دعاها تشم آثار نجد ففي نجد — Ibn Alkhatib

دَعاها تَشِمْ آثارَ نجْدٍ فَفي نجْدِ

هَوىً هاجَ منْها ذِكْرُهُ كامِنَ الوَجْدِ

Let her scent the traces of Najd, for in Najd

is a love whose memory stirred her hidden longing.

ولا تَصْرِفاها عنْ وُرودِ جِمامِهِ

فكَمْ شرِقَتْ بالرّيقِ في موْرِدِ الجُهْدِ

Do not turn her away from drinking at its full pools;

how often she has choked on saliva at hardship's watering place.

يُذيب بُراها الشّوْقُ لوْلا مَدامِعٌ

تَحُلُّ عُراها في المَحاجِرِ والخَدِّ

Longing would melt her nose-rings, were it not for tears

that loosen their bonds in the eye sockets and along the cheek.

وتصْبو الى عهْدٍ هُنالِكَ سالِفٍ

فتُبْدي منَ الشّوْقِ المبرِّحِ ما تُبْدي

She yearns for a bygone time there,

revealing what she reveals of agonizing longing.

حمَلْنَ نَشاوَى منْ سُلافِ صُبابَةٍ

تَميلُ بهِمْ ميْلَ المُنعّمَةِ المُلْدِ

They bore men drunk on the pure wine of yearning,

which sways them like a pampered, supple woman's swaying.

إذا هبّ هَفّافُ النّسيمِ تَساقَطوا

فكَفٌّ الى قلْبِ وأخْرى على خَدِّ

When the breeze's gentle breath stirs, they fall limp:

one hand to the heart, another upon the cheek.

نَشَدْتُكُما باللّهِ هلْ تُبْصِرانِها

مَعالِمَ محّتْها الغَمائِمُ منْ بَعْدي

I adjure you both by God: do you behold them,

the landmarks the clouds have effaced since my departure?

عَفَتْ غيرَ سُفْعٍ كالحَمامِ جَواثِمٍ

وغيْرَ جِدارٍ مثْلِ حاشيَةِ البُرْدِ

They vanished, except for dark hearthstones crouching like doves,

and a wall like the border of a cloak,

وموْقِدِ نارٍ يسْتَطيرُ رَمادُهُ

ونُؤْيِ كَما دارَ السِّوارُ على الزَّنْدِ

and a hearth whose ashes fly about,

and an encircling trench, like a bracelet around the wrist,

وغيْرِ ظِباءٍ في رُباها كَوانِسٍ

تفَيّأْنَ في أفْيائِها دوْحَةَ الرّنْدِ

and gazelles sheltering in lairs among its hills,

seeking shade in its shadows beneath a spreading laurel tree.

قِفوا نتَشَكّى ما نُلاقي منَ الهَوى

ونُنْحي على يوْمِ الرّحيلِ ونسْتَعْدي

Stop: let us lament what we suffer from love,

and denounce the day of departure and seek redress.

ونُهْدي الى الأجْفانِ إثْمِدَ تُرْبِها

فَما اكْتَحَلَتْ منْ بَعْدِهِ بسِوى السُّهْدِ

Let us offer the eyelids its dust as antimony,

for since then they have worn no kohl but sleeplessness.

سنَسْألُ عنْ سُكّانِها نَفسَ الصَّبا

لعلّ نسيمَ الرّيحِ يُخْبِرُ عنْ هِنْدِ

We shall ask the east wind's breath about its inhabitants;

perhaps the wind's breeze will tell us of Hind.

إذِ العيْشُ غضٌّ والشّبيبَةُ وارِفٌ

جَناها وشَمْلُ الحَيِّ مُنْتَظِمُ العِقْدِ

When life was fresh and youth abundant

in its fruit, and the tribe's unity a well-strung necklace:

مَفارِقُ ما راعَ البَياضُ سَوادَها

وأفْئِدَةٌ لمْ تَدْرِ ما ألَمُ الصّدِّ

hair-partings whose blackness whiteness had not startled,

and hearts that knew nothing of rejection's pain;

ووَصْلٍ كأنّا منْهُ في سِنَةِ الكَرى

وعَيْشٍ كأنّا منْهُ في جنّةِ الخُلْدِ

and union, as though through it we dwelt in the drowse of sleep,

and life, as though through it we dwelt in the garden of eternity.

مَرابِعُ أُلاّفي وعهْدُ أحِبّتي

سَقى اللهُ ذاكَ العهْدَ مُنْسَكِبَ العِهْدِ

The spring abodes of my companions, the days of my beloveds—

may God water those days with pouring rains,

وجادَ بهِ منْ جُودِ يوسُفَ ساجِمٌ

مُلِثُّ هَمولٌ دونَ برْقٍ ولا رَعْدِ

and may a shower from Yusuf's generosity rain upon them,

persistent and copiously pouring, without lightning or thunder.

إمامُ هُدىً منْ آلِ سَعْدٍ نِجارُهُ

ونصْرُ الهُدى مِيراثُهُ لبَني سَعْدِ

A leader of guidance, whose ancestry is from the house of Sa'd,

and championing guidance is his legacy to the sons of Sa'd.

مآثِرُهُ تلْتاحُ في صُحُفِ العُلَى

وآثارُهُ تسْتَنُّ في سُنَنِ الرُّشْدِ

His noble deeds gleam in the pages of glory,

and his footsteps follow the paths of rectitude.

إذا هَمَّ أمْضى اللهُ في الأرضِ حُكْمَهُ

وما لِقَضاءِ اللهِ في الأرضِ منْ رَدِّ

When he resolves, God carries out his judgment on earth,

and God's decree on earth admits no reversal.

أقولُ لرَكْبٍ ينْتَحي طُرُقَ السُّرى

ويَخْبِطُ في جُنْحٍ منَ الليْلِ مرْبَدِّ

I say to a caravan making for the paths of night travel,

groping through a dusky stretch of night:

تَهادَى مَطاياهُ التّهائِمُ والرُّبى

ويَرْمي بهِ غوْرَ الفَلاةِ الى نَجْدِ

lowlands and hills pass its mounts between them,

and the desert's low ground casts it toward the heights.

وقد أخْلَفَ الغيْثُ السَّكوبُ دِيارَها

وأفْضى بِها هزْلُ السِّنينَ الى جِدِّ

Pouring rain has failed its lands,

and the years' jest has brought it to grim earnest.

ولمْ يُبْقِ منْهُ الأزْلُ غيرَ حُشاشَةٍ

تُنازِعُها اللَّأْواءُ في العَظْمِ والجِلْدِ

Privation has left of it only a last spark of life,

against which hardship struggles in bone and skin.

أرِيحُوا فقَدْ يمّمْتُمْ حَضْرَةَ النّدى

وأوْرَدْتُمُ في مَوْرِدِ الرِّفْقِ والرِّفْدِ

Rest, for you have made for generosity's court,

and brought your mounts to the watering place of kindness and bounty,

بحيثُ بُلوغُ القَصْدِ ليسَ بنازِحٍ

لراجٍ ولا بابُ الرّجاءِ بمُنْسَدِّ

where reaching one's goal is not far off

for a hopeful seeker, nor is hope's gate closed.

ولُذْتُمْ منَ الدّهْرِ الظَّلومِ بناصِرٍ

يَرُدُّ شَباةَ الدّهْرِ مَفْلولَةَ الحَدِّ

You have sought refuge from unjust time with a protector

who turns back time's blade with its edge blunted.

بهِ جمَعَ اللهُ القُلوبَ على الهُدَى

وأذْهَبَ ما تُخْفي الصّدورُ منَ الحِقْدِ

Through him God united hearts in guidance,

and removed the rancor hidden in their breasts,

وأحْيَى رُسومَ الفَضْلِ وهْيَ دَوارِسٌ

وأطْلَعَ منْ نورِ الهِدايَةِ ما يَهْدي

and revived the traces of virtue when they were effaced,

and brought forth a guiding radiance from the light of guidance.

فَما روْضَةٌ بالغَوْرِ عاهَدَها الحَيا

وحُلّتْ حُبا الأنْواءِ في ذلكَ العِقْدِ

No meadow in the lowlands, repeatedly tended by rain,

with the rain-stars' bands unloosed in that necklace,

وحَجّبَها عنْ ناظِرِ الشّمْسِ فانْثَنَتْ

تسَتّرُ في ظِلٍّ منَ الغَيْمِ مُمْتَدِّ

and veiled from the sun's gaze, bending back

to shelter beneath an outstretched shadow of clouds,

وبَثَّ نَسيمُ الرّوضِ فيها تحيّةً

قَريبَةَ عهْدٍ باجْتِيازٍ على الهِنْدِ

where the meadow breeze has spread a greeting

fresh from a passage over India,

وفَضّ فَتيتَ المِسْكِ في جَنَباتِها

فأرْعَفَ آنافَ الشّقائِقِ والوَرْدِ

and scattered crumbled musk along its sides,

making the noses of anemones and roses bleed,

بأعْطَرَ عَرْفاً منْ أريجِ ثَنائِهِ

إذا نشَرَتْ آثارَهُ صُحُفُ الحَمْدِ

is more fragrant than the perfume of praise of him

when the pages of praise unfold his deeds.

أنَاصِرَ دينِ اللهِ وابْنَ نَصيرِهِ

على حينَ لا يُغْني نَصيرٌ ولا يُجْدي

O champion of God's faith and son of its champion,

at a time when no helper avails or brings relief,

طَلَعْتَ على الدّنْيا بأيْمَنِ غُرّةٍ

أضاءَ بها نورُ السّعادَةِ في المَجْدِ

you dawned upon the world with a most auspicious brow,

through which the light of good fortune shone in glory.

وكمْ رصَدَتْ منّا العُيونُ طُلوعَها

فحُقِّقَ نصْرُ اللهِ في ذلِكَ الرّصْدِ

How often our eyes watched for its rising,

and God's victory was confirmed in that vigil.

ولمّا عرَتْ هَذي الجَزيرَة روْعَةٌ

وأصْبَحَ فِيها الرُّعْبُ مُلْتَهِبَ الوَقْدِ

When terror overtook this peninsula,

and fear within it became a blazing fire,

وأوْجَفَ خوْفُ الكُفْرِ شُمَّ هِضابِها

تَدارَكْتَ منْها كُلَّ واهٍ ومُنْهَدِّ

and fear of unbelief made its lofty hills tremble,

you rescued every weakened and fallen part of it.

هزَزْتَ الى إعْزازِها كُلَّ ذابِلٍ

وقُدْتَ الى إصْراخِها كُلَّ ذي لِبْدِ

You brandished every slender spear to strengthen it,

and led every maned lion to answer its cry for help.

وشِمْتَ سُيوفَ الحقِّ واللهُ ناصِرٌ

وجهّزْتَ قبلَ الجيْشِ جيْشاً منَ السّعْدِ

You unsheathed truth's swords, with God as helper,

and mustered, before the army, an army of good fortune.

وقُلْتَ لنَفْسِ العَزْمِ هُبّي وشَمّري

وهَذا أوانُ الشَّدِّ في اللهِ فاشْتَدّي

You said to the soul of resolve: 'Rise and gird yourself;

this is the hour to charge for God—so strive mightily!'

ولوْ لمْ تَقُدْ جيْشاً كَفَتْكَ مَهابَةٌ

منَ اللهِ تُغْني عنْ نَصيرٍ وعنْ جُنْدِ

Even had you led no army, an awe of you would have sufficed,

from God, dispensing with a helper and with troops.

ولكِنْ جَنَبْتَ الجُرْدَ قُبّاً بُطونُها

فأقْبَلْنَ أسْراباً كمِثْلِ القَطا تَرْدي

But you led sleek steeds with tucked-up bellies,

and they came in flocks, running like sandgrouse.

وما راعَ مَلْكَ الرّومِ إلا طُلوعُها

بَوارِقَ تُدْعَى بالمُطهّمَةِ الجُرْدِ

Nothing alarmed the king of the Rum but their appearance:

flashes of lightning, called well-built, sleek steeds,

وغاباً منَ الخَطّيِّ تحْتَ ظِلالِهِ

أُسودٌ منَ الأنْصارِ تفْتِكُ بالأُسْدِ

and a forest of Khatt spears beneath whose shadows

lions of the Ansar slaughter lions.

فلمّا اسْتَفَزّ الذُّعْرُ منْكَ فُؤادَهُ

وحقّقَ معْنى الفَضْلِ في ذلِكَ الحَدِّ

When terror of you shook his heart,

and he understood superiority's meaning in that blade's edge,

وما بَرِحَتْ واللهُ ناصِرُ دينِهِ

قضاياهُ في عَكْسٍ لدَيْكَ وفي طَرْدِ

and always—with God defending His faith—

his affairs lay in your hands, to reverse or carry through,

رَمى بِيَدِ الإذْعانِ للسِّلْمِ رَهْبَةً

وخاطَبَ يسْتَدْعي رِضاكَ ويسْتَجْدي

he extended a hand of submission for peace, in fear,

and addressed you, seeking your favor and begging.

فرُحْمى لحَيٍّ لمْ تُجِرْهُ فإنّهُ

فَريدٌ وإنْ أضْحى منَ القوْمِ في عَدِّ

Then pity a tribe you have not sheltered, for it is

alone, though counted among the people.

وأصْرَخَ نصْرُ اللهِ دعْوَةَ صارخٍ

طوَيْتَ لهُ تحْتَ الدُّجى شُقّةَ البُعْدِ

God's help answered the cry of one calling for aid,

for whom you traversed the far distance beneath night's darkness.

وبُشْرى لأرْضٍ قد سَلَكْتَ بأهْلِها

منَ السَّنَنِ الأرْضى على واضِحِ القَصْدِ

Glad tidings to a land whose people you have led

by the most pleasing path, along the clear road of rectitude.

جمَعْتَ بِها الأهْواءَ بعْدَ افْتِراقِها

فأصْبَحَ فيها الضِدُّ يأنَسُ بالضِّدِ

You united inclinations there after their division,

so that opposites there grew at ease with opposites.

ويَهْديكَ هَذا العِيدُ أسْعَدُ وافِدٍ

أتاكَ معَ النّصْرِ العَزيزِ على وعْدِ

This feast offers itself to you, the happiest visitor,

coming with mighty victory, as promised.

طَوى البُعْدَ عنْ شوْقٍ وحطّ رِكابَهُ

بِبابِكَ بابِ الجودِ في جُمْلَةِ الوَفْدِ

It traversed the distance in longing and set down its mounts

at your gate, the gate of generosity, among the delegation.

فأوْلَيْتَنا في ظِلِّه كلَّ نِعْمَةٍ

هيَ القَطْرُ لا يُحْصى بحَصْرٍ ولا عَدِّ

In its shade you bestowed upon us every blessing:

they are rain, beyond reckoning or count.

وفاضَتْ بهتّانِ النّدى منْكَ راحَةٌ

هيَ البحْرُ لا ينْفَكُّ حِيناً عنِ المَدِّ

A palm of yours overflowed with torrents of generosity:

it is the sea, never for a moment without its rising tide.

ودونَكَها منْ بَحْرِ فِكْري لآلِئا

تُقلِّدُ في نحْرِ وتُنْظَمُ في عِقْدِ

Take it: pearls from the sea of my thought,

to adorn a throat and be strung into a necklace.

يَسيرُ بِها رَكْبُ النّسيمِ إذا سَرَتْ

سِراعُ المَطايا في ذَميلٍ وفي وَخْدِ

The caravan of the breeze carries it whenever

swift mounts journey at a trot and at a brisk stride.

تَقومُ بآفاقِ البِلادِ خَطيبَةً

تُتَرْجِمُ عنْ حُبّي وتُخْبِرُ عنْ وُدّي

It rises as an orator across the lands' horizons,

expressing my love and telling of my affection.

كأنّ العِراقِيّينَ عنْدَ سَماعِها

وقدْ غصّ حفْلُ القَوْمِ نحْلٌ على شُهْدِ

As though the Iraqis, upon hearing it,

with the people's gathering thronged, were bees upon honey.

يَقولونَ إنْ هبّتْ منَ الَمْدِ نفْحَةٌ

فليْسَ لِهذا النّدِّ في الأرْضِ منْ نِدِّ

They say, if a waft of [praise] blows,

this incense has no equal upon the earth.

سَقى اللهُ قُطْراً أطْلَعَتْكَ سَماؤُهُ

وبورِكَ في موْلى كَريمٍ وفي عَبْدِ

May God water a land whose sky brought you forth,

and may a noble master and a servant both be blessed.