يلط بالدين من مولاه مسلمه — Usama Ibn Munqidh

يُلَطّ بالدّينِ مَن مولاهُ مُسلِمُه

حتّى يُخَلّصَهُ السّلطانُ والحَكمُ

A man whose lord forsakes him delays paying his debt,

until the ruler and judge recover it.

لكنّ مولايَ يَقضِي ما استَدنتُ ولاَ

يَلْقَى سُؤالِيَ منهُ الصّدُّ والسَّأَمُ

But my lord pays off whatever I borrow, and never

does my request meet refusal or weariness from him.

فكفُّه البحرُ لكن موجُهُ بِدَرٌ

وجودُه الغيثُ لكنْ وبْلُه نِعَمُ

For his hand is the sea, but its waves are purses of coin;

and his generosity is rain, but its downpour is blessings.

أقسمتُ بالجودِ منّا إنه قَسَمُ

وبالمودةِ منكُم إنهَا رَحِمُ

I swear by generosity from us—it is indeed an oath—

and by affection from you, for it is a bond of kinship.

إنّا لَنحفظُ فيكم مَعْ بِعادِكُم

شَرِيعةً سنّها في دينِنا الكرَمُ

Despite your distance, we surely preserve toward you

a law that generosity ordained in our faith.

وكلّما رامَ واشٍ نقضَ مذهبِها

أضحتْ تُؤكّدُهُ الأخلاقُ والشِّيَمُ

Whenever a slanderer seeks to undo its doctrine,

character and noble dispositions reaffirm it.

لَسنا كقومٍ ولا نُزري على أحدٍ

وَلُوا فلما رجوتُم عدلَهُم ظَلمُوا

We are not like certain people—nor do we disparage anyone—

who took power and, when you hoped for their justice, wronged you.

بِعلمِنَا قد حكمنا في إخائِكُمُ

دهراً وما حكَموا فيكم بما عَلِمُوا

Guided by our knowledge, we judged your brotherhood

for an age; they did not judge you by what they knew.

لم يعرِفُوا لكُم قدْراً وإن كَرُمَتْ

أخْلاقُهم وعرفنا قدرَ فضلِكُمُ

They did not recognize your worth, though noble were

their characters; we recognized the measure of your excellence.

ولَيس ذاك لشيءٍ غيرَ أنّهُمُ

بالطبعِ لاَ تنفُقُ الآدابُ عندهُمُ

That is for no reason except that

by nature, cultivated learning finds no currency among them.

والعُرْبُ أقتَلُ داءٍ يَهلِكُون به

أن تَملِكَ الحُكم في أعناقِهَا عَجَمُ

The deadliest malady by which the Arabs perish

is that non-Arabs should wield power over their necks.

ترَفَّعَتْ منك مجدَ الدين همّةُ مَن

نجومُهُ في سمواتِ العُلا الهِمَمُ

Yours, Majd al-Din, is the soaring ambition of one

whose stars in the heavens of eminence are lofty aspirations.

إذا تأخَّرَتِ الآدابُ وامتنعَتْ

تقدّمتْ لك في إحرازها قَدمُ

When learning lags behind and proves elusive,

your foot steps forward to secure it.

وإن نظمتَ قريضاً في مكاتبةٍ

فالبحرُ مازالَ منه الدُّرَّ يُنتَظَمُ

And if you compose verse in a letter,

pearls have always been strung from the sea.

لله كُتْبٌ توالت ضمنها دُررٌ

من بحر علمِك قَالوا إنها كَلِمُ

How wondrous the letters that came in succession, bearing pearls

from the sea of your knowledge—they called them words!

يَقِلُّ في فَضلِهَا أمثالُها فإذَا

تَلوتَها فَهِيَ الأمثالُ والحِكَمُ

Few can match them in excellence; when

you recite them, they are proverbs and wisdom.

سألتَ ما قد أجبنَاهُ وما بَرِحَتْ

قُصّادُنا في الّذي نَحوِيه تَحتَكِمُ

You asked what we have already answered; still

those who seek us decide freely over what we possess.

إن أمسَكَ الغيثُ فانظرْ ما تجيءُ به

أنواؤُنا فهْيَ مَهمَا شِئْتَها دِيَمُ

If the rain withholds itself, see what is brought

by our rain-stars: steady rains whenever you desire.

ولو حلَلْتَ بِوادِينا على وجَلٍ

أيْقَنْتَ من غيرِ شكٍ أنَّه الحَرمُ

Had you alighted in our valley in fear,

you would have known beyond doubt that it was a sanctuary.

والأرضُ ما بَرِحت مثلَ الرجالِ يُرى

من الرجالِ لَها الإثراءُ والعُدمُ

The land has always resembled men: it shows

wealth or poverty through the men upon it.

كذاكَ إن قلَّ حظَّ الودِّ عندكُمُ

فالحظّ كالرّزقِ ما بين الوَرَى قِسَمُ

Likewise, if our share of affection with you is small,

shares, like sustenance, are apportioned among mankind.

يا غائبينَ وقد أضحت منازِلُهم

صُدورَنا هل علمتُم أنها حَرمُ

O absent ones, whose homes have now become

our bosoms, do you know they are a sanctuary?

قُولوا لنا هل وجدتُم مَعْ جَفائِكُمُ

رحابَها اليومَ أحمَى أم حصونَكُمُ

Tell us: despite your estrangement, have you found

their spacious courts safer today, or your fortresses?

بالسّهلِ منها اعتصمتُم عن مُعانِدكم

والنّاسُ من قبلُ بالأجبالِ تَعتصمُ

In their plains you sought refuge from your opponent,

though people before you sought refuge in mountains.

قالُوا المعارفُ في أهلِ النُّهى ذِمَمٌ

وقَد غَدا بينَنا العِرفانُ والذِّمَمُ

They say acquaintance, among people of understanding, is a binding pledge;

between us there are now mutual recognition and binding obligations.

وما نُلِطُّ بدَينٍ تدَّعُون به

حتّى يخلِّصَه السّلطانُ والحَكَمُ

Nor do we stall over a debt you claim,

until the ruler and judge recover it.

بل عندَنا إن سألتُم واثقين بنا

في حاجَةٍ نِعَمٌ جوابُها نَعَمُ

Rather, with us, if you ask, trusting us,

for some need, there are favors whose answer is Yes.

بعُدْتُمُ ومُنَانَا الآن قربُكُمُ

فكيفَ يَعتادُنا في وُدِّكم سأَمُ

You are far away, and now our wish is your nearness;

how could weariness visit us in our love for you?

لو أبصرتْ لا رأت سوءاً عُيونكُم

جَوارحي اليوم فيكُم وهي تَختَصِمُ

If your eyes—may they never see harm—could behold

my members today, as they quarrel over you,

تقولُ عَيني لقلبي قد ظفِرتَ بِهِم

دُونِي ومالَكَ مثلي أدمعٌ سُجُمُ

my eye says to my heart: You have won them

to my exclusion, yet unlike me you have no streaming tears.

وقَولُ قَلبي لعينِي إن حظِيتُ بِهم

مع بُعدهم فلِيَ الأشواقُ والألَمُ

And my heart says to my eye: If I have won them

despite their distance, mine are the longings and the pain.

إذاً رأيتَ مليكاً ظلَّ يملِكُه

وفاؤُه وبَنُو الدّنيا له خَدَمُ

Then you would see a king ever ruled

by his loyalty, while the sons of this world are his servants.

يا راكباً تقطُع البيداءَ همّتُه

والعِيسُ تعجِزُ عما تُدرِك الهِمَمُ

O rider whose resolve traverses the desert,

while pale camels fall short of what high aspirations attain,

بلِّغ أميرِي مُعينَ الدّين مألُكَةً

مِن نازحِ الدّارِ لكن وُدُّه أَمَمُ

carry to my emir, Mu'in al-Din, a message

from one dwelling far away, though his affection is near.

وقل له أنت خيرُ التّركِ فضَّلكَ ال

حياءُ والدّينُ والإِقدامُ والكرمُ

And tell him: You are the best of the Turks, distinguished by

modesty, faith, boldness, and generosity.

وأنت أعدلُ من يُشكَى إليه ولِي

شَكِيّةٌ أنت فيها الخَصم والحكمُ

You are the fairest of those to whom complaints are brought; I have

a grievance in which you are both adversary and judge.

هل في القضيّة يا من فضلُ دولتِه

وعدلُ سِيرتِه بين الورَى عَلَمُ

Can justice allow, O you whose realm's excellence

and just conduct are a banner among mankind,

تَضييعُ واجبِ حقّي بعد ما شَهِدَتْ

به النّصيحةُ والإخلاصُ والخِدَمُ

neglecting my rightful due, after witness was borne

to it by honest counsel, sincerity, and service?

وما ظننتُكَ تَنسى حقَّ معرفتِي

إنّ المعارفَ في أهلِ النُّهى ذِمَمُ

I never thought you would forget the right our acquaintance gives me:

among people of understanding, acquaintance is a binding pledge.

ولا اعتقدتُ الذي بيني وبينَك مِن

وُدٍّ وإنْ أجلبَ الأعداءُ ينصرِمُ

Nor did I believe that what binds me to you in

affection would be severed, though enemies rally.

لكن ثِقاتُك ما زالوا بِغِشِّهِمُ

حتى استوتْ عندَكَ الأنوارُ والظُّلَمُ

But your trusted men persisted in their deceit

until light and darkness became equal in your eyes.

باعُوكَ بالبَخِس يبغُون الغِنَى ولهُم

لو أنّهم عَدِمُوك الويلُ والعدَمُ

They sold you for a pittance, seeking wealth, though theirs would be—

if they were to lose you—woe and destitution.

واللهِ ما نَصَحُوا لمَّا استَشرتَهُمُ

وكُلُّهم ذُو هوىً في الرّأْيِ مُتَّهَمُ

By God, they gave no honest counsel when you consulted them;

every one is swayed by bias, suspect in judgment.

كم حرَّفُوا من مقالٍ في سِفَارَتهم

وكم سَعَوْا بفسادٍ ضَلَّ سعيَهمُ

How many statements they distorted in their work as envoys!

How often they strove for corruption—may their striving fail!

أينَ الحميّةُ والنّفسُ الأبيّةُ إذ

سامُوك خُطّةَ خسْفٍ عارُها يَصِمُ

Where were your proud zeal and unyielding soul when

they imposed on you a course of abasement whose shame brands you?

هلاّ أنِفْتَ حياءً أو محَافظَةً

مِن فعلِ ما أنكرَتْهُ العُرْبُ والعَجَمُ

Why did you not recoil, from modesty or care for honor,

from doing what Arabs and non-Arabs alike condemned?

أسلمتَنَا وسيوفُ الهندِ مُغمدةٌ

ولم يُروِّ سِنانَ السمهرِيِّ دَمُ

You abandoned us while the swords of India were still sheathed,

and no blood had slaked the point of the stout spear.

وكنتُ أحسَبُ مَن والاَك في حَرَمٍ

لا يَعترِيه به شيبٌ ولا هَرَمُ

I had thought whoever befriended you was in a sanctuary

where neither gray hair nor old age could touch him,

وأنَّ جارَك جارٌ للسِّمَوءَلِ لا

يَخشَى الأعادِي ولا تَغتالُه النِّقَمُ

and that one in your protection was in al-Samaw'al's, never

fearing enemies or falling prey to calamities.

وما طُمانُ بأولى من أُسَامَةَ بال

وفاءِ لكنْ جرى بالكائِن القَلمُ

Tuman has no greater claim than Usama to

loyalty, but the pen has written what was to be.

هَبنا جَنَيْنا ذُنوباً لا يُكَفِّرُها

عُذرٌ فماذَا جَنى الأطفالُ والحُرُمُ

Suppose we committed sins that no

excuse could expiate: what crime did the children and womenfolk commit?

ألقيتَهُم في يَد الإفرِنج مُتَّبِعاً

رِضَا عِدىً يُسخِطُ الرحمنَ فِعلُهُمُ

You cast them into the hands of the Franks, pursuing

the pleasure of foes whose deeds anger the All-Merciful.

هُمُ الأعادي وقَاكَ اللُهُ شَرَهُمُ

وهُم بِزعْمهِمُ الأعوانُ والخدَمُ

They are the enemies—may God protect you from their evil—

though, by their claim, they are helpers and servants.

إذا نهضْتَ إلى مجدٍ تؤثِّلُه

تقاعَدُوا فإذا شيَّدْتَهُ هَدَمُوا

When you rise toward a glory you would establish,

they hang back; once you build it up, they tear it down.

وإن عَرَتْكَ من الأيامِ نائبةٌ

فكلّهمْ للّذي يُبكِيكَ مُبْتَسِمُ

And if a calamity from the days befalls you,

every one of them smiles at what makes you weep,

حتّى إذا ما انجلَتْ عنهم غَيابَتُها

بحدِّ عزمِكَ وهو الصّارِمُ الخَذِمُ

until, when its shrouding darkness has lifted from them

by the edge of your resolve—a sharp, cleaving sword—

رشَفْتَ آجِنَ عيشٍ كلُّه كَدَرٌ

ووِردُهم من نَداك السَلسلُ الشّبِمُ

you sip the stagnant water of a life wholly muddied,

while their draught from your bounty is smooth-flowing and cool.

وإن أتاهُم بقولٍ عنك مُختَلَقٍ

واشٍ فذاكَ الذي يُحْبَى ويُحتَرمُ

And if, with a fabricated tale about you, there comes to them

a slanderer, he is the one given gifts and honored.

وكلُّ من مِلْتَ عنهُ قرّبُوه ومَن

والاَكَ فهو الذي يُقْصَى ويُهْتَضَمُ

Everyone you turn away from they draw near; whoever

befriends you is the one excluded and wronged,

بغياً وكفراً لِمَا أوليتَ من منَنٍ

ومرتَعُ البغِي لولا جهلُهم وَخِمُ

out of oppression and ingratitude for the favors you bestowed;

and oppression's pasture—did they but know—is unwholesome.

جرِّبْهمُ مِثلَ تَجريبِي لِتَخبرُهُم

فللرّجالِ إذا ما جُرِّبُوا قِيَمُ

Test them as I have tested them, so that you may know them;

for men, when tested, reveal their worth.

هل فيهِمُ رجلٌ يُغني غَنَاي إذَا

جَلاَ الحوادثَ حدُّ السّيفِ والقَلَمُ

Is there a man among them who serves as I do, when

the sword's edge and the pen dispel calamities?

أم فيهمُ مَن له في الخطْبِ ضَاقَ به

ذَرعُ الرجالِ يَدٌ يَسطو بها وفَمُ

Or one among them who, in a crisis that overwhelms

men's endurance, has a hand to strike with and a mouth to speak?

لكنَّ رأيَكَ أدنَاهُم وأبْعَدَني

فليتَ أنَّا بِقَدْرِ الحبِّ نَقْتَسِمُ

But your judgment brought them near and sent me far away;

would that our portions were allotted by the measure of our love.

وما سَخِطتُ بِعادِي إذ رضِيتَ به

وما لِجُرحٍ إذا أرضاكُمُ أَلَمُ

I did not resent my exile, since you were pleased with it;

a wound has no pain if it pleases you.

ولست آسَى على التَّرحالِ عن بلَدٍ

شُهْبُ البزاةِ سواءٌ فيه والرِّخَمُ

I do not grieve at leaving a land

where gray hawks and vultures are held alike.

تعلّقَتْ بحبالِ الشمسِ منه يَدِي

ثمّ انثَنَت وهي صِفرٌ ملؤُها ندَمُ

There my hand clung to the ropes of the sun,

then drew back empty, filled only with regret.

لكنْ فراقُكَ آسانِي وآسَفَنِي

ففي الجوانحِ نارٌ منه تَضطرمُ

But parting from you has grieved and saddened me;

within my ribs a fire from it burns fiercely.

فاسْلم فما عشتَ لِي فالدهرُ طوعُ يدي

وكلُّ ما نالنِي من بؤسه نِعَمُ

Be safe! As long as you live for me, time obeys my hand,

and whatever misery it brings me is a blessing.