لله منزلها على الروحاء — Abn Matouk

للّهِ منزلُها على الرّوحاءِ

درّتْ عليهِ مراضِعُ الأنواءِ

How wondrous is her dwelling at al-Rawha!

The nursing breasts of the rain-stars poured upon it.

وسقَتْ ثراهُ عُيونُ أربابِ الهوى

دمعاً يورّدُ وجنةَ البطحاءِ

The eyes of lovers watered its soil

with tears that reddened the valley's cheek.

واِستخرجَتْ أيدي الرّبيعِ كُنوزه

فحبَاهُ بالبيضاءِ والصّفراءِ

Spring's hands brought forth its treasures

and endowed it with silver and gold.

أكرِمْ به من منزلٍ أكنافُه

جمعَتْ أُسودَ شرىً وعينَ ظِباءِ

How noble a dwelling, whose precincts

gathered lions of Shara and wide-eyed gazelles!

مغنىً إذا سفرَتْ وجوهُ حِسانِه

ليلاً يَطولُ تلفُّتُ الحِرباءِ

An abode where, when its beauties unveil their faces

at night, the chameleon keeps turning toward them.

بهِجٌ يكلّفُكَ السّجودَ صَعيدُه

شوقاً للَثْمِ مباسِمِ الحصباءِ

A delightful place whose ground compels you to prostrate,

longing to kiss the smiling mouths of its pebbles.

حتّى توهّمْنا ملاعِبَ بيضِه

فتظنّها ليلاً بُروجَ سَماءِ

So much so that we imagined its fair ones' playgrounds—

at night you would take them for celestial towers.

دارَتْ كهالاتِ البُدورِ حُصونُه

فهُما سَواءٌ في سنىً وسناءِ

Its fortresses circled like halos of full moons;

the two are equal in radiance and grandeur.

تهوى الكواكبُ أن تَصوغَ سِوارَها

طوقاً لجيدِ مَهاتِه الجوزاءِ

The stars long to fashion their bracelet

into a collar for its white-bellied gazelle's neck.

ويودُّ ضوءُ الفجرِ يُصبحُ خيطُه

سِلكاً لعِقدِ فَتاتِه العَذراءِ

Dawn's light wishes its thread might become

a string for its virgin maiden's necklace.

رُفِعَتْ على عُمُدِ الصّباحِ بُيوتُه

فحبالُهنّ ذوائِبُ الظّلْماءِ

Its dwellings were raised on pillars of morning,

their ropes the tresses of darkness.

قِطعٌ من اللّيلِ البهيمِ إلى الثّرى

هبطَتْ وفيها أنجُمُ الجوزاءِ

Pieces of pitch-black night, to the earth

descended, bearing within them the stars of al-Jawza’.

ليلاتُ قدرٍ كلَّ حُسنٍ أنزلَتْ

آياتُه فيها وكلَّ بَهاءِ

Nights of Decree, where every beauty had

its verses revealed, and every splendor too.

كم فيه من حِقْفٍ يَمورُ بمِئزَرٍ

وقضيبِ بان ينثَني بقباءِ

How many a curved dune there sways within a waistcloth,

and a moringa bough bends within a robe!

سَقياً لها من روضةٍ لم تَخلُ من

وِردَيْنِ وِرْدِ حَياً وورْدِ حَياءِ

May rain bless that garden, which never lacked

two refreshings: rain's watering and modesty's rose.

لا صحّتِ النّسَماتُ فيه ولا صحَتْ

سَكْرى عُيونِ رجالِه ونِساءِ

May its breezes never grow robust; may sobriety never reach

the drunken eyes of its men and women.

يا صاحِ إن شارَفْتَ مكّةَ سالِماً

فاِعدِل يَمينَ منىً فثَمَّ مُنائي

My friend, if you approach Mecca safely,

turn to the right of Mina: there lies my desire.

واِسألْ بجانبِ طُورِه الغربيّ عنْ

قلبٍ غريبٍ ضاعَ من أحشائي

And ask, beside its mountain's western flank, about

a stranger heart that strayed from my breast.

اطلُبهُ ثمّ تجدهُ في جمَراتِه

أبداً تعذّبُه مدى بُرَحائي

Seek it, then you will find it among its embers,

which torment it forever, throughout my anguish.

لا تعدلَنّ إلى سواهُ فمنزلُ الن

نجوى به ومعرَّسُ الأهواءِ

Turn nowhere else, for there is the abode of

intimate converse, and the resting place of passions.

حرمٌ له حقٌّ لديّ وحُرمةٌ

وضعتْ له خدّي مكانَ حِذائي

A sanctuary with a claim on me and a sanctity

that has set my cheek before it where my sandal belongs.

ما حلّهُ دنِفٌ فأصبحَ مُحرِماً

إلّا أحلّ مقَمّصاً بضَناءِ

No lovesick man alights there and enters consecration

but leaves that state clothed in wasting sickness.

قرّبْ به قلبي فإن لم تلقَه

فاِنحر بهِ نومي وضحِّ عَزائي

Offer my heart there; if you cannot find it,

slaughter my sleep there and sacrifice my consolation.

واِمزُج لُجَينَ الدّمعِ في عرَصاتِه

بنُضارِ جاري العَبرةِ الحمراءِ

Mix the silver of tears in its open courts

with the gold of the flowing crimson tear.

هو مرتعٌ للعاشقين ومصرعٌ

فليَسْقِ دمعُكَ روضةَ الشّهداءِ

It is a pasture for lovers and a place of death;

so let your tears water the martyrs' garden.

كم فيه من بيتٍ تقفّى بالظُّبا

مضمونُه كالدُرّةِ البيضاءِ

How many a tent there is edged with sword-points,

its contents like a white pearl!

تتوهّمُ الأطنابَ منه لِما تَرى

من ضوءِ دُميَنِه حِبالَ ذُكاءِ

You imagine its tent-ropes, from what you see

of its beauties' radiance, to be cords of the sun.

أفدي بُدورَ دُجىً به قد زرّروا

ظُلَمَ السّتورِ على شُموسِ ضُحاءِ

I would ransom those moons of darkness there, who buttoned

dark curtains over suns of morning;

ورُماةَ أحداقٍ سِهامُ فُتورِها

صاغَ السّقامُ لها نُصولَ بَلاءِ

and those archers with eyes whose languid arrows

sickness furnished with arrowheads of torment;

وسَراةَ حيٍّ لم تزل تشتاقُهم

شوقَ العِطاشِ إلى زُلالِ الماءِ

and the nobles of a clan for whom you have always yearned

as the thirsty yearn for clear, sweet water.

بسوادِ قلبي من طريقةِ مُقلَتي

دخلوا ومنها أخرجوا حَوبائي

Into my heart's dark core, through the pathway of my eye,

they entered, and through it drew out my soul.

غُرٌّ حوَوا كلَّ الجمالِ كما حوَتْ

راحاتُ عبدِ اللَّه كلَّ سَخاءِ

Radiant ones who possessed all beauty, just as

Abd Allah's palms possessed all generosity.

بشرٌ يُريك لدى السّماحِ جَبينَهُ

بِشراً يُحاكي الزّهرَ غِبَّ سَماءِ

A man whose brow, when he gives, shows you

a gladness resembling flowers after rain.

ولدٌ لأكرمِ والدٍ ورِثَ النّدى

والبأسَ عن آبائِه الكُرماءِ

A son of the noblest father, inheriting generosity

and valor from his noble forefathers.

أعني عليّاً صاحبَ الفضل الّذي

هو زينةُ الأيّام والآناءِ

I mean Ali, the lord of excellence, who

is the ornament of days and hours:

السيّدَ الورعَ التقيَّ أخا النّدى

علمَ الهُدى علّامةَ العُلَماءِ

the devout, God-fearing master, brother of generosity,

the banner of guidance, the scholars' great scholar.

مولىً سعى مسعى أبيه إلى العُلا

فاِعتادَ بسْطَ يدٍ وقبضَ ثَناءِ

A lord who followed his father's path toward eminence,

accustomed to opening his hand and gathering praise.

هو صدرُ أسمرِه وقبضةُ قوسِه

وعِذارُ أبيضِه لدى الهَيجاءِ

He is the point of his father's brown spear, the grip of his bow,

and the edge of his bright sword in battle;

ويمينُ دولَتِه وآيةُ مُلكِه

ودليلُ نُصرتِه على الخُصَماءِ

the right hand of his state, the sign of his kingship,

and the proof of his victory over adversaries.

غيثُ النّدى غوثُ الصّريخ إذا دَعا

قوت النّفوسِ وقوّةُ الضُعَفاءِ

Rain of generosity, succor to the distressed caller,

sustenance of souls and strength of the weak.

يتعاقَبانِ على الدّوامِ تعاقُبَ ال

مَلَوَينِ بالسّرّاءِ والضّرّاءِ

The two alternate forever, as alternate the

day and night, in prosperity and adversity.

تلقاهُ إمّا واهياً أو ضارِباً

فزمانُه يوما ندىً ووغاءِ

You meet him either pouring bounty or striking:

his time has two days—generosity and battle.

تَدري ذُكورُ البيض حين تسُلُّها

يدُه سينكِحُها طُلا الأعداءِ

The virile white swords know, when drawn

by his hand, that he will wed them to his enemies' throats.

والتِّبْرُ يعلَمُ إذ يحُلُّ وِثاقَه

أن لا يزالَ يَسيرُ في الأحياءِ

And gold knows, when he loosens its bonds,

that it will never cease traveling among the clans.

تهوى البُدورُ بأن تكونَ بمُلْكِه

بدَراً يفرِّقُها على الفقراءِ

The full moons long to be in his possession

as purses he distributes among the poor.

وكذا اللّيالي البيضُ تهوى أنّها

تُمسي لديه وهْيَ سُودُ إماءِ

Likewise, the white nights wish

to spend their evenings with him as black slave-girls.

حسدَتْ مدائِحَهُ النّجومُ فأوشكَتْ

تهوي لتَسْكُنَ ألسُنَ الشّعراءِ

The stars envied his praises and almost

fell to dwell upon the tongues of poets.

يجدُ اِزديارَ الوافدينَ ألذّ من

وصلِ الأحبّةِ بعدَ طولِ جَفاءِ

He finds visits from petitioners sweeter than

reunion with loved ones after long estrangement.

ويرى بأنّ البيضَ من بيضِ الدُمى

وصليلَها بالبيضِ رَجْعُ غِناءِ

He regards white swords as fair-skinned beauties,

and their clang against other swords as an echo of song.

لو أنّ هذا الدّهرَ أدركَ شيمةً

منه لبدّلَ غدرَهُ بوفاءِ

If this Time grasped a single quality

of his, it would exchange its treachery for fidelity.

ذو راحةٍ نفخَ النّدى من روحها

في مَيّتِ الآمالِ روحَ رَجاءِ

He owns a palm from whose spirit generosity breathed

the spirit of hope into dead aspirations.

مِشكاةُ نادي المجدِ كوكبُ أُفقِه

مِصباحُ ليلِ الكُربةِ الدّهماءِ

The lamp-niche of glory's assembly, the star of its horizon,

the lamp in the pitch-black night of anguish.

سرٌّ بذات أبيه كان محجَّباً

فبَدا به للّهِ في الإفشاءِ

A secret once veiled within his father's being,

then revealed in him—how wondrous its disclosure!

ولَرُبَّ ملحمةٍ بنارِ جحيمِها

تغلي القُلوبُ مراجِلُ الشّحناءِ

How many a battle, in whose hellish fire

hearts boil as cauldrons of hatred!

نارٌ مقامعُها الحديدُ وإنّما

يجري الصّديدُ بها على الرُخَصاءِ

A fire whose maces are iron, where only

pus flows over tender flesh.

يَشفي الحُمامُ بها الحَميمَ فظلُّها

يحمومُ ليلِ مجاجةٍ دَكْناءِ

Death there heals the dear friend; its shade

is black smoke, a night of dusky outpouring.

نزّاعةٌ لشوى الضّراغمِ ترتمي

شَرَراً حكَتْ قدْراً هِضابَ أجاءِ

Stripping the scalps of lions, it hurls

sparks matching in size the hills of Aja.

نضجَتْ بمارِجِها النّجومُ فأكرمُ ال

بيضِ السّواغبِ في صفيفِ شِواءِ

The stars were cooked in its smokeless flame; the noblest of the

hungry white swords lie amid slabs of roasted flesh.

وجرَتْ عليه من ظُباهُ جداولٌ

فخبَتْ وفاضتْ في دمِ الأشلاءِ

Streams from his sword-edges flowed over it,

and it died down, overflowing with the blood of severed limbs.

علمٌ تفرّدَ وهو أوسطُ إخوةٍ

شَرِكوهُ في شرفٍ وصِدْقِ إخاءِ

An eminent leader, unmatched, the middle of brothers

who share his nobility and sincere brotherhood.

من كلِّ أبلجَ تستضيءُ بوجهه

وبرأيه في الليلةِ الظّلماءِ

Each a radiant-browed man, whose face gives you light,

as does his counsel in the pitch-dark night.

مَنْ شِئْتَ منهم فهو رامٍ معرِضٌ

بالجزْمِ نصلاً أسهُمَ الآراءِ

Choose any of them: he is an archer, fitting

the arrows of counsel with resolve for their points.

جمَراتُ هيجاءٍ إذا ما سالَموا

كانوا جِناناً طيّباتِ جَناءِ

Embers of battle; yet when they make peace,

they become gardens of delicious fruit.

كُهَناءُ غَيبٍ يعلمونَ فراسةً

قبلَ الوُقوعِ حقائقَ الأشياءِ

Soothsayers of the unseen, knowing by insight,

before they occur, the realities of things.

زهْرٌ بوالدِهم إذا ما قِستَهُم

فهُمُ لآلي ذلك الدأماءِ

Radiant ones—if you compare them with their father,

they are the pearls of that ocean.

وجِبالُ حِلمٍ إن إليهِ نسَبْتَهم

فهمُ هِضابُ القدسِ حولَ حِراءِ

Mountains of forbearance; if you relate them to him,

they are the holy hills around Hira.

فإذا بَدا وبدَوْا علِمْتَ بأنّهم

قبَساتُ ساطِعِ ذلك اللألاءِ

When he appears and they appear, you know

they are sparks from the blaze of that radiance.

للّهِ في تقسيمِ جوهرِ فردِه

حكَمٌ بدَتْ في هذه الأجزاءِ

God has, in apportioning his peerless essence,

wise purposes revealed in these several parts.

ووَفَوْا فكانوا في محلِّ بنانِه

من راحتَيْهِ وأكمَلِ الأعضاءِ

They proved true, and held the place of his fingers

on his two palms, his most perfect members.

فهمُ مواعِدُهُ وزينةُ مجدِه

وجَمالُ وجهِ الدولةِ الغرّاءِ

They are his promises and the ornament of his glory,

the beauty of the glorious state's face.

نُطَفٌ مطهّرةٌ أتَتْ من طاهِر

فصفَتْ من الأرجاسِ والأكداءِ

Purified drops of seed that came from a pure one,

cleansed of defilements and impurities.

مولاي سَمعاً إنّ غُرّ مدائِحي

فيكُم لَتَشْهَدُ لي بصِدقِ ولائي

My lord, listen: the radiant praises I compose

of you surely testify to my true allegiance.

ولئن شكَكْتَ بما اِدّعيتُ من الوِلا

أوَ ليسَ هذا المدحُ نُصحَ ولاءِ

If you doubt the allegiance I have claimed,

is not this praise sincere devotion?

أوَ ما تَروني كلّما بصُدودِكُم

أحرقْتُمُ عودي يَطيبُ شَذائي

Do you not see that whenever, through your shunning,

you burn my aloeswood, my fragrance grows sweeter?

جارَتْنيَ الفُصَحاءُ نحو مَديحكُم

فتلَوْا وكُنتُ مُلجّأَ البُلَغاءِ

The eloquent raced me toward your praise,

but followed behind; I was the rhetoricians' refuge.

أنا غرْسُ والدِك الّذي ثمرَ الثّنا

منهُ جنَتْهُ لكم يدُ النّعْماءِ

I am your father's planting, whose fruit of praise

the hand of favor has plucked for you.

أرضَعْتُكُم دَرَّ الفصاحةِ طيّباً

إذ كان طيّبُ روضِه مرعائي

I suckled you on the wholesome milk of eloquence

when the sweetness of his garden was my pasture.

يا مَنْ أصولُ على الزّمانِ ببأسِه

ويُجيبُ عند الحادثاتِ نِدائي

O you through whose might I assail Time,

who answers my call when calamities arise:

بخِتانِ نصرِ اللّه قرّتْ أعيُنُ الد

دُنيا وسُرّت مهجةُ العَلياءِ

at Nasr Allah's circumcision, the eyes of the

world were gladdened, and nobility's heart rejoiced.

والوقتُ راقَ ورقّ حتّى صفّقتْ

ورقُ الغصونِ على غِنا الوَرْقاءِ

The time grew clear and tender, until

the branches' leaves clapped to the dove's song.

فتهنّ بالولدِ السّعيدِ وخَتْنِه

واِرْشُفْ هَنيئاً شهدَةَ السّرّاءِ

Rejoice in your fortunate son and his circumcision,

and sip with pleasure the honey of happiness.

ولدٌ به ما فيك من شرفٍ ومِن

فخرٍ ومن بأسٍ ومن إعطاءِ

A son who holds all your nobility and

pride, your valor and your giving.

في بيتِك المعمورِ منذُ ولادِه

نشأ السّرورُ به وكلُّ هناءِ

In your flourishing house, since his birth,

joy has grown through him, and every bliss.

نجمٌ أتى من نيّرينِ كِلاهُما

وهَباهُ أيَّ سعادةٍ وضياءِ

A star sprung from two luminaries, both of whom

lavished upon him such happiness and light!

خلعَ القِماطَ ففاز في خِلعِ العُلى

وسعى فأدركَ غايةَ العُقَلاءِ

He shed his swaddling clothes and won the robes of eminence,

and strove until he reached the goal of the wise.

للّه طينَتُه أكانَتْ نُقطةً

نقطَتْ ببسمِ اللّه تحت الباءِ

How wondrous his clay! Was it a dot

placed beneath the ba in 'In the name of God'?

للّه خاتَمُك الّذي في نَقشه

كتبَ المصوّرُ أعظمَ الأسماءِ

How wondrous your signet, in whose engraving

the Fashioner inscribed the greatest of names!

ريحانةُ النّادي وشمعةُ أُنسِه

سُلوانةُ الجُلَساءِ والنُدَماءِ

The sweet basil of the gathering, the candle of its fellowship,

the solace of companions and drinking fellows.

اللّه يحرُسُه ويحرُسُكم معاً

من سائِر الأسواءِ والأرزاءِ

May God guard him and guard you together

from every evil and calamity.

وعسى يُمدُّكم الإلهُ جميعَكم

بزيادةِ الأعمار والأبناءِ

And may God grant all of you

longer lives and more sons,

ويُمِدُّ والدَكم ودولةَ مجدِكم

بدوامِ إقبالٍ وطولِ بَقاءِ

and grant your father and your glorious state

enduring good fortune and long continuance.