أرأيتَ إن أخذ الغرام على يَدي

أرأيتَ إن أخذ الغرام على يَدي

أن أنتهي في حبهنَّ وأبتَدي

أن أنتهي في حبهنَّ وأبتَدي

Have you considered: if passion stays my hand

Have you seen that if passion takes my hand,

From ending and beginning in my love for them,

That I begin loving them and initiate,

أيكونُ لومُك عند ذلك نافعي

أيكونُ لومُك عند ذلك نافعي

أم مانعي أم مصلحي أم مفسدي

أم مانعي أم مصلحي أم مفسدي

Would your reproach then benefit me,

Would your blame then be of benefit to me,

Or restrain me, or reform me, or corrupt me?

Or prevention, or betterment, or corruption?

وأغن يقطر ماءُ خدَّيه ندىً

وأغن يقطر ماءُ خدَّيه ندىً

لو كان يَندى صاحبُ الخد الندي

لو كان يَندى صاحبُ الخد الندي

And a soft-voiced youth, whose cheeks drip with dew—

And I wish the dew of his cheeks would drip,

If only the owner of that dewy cheek were generous!

If the owner of the soft cheek would drip,

يَغدو وفي نظراته سنةُ الكرى

يَغدو وفي نظراته سنةُ الكرى

أيكونُ أولى بالرواح المغتَدي

أيكونُ أولى بالرواح المغتَدي

He goes forth in the morning, his glances drowsy with sleep;

In the morning, in his glances is the sun of daybreak,

Is the morning traveler better suited to leaving in the evening?

Would he be more deserving for souls to melt?

أبصرتُه ما تستقلُّ جُفونُه

أبصرتُه ما تستقلُّ جُفونُه

فعجبتُ من قطع الحسام المغمدِ

فعجبتُ من قطع الحسام المغمدِ

I saw him, his eyelids not lifting,

I saw him, his eyelids don’t settle,

So I marveled at the cutting of a sheathed sword.

So I wondered at the sheathed sword cutting,

ولقد رأى الضرب الدارك مكذباً

ولقد رأى الضرب الدارك مكذباً

ذاك الفتورَ فأتقي بتجلُّدي

ذاك الفتورَ فأتقي بتجلُّدي

And indeed he saw the overtaking blow belie

And he saw the dark blow as a lie,

That languor; so I shield myself with my fortitude.

That languor, so he was cautious in my patience.

بئسَ المجنّ وبئسَ ما حملت يَدي

بئسَ المجنّ وبئسَ ما حملت يَدي

يوم اللحاظِ الضاربان الأيدِ

يوم اللحاظِ الضاربان الأيدِ

A wretched shield—and wretched what my hand bore

Evil is the battle and evil is what my hands carried,

On the day of glances, the two mighty strikers.

The day of glancing, the two hands striking.

طال الوقوف على صفاءِ مودة

طال الوقوف على صفاءِ مودة

تُرجى وتُطلب من صفاةِ الجَلمدِ

تُرجى وتُطلب من صفاةِ الجَلمدِ

Long has the waiting lasted for pure affection,

Standing on the clarity of affection was long,

Hoped for and sought from a slab of solid stone.

Hoped for and sought from the pure cold.

وتول عنه مجانباً وتولَّني

وتول عنه مجانباً وتولَّني

لك صاحباً واشرَب وسق وغرِّدِ

لك صاحباً واشرَب وسق وغرِّدِ

Turn away from him, keeping apart, and take me

And turn away from him, distancing me,

As your companion; drink, pour, and sing:

Take as company and drink and chirp.

كأساً إذا جُليت علينا في الدجى

كأساً إذا جُليت علينا في الدجى

لم يبق منه غيرُ صدعٍ أسودِ

لم يبق منه غيرُ صدعٍ أسودِ

A cup which, when unveiled before us in the dark,

A cup, when it's finished for us in the darkness,

Leaves of that darkness only a black fissure.

Nothing remains of it but a black fracture.

وتظنُّها دارت عليكَ وإنما

وتظنُّها دارت عليكَ وإنما

دارت على نوبِ الزمان بمرقدِ

دارت على نوبِ الزمان بمرقدِ

You think it has made its round to you, but in truth

And you think it went around you, but in fact,

It has turned upon time's calamities with a sleeping draught.

It went around the cycles of time in its orbit.

شيء تخصُّ به وكيفَ وإنما

شيء تخصُّ به وكيفَ وإنما

هو من خلائق أحمد بن محمدِ

هو من خلائق أحمد بن محمدِ

Something reserved for you? How, when it is but

Something you specify with it, how, when in fact,

One of the qualities of Ahmad ibn Muhammad.

It is of the morals of Ahmed bin Mohammed.

يَلقى الخطوبَ مصرعاتٍ حوله

يَلقى الخطوبَ مصرعاتٍ حوله

والدهر يندبُها فيبكي حُسَّدي

والدهر يندبُها فيبكي حُسَّدي

He meets calamities lying felled around him,

He meets calamities around him as obstacles,

While time laments them, making my enviers weep.

And fate laments them, so my eyes weep.

وتراه بين لقائه وعطائه

وتراه بين لقائه وعطائه

ما بين مستبقٍ إلى مُستَنفدِ

ما بين مستبقٍ إلى مُستَنفدِ

And you see him, between his welcome and his giving,

And you see him between his meeting and giving,

Ranging from one who retains to one who spends all.

What’s between a frontrunner and a depleted one.

وإذا الفتى اختار البقاء على الفنا

وإذا الفتى اختار البقاء على الفنا

فهنالِكَ المجدي يكون المجتدي

فهنالِكَ المجدي يكون المجتدي

And when a young man chooses lasting life over extinction,

And if the youth chose staying over perishing,

Then the giver becomes the seeker of gifts.

There, the glory, he would be the striver.

نقلت مكارمُه الندى عن هيبه

نقلت مكارمُه الندى عن هيبه

عرفت لنا بالحاتميّ الأحمدي

عرفت لنا بالحاتميّ الأحمدي

His noble deeds carried generosity beyond awe of him,

His virtues carried the dew from his awe,

Known to us through al-Hatimi al-Ahmadi.

We knew for us the Hatemi, the Ahmadi.

وتشابهت أفعالهُ في حُسنها

وتشابهت أفعالهُ في حُسنها

والغانياتُ وزِدنَ صدقَ الموعدِ

والغانياتُ وزِدنَ صدقَ الموعدِ

His deeds, in their beauty, resembled

And his deeds resembled in their goodness,

Lovely women—and added faithfulness to promises.

As did the melodies, truthfulness of promise increased.

ولدت رئاستُه الرئاسَةَ مولداً

ولدت رئاستُه الرئاسَةَ مولداً

عُرفت طوالعُه وإن لم تُرصدِ

عُرفت طوالعُه وإن لم تُرصدِ

His leadership gave leadership its birth,

His leadership birthed leadership innately,

Whose ascendants were known, though unobserved.

His horoscopes were known even if not tracked.

جمعَت له الأفلاكُ بين سعودها

جمعَت له الأفلاكُ بين سعودها

ودنَت إليه وكان سعدَ الأسعدِ

ودنَت إليه وكان سعدَ الأسعدِ

The celestial spheres united their lucky stars for him,

The cosmos gathered for him between its felicity,

And drew near him; he was the fortune of the most fortunate.

And approached him, and he was the happiest of the happy.

فإذا ترنَّم راكبٌ بحديثه

فإذا ترنَّم راكبٌ بحديثه

ملأ الفلاةَ بمثل ما ملأَ الندي

ملأ الفلاةَ بمثل ما ملأَ الندي

And when a rider chants of him,

So if a rider hums with his words,

He fills the desert with the like of what filled the assembly.

He fills the expanse with what filled the dew.

من فضل هذا اليوم أن أصبحتُما

من فضل هذا اليوم أن أصبحتُما

تَتَشابهان معيداً لمعيِّدِ

تَتَشابهان معيداً لمعيِّدِ

One merit of this day is that you two have become

From the virtue of this day that I woke up,

Alike—a renewer and a festival celebrant.

You two resemble each other, repeating the repeater.

لو لم تكن في كل عام مفرداً

لو لم تكن في كل عام مفرداً

ما كان مشتبهاً بهذا المفردِ

ما كان مشتبهاً بهذا المفردِ

Were you not unique in every year,

If it were not exceptional each year,

It would not resemble this peerless one.

It would not be similar to this exceptional one.

سقياً لأيامٍ أزورُك راغباً

سقياً لأيامٍ أزورُك راغباً

فيها ويعرفُ من سواك تزهُّدي

فيها ويعرفُ من سواك تزهُّدي

May rain bless the days when I visit you, full of longing,

Quenching for days I visit you willingly,

When all but you know my detachment.

In them, and others know of your abstemiousness from me.

فيكَ اهتدى من ضلَّ عن طُرق الهُدى

فيكَ اهتدى من ضلَّ عن طُرق الهُدى

حتى إذا ناواك ضلَّ المُهتدي

حتى إذا ناواك ضلَّ المُهتدي

Through you, whoever strayed from guidance's paths found his way,

In you, one who strayed from the path of guidance was guided,

Until, when he opposed you, even the guided one went astray.

Until, when they attained you, the guided one strayed.