أمبتسم الأضحى ومطلع الفطر — Ibn Alabar

أمبتسم الأضحَى ومَطلع الفِطرِ

أم الدّولَة الغَراء وَضاحَة البشرِ

Is it the smile of Eid al-Adha and the dawn of Eid al-Fitr,

or the radiant dynasty, bright with gladness?

ليالٍ وَأَيامٌ تَماثَلْنَ بَهجَةً

هيَ المِسكُ والكافور في اللونِ والنشرِ

Nights and days, alike in delight—

they are musk and camphor in color and fragrance,

عَبِيريةُ الرَّيا ربيعية الحُلَى

كَرَقراقَةٍ عَذراءَ تطلُعُ مِن خِدرِ

perfumed in scent, springlike in adornment,

like a shimmering virgin emerging from a curtained chamber.

بِها اشتَمل الدهرُ المَحاسِنَ وارتَدى

وَمِنها استَمدت صفحة الشَّمسِ والبَدرِ

Through them Time clothed itself in beauties and was robed,

and from them the faces of sun and full moon drew their light.

فَحَذيا كَما انهَلَّت شَآبِيبُ مُزنةٍ

وَدنيا كَما انشَق الكِمام عَن الزَّهرِ

Such bounty—as a rain cloud pours down showers,

and such nearness—as flower-sheaths open to reveal blossoms.

ألا هُو شِبل البأسِ زارَ هِزَبرَه

فَقرَّ قَرارُ الناسِ منهُ عَلى الزأرِ

Behold, the cub of valor has visited his lion,

and the people found security in his very roar.

وَسَيلُ الندَى أَفضَى إِلى البَحرِ فَيضُه

وَما بَرِحت تُفضي السيولَ إلى البَحرِ

And a torrent of bounty—its flood reached the sea,

as torrents have never ceased to empty into the sea.

تَجلّى هِلالاً والسعود تَحفُّه

بهالَة بَدرِ المُلك في شُبْهَةِ الزُّهرِ

He shone forth a crescent, auspicious stars encircling him,

in the halo of kingship's full moon, like the bright stars.

وَحَطَّ يَفاعاً شامخَ الأنفِ رحلَهُ

عَلى الجَبلِ الراسي من الفخرِ لا الصَخرِ

And, a height with proudly lifted nose, he set his saddle down

upon a steadfast mountain of pride, not rock.

وَجاءَ كَما حيَّا الرياضَ نَسيمُها

عَلى قَدَرٍ ضَخم السرادِقِ والقَدْرِ

And he came as the gardens' breeze greets them,

at the appointed time, great in pavilion and rank.

تَرَى السعدَ والإقبالَ واليمنَ حولهُ

تُواكِبه سبحا إلى جَيشِهِ المجرِي

You see good fortune, prosperity, and blessing around him,

swimming in his escort alongside his mighty host.

وَقد أرْسَلتْ أمطارَها السُّحبُ خدمة

لهُ فأَحاطَتْ ساطِعَ النّقعِ بالقَطْرِ

And the clouds have sent their rains in service

to him, wrapping the rising dust in raindrops.

ولَمْ تَستَطِعْ شمسُ الظهيرَة لَفحَه

بِما فَوْقَه مِن ظِلّ ألْوية النّصْرِ

And the noonday sun could not scorch him,

because of the shade of victory's banners above him.

مُنِيرٌ مُنيفٌ وَجْهُهُ ومَحَلُّه

عَلى القَصْرِ مِن لألائِهِ ما عَلى العَصْرِ

Radiant is his face, exalted his station;

his splendor shines upon the palace as upon the age.

تَناصَرَتِ البُشرى بِيَومِ قُدومِهِ

عَلى الحَضرةِ العلياء في البدْوِ والحَضْرِ

Glad tidings of his arrival-day reinforced one another,

at the exalted court, in desert and town.

وأَضْحَى بِهِ يَبْأَى سَريرٌ وَمِنْبَرٌ

كَبَأوِ اليَراع الصُّفر والأَسَل السُّمرِ

Through him a throne and a pulpit came to boast,

as yellow reed-pens and brown spears boast.

وكانَ عَلَى وَفْقِ الأمانِي وحُكْمِها

تَلاقي النّدى والوَرْد في الزّمنِ النضْرِ

It accorded with wishes and their decree:

the meeting of dew and roses in the flourishing season.

زَكا زَكَرِياءُ المُبارَك مَنْشَأ

فَصَرّح عن مَعْروفِهِ نَابِتُ البَكرِ

Zakariyya flourished, blessed in his upbringing,

and his earliest shoots spoke plainly of his goodness.

وأُوتِيَ مِن آبائِهِ الحُكمُ والحِجَى

صَبِيّاً فكانَ الكهْلَ في بُرْدَةِ الغِرِّ

From his forefathers he was given judgment and intelligence

as a boy, so he was a mature man in a novice's cloak.

ورُبَّ صَغير في سِنيه سَنَاؤُه

جَليلٌ لَدى الجُلَّى كَبيرٌ عَن الكِبْرِ

Many a man young in years has a splendor

august in grave affairs, too great for arrogance.

كِنيُّ أبيه بُورِك اسْماً وكُنْيَةً

على النَّجلِ من وَسميْهما كرَمُ النَّجرِ

Sharing his father's honorific, blessed in name and honorific,

the son bears in those two names the nobility of his stock.

ويَسْرِي إلى الأرْواحِ مِنْهَا حُبورُها

كَمِثل سُرَى الأرْواحِ في غُرّةِ الفَجْرِ

And from it joy steals into the souls,

like breezes passing at the first gleam of dawn.

هُمَامٌ يَدِقُّ المَدْحُ عَنْهُ جَلالةً

ولَو صِيغَت الشِّعرَى لهُ بَدَلَ الشِّعرِ

A magnanimous lord: praise dwindles before his majesty,

even were Sirius fashioned for him instead of poetry.

إذا ما احتَبى في مَجلِسِ الملك أو حبا

فَقُل في الجبالِ الشُّمِّ والأبْحُرِ الخُضْرِ

When he sits knee-clasped in the king's council, or gives,

then speak of lofty mountains and green seas.

لهُ الصَّدْرُ مِن بَيتِ الإمارَةِ رُتْبَةً

وحُقَّ لِذاكَ البَيتِ مرْتبَةُ الصَّدْرِ

His is the foremost rank in the house of rulership,

and that house rightly deserves the foremost rank.

تَولّعَ بِالْعَليا مَغيباً وَمَشْهدا

فَمِنْ خَبرٍ يُسلي الزّمانَ وَمِن خُبْرِ

He is enamored of eminence, absent or present,

through reports that console Time, and through firsthand knowledge.

وَأَرْبى عَلَى الأملاكِ مَجداً وَسُؤْدَداً

فجرَّ عَلى الأفلاكِ أرْدِيَة الفَخْرِ

And he surpassed kings in glory and lordship,

and trailed the robes of pride across the celestial spheres.

يَهيمُ بِإعْدادِ العَتادِ لِبَذْلِهِ

وَيَهْوَى عَوانَ الحَرْب للفَتْكةِ البِكْرِ

He is passionate about preparing equipment to expend it,

and loves seasoned war for a maiden stroke of slaughter.

وَلا يَرْتَضِي عِزّاً وَقُوداً لِنارِه

سِوى المَنْدَلِ الهِندِيِّ والعَنبرِ الشِّحْرِي

And in his pride, he accepts no fuel for his fire

but Indian aloeswood and ambergris from al-Shihr.

لَقَد آنَسَتْ نُورَ الهُدى مِنهُ تُونِسٌ

كَما آنَس الأُمّالُ نَارَ النَدَى الغَمرِ

Tunis has perceived from him the light of guidance,

as hopeful seekers perceived the fire of abundant bounty.

أَقُول وَقد أمَّ الوُفودُ قِبَابَه

مُطنّبَةً فَوقَ السِّمَاكَيْنِ والنَّشْرِ

I say, as delegations make for his pavilions,

with guy-ropes stretched above the two Simak stars and al-nashr [unclear reading]:

على رِسلِكُم إنّ الكَواكِبَ بَعضُ ما

تَدُوسُ مَطاياكُم إلى الكَوْكَبِ الدرِّي

"Take your time: the stars are but part of what

your mounts tread on their way to the pearl-bright star."

هَنيئاً لأمْر اللّهِ أنْ شُدَّ أزْرُهُ

بِآل أَبي حَفص أُلى النّهي والأمْرِ

Joy to God's cause, whose support was strengthened

by the house of Abu Hafs, masters of prohibition and command,

وَأنْ قامَ يَحيْى المُرْتَضى وَسَلِيلُه

لإظْهَارِهِ أثْنَاءَ قَاصِمَة الظَّهْرِ

and for which Yahya al-Murtada and his offspring rose

to make it prevail amid a back-breaking calamity.

أَميراً حَبا مِنْهُ أميراً بِمُلكِه

فأدْرَكَ ثَأر الدينِ في البَغْي والكفرِ

An emir, he endowed an emir sprung from him with his kingdom,

and exacted religion's vengeance against oppression and unbelief.

وقَلَّدَهُ العَهْدَ الإمَامِيَّ راضِياً

بِسيرَتِه الحُسْنَى وآثارِهِ الغُرِّ

And he invested him with the covenant of the imamate, pleased

with his excellent conduct and splendid deeds.

فَناطَ نِجادَ السَيْف منه بِعاتِقي

نَجيدٍ وأَعطى القَوْس أبرعَ مَن يَبْرِي

So he hung his sword-baldric on the two shoulders of

a valiant man, and gave the bow to the best of bow-shapers.

وَما هِيَ إلا دَوْلَةٌ عُمَرِيَّةٌ

يَدومُ بِها الإقبالُ مُنْفَسِحَ العُمْرِ

This is nothing but a dynasty in Umar's tradition,

through which good fortune endures for a long lifetime.

تَرى غَدَها يَسْمُو إلَيْهَا وأمسَها

يُديمُ إليها اللحْظَ كَرّاً عَلى كَرِّ

You see its tomorrow rise toward it, and its yesterday

keep its gaze upon it, again and again.

قَضَتْ نَذْرَها الدُّنيا بتَأمينِ أهْلِها

وَفاءً فأوْفَوْا للدّيانَةِ بِالنّذْرِ

The world fulfilled its vow by making its people secure,

in fidelity; and they kept their vow to religion.

حَمَوْها كَما يَحْمي الهِزَبرُ عَرينَه

وأسيافُهم أمضَى من النابِ والظُّفرِ

They guarded it as a lion guards his lair,

their swords sharper than fang and claw.

ولَم تَكُن الدُّنيا لتَعدِلَ عَنْهُم

وَهُم فِئَة التّقوى وطائِفَة البِرِّ

The world would never turn away from them,

for they are the company of piety and the band of righteousness.

أيمَّة عَدل أقسَطوا حينَ أسْقَطوا

عنِ الناسِ ما آدَ الرّقابَ مِن الإصْرِ

Imams of justice, they acted justly when they lifted

from the people the burden that weighed upon their necks.

تُضيءُ دَياجيرَ الليالي وُجوهُهم

فَنَحنُ طوالَ الدَّهرِ في وَسطَ الشّهرِ

Their faces light the deepest darkness of the nights,

so we are always in the middle of the month.

وَفَوْا بالذي أعْيا الأئِمّةَ قبْلَهُم

وأَعيْا فُحولَ النَّظْمِ قبليَ والنثْرِ

They accomplished what baffled the imams before them,

and baffled the masters of verse and prose before me.

أولئِكَ حِزْبُ اللّهِ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِمُ

وَإن كُنت مُرْتاباً فَسل محكم الذكرِ

Those are God's party—there is no doubt about them;

if you are doubtful, ask the unequivocal text of Revelation.

سَليل الهُدى والمَجدِ والجودِ هاكَها

مُضَمَّخَةً بالمَدْح والحَمد والشكرِ

Scion of guidance, glory, and bounty, receive these,

steeped in praise, acclaim, and gratitude:

هَدايا مِن المَنظومِ أَرجو قَبولَها

وَقد أَقبَلتْ تَخْتال في حَبَر الحَبرِ

gifts of verse whose acceptance I hope for,

and now they have come strutting in ink's brocaded robes.

عَلى أنّ أغْلَى المَدْحِ دُونَكَ قَاصِرٌ

ولَو كانَ مَقْصورَ البَيانِ عَلى السِحرِ

Though the most precious praise falls short of you,

even if its eloquence were nothing but enchantment.