خل عنها منيحة للئام — Sharif Al Murtaza

خلِّ عنها مَنيحةً للّئامِ

واِسلُ عمّا يُسيلُ سُحْبَ المِلامِ

Leave it aside, a gift for the ignoble.

And forget what makes the clouds of reproach pour down.

وتعلّمْ كلَّ الّذي أنت مُحتا

جٌ إليه في هذه الأيّامِ

And learn everything you are in need

of in these days.

أين أُخطِي صوابَها والتّجاري

بُ جُثومٌ خلفي ومن قُدّامي

How could I miss the right course, with experiences

crouching behind me and before me?

بِبيانٍ يسري بِرأيٍ مُصيبٍ

كالسُّرى بالمصباحِ في الإظلامِ

With clear expression traveling by sound judgment,

like night travel with a lamp in darkness.

خُلِقَ المرءُ ناقصاً وهو يُدمِي

أَظهُرَ العِيسِ في اِبتغاءِ التَّمامِ

Man was created incomplete, yet he makes bleed

the backs of pale camels in pursuit of perfection.

من رأى اللَّهُ أَن ينوط به الحا

جَ فليس الغِنى له بِمرامِ

Whoever God sees fit to bind to need

finds wealth no attainable goal.

ومُعنّىً بسدِّ طُرْقِ المنايا

وهو ملقىً على طريقِ الحِمامِ

And one tormented with barring the paths of death

is himself cast upon the road of doom.

قد مضى باطلي وأقشع عنّي

وتجلّتْ جهالتي وعُرامي

My falsehood has passed and cleared away from me,

and my ignorance and unruliness have vanished.

وتناسيتُ ما تقولُ لِيَ الشّر

رةُ والشيبُ لامعٌ في ظلامِي

And I have forgotten what impetuousness says to me,

while gray hair gleams in my darkness.

فعدولِي عن الهوى وصُدوفي

وعكوفي على النُّهى ومُقامي

Hence my turning away from desire and my aversion,

and my devotion to reason and my abiding there.

وأطعتُ النَّصيحَ من بعد أن كُنْ

تُ على النُّصْحِ خالعاً لِلجامي

And I obeyed the sincere adviser after I had

thrown off my bridle in defiance of counsel.

وتجافيتُ طائعاً مَسْرَحَ اللّهْ

وِ ومجنَى المُنى ومخبَى اللِّئامِ

And willingly I shunned the pasture of amusement,

the harvest-place of wishes and the hiding-place of the ignoble.

وأَعَدْتُ العُفاةَ بالجاهِ والما

لِ يجرّون بُردَةَ الإنعامِ

And through influence and wealth I sent petitioners back,

trailing the mantle of bounty.

وتعلّمتُ أنّما زَوْرَةُ الآ

مالِ فينا كزَوْرَةِ الأحلامِ

And I learned that the visit of hopes

among us is only like the visit of dreams.

ومُقامي من الخلائف في يو

مِ اِجتماعِ الوفود خيرُ مقامِ

And my station with the caliphs, on the day

the delegations gather, is the finest station.

ما لِغيري مثلُ الّذي لِيَ منهمْ

من صنوفِ الإعظامِ والإكرامِ

No other has the like of what I have from them

of various kinds of veneration and honor.

لم يزالوا ولن يزالوا مُشيدي

نَ محلّي ومُجْزلي أَقسامي

They have always, and will always, exalt

my station and lavishly increase my shares.

ومُهيبين بي وقد عَنَتِ الشُّو

رى إلى الرّأي في الأمورِ الجسامِ

And they call upon me once consultation

has bowed to judgment in weighty affairs.

وإذا ما حكمتُ في الأمر سدّوا

طرُقاتِ الخروجِ عن أحكامي

And whenever I judge a matter, they block

the paths of departure from my rulings.

ويَعافون كلَّ وِرْدٍ به الري

يُ إذا كان لا يَبُلُّ أُوامِي

And they shun every thirst-quenching watering-place

if it does not moisten my burning thirst.

ويردّون سَرْحَهُمْ عن جميع ال

قاعِ ما لم يكن به أَنْعامِي

And they turn their grazing herds away from every

plain unless my livestock are there.

وتُخَلّي أَكفُّهمْ مُحْصَداتِ الش

شرِّ ما لم يكن بهنّ اِعتِصامي

And their hands let go of the tightly twisted bonds of

evil, unless my protection lies in them.

ملكوا رِبْقَتِي لِما سيّروهُ

من لُصوقي بودّهمْ واِلتزامي

They own my tether because of what they have fostered

of my attachment to their affection and my devotion.

فلهمْ إنْ عفوتُ يوماً عن الذّنْ

بِ وَمِن أَجلهمْ يكونُ اِنتِقامي

If ever I pardon a sin, it is for them,

and for their sake I take revenge.

وَإليهمْ إِذا تحيّز أقوا

مٌ بقومٍ تحيُّزي واِنضمامي

And toward them, when groups take sides

with other groups, I direct my allegiance and alliance.

وتخصّصتُ بالملوكِ يلبُّو

ن نِدائي ويسمعون كلامي

And I have become an intimate of kings, who answer

my call and listen to my words.

وإذا ما ذممت يوماً عليهمْ

في عظيمٍ أمضَوْا هناك ذِمامي

And if ever I pledge protection on their behalf

in a weighty matter, they uphold my pledge there.

ومتى أعْضَلَتْ خطوبٌ صِعابٌ

أَو وَهى للملوك سِلْكُ نظامِ

Whenever difficult troubles prove insoluble,

or the kings' thread of order frays,

جعلوني دليلَهمْ في ضَلالٍ

مُوقَدٍ أو صباحَهمْ في ظلامِ

they make me their guide in confusion

ablaze, or their morning in darkness.

كم كفيتُ الكُلومَ بالكلمِ الغُر

رِ وحدَّ السُّيوفِ بالأقلامِ

How often I have averted wounds with radiant words,

and the edge of swords with pens.

قد رأَوْا يومَ هيّجوا ملك البَصْ

رَةِ كَفِّي له عن الإقدامِ

They saw, on the day they roused the ruler of Basra,

how I restrained him from advancing.

بعد أنْ أزمعَ اللّقاءُ وأهوى

لاِقتِناصِ الطُّلى هَوِيَّ القَطامِي

After he had resolved on battle and swooped

to snatch throats, like a falcon's dive.

وتراءتْ للنّاسِ شنعاءُ صَمّا

ءُ تجوبُ الدُّجى بغير خِطامِ

And a hideous, implacable calamity appeared to the people,

roaming the darkness without a halter.

قلّدوني إصلاحَها ورَمَوْا بي

طلبَ السِّلمِ في صعابِ المرامي

They charged me with mending it and cast me

in pursuit of peace at hard-to-reach targets.

فَتَلافيتُ دَرأَها باِعتِدالي

وَدَعمت اِعوِجاجها بدِعامي

So I corrected its crookedness with my uprightness,

and braced its distortion with my supports.

وَأَعَدْتُ الصّفاءَ من بعد أنْ كا

ن مسوقاً من قبضةِ المُستامِ

And I restored concord after it had

been driven from the bargainer's grasp.

كَيفَ يَبغِي شَأوي وقد ملك الفو

تَ عَثورُ الخُطا قصيرُ المَرامِ

How can he aspire to my reach, when the lead is secured—

that stumbling-footed man of short aim?

وغبيٌّ يَخال وهو ورائي

أنّه من فضيلةٍ مِن أمامي

And a fool imagines, though he is behind me,

that through some merit he stands ahead of me.

لَيس ذَنبي عليه غيرَ زيادا

تي عليه ونقصَه عن تمامي

My only fault against him is my superiority

over him, and his falling short of my completeness.

قد خصمتُ الّذين مدّوا إِلى الفخ

ر طماحاً بقطع كلِّ خصامِ

I have bested those who reached toward glory

in ambition, putting an end to every dispute.

لم يُصبني بالسُّوءِ رامٍ وكم أصْ

مى وأَردى بما يُعابُ الرّامي

No archer has struck me with harm; how often I strike

dead and lay the archer low with what disgraces him.

غُرِسَتْ في ذُرا الفخار أُصولي

وفورعي خُضْرُ الغصونِ نوامِ

My roots are planted on the heights of glory,

and my branches are green-boughed and growing.

فَدَعُوا للشّجاع مَطْواه في الوا

دي وخلّوا العرينَ للضِّرْغامِ

So leave the serpent its coiling-place in the

valley, and leave the lion its den.

فَلئن غرّكمْ صُموتي فكم صِل

لِ فَلاةٍ يَهُبّ بعد مَنامِ

If my silence has deceived you, many a viper

of the wasteland rises after sleep.

ليس بيني وبين أوّلِ قومي

غيرُ بَرٍّ أوْ مُرْسَلٍ أو إِمامِ

Between me and the first of my people

stand only a righteous man, a messenger, or an imam,

أوْ عظيمٍ مؤهَّلٍ لخطوبٍ

شامساتٍ أوْ حادثاتٍ عِظامِ

or a great man equipped for troubles

untamable, or for mighty calamities.

بحُلومٍ مثل الصُّخورِ رِزانٍ

ووجوهٍ مثلَ البُدورِ تَمامِ

With minds steady as rocks,

and faces like moons at their fullness;

أَرِجي الذِّكرِ طيّبي النَّشرِ بسّا

مين من كلِّ باسلٍ بسّامِ

fragrant in remembrance, sweet of fragrance, smiling,

each a brave, ever-smiling man.

ليسَ فيهمْ إِلّا الرئيسُ على الأش

ياخِ طُرّاً والسِّنُّ سِنُّ الغُلامِ

None among them but is chief over the elders,

all of them, though his years are those of a boy.

خَلَفوا الغيثَ في المحولِ وكانوا

في البرايا الأرواحَ في الأجسامِ

They took the place of rain in droughts, and were

among mankind as souls within bodies.

وَإِذا ما الدّماءُ سِلْنَ وأَطرا

فُ العوالي هَمَتْ بموتٍ زُؤامِ

And when blood flowed and the tips

of tall spears poured down sudden death,

وَهَبوا العيشَ لِلمَماتِ وآبوا

بأُنوفٍ شُمٍّ عن الإرغامِ

they gave life over to death, and returned

with lofty noses free of humiliation.

وتسلَّوْا والعِرْضُ أَمْلَسُ لم يُدْ

مَ بِقَرْفٍ عن الجلودِ الدَّوامِي

And they grieved no more—their honor smooth, not bloodied

by disgrace—over their bleeding skins.

وأَبى طعنُهمْ سوى ثُغرةِ النّحْ

ر وضربُ السُّيوفِ غير الهامِ

Their thrusts would accept only the hollow of the throat,

and their sword-blows only heads.

وإذا ما قرنتَهمْ بسواهمْ

بان ما بين تَلْعةٍ وشَمامِ

And whenever you compare them with others,

the difference between a hillock and Shamam is plain.

كان لَولايَ غائضاً مكرعُ الفق

هِ سحيقَ المدا وبحرُ الكلام

But for me, the watering-place of jurisprudence would have sunk away,

far out of reach, and so would the sea of theology.

ومعانٍ شَحَطْن لُطفاً عن الأف

هامِ قرّبتُها من الأفهامِ

And meanings whose subtlety kept them far from understanding

I brought within the reach of understanding.

ودقيقٌ أبرزتُهُ بجليلٍ

وحلالٌ أبَنْتُهُ من حرامِ

And I made subtle matters plain through evident ones,

and distinguished the lawful from the forbidden.

كم لَدودٍ خصمتُهُ بجدالٍ

فكأنّي كَعَمْتُهُ بكَعامِ

How many an obstinate foe I have bested in debate,

as though I had muzzled him with a muzzle.

وعنودٍ هديتُهُ بعد أنْ كا

نَ شَروداً عن سُنّةِ الإسلامِ

And a stubborn man I guided, after he had

strayed far from the way of Islam.

وطويلِ اللّسانِ صُبَّتْ عليه

بمقالي غمائمُ الإفحامِ

And upon many a long-tongued man were poured

by my speech the clouds of silencing.

وبنثري والنَّظْمِ سارتْ إلى الآ

فاقِ شوسٌ يمدُدْن فضلَ زمامِ

And through my prose and verse there traveled to the

horizons proud mounts, stretching out the slack of their reins.

قَد بَلغتُ الّذي أردتُ وَجاوَز

تُ طَويلاً تَمَنِّيَ الأقوامِ

I have attained what I wanted, and surpassed

by far the aspirations of peoples.

ما أُبالي وقد رأيتُ بنفسي

ما ترجّتْ منّي بُدورَ حِمامِي

I care not—having seen in myself

what my soul hoped of me—for the coming of my death.

وإذا كنتُ في يَفاعٍ من العِز

زِ منيفٍ على ذُرا الأحلامِ

And if I stand on a height of glory

towering above the summits of dreams,

وتعرَّتْ مآزري وذُيولي

من عيوبٍ مذمومةٍ وأثامِ

and my waistcloths and hems are stripped bare

of blameworthy faults and sins,

فحياةٌ كميتةٍ ورحيلٌ

إنْ تدانى وشيكُهُ كمُقامِ

then life is like death, and departure,

if its swift coming draws near, is like remaining.