زفت معارف تونس — Sulayman Al Baruni — Saqi

زفت معارف تونسٍ
في مظهر زان الأدب
Tunis's Maʿarif was led forth as a bride
in a guise that adorned literature.
وطنية تحمي الحمى
تشفي السقيم من العطب
Patriotic, she protects the homeland.
She heals the sick of their affliction.
تسقي الزعاق عدوها
ترضي الضعيف اذا غضب
She makes her enemy drink bitter brine.
She appeases the weak when they grow angry.
دينية نبراسها
يهدي الجهول اذا اضطرب
She is religious; her beacon
guides the ignorant when bewildered.
من بحرها طفحت سيا
سة من تكلم أو كتب
From her sea overflowed the politics
of those who spoke or wrote.
تغني الرئيس عن الجلي
س وتمنح الروح الطرب
She spares the leader the need for a companion
and grants the soul delight.
تحريرها نسج الحري
ر ونظمها سبك الذهب
Her prose is a weaving of silk,
and her verse a casting of gold.
أخبارها الحق الصر
يح ونصحها ياللعجب
Her news is the plain truth,
and her counsel—what a marvel!
فهي المعارف هي هي
ولا مراء ولا تعب
For she is al-Maʿarif—herself, herself,
and there is neither dispute nor weariness.
فليستتر بهلالها
شعب الأعاجم والعرب
So let shelter be taken beneath her crescent
by the people of non-Arabs and Arabs.
ولتمدد الأيدي لها
حتى يتيح لها الطلب
And let hands be extended to her,
so that demand may open the way for her.
يا أيها الخضراء قد
جاد الزمان بما وجب
O Green One, indeed,
time has been generous with what was due.
حان التيقظ فانهضي
واستنهضي فالسعد هب
The time to awaken has come, so rise,
and rouse others, for good fortune has arisen.
حيي الشبيبة واكشفي
عنك الحجاب لمن خطب
Greet the youth, and lift
the veil from yourself for whoever has sought your hand.
إن الطبيعة لا ترى
إلا الظهور وإن صعب
Indeed, nature sees nothing
but coming into the open, however hard it may be.
وابن البروني مذ رآى
حسني معارفك انجذب
And Ibn al-Baruni, since he saw
the two beauties of your Maʿarif, was captivated.