فحن طيبا من بعدهن الديار — Abn Qlaks

فُحْنَ طيباً من بعدهنّ الديارُ

فوحَ مسكٍ أفاحَه العطارُ

The dwellings breathed fragrance after them,

the fragrance of musk released by the perfumer.

ذاك نَشْرُ الأحباب أودِعَ في الدا

رِ ففاحَتْ طيباً عشيّةَ ساروا

That is the loved ones’ scent, deposited in the house,

which breathed perfume on the evening they departed.

رحلَتْ ظُعنُهُم فغاضَت على الإث

رِ دموعٌ من الديار غِزارُ

Their camel-litters departed; in their wake ebbed

copious tears from the dwellings.

وسفرْنَ الغداةَ عن أوجُه من

دونِها في بهائها الأقمارُ

And in the morning they unveiled faces

whose beauty surpassed the moons.

فأصبْنَ الفؤاد وخْزاً بأشفا

رٍ ما تِيكُمُ الأشفارُ

They pierced the heart with lashes—

what lashes those were!

عجباً صائدُ الصّوارِ أصابتْ

هُ فأصْمَتْهُ بالسّهامِ الصّوارُ

How strange! The hunter of wild cattle was struck

and slain with arrows by the wild cattle.

فتبسّمْتُ ثم قلتُ وفي القل

بِ لعمري مما أكابدِ نارُ

So I smiled, then said, while in my heart

was a fire, by my life, from all I endure:

هل سبيلٌ الى القصاصِ فقالوا

إنّ جُرحَ العجماءِ صاحِ جُبار

‘Is there a way to exact retribution?’ They said:

‘An injury inflicted by a beast, my friend, warrants no compensation.’

ومهاةٍ زرعْتُ باللثم فوق ال

خدّ منها روضاً ففيهِ احمِرارُ

And an oryx: with kisses I planted upon

her cheek a garden, tinged with red.

راعَها البين فابتدَتْ تذرف الدم

ع وقالت ماءُ الدموعِ اعتذارُ

Parting frightened her, and she began to shed

tears, saying, ‘The water of tears is an apology.’

فكأنّ الدموعَ طلٌّ بدا من

نرْجسِ العين تحته جُلّنارُ

And the tears seemed dew appearing from

the eye’s narcissus, with pomegranate blossom beneath it.

أيُّ يومٍ مضى لنا في رياضٍ

عرّسَتْ في عِراصها الأمطارُ

What a day we spent amid gardens,

where rains had encamped in their open spaces!

كلُّ شيءٍ أكنَّ كانونُ فيها

لم يذَرْهُ حتى بدا آذارُ

Everything Kanun had hidden within them,

it held until Adhar appeared:

أُقحوانٌ غضٌّ وورْدٌ نضيرٌ

وشقيقٌ قانٍ بها وبَهارُ

Tender daisies and fresh roses,

crimson anemones there, and yellow daisies.

وبها بالأغصانِ رقْصٌ إذا ما

أنشدَتْ في حافاتِها الأطيارُ

And there the branches danced whenever

birds sang along their borders.

وكأنّ الأوراقَ فيها لعيني

كَ سماءٌ أثمارُها أقمارُ

And the leaves there seemed, to your eyes,

a sky whose fruits were moons.

ومطيٍّ جلَتْ أهلّةَ ليلٍ

قد علَتْ فوقَ ظهرِها أكوارُ

And riding camels that revealed crescents in the night,

with camel saddles raised upon their backs.

خيّلَتْ لي أنّ الفيافيَ صُحْفٌ

وعليها آثارَها أعشارُ

They made me imagine that the wastelands were pages,

and their tracks upon them were ten-verse markers.

فتعسّفْتُها بليلٍ علينا

من دُجاهُ في ضِمنِها أستارُ

So I crossed them pathlessly by night; over us,

within those wastes, lay veils of its darkness.

وكأنّ السماءَ روضٌ أنيقٌ

حفّهُ من نجومِها أزهارُ

And the sky seemed an exquisite garden,

ringed with flowers made of its stars.

وعليها من المجرّةِ نهرٌ

قد سقاها من دونِه الأنهارُ

Upon it lay a river of the Milky Way,

which watered it; the rivers were beneath it.

وكأنّ الهلال إذ لاحَ فيها

زورقٌ يعجِبُ العيونَ نُضارُ

And the crescent, when it appeared there, seemed

a boat of pure gold, delighting the eyes.

ونرى أنجُمَ الثريا فقلنا

هو كأسٌ للغرب فيه عقارُ

And seeing the Pleiades’ stars, we said:

‘It is a cup for the West, with wine inside.’

وبدا الصبحُ فاختفى كلُّ نجمٍ

عندما منه عمّنا إسفارُ

Dawn appeared, and every star vanished

when its brightness spread over us.

مثلُ بحرٍ غطّى الرياضَ فما إن

بقيت بعده لها آثارُ

Like a sea that covered the gardens, so that

no trace of them remained afterward.

أو كأنّ الظلماء ليلٌ وضوءَ الص

بح فيها لما تبسّم نارُ

Or as though the darkness were night, and dawn’s light

were fire within it, when dawn smiled.

أو محيّا الحَبرِ الإمامِ إذا ما

أُنشِدَتْ فيه هكذا الأشعارُ

Or the face of the learned imam, whenever

poems such as these were recited in his praise.

علَمٌ أوحدٌ له الفضلُ والدي

نُ مدى الدهرِ والعُلا والوقارُ

An unrivaled luminary: his are excellence and faith,

for all time, eminence and dignity.

حازَ منه الإزارُ قسّاً وزَيداً

وابنَ إدريسَ حاز منه الإزارُ

His waistcloth encompassed Quss and Zayd,

and his waistcloth encompassed Ibn Idris.

طال فضلاً ورفعةً وجلالا

زاده الله واللئامُ قِصارُ

He towers in excellence, elevation, and majesty;

may God increase his stature; the ignoble are short.

لفظُه حكمةٌ وآراؤه نو

رٌ وألفاظُه بدَتْ أقمارُ

His speech is wisdom, his judgments light,

and his words appear as moons.

فيه للهِ إذ هو الحافظ الفر

دُ المرجّى فخرُ الورى أسرارُ

In him God has—for he is the unrivaled Hafiz,

the hoped-for one, mankind’s pride—mysteries.

خلّد الله مُلكَ مالِكِنا الصا

لحِ فهْو السميدَعُ المختارُ

May God perpetuate the reign of our ruler al-Salih,

for he is the chosen noble lord.

ملكٌ شاكَلَتْ شمائلُهُ الرو

ضَ وأضحَتْ كوجهه الأقمارُ

A king whose qualities resemble a garden,

while the moons have come to resemble his face.

هو كالسيفِ غير أنّ له من

كل وجهٍ للمفسدين غِرارُ

He is like a sword, except that he bears,

on every side, an edge against evildoers.

عزمُهُ سيفُه وهيبتُه الرع

بُ حقيقاً ونصرُهُ الأنصارُ

His resolve is his sword; the awe he inspires is terror

indeed, and his victory is his supporting host.

فله منه وحدَه حالةُ الحر

بِ للاعْداءِ جحفَلُ جرّارُ

From himself alone he has, in time of war,

against his foes, a vast marching host.

فإذا ما الخطّيّ غُرِّسَ في الأع

داءِ يوماً فللرؤوسِ نِثارُ

Whenever the Khatti spear is planted among

the foes, on any day, heads are strewn about.

وإذا ما ظلامُ ليلٍ من الشِّرْ

كِ دَجا وادلَهمّ فهْو نَهارُ

And when the darkness of a night of polytheism

deepens and grows black, he is daylight.

زانَ هذا الزمانَ حتى كأنّ الد

هْرَ خدٌّ يلوحُ وهو عِذارُ

He adorned this age, until time itself seemed

a radiant cheek, with him as its down.

ولثغرِ الإسكندريّةِ منه

في العُلى لا لغيره آثارُ

And for Alexandria’s frontier stronghold, his are

deeds of greatness, belonging to no other.

شادَ للعلم فيه مدرّساً للث

غر منها جِنحَ الدُجى أنوارُ

He built a school for learning there; for the stronghold

lights come from it in the depths of night.

ورأى الحافظَ الإمام المُرجّى

لوذعيّاً من دونِه الأحبارُ

He saw the Hafiz, the imam in whom hopes rest,

as keen-witted, above the other learned scholars.

فحباهُ بها يدرِّسُ فيها

لا افتخارٌ إلا كذا الافتخارُ

So he granted it to him, to teach within it;

there is no glory but glory such as this.

أيها الحافظُ الذي من يدَيْه

للورى باللُّهى تفيضُ بِحارُ

O Hafiz, from whose two hands

seas overflow with gifts for mankind,

رحلَ الصومُ ثم وافى غداةَ ارْ

تحلَ الصومُ للورى الإفطارُ

fasting departed; then, on the morning it left,

the breaking of the fast came to mankind.

وأتانا عيدٌ وأنت له العي

دُ لك الله طولَ عُمرِكَ جارُ

A festival came to us, and you are its festival;

may God be your protector throughout your life.

فابْقَ واسلَمْ ما لاحَ برقٌ وغنّتْ

فوقَ أغصانِ بانةٍ أطيارُ

So live on and stay safe, as long as lightning flashes and

birds sing above the boughs of a ban-tree.