ما الراح إلا روح كل حزين — Abn Matouk

ما الرّاحُ إلّا رَوْحُ كلِّ حَزينِ

فأزِلْ بخَمْرَتِها خُمارَ البينِ

Wine is nothing but solace for every sorrowful soul.

So with her wine dispel the hangover of separation.

واِستَجْلِها مثلَ العَروس توقّدَتْ

بعُقودِها وتخلْخَلَتْ بِبُرينِ

And unveil her like a bride, blazing

with her necklaces, and ringed with anklets.

واِقْطِفْ بثغرِك وَرْدَ وَجنَتِها على

خدِّ الشقيقِ ومَبسمِ النِسرينِ

And pluck with your lips the rose of her cheek upon

the anemone's cheek and the wild rose's smiling mouth.

واِلثِم عَقيقةَ مِرشَفَيْها راشِفاً

منها ثَنايا اللؤلُؤِ المَكنونِ

And kiss the carnelian of her two lips, sipping

from her the hidden pearls of her front teeth.

روحٌ إذا في فيكَ غابَتْ شمسُها

بزَغَتْ منَ الخدّينِ والعَينينِ

A spirit: when her sun sets within your mouth,

it rises from your cheeks and eyes.

قبَسٌ يُغالِطُنا الدُجى رأدَ الضُحى

فيها ويَصدقُ كاذِبُ الفَجْرَينِ

A flame: darkness tricks us, posing as early daylight

within her, and the false one of the two dawns speaks true.

ما زفّها السّاقي بطائرِ فضّةٍ

إلّا وحلّقَ واقِعَ النّسْرَيْنِ

Whenever the cupbearer escorts her in a silver bird,

he sends the perched one of the two Eagles soaring.

حاكَتْ زُجاجةُ كأسِها القنديلَ إذ

مِشكاتُها اِتّقدَتْ بلا زَيتونِ

The glass of her cup resembles a lamp, for

its niche blazes without an olive tree.

تبدو فيبدو الأفْقُ خدَّ عشيقةٍ

واللّيل لمّة عاشقٍ مَفتونِ

She appears, and the horizon seems a beloved's cheek,

and night, the locks of a lovesick lover.

مبنيّةٌ بفَمِ النّزيفِ مَذاقُها

كرُضابِ لَيلى في فم المجنونِ

Her flavor, fashioned in the drunkard's mouth,

is like Layla's saliva in Majnun's mouth.

بِكرٌ إذا ما الماءُ أذهبَ بَرْدَها

صاغَ الحُبابُ لها سِوارَ لُجينِ

A virgin: when water takes away her chill,

the bubbles fashion her a bracelet of silver.

لو كان في حوضِ الغمام محلُّها

لجرى العقيقُ من السحابِ الجونِ

If her dwelling were in the basin of the clouds,

carnelian would flow from the dark clouds.

أو لو أُريقَتْ فوقَ يَذبُلَ جرعةٌ

منها لأصبحَ معدِنَ الراهونِ

Or if upon Yadhbul there were poured a draught

of her, it would become the mine of al-Rahun.

ومُضارِعٍ للبَدرِ ماضٍ لحظُه

متستّرٌ فيه ضَميرُ فُنونِ

And a rival of the full moon, whose glance is piercing,

within whom the spirit of many arts lies hidden.

رشأٌ غدَتْ حركاتُ كَسرِ جُفونِه

تَبني على فتحِ السُهادِ جُفوني

A fawn, whose lowered eyelids' movements have come

to fix my eyelids open in sleeplessness.

روحي له وقْفٌ وألْفُ يَمينِه الْ

مَمْدود مَقصورٌ عليه حَنيني

My soul is devoted to him; to the alif of his right hand,

outstretched, my yearning is confined.

مهموزُ صُدغٍ كم صحيحِ جوىً غدا

بلَفيفِه يَشكو اِعتِلال العينِ

With a hamza-shaped temple-lock—how many sound in love have come

through his entwined curls to complain of an ailing eye!

متفقّهٌ بوِصالِه متوقّفٌ

ويرى القطيعةَ من أصولِ الدينِ

Learned in law, yet hesitant about his union,

he counts estrangement among the fundamentals of religion.

رُؤياهُ مِفتاحُ الجمال وخَصرُهُ

تلخيصُ شرحِ مطوّلِ التّحسينِ

The sight of him is the key to beauty, and his waist

a digest of the commentary on beauty's lengthy treatise.

حيّا بزَورَتِه خُلاصةَ صُحبةٍ

وبَدا فأبرزَ مَشرِقَ الشمسينِ

He greeted the choicest company with his visit,

and appeared, revealing the rising place of two suns.

واِفتَرَّ مُحتسياً لها فأبانَ عن

بَرقَينِ مُبتسمين عن سِمطينِ

He parted his lips as he sipped her, revealing

two smiling lightning-flashes, revealing two necklaces.

وشَدا وطافَ بها فأحيا ميّتَ الْ

عُشاقِ في راحَين بل روحَينِ

He sang and passed her round, reviving the dead among

the lovers through two wines—nay, two spirits.

مَنْ لي بوصلِ مَهاةِ خِدرٍ فارَقَتْ

عيني وظبيٍ أفْلَتَتْهُ يَميني

Who will bring me union with the chamber's oryx, who has left

my sight, and the gazelle my right hand let escape?

للّهِ أيّامُ الوِصالِ وحبّذا

ساعاتُ لهوٍ في رُبى يَبرينِ

God bless the days of union! How lovely

the hours of play upon the hills of Yabrin!

مَغنىً بحبِّ الساكنين يَسوغُ لي

نظْمُ النسيبِ ونثرُ دُرّ شُؤوني

A dwelling where, for love of its inhabitants, I may

string love verses and scatter the pearls of my tears.

لا زال يبتسمُ الأقاحُ به ولا

برِحَ الشقيقُ مضرَّجَ الخدّينِ

May the daisies never cease to smile there, and may

the anemone remain with blood-stained cheeks.

أحوى كأنّ مياههُ ريقُ الدُمى

وهَواهُ أنفاسُ الحِسانِ العِينِ

Dark-green, its waters seem the saliva of statues,

and its air, the breaths of fair, wide-eyed women.

ضاهى عُيونَ الغانياتِ بنَرْجِسٍ

وسَما على قاماتِها بغُصونِ

It rivaled lovely women's eyes with narcissi,

and rose above their stature with branches.

فلكَمْ رشَفْتُ على زُمُرُّدِ رَوضِهِ

زمَنَ الشّبابِ عقيقةَ الزّرجونِ

For how often, on its meadow's emerald, I sipped

in youth the carnelian of wine!

وأمِنْتُ بأسَ النّائِباتِ كأنّما

برَكاتُ أمسى كافلِي وضَميني

And I felt safe from the violence of calamities, as though

Barakat had become my guardian and guarantor.

سامي الحقيقة لا يحسُّ نزيلُه

بحوادثِ التّقديرِ والتّكوينِ

Exalted in essence, his guest does not feel

the vicissitudes of decree and creation.

بَشَرٌ يريكَ البحرَ تحت رِدائِه

والبدرَ فوقَ سريرهِ المَوضونِ

A man who shows you the sea beneath his cloak

and the full moon above his interwoven throne.

غيثٌ بنوّارِ الشقيق إذا سَما

تزهو رياضُ المُقتِر المَديونِ

A life-giving rain: when he rises with anemone blooms,

the gardens of the impoverished debtor flourish.

قاضٍ بأحكام الشريعة عالِمٌ

بقواعدِ الإرشادِ والتبيينِ

A judge applying the rulings of sacred law, learned

in the principles of guidance and elucidation.

عدلٌ تحكّم في البلاد فقامَ في

مَفروضِ دينِ اللَّه والمَسنونِ

A just ruler who governs the land and upholds

the obligations of God's religion and its recommended practices.

بلغَ الكمالَ وما تجاوزَ عُمرُه

عشراً وحاز المُلْكَ بالعِشرينِ

He attained perfection while his age had not exceeded

ten, and gained sovereignty at twenty.

خطبَ المعالي بالرِّماحِ فزُوّجَتْ

بكرُ العُلا منه بلَيثِ عرينِ

He wooed high honors with spears; thus was wed

glory's virgin to him, a lion of the lair.

تلْقى العِدا والوفْدُ منه إذا بدا

تِيهَ العزيزِ وذلّةَ المِسكينِ

His enemies and visiting delegations encounter, when he appears,

a mighty man's pride and a poor man's humility.

سمْحٌ لمن طلبَ الإفادة باسطٌ

ببنانِه وبيانهِ كنزَيْنِ

Generous to those seeking benefit, he lays open

two treasures with his fingers and his eloquence.

ما مدَّ راحتَهُ وجادَ بعِلمِه

إلّا اِلتقَطنا لُؤلُؤَ البَحرينِ

Whenever he stretches out his palm and gives of his knowledge,

we gather the pearls of the two seas.

لو بالبلاغةِ للنبوّةِ يدّعي

لَغدا وما قُرآنُه بعِضينِ

If he claimed prophethood through eloquence,

he would be one, and his Qur'an would not be fragmented.

من مَعشرٍ لهمُ على كلِّ الوَرى

شرَفُ النجومِ على حصى الأرضينِ

He is of a people who, above all mankind,

have the stars' eminence over the pebbles of the earths.

سامٍ لمُنصُلِه وشِسْعَيْ نَعلِه

فخرُ الهِلال ورِفعةُ الشّرطينِ

Exalted: his blade and the two straps of his sandal possess

the crescent's glory and the height of al-Sharatayn.

همسَتْ بأصوات الطُغاة فكاد أنْ

لا يستهلَّ بهم لِسانُ جَنينِ

It hushed the voices of tyrants, so that almost

no unborn child's tongue would cry out among them.

وتيقّنتْ بالثُّكلِ بيضُهمُ فلو

قدرَتْ لما سمَحَتْ لهم ببَنينِ

Their fair women were certain of bereavement; if they

could, they would not have given them sons.

غضّتْ جلالتُه العيونَ وربّما

نظرتْ إليه فحِرْنَ في أمرَينِ

His majesty lowered eyes; and at times

they looked at him, bewildered by two things:

قبَسٌ جرى بيَدَيْهِ جدولُ صارمٍ

وغَمامةٌ حملَتْ شِهابَ رُدَيْني

a flame through whose hands a keen sword's stream flows,

and a cloud bearing the meteor of a Rudayni spear.

عفُّ المآزِر كم ذُكورُ نِصالِه

فيه اِستباحتْ من فُروجِ حُصونِ

Chaste of loins—how many of his virile blades

have, through him, violated the openings of fortresses!

قَيلٌ يُصان لديه جوهرُ عِرضِه

والجوهرُ العِرضيُّ غيرُ مَصونِ

A prince with whom the jewel of his honor is safeguarded,

while worldly jewels are left unguarded.

لو أنّ كعباً جاءَ يطلبُ ثأرَهُ

لكَبا بسابقةٍ عِثارَ حَرونِ

If Ka'b came seeking his vengeance,

he would stumble on a fleet mare like a balking horse.

يُمسي الفقيرُ إذا أتاه كأنّما

غَصَبَ الغِنى من راحتَيْ قارونِ

When a poor man comes to him, he ends the day as though

he had wrested wealth from Qarun's two palms.

مَولىً يلوذُ المُذنِبونَ بعَفوِه

ويفُكُّ قيدَ المُجْرمِ المَسجونِ

A lord in whose pardon sinners seek refuge,

who loosens the shackles of the imprisoned offender.

يا حاديَ العَشرِ العُقولِ وثاني الد

دهرِ المَهولِ وثالث القمَرَينِ

O eleventh of the ten intellects, and second to the

dreadful age, and third beside the sun and moon,

والثابتَ المِغوارَ والقِرْنَ الّذي

لا تستقرّ سُيوفُه بجُفونِ

and steadfast, fearless warrior, and combatant whose

swords never rest in their sheaths!

فلقد أنارَ اللَّه فيكَ نهارَنا

وجَلا الظلامَ بوجهِك المَيمونِ

For God has brightened our day through you

and banished darkness with your auspicious face.

وكَسا بك الدنيا الجمالَ وزيّن ال

أيّامَ من علياكَ في عِقدَيْنِ

And through you He clothed the world in beauty and adorned the

days with your eminence in two necklaces.

وأبانَ رُشدَ عِبادِه بك فاِهتدَوا

بعد الضّلالِ بأوضحِ النّجدَينِ

And He revealed His servants' right guidance through you, so they were guided

after error, along the clearer of the two paths.

فتهنَّ بالعيدِ المُبارك واِغتَنِمْ

أجرَ الصيام وبهجةَ الفِطرَينِ

Rejoice, then, in the blessed feast, and gain

the reward of fasting and the delight of both fast-breakings.

واِلبَس جَلابيبَ العُلا وتدرّعِ الن

نصْرَ العزيزَ وحلّةَ التّمكينِ

And wear the robes of eminence, and take as armor

mighty victory and the mantle of established power.

واِستجلِ من فكري عَروساً ما لَها

كُفُؤٌ سواكَ بسائِرِ الثَّقَلَيْنِ

And unveil from my thought a bride who has

no fitting match but you among all humans and jinn.

وأبيكَ يا مَنْ حُكِّمَتْ بيَمينه

بيضُ العَطايا في رِقابِ العينِ

By your father, O you whose right hand has granted mastery

to bright gifts over the necks of wide-eyed beauties!

لولا حيا كفّيكَ ما حيّا الحَيا

رَوضي ولا ساحَتْ بطاحُ مَعيني

Without the rain of your palms, no rain would have revived

my garden, nor would my spring's broad channels have flowed.

كلّا ولا نِلتُ النّعيمَ ولا نجَتْ

روحي العزيزةُ من عذابِ الهُونِ

No indeed: I would not have attained bliss, nor would

my precious soul have escaped the torment of humiliation.

بلغَتْ مدى الأقصى لديكَ مطالبي

وأصابتِ الغرَضَ البَعيدَ ظُنوني

In your presence my wishes reached their furthest limit,

and my expectations struck the distant mark.

لي في معانيكَ اِعتقادُ وِلاً فلَو

كُشِفَ الغِطا ما اِزدادَ فيك يَقيني

I have a loyal faith in your qualities; even if

the veil were lifted, my certainty in you would not increase.