لولا رجائي ثانيا للقائه — Alarjani

لولا رجائي ثانياً للقائهِ

ما كنتُ أحيا ساعةً في نائه

Were it not for my hope of meeting him again,

I would not live an hour in his absence.

سَكَنٌ له أبداً فؤادي مَسْكَنٌ

ما مَلَّ يوماً فيه طُولَ ثوائه

A beloved whose everlasting dwelling is my heart,

Who has never tired of his long residence within it.

ريمٌ إذا رِيم السُّلُوّ لمُغْرَمٍ

عن حُبّه أعيا عِلاجُ عَيائه

A gazelle: when release is sought for an ardent lover

From his love, curing that lover's sickness proves impossible.

ومُقَرطَقٌ لو مَدَّ حلقةَ صُدْغهِ

من فَتْلها تَمّتْ لعَقْدِ قَبائه

A wearer of a short tunic: if he stretched his curled sidelock,

Its twist would suffice to fasten his robe.

غُصُنٌ إذا ما مادَ في مَيدانهِ

أسدٌ إذا ما هاجَ في هَيْجائه

A branch when he sways in his arena,

A lion when he rises in the fury of battle.

في جَفْن ناظِره وجفْنِ حُسامهِ

سَيْفانِ مختلفانِ في أنحائه

In his eye's lid and his sword's sheath

Are two different swords within his person.

فبواحدٍ يَسطو على أحبابهِ

وبواحِد يَسْطو على أعدائه

With one he assaults his lovers,

And with the other he assaults his enemies.

قَمَرٌ غدا روحي وراح مُفارِقي

والجسمُ بالرّوح امتساكُ بقائه

A moon who became my soul, then departed from me;

The body's continued existence depends upon the soul.

فَتَعَجُّبي أن عشتُ بعد فِراقه

وتَحسُّري أن متُّ قبل لِقائه

My wonder is that I lived after his departure,

And my grief is that I died before meeting him.

مالي وما للدهر ما من مطلبٍ

أُدنيه ألاّ لَجَّ في إقصائه

What have I to do with Time? There is no goal

I bring near but it persists in driving it away.

تُضحى وتُمسي حادثاتُ خُطوبِه

تَتْرى تُمِلُّ المرءَ من حَوبائه

Morning and evening, the calamities of its ordeals

Follow one another, making a man weary of his soul.

كَدَرَتْ فليسَ يَبينُ آخرُ أمرِها

وظُهورُ قَعْرِ الماء عند صفائه

They have grown turbid; their eventual outcome cannot be seen,

And water's bottom appears when it is clear.

إلاّ رئيس الدّين إن أبدَى لنا

عن وجْههِ أو سيفِه أو رائه

Except that Ra'is al-Din, if he reveals to us

His face, his sword, or his judgment,

فليكْشفَنَّ عنِ الورى غَمّاءها

أيُّ الثّلاثةِ كان من أضوائه

Will surely lift their dark affliction from mankind,

Whichever of his three lights it may be.

إنْ حَطّ ثِنْىَ لِثامِه أو هَزَّ حَدْ

دَ حُسامِهِ أو شَبَّ نارَ ذكائه

If he lowers a fold of his veil, or brandishes the edge

Of his blade, or kindles the fire of his intelligence.

مَلِكٌ إذا عَمَّ البلاد بعدْلِه

عَمَر البلادَ بِبَأْسِه وسَخائه

A king who, when he spreads justice throughout the lands,

Makes them flourish through his might and generosity.

إنَّ اللّياليَ أصبحَتْ بأساؤها

مَغْمورةً للخَلْقِِ في نَعْمائه

The hardships of the nights have become

Drowned for all people in his blessings.

ما إن يُصيب الحُرَّ منها نازِلٌ

إلاّ ومنه نائلٌ بإزائه

No calamity from them befalls a freeborn man

Without a gift from him to match it.

ففَدى العُداةُ مِنَ الحِمامِ ورَيْبِه

وهمُ وإن رغمِوا أقلُّ فِدائه

May his foes ransom him from death and its perils;

Even against their will, they are his paltriest ransom.

مَنْ ليس يَثْنى طَبْعَه عن حِلْمه

سَعْيُ العِدا بَغياً على عَليْائه

One whose nature is not turned from forbearance

By enemies striving unjustly against his eminence.

أفليس أَشقَى النّاسِ مَن جاز المدى

في البَغْي حتّى خاب من إبقائه

Is not the most wretched of men he who oversteps all bounds

In aggression, until he loses hope of being spared by him?

يَغْترُّ حاسِدُهُ بأنْ أملَى له

والبأسُ كُلُّ البأسِ في إملائه

His envier is deceived because he grants him respite,

Yet terrible might, all terrible might, lies in that respite.

كم راقدٍ مَلَّ الجفونَ جَهالةً

ما دام ليلُ الشّكِ في ظَلْمائه

How many a sleeper has tired of his eyelids in ignorance,

While the night of doubt remains in its darkness.

لا بُدَّ أنْ سَيعودُ صُبْحٌ ساطعٌ

فَيهُبُّ فيه المَرءُ من إغفائه

A radiant dawn must surely return,

And then a man will spring awake from his slumber.

يومٌ يجازَى المَرءُ فيه وواجِبٌ

أن يُذكَرَ الإنسانُ يومَ جَزائه

A day when a man receives his due; and it is fitting

That a man be remembered on his day of recompense.

هو عَفْوُه اعتَصِموا بحَبْلِ ذمامه

وعِقابُه اجتَنِبوا حُلولَ فَنائه

It is his pardon: cling to the cord of his pledged protection;

And his punishment: avoid alighting in his courtyard.

يُغْني ويُفْني فاطلُبوا إغناءه

وتَعوَّذوا باللهِ من إفنائه

He enriches and destroys: seek his enrichment,

And seek refuge in God from his destruction.

سبب النجاة ولاؤه ورجاءه

فتمسكوا بولائه ورجائه

Loyalty to him and hope in him are the means of salvation,

So hold fast to loyalty to him and hope in him.

قُلْ للعُداةِ انْوُوا له ما شئِتُمُ

فلَكَم يقيهِ اللهُِ من إسوائه

Tell his foes: intend for him whatever you will;

For how often God shields him from harm.

أفبَعْدَ هذا للخلائقِ ريبة

في أنَّ سِرَّ اللهِ في إعلائه

After this, can mankind harbor any doubt

That God's secret lies in exalting him?

هيهات إنَّ اللهَ يأبى نُوُره

أن تَعمَلَ الأفواهُ في إطفائه

Far from it! God will not allow His light

To be extinguished by the workings of mouths.

اليومَ عاد السّعْدُ بعد مَغيبهِ

عنّا وبان الرشْدُ بعدَ خفَائه

Today good fortune has returned after its absence

From us, and right guidance has appeared after being hidden.

وسعَى لهذا الملْكِ في تَجْديدِه

من بَعْدِ سَعْيِ الدَّهرِ في إبلائه

And one labored to renew this kingdom,

After Time had labored to wear it out:

ذو غُرةٍ كالبَدْرِ عند طُلوعِه

بَهَر الورى بسَناه أو بسَنائه

One with a bright brow like the full moon at its rising,

Who dazzled mankind with his radiance or his grandeur.

لكنْ إذا نظَروا إليه تَبَيّنوا

أنْ ليس بَدْرُ الأفْقِ من نُظرائه

But when they looked at him, they understood

That the moon on the horizon was no peer of his.

فكمَالُه أنْ ساس فوق كَمالِه

وعَلاؤه أنْ قاس فوق عَلائه

His perfection in ruling surpasses its perfection,

And his loftiness in comparison surpasses its loftiness.

مَلِكٌ إشارةُ كَفّهِ أو طَرْفهِ

لنعيمِ شَطْرٍ للورى وشَقائه

A king: a gesture of his hand or his eye

Means bliss for one portion of mankind, and misery for another.

ربُّ الكتابةِ والكتيبةِ صاحبٌ

تَسْرِي جيوشُ النّصرِ تحت لوائه

Master of the pen and the battalion, a lord

Beneath whose banner the armies of victory march by night.

وإذا رأيت السّودَ من راياتهِم

سارتْ أمام البيضِ من آرائه

And when you see the black of their banners

Marching before the white of his counsels,

فتَرقّبِ الفَتْحَ القريبَ لمن غدا

بين الملوكِ وأنت من وزرائه

Expect a victory close at hand for one who has become

A king among kings, with you among his ministers.

يا طالعاً سَعْدَ السّعودِ لناظري

من بَعدِ طُولِ سُهادِه وبكائه

O you who rise as Sa'd al-Su'ud before my eyes,

After their long sleeplessness and weeping.

لو لم أُرِدْ بصَري لِرؤيةِ وجْههِ

ما كنتُ ذا حرْصٍ على استِبقائه

Were I not to want my sight to behold his face,

I would not be eager to preserve it.

لِمحَبَّتي نَظرِي إليك صيانَتي

بَصَرِي وإمساكي عنِ استبكائه

My love of looking at you is why I safeguard

My sight and refrain from making it weep.

ما كنتُ أصنْعُ لو طلعْتَ بمُقلتي

والدَّمعُ أطفأ نارَها في مائه

What would I have done, had you risen in my eye

While tears had quenched its fire in their water?

يا كعبةً سارتْ إلى حُجاجِها

وكَفتْ مَسيرَ النَّضْوِ في بَيدائه

O Kaaba that went forth to its pilgrims,

And spared the worn-out mount its journey through the desert.

وأهلَّ زائرُها برَجْع دُعائه

من قبلِ جادِيهم برَجْع حُدائه

Its visitor cried aloud with the echo of his prayer,

Before their bounty-seeker echoed his camel-song.

خذْها كعِقْدِ الدُّرِّ ثنى لثامه

والكوكب الدريِّ في لألائه

Take it like a pearl necklace with its veil folded back,

And like a pearly star in its glitter.

فلأ شكُرنَّ على دُنُوِّ الدراما

توليه من حظٍ ومن إسنانه

I shall surely give thanks, with the dwelling near, for what [reading uncertain]

You bestow of good fortune and [unclear text],

شُكْري أميرَ المؤمنين على النّوى

لمّا سقَى أرضي حَبِيُّ حِبائه

As I thanked the Commander of the Faithful from afar,

When the laden cloud of his bounty watered my land.

قرَّطتْهُ أنا والمهامِهُ بيننا

دُرّى وَقرَّطني كذا بعَطائه

I adorned his ears, with deserts lying between us,

With my pearls; and he likewise adorned mine with his gifts.

وأجَلُّ من تقليدِه لنوالِه

ما كان من تقليدِه لقضائه

And greater than his adorning me with his bounty

Was his entrusting me with his judgeship.

وقد استَنبْتُ ابني فوَّقع مُمضياً

والفَخْرُ كُلُّ الفخْرِ في إمضائه

I appointed my son as deputy, and he signed his approval;

All honor, all honor, lay in his ratification.

فمَنِ المُخالِفُ للخليفةِ أمرَه

في عَوْدهِ يوما وفي إبدائه

Who, then, would oppose the caliph's command

When he renews it someday, or first issues it?

ووُرودُ أمرٍ جاء من رَبِّ الوَرى

كوُرودِ أمرٍ جاء من خُلفائه

The arrival of a command from the Lord of mankind

Is like the arrival of a command from His caliphs.

فأعدْ لنا نظرا فهمُك صائبٌ

لا يطمَعُ الجُهّالُ في إخطائه

So consider our case anew; your understanding is sound,

And the ignorant cannot hope to find it in error.

وانظُرْ إلى استحسانِ واستقباح ما

سيُقالُ بعْدَ المرءِ من أنبائه

Consider the approval and disapproval of what

Will be told of a man after he is gone.

فتعّلمَ الأدبَ السَّموألُومن صدى

جبَلٍ دعا فغدا مُجيبَ دُعائه

Thus al-Samaw'al learned courtesy from an echo

Of a mountain he called to, which then answered his call.

يا صاحباً ما شام برقَكَ آمِلٌ

إلا وجاد ثَراه سُحْبُ ثَرائهِ

O lord, no hopeful man ever watched your lightning

But the clouds of your riches rained upon his soil.

لم أرْجُ نُجْحاً عاجِلاً في مَطلَبٍ

إلا وبِشْرُك كان من بُشَرائه

Never did I hope for prompt success in any quest

But your smiling welcome was among its heralds.

لكنّ دهراً رائعاتُ صُروفُه

كَرَّتْ بشِدَّتهِ بُعَيدَ رخائه

But a Time whose dread reversals

Returned with harshness shortly after its ease,

كان اعتناؤك بي يَراه ويَستحي

وأراه قد ألقَى لثامَ حَيائه

Used to see your care for me and feel ashamed;

Yet I see it has now cast aside the veil of its shame.

فلقد مَلِلتُ اليومَ من أكداره ال

مُلْقاةِ في شُرْبي ومن أقذائه

For today I have grown weary of its murk,

Cast into my drink, and of its impurities.

فأعنْ على هَربي إذن من منزلٍ

فَنِيَ اصطبارِي من طويل بَلائه

So help me flee, then, from a dwelling

Whose long afflictions have exhausted my endurance,

بِمُهْملَجٍ كالماء عند مَسيره

لكنّه كالبَرْقِ في تَعْدائه

On a smooth-pacing horse, like water in its going,

Yet like lightning when it gallops.

فَرسٌ إذا ملكَتْه كَفّي لم أُرعْ

من بُعْدِ مُنتجَعٍ ومن عُدَوائه

A horse that, once my hand possesses it, leaves me fearless

Of a distant pasture and its rough terrain.

وعليه إنْ أك في صباحِيَ فارساً

أَو فارساً إن سرتُ قبلَ مَسائه

And upon it, if I am a horseman in the morning,

Or a horseman if I set out before its evening.

وبسابقٍ لي منكَ وَعْدٌ سابقٌ

فتُرى إلامَ تَلِجُّ في إبطائه

For a racer I have from you a prior promise;

So why, I wonder, do you persist in delaying it?

وأبو الفُتوح وليس يُنْكِرُ ضامِنٌ

فَبقيتُ في وطَني أسيرَ جَفائه

Abu al-Futuh, who does not deny it, stands surety;

So I remained in my homeland, captive to its cruelty.

فعسى أرى طِرْفي بطَرْفي مَرّةً

يُزْهى أمام الخيلِ من خُيلائه

Perhaps I may see my noble steed with my own eye one day,

Strutting before the horses in its pride.

وعلى السِفارِ عسى أصيرُ بظَهْرِه

مُستظهراً فأهزَّ عِطْفَ التّائه

And on journeys, perhaps upon its back I shall become

Well-supported, tossing my shoulder like a swaggering man.

مَنعتْ موانعُ أنْ أمُرَّ لِطيَّتي

فبقيِتُ في وطني أسيرَ جَفائه

Obstacles prevented me from going toward my destination,

So I remained in my homeland, captive to its cruelty.

قَيّدْتني وَسَطَ الدّيار ومَن نَبَتْ

دارٌ به فَنجاتُه بنَجائه

They bound me amid the dwellings; and one whom

A home repels finds deliverance through escape.

حتّى لجْأتُ إلى ربيبِ رئاسةٍ

إفضالُه وقْفٌ على فُضَلائه

Until I sought refuge with one nurtured in leadership,

Whose beneficence is devoted to his men of merit.

وشَكوتُ للزّمنِ المُسىء حوادِثاً

وفؤادِيَ العاني أسيرُ عَنائه

I complained of calamities wrought by cruel Time,

My captive heart a prisoner of its torment.

فأزال أقيادَ الخطوبِ ورَدَّني

مُتقيّداً بالغُرِّ من آلائه

He removed the fetters of calamities, and left me

Bound instead by his splendid blessings.

فبقيتُ لا أدري أمن أُسَرائهِ

أصبحتُ بين النّاس أم طُلَقائه

So I remained, not knowing whether among his captives

I had come to stand among men, or among his freedmen.

عاش الرّجاءُ لكلِّ قَلْبٍ آيسٍ

لمَا قَدِمْتَ وكنتَ من أبنائه

Hope came alive in every despairing heart

When you arrived, yourself one of its sons.

وكذاك دينُ اللهِ زاد جلالةً

لمّا رآك وأنت من رُؤسائه

Likewise God's faith grew in majesty

When it saw you, one of its chiefs.

فَالْحَقْ بحُسْنِ الرّأى مُهجةَ خادمٍ

لم يَبق للحدثانِ غيرُ ذَمائه

So, with sound judgment, come to the aid of a servant's soul:

Only his last flicker of life remains for Fate.

واسَتْبقِ فيك ثناءه وَولاءه

فَيقِلُّ مثْلُ ثنائه وَولائه

Preserve his praise of you and his loyalty to you,

For praise and loyalty like his are rare.

لا زلتَ مثْلَ النّجمِ تَطلُعُ للورى

في عُمْرهِ طولاً وفي استِعلائه

May you ever rise like a star before mankind,

Long-lived as it, and as exalted.

في ظلّ مُلْكٍ كاملٍ نامٍ معاً

يَجْلو ظلامَ الظّلمِ بَثُّ ضيائه

Under a reign both perfect and still growing,

Whose spreading radiance dispels the darkness of injustice.

فكَما لهُ للبدْرِ إلاّ أنّه

كهلالِ أوَّلِ ليلةٍ لنَمائه

So its perfection is the full moon's, except that it

Is like the first night's crescent in its growth.