تذكر بالحمي عهدا برامه — Shehab Mahmoud Bin Salm…

تذكر بالحمي عهداً برامه

وعيشاً بالمذيب صفا فرامه

He recalled, in the protected lands, a bygone time at Ramah,

and a life at al-Mudhib, once serene, which he desired.

ولاح له على عليا زرود

بريق بالعقيق خفى فشامه

And there appeared to him above the heights of Zarud

a faint flash at al-Aqiq, which he watched.

فأذكى الذكر مهجته ضراماً

وأزجي البرق مقلته غمامه

So remembrance kindled his heart into flame,

and lightning drove his eye onward like a cloud.

وما ألهاه ظل الدوح يضفو

عليه من الأراكة والبشامة

The spreading shade of great trees did not distract him,

falling over him from the arak and balsam trees.

وحرك وجده ذكر المصلي

وجاذبه هوى سلع ذمامه

Remembrance of al-Musalla stirred his passion,

and longing for Sal' tugged at his bond of allegiance.

وناجته قباب قبا بسر

من الأشواق لم يطق اكتتامه

The domes of Quba' whispered to him a secret

of longings he could not conceal.

فباح وناح من طرب وشوق

وأبدى وجده وشكى غرامه

So he confessed and lamented in rapture and longing,

revealing his passion and complaining of his consuming love.

ولم يطربه الأذكر سلع

ورامة لاسعاد ولا أمامه

Nothing moved him to rapture but remembrance of Sal'

and Ramah—not Su'ad or Umamah.

وأسكته الجوى كمدا ووجدا

فقام الدمع في النجوى مقامه

Heartache silenced him with grief and longing,

so tears took his place in whispered communion.

كئيب وأصلته شجون شوق

جفا بوصالها طوعاً منامه

He was desolate, scorched by the sorrows of longing;

to keep their company, he willingly forsook his sleep.

أقام لفرط حال أقعدته

وعن لقلبه شوق أقامه

He stayed, for an overwhelming state had laid him low,

then longing arose in his heart and made him rise.

وهاج له على ظمأ غليل

سوى الزرقاء لا يروي أوامه

A burning longing surged in him amid his thirst;

only al-Zarqa' could quench his parching thirst.

وعاوده غريم من غرام

تقاضى منه مهجته غرامه

And a creditor born of love returned to him,

claiming his lifeblood as the penalty he owed.

فصارم من لحاه بسيف عذل

وشن عليه خوف اللوم لامه

So he severed ties with whoever rebuked him with a sword of reproach,

and, fearing blame, donned his armor against him.

وطاب له ورود الحتف لما

أراه الشيب منهلة أمامه

Approaching death became sweet to him when

gray hair showed him a watering-place before him.

ومن طلب الأحبة صار أسخى

ببذل النفس من كعب بن مامه

Whoever seeks the beloved becomes more generous

in giving his life than Ka'b ibn Mamah.

ومن طلب الغنائم لم يهب من

نضا من دون مطلبها حسامه

Whoever seeks spoils does not fear the one

who unsheathes his sword to bar the path to them.

فهم ولم يوافقه قضاء

بعين على مطالبه اهتمامه

He resolved, but no decree of fate favored him

to aid his zeal in pursuing his desires.

ولم ينهض به قدوركم من

محب مات لم يبلغ مرامه

Fate did not lift him up; how many a

lover has died without attaining his desire!

فبات وجفنه بالدمع هام

وأصبح وهو قبل الحتف هامه

So he spent the night, his eyelid streaming tears,

and morning found him a skull, before death itself.

وظل يقلب الكفين وجدا

ولم ينفعه غضهما ندامه

He kept turning his palms in anguish,

nor did biting them in regret avail him.

وعاين غيره يسرى فطوبى

لذاك سري وتباً للإقامة

He saw another journeying by night—blessed

is that one who traveled, and woe to staying behind!

وناشد من توسم فيه منهم

بحسن الظن أن يرعى ذمامه

He entreated one of them in whom he saw promise,

in hopeful trust, to honor his bond:

سألتك بالذي أدنتك منه

خطاك إذا وصلت مع السلامة

I beseech you by him to whom you have been brought near

by your steps, when you arrive in safety,

وشارفت الحمى وكحلت طرفا

بأنوار المظلل بالغمامه

and approach the sanctuary and line your eye

with the radiance of the one shaded by the cloud,

فقف والثم هناك الأرض شكراً

وأدبه عن المضني سلامه

then stand and kiss the earth there in gratitude,

and convey there the wasted sufferer's greeting.

وقل خلفت في الأطلال صبا

يعلم شجوه النوح الحمامه

And say: I left amid the ruins a lovesick man

whose grief teaches the dove to lament.

وقل عنه الذي شاهدته منه

ولا عتب عليك ولا ملامه

And tell of him what you witnessed of him,

and no reproach or blame shall fall upon you.

ولا يلحقك في أنها شوق

سألتك جمله يوماً سآمه

And may there not overtake you, in conveying the longing

I asked you to carry, any weariness, ever.

وقم وارفع ضراعة مستجير

بأنوار المشفع في القيامة

Rise and offer the supplication of one seeking refuge

in the radiance of him whose intercession is accepted at the Resurrection.

وقل يا من هدي الله البرايا

بمبعثه إلى دار المقامة

And say: O you through whom God guided creation

by your mission to the abode of permanence,

ولما امتد ليل الشرك فيهم

أزال بنوره عنهم ظلامه

when the night of polytheism stretched over them,

you dispelled its darkness from them with your light.

وأرشدهم ففاقوا الخلق طرا

هدي وتقي وعلما واستقامة

You guided them, and they surpassed all creation

in guidance, piety, knowledge, and uprightness.

فصاروا أجل أهل جنان عدن

به مع أنهم في الخلق شامة

So they became the noblest dwellers in Eden's gardens

through you, while they were a beauty mark among creation.

وحين رأى بحيرة إذ رآه

علامة بعثه عرف العلامة

And when Bahira, on seeing you, beheld

the sign of your mission, the learned man recognized it.

تشفع صاحبي بك من ذنوب

هي السبب الذي أقصاه عامه

My companion seeks your intercession against sins

that are the reason he has been kept away this year.

ولولا الدنب أوثقه لوافى

وقال لمن بخوفه الردى مه

Had sin not bound him fast, he would have come

and told whoever frightened him with death: Enough!

ولكن الذنوب أشد داء

تعاهده فأورثه سقامه

But sins are the most grievous malady

to revisit him, bequeathing him his sickness.

ولو زالت لابقى العفو منها

بقية عمره مسكاً ختامه

Were they erased, forgiveness of them would leave

the rest of his life with musk as its final seal.

وزال الضعف عنه وما رآه

يميل لهإذا ما قام قامه

Weakness would leave him, and he would no longer see

his frame bend before it whenever he stood.

فإنك ذخره أن جاء يسعى

غدا من قبره يتلو أشامه

For you are his treasure if he comes hastening

tomorrow from his grave, following his ill omens.

صلاة الله ما لمعت بروق

تمر عليه دائمة الإقامة

May God's blessing, as long as lightning flashes,

pass over him, ever abiding,

وما هبت صبا أو مال غصن

وما انشقت عن النور الكمامة

and as long as the east wind blows or a branch sways,

and as long as the bud sheath splits to reveal the blossom.

وبلغ كل ذي شوق ووجد

إليه من زيارته مرامه

And grant everyone with longing and passion

for him the fulfillment of his wish to visit him.

فلي أمل بدأت به وأرجو

من الرحمن يبلغني تمامه

For I have a hope with which I began, and I hope

the All-Merciful will bring me to its fulfillment.