علي لها أن أحفظ العهد والودا — Abn Hius

عَلَيَّ لَها أَن أَحفَظَ العَهدَ وَالوُدّا

وَإِن لَم يُفِد إِلّا القَطيعَةَ وَالبُعدا

It is my duty to her to keep faith and affection,

even if it brings nothing but estrangement and distance.

وَكَم عاذِلٍ فيها أَشارَ بِهَجرِها

فَأَدّى إِلى أَسماعِنا خَبَراً إِدّا

How many a reproacher over her has advised forsaking her,

thus bringing to our ears an outrageous report.

إِذا ما أَطالَ اللَومَ قُلتُ لَهُ اِتِّئِد

فَما عاشِقٌ مَن لا يَرى غَيَّهُ رُشدا

Whenever he prolongs his reproach, I tell him, “Be gentle,”

for no lover is he who does not deem his error right guidance.

وَخِدنُ الهَوى مَن عَدَّ إِسخاطَهُ رِضىً

وَإِكدارَهُ صَفواً وَحَنظَلَهُ شَهدا

Love’s companion is one who counts its vexation contentment,

its turbidity clarity, and its colocynth honey.

وَلَو لَم يَرُضني الشَوقُ وَالهَجرُ بُرهَةً

لَما كُنتُ أَرضى الوَعدَوَالنائِلُ الثَمدا

Had longing and estrangement not tamed me for a time,

I would not have accepted a promise, with the gift a scant trickle.

تَصَدَّت إِلى أَن قُلتُ ما الهَجرُ دينُها

وَسَدَّت إِلى أَن صِرتُ لا أُنكِرُ الصَدا

She showed herself until I said, “Estrangement is not her way,”

then barred the way until I no longer found thirst strange.

وَبانَت فَباتَ الطَيفُ يَعصي بِحُكمِها

يُواصِلُني سَهواً وَيَهجُرُني عَمدا

She departed, and her phantom spent the night defying her decree,

visiting me inadvertently and forsaking me deliberately.

عَشِيَّةَ قالَت لا يَمُتُّ بِأَنَّهُ

مُقيمٌ عَلى دَعواهُ مَن لَم يَمُت وَجدا

That evening she said, “None may claim that he

is steadfast in his avowal if he has not died of passion.”

وَقَفنا مَعاً أَستَنصِرُ الدَمعَ وَالضَنى

إِذا ما اِنبَرَت تَستَنصِرُ الطَرفَ وَالقَدّا

We stood together: I sought the aid of tears and wasting sickness,

while she came forward to enlist her gaze and figure,

وَسَهمَ لِحاظٍ يُؤلِمُ القَلبَ جُرحُهُ

أَهانَ جِراحاً تُؤلِمُ العَظمَ وَالجِلدا

and an arrow of glances whose wound pains the heart—

it made wounds that pain bone and skin seem trifling.

وَتَخجَلُ مِن ظُلمي صُراحاً فَكُلّما

حَكى الوَردَ خَدّاها حَكى دَمعِيَ الوَردا

She blushes at openly wronging me; whenever

her cheeks resemble roses, my tears resemble roses.

وَمازِلتُ مِن أولى زَمانِيَ راغِباً

بِنَفسِيَ أَن تَبغي مَآرِبَها كَدّا

From my earliest days, I have always held myself above

letting my soul pursue its desires through toil.

وَلَن أَقدَحَ النارَ الَّتي يُهتَدى بِها

إِلى الحَظِّ ما كانَ الخُضوعُ لَها زَندا

I will not strike the fire by which one is guided

to good fortune, so long as submission is its fire-stick.

فَيا رَغبَتي في الحُبِّ عودي زَهادَةً

فَما أَنتِ أولى رَغبَةٍ رَجَعَت زُهدا

O my desire for love, turn into renunciation:

you are not the first desire to have become abstinence.

ذَري الأَمَلَ المُعتَلَّ تَلقَي صَحيحَهُ

لَدى مَلِكٍ أَفعالُهُ تَخلُقُ المَجدا

Abandon sickly hope; you will find its healthy counterpart

with a king whose deeds create glory.

إِذا جادَ لَم يَخلُف مَواهِبَهُ الحَيا

وَإِن قالَ لَم يُخلِف وَعيداً وَلا وَعدا

When he gives, rain cannot follow in the wake of his gifts;

when he speaks, he breaks neither a threat nor a promise.

وَإِن جادَتِ الأَنواءُ في الخِصبِ فاتَها

وَإِن بَخِلَت في المَحلِ كانَ لَها ضِدّا

If the rain-bearing stars give freely in fertile times, he surpasses them;

if they withhold in drought, he stands opposed to them.

وَإِن عاقَبَ الجانينَ صالَ وَما اِعتَدى

وَإِن سُئِلَ الإِنعامَ أَغنى وَما اِعتَدّا

If he punishes wrongdoers, he attacks without transgressing;

if asked for favors, he enriches without keeping count.

سَديدٌ إِذا ما القَولُ نابَ عَنِ الظُبى

شَديدٌ عَلى رَيبِ الزَمانِ إِذا اِشتَدّا

Unerring when words take the place of sword-blades,

formidable against time’s misfortunes when they grow fierce.

فَدَت سابِقاً شوسُ المُلوكِ فَإِنَّهُ

حَقيقٌ بِأَن يُثنى عَلَيهِ وَأَن يُفدا

May proud kings ransom Sabiq, for he

deserves to be praised and ransomed.

وَعِزُّهُمُ في المَجدِ أَبعَدُهُم مَدىً

عَلى أَنَّهُ بِالمَهدِ أَقرَبُهُم عَهدا

Their pride, he reaches farthest in glory,

although he is nearest of them in time to the cradle.

وَأَصفاهُمُ ذِهناً وَأَنداهُمُ يَداً

وَأَضفاهُمُ ظِلّاً وَأَوفاهُمُ رِفدا

The clearest of them in mind, the most generous of hand,

the broadest in sheltering shade, the most abundant in gifts.

يَدُلُّ وَلَم يَدلُل عَلى نَهجِ سُؤدُدٍ

كَذاكَ النُجومُ الزُهرُ تَهدي وَلا تُهدى

He guides, though never guided, along the path of nobility;

so do the shining stars guide, and are not guided.

سَليلُ الأُلى حَلّوا ذُرى المَجدِ بِالقَنا

وَخَلّوا لِمَن يَرجو لَحاقَهُمُ الوَهدا

Scion of those who occupied glory’s summits with spears,

and left the lowlands to those hoping to catch them.

وَكَم لَهُمُ مِن حاسِدٍ بَسَطَ المُنى

وَلَكِنَّهُ أَودى وَما نالَ ما وَدّا

How many an envier of theirs has stretched his hopes far,

yet perished without attaining what he wished.

وَتُنطِقُ أَهلَ العَيِّ أَوصافُ مَجدِهِم

عَلى أَنَّهُم إِن فاخَروا أَخرَسوا اللُدّا

Descriptions of their glory give speech to the tongue-tied,

yet when they vie in boasting, they silence fierce disputants.

بَني صالِحٍ أَقصَدتُمُ مَن رَمَيتُمُ

وَأَحيَيتُمُ مَن أَمَّ مَعروفَكُم قَصدا

Sons of Salih, you have slain whomever you aimed at,

and revived whomever deliberately sought your kindness.

سَقى الَلهُ دَوحاً يُثمِرُ الحَتفَ وَالغِنى

وَلا مَلَكَت أَيدي الخُطوبِ لَهُ عَضدا

May God water a mighty tree that bears death and wealth,

and may calamity’s hands never gain hold of a limb of it.

فَما وَخَدَت كُومُ المَطيِّ بِراغِبٍ

وَلا راهِبٍ إِلّا بِمَدحِكُمُ تُحدا

No high-humped riding camels have carried a hopeful man,

or a fearful one, without being driven onward by your praise.

أَفَضتُم عَلى هَذا الوَرى أَنعُماً أَبى

تَواتُرُها أَن يَستَطيعوا لَها جَحدا

You showered these people with blessings that could not

be denied because of their unceasing succession.

وَأَنّى يَهُمُّ الأَولِياءُ بِطَيِّها

وَلَم يَجِدِ الأَعداءُ مِن نَشرِها بُدّا

How could your friends think of concealing them,

when even enemies found no choice but to proclaim them?

جَنَوا فَعَفَوتُم وَاِعتَفَوكُم فَجُدتُمُ

فَأَحسَنتُمُ البُقيا وَأَجزَلتُمُ الرِفدا

They wronged you, and you pardoned; they sought your gifts, and you gave:

you were gracious in sparing lives and lavish in gifts.

وَذَلَّلتُمُ صَعبَ الزَمانِ لِأَهلِهِ

فَذَلَّ وَقَد كانَ الجِماحُ لَهُ وَكدا

You tamed time’s unruliness for its people,

and it submitted, though defiance had been its habit.

وَمالَ إِلى الإِنصافِ من بَعدِ جَورِهِ

فَأَبدى الَّذي أَخفى وَأَخفى الَّذي أَبدا

It turned to fairness after its oppression,

revealing what it had hidden and hiding what it had revealed.

وَصَيَّرتُمُ البَذلَ الَذي شاعَ ذِكرُهُ

مُضافاً إِلى العَدلِ الَّذي يوجِبُ الخُلدا

You made the largesse whose fame has spread,

joined to justice that confers immortality,

دُروعاً عَلى الأَعراضِ لا قَومُ تُبَّعٍ

قَضوها وَلا داوُدُ أَحكَمَها سَردا

coats of mail for reputations, which neither Tubbaʿ’s people

fashioned nor Dawud perfected in their linked rings.

مَناقِبُ لَو أَنَّ اللَيالي تَوَشَّحَت

بِأَذيالِها لَاِبيَضَّ مِنهُنَّ ما اِسوَدّا

Virtues that, if the nights were to drape themselves

in their trailing hems, would turn their darkness white.

وَمُلكٌ حَواهُ بَعدَما شابَ صالِحٌ

وَخُوِّلتُموهُ بَعدَهُ غِلمَةً مُردا

And a kingdom Salih gained after his hair had turned gray,

then bestowed on you after him while you were beardless youths.

فَأَشرَعتُمُ قُدّامَهُ وَوَراءَهُ

صَوارِمَ تَجتاحُ العِدى وَقَناً مُلدا

Before it and behind it you leveled

sharp swords that sweep away foes, and pliant spears,

وَخَيلاً إِذا نادى الصَريخُ تَهافَتَت

إِلَيهِ سِراعاً تَحمِلُ الغابَ وَالأُسدا

and horses that, whenever a cry for help rings out, rush

swiftly to the caller, bearing forests and lions.

عِراباً كَساها النَقعُ مِمّا يَحوكُهُ

جِلالاً وَقَد سَدَّتهُ عارِيَةً جُردا

Thoroughbreds, which dust clothed with what it wove—

saddlecloths, though they had laid its warp while bare and sleek.

وَنارَينِ لِلمَعروفِ وَالبَأسِ شُبَّتا

لِذي فاقَةٍ يُحبا وَذي إِحنَةٍ يُردا

And two fires were kindled, for kindness and valor,

for a needy man to receive gifts and a hostile one to be destroyed.

فَنارُ قِرىً دَلَّت عَلَيهِ وَطالَما

هَدَت عائِلاً قَد ضَلَّ وَاِستَوفَدَت وَفدا

A fire of hospitality pointed the way to him; how often

it guided a lost pauper and drew in a delegation.

وَنارُ وَغىً يَصلَى بِها كُلُّ حائِنٍ

إِذا ما بَغى إِطفاءَها زادَها وَقدا

And a fire of battle scorches every doomed man,

who, whenever he tries to quench it, only feeds its blaze.

وَمِن دونِ هَذا العِزِّ سَيفُ خِلافَةٍ

يَفوقُ الظُبى سَفحاً وَيَفضُلُها حَدّا

Before this might stands a sword of the caliphate,

surpassing all blades in bloodshed and excelling them in sharpness.

وَيَفرُقُ ما بَينَ المَفارِقِ وَاللَهى

إِذا ما عَرا خَطبٌ وَما فارَقَ الغِمدا

It cleaves between the crowns of heads and throats,

whenever calamity strikes, without leaving its sheath.

أَيا مَن حَمى شُكري بِفائِضِ نائِلٍ

إِذا رُمتُ إِحصاءً لَهُ كَزَرَ العَدّا

O you who secured my gratitude with overflowing bounty,

which, whenever I try to count it, shatters reckoning,

وَأَحسَنَ بي يَتلو أَباهُ فَما اِعتَدى

وَأَسرَفَ في فِعلِ الجَميلِ وَما اِعتَدّا

and were kind to me, following your father without straying,

and lavish in doing good without keeping count.

أَلَستَ اِبنَ مَن أَنسَت عَطاياهُ كُلَّ مَن

هَمَت يَدُهُ طَوعاً وَكَرهاً وَمَن أَجدا

Are you not the son of one whose gifts made us forget all those

whose hands rained willingly or reluctantly, and all who gave generously?

وَكانَ ثَوابُ المَدحِ فيهِم نَسيئَةً

تُناسى إِلى حينٍ فَعَجَّلَهُ نَقدا

Among them, the reward for praise was a deferred payment,

forgotten for a time; he paid it promptly in cash.

وَأَعطَوا قَليلاً ثُمَّ أَكدَوا فَيَمَّمَت

رِكابِيَ مَن أَعطى كَثيراً وَما أَكدا

They gave little, then ceased giving; so my riding camels turned

toward one who gave much and never ceased.

فَعُوِّضتُ مِن ذُلِّ المَطامِعِ عِزَّةً

وَمِن خيفَةٍ أَمناً وَمِن عَدَمٍ وَجدا

Thus the humiliation of craving was replaced for me by dignity,

fear by safety, and want by wealth,

بِظِلِّ كَريمِ النَجرِ وَاليَدِ لَم تَلِد

لَهُ مامَةٌ مِثلاً وَلا نَجَلَت سُعدا

in the shade of one noble in stock and hand, whose equal

neither Mamah nor Suʿda has borne.

وَفي ضِمنِ تِلكَ المَكرُماتِ كَرامَةٌ

ظَفِرتُ بِها حُرّاً فَصِرتُ لَها عَبدا

Among those generous deeds is an honor

I gained as a free man, becoming its slave.

فَها أَنا ثاوٍ في جَنابِكَ لَم أَمِل

إِلى أَمَلٍ يُنحى وَلا مِنَّةٍ تُسدا

Here I am, dwelling within your bounds; I have not turned

toward any hope to pursue or any favor to receive.

يَعافُ وُرودَ الطَرقِ مَن وَجَدَ الحَيا

وَيَأبى الرِضى بِالرَشحِ مَن جاوَرَ العِدّا

Whoever finds rain disdains drinking water fouled by beasts,

and whoever lives beside a perennial spring refuses a mere trickle.

هَنيئاً لَكَ العيدانِ ثانٍ وَأَوَّلٌ

تَوَدُّ الثُرَيّا أَن تَكونَ لَهُ مَهدا

Joy to you in both feasts, the second and the first;

the Pleiades wish to become his cradle.

وَواهِبُهُ المَسؤولُ في أَن يُريكَهُ

هُماماً سَعيدَ الجَدِّ وَاِبنَ اِبنِهِ جَدّا

May his Giver, whom we beseech, let you see him

a valiant man of happy fortune, and his grandson a grandfather.

وَلا زالَ مَنعوتاً بِنَعتِ سَميِّهِ

وَأَخبارُهُ تُروى وَراحَتُهُ تَندا

May he always bear the qualities of his namesake,

his deeds recounted and his palm moist with bounty.

وَمالِيَ لا أُهدي إِلَيكَ غَرائِباً

بِكَ اِعتَصَمَت عَن أَن تُباعَ وَأَن تُهدى

Why should I not offer you rare marvels,

which through you are shielded from being sold or given away?

مُضَمَّنَةً مَدحاً إِذا ضاعَ نَشرُهُ

فَما النَدُ أَهلاً أَن يَكونَ لَهُ نِدّا

Filled with praise whose fragrance, when it spreads,

makes fragrant incense unworthy to be its equal.

وَطائِيَّةَ التَحبيرِ لَم تَعدُ أَعصُراً

وَنَجدِيَّةً لَم يَأتِ قائِلُها نَجدا

Taʾi in their artistry, though they have not traversed ages,

and Najdi, though their poet has never visited Najd.

وَكَم راقَ شِعرٌ ما حَبيبٌ أَتى بِهِ

وَقَدَّ الطُلى سَيفٌ وَما عَرَفَ الهِندا

How many a poem has delighted though Habib did not compose it,

and a sword has cut through necks without ever knowing India!

وَلَن تَبلُغَ الأَقوالُ ما أَنتَ فاعِلٌ

وَلو بَلَغَت في وَصفِ آلائِكَ الجُهدا

Words will never attain the measure of your deeds,

even if they expend their utmost effort describing your favors.

فَأَنزَرُ ما تُعطيهِ يوفي عَلى المُنى

وَأَيسَرُ ما توليهِ يَستَغرِقُ الحَمدا

For the least of what you give surpasses hopes,

and the slightest favor you bestow exhausts all praise.