الشوق يستسقي العيون الأدمعا — Tamim Al Fatimi

الشوقُ يَستسقِي العيون الأدمعا

والعَدْلُ يسقي القلب سمّا مُنقعا

Longing asks the eyes for a rain of tears,

and justice gives the heart potent poison to drink.

فعرِفْن منْ لمتنَّ في عَبَراتِهِ

وارجِعن عن غايات شوقي ظُلَّعا

Then know whom you have blamed for his tears,

and turn back, limping, from the far reaches of my longing.

أمُريدَ سمعِي لومَه منَع الهوى

من كان مِثلي مُدْنَفا أن يسمعا

O you who would have me hear his reproach, love has kept

anyone sick with passion like me from hearing.

أأردتَ من قلِقِ الحشى أن يرعوِي

ومنَ المتيّم قلبُه أن يُقلِعا

Did you expect one restless at heart to come to his senses,

and one whose heart is enslaved by love to desist?

والله لا عصتِ الجوى أحشاؤُه

أبدا ولا أضْحى لِلومِك طيِّعا

By God, his inward parts will never defy love's anguish,

nor will he ever become obedient to your reproach,

حتى تُفرِّجَ كربَ نفسٍ صبَّةٍ

في صدره وتُريحَ قلباً موجَعا

until you ease the distress of a love-stricken soul

within his breast and soothe an aching heart.

وإذا فشا سقم المحِبِّ ودمعه

مَنَعَا منِيع السرّ أن يتمنّعا

And when the lover's sickness and tears become plain,

they prevent the staunch keeper of a secret from holding back.

للهِ أيُّ دمٍ أرِيق وموقف

للبين ضَمَّ مودِّعا ومودَّعا

God, what blood was spilled, and what a scene

of parting brought together one bidding farewell and one bidden farewell!

وَقفا على جمرِ الأسى يَصِفانه

مُتَعانِقَيْنِ كأنما خُلِقا معا

The two stood upon sorrow's embers, describing it,

embracing each other as though they had been created together.

خَرِسا خلا دمعا يجول وأنفساً

مقبوضة وتنفُّساً متقطّعا

They fell silent, save for flowing tears and souls

constricted, and broken breathing.

أَسْفَرْن عن مثلِ البدورِ طوالعاً

وضحِكن عن مثل البوارِقِ لمَّعا

They unveiled faces like rising full moons,

and smiled with gleams like flashing lightning.

وكشفن عن جَعْدٍ كأنّ فروعه

أمست مغِيبا للدّجى أو مطلعا

And they revealed curly hair whose tresses seemed

by evening a place where darkness sets or rises.

وَبَللْن كافورَ الخدودِ من البكا

فَبَدا بياقوتِ الدموعِ مرصَّعا

They wet the camphor of their cheeks with weeping,

and it appeared inlaid with rubies of tears.

بانوا فبان لِبَيْنِهمْ طِيبُ الكَرى

وتقطّعوا فغدا الحشى متقطعا

They departed, and with their parting departed the sweetness of sleep;

they scattered, and my heart was torn apart.

أتبعتُهمْ من أدمعي ما لو غدا

مَطَراً لروَّى عِيسَهم والبلقعا

I sent after them tears that, had they become

rain, would have watered their pale camels and the barren waste,

وَتَنفُّساً لو لم أُبرّدْ حَرَّهُ

بمدامِعي ودَمِي لقضَّ الأضلُعا

and a breath whose heat, had I not cooled it

with my tears and blood, would have shattered my ribs.

أصباً وقد ودّعتُ خُلاّنَ الصِّبا

ونهيت قرح جوانحي أن يَبجعا

Youthful passion, when I have bidden youth's companions farewell,

and forbidden the wound within my ribs to burst open?

لأخالِفنّ على الهوى من عَقَّنِي

وأذيقه ما قد أذاق وجرّعا

I shall surely defy in love whoever has been disloyal to me,

and make him taste what he made me taste and swallow.

نحن الّذين بهم تَسامَتْ هاشمٌ

حتى حَوَتْ شَرَف المعالِي أَجْمَعا

We are those through whom Hashim rose high,

until it possessed all the honor of lofty rank:

رهطُ النّبِيّ وآلُه وبنوه مِن

دون البنين ونَبْتُه مُتَرَعْرِعا

the Prophet's clan, his household, and his sons, apart

from other sons, and his flourishing offspring;

والمُصْطَفَيْنَ المرتضين من الورى

والمفضلِين بما حَوَوْه تَسَرُّعا

the chosen, the approved among mankind,

and those who hasten to bestow what they possess;

والمطعِمين إذا الرياح تناوحت

شُعْثَ الأَرامِلِ واليتامَى الجُوّعا

those who feed, when the winds wail together,

the disheveled widows and hungry orphans;

والحازمين العازمين شهامةً

والقائلين الفاعلين تَبَرُّعا

the resolute, the determined in noble courage,

those who speak and act, giving freely;

والفاتِقين الرّاتقين سياسةً

والطاعِنين الضاربين تَشَجُّعا

those who rend and mend with statesmanship,

those who thrust and strike with valor;

والمصبِحين لكل عافٍ مَلْجَأً

والرائحين لكلّ عانٍ مَفْزَعا

those who are by morning a refuge for every petitioner,

and by evening a haven for every captive;

والطالعين على البريّة أَنْجُماً

والكائنين لهم غُيوثاً هُمَّعا

those who rise over mankind as stars,

and become for them rains pouring in torrents;

والفاطِمِيّين الذين إذا انْتَمَوْا

حازُوا التُّقَى والْفَضْلَ أَجْمَعَ اَكْتَعا

the Fatimids, who, when they declare their lineage,

possess piety and excellence, wholly and completely.

لا ندَّعي ما ليس يَعْرِفه الورَى

منّا إذا كَذَبَ المُفاخرُ وادّعى

We claim nothing that mankind does not know

of us, when the boaster lies and makes his claims.

وإذا تصنَّع للعُلا مُتَصَنِّعٌ

لم نأْتِ أفعال الجميلِ تَصَنُّعا

And when someone affects a show of greatness,

we do not perform good deeds for show.

شَرَفٌ بنته لنا البتولُ وبعلُها

وابناهما حتى رسا وتمنّعا

An honor al-Batul and her husband built for us,

and their two sons, until it stood firm and unassailable.

واستودَعوه بعدَهم أبناءَهمْ

فبنوا عليه وشيَّدوا المستودعا

They entrusted it after themselves to their sons,

who built upon it and raised high what had been entrusted.

نحن الذين بِنا الكتابُ مُنَزَّلُ

وبنا يُجِيبُ الله دعوةَ من دعَا

We are those on whose account the Book was revealed,

and through us God answers the prayer of whoever prays.

ولنا النَّدَى ولنا السَّدَى ولنا الهدى

ولنا الجَدَا ولنا الرَّدى يومَ الوعى

Ours is generosity, ours beneficence, and ours guidance;

ours bounty, and ours death on the day of battle.

لم نُلْفَ إِلاَّ ماجداً أو راشِداً

أو رافِداً أو صاعِداً أو مِصْقَعا

We have been found only noble or rightly guided,

or helpful, or rising high, or eloquent.

ولَرُبَّ مُضْطَرٍّ دَعاني صَارِخاً

يرجُو نَدايَ ونُصْرَتي مُتَكَنِّعا

How many a desperate person has called to me, crying out,

humbly hoping for my generosity and help!

لَبَّيْتُه مُتَسَرِّعاً ومَطَرْته

مُتَدفِّعا ونصرته مُتَطَوّعَا

I answered him swiftly and showered him

in a torrent, and helped him of my own accord.

وطَروقِ ليلٍ فاتَه مُسْتَنبِحا

حتى يَخيل من العُواءِ سَمَعْمعا

And many a night traveler whom the night had passed by, calling for dogs to bark,

until his howling made him seem a lean wolf:

أَوْقَدت ناري باليَفاع لعَيْنه

ودعوتُه وَهْناً إليّ فأوضعا

I lit my fire on high ground for him to see,

and called him to me late at night, and he hurried forward.

وقريته بِشْري فبات مُمَهّدا

وأَلَمَّ غرثانا فألفِي مُشْبَعا

I hosted him with a cheerful welcome, and he spent the night comfortably bedded;

he arrived famished and was found fully fed.

وكتيبةٍ فرقتها وشدائدٍ

فَرَّجْتُهن ولم أبِتْ مُتَضَجّعا

And many a battalion have I scattered, and many hardships

have I relieved, without spending the night lying down.

أقبلتها بِيضَ السيوف عواريا

يوم الكريهة والعوالِي شُرّعا

I turned bright swords against it, unsheathed,

on the day of battle, with tall spears leveled.

أَبَني عَليّ إنْ نَكُنْ نُنْمَى إلى

حَسَب أنافَ بنا وَجَدٍّ أَرْوعا

O sons of Ali, if we are traced to

a lineage that raised us high and a magnificent forefather,

فلقد علمتمْ أَنني أَغْشَى الوغَى

وأَنوب في الجُلَّى قَؤولا مُسْمِعا

you surely know that I plunge into battle

and take charge in great crises, outspoken and making myself heard.

ولقد علمتمْ أَنني رُضْتُ العُلا

يَفَعاً وحاولتُ المكارمَ مُرْضعاً

You surely know that I tamed the heights of glory

as a youth, and sought noble deeds while still at the breast.

أَرمِي مُعادِيَكم وأَجْبُرُ صَدْعَكُمْ

وأَذُبُّ عن أَعراضِكم مُتَوَرّعا

I shoot at your enemies and mend your rift,

and ward off harm from your honor, with pious scruples.

فَدَعُوا لِيَ الشرفَ الذي شيَّدْتُه

إذ هِضْتُموه فانْكَفَا وتَضَعْضَعا

So leave to me the honor I built,

since you broke it, and it toppled and crumbled.

ضَيَّعتموهُ ولم يكنْ آباؤكُمْ

لِتُضِيعَه فحفِظتُ ما قدْ ضُيِّعا

You squandered it, though your fathers would never

have squandered it; I preserved what had been lost.

والمرءُ لا يَحوِي العلا بجُدودِه

إذ لا ينالُ المرءُ إلا ما سعى

A man does not attain greatness through his forefathers,

for a man gains only what he has striven for.

فإذا زكتْ أفعالُه وأُصولُه

كانت له قِممُ الكواكب مَرْبَعا

And when his deeds and his roots are pure,

the summits of the stars become his springtime pasture.

إني لتغزوني الخطوبُ مُغِيرةً

فيكم وبي صدق اللِقَاء سَميْدعا

Indeed, calamities raid me, charging,

on your account, and I face them steadfastly as a noble lord.

لا أَستكين من الزمان ضراعةً

كلاّ ولا أَشكو وغاه تَوَجُّعا

I do not yield to Time in abasement,

no, nor do I complain in pain of its warfare.

وإذا وَعَدتُ وَفَيْت لا مُتَبَرِّماً

وإذا هَمَمْت فعلتُ لا مُتَوقِّعا

When I promise, I fulfill without resentment;

when I resolve, I act without apprehension.

لا تُبْطِر السَّراءُ بي خُلُقاً ولا

أَغدو على ضَرّائِها مُتَخَشِّعا

Prosperity does not make my character insolent, nor

do I grow abject under its adversities.

لي في المشارق والمغارب جولةٌ

يَغْدُو بها قلبُ الزمانِ مُصَدَّعا

In the East and West I have a sweeping charge

that leaves the heart of Time split asunder,

تَسْتَجْفِلُ الآسادَ عن أَجَماتها

وتُشَيِّبُ الطِّفْلَ الذي ما أَيْفعا

drives lions in panic from their thickets,

and turns a child's hair gray before he comes of age.

فادْفعْ بحدِّ السّيفِ كلَّ ظُلامةٍ

إن لم تَجِدْ يوماً سِواه مَدْفَعا

Repel every injustice with the sword's edge,

if, one day, you find no other means to repel it.

واركب رؤوسَ السَّمْهَريّة في العُلا

فالرمحُ ناهٍ للعُلا أَن تشسعا

Ride the points of stout spears toward glory,

for the spear forbids glory to grow distant.

فبذاك أَوصاني الوصِيّ ورَهْطُه

وعَلَيَّ فَرْضٌ أَنْ أُطيع وأَسمعا

That is what the appointed successor and his clan enjoined on me,

and it is my duty to obey and listen.

فالفَرْعُ ليس يُخالفُ الأَصلَ الذي

منه ابْتَدا نَبْتاً وعنه تَفَرّعا

A branch does not go against the root

from which it began as a shoot, and from which it branched.

عجباً لمُفْتَخِرٍ بعبّاسِيَّة

يُزْجِي القوافي ضلَّةً وتَخَدُّعا

How strange is one who boasts of Abbasid descent,

composing rhymes in error and deceit!

والله لا سَتَروا الضُّحَى بأَكفّهِم

أبدا ولا منعوا السَّنا أن يلمعا

By God, they will not hide daylight with their palms,

ever, nor keep the radiance from shining.