إني وإن كنت في الأقوال محتكما — Abn Hius

إِنّي وَإِن كُنتُ في الأَقوالِ مُحتَكِما

لا أَدَّعي شَرحَ ما يَستَغرِقُ الكَلِما

Though I am an arbiter in matters of speech,

I do not claim to explain what exhausts all words.

لَكِن أَقولُ عَلى مِقدارِ مَقدِرَتي

فَلَستُ أُظهِرُ إِلّا بَعدَ ما اِكتَتَما

But I speak within the measure of my ability;

I reveal nothing until it has first lain hidden.

أَبعَدتَ مَسراكَ مِن مَغداكَ مُرتَقِياً

إِلى المَعالي فَضَلَّ الفِكرُ بَينَهُما

You have carried your night-journey far from your morning start, ascending

to the heights of glory, and thought lost its way between the two.

وَلَستُ أُعطي مُلوكَ الأَرضِ سُؤلَهُمُ

بِأَن أَقولَ هُمُ أَرضٌ وَأَنتَ سَما

I will not grant the kings of earth their wish

by saying they are earth and you are heaven.

لَقَد غَدا بِكَ هَذا الدَهرُ مُحتَلِياً

فَعادَ بَعدَ عُلُوِّ السِنِّ مُحتَلِما

This age has indeed become adorned with you,

and after its advanced age has come of age anew.

وَلَم نَخَل أَنَّنا فيما نَعيشُ نَرى

قَبلَ الحِمامِ دَواءً يُذهِبُ الهَرَما

We never thought that in our lifetime we would see,

before death, a remedy that takes old age away.

رَأيٌ وَعَزمٌ مَضى حَدّاهُما فَنَبا

حَدُّ الخُطوبِ الَّتي قارَعتَها بِهِما

Judgment and resolve—their two edges cut keenly, blunting

the edge of the calamities you battled with them.

أَنتَ الحُسامُ الَّذي ما سُلَّ يَومَ وَغىً

إِلّا أَتاحَ حِماماً أَو أَباحَ حِما

You are the keen sword never drawn on a day of battle

without bringing death or laying guarded lands open.

وَما تَمَيَّزَ مُذ أَصبَحتَ تَكلَؤُنا

مَن يَسكُنُ الشامَ مِمَّن يَسكُنُ الحَرَما

Since you began to guard us, no distinction remains

between those dwelling in al-Sham and those dwelling in the Sacred Precinct.

وَهَل تَرى غَيِرَ الأَيّامِ عادِيَةً

وَقَد رَأَتكَ مِنَ العادينَ مُنتَقِما

Would you expect time's reversals to assail you,

when they have seen you take vengeance upon assailants?

أَم هَل يُرَوَّعُ بِالإِرجافِ مَن جَمَعَت

جُيوشُهُ العَرَبَ العَرباءَ وَالعَجَما

Or can alarming rumors frighten one whose

armies unite pure-blooded Arabs and non-Arabs?

وَكَيفَ تَطمَحُ أَبصارٌ مُذَلِّلُها

وافٍ إِذا قالَ مَنصورٌ إِذا عَزَما

How can eyes rise in defiance, when their subduer

keeps faith when he speaks and triumphs when he resolves?

أَم كَيفَ يَخشى جُموعَ المُفسِدينَ وَقَد

فَلَّ الصَوارِمَ سَيفٌ قَطُّ ما كَهِما

Or how can he fear the hosts of evildoers, when

a sword never yet blunted has blunted their keen swords?

رَأَوا لَيالِيَهُم لَمّا عَفا زُهُراً

وَلَو سَطا لَرَأَوا أَيّامَهُم سُحُما

They saw their nights radiant when he pardoned them;

had he struck, they would have seen their days pitch-black.

كَذَّبتَ آمالَهُم عِزّاً أَوانَ عَتَوا

فَمُذ عَنَوا طاعَةً صَدَّقتَها كَرَما

In your might, you thwarted their hopes when they rebelled;

but when they bowed in obedience, you fulfilled them in generosity.

مَواهِبٌ صَوبُها يُحيي العُفاةَ وَفي

أَثنائِها سَطَواتٌ تَقتُلُ البُهَما

Gifts whose downpour revives the supplicants, and in

their midst are assaults that slay dauntless champions.

وَمُقرَباتٌ إِذا أَمَّت دِيارَ عِدىً

جَعَلنَ كُلَّ بَعيدٍ نازِحٍ أَمَما

And prized steeds that, when they head for the lands of foes,

make every distant, far-off place close at hand.

تُخافُ وَهيَ عَلى الآرِيِّ صافِنَةٌ

فَما يَظُنّونَ إِن أَعضَضتَها اللُجُما

They are feared while standing poised at the tethering-post;

what, then, must they think if you make them bite the bits?

يَجني قَناكَ وَلَم يَبرَح مَراكِزَهُ

عَلى الطُغاةِ كَما يَجني إِذا اِنحَطَما

Your spears, without leaving their stands, do harm

to tyrants, just as they do when splintered.

وَكَم أَصَبتَ بِسَهمٍ في كِنانَتِهِ

قَلبَ العَدُوِّ الَّذي أَخطاكَ حينَ رَما

How often have you struck, with an arrow still in its quiver,

the heart of the enemy who missed you when he shot!

وَمُذ فَشا خَبَرُ التَبريزِ ما اِجتَمَعوا

فَهَل ضَرَبتَ طُلىً بِالقاعِ أَو خِيَما

Since word of your marching out spread, they have not assembled;

did you strike necks on the plain, or pitch tents?

وَلَو رُموا بِكَ في الهَيجاءَ لَم يَجِدوا

إِلّا إِلى ظِلِّكَ المَمدودِ مُنهَزَما

Were you hurled against them in battle, they would not find

any place to flee except into your outspread shade.

إِذا أَذَمّوا لِمَن تُخشى بَوائِقُهُ

حَكَمتَ مُقتَدِراً أَن يَخفِروا الذِمَما

When they grant protection to one whose outrages are feared,

you decree, in your power, that they must break their pledges.

وَمَن نَبَذتَ إِلَيهِ ذِكرَ مَوجِدَةٍ

فَقَد جَعَلتَ إِلَيهِ لِلرَدى لَقَما

To whomever you send a word of displeasure,

you have opened a clear road for death to reach him.

وَمَن بَسَطتَ عَلَيهِ لِلوَعيدِ يَداً

كَمَن سَلَلتَ عَلَيهِ صارِماً خَذِما

Anyone against whom you stretch a hand in threat

is as one against whom you have drawn a keen, cleaving sword.

هَذا هُوَ العِزُّ مَرئِيّاً وَمُختَبَراً

لا ما يُخَبِّرُ عَنهُ زَعمُ مَن زَعَما

This is might, seen and tested,

not what some claimant's assertion tells of.

وَقَد غَمَرتَ اِبنَ حَسّانٍ بِفَيضِ نَدىً

ما شَكَّ في الفَوزِ راجيهِ وَلا وَهِما

You have overwhelmed Ibn Hassan with a flood of bounty;

none hoping for it has doubted success or been mistaken.

أَجابَ مِن قَبلِ أَن يُدعى بِتَلبِيَةٍ

وَلَو سِواكَ دَعاهُ أَظهَرَ الصَمَما

He answered, 'At your service,' before he was called;

had someone other than you called him, he would have feigned deafness.

وَلا اِعتِدادَ بِهَذا طالَما خَطَمَت

لَكَ المَهابَةُ أَنفاً قَطُّ ما خُطِما

This is no great feat: how often has

awe of you bridled a nose never bridled before!

وَكَم خَلَفتَ الحَيا أَوقاتَ غَيبَتِهِ

عَن ذي البِلادِ وَلَم يَخلُفكَ حينَ هَما

How often have you replaced the rain when it was absent

from this land, though when it poured it did not replace you.

أَمَّنتَ قُطّانَها لا زِلتَ مُؤمِنَهُم

مِن أَن يُعاوِدَهُم داءٌ بِكَ اِنحَسَما

You secured its people—may you ever keep them secure—

against the return of an affliction eradicated through you.

وَأَمحَلوا فَأَماتَ المَحلَ صَوبُ يَدٍ

أَنشَأتَ في الأَرضِ مِن آلائِها دِيَما

They suffered drought; drought was slain by the downpour of a hand

from whose favors you raised steady rains upon the earth.

فَكُلُّ سَيفٍ تُزيلُ الخَوفَ شَفرَتُهُ

فِداءُ سَيفٍ يُزيلُ الخَوفَ وَالعَدَما

Let every sword whose edge dispels fear

be sacrificed for the sword that dispels both fear and want.

إِذا رَأى مَذهَباً لِلَّهِ فيهِ رِضىً

وَدونَهُ النارُ أَو حَدُّ الظُبى اِقتَحَما

If he sees a path that holds God's approval,

he plunges through, though fire or sword-edges bar it.

وَكَم تَعَرَّضَ في أَبهى مَلابِسِهِ

لِعَينِهِ الإِثمُ مُختالاً فَما أَثِما

How often has there appeared, in its finest garments,

sin swaggering before his eyes—yet he has not sinned!

لَو كُنتَ تُجزى بِأَدنى ما مَنَنتَ بِهِ

لَأَوطَأوا خَيلَكَ الأَبصارَ وَالقِمَما

Were you repaid for the least of your favors,

they would make your horses tread on eyes and crowns of heads,

وَقَبَّلوا كُلَّ نَهجٍ ظَلتَ تَسلُكُهُ

حَتّى يَصيرَ ثَراهُ في الشِفاهِ لَما

and kiss every path you kept treading,

until its dust became a dark tint upon their lips.

يا اِبنَ الخَضارِمِ أَمّا سَيلُهُم فَطَفا

عَلى الكِرامِ وَأَمّا بَحرُهُم فَطَما

O son of bountiful lords: their torrent has risen

above the noble, and their sea has overflowed.

طالوا وَصالوا بِأَيدٍ تَستَهِلُّ نَدىً

عَلى الوَرى وَسُيوفٍ تَستَهِلُّ دَما

They excelled and charged, with hands pouring bounty

upon mankind, and swords pouring blood.

فَتاهُمُ بِالتُقى وَالحِلمِ مُدَّرِعٌ

وَشَيخُهُم مِن لِبانِ الحَربِ ما فُطِما

Their youth is armored in piety and forbearance,

and their elder has never been weaned from the milk of war.

أَبَوا فَما نَزَلوا عَن مَنزِلٍ نَزَلوا

خَوفاً وَلا طَعَنوا في الرَوعِ مُنهَزِما

Proud, they never abandoned a position they had taken

out of fear, nor speared a fugitive amid battle's terror.

وَإِن كَفَتكَ صِفاتُ الذاهِبينَ عُلىً

أَغناكَ حادِثُها عَن ذِكرِ ما قَدُما

Though the virtues of the departed suffice to exalt you,

new virtues spare you the need to mention those of old.

لَستَ المُحيلَ إِذا ما طُلتَ مُفتَخِراً

عَلى فَضائِلِ قَومٍ أَصبَحوا رَمِما

When you tower in pride, you are not one who falls back

on the virtues of men now reduced to crumbling remains.

بَل أَنتَ أَوفَرُ مَن تَمشي الجِيادُ بِهِ

قِسماً إِذا ظَلَّ حُسنُ الذِكرِ مُنقَسِما

Rather, among all whom fine steeds carry, you have the greatest

share when fair renown is apportioned.

وَهيَ المَحامِدُ أَبقَت خامِلاً أَبَداً

مَن لَم تَسِم وَسَما مَلكٌ بِها وُسِما

Such are glorious deeds: they leave forever obscure

those they do not mark, while a king marked by them rises high.

لَقَد حَمَلتَ مِنَ الأَعباءِ مُضطَلِعاً

ما لَو أَلَمَّ بِطَودٍ شامِخٍ أَلِما

You have indeed ably shouldered such burdens

as would make a lofty mountain ache, should they befall it,

حَتّى عَلَوتَ بِأَفعالٍ أَمِنتَ بِها

مِن أَن يَقولَ حَسودٌ حافَ مَن قَسَما

until you rose through deeds that made you safe

from an envier's saying, 'The apportioner was unjust.'

يا ناصِرَ الدَولَةِ المُنسي بِسيرَتِهِ

مَن عَزَّ في الزَمَنِ الخالي وَمَن كَرُما

O Nasir al-Dawla, whose conduct makes us forget

those mighty in bygone times, and those who were generous,

أَودَعتَ غابِرَ هَذا الدَهرِ فَاِبقَ لَهُ

مِنَ المَحاسِنِ ما لَم يودِعِ القُدَما

you have left to the remainder of this age—may you live on for it—

virtues the ancients never left behind.

مَناقِبٌ لَم يَفُز غَيرُ الحُسَينِ بِها

حَتّى لَخِلناكَ قَد ساهَمتَهُ الشِيَما

Merits none but al-Husayn has attained,

so that we thought you had divided noble traits between you.

تَشابَهَت فَهَلِ الروحانِ واحِدَةٌ

في حَوزِ ذا الفَضلِ أَم أَعدَيتَهُ هِمَما

The traits are alike: are the two souls one

in possessing this excellence, or have you infected him with lofty aims?

إِنَّ الإِمامَ الَّذي أَقوالُهُ جَمَعَت

فَصلَ الخِطابِ وَعَنها تَأخُذُ الحُكَما

Indeed, the imam, whose words encompass

decisive speech, and from whose words the wise learn,

أَبدَت عِبارَتُهُ مَعنى إِرادَتِهِ

وَفي إِشارَتِهِ مَعنىً لِمَن فَهِما

has made his intent plain through his expression;

and his hint holds meaning for anyone who understands.

لَو لَم يَطُل شَرَفاً أَبناءَ دَولَتِهِ

لَما دَعاهُ لَها مِن دونِهِم عَلَما

Had he not surpassed the sons of that realm in nobility,

the imam would not have named him its standard above the rest.

غَيرانُ ما جارُهُ الأَقصى بِمُهتَضَمٍ

يَوماً وَلَو أَنَّ جارَ الفَرقَدِ اِهتُضِما

Fiercely protective, he lets not his farthest neighbor be wronged

even for a day, though al-Farqad's neighbor were wronged.

يُعطي الأُلوفَ وَيَلقى مِثلَ عِدَّتِها

مِنَ الفَوارِسِ في الهَيجاءِ مُبتَسِما

He gives thousands, and meets an equal number

of horsemen in battle, smiling.

كَم قالَ رائيهِ في حَربٍ وَبَذلِ لُهىً

لَن تُنبِتَ الذُلَّ أَرضٌ تُنبِتُ الكَرَما

How often has one seeing him in war and lavish giving said,

'A land that grows generosity will never grow humiliation.'

إِن حَلَّ بِالوَهدِ كانَ الأُفعُوانَ وَإِن

طَلَّ الرَبيئَةَ كانَ الأَجدَلَ القَطِما

If he settles in the lowlands, he is the great serpent; and if

he rises above the lookout, he is the ravenous falcon.

وَلِلثَنا نَغَماتٌ في مَسامِعِهِ

لِأَجلِها هَجَرَ الأَوتارَ وَالنَغَما

Praise has melodies in his ears,

for whose sake he has forsaken strings and music.

كَفاكَ كُلَّ مُلِمٍّ فيكَ نَحذَرُهُ

رَبٌّ جَلا بِكَ عَن ذا العالَمِ الغُمَما

May you be spared every calamity we fear for you

by the Lord who, through you, dispelled this world's gloom.

وَاللَهُ يَحرُسُ نَجمَي سُؤدُدٍ طَلَعا

فينا فَطَبَّقَ أُفقَ المَجدِ نورُهُما

May God guard the two stars of nobility that have risen

among us, their light filling glory's horizon.

أَمّا مَداكَ فَما حازا وَلا عَدَلا

وَأَشبَهاكَ فَما جارا وَلا ظَلَما

Your reach they have neither attained nor equaled,

yet they resemble you, for neither has been unjust or oppressive.

وَكُلُّ عَصرِكَ أَعيادٌ مُجَدَّدَةٌ

فَما نُبالي مَضى ذا العيدُ أَم قَدِما

Your entire age is made of ever-renewed festivals,

so we care not whether this festival has passed or arrived.

فَلا خَبا ضَوءُ نارٍ يَستَضيءُ بِها

مَنِ اِستَجارَ وَيَصلاها مَنِ اِجتَرَما

May the fire's light never fade, shining for

the seeker of refuge, while the offender burns in it.

وَلا أُديلَت صُروفُ الدَهرِ مِن مَلِكٍ

نَظُنُّ يَقظَتَنا في ظِلِّهِ حُلُما

May time's reversals never prevail over a king

in whose shade we think our waking life a dream.