أو لست من لاك الكلام وصاغه — Ibn Alkhatib

أوَ لَسْتُ مَنْ لاكَ الكَلامَ وصاغَهُ

قيْدَ الرِّكابِ وطُرْفَةَ الأسْمارِ

And am I not he who rolled speech upon his tongue and fashioned it

a tether for riding-camels and a delight of nightly tales?

فإذا مدَحْتُ هيَ النّجوم قِلادَةً

وإذا نسَبْتُ فنَسْمَةُ الأسْحارِ

For when I praise, it is the stars strung as a necklace;

and when I sing of love, it is the breeze before dawn.

وظلِلْتُ أطْلُبُ في الكِرامِ نَشيدَتي

حتّى أنَخْتُ بعَقْوَةِ الأنْصارِ

I kept seeking among the noble the object of my quest,

until I made my camel kneel in the precincts of the Ansar.

فحطَطْتُ رَحْلي بيْنَ نيرانِ القِرى

ورَميْتُ بيْنَهُمُ عَصا التّسْيارِ

So I set down my saddle among the fires of hospitality,

and cast among them the staff of wandering.

للّهِ مثْوى جنّةٍ يمّمْتُهُ

حِزْبُ الرّسولِ وأُسْوَةُ المُخْتارِ

How blessed the garden abode I headed for:

the Messenger's company and the Chosen One's example.

يا وافِدَيْ بَرٍّ وبَحْرٍ لُذْتُما

بمَريع مرْتَبَعٍ وعِزِّ جِوارِ

O two travelers from land and sea, you have sought refuge

in a lush spring pasture and mighty protection.

نصَروا الرّسولَ وقد دَجا ليْلُ الهَوى

والرّوعُ دامي النّابِ والأظْفارِ

They aided the Messenger when the night of wayward desire had darkened,

and terror's fang and claws were bloody.

ورَعَوا لهُ بعْدَ الوَفاةِ حُقوقَهُ

فمَرتْ سُيوفِ اللهِ كلَّ مَمارِ

They upheld the rights owed him after his death,

so God's swords drained every disputant.

قومٌ منَ العَرَبِ اليَمانِينَ الأُلى

نصَروا الهُدى وتبوّأوا بالدّارِ

A people of the Yemeni Arabs, who

championed guidance and settled in the Abode.

قامُوا بأمْرِ اللهِ والإسْلامُ ما

بيْنَ العدوِّ ومُزْبِدٍ رخّارِ

They upheld God's command, while Islam lay

between the enemy and a foaming, roaring sea.

واسْتَرْهَفوا البيضَ العِضابَ كأنّما

تُمْضى بكَفَّيْ خالِدٍ وضِرارِ

They sharpened the keen white swords, as though

they were wielded by the hands of Khalid and Dirar.

أَخليفَة الرّحْمانِ وابْنَ عَميدِهِمْ

والمُرْتَجى لجِلائلِ الأخْطارِ

O caliph of the All-Merciful and son of their chief,

and the hope in the gravest perils,

حيّاكَ بالإرْشادِ والإسْعادِ مَنْ

أحْيا بكَ الإسلامَ بعْدَ تَبارِ

may He greet you with guidance and good fortune, He who

revived Islam through you after ruin.

وحَباكَ بالنّصْرِ العَزيزِ مُهَيْمِنٌ

نَعَشَ الوَرى بكَ بعْدَ طولِ عِثارِ

And may the Guardian bestow mighty victory upon you,

He who raised mankind through you after long stumbling.

أرْعاكَ أمْر عِبادِهِ فرَعَيْتَهُمْ

في حالي الإعْلانِ والإسْرارِ

He entrusted you with His servants' affairs, and you tended them

both openly and in secret.

ونهجْتَ طُرْقَ العَدْلِ مُهْتَدياً بِما

شهِدَتْ علَيْهِ صَحائِحُ الأخْبارِ

You followed the paths of justice, guided by what

the authentic reports have attested.

وافَيْتَ والإسلامُ صوّحَ نبْتُهُ

فأتَيْتَهُ بالدّيمَةِ المِدْرارِ

You arrived when Islam's shoots had withered,

and brought it a steady, abundant rain.

وصدَمْتَ بحْرَ الخَطْبِ دونَ ذِمامِهِ

ما بيْنَ غرْبِ مثقّفٍ وغِرارِ

You confronted calamity's sea in defense of its covenant,

between the point of a straightened lance and a sword-edge.

للّهِ يا للّهِ سيرَةَ يوسُفٍ

مُحْيي العُفاةِ وقاتِلِ الإقْتارِ

How wondrous—O God!—is Yusuf's conduct,

reviver of suppliants and slayer of destitution!

رُحْمى بِلا مَنٍّ أمْنٌ دونَما

رهَبٍ وحِفْظُ أذِمّةٍ وذِمارِ

Mercy without reminders of favor, safety without

fear, and safeguarding of covenants and honor.

نورٌ كما متَعَ الصّباحُ لناظِرٍ

وخَلائِقٌ كالرّوْضِ غِبَّ قِطارِ

A light like morning risen high before the eye,

and virtues like a garden after rainfall.

إنْ راعَ خطْبٌ أو عَرا جَدْبٌ تُرى

كفّاهُ تدْرأُ ذا وذاك تُداري

If calamity alarms or drought descends, one sees

his hands ward off this and soothe that.

لوْ كانَ في جَفْرِ الهَباءَةِ ماثِلاً

لَعَدا على النّقْدِ الهَزَبْرُ الضّاري

Had he been present at Jafr al-Haba'a,

the ravening lion would have pounced upon the sheep.

أو كانَ في قَنْصِ بْنِ مَعْدٍ ثاوِيّاً

دَهَمَ العَفا رَبيعةَ بْنَ نِزارِ

Or had he dwelt among Qans ibn Ma'add,

oblivion would have engulfed Rabi'a ibn Nizar.

ولَما تلاشَوْا جُفَّلاً ورَمتْ بهِمْ

أيْدي النّبيطِ أقاصيَ الأنْبارِ

Nor would they have scattered in headlong flight, flung

by Nabataean hands to the farthest reaches of al-Anbar.

أو كانَ في يومِ الصّريمِ لَما غَدا

حَكَمُ ابْنُ زِنْباعٍ رهينَ إسارِ

Or had he been there on the day of al-Sarim, never would

Hakam ibn Zinba' have become a captive in bonds.

أو أمّةُ عَمرُو بنُ ذُهْلٍ ما طَفَتْ

مُهْجاتُ صِبْيَتِهِ على ذي قارِ

Or [had he been among] Amr ibn Dhuhl's people, there would not have floated

his little children's lifeblood upon Dhu Qar.

ولوَ انّ حِمْيَرَ أغْفَلَتْ أيّامُها

لشَكَتْ إلَيْهِ عِياثَ ذي الأذْعارِ

And had Himyar's days forgotten it,

it would have complained to him of Dhu al-Adh'ar's ravages.

يا ابْنَ الخَلائِفِ والذينَ إذا احْتَبوْا

أبْصَرْتُ في النّادي هِضابَ وَقارِ

O son of caliphs and of those who, when they sit with knees clasped,

I behold in the assembly as hills of dignity,

حامينَ يوْمَهُمُ الذِّمارَ ونارُهُمْ

باللّيْلِ تَهْدي في الظّلامِ السّاري

guarding their honor by day, while their fire

by night guides the wayfarer through the darkness.

خُذْها كما شاءَ الخَلوصُ بَديعَةً

تُزْهى بِشارَتها على بَشّارِ

Take it, a marvel as sincerity willed,

glorying in its finery above Bashshar.

سكَنَتْ مَعانيهَا سَوادَ مِدادِها

إنّ المُدامَةَ سِرُّها في القارِ

Its meanings have dwelt in the blackness of its ink;

indeed, wine's secret lies in pitch.

ما ضرّني أنْ لمْ أجِئْ متقدِّماً

السّبْقُ يُعْرَفُ آخِرَ المِضْمارِ

It has not harmed me that I did not come first;

victory is known at the racecourse's end.

ولَئِنْ غَدا رَبْعُ البلاغَةِ بلْقَعاً

فلرُبَّ كنْزٍ في أساسِ جِدارِ

And though eloquence's dwelling has become a wasteland,

yet many a treasure lies in a wall's foundation.

وعلى احْتِفالِ المدْحِ فيكَ فإنّما

هيَ نُقْطَةٌ منْ بحْرِكَ الزّخّار

And for all the abundance of praise of you, it is only

a drop from your surging sea.