يا ربة البيت الممنع جاره — Ibn Alkhatib

يا رَبّةَ البيْتِ المُمَنَّعِ جارُهُ

ورَبيّةَ الشّرَفِ العَليِّ مَنارُهُ

O mistress of the house whose neighbor is protected,

and nursling of honor whose beacon is lofty!

ما بالُ قلْبِكَ لا يرِقُّ لِهائِمٍ

أمّا لِقَلبي لا يَقَرُّ قَرارُهُ

Why does your heart not soften toward a lovesick wanderer?

As for my heart, it finds no lasting repose.

باعَدْتِ بيْنِ جُفونِ صبِّكَ والكَرى

حتّى تَساوَى ليْلُهُ ونَهارُهُ

You parted your lover's eyelids from sleep,

until his night and day became alike.

وحَمَيْتِ طيْرَ النّوْمِ وِرْدَ شؤونِهِ

فالنّومُ لا يرِدُ الجُفونَ غِرارُهُ

You barred the bird of sleep from drinking at his tear ducts,

so sleep's briefest spell does not visit his eyelids.

إنْ كُنْتَ تُنْكِرُ ما بقَلْبي منْ جَوىً

يلْتاحُ في طيِّ الضَّلوعِ أوارُهُ

If you deny the anguish in my heart,

whose blaze glows within the folds of my ribs,

فاسْتَشهِدي الدّمْعَ السَّفوحَ بوَجْنَتي

واسْتَخْبِري الطّيْفَ النّزوحَ قَرارُهُ

call the freely flowing tears upon my cheek to witness,

and question the dream-phantom whose abode is far away.

وحَذارِ منْ شَرَرِ الحَشا أنْ تَسْألي

فإذا قدَحْتِ الزّنْدَ طارَ شَرارُهُ

But beware of asking about the sparks within my breast:

when you strike the fire-stick, its sparks take flight.

تعِسَ العَذولُ أمَا دَرى أنّ الهَوى

خَفيَتْ على أرْبابِهِ أسْرارُهُ

Wretched be the reproacher! Does he not know that love—

its secrets are hidden from its own devotees?

إنْ كانَ أبْطَرَهُ السُّلُوُّ فإنّما

سُلْوانُ مِثْلي في هَواكِ تَبارُهُ

If forgetting has made him insolent, then surely

forgetfulness for one like me in loving you is ruin.

ما للسُّلُوِّ وللمَشوقِ أيَنْثَني

مَنْ قَلْبُهُ بِغَرامِهِ زَخّارُهُ

What has forgetting to do with the love-stricken? Can he turn away

whose heart is his passion's surging sea?

يا كَعْبَةَ الحُسْنِ الذي قَلْبي لهُ

مرْمى الجِمارِ وأضْلُعي أسْتارُهُ

O Kaaba of beauty, for which my heart is

the target of the pebbles, and my ribs its veils!

مُنّي بأيْسَرِ نائِلٍ تُحْيي بهِ

قلْباً تقسَّمَ في الهَوى أعْشارُهُ

Grant me the slightest favor, to revive with it

a heart whose ten parts love has torn asunder.

قالتْ وقد حذِرَتْ حِبالَ مَطامِعي

لا يُنْكَرَنّ على الغَزالِ نِفارُهُ

She said, wary of the snares of my desires:

A gazelle's shying away must not be condemned.

لا تُخْدَعَنّ فإنّني إنْسيّةٌ

والحُسْنُ يلعَبُ بالنُّهى غَرّارُهُ

Do not be deceived, for I am a human woman,

and beauty's beguiling charm plays with reason.

أوَ ما تَرى الملِكَ ابْنَ نصْرٍ يوسُفاً

أسَداً وأنْصارُ النّبيِّ نِجارُهُ

Do you not see King Yusuf ibn Nasr

as a lion, with the Prophet's Ansar as his lineage?

ملِكٌ إذا دَهَمَ الرّدى ترَكَ العِدى

جَزَراً تُجَرَّرُ بالفَلا أكْسارُهُ

A king who, when death assails, leaves his enemies

slaughtered carcasses, their broken limbs dragged through the wastes.

نصَرَ الجزيرَةَ حيثُ لا مُسْتَصْرِخٌ

والبأسُ داميةُ الشَّبا أظْفارُهُ

He aided the peninsula where there was none to cry for help,

while war's claws were bloody at their points.

وكفَتْ شَديدَ حُروبِها وجُدوبِها

كفّا الجَلالِ يَمينُهُ ويَسارُهُ

The harshness of its wars and droughts was warded off

by majesty's two hands, his right and his left.

حتّى إذا لقِحَتْ حُروبُ الجَدْبِ عنْ

أزْلٍ وغالَ جَنابَها إضْرارُهُ

Until, when drought's wars conceived from

hardship, and its ravages laid waste her domain,

فبِكُلِّ أفْقٍ رائِدٌ لا يلْتَقي

لَفَظَتْهُ عنْ ساحاتِها أغْوارُهُ

on every horizon was a pasture-seeker, meeting no one;

its lowlands had cast him out of their open spaces.

والضّرْعُ أصْبَحَ منْهُ بعْدَ حُفولِهِ

جفّتْ غَضارَتُهُ وغاضَ سَحارُهُ

And through it, the udder, once brimming, had come to this:

its richness dried up, and its milk-flow ebbed.

عادَتْ بمُصْفَرِّ القَتادِ لِقاحُهُ

واسْتَرْفَدَتْ عُشْرَ الفَلاةِ عِشارُهُ

Its milch-camels returned with yellowed qatad thorn,

and its pregnant she-camels sought sustenance from desert milkweed.

والقوتُ قُلِّصَ للنّفادِ ظِلالُهُ

والأزْلُ قدْ شمَلَ النّفوسَ حِصارُهُ

Food's shadows dwindled toward extinction,

and hardship's siege had encompassed every soul.

والمُرْجِفونَ يلبِّدونَ عَجاجةً

رَجْماً بغيْثٍ أُخْفِيَتْ أقْدارُهُ

The alarm-mongers thickened a cloud of dust,

conjecturing about rain whose allotment was concealed.

حتّى إذا قالوا تسعَّرَ ثاقِبٌ

عمَّ السّماءَ بلَفْحِهِ اسْتِسْعارُهُ

Until, when they said, “A piercing star has flared;

its blaze has filled the sky with scorching heat;

أذْكى شُعاعَ الشّمْسِ نارُ قِرانِهِ

وهُوَ الذي رُصِدَتْ لهُ أدْوارُهُ

the fire of its conjunction has kindled the sun's rays,

and it is the one whose cycles have been observed;

واحْتَلّ بيْتَ اللّيْثِ في آثارِهِ

زُحَلٌ وليْثُ الغابِ يُرْهَبُ زارُهُ

and in its wake the house of Leo has been occupied

by Saturn—and the woodland lion's roar is feared.”

والعِلْمُ عِلْمُ اللهِ جلّ جَلالُهُ

والعَبْدُ إدْراكُ القُصورِ قُصارُهُ

Yet knowledge is God's knowledge—exalted be His majesty—

and the servant's utmost is to recognize his limitations.

وإذا الفَتى خفِيَتْ عليْهِ مسالِكٌ

منْهُ فكيْفَ لغَيْرِهِ إبْصارُهُ

And if certain paths are concealed from a man,

within it, how can another perceive it?

بَيْنا النّجومُ تَشُبُّها ريحُ الصَّبا

واللّيلُ ينهَبُ بالنّسيمِ صِوارُهُ

While the east wind fanned the stars,

and night's musk-pouch was plundered by the breeze,

والصُّبْحُ قِطْعٌ في فِجاجِ شُروقِهِ

والأرضُ قُطْرٌ أُحْمِيَتْ أقْطارُهُ

and dawn was a patch of darkness in the passes of its rising,

and earth was a tract whose quarters were scorched,

إذْ أقْبلَتْ سُحُبُ الغَمامِ حَوافِلاً

فحَثا يُجَلْجِلُ في الثّرى مِدْرارُهُ

suddenly the rain-clouds advanced, heavy-laden,

and their copious downpour showered down, rumbling upon the soil.

وأنارَ شيْبَ البَرْقِ عارضُ عارِضٍ

تُحْدى بأصْواتِ الرّعودِ قِطارُهُ

A rain-cloud's cheek illuminated the lightning's gray hair,

its caravan urged onward by thunder's voices.

فغزَتْ عدوَّ المَحْلِ في أحْجارِهِ

حتّى إذا طُفِيَتْ بهِنّ جِمارُهُ

They attacked the enemy, drought, among its rocks,

until its embers were quenched by them.

أخذَتْ عليْهِ شِعابَهُ ونِقابَهُ

جَونُ الغَمامِ فعُفّيتْ آثارُهُ

Its ravines and passes were seized

by the dark clouds, and its traces were effaced.

فاهْتزّ نبْتُ الأرضِ بعْدَ سُكونِهِ

نشّاً وفُكَّ منَ الرُّغامِ إسارُهُ

Then earth's plants stirred after their stillness,

vigorously, and their bondage in the dust was loosed.

واسْتأنَفَ الرّوْضُ اقْتِبالَ شَبابِهِ

فأطَلّ منْ بعْدِ المَشيبِ عِذارُهُ

The garden began anew the prime of its youth,

its cheek-down appearing again after gray hair.

وتسرْبَلَ الرَّيْحانُ حُلّة سُنْدُسٍ

رقَمتْ جَنوبَ جُيوبِها أزْهارُهُ

Sweet basil donned a robe of fine silk,

its flowers embroidered the sides of the robe's openings.

وتتوّجَتْ زَهْراً مَفارِقُ دوْحِهِ

وتدرّجَتْ في حُجْرِهِ أبْكارُهُ

The partings of its great trees were crowned with blossoms,

and its maidens took their first steps in its lap.

لوْلا مَقامٌ للضّراعَةِ قُمْتَهُ

فمَحا خطِيّاتِ الوَرى اسْتِغْفارُهُ

Had you not stood in a station of supplication,

whose plea for forgiveness erased humanity's sins,

ما كانَ هذا الخَطْبُ ممّا ينْقَضي

ولَلَجّ في آفاقِها إعْصارُهُ

this calamity would not have passed,

and its whirlwind would have raged on across her horizons.

يا أيُّها الملِكُ المُرَجّى والذي

شهِدَتْ بتَقْوى ربِّهِ أخْبارُهُ

O king in whom hope is placed, and whose

record bears witness to his reverence for his Lord!

كمْ موْقِفٍ لك والقُلوبُ خَوافِقٌ

يهْفو بأجْرامِ الجِبالِ وَقارُهُ

How many a stand is yours, while hearts beat wildly,

whose majesty makes the mountains' very bodies sway!

في جَحْفَل لجبٍ تلاطَمَ موْجُهُ

وطَما بأثْباجِ الظُّبا زَخّارُهُ

Amid a clamorous host whose waves clashed,

and whose surge swelled with masses of sword-edges.

شُغِفَتْ به بيضُ الصّوارم في الطُّلا

ووَفَتْ بأوْكارِ الرّدى أوْتارُهُ

The gleaming swords were enamored of it amid the necks,

and its bowstrings kept their pledge in the nests of death.

أطْلَعْتَ منْ شُهْبِ الرِّماحِ ثَواقِباً

في مأزِقٍ أخْفى ذُكاءَ غُبارُهُ

You raised piercing stars from the meteors of spears,

in a battle's strait whose dust concealed the sun.

هيْهاتَ يجْحَدُ فضْلَ مجْدِكَ جاحِدٌ

إنّ العُلا علَمٌ وفخْرُكَ نارُهُ

Far be it that any denier should deny your glory's excellence!

High rank is a landmark, and your glory its fire.

وأدَرْتَ أفْلاكَ السِّياسَةِ فوقَهُ

فافْتَرّ في لَيْلِ الخُطوبِ نهارُهُ

You turned the spheres of governance above it,

so its day smiled forth in the night of calamities.

إنْ أصْبَحَتْ أرْضُ الخِلافَةِ معْدِنا

فالنّاسُ تُرْبَتُهُ وأنْتَ نُضارُهُ

If the land of the caliphate has become a mine,

the people are its soil, and you its pure gold.

لا غَرْوَ أنْ طلَعَتْ فَعالُكَ أنْجُماً

إنّ الهُدى فلَكٌ عليْكَ مَدارُهُ

No wonder your deeds have risen as stars:

guidance is a sphere whose orbit turns about you.

حلّيْتَهُ وحَمَيْتَ منْ أرْجائِهِ

فلأنْتَ حقّاً سورُهُ وسِوارُهُ

You adorned it and guarded its bounds,

so truly you are its wall and its bracelet.

أبني عُبادَةَ إنّ فخْرَ قديمكُمْ

تُلِيَتْ بفُرْقانِ الهُدى أسْطارُهُ

O sons of Ubadah, the glory of your forebears—

its lines were recited in guidance's Criterion.

النّصْرُ لفْظٌ أنْتُمُ مدْلولُهُ

والدِّينُ روْضٌ أنْتمُ نَوّارُهُ

Victory is a word; you are its meaning,

and religion is a garden; you are its flowers.

والحلم لحظ أنتم أجفانه

والعلم قلب أنتم أنواره

Forbearance is a glance; you are its eyelids,

and knowledge is a heart; you are its lights.

نصْرُ النّبُوّةِ فيكُمْ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ

فهوَ النّسيمُ وأنْتُمُ أسْحارُهُ

Support for prophethood is entrusted to you:

it is the breeze, and you its predawn hours.

القوْمُ ظِلُّ اللهِ بيْنَ عِبادِهِ

حاطَ اليَقينُ بهِمْ فعَزَّ ذِمارُهُ

These men are God's shade among His servants;

certainty surrounds them, and its sanctuary is impregnable.

آوَى لظِلّهِم الهُدى ولَقَبْلُما

أرْدى الضّلالَ بعزِّهِمْ مُخْتارُه

Guidance took refuge in their shade; and long before,

His Chosen One had laid error low through their might.

مَنْ كان أنْصارُ النّبيِّ جُدودَهُ

فمَلائِكُ السّبْعِ العُلا أنْصارُهُ

Whoever has the Prophet's Helpers as his forefathers,

has the angels of the seven high heavens as his helpers.

للّهِ في إنْجازِ نصْرِكَ موْعِدٌ

قد آنَ منْ إصْباحِهِ إسْفارُهُ

God has an appointed promise to fulfill your victory,

and the brightness of its dawn is now at hand.

دجَتِ الخُطوبُ فكُنْتَ نورَ ظَلامِها

خفِيَ الرّشادُ فكُنْتَ أنْتَ مَنارُهُ

Calamities grew dark, and you were the light in their darkness;

right guidance was hidden, and you were its beacon.

فجَوارِحُ الإسْلامِ أنْتَ حَياتُها

حقّاً وصدْرُ الدّين أنتَ صِدارُهُ

You are the life of Islam's limbs,

truly; and you are the covering of religion's breast.

فاهْزُزْ ظُبى النّصْرِ العَزيزِ فإنّ مَنْ

عاداكَ مَطلولُ النّجيعِ جُبارُهُ

So brandish the blades of mighty victory, for whoever

opposes you has his blood spilled without redress.

قد عادَ ذو الإقْدامِ منْكَ بسِلْمِهِ

ذُعْراً وأذْعَنَ رَهْبَةً جَبّارُهُ

The bold man has returned from you in submission,

in terror, and his tyrant has yielded in fear.

ذخَرَتْكَ أحْكامُ الإلاهِ لنَصْرِهِ

ونمَتْكَ منْ هَذا الأنامِ خِيارُهُ

God's decrees reserved you to support Him,

and the choicest of mankind brought you forth.

فارْفَعْ شِعارَ الحَقِّ في علَمِ الهُدى

حتّى يَقِرَّ على النّجومِ قَرارُهُ

Raise truth's emblem on guidance's banner,

until its resting place is fixed upon the stars.

وانْعَمْ بمُقْتَبلِ السُّعودِ فإنّما

يجْري القضاءُ بكلِّ ما تخْتارُهُ

Enjoy the fresh dawn of good fortune, for indeed

destiny runs according to all that you choose.

في مِصْرَ قلْبي منْ خَزائِنِ يوسُفٍ

حُبٌّ وعيرُ مَدائِحي تمْتارُهُ

In the Egypt of my heart, from Yusuf's treasuries,

is love, and the caravan of my praises draws provisions from it.

حلّيْتُ شِعْري باسْمِهِ فكأنّهُ

في كلِّ قُطْرٍ حَلَّه دِينارُهُ

I adorned my verse with his name, so it seems

his dinar in every land where it alights.