يا ديار الأحباب كيف تحولت — Sharif Al Murtaza

يا دِيارَ الأحبابِ كيفَ تحوَّل

تِ قفاراً وَلَم تَكوني قِفارا

O dwellings of loved ones, how have you turned

into wilderness, when wilderness you were not?

ومحتْ منك حادثاتُ اللّيالي

رغم أنفي الشّموسَ والأقمارا

The calamities of the nights erased from you,

despite me, the suns and moons.

وَاِستَردّ الزمانُ منك وَما سا

ور في ذاك كلّه ما أعارا

Time reclaimed from you, without contesting

any of it, what it had lent.

وَرَأتكِ العيونُ لَيلاً بهيماً

بَعدَ أَن كنتِ للعيون نهارا

Eyes beheld you as a pitch-black night,

after you had been daylight to their sight.

كَم لياليَّ فيك همّاً طوالٌ

وَلَقد كُنّ قَبل ذاك قصارا

How many nights of mine in you are long with sorrow,

though before that they were short!

لِمَ أصبحتِ لي ثماداً وقد كن

تِ لمن يبتغي نَداكِ بحارا

Why have you become scant pools for me, though you were

seas for anyone seeking your bounty?

ولقد كنتِ برهةً لِي يميناً

ما توقّعتُ أن تكوني يَسارا

For a while you were my right hand;

I never expected you to become my left.

إِنّ قوماً حلّوكِ دهراً وولَّوْا

أَوحشوا بالنّوى علينا الدّيارا

A people dwelt in you for an age, then departed,

making the dwellings desolate for us through separation.

زوَّدونا ما يمنع الغُمْضَ للعي

ن ويُنبي عن الجُنوبِ القرارا

They provisioned us with what denies the eye

sleep and drives repose away from our sides.

يا خليلي كن طائعاً لِيَ ما دُم

تَ خليلاً وإن ركبتَ الخِطارا

My friend, obey me while you remain

a friend, even though you venture into peril.

ما أُبالي فيك الحِذارَ فلا تخ

شَ إِذا ما رضيتُ عنك حِذارا

I heed no caution concerning you; so do not fear

any danger, if I am pleased with you.

عُج بأرضِ الطّفوفِ عيسك واِعْقِلْ

هُنَّ فيها ولا تجزهنَّ دارا

Turn your pale camels toward the land of al-Tufuf and hobble

them there; do not drive them on to another dwelling.

وَاِبكِ لِي مُسعِداً لحزنِيَ وَاِمنح

ني دموعاً إن كنّ فيك غِزارا

Weep for me, helping me bear my grief, and grant

me tears, if yours flow abundantly.

فَلنا بالطّفوف قتلى وَلا ذَنْ

بَ سوى البغيِ من عدىً وأُسارى

At al-Tufuf lie our slain, with no offense,

only aggression from foes; and our captives.

لَم يَذوقوا الرّدى جُزافاً ولكنْ

بَعدَ أَن أكرهوا القنا والشِّفارا

They did not taste death heedlessly, but only

after pressing spears and blades into service.

وأطاروا فَراشَ كلِّ رؤوسٍ

وأماروا ذاك النجيعَ المُمارا

They sent the thin plates of skulls flying

and poured forth that streaming blood.

إنّ يوم الطّفوف رنّحني حُزْ

ناً عليكم وما شربتُ عُقارا

The day of al-Tufuf made me reel with grief

for you, though I had drunk no wine.

وإذا ما ذكرتُ منه الّذي ما

كنتُ أنساه ضيّق الأقطارا

Whenever I remember from it what I never

could forget, it narrows every horizon.

وَرَمى بي عَلى الهمومِ وَأَلقى

حَيَداً عَن تنعّمي وَاِزوِرارا

It hurled me into cares and brought

estrangement from my ease, and aversion.

كِدتُ لمّا رَأيتُ إقدامهمْ في

هِ عليكم أن أهتِك الأستارا

At the sight of their charge that day, I nearly—

as they fell upon you—tore away the veils.

وأقول الذي كتمتُ زماناً

وتوارى عن الحشا ما توارى

And spoke what I had concealed for ages;

what had hidden itself from the heart lay hidden.

قُل لِقومٍ بنوا بغيرِ أَساسٍ

في ديارٍ ما يملكون مَنارا

Tell a people who built without foundations

in dwellings where they own no boundary marker,

وَاِستَعاروا مِنَ الزّمان وَما زا

لَتْ لَياليهِ تَستَرِدُّ المُعارا

and borrowed from Time, whose nights have never

ceased reclaiming what was borrowed:

ليس أمرٌ غصبتموه لزاماً

لا ولا منزلٌ سكنتمْ قرارا

The power you usurped is not enduring,

nor is the dwelling you occupied a lasting abode.

أيُّ شيءٍ نَفعاً وضرّاً على ما

عوّد الدّهرُ لم يكن أطوارا

What thing, whether benefit or harm, according to what

Time has taught us, has not passed through changing phases?

قَد غَدَرتمْ كَما عَلِمتم بِقومٍ

لم يكن فيهم فتىً غدّارا

You betrayed, as you well know, a people

among whom no young man was a traitor.

وَدَعوتمْ مِنهمْ إِلَيكم مُجيباً

كرماً منهُمُ وعُوداً نِضارا

You summoned to yourselves one of them who answered,

through their generosity—a stem of noble wood.

أمِنوكمْ فما وفيتمْ وكم ذا

آمنٌ من وفائنا الغدّارا

They trusted you, but you were not faithful; how often

has one trusting in our loyalty trusted a traitor!

ولكُمْ عنهُمُ نجاءٌ بعيدٌ

لو رضُوا بالنّجاء منكم فرارا

You would have been far beyond their reach

had they consented to escape by fleeing you.

وَأَتوكمْ كَما أَرَدتمْ فلمّا

عاينوا عسكراً لكمْ جرّارا

They came to you as you desired; but when

they saw your vast, advancing army,

وَسُيوفاً طوَوْا عَليها أكفّاً

وقناً في أيمانكمْ خطّارا

and swords around which hands were clenched,

and spears swaying in your right hands,

عَلِموا أنّكم خَدعتمْ وقد يخ

دَعُ مكراً من لم يكن مكّارا

they knew you had deceived them; even one

who is no schemer may be deceived by guile.

كانَ من قبل ذاكَ سترٌ رقيقٌ

بَيننا فَاِستَلبتُمُ الأستارا

Before that, a thin veil had stood

between us, but you stripped away the veils.

وَتَناسيتُمُ وما قَدُمَ العه

دُ عهوداً معقودةً وذمارا

You feigned forgetfulness—though the pledge was not old—

of solemnly bound covenants and sacred obligations,

وَمَقالاً ما قيل رَجماً مُحالاً

وكلاماً ما قيل فينا سِرارا

and of an utterance not spoken as an absurd, baseless guess,

and words concerning us that were not spoken secretly.

قَد سَبرناكُمُ فكنتم سَراباً

وخبرناكُمُ فكنتمْ خَبارا

We probed you, and you proved a mirage;

we tested you, and you proved loose soil.

وهديناكُمُ إلى طُرُقِ الحق

قِ فكنتمْ عنّا غفولاً حَيارى

We guided you to the paths of truth,

but you remained heedless of us and bewildered.

وَأَردتمْ عزّاً عَزيزاً فما اِزددْ

تمْ بِذاك الصّنيع إلّا صَغارا

You sought mighty honor, but gained

nothing through that deed except abasement.

وَطَلبتم رِبحاً وَكَم عادتِ الأر

باح ما بيننا فعدن خسارا

You sought profit; how often profits had returned

between us, but now they returned as losses!

كانَ ما تضمرون فينا من الشر

رِ ضِماراً فالآن عاد جهارا

The evil you harbored against us had been

concealed; now it has become public.

في غدٍ تبصر العيونُ إذا ما

حُلنَ فيكمْ إقبالَكمْ إدبارا

Tomorrow eyes will see, when they

turn upon you, your rise become a fall.

وتودّون لو يفيد تمنٍّ

أنّكم ما ملكتُمُ دينارا

You will wish—if wishing could avail—

that you had never owned a dinar,

لا ولا حُزتُمُ بأيديكُمُ في ال

ناس ذاك الإيراد والإصدارا

nor gained with your own hands over the

people that power to bring in and send away.

عدِّ عن معشرٍ تناءوا عنِ الحَق

قِ وعن شَعبه العزيز مَزارا

Turn away from a company who have withdrawn from truth

and from its mountain pass, difficult of access.

لَم يَكونوا زيناً لِقومهمُ الغر

رِ ولكن شيناً طويلاً وعارا

They were no adornment to their illustrious people,

but a lasting blemish and disgrace.

وَكأنّي أثنيكمُ عن قبيحٍ

بمقالي أزيدكم إصرارا

It is as though, in trying to dissuade you from foul deeds,

my words only make you more obstinate.

قَد سَمِعتمْ ما قالَ فينا رسول ال

له يَتلوهُ مَرّةً وَمِرارا

You have heard what the Messenger of God said of us,

reciting it once and repeatedly.

وَهوَ الجاعل الّذين تَراخوا

عن هوانا من قومه كفّارا

He is the one who declares those who hold back

from loving us, among his people, unbelievers.

وإذا ما عصيتُمُ في ذويه

حال منكمْ إقرارُكمْ إنكارا

When you disobey him concerning his kin,

your acknowledgment turns into denial.

ليس عذرٌ لكم فيقبله اللّ

ه غداً يوم يقبل الأعذارا

You have no excuse that God might accept

tomorrow, on the day He accepts excuses.

وغُرِرتمْ بالحلمِ عنكم وما زِي

دَ جهولٌ بالحلم إلّا اِغتِرارا

You were deluded by forbearance toward you; an ignorant man

only grows more deluded through forbearance.

وَأَخَذتم عَمّا جرى يومَ بدرٍ

وَحُنينٍ فيما تخالونَ ثارا

You have taken, for what happened on the day of Badr

and Hunayn, what you imagine to be revenge.

حاشَ للَّه ما قَطعتم فَتيلاً

لا ولا صرتُمُ بذاك مصارا

God forbid! You have not severed even a date-stone's thread,

nor have you thereby reached your goal.

إِنّ نورَ الإِسلامِ ثاوٍ وَما اِسطا

عَ رِجالٌ أَن يَكسِفوا الأَنوارا

The light of Islam endures; no men have been able

to eclipse its lights.

قَد ثَلَلْنا عروشَكمْ وَطَمَسنا

بِيَدِ الحقّ تلكُمُ الآثارا

We toppled your thrones and effaced

those traces with the hand of truth.

وَطَردناكُمُ عنِ الكفرِ باللّ

ه مُقاماً ومنطقاً وديارا

We drove you from disbelief in God,

in station, speech, and dwellings alike.

ثمّ قُدناكُمُ إِلَينا كَما قا

دتْ رُعاةُ الأنعام فينا العِشارا

Then we led you to us, just as

herdsmen among us lead pregnant she-camels.

كَم أَطَعتمْ أَمراً لَنا وَاِطّرَحنا

ما تَقولون ذِلَّةً وَاِحتِقارا

How often you obeyed a command of ours, while we rejected

what you said, in abasement and disdain!

وَفَضَلْناكُمُ وما كنتُمُ قط

ط عنِ الطّائلين إلّا قِصارا

We surpassed you, and never were you

anything but short beside the towering.

كَم لَنا منكمُ جروحٌ رِغابٌ

وجروحٌ لمّا يكنّ جِبارا

How many wide wounds we have received from you,

and wounds still not made whole!

وضِرارٌ لولا الوصيّة بالسِّلْ

مِ وبالحلم خاب ذاك ضِرارا

And harm—were it not for the injunction to peace

and forbearance, that aggression would have failed.

وَاِدَّعَيتمْ إلى نِزارٍ وأنّى

صدقكمْ بعد أن فضحتمْ نِزارا

You claimed descent from Nizar; how could

your claim be true after you disgraced Nizar?

وإذا ما الفروع حِدنَ عن الأص

ل بعيداً فما قَرُبن نِجارا

When branches stray far from the root,

they are no longer close to it in stock.

إِنّ قَوماً دَنوا إِلَينا وشبّوا

ضَرَماً بيننا لهمْ وأُوارا

A people drew near us and kindled

for themselves a blazing fire and heat between us.

ما أَرادوا إلّا البَوارَ وَلَكنْ

كَم حَمى اللَّهُ مَن أَرادَ البَوارا

They wanted nothing but ruin; yet

how often God has shielded one who sought ruin!

فَإِلى كَم والتجرِباتُ شعاري

ودثاري ألابس الأغمارا

How long, with experience my inner garment

and my outer garment, must I associate with fools,

وَبَطيئينَ عَن جَميلٍ فإن عَن

نَ قَبيحٌ سَعوْا لَه إِحضارا

and men slow to do good, who, if

some foul deed appears, run to it at speed?

قسماً بالّذي تُساقُ له البُدْ

نُ ويُكسى فوق السّتار ستارا

I swear by that to which sacrificial camels are driven,

and which is clothed with covering upon covering;

وَبِقومٍ أتوا مِنىً لا لشيءٍ

غير أن يقذفوا بها الأحجارا

and by people who came to Mina for nothing

but to cast stones there;

وبأيدٍ يُرفَعْنَ في عَرَفاتٍ

داعياتٍ مخوِّلاً غفّارا

and by hands raised at Arafat,

calling upon a bestower, an abundant forgiver.

كم أتاها مخيَّبٌ ما يُرجّى

فَاِنثَنى بالغاً بها الأوطارا

How often a man thwarted in his hopes came there,

then returned having attained his desires there!

والمصلّين عند جَمْعٍ يرجّو

ن الّذي ما اِستجيرَ إلّا أَجارا

And by those praying at Jam', hoping

in the One who grants refuge whenever it is sought,

فَوقَ خُوصٍ كللن مِن بعدِ أَن بل

لَغنَ تلك الآمادَ والأسفارا

upon hollow-eyed she-camels, grown weary after they had

traversed those distances and journeys.

وَأَعاد الهجيرُ والقُرُّ والرَّوحا

تُ منها تحت الهِجار هِجارا

Midday heat, cold, and evening travel had reduced

them, beneath their tethers, to tether-thin shapes.

يا بَني الوحي والرّسالة والتَّط

هير من ربّهمْ لهمْ إكبارا

O children of revelation, the message, and purification

from their Lord, in honor of them!

إنّكم خيرُ من تكون له الخَض

راءُ سقفاً والعاصفاتُ إزارا

You are the best of those for whom the green heaven

is a roof and the storm-winds a garment.

وَخيار الأنيسِ لَولاكُمُ في

ها تُحِلُّون من يكونوا خِيارا

And the choicest of humankind: were you not

dwelling among them, who could be choice?

وَإِذا ما شفعتُمُ مِن ذنوب ال

خلق طرّاً كانت هباءً مُطارا

When you intercede, the sins of all

creation become dust scattered abroad.

وَلَقد كُنتُمُ لِدين رَسولِ ال

له فينا الأسماعَ والأبصارا

You have indeed been, for the religion of God's Messenger,

its hearing and sight among us.

كُم أُداري العِدا فَهل في غيوب ال

لَه يومٌ أخشى بِه وأدارى

How long must I placate foes? Is there, in God's hidden decrees,

a day when I shall be feared and placated?

وأُصادِي اللّئامَ دَهري فهل يق

ضى بأن بتّ للأكارم جارا

All my life I appease the base; will it be decreed

that I should spend a night as neighbor to the noble?

وأقاسي الشّدّاتِ بُعداً وقرباً

وأخوض الغمار ثمّ الغمارا

I endure hardships, far and near,

and plunge into perils, then further perils,

وَأُموراً يعيينَ لِلخَلقِ لَولا

أنّني كنت في الأذى صبّارا

and troubles that would exhaust a man, were it not

that I have been most patient under injury.

أَنا ظامٍ وليس أَنقع أَن أُب

صِرَ عَيني في الخلقِ إلّا الشّرارا

I am thirsty; it brings me no relief that

my eye sees among creation none but the wicked.

لَيتَ أنّي طِوالَ هَذي اللّيالي

نلتُ فيهنّ ساعةً إيثارا

Would that, throughout these nights,

I had won a single hour of preferment!

وَإِذا لَم أَذق منَ الدّهر إحلا

ءً مدى العمر لم أذق إمرارا

And if I taste no sweetness from Time

throughout my life, let me taste no bitterness.

مَيُّ أنَّى لِي أن أقصُر اليومَ عن كل

لِ الأماني إن أملك الإقصارا

Mayy, how might I renounce today all

my wishes—if I can manage renunciation—

سالياً عن غروس أيدي اللّيالي

كيف شاءت وقد رأيت الثّمارا

heedless of what the hands of the nights have planted

however they pleased, now that I have seen the fruits?

أَيُّ نَفعٍ في أَن أراها دياراً

خالياتٍ ولا أرى دَيّارا

What use is it to see them as dwellings

standing empty, and see no inhabitant?

وسُكارى الزّمان بالطّمع الكا

ذب فيه أعيوا عليَّ السّكارى

Those whom Time intoxicates with its false hopes

have, to my mind, surpassed all drunkards.

فَسَقى اللَّه ما نَزلتُم من الأر

ض عليه الأنواءَ والأمطارا

May God water whatever ground you settled upon

with seasonal rains and showers.

وَإِذا ما اِغتَدى إِليها قِطارٌ

فَثَنى اللَّه لِلرّواح قُطارا

And if a rain shower goes there in the morning,

may God send a second shower at evening,

ما حَدا راكبٌ بركْبٍ وما دب

بَ مَطيُّ الفلاة فيها وسارا

as long as a rider sings to a caravan, and

the desert's riding beasts tread there and travel.

لَستُ أَرضى في نَصركمْ وَقد اِحتج

تمْ إلى النّصر مِنِّيَ الأشعارا

I am not content, in supporting you when you have needed

support, to offer only my poems.

غَيرَ أنّي مَتى نُصرتمْ بطعنٍ

أو بضربٍ أسابق النّصّارا

But whenever you are supported with a spear-thrust

or a sword-stroke, I outstrip your supporters.

وإلى أن يزول عن كفَّيَ المن

عُ خذوا اليوم من لساني اِنتِصارا

Until restraint is lifted from my hands,

take support today from my tongue.

وَاِسمَعوا ناظرينَ نَصر يميني

بشبا البِيض فَحْلِيَ الهدّارا

Hear, while awaiting my right hand's aid

with the points of bright swords, my bellowing camel-stallion.

فلساني يحكي حسامي طويلاً

بطويلٍ وما الغِرار غِرارا

My tongue mirrors my sword: a long one

matched to a long one—yet the edges are not the same.

وَأُمرنا بِالصّبر كي يأتِيَ الأم

رُ وما كلّنا يطيق اِصطِبارا

We were commanded to be patient until the command

comes; not all of us can endure patiently.

وَإِذا لَم نَكُن صَبرنا اِختياراً

عَن مرادٍ فقد صبرنا اِضطِرارا

If we have not endured by choice,

of our own will, we have endured under compulsion.

أَنا مَهما جريت في مَدحكمْ شأ

واً بعيداً فلن أخافَ العثارا

However far a course I run in praising you,

I shall never fear a stumble.

وَإِذا ما رَثيتكمْ بقوافي

يَ سراعاً فمُرْجَلُ الحيِّ سارا

When I lament you with my rhymes

moving swiftly, even the tribe's man afoot sets forth.

عاضَني اللَّه في فَضائِلكم عل

ماً بِشكٍّ وَزادني اِستِبصارا

God granted me, concerning your virtues, knowledge

in place of doubt, and increased my insight.

وأراني منكم وفيكم سريعاً

كلَّ يومٍ ما يُعجب الأبصارا

He swiftly showed me, from you and in you,

each day what amazes the eyes.