains
Across the course of vanishing time.
عُقِدَت خِلافَتُها بِأَسعَدِ طالِعٍ
في خَيرِ إِبّانٍ وَأَيمَنِ طائِرِ
وَتَمَلَّهُ عيداً يَعودُ مُبَشِّراً
لِعُلاكَ مِن أَمثالِهِ بِنَظائِرِ
وَاِستَجلِ مِن غُرَرِ المَديحِ غَريرَةً
ما آبَ تاجِرُها بِصَفقَةِ خاسِرِ
بَدَوِيَّةً حَضَرِيَّةً فَاِحكُم لَها
بِفَصاحَةِ البادي وَلُطفِ الحاضِرِ
جاءَتكَ تَرفُلُ في ثِيابِ جَمالِها
في وَشيِ أَفوافٍ لَها وَحَبائِرِ
فَضُلَت بِمَعنى رائِقٍ أَنا أُمَّةٌ
في نَظمِهِ وَحدي وَلَفظٍ ساحِرِ
فِقَراً فَتَحتُ بِها فَمي وَجَعَلتُها
سَبَباً لِسَدِّ خَصاصَتي وَمَفاقِري
تَفنى المَواهِبُ وَالعَطاءُ وَذِكرُها
باقٍ عَلى مَرِّ الزَمانِ الغابِرِ
