تخفي الصبابة والألحاظ تبديها — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

تُخفي الصَبابَةَ وَالأَلحاظُ تُبدِيها

وَتُظهِرُ الزُهدَ بَينَ الناسِ تَمويها

You conceal your longing, but your glances reveal it.

And display renunciation among people as a disguise.

وَتَستُرُ الحُبَّ كَيما لا يُقالُ صَبا

شَيخاً فَتُعلِنُهُ الأَنفاسُ تَنويها

You hide love, lest they say you grew lovesick

In old age; yet your sighs proclaim it aloud.

يا عاشِقاً تَلِفَت في العِشقِ مُهجتُهُ

كِتمانُكَ الحُبَّ في الأَحشاءِ يُؤذِيها

O lover whose life's blood has perished in love,

Your hiding love within your entrails harms them.

بُح بِالهَوى وَاِصحَب العُشّاقَ مُنهَتِكاً

وَلا تُطِع غَيرَ غاويها وَمُغوِيها

Declare your passion and join the lovers unabashed.

And heed only its wayward lovers and its seducers.

وَاِضرِب عَن التِيهِ صَفحاً وَاِلغِ صُحبَتَهُ

ما أَحمَقَ العاشِقَ المُستَصحِبَ التِيها

Turn away from arrogance and abandon its company.

How foolish the lover who takes arrogance as his companion!

وَباكِر الراحَ فَاِشرَبها مُعتَّقَةً

صِرفاً تُحَدِّثُ عَن حِجرٍ وَبانيها

Seek wine early, and drink it aged,

Undiluted, telling of Hijr and its builder.

وَداوِ نَفسَكَ مِن داءِ الهُمومِ بِها

فَما سِوى مَوتَةٍ بِالكاسِ تُحييها

With it, cure your soul of the sickness of cares,

For only a death by the cup can revive it.

مِن كَفِّ خَرعبَةٍ حُوٍّ مَراشِفُها

بِيضٍ سَوالِفُها سُودٍ مَآقيها

From the hand of a supple maiden whose lips are dark-red,

Whose neck-sides are white, whose eye-corners are black;

أَو فاتِرِ الطَرفِ مَعسُولِ الرُضابِ لَهُ

دَلٌّ يُنَبِّهُ وَسني الباهِ تَنبِيها

Or one with languid eyes and honey-sweet saliva, whose

Coquetry rouses the sexually drowsy fully awake.

فَإِن لَحَوكَ فَقُل كُلٌّ لَهُ شَجَنٌ

وَوِجهَةٌ هُوَ عَن قَصدٍ مُوَلِّيها

If they reproach you, say: everyone has a sorrow

And a direction toward which he deliberately turns.

وَلا تَلَفَّت إِلى قَولٍ يَزيِدُ ضَنىً

لا تَحرِقُ النارُ إِلّا رِجلَ واطيها

Do not heed words that deepen your wasting pain:

Fire burns only the foot of the one who treads on it.

لَيسَ الخَلِيُّ بِباكٍ لِلشَجِيِّ أَسىً

وَلا يَحِسُّ الحُمَيّا غَيرُ حاسيها

The untroubled man does not weep in sorrow for the grief-stricken,

And none feels wine's heat but the one who sips it.

يا منزِلَ الحَيِّ بِالجَرعاءِ لا بَرِحَت

تَهمي بِكَ المُزنُ مُنهَلّاً عَزالِيها

O dwelling of the tribe at al-Jar‘a, may they never cease

Raining upon you—the clouds, their spouts pouring freely.

كَم لِي بِمَغناكَ مِن يَومٍ نَعِمتُ بِهِ

وَلَيلَةٍ تَعدِلُ الدُنيا وَما فيها

How many a day I enjoyed at your abode,

And a night worth the world and all within it!

وَاهاً لَها مِن لَيالٍ لَو تَعُودُ كَما

كانَت وَأَيُّ لَيالٍ عادَ ماضيها

Ah, those nights! If only they would return as

They were—but what nights have ever regained their past?

لَم أَنسَها مُذ نَأَت عَنّي بِبَهجَتِها

وَأَينَ غُرٌّ مِنَ الأَيّامِ تُنسِيها

I have not forgotten them since they departed with their beauty,

And where are bright days that could make me forget them?

فاقَت جَميعَ اللَّيالي في البَهاءِ كَما

فاقَ البَرِيَّةَ تاجُ الدّينِ تَشبيها

They surpassed all nights in splendor, just as

Taj al-Din surpassed mankind—to draw a comparison.

الواهِبُ الخِطرَ عَفواً وَهوَ مُعتَذِرٌ

إِذا تعاظَمَ قَدرَ الشاةِ مُعطِيها

He bestows great wealth unasked, yet offers apologies,

When the giver of a sheep deems its value immense.

وَالرابِطُ الجَأشَ وَالأَبطالُ قَد جَعَلَت

قُلُوبُها تَشتَكي مِنها تَراقيها

And he keeps his heart firm while the champions' very

Hearts make their collarbones complain of them.

وَالقائِلُ القَولَ لَم يَخطُر عَلى خَلَدٍ

في حينِ يَدعُو المَنايا الحُمرَ داعيها

And he speaks words that have never crossed a mind,

When the summoner of blood-red deaths calls them forth.

لِسانُهُ الذَربُ أَقضى مِن أَسِنَّتِها

وَرَأيُهُ العَضبُ أَمضى مِن مَواضيها

His sharp tongue is more decisive than their spearheads,

And his keen judgment cuts deeper than their sharp swords.

ذَوُو السِيادَةِ أَكفاءٌ فَإِن نَظَرَت

إِلَيهِ زالَ بِمَرآهُ تَكافيها

Men of lordship are peers; but when they look

Upon him, their equality vanishes at his sight.

إِذا المُلوكُ تَناجَت وَهيَ تَرمُقُهُ

فَإِنَّما في مَعاليهِ تَناجيها

When kings converse privately while watching him,

Their whispered talk is only of his lofty virtues.

لَو اِنّ لِلهِندُوَانياتِ عَزمَتَهُ

في الرَوعِ لَم تُطِقِ الأَغمادُ تَحويها

If the Indian blades possessed his resolve

In battle's terror, no scabbards could contain them.

وَلَو يَكُونُ لِقَرنِ الشَمسِ غُرَّتُهُ

تاهَت فَلَم يَستَطِع شَيءٌ يُواريها

And if the sun's rim had the radiance of his brow,

It would exult, and nothing could conceal it.

وَلَو تُقَسَّمُ في الآسادِ نَجدَتُهُ

لَم يُضحِ مَسكَنُها إِلّا ضَواحيها

And if his courage were divided among the lions,

Their dwelling would be nowhere but their open plains.

وَالبَحرُ لَو حازَ جُزءاً مِن شَمائِلِهِ

لَصارَ أَعذَبَ ماءً مِن سَواريها

And if the sea acquired a share of his qualities,

Its water would grow sweeter than rain from night-traveling clouds.

مُفتي الفَريقَينِ في كُلِّ العُلومِ فَما

تَلقاهُ مُذ كانَ إِلّا صَدرَ ناديها

The mufti of both groups in all the sciences; never

Since he came to be have you found him but foremost in their assemblies.

ما سُيِّرَت حِكمَةٌ في الناسِ مُنذُ نَشا

تَجلُو صَدى القَلبِ إِلّا وَهوَ مُنشيها

No wisdom has circulated among people since he arose,

Polishing the heart's rust away, without his being its author.

وَما أُمِيتَت عَلى الأَيّامِ مَكرُمَةٌ

مِنَ المَكارِمِ إِلّا وَهوَ مُحيِيها

Nor has any noble deed been put to death through the ages,

Among noble deeds, without his being its reviver.

لَو أَدرَكَ الفُصحَاء العُرب أَفحَمَها

وَقَصَّرَت عَن مَعانيهِ مَعانيها

Had he met the eloquent Arabs, he would have silenced them,

And their ideas would have fallen short of his.

وَلَو جَرى عِندَ أَهلِ السَبقِ في طَلقٍ

مِنَ البَلاغَةِ أَجلى عَن مُجَلِّيها

And had he raced with the champions in a gallop

Of eloquence, he would have pulled ahead of its foremost racer.

مُقابَلٌ في بُيوتِ المَجدِ لَيسَ يُرى

إِلّا مُعِيدُ عِناياتٍ وَمُبدِيها

Noble on both parental sides among the houses of glory, he is seen

Only renewing favors and bringing them forth.

أَحيا المُرُوءَةَ في بَدوٍ وَفي حَضَرٍ

مِن بَعدِ ما قامِ في الآفاقِ ناعيها

He revived noble virtue among nomads and townspeople,

After the herald of its death had risen across the horizons.

وَرَدَّ رُوحَ الأَماني بَعدما عَرَضَت

وَوُجِّهَت لِاِنتِظارِ المَوتِ تَوجِيها

And restored the spirit of hopes after they were stricken

And directed wholly toward awaiting death.

سَهلُ الخَلائِقِ مَأمُونُ البَوائِقِ مَن

ناعُ الحقائِقِ هادي الخَيلِ مُهدِيها

Gentle of disposition, trusted to do no harm, a defender

Of sacred rights, a leader of horses and their giver;

سَبطُ الأَنامِلِ مِنعاشُ الأَرامِلِ مِن

حارُ الذَوامِلِ راضي البِيضِ مُرضيها

Supple-fingered, a reviver of widows, a slaughterer

Of pacing camels, pleased with white swords and pleasing them;

ضافي الحَمائِلِ نَضريُّ الشَمائِلِ فِه

رِيُّ الفَضائِلِ واري الزَندِ مُورِيها

With ample sword-belts, Nadri in character, Fihri

In virtues, his fire-stick sparking, and he its kindler;

عَفُّ السَرائِرِ صَوّانُ الحَرائِرِ حَم

مالُ الجَرائِرِ راعي القَومِ مُرعِيها

Pure of conscience, protector of freeborn women, bearer

Of offenses, shepherd of the people and their pasture-giver.

آباؤُهُ مِن قُرَيشٍ خَيرُها حَسَباً

وَعِزُّ حاضِرِها فِيهم وَباديها

His forefathers are from Quraysh, its noblest in lineage,

And the might of its settled folk and its nomads lies in them.

الضارِبُونَ الطُلى وَالهامَ ضاحِيَةً

في الحَربِ حينَ يَهُزُّ الحَربَ جانيها

They strike necks and heads openly

In war, when its instigator rouses it.

وَالطاعِنُو الخَيلِ شَزراً كُلَّ نافِذَةٍ

نَجلاءَ تَبرُقُ مِنها عَينُ آسيها

And spear horses obliquely with each piercing thrust,

A gaping wound at which its healer's eye flashes.

وَالمُوقِدُونَ إِذا نارُ القِرى خَمَدَت

وَعامَ بَينَ اللِقاحِ الخُورِ راعيها

And kindle fires when the fire of hospitality has died

And their herdsman swims among the soft-bodied milch camels.

قَومٌ لَهُم ذِروَةُ العَلياءِ يَعرِفُها

دانِي مَعَدٍّ إِذا عُدَّت وَقاصيها

A people who possess glory's summit, known

To Ma‘add's near and far whenever honors are reckoned.

عافُوا الظَواهِرَ مِن أُمِّ القُرى وَبَنَوا

أَبياتَهُم عِزَّةً في سِرِّ وَاديها

They shunned the outskirts of Umm al-Qura and built

Their houses proudly in the heart of its valley.

وَأَصبَحَت كَعبةُ اللَهِ الحَرامُ وَقَد

أَضحَت وَمِنهُم بِرَغمِ الخَصمِ وَاليها

And God's sacred Kaaba has indeed come

To have, despite the foe, a guardian from among them.

سادُوا قُرَيشاً عُلاً في جاهِلِيَّتِها

وَمَن يُسامي قُرَيشاً أَو يُبارِيها

They ruled Quraysh in lofty rank in its Age of Ignorance;

And who can rival Quraysh or compete with it?

وَكُلُّ عَلياءَ في الإِسلامِ فَهيَ بِهِم

تُبنى وَقُطبُ الرَحى مِنهُم وَهادِيها

And every eminence in Islam is through them

Built; the mill's pivot and its guide are from them.

يا مَن يُسامي إِلى مَجدٍ بَني حَسَنٍ

عَدِمتَ رُشدَكَ هَل خَلقٌ يُسامِيها

O you who would rival the sons of Hasan in glory,

You have lost your good sense! Can any mortal rival them?

قَبيلَةٌ مِن رَسُولِ اللَهِ عُنصُرُها

وَمِن عَليٍّ فَتى الدُنيا وَمُفتِيها

A clan whose origin is from the Messenger of God,

And from ‘Ali, the world's champion and its jurist.

إِنَّ القُرُومَ السَوامي مِن بَني حَسَنٍ

يُحصى التُرابُ وَلا تُحصى أَيادِيها

Indeed, the lofty chiefs among the sons of Hasan—

Dust can be counted, but their benefactions cannot.

كَم قَد كَفَوا هاشِماً في يَومِ مُعضِلَةٍ

وَأَورَدُوا السَيفَ وَلغاً في أَعاديها

How often they spared Hashim on a day of crisis

And brought the sword, lapping, among its foes!

وَإِنَّ في مَجدِ تاجِ الدِينِ مُفتَخَراً

لَها مِن السَلَفِ الماضينَ يَكفيها

And in Taj al-Din's glory lies a source of pride

For them, sufficient in place of their forebears of old.

مَن يَدعُ يَوماً أَبا زَيدٍ لِحاجَتِهِ

فَقَد دَعا دَعوَةً ما خابَ داعيها

Whoever calls Abu Zayd one day for his need

Has made a call whose caller is never disappointed.

هُوَ الَّذي خَضَعَت شُوسُ الرِجالِ لَهُ

ذُلّاً كَما تَخضَعُ الجربا لِطالِيها

He is the one before whom proud men bow

In abasement, as a mangy she-camel bows to one who tars her.

مُذ قُلِّدَ الأَمرَ قالَ الناسُ كُلُّهُمُ

حَتّى المُعانِدُ أُعطي القَوس باريها

Since he was entrusted with command, all the people have said,

Even the obstinate opponent: 'The bow has been given to its maker.'

أَولى رَعِيَّتَهُ ما كانَ وَالِدُهُ

مِن الكَرامَةِ وَالإِجلالِ مُولِيها

He bestowed on his subjects what his father had

Bestowed on them of honor and reverence.

أَعطى المُؤَمِّلَ مِنها ما يُؤمِّلُهُ

مِن نَيلِهِ وَتخَطّى ذَنبَ جانِيها

He gave the hopeful among them what he hoped for

Of his bounty, and overlooked their offender's guilt.

إِلَيكَ يا اِبنَ رَسُولِ اللَهِ شارِدَةً

بِكراً يَطُولُ رُواةَ الشِعرِ راويها

To you, O son of God's Messenger, a far-roaming ode,

A virgin whose reciter surpasses the reciters of poetry,

مِن ماجِدٍ لا يَرى فَخراً بِقافِيَةٍ

إِذ كانَ فَخرُ رِجالٍ مِن قَوافيها

From a noble man who sees no glory in a rhyme,

While men's glory has come from its rhymes.

وَلَو سِواكَ دَعاني لَم أُلَبِّ لَهُ

صَوتاً وَلا قامَ في ناديهِ شادِيها

Had anyone but you called me, I would not have answered him

With a sound, nor would its singer have stood in his assembly.

لَكِنَّنا لَم نَزَل طَوعاً لِأَمرِكُمُ

هَوىً وَحُرمَةَ أَسبابٍ نُراعيها

But we have always willingly obeyed your command,

Out of love and regard for bonds we honor,

وَنِعمَةً لَكَ عِندي لا يُقاوِمُها

شُكري وَمِن أَينَ لي شُكرٌ يُؤَدِّيها

And for a favor of yours to me that cannot be matched

By my thanks—where could I find thanks to repay it?

جُزتَ المَدى وَتَحاماكَ الرَدى وَحَدا

بِذِكرِكَ العِيسَ في الآفاقِ حاديها

May you outstrip the utmost reach, may death shun you, and may

The driver urge his pale camels across the horizons with your name;

وَماتَ غَيظاً عَلى الأَيّامِ ذُو حَسَدٍ

ناواكَ بَعدَ بَلِيّاتٍ يُعانِيها

And may an envious man die of rage as the days pass,

Who opposes you, after calamities he endures.