غرام سقى قلبي مدامته صرفا — Abn Razakh

غَرامٌ سَقى قَلبي مُدامَتَهُ صِرفا

وَلمّا يُقم لِلعَذلِ عَدلاً وَلا صَرفا

Passion gave my heart its wine, unmixed,

and has yet to accord reproach either weight or sway.

قَضى فيهِ قاضي الحُبِّ بِالهَجرِ مُذ غَدا

مَريضاً بِداءٍ لا يُطَبُّ وَلا يُشفى

Love's judge condemned it to separation when it became

sick with an ailment neither treated nor cured.

نَهارِيَّ نَهرٌ بَينَ جَفنَيَّ وَالكَرى

وَلَيلِيَّ بَحرٌ مُرسَلٌ دونَهُ سَجفا

My day is a river between my eyelids and sleep,

and my night a sea, with curtains hanging before it.

جَريحُ سِهامِ الحُبِّ عاثَ بِهِ الهَوى

فَأَبدى الَّذي أَبدى وَأَخفى الَّذي أَخفى

Wounded by love's arrows, passion has ravaged him;

so he revealed what he revealed, and concealed what he concealed.

تَوَطَّنَتِ الأَشواقُ سَوداءَ قَلبِهِ

فَتَرفَعُهُ ظَرفاً وَتَحفِضُهُ ظَرفا

Longings have settled in the dark core of his heart,

raising him at one time and lowering him at another.

يُحاوِلُ سُلواني الأَحِبَّةَ عُذَّلي

وَهَل يَجِدُ السُلوانَ مَن يَفقِدُ الإِلفا

My reproachers try to make me forget my loved ones;

but can one who loses a beloved find solace?

سَهِرنا فَناموا ثُمَّ عابوا جُفونَنا

لَقَد صَدَقونا المُرهُ لا تُشبِهُ الوُطفا

We stayed awake while they slept, then they faulted our eyelids;

indeed, they spoke truly: sore eyes are unlike luxuriantly lashed ones.

فَحَسبُ المُحِبِّ الصادِقِ الوِدِّ قَلبُهُ

جَفاءً بِشَكواهُ مَرارَةَ ما يُجفى

For a lover sincere in affection, his own heart is enough

as cruelty, complaining of the bitterness of being shunned.

وَما ضَرَّ أَوصالَ المُحِبِّ مُقَوَّتاً

رَجاءَ وِصالِ الحِبِّ اِسناتُها عَجفا

Nor does it harm the lover's limbs, sustained

by hope of union with the beloved, that hunger wastes them.

لَئِن فاتَنا عَينُ الحَبيبِ فَإِنَّما

بِآثارِهِ الحُسنى اِكتِفاءُ مَنِ اِستَكفى

Though the beloved himself eludes us, still

his beautiful traces suffice for whoever seeks sufficiency.

فَإِن لَم تَرَ النَّعلَ الشَريفَةَ فَاِنخَفِض

لِتِمثالِها وَاِعكُف عَلى لَثمِها عَكفا

If you cannot see the noble sandal, bow down

before its likeness, and linger devotedly over kissing it.

وَقِف رائِماً إِشمامَ رَيّا عَبيرِها

حُشاشَةَ نَفسٍ وَدَّعَت جِسمَها وَقفا

Stand, seeking to breathe its perfume's rich fragrance into

the last spark of a soul that has left its body standing still.

وَلا تَرضَ في تَقبيلِ إِلفٍ تُحِبُّهُ

إِذا أَمكَنَ التَقبيلُ أَلفاً وَلا ضِعفا

Do not be content, when kissing a beloved whom you love,

if kissing is possible, with a thousand kisses or even twice as many.

بَدَت رَوضَةً مِسكِيَّةَ النَّشرِ أَوشَكَت

لِطيبِ شَذاها العَينُ أَن تَحسُدَ الأَنفا

It appeared as a musk-scented garden; almost

did the eye envy the nose for the sweetness of its fragrance.

أَيُمكِنُ رَأسٌ ضَمُّهُ الفَمَ دونَها

أَيَملِكُ جَفنٌ غَضَّهُ دونَها الطَرفا

Can a head close its mouth before it?

Can an eyelid lower the gaze before it?

تَرُدُّ الرَدى المَحشِيَّ وَشكُ بَلائِهِ

وَلَولا قَضاءٌ سابِقٌ رَدَّتِ الحَتفا

It wards off ruin, laden with imminent affliction;

and, were it not for a prior decree, would repel death itself.

وَتَجلِبُ في سوقِ التَكَسُّبِ طُرفَةً

وَتَجنُبُ في مِضمارِ نَيلِ العُلى طِرفا

It brings a precious rarity in the marketplace of gain,

and leads alongside a noble steed in the race for lofty rank,

وَرُمحاً رُدَينِيّاً وَسَهماً مُفَوَّقا

وَسَيفاً سُريجِيّاً وَسابِغَةً زَغفا

a Rudayni spear and a nocked arrow,

a Surayji sword and a full-length coat of fine mail.

فَشَمِّر وَأَظهِر كُلَّ سِرٍّ تَضُمُّهُ

وَإِيّاكَ وَالإِضمارَ في الشَرحِ وَالحَذفا

So gird yourself and reveal every secret it holds;

beware of concealment and omission in expounding it.

وَحَكِّم لَها مَن هُنَّ بِالفَضلِ حُكَّمٌ

ثَلاثَتَهُنَّ الشَرعَ وَالعَقلَ وَالعُرفا

Let those who judge excellence judge it:

all three—revealed law, reason, and accepted custom.

مَضى سَلَف في خِدمَةِ النَعلِ صالِحٌ

فَكُن خَلَفاً فيما تَعاطَوهُ لا خَلفا

Righteous forebears have gone before in service to the sandal;

be a worthy successor in what they undertook, not an unworthy one.

رَأَوا تِلكَ في الدُنيا الدَنِيَّةِ قُربَةً

إِلى اللَهِ في الأُخرى مُقَرَّبَةً زُلفى

In this lowly world, they saw that as a devotion

to God, bringing them close to Him in the world to come.

أَرى الشُّعَراءَ الهائِمينَ تَشَبَّبوا

بِذِكرِ المُحاكي مَن يُحِبّونَهُ وَصفا

I see love-struck poets singing love songs

by describing what resembles the one they love.

يُذيعونَ ذِكرَ البانِ وَالحِقفَ ذي النَّقى

وَيُطرونَ ذاتَ الخِشفِ بِالقَولِ وَالخِشفا

They spread praise of the ban-tree and the curving dune of fine sand,

and praise in speech the doe and her fawn.

فَها أَنا في تِمثالِ نَعلِكَ سَيِّدي

مَضَيتُ عَلى التَّحقيقِ في الوَصفِ كَالإِشفا

Here I am, my master, describing your sandal's likeness,

proceeding with precision in description, like an awl.

وَإِنّي وَتوصافي بَديعَ حُلاهُما

كَمَن هَمَّ بِالبَحرَينِ يُفنيهِما غَرفا

And I, with my description of their wondrous adornments,

am like one who would empty two seas by scooping.

مُوازي تُرابِ النَعلِ بِالتَبرِ سائِمٌ

جِبالَ شَرَورى الشُمَّ أَن تَزِنَ الزِّفا

One who equates the sandal's dust with gold is asking

Sharawra's lofty mountains to match the weight of down.

أَيا مَن سَقَت أَلفاً ظِماءً بَنانُهُ

كَما وَهَبَت أَلفاً كَما هَزَمَت أَلفا

O you whose fingertips gave drink to a thousand thirsty souls,

as they gave to a thousand, as they routed a thousand.

يَدٌ سُمِّيَت في فادِحِ الفَقرِ راحَة

كَما سُمِّيَت في كَفِّها لِلعِدى كَفّا

A hand called 'comfort' amid crushing poverty,

just as it was called 'restraint' for holding enemies back.

وَمَن قامَ في الإِسراءِ وَالحَشرِ خَلفَهُ

نَبيّو إِلَهِ الحَقِّ كُلُّهُمُ صَفّا

And you behind whom, at the Night Journey and the Gathering,

all the prophets of the true God stood in a row.

نَبِيٌّ وَقانا صَرفَ الدَهرِ يُمنُهُ

فَها نَحنُ لا أَزلا نَخافُ وَلا عُنفا

A prophet whose blessing shielded us from fortune's reversals:

here we are, fearing neither hardship nor violence.

لَهُ مِكنَةٌ في عِلمِ كُلِّ خَبيئَةٍ

يَقيناً وَلَم يَحطُط عَلى مُهرَقٍ حَرفا

He has mastery in knowing every hidden thing,

with certainty, though he set not a letter upon a writing sheet.

تَناهى إِلَيهِ عِلمُ ما كانَ أَودَعَت

بَناتُ لَبيدٍ بِئرَ ذَروانَ وَالجَفا

Knowledge reached him of what had been placed

by Labid's daughters in Dharwan's well and the palm-sheath,

وَما في ذِراعِ الشاةِ مِمّا تَعَمَّدَت

يَهودُ وَلَكِن ما أَعَفَّ وَما أَعفا

and what lay in the ewe's foreleg, of what

the Jews had intended; yet how pure he was, how forgiving!

وَما مَلكوتُ العَرشِ عَنهُ مُغَيَّباً

يُعايِنُهُ وَالعَينُ نائِمَةٌ كَشفا

Nor is the dominion of the Throne hidden from him;

he beholds it unveiled, while his eye sleeps.

يَجوزُ عَلَيهِ النَومُ شَرعاً وَما سَها

لَهُ قَلبُهُ اليَقظانُ قَطُّ وَما أَغفى

Sleep is permitted him by sacred law, but never grew heedless

his wakeful heart, nor did it ever doze.

وَما أَرضَة البَيتِ الحَرامِ تَعَقَّبَت

كِتابَ قُرَيشٍ إِذ نَفَت كُلَّ ما يُنفى

And what of the Sacred House's termite, which worked upon

Quraysh's document, erasing all that should be erased?

لِمَولِدِكَ المَيمونِ آيٌ شَهيرَةٌ

شَفَت غُلَّةَ الراوينَ مِن قَولِها الشَّفّا

Your blessed birth has celebrated signs

whose abundant telling quenched the narrators' thirst.

وَفيما رَأَت عَينا حَليمَةَ مُذ رَأَت

تَبَنّيكَ هُوَ الأَحظى شِفاءَ مَنِ اِستَشفى

And in what Halima's eyes saw, once she deemed

taking you in the greatest fortune, lies healing for whoever seeks it.

وَلَو لَم يُجِبكَ البَدرُ لَمّا دَعَوتَهُ

لِما شِئتَ لَم يَنفَكَّ نِصفَينِ أَو نِصفا

Had the full moon not answered you when you called it

to do your will, it would not have parted into two halves—or a half.

وَلَم تَكُ أُمُّ المُؤمِنينَ وَإِن سَخَت

لِتُفنِيَ لَولا كَيلُها ما عَلا الرَفّا

And the Mother of the Believers, though generous, would not

have exhausted what lay on the shelf, had she not measured it.

إِلى مُعجِزاتٍ أَنجُمُ الجَوِّ دونَها

نُمُوّاً وَحُسناً وَاِرتِفاعاً وَمُصطَفّى

Besides miracles beneath which the stars of the sky fall short

in growth, beauty, loftiness, and excellence.

فَلا الدَهرُ يُحصيهِنَّ عَدّاً وَلَو غَدَت

مِداداً لَياليهِ وَأَيّامُهُ صُحفا

Time itself cannot count them, even if

its nights became ink and its days pages.

بِكَ اللَهُ نادى عالَمَ العَقلِ بالِياً

فَأَغواهُمُ عَدلاً وَوَفَّقَهُم لُطفا

Through you God called the realm of intellect, putting it to the test,

so He led them astray in justice and guided them in kindness.

تَأَثَّلَ مِنكَ النَجمُ كَيفِيَّةَ الهُدى

وَشَمسُ الضُحى الإِشراقَ وَالعَنبَرُ العَرفا

From you the star acquired its way of guiding,

the morning sun its radiance, and ambergris its scent.

وَرُشدُكَ ما أَبداهُ فَاِنكَشَفَ العَمى

وَوَجهُكَ ما أَبهى وَقَلبُكَ ما أَصفى

How manifest your guidance, dispelling blindness!

How radiant your face, how pure your heart!

وَنَوَّرتَ أَضغانَ العَدُوِّ مُوالِياً

عَلَيهِم هُدى الأَياتِ يُشرِقنَ وَالزَحفا

You illumined the enemy's rancor, bringing successively

upon them the guidance of radiant signs and the advancing host.

وَلي فيكَ عَينٌ ما إِنِ العَينُ ثَرَّةً

حَكَتها وَلا هامي الحَيا مِثلُها وَكفا

For you I have an eye that not even a gushing spring

can rival, nor pouring rain match in its flow.

وَخَدٌّ كَما تَحتَ المُحيطِ مِنَ الثَرى

فَآلَيتُهُ لا جَفَّ إِلّا إِذا جَفّا

And a cheek like the earth beneath the ocean:

I have sworn it shall dry only when the ocean dries.

وَفِكرَةُ حَيرانِ الحِجا قَذَفَت بِهِ

نَوىً شُطُرٌ مِن حَيثُ لَم يَحتَسِب قَذفا

And the thoughts of one bewildered in mind, hurled away

by distant separation from where he never expected.

وَقَلبٌ تَوَلّى الحُبُّ تَصويرَ شَكلِهِ

صَنَوبَرَةٌ ثُمَّ اِستَبَدَّ بِهِ حِلفا

And a heart whose shape love took charge of fashioning—

a pine cone—then possessed it wholly as an ally.

فَكانَ سَواءً عَذبُهُ وَعَذابُهُ

عَلَيهِ فَما اِستَعفاهُ قَطُّ وَلا أَعفا

So its sweetness and its torment became equal

to it: it never begged love for release, nor was released.

وَشِعرٌ بَديعٌ لَو حَوى الفَتحَ شينُهُ

تَمَنَّت عَذارى الحَيِّ وارِدَهُ الوَحفا

And wondrous verse—were its shin given the vowel a,

the tribe's maidens would covet its long, luxuriant locks.

فَإِن لَم يَكُن حَقُّ النَبِيِّ فَزُخرُفٌ

إِذا زُلزِلَت لِلحَشرِ أَلفَيتَهُ كَهفا

If it is not the Prophet's due, it is an adornment;

when the earth is shaken for the Gathering, you will find it a refuge.

قَفَوتُ بِها الشامِيَّ في الفاءِ موقِناً

بِأَنّي وانٍ دونَ إِدراكِهِ ضُعفا

In this poem, I followed al-Shami in the fa rhyme, certain

that I am too weak and feeble to attain his level.

أَنا التابِعُ النَعّاتُ فيكَ مُؤَكِّداً

بَيانَهُمُ أَرجو بِهِ عِندَكَ العَطفا

I am the follower, the praise-singer of you, affirming

their declaration, hoping thereby for your compassion.

تَخِذتُكَ كَهفاً دونَ ما أَنا خائِفٌ

فَلَم أَخشَ في أَعقابِ حادِثَةٍ لَهفا

I have taken you as a refuge against what I fear,

and feared no anguish in the aftermath of calamity.

فَرِشني وَمَن راشَت يَداكَ جَناحَهُ

يَكُن آمِناً ما عاشَ في دَهرِهِ النَتفا

So feather my wings; whoever's wing your hands have feathered

will be safe from plucking for as long as he lives.

وَأَطلِق سَراحي مِن ذُنوبٍ عَظيمَةٍ

تَعاظَمَني إيثاقُها لَيتَني أُكفى

And set me free from grievous sins

whose bonds overwhelm me; would that I were delivered!

عَلَيكَ صَلاةُ اللَهِ جَمعاء كُلُّها

وَتَسليمُهُ ما طاشَ عَقلٌ وَما أَلفى

Upon you be God's blessing, entire and complete,

and His peace, as long as minds wander or find their way,

وَآلِكَ وَالصَحبِ الَّذينَ عُلاهُمُ

أَقَلَّنهُمُ أَرضاً أَظَلَّتهُمُ سَقفا

and upon your family and Companions, whose lofty virtues

bear them as earth and shelter them as a roof.