أولعت بالغدر في أيمانها — Sibt Ibn Altaawithy

أُولِعَت بِالغَدرِ في أَيمانِها

وَوَفَت بِالوَعدِ في هِجرانِها

She is enamored of treachery in her oaths,

yet keeps her promise when it comes to forsaking me.

أَنجَزَت ما وَعَدَت مِن نَأيِها

لَيتَها دامَت عَلى لَيانِها

She fulfilled her promise to remain distant;

if only she had remained tender.

غادَةٌ في ثَغرِها مَشمولَةٌ

حُرِّمَ الرِيُّ عَلى ظَمآنِها

A graceful maiden whose mouth holds wind-cooled wine—

yet her thirsty lover is forbidden his fill.

حَلّأَت عاشِقَها عَن وِردِها

وَحَمَتها بِظُبا أَجفانِها

She drove her lover from her watering place,

and guarded it with the blades of her eyelids.

لا تُحَدِّث قَلبَكَ العاني بِها

بِسُلُوٍّ فَهُوَ مِن أَعوانِها

Do not speak to your heart, held captive by her,

of forgetting: it is among her allies.

حَمَلَت ريحُ الصِبى مِن أَرضِها

نَفحَةً تُسنِدُها عَن بانِها

The east wind carried from her land

a fragrant breath it traces to her ban trees.

فَتَعَرَّفنا بِرَيّا عَرفِها

أَنَّها مَرَّت عَلى أَردانِها

By the sweetness of its fragrance we knew

that it had passed across her sleeves.

أَنتِ أَشجاني وَأَوطاري فَيا

شَجوَ نَفسٍ أَنتِ مِن أَشجانِها

You are my sorrows and my desires—O

grief of a soul whose sorrows include you!

يَئِسَ العائِدِ مِن إِبرائِها

وَسلا العاذِلِ عَنِ سُلوانِها

Its visitor has despaired of curing it,

and the reprover has given up on its forgetting.

أَخلَقَت جِدَّةُ أَثوابِ الصِبى

فيكِ وَالصَبوَةُ في رَيعانِها

The freshness of youth's garments has worn away

for you, while passion is still in its prime.

وَبِأَحناءِ ضُلوعي زَفرَةٌ

ضاقَ باعُ الصَبرِ عَن كِتمانِها

Within the bends of my ribs is a sigh

that patience's reach is too short to conceal.

آهِ لي مِن كَبِدٍ مَقروحَةٍ

طُوِيَت فيكَ عَلى أَحزانِها

Alas for my wounded liver,

folded around its sorrows for you!

وَلِأَيّامِ شَبابٍ بِعتُها

مُرخِصاً بِالنَزرِ مِن أَثمانِها

And for the days of youth I sold,

cheaply, for a paltry fraction of their worth!

وَبِجَرعاءِ الحِمى جارِيَةٌ

تَملِكُ الحُسنَ عَلى أَقرانِها

On the sandy ground of the reserved pasture is a maiden

who reigns in beauty over her peers.

سُمتُها يَومَ التَنائي ضَمَّةً

فَأَحالَتني عَلى قُضبانِها

On the day of parting I asked her for an embrace,

but she referred me to her slender boughs.

خَلِّها يا حادي العيسِ على

رِسلِها تَمرَحُ في أَرسانِها

Let them, O driver of the pale camels, go

at their ease, frisking in their halters.

تَحمِلُ الأَقمارَ في أَفلاكِها

وَغُصونَ البانِ في كُثبانِها

They carry moons within their spheres,

and ban-tree branches amid their dunes.

ظَعُناً أَستَودِعُ اللَهَ عَلى ال

نَأيِ قَلباً سارَ في أَظعانِها

Departing caravans! I entrust to God, despite the

distance, a heart that traveled in their litters.

وَعَلى وادي أُشيِّ سَرحَةٌ

تُجتَنى اللَوعَةُ مِن أَغصانِها

Beside the valley of Ushayy stands a great tree

from whose branches anguish is gathered.

فَاحِبِسِ الرَكبَ عَليها سائِلاً

كُنُسَ الغِزلانِ عَن غِزلانِها

So halt the caravan beside it, asking

the gazelles' lairs about their gazelles.

فَلَكَم أَجرَيتُ أَفراسَ الصِبى

وَخُيولَ اللَهوِ في مَيدانِها

How often I raced the steeds of youth

and the horses of pleasure in its arena!

وَتَقَنَّصتُ الدُمى في جَوِّها

وَجَنَيتُ العَيشَ مِن أَفنانِها

And hunted lovely idols in its open spaces,

and plucked life's pleasures from its boughs.

لا تَعِب فَرطَ حَنيني رُبَّما

حَنَّتِ النَيبُ إِلى أَعطانِها

Do not fault my boundless yearning: sometimes

aged she-camels yearn for their watering grounds.

أَنا مُحتاجٌ إِلى عَطفِكُمُ

حاجَةَ الدُنيا إِلى سُلطانِها

I am in need of your kindness

as the world needs its sultan.

هُوَ ظِلُّ اللَهِ في الأَرضِ عَلى

أَهلِها وَالروحُ في جُثمانِها

He is God's shade on earth over

its people, and the spirit in its body.

بَثَّ في أَقطارِها مَعدِلَةً

تُؤمِنُ الظَبيَةَ مِن سِرحانِها

He spread throughout its regions a justice

that keeps the doe safe from its wolf.

حُجَّةُ اللَهِ في الخَلقِ فَما

يُنكِرُ الجاهِلُ مِن بُرهانِها

God's proof among His creatures—what, then,

can the ignorant deny of its evidence?

جَمَعَت أَيّامُهُ ما أَثَّرَت

خُلَفاءُ اللَهِ في أَزمانِها

His days have gathered what

God's caliphs left as their legacy in their times.

نَظَرَ الدُنيا بِعَيني مُشفِقٍ

أَن يَراهُ اللَهُ مِن أَخدانِها

He regarded the world with the eyes of one afraid

lest God see him among its intimates.

فَأَهانَ الجودُ في راحَتِهِ

ما أَعَزَّ الناسُ مِن عِقيانِها

So generosity in his palm made worthless

the pure gold of the world that people prized.

جَمَعَ السودَدَ في تَبديدِها

وَأَطاعَ اللَهَ في عِصيانِها

He amassed lordship by scattering it,

and obeyed God by defying it.

دَعوَةً أَعلَنَها اللَهُ فَما

يَنقَمُ الحُسّادُ مِن إِعلانِها

A call proclaimed by God—what, then,

do the envious resent in its proclamation?

رَدَّها اللَهُ إِلى تَدبيرِهِ

فَاِستَقَرَّت مِنهُ في أَوطانِها

God restored it to his governance,

and through him it settled in its homelands.

نالَ ما يَبغيهِ مِنها وادِعاً

وَسُيوفُ الهِند في أَجفانِها

He gained what he sought from it at ease,

while Indian swords remained in their sheaths.

أَسَدٌ أَخلى الشَرى مِن أُسدِها

وَحَمى الرَدهَةَ مِنُ ذُؤبانِها

A lion who emptied al-Shara of its lions,

and guarded the rocky hollow from its wolves.

فَمُلوكُ الأَرضِ تَنقادُ لَهُ

طاعَةً تَخضَعُ في تيجانِها

The kings of the earth submit to him,

bowing obediently beneath their crowns.

وَإِذا مَرَّت عَلى أَبوابِهِ

صيدُها خَرَّت عَلى أَذقانِها

And when they pass before his gates,

its haughty lords fall upon their chins.

يا إِمامَ العَصرِ هُنِّئتَ بِها

دَولَةً غَرّاءَ في إِبّانِها

O Imam of the age, congratulations upon it—

a radiant reign now in its prime.

شِدتَ مِنها مُعلِياً ما شادَهُ

جَدُّكَ المَنصورُ مِن بُنيانِها

You have raised still higher in it what

your forefather al-Mansur built of its edifice.

لَكَ في المَحلِ يَدٌ هَطّالَةٌ

يَخجَلُ الأَنواءُ مِن تَهتانِها

In drought you have a hand that pours,

whose downpour shames the rain-stars.

سالَ وادي جودِها حَتّى لَقَد

غَرِقَ الإِعسارُ في طوفانِها

The valley of its bounty flowed until

poverty itself drowned in its flood.

طُلتَ أَفلاكَ الدَرارِيِّ عُلاً

فَاِسمُ بِالفَخرِ عَلى كَيوانِها

You have surpassed the spheres of brilliant stars in height;

so soar in glory above their Saturn.

فَرَسولُ اللَهِ مِن جُرثومَةٍ

عودُكَ الناضِرُ مِن عيدانِها

For God's Messenger springs from a rootstock

of whose branches your flourishing stem is one.

يابَني العَبّاسِ أَنتُم نَبعُها

وَقُرَيشٌ بَعدُ مِن شِريانِها

O sons of al-Abbas, you are its nabʿ wood,

while the rest of Quraysh are of its shiryan wood.

أَنتُمُ الذُروَةُ مِن غارِبِها

أَنتُمُ المُقلَةُ مِن إِنسانِها

You are the crest of its withers;

you are the eye within its human form.

أَنتُمُ الساداتُ مِن أَجوادِها

وَالكُماةُ الحُمسُ مِن فُرسانِها

You are the lords among its generous men,

the fierce champions among its horsemen.

أَنتُمُ لِلناسِ أَعلامُ هُدىً

يَلتَجي الساري إِلى نيرانِها

For mankind you are beacons of guidance

to whose fires the night traveler turns for refuge.

أَنتُمُ في الحَشرِ ذُخرٌ يَومَ لا

يَنفَعُ النَفسَ سِوى إيمانِها

At the Gathering you are a treasure, on the day when no

soul is helped by anything but its faith.

يَومَ لا تَحبَطُ أَعمالُ فَتىً

حُبُّكُم في كَفَّتي ميزانِها

That day, no man's deeds are annulled

with love for you in both pans of their balance.

وَذُنوبٌ أَوبَقَتني كَثرَةً

بِكُمُ أَطمَعُ في غُفرانِها

And sins whose multitude has ruined me—

through you I hope for their forgiveness.

كَعبَةُ اللَهِ الَّتي حَرَّمَها

أَنتُمُ الخيرَةُ مِن جيرانِها

God's Kaaba, which He made inviolate—

you are the choicest of its neighbors.

يَنفَدُ الدَهرُ وَكَم مِن أَثَرٍ

لَكُمُ باقٍ عَلى أَركانِها

Time will run out, yet how many a trace

of yours remains upon its corners!

لَكُم الفَضلُ عَلى ساداتِها

شَيبِها وَالغُرِّ مِن شُبّانِها

Yours is preeminence over its lords,

its elders and the illustrious among its youths.

أُنفِذَ المَبعوثُ مِنكُم هادِياً

عُربَها الضُلّالَ مِن طُغيانِها

The Messenger from among you was sent to guide

its erring Arabs away from their rebellion.

ذادَها عَن مَوقِفِ الشِركِ وَقَد

عَكَفَت جَهلاً عَلى أَوثانِها

He drove them from the stance of idolatry, when

in ignorance they had clung to their idols.

رَحَضَ اللَهُ بِكُم أَدناسَها

حَيثُ كانَ الكُفرُ مِن أَديانِها

Through you God washed away their defilements,

when unbelief was among their creeds.

أَنتُمُ زَحزَحتُمُ الأَذواءَ عَن

مُلكِها وَالفُرسَ عَن إيوانِها

You ousted the Dhu-kings from

their kingdom, and the Persians from their vaulted hall.

يالَها مِن أَسَلٍ سالَت بِها

أَنفُسُ البَغي عَلى خِرصانِها

What spears! Along them streamed

the lifeblood of rebellion, over their spearheads!

وَسَقَت مِن عَبدِ شَمسٍ سُمرُها

ما آثارَ الوِترُ مِن أَضغانِها

And its tawny spears quenched with Abd Shams' blood

the rancors that blood vengeance had stirred.

عُصبَةٌ مِن هاشِمٍ تَأييدُها

يوقِعُ الأَعداءَ في خِذلانِها

A band from Hashim whose reinforcement

casts its enemies into defeat.

رَفَعَ اللَهُ لَها أَلوِيَةً

كُنِبَ النَصرُ عَلى عِقبانِها

God raised banners for it,

with victory inscribed upon their eagles.

تُؤمِنُ الأَبطالَ في الرَوعِ بِها

وَالسُرَيجيّاتُ في أَيمانِها

Through them it reassures champions amid terror,

with Surayji swords in its right hands.

فَإِذا ما رَكِبَت في مَأزِقٍ

أُسدُها الغُلبُ عَلى عِقبانِها

And when, in a narrow battlefield, there mount

its thick-necked lions upon its eagles,

تُسلَبُ الأَغمادُ عَن رَوضاتِها

وَعِيابُ السَردِ عَن غُدرانِها

the scabbards are stripped from its gardens,

and the mail-cases from its pools.

وَغَدَت توطِىءُ أَعناقَ العِدى

فَضلَ ما تَسحَبُ مِن مُرّانِها

And it goes forth trampling the enemies' necks

with the trailing lengths of its ash-wood spears.

فَالكُماةُ الصِيِّدُ في يَومِ الوَغى

كومُها وَالوَحشُ مِن ضيفانِها

Then the proud champions, on the day of battle,

are its fat camels, and wild beasts among its guests.

بِالإِمامِ المُستَضيءِ اِكتَسَبَت

شَرَفاً يُربي عَلى عَدنانِها

Through Imam al-Mustadi it gained

an honor surpassing that of its Adnan—

قَرمِها ماجِدِها سَيدِها

طَودِها مِطعامِها مِطعانِها

its chieftain, its noble one, its lord,

its mountain, its lavish feeder, its mighty spearman,

خَيرِ مَن داسَ الثَرى مِن رَجلِها

وَاِمتَطى الغارِبَ مِن رُكبانِها

the best to tread the earth among its footmen

and mount the withers among its riders.

يا أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ اِجتَلِها

حُرَّةً بالَغتُ في إِحصانِها

O Commander of the Faithful, behold her unveiled:

a freeborn maiden whose chastity I guarded with utmost care.

غُرَراً تَبقى بَقاءَ الدَهرِ ما

سارَ في مَدحِكَ مِن ديوانِها

Radiant verses, lasting as long as time, so long as

verse from her collection circulates in your praise.

عُرُباً أَنسابُها تَعرِفُها

مِن قَوافيها وَمِن أَوزانِها

Loving brides, whose lineages you recognize

from their rhymes and from their meters.

بَدَوِيّاتٍ إِذا حاضَرتَها

فاحَ عَرفُ الشيحِ مِن أَردانِها

Bedouin maidens: when you converse with them,

wormwood's fragrance wafts from their sleeves.

رَعَتِ الآدابَ حيناً تَجتَني

مِن خُزاماها وَمِن سَعدانِها

She grazed awhile upon literature, gathering

its lavender and its saʿdan.

طَلَبَ الناسُ لَها عَيباً فَما

عابَها شَيءٌ سِوى حِدثانِها

People sought a fault in her, but

nothing marred her except her newness.

أَخرَسَت كُلَّ فَصيحٍ فَغَدا

يُفصِحُ الحاسِدُ بِاِستِحسانِها

She silenced every eloquent speaker, until

even the envier spoke plainly of her beauty.

نَشَأَت في ظِلِّكَ السابِغِ لا

في رُبى نَجدٍ وَلا غيطانِها

She grew beneath your ample shade, not

on Najd's heights or in its lowlands.

مَدحُها الوَحيُ إِذا ما اِستَملَتِ ال

شُعَراءُ الشِعرَ مِن شَيطانِها

Her praise is revelation, whenever the

poets take verse in dictation from their demon.

تَخَذَتهُ قالَةُ الشِعرِ فَلَو

أَنصَفَتهُ كانَ مِن قُرآنِها

The speakers of poetry adopted it; if only

they judged it fairly, it would be part of their Qur'an.

لَم تَزَل مُحسِنَةً في مَدحِها

فَأَجزِها الحُسنى على إِحسانِها

She has always excelled in her praise,

so reward her excellence with the finest reward.

وَاِقتَنِع مِنها بِما في وُسعِها

لا تُكَلِّفها سِوى إِمكانِها

And be content with what lies within her power;

ask of her no more than she can give.

وَاِبقَ مَرهوبَ السَطا ما اِنتَسَبَت

أُسدُ خَفّانٍ إِلى خَفّانِها

And remain feared for your onslaught, as long as

Khaffan's lions claim descent from Khaffan,

وَسَطَت جائِزَةً في حُكمِها

سورَةُ الخَمرِ عَلى نَدمانِها

and, unhindered in its rule, there rages

the force of wine upon its drinking companions.