أموا بنا نحو العقيق وأدلجوا — Abn Matouk

أُمّوا بنا نحوَ العقيقِ وأدْلِجوا

وقِفوا على تلكَ الرّبوعِ وعرّجوا

Take us toward al-Aqiq and travel by night.

And halt at those encampments, turning aside.

واثْنوا الأعنّةَ نحو سكّانِ اللّوى

واِلوُوا بأعناقِ المطيّ وعوّجوا

Turn the reins toward the dwellers of al-Liwa,

And bend the necks of the mounts, turning their course.

فإذا لكم بدتِ الرّسومُ فأمْسِكوا

أكبادَكُم حتّى يدَيكُم تنضجُ

When the traces appear before you, clasp

Your livers until your hands are seared.

فهُناكَ حيٌّ للعُيونِ تنزّهٌ

فيهِ وللقَلبِ الشجيّ تبَهّجُ

There is an encampment there, a pleasure-ground for the eyes,

And within it, delight for the sorrowful heart.

حيٌّ على الوادي كأنّ قِبابَه

كُثُبٌ ينوّعُها الحَيا ويُزَبْرِجُ

An encampment beside the valley, whose domed tents seem

Dunes that the rain varies and adorns.

حرمٌ تَرى من دونِ بيضةِ خِدرِه

كم فيهِ بيضةُ خادِرٍ تتدَحْرَجُ

A sanctuary: before its bower's egg-white maiden, you see

How many a lurking lion's skull rolls there.

عذْبُ المناهِلِ غيرَ أنّ وُرودَها

نارُ المَنايا دونَه تتأجّجُ

Sweet are its watering places, yet approaching them

Is a fire of death blazing before it.

يُمسي بأربُعهِ لنيرانِ القِرى

وفْدٌ وللبيضِ الرِّقاقِ تموُّجُ

At evening, in its encampments, for the fires of hospitality,

There is a throng of guests, and slender swords billow.

لكواكِبِ الفِتيانِ فيه تحجّبٌ

ولأنجُمِ الفَتَياتِ فيه تبرُّجُ

Its star-like young men veil themselves,

While its star-like maidens display their adornment.

أوراقُهُ تُشْجي ورَجْعُ قيانِهِ

أشْجى وأوقَعُ في النّفوسِ وأوهَجُ

Its leaves stir sorrow, and the echo of its singing girls

Is more sorrowful, more piercing to souls, and more fiery.

كم فيهِ ظبيٌ بالحَرير مسَرْبَلٌ

وهِزَبْرُ حربٍ بالحَديدِ مدَجَّجُ

How many a gazelle there is robed in silk,

And a lion of battle armored in iron;

ورفيعُ مجدٍ بالنّجيعِ مخضّبٌ

وصريعُ وجدٍ بالدّموعِ مضرّجُ

And one exalted in glory, dyed with fresh blood,

And one felled by passion, drenched in tears.

ولكَمْ به شمسٌ تقلّد جيدُها

شُهُباً وبدرٌ بالهِلالِ مدَمْلَجُ

And how many a sun there has her neck adorned

With meteors, and a full moon wears a crescent armlet.

بصعيدِه تشفى العُيونُ وتنْجَلي

فكأنّ كلَّ حصىً عليه دهنَجُ

On its ground, eyes are healed and become clear;

Each pebble upon it seems to be malachite.

للّهِ أيّامٌ لنا سلفَتْ به

ولَيالُ وَصْلٍ صفوُها لا يُمزَجُ

How wondrous the days we once spent there,

And nights of union whose purity was unmingled!

أوقاتُ أنسٍ كالعرائِسِ بهجةً

يا ليتَها بالبَيْنِ لا تتزوّجُ

Hours of intimacy, radiant as brides—

Would that they never married separation!

كالعِقْدِ كان نظامُها فتفرّقَتْ

فحكَتْ ثَنايا الغُرّ وهْو مفلَّجُ

Their order was like a necklace; then they scattered,

Resembling the radiant fair's front teeth, spaced with gaps.

حيّا الحَيا العَرَبَ الألى لضيوفِهِم

نسجوا به بُسْطَ الحرير ودبّجوا

May rain greet the Arabs who, for their guests,

Wove and brocaded silk carpets there.

وبمُهجَتي منهم عليّ أعزّةٌ

دخلوا الفؤادَ ومنه صبري أخرجوا

And with my life's blood I ransom those among them dear to me:

They entered the heart and drove my patience from it.

صُبْحُ الوجوه ترى على جبَهاتِهم

تزهو مصابيحُ الجمالِ وتُسرَجُ

Dawn-bright of face, upon their brows you see

The lamps of beauty glowing and being lit.

أخذوا جِيادَهُمُ أهلّةَ عسْجَدٍ

وبأنْجُمِ البيضِ الحديدِ تتوّجوا

They took their steeds as crescents of gold,

And crowned themselves with stars of gleaming iron swords.

لم أنْسَ موقفَهُم وقد أرِقَ النّوى

والريحُ تُحدى للرّحيلِ وتُحدَجُ

I have not forgotten their station, when separation lay awake,

And the wind was urged toward departure and saddled.

ساروا فكم قمرٍ على فرسٍ بَدا

فيهِم وكم شمسٍ زَواها هودَجُ

They departed: how many a moon appeared on horseback

Among them, and how many a sun a howdah concealed!

ولَرُبّ سافرةٍ غَداةَ رحيلِهم

ذهلَتْ وأفزَعَها الفِراقُ المُزعِجُ

And many an unveiled woman, on the morning of their departure,

Was dazed and frightened by distressing separation.

تبكي وتذري كحلَها بدمُوعِها

فيعودُ وردُ الخدِّ وهوَ بنفسَجُ

She wept and scattered her kohl with her tears,

So the rose of her cheek became a violet.

لم أدرِ قبل أرى الدموعَ بجَفنِها

أنّ اللآلي البيض قد تتنسّجُ

Before seeing the tears on her eyelid, I never knew

That white pearls could be woven together.

حتّامَ أطلبُ للنجومِ فأرتَقي

وأهِمُّ في وصلِ النجومِ فأعرُجُ

How long shall I seek the stars and climb,

And aspire to reach the stars and ascend,

وأضلَّ في لَيلِ الغوايةِ والهوى

وبياضُ شَيبي فجرُهُ يتبلّجُ

And go astray in the night of error and desire,

While the whiteness of my gray hair breaks as its dawn?

ما كُنتُ أوّلَ مُدْنَفٍ بفؤادِه

لعِبَ الهَوى وسَباهُ طَرْفٌ أدْعَجُ

I was not the first lovesick man whose heart

Desire played with, and whom a dark eye took captive.

وإلامَ تُطمِعُني الحِسانُ بوصلِها

وعُهودُهنّ قضيةٌ لا تُنتَجُ

How long will beauties tempt me with union,

While their promises are a proposition that yields no result?

وأقولُ إنّ الدهرَ يسْمحُ باللِّقا

ونَوى الأحبّةِ كُربةٌ لا تُفرَجُ

And I say that time will grant a meeting,

Though parting from beloveds is a grief never relieved.

تعِسَ الزّمانُ وليسَ فيه منظرٌ

حسنٌ إذا جرّبْتَهُ لا يسمُجُ

Wretched be time! There is no sight within it,

However fair, that does not turn ugly when tested.

هل فيه للظّنِّ الجميلِ معرَّسٌ

أو للقوافي السائِراتِ معرَّجُ

Is there in it a resting place for good expectations,

Or a stopping place for far-traveling rhymes?

همدَتْ مرابعُه فليس به سوى

مَغنى عليٍّ روضةٌ تتأرّجُ

Its spring pastures have withered; nothing remains in it save

Ali's abode, a garden spreading fragrance.

غيثٌ إذا ما النّبْتُ صوّحَ والكَلا

أولى ووجهُ الأرضِ لا يتدجّجُ

Rain, when the plants have withered and the grass

Has dried, and the earth's face is unclothed.

أنّى أتيتَ ربوعَهُم فرِياضُها

خُضْرٌ ووُرْقُ المَكرُماتِ تثجّجُ

Wherever you come upon their dwellings, their gardens

Are green, and the gray doves of noble deeds pour forth their song.

قاسَ الأنامُ به الغمامَ وما يروا

أنّ الغَمامَ بجُودِه يتسرّجُ

People compared the raincloud to him, not seeing

That the raincloud takes its light from his generosity.

لو في سِباخِ الأرضِ يمطُرُ كفُّهُ

بالتِبْرِ فيها نوّرَ الفَيروزَجُ

Were his palm to rain upon the earth's salt flats

In gold, turquoise would blossom there.

خُلِقَ النّدى خُلُقاً له فإنِ اِدّعى

فيهِ سواهُ فأحْولٌ يتغنّجُ

Generosity was made his nature; should someone claim

It besides him, he is a cross-eyed man affecting charm.

أفديهِ بالمتصنّعينَ فإنّهم

ماءٌ عليهِ طُحلُبٌ يتفَلْذَجُ

I would ransom him with the pretenders, for they

Are water upon which algae spread.

يا منْ أظلَّ الرّزْقُ ملكَ بَنانِه

فيها إليه بكلِّ حظٍّ منهَجُ

O you, whose fingers' realm is shaded by sustenance,

Through them runs a path to it for every share of fortune.

جُمِعَتْ به مِيمُ الكِرامِ فأصبحَتْ

لُجَجاً بعَشْرِ بنانِه يتخلّجُ

The mīm of 'the generous' was gathered in him, becoming

Deep seas branching into channels through his ten fingers.

سمْحٌ إذا ما الدّهرُ أصبحَ كالحاً

منهُ تبلّجَ فيه وجهٌ أبْلجُ

Generous: whenever time turns grim,

From him a radiant face dawns within it.

هو للعُلا زنْدٌ وللدنيا إذا

ما اِسودّتْ الأيّامُ خدٌّ أنعَجُ

He is greatness's firestick, and for this world, when

The days turn black, a bright white cheek.

دعْ عنكَ أخبارَ الكِرامِ فإنّه

هو زُبدةٌ يَكفيكَها ونَموذَجُ

Set aside tales of the generous, for he

Is their essence, sufficient for you, and their exemplar.

عَذُبَتْ مواردُه وطاب فمَنُّه

بالمَنِّ عندَ الوِردِ لا يتأجّجُ

His watering places are sweet, and he is gracious; his bounty

Does not blaze with reproach when one comes to drink.

بصفاتِه كم ضلّ عقلٌ واِهتدى

بضيائِه في الليلِ سارٍ مُدلِجُ

By his qualities many a mind is bewildered, and guided

By his light through the night is a traveler setting out in darkness.

قبَسٌ يهزُّ خليجَ فولاذٍ به

غَرْقى النّفوسِ الخائِناتِ تلجّجُ

A flame, he brandishes a gulf of steel, wherein

Drowned treacherous souls plunge into the depths.

يجتازُ ريحُ السُخطِ فيه فيلْتَظي

ويمرّ برْدُ العَفوِ فيه فيثلُجُ

The wind of wrath passes through it, and it blazes;

The coolness of pardon passes through it, and it freezes.

رضعَ الرّدى حتّى ترشّح جسمُه

لبَناً فأصبح فوقَهُ يترجْرَجُ

He suckled death until his body exuded

Milk, which came to ripple over him.

تُمسي الأسودُ على الثّرى صرعى إذا

شهِدَتْ نِمالَ الموتِ فيه تَدْرُجُ

At evening lions lie slain upon the dust whenever

They see the ants of death crawling upon him.

بطلٌ أسنّتُهُ تنضْنَضُ بالسَّنا

منهنّ ألسنةُ الرّدى وتلجْلَجُ

A hero: his spearheads flicker with brilliance;

From them, death's tongues dart and stammer.

فيه تثقّفتِ الرّماحُ فأوشكَتْ

تنسابُ من يدِه القَناةُ فتخْلجُ

Through him the spears were straightened, so the shaft nearly

Glided from his hand and writhed.

وتَشحّذَتْ بيضُ السيوفِ بعزمِه

فمضَتْ وكادَ كَهامُها يتسرّجُ

Bright swords were sharpened by his resolve;

They grew keen, and even their blunt ones nearly blazed.

تلقى عوامِلُها الجُموعَ إذا سَطا

فكأنّها ألِفاتُ وَصْلٍ تُدْرَجُ

Their points meet the armies when he attacks,

As though they were connecting alifs, elided in flowing speech.

آباؤهُ حُجَجُ الإله وحَجّهُ

فرضٌ على ذي حاجةٍ يتحوّجُ

His fathers are God's proofs, and pilgrimage to him

Is a duty for anyone in need who seeks aid.

من عِترةٍ في جودِهم ووجودِهم

أمِنَ الوَرى نُوَبَ الزّمانِ وأبلَجوا

Of a lineage through whose generosity and presence

Mankind was safe from time's calamities and grew radiant.

رهْطٌ بهِم طابَتْ وزادَتْ يثرِبٌ

شرَفاً وعزّتْ أوسُها والخزرَجُ

A clan through whom Yathrib flourished and increased

In honor, and its Aws and Khazraj gained might.

لو يُقسمُ الدّاعي بهم يوماً على

صُمّ الجِبالِ لأقبلَتْ تتخزلَجُ

Were a supplicant one day to adjure by them

The solid mountains, those mountains would come swaying.

ركبوا الخُطوبَ وألجموها بالظُّبا

فلهُم جوامحُها تُراضُ وتُسْرَجُ

They mounted calamities and bridled them with sword edges;

For them, calamities' wild steeds are tamed and saddled.

قرنوا السّماحةَ بالشجاعةِ مثلَ ما

بالعفوِ قد خلطوا العَفافَ وأدمَجوا

They coupled generosity with courage, just as

They mingled chastity with pardon and bound them together.

وتفرّدوا بالحَمْدِ إلّا أنّهُمْ

شفَعوا فُرادى المَكرُماتِ وزوّجوا

They stood alone in praise, save that they

Paired solitary virtues and married them together.

يا منْ إذا حدّثْتُ عنهُ بأنّه

بحرٌ فلا أخشى ولا أتحرّجُ

O you, of whom, when I say that he

Is an ocean, I feel neither fear nor misgiving.

إن قيلَ مِشكاةٌ فرأيُكَ نيّرٌ

أو قيلَ مرآةٌ فذِهنُك أسرَجُ

If you are called a lamp-niche, your judgment is luminous;

Or called a mirror, your mind is more radiant.

أنّى تُجارى في الكمال وإنّما

لُقمانُ في المِضمارِ خلفَك أعرَجُ

How can anyone rival you in perfection, when

Luqman is lame upon the racecourse behind you?

فرّجْتَ ضيقَ المُشكلاتِ بفكرةٍ

في السُّمِّ يُمكِنُها لرَضْوى تولِجُ

You eased the straits of difficult problems with a thought

That could usher Radwa through a needle's eye.

لا زِلْتَ خيرَ أبٍ لأبناءِ الرّجا

وطريقَ رزقٍ بابُه لا يُرتَجُ

May you ever be the best father to the sons of hope,

And a path to sustenance whose gate is never shut.

فاِنعَم بأجرِ الصّومِ واِبقَ بنعمةٍ

تُغلي صُدورَ الحاسدينَ وتوهِجُ

Enjoy the reward of fasting, and remain in a blessing

That boils the breasts of enviers and sets them aflame.

واِبهَج بعيدٍ أنت أسنى غُرّة

منه وأبهى في القلوبِ وأبهَجُ

And rejoice in a festival—you are more radiant in countenance

Than it, more splendid in hearts, and more delightful.

واِرْفُلْ مدى الأيّامِ في حُلَلِ الثّنا

فنَداكَ يُسديها وفِكري ينسُجُ

And stride proudly all your days in robes of praise;

For your generosity lays their warp, and my thought weaves.