يا سائِلًا — Talal Alalawi

يا سَائلِاً عَنْ وُجْهَتِي ومُرَادِي

حَانَ الرَحيلُ وما جَمَعتُ شَتَاتي

O you who ask about my destination and desire,

The time to leave has come, yet I have not gathered my scattered self.

بَدَأَ المَسيرُ وما عَرَفْتُ دَوافِعي

أَفِي السَيرِ قَصْدِي يا تُرَى غَايَاتي

The journey has begun, yet I have not known my motives.

Is my purpose in the journey, I wonder—my goals?

أناَ في الفَيَافي تَائِهٌ ومُضَلَلٌ

وعند الغَديرِ كَمُهتدٍ مُقتاتِ

In the desert wastes I am lost and led astray,

And by the pool, like one guided, finding sustenance.

في اليُسرِ أَغدو باسِمًا ومُهادِنًا

في العُسرِ أبدو عَابِسَ اللمَحَاتِ

In ease I become smiling and conciliatory,

In hardship I appear with a scowling countenance.

أنَا فِي الخُطُوبِ مُحَاربٌ مُتجَاسرٌ

وعِندَ الحَبيِبِ مُتَيَّمُ الفِلْذاتِ

Amid calamities I am a warrior, daring,

And beside the beloved, every fragment of me is love-struck.

يَنتَابُنِي غَضَبٌ يُثيرُ مَرَارَتي

ويَسُوقُني فَرَحٌ يُعَطِّرُ ذَاتِي

Anger overtakes me, stirring my bitterness,

And joy leads me on, perfuming my very being.

أنا ما عَرَفتُ دَوَافِعِي ومَقاصِدِي

لا بَأسَ إن لم تَفْهَموا تَبِعَاتِي

I have not known my motives and purposes;

No matter if you do not understand what my actions entail.

لا تَحسَبَنَّ الدّّهرَ يَرجِعُ عَائِدًا

فالعُمرُ مُنصَرِفٌ ولَيسَ بِآتِ

Do not suppose that time will turn back and return,

For life departs and does not come back.

قَدْ يَلتَقِي عَقْلُ الفَتَى وَفُؤادُهُ

أو يجنحان لِخِلفَةٍ وشَتاتِ

A young man's mind and heart may meet,

Or both incline toward discord and disarray.

لا تسألَنَّ الليثَ عَنْ أنيَابِهِ

فَجَوابُه قَضمٌ وذَرُّ فُتَاتِ

Never ask the lion about his fangs,

For his answer is biting and scattering crumbs.

والزَمْ بِبِرِّ الوالِدَين إذا التَوَی

عودٌ لَهُم وتَدانَيَا لِوفاةِ

And hold fast to kindness toward your parents when bowed

Is their bough, and both draw near to death.

كَمْ قَدَّما فَيضَ الحَنانِ وَأصْبَحا

دِرعًا يَقيكَ لَوَازِم العَثَرَاتِ

How much they gave of tenderness's flood, and became

A shield that guards you against what stumbling brings.

يَنْسابُ تَحْنانٌ وتَبْدو لَواعِجٌ

مِنْ الرِفْقِ تَطْغَى رُوحُهُ بِصِفاتِ

Tender yearning flows, and ardent feelings appear,

From gentleness, whose spirit overflows with qualities.

ما عِيبَ غُصْنٌ قد أَسَنَّ بِهِ المَدَى

ويُعَابُ غَضٌ ذابِلُ الثَّمَراتِ

No branch is blamed for having grown old with time,

Yet a tender branch with withered fruits is blamed.

وإذا رُزِقْتَ مِنَ البَنينَ أزاهِرًا

فاحفَظْهمُ من شَرِّ إِثْمٍ عَاتِ

And if you are granted blossoms among your sons,

Then guard them from the evil of defiant sin.

يَتَجَرَّعُونَ من العُلومِ مَجازَةً

لَكأنَّها نُحِتَتْ على صَخْراتِ

They gulp down a passage of learning,

As though it had been carved upon rocks.

إن سَاءَ مَعْدَنُهم غَدوا كَمَساوئٍ

وإن أحسنوا فَهُمُ كَمُنْبَلِجاتِ

If their nature is base, they become like vices,

And if they do good, they are like dawning lights.

كالنَهرِ يَجْري في الصَفاءِ مُنَعَمَّاً

ويُعيقُهُ لَوْثٌ مِنَ العَكَراتِ

Like a river flowing in purity, blessed with ease,

And a taint from muddy impurities impedes it.

يا مَنْ حَدَوْتَ عَلَى الكَواعِبِ بالمُنَى

أنعِم بِتِلك الأنْفُسَ الدَمِثَاتِ

O you who sang to the budding maidens with hopes,

Take delight in those gentle souls.

يُبدِينَ إعرَاضاً ويُخْفِينَ واهِجَاً

مِنَ الشَوقِ في قَلْبٍ بِذِي زَفَراتِ

They display aversion and conceal a blaze

Of longing in a heart full of sighs.

ولمَّا بَدا أو عانَقَ الوَجدُ روحَهُنْ

بَذلْنَ قُلوباً في الهَوَى جَزِلاتِ

And when passion appeared or embraced their souls,

They offered generous hearts in love.

تَملّكْنَ ألْبَابَ المُحِبِّ غَضَاضَةً

فَيا عَجَباً من عَاشِقٍ وقُساةِ

They captured the lover's mind with tender freshness;

So what a marvel: a lover and cruel ones!

وإذا هَجَرتَ حَبيبَ نَفسِكَ مرةً

فاذرُفْ لَهُ شَرَفًا مِنَ العَبَرَاتِ

And if you abandon your soul's beloved even once,

Then shed some tears for him as a mark of honor.

وإذا كَسَبتَ مَوَدَةً مِنْ صَاحِبٍ

فاغفِرْ لَه مِنْ صُنعِهِ زَلّاتِ

And if you gain affection from a companion,

Then forgive him the lapses in his deeds.

لا يَكتَسي بَشرٌ صِفَاتِ مَلائِكٍ

فَتَراهُمُ كأبَالِسٍ وتُقَاةِ

No human wears the qualities of angels,

So you see them as devils and the devout.

لا شَيءَ أصْدقُ مِنْ صَدِيقٍ صَادِقٍ

مُتَرَاحِمٍ ذي نَخْوةٍ وثَباتِ

Nothing is truer than a truthful friend,

Compassionate, with chivalry and steadfastness.

تُمْسي عَلَى كَمَدٍ فَيُصبِحُ رَاجِلًا

في مِحنَةٍ يَنْضو عَن الأزَماتِ

You spend the evening in grief; by morning he is on foot,

In hardship, he strips away crises.

يُطرِيكَ مُمْتَدِحًا ويَحْبِسُ لو رأی

ذماً يُواري سَوءَةَ العَاداتِ

He extols you in praise and, should he see a fault, withholds

Censure, concealing the shame of habits.

لا تُعْطِ وعْدًا لا تُحيطُ بِبَابهِ

فالوَعْدُ في أحْكامِهِ كَصلاةِ

Do not give a promise whose full scope you do not grasp,

For a promise is like prayer in its obligations.

لا تَخْلِفَنَّ العَهدَ واحفَظْ شَرعَهُ

نَكْثُ العُهودِ مَساءَةُ العَاداتِ

Never break a pledge, and uphold its law;

Breaking pledges is an evil practice.

لا تَنتَقِصْ بَشَرًا بِغَيرِ عَقيدَةٍ

لو شَاءَ رَبُّكَ دَلَّهُمْ بِعِظاتِ

Do not belittle a human being who has no creed;

Had your Lord willed, he would have guided them with admonitions.

إن كُنتَ تَجهَلُ ما يُسائِلُكَ الفَتَى

فاصمُتْ وجانِبْ عَثْرَةَ الهَفَواتِ

If you do not know what the young man asks you,

Then be silent and avoid stumbling into error.

فَضلُ الضَّعيفِ تآزُرٌ وتَظافُرٌ

فَضْلُ القوي بِفطنةٍ وأنَاةِ

The weak person's virtue is mutual support and cooperation;

The strong person's virtue lies in discernment and deliberation.

فَضْلُ الفَقيرِ تَصَبُّرٌ وتَثَابُرٌ

فَضْلُ الغَنِيِّ تَراحُمٌ بِزَكاةِ

The poor person's virtue is patient endurance and perseverance;

The rich person's virtue is mutual compassion through almsgiving.

ما ضَرَّ مَيْتًا كَيفَ أدرَكَهُ القَضَا

إنْ ماتَ بَغْيًا أم قَضَى بِسُباتِ

It does not harm a dead man how fate overtook him,

Whether he died through injustice or passed away in slumber.

ويَضُرُّهُ عَمَلٌ أَشَانَ بِفِعْلِهِ

وذُنُوبُ أًفْعَالٍ أتَتْ نَكِرَاتِ

And what harms him is a deed whose doing brought disgrace,

And the sins of deeds that were abominations.

إنْ كُنتَ تَنْوي خَوْضَ سَاحَاتِ الوَغَى

فَاحْذَرْ جِرَاحَ رَقاَئِقِ الشَفَرَاتِ

If you intend to plunge into the fields of battle,

Then beware the wounds from slender blades.

واعْلَمْ بِأنَّ المَجدَ في إقْدامِهِ

لا يَستَقيمُ بِأنفُسٍ وَجِلاتِ

And know that glory, in its bold advance,

Cannot stand firm with fearful souls.