عجبت لقلبي كيف لا يتفطر

دهته جنود الحزن والله اكبر

I marvel at my heart—how does it not break apart?

The armies of sorrow have assailed it, and God is greatest.

فقدت احبائي الذين ألفتهم

وامسيت وحدي حائرا اتفكر

I have lost my loved ones, those I had grown close to,

and become alone, bewildered, pondering.

اراعي نجوم الليل في الروم والنوى

يصارع لي قلبا يغيب ويحضر

I watch the stars of night in Rum, while separation

wrestles with a heart of mine that vanishes and returns.

غدا هدفا للنائبات تنوشه

باسمهها فالنبل كالسحب يمطر

It has become a target for calamities that strike it

with their arrows; the shafts rain down like clouds.

ولله مني مقلة طبعها البكا

ودمع لما قد ناب قلبيَ أحمر

And to God belongs this eye of mine, whose nature is weeping,

and tears, red from what has befallen my heart.

إذا رامت الاحزان غيري بطارق

عذيرك منها بي لدى السير تعثر

When sorrows seek someone else with a visitation,

your pardon for them—they stumble over me along their way.

وهل بعد فقد الناصرين مصيبة

وان هو لا خلق سوى الله ينصر

Is there any calamity after losing those who give support,

even though no creature comes to his aid, save God?

اكابد احزانا اذن لو تجسمت

جبال شرودا دونها وهي اكبر

I struggle with sorrows that, were they to take bodily form,

would make mountains scatter beneath them, so much greater are they.

وعصر اذا لامست اذيال طوره

ترى منه امواه العجائب تقطر

And an age—if you touch the skirts of its course,

you see waters of marvels dripping from it.

تقدم فيه من بني اللؤم امة

خسيسة اصل عيبها ليس ينكر

A people born of baseness have come to the forefront in it,

lowly in origin, their disgrace undeniable.

تدلت لاوشاج الزنوج عروقها

واخرى لعمري من بني الزنج احقر

Its roots trail down to the blood-ties of Black Africans,

and another, by my life, is more contemptible than the sons of the Zanj.

تباع وتشرى والولاء زمامها

وسادت وان الدهر حينا يغبر

It is sold and bought, and allegiance is its bridle;

and it rose to mastery—indeed, time sometimes grows dust-dark.

لان عرف الدهر اللئام فانهم

معرفهم عند الكرام منكر

Since the age has come to know the base,

their standing among the noble is disavowed.

انفسي اطرحي لوم الزمان واهله

ففاجرهم والبر يقلى ويعذر

O my soul, cast aside blame for time and its people,

for their wicked and righteous alike are detested and excused.

تريدين من شين الخصال محامدا

وهل هو يبدي غير ما هو يضمر

You seek praiseworthy deeds from one foul in character;

does he reveal anything but what he conceals?

خذي الصبر درعا والتوكل حارسا

وخل صنوف الزور بالزور تجأر

Take patience as armor and trust in God as a guard,

and leave the ranks of falsehood to bellow their lies.

وحسبك جبار السموات كافيا

معينا وما المرئي لا المقدر

Sufficient for you is the Compeller of the heavens,

as a helper; what is seen is not what is decreed.

وكم غلب الايام يا نفس صابر

ولم ير صدع الخطب من هو يصبر

How many patient souls have overcome the days, O soul!

He who endures does not feel calamity's shattering force.

ولله جل الله في الصبر آية

لطائفها تملى وتتلى وتذكر

God—exalted is God—has a sign in patience,

whose subtle graces are dictated, recited, and recalled.

ويا رب آلام من الدهر ازعجت

فؤادي فاضحت ضمنه النار تسعر

How many pains from time have disturbed

my heart, so that fire blazes within it!

صبرت لها صبر الكرام بهمة

سمت عن ذراها هامة البدر تقصر

I bore them with the patience of the noble, with a resolve

that soared so high the full moon's crest falls short of its peaks.

وعن جلد اضحكت سني وعنوة

على القلب أوقات الاحبة تخطر

Through fortitude I showed my teeth in a smile; against my will,

the hours with loved ones pass across my heart.

فلا جلدي مهما صبرت بنافع

ولا لهفتي في طي سري تضمر

Yet my fortitude, however patiently I endure, is of no avail,

nor is my yearning concealed in the folds of my secret.

أليلاي كم من ليلة طال ليلها

ينام الخلي البال فيها واسهر

O my Layla, how many nights have drawn long!

The carefree sleep in them, while I stay awake.

وتنسى الليالي رونقي باحبتي

واجلس لا انسى ولا اتذكر

The nights forget the radiance I knew with my loved ones,

and I sit, neither forgetting nor remembering.

اقاتل حيرانا طلائع فكرتي

ومثلي وايم الله من يتحير

Bewildered, I fight the vanguard of my thoughts;

one like me, by God, is bound to be bewildered.

وهل خاطري يصفو وقلبي يرعوي

ولي لوعة عن طور يعقوب تسفر

Can my mind grow clear and my heart regain restraint,

when my anguish reveals the condition of Jacob?

ولي بعد من بعد الاحباء وارد

قريب بمحو الرأي والعزم يصدر

And still, from my loved ones' distance, a visitation comes to me

and soon departs, wiping out judgment and resolve.

يسامرني بالماضيات التي جرت

ومنه لقلبي ماضيات تحدر

It keeps me company at night with past events,

and from it keen blades descend upon my heart.

فانظم شعرا كله الدر مثلما

لئاليءُ دمعي فوق خدي تنثر

So I compose poetry, all of it pearls, just as

the pearls of my tears are scattered over my cheek.

واروي اسانيد المحبة طاهرا

وخلفي كلاب الحقد بالسوء تجهر

In purity I recount love's chains of transmission,

while behind me the dogs of rancor loudly proclaim evil.

مضى قبل حزب الخيرين وبعدهم

ارى الناس اخياراً ولا اتخير

The company of the good has already passed away, and after them

I see people as good, without picking and choosing.

ولست اذم الناس طرا وانما

قليل على النعماء من هو يشكر

I do not condemn people altogether; rather,

few are those who give thanks for blessings.

واحسن ما يلفى من النعم امروءٌ

مع الامن والايمان خل مطهر

The finest blessing to be found is a person—

a purified friend, alongside safety and faith.

مضت وانقضت واحسرتي حفل الوفا

فلا الماء سيال ولا الربع مزهر

The gatherings of loyalty have passed and ended—alas for me!

Neither water flows nor the homestead blooms.

على الظن قد يجفو الصديق واين من

اذا اذنب الاخوان يعفو ويغفر

A friend may turn away on suspicion; where is one

who pardons and forgives when brothers err?

وكم قاطع حبل الوداد لدرهم

وراض له والعزم ادنى واصغر

How many have severed affection's cord for a dirham,

and been content with it, their resolve lower and smaller!

خليلي كم ليل شققت ظلامه

بعزم وامواه المنية تهدر

My two friends, how many nights' darkness have I pierced

with resolve, while death's waters roar!

ومزقت غلغال الغياهب ثابتاً

ولي همة عن ذي المجرة تكبر

I tore through the tangled depths of darkness, steadfast,

with an aspiration that towers beyond this Milky Way.

وما خنت والله الصديق ولم امل

اذا لم يمل عنى الخلل ويغدر

By God, I have never betrayed a friend or turned away,

so long as that friend did not turn from me and betray me.

ويا رب خداع دهاني بزعمه

ولي ناظر يطويه علما وينشر

How many a deceiver has assailed me with his claims,

while my discerning eye folds and unfolds him in knowledge.

واوهمته اني انخدت ليرتوي

بسيبي ولا يلفى الصغار فيحقر

I let him imagine I had been deceived, so he might drink his fill

of my bounty, without meeting humiliation and being despised.

وتؤثر نفسي برها عن خصاصة

ومثلي لعمر المجد من هو يؤثر

My soul chooses kindness despite its own need,

and one like me, by glory's life, puts others first.

تروم كفافا همتي كل همها

غدا ولقاء الله يامي يذكر

My aspiration seeks mere sufficiency; its whole concern is

tomorrow; the meeting with God, O Mayy, remains in mind.

مررت على الخمسين امضيت نصفها

غريبا ولي شأن من الفجر انور

I have passed fifty, having spent half those years

a stranger, with a standing brighter than dawn.

فغار لمجدي حاسدوه واكثروا

عنادا وزورا والحواسد تكثر

Those who envied my glory grew jealous and multiplied

obstinacy and falsehood; the envious multiply.

وقد افرطوا جهلا بذمي واسرفوا

بسبي ومذموم الخصائل يفجر

In ignorance they went too far in condemning me, and were excessive

in insulting me; the man of blameworthy traits behaves outrageously.

فأعرضت عنهم لا لفقد عزيمة

وعزم ولكن المهيمن اغير

So I turned away from them, not for lack of determination

and resolve, but the Guardian is more jealous.

وما جهل الاخيار زهر مناقبي

ولي شرف في جبهة الفجر يزهر

The good have not failed to know the blossoms of my virtues,

and mine is an honor that flowers on the brow of dawn.

بآل الرفاعي الحسيني مظهري

مضيء ومن شمس الظهيرة اظهر

Through the house of al-Rifa'i al-Husayni, my outward presence is

radiant, more manifest than the midday sun.

وبين صدور الشم من آل فاطم

علي طراز من سنا المجد اخضر

Among the breasts of the lofty men of Fatim's house,

upon me lies a green embroidery of glory's radiance.

لئن بت محجوبا وفزت سفاسف

فحينا جمال الشمس بالعتم يستر

Though I spend the night veiled and trivialities spring up,

the beauty of the sun is sometimes hidden in darkness.

ولست بالي انصف الدهر او جفا

فكل ابن انثى قد يموت ويقبر

I care not whether time treats me fairly or harshly,

for every son of woman may die and be buried.

وكل له رغم المحرف صبغة

حقيقتها الخلصاء لا تتغير

Each has, despite the distorter, a hue

whose pure reality does not change.

نعم جمع الاغيار مالا وليس لي

من المال ما يكفي لصاع فيحكر

Yes, others amassed wealth, while I have not

enough money for even a sa'-measure to hoard.

ونامت لهم عين الزمان فشقشقوا

غرورا وعين الله بالعدل تنظر

Time's eye fell asleep for them, and they babbled

in arrogance, while God's eye looks on with justice.

ستأخذهم من جانب الغيب صيحة

لها يضحك الامهال والسر يظهر

A cry from the unseen realm will seize them;

at it, reprieve laughs and the secret is revealed.

وما ضرني اني من المال فارغ

ولي من جناب الله عز ومظهر

It has not harmed me that I am empty of wealth,

for I have honor and outward standing from God's presence.

فهل كان عيسى نفحة الروح تاجرا

ويحيى وموسى والحبيب الموقر

Was Jesus, the breath of the Spirit, a merchant,

and Yahya, Moses, and the honored Beloved?

مضى الانبياء الزهر والفقر درعهم

ومظهرهم ما زال يسمو ويكبر

The radiant prophets passed away with poverty as their armor,

while their outward standing still rises and grows.

اجل ولمثلى بالنيين اسوة

فخل فلانا بيت قارون يعمر

Yes, and one like me has an example in the prophets;

so leave so-and-so to build Qarun's house.

لعمر المعالي ذا الليالي رقيبة

ونكبر بالسر الخفي وتصغر

By lofty honor's life, these nights keep watch,

and we grow greater through the hidden secret, while they diminish.

تمر بكر وهي في نول نسجها

تقدم في ادوارها وتؤخر

They pass in cycles, and at the loom of their weaving

they bring forward and hold back in their rounds.

ولا بد من طي لنشر اتت به

ومن ذا الذي ياعز لا يتغير

What they have unfurled must be folded away;

and who, O 'Izz, does not change?

دعيني من الاحلام والزعم فالذي

يرى المجد عن اسبابه ليس يفتر

Leave me out of dreams and claims, for one who

discerns glory through its causes never falters.

ينازعني المجد الصميم سواقط

مع الغرض الادنى تقل ونكثر

Base castoffs contend with me for genuine glory;

with their lowly purpose they dwindle, while we increase.

دعيون لا ام حصان ولا اب

وللفلس منهم يسجد المنكبر

Bastards, with neither chaste mother nor father,

and their arrogant one bows down for a penny.

ثقيل اذ الاقي الكرام بمحفل

خفيف اذا ما قام كالقرد يسكر

Heavy in manner when I meet the noble at a gathering,

but frivolous when he rises like a monkey and gets drunk.

وقائلة لي خل همك واسترح

فكم ليلة عنها الخوارق تصدر

A woman said to me, 'Leave your cares and rest,

for how many nights give rise to wonders!'

فقلت نعم لله في كل لمحة

لطائف لا تحصى ولا هي تحصر

I said, 'Yes: in every instant God has

subtle graces beyond counting or confinement.

فيكفرها المفتون والحق ظاهر

ويشكرها العبد المنيب فينصر

The deluded man denies them, though truth is manifest,

and the repentant servant gives thanks for them and is aided.'