ما ضر لو سلم أو ودعا — Ibn Alkhatib

ما ضرَّ لو سلّمَ أو ودّعا

مَنْ أوْدَعَ القلْبَ الذي أوْدَعا

What harm would it have done had he greeted me or said farewell—

he who lodged in my heart what he lodged there?

ضَنّ برَجْعِ الطّرْفِ يوْمَ النّوى

هَلاّ رَعَى عهْدِي كَما أرْعى

He grudged a backward glance on the day of parting.

Why did he not honor my bond as I honor it?

زمّ المَطايَا وتَخلَّفَني

أسْألُ عنْها الطّلَلَ البَلْقَعا

He bridled the mounts and left me behind,

asking the barren ruins about them.

وصارَ لا يلْوي على طِيّةٍ

يوْماً ولا يلْوي لَها أخدَعا

He went on, never pausing at a destination

even for a day, nor turning his neck toward it.

وارْتَحَلَ القَلْبُ على إثْرِه

فصِرْتُ أبكِيهِ وقَلبي مَعا

My heart departed in his wake,

so I began to weep for him and my heart together.

نشَدْتُكَ اللهَ نسيمَ الصَّبا

إنْ جِئْتَ في تَسْيارِكَ الأجْرَعا

I adjure you by God, breeze of the east:

if in your wandering you reach the sandy tract,

هصَرْتَ منْ أغْصانِهِ ذُبُلا

وصُغْتَ منْ غُدْرانِه أذْرُعا

bending slender, drooping boughs among its branches

and fashioning arms from its pools,

عرِّجْ على الوادِي كَذا يسْرَةً

وابْلِغْ سَلامي ذلكَ المَرْبَعا

turn aside to the valley, that way, to the left,

and bear my greeting to that dwelling-place.

وقُلْ لها إنّي مُقيمٌ على

وُدّي إذا أخْلَفَ أو ضيّعا

And tell her that I remain steadfast in

my love, even if he breaks his word or neglects it.

يا سائِلاً لي كيْفَ طعْمُ الهَوى

للّهِ ما أحْلَى وما أفْظَعا

O you who ask me how love tastes,

by God, how sweet it is, and how dreadful!

كأنّما في أضْلُعي بارِقٌ

يهْفو إذا ما صادِحٌ رجّعا

It is as though a lightning flash were within my ribs,

fluttering whenever a singer trills a refrain.

كأنّما دمْعي إذا استَنْصَرَتْ

لَواعِجُ الشّوْقِ بهِ أسْرَعا

It is as though my tears, whenever

the burning pangs of longing seek their aid, hasten,

وضُمَّرُ الشُّقْرِ علَى وَجْنَتي

تصْنَعُ ما شاءَتْهُ أنْ يَصْنَعا

and lean chestnut steeds upon my cheek

do whatever they wish to have done by

جيْشُ بَني نصْرٍٍ مُلوكِ الوَرَى

قوْماً إذا الدّاعِي لخَطْبٍ دَعا

the army of Banu Nasr, kings of humankind—

a people who respond when the caller summons them in a crisis.

خَلائِفٌ مجْدُهُمُ أفْرُعٌ

سَما جَلالاً ونَما تَبَعا

Caliphs whose glory towers high,

rising in grandeur and growing in followers.

بَيْتٌ علَى أُسِّ الهُدَى قائِمٌ

قدْ أذِنَ اللهُ بأنْ يُرْفَعا

A house standing on the foundation of guidance,

which God has permitted to be raised.

أمْلاكُ صِدْقٍ جاهدوا في العِدَى

وصيّروا أمْلاكَها خُضَّعا

True kings who fought against their foes

and made their kings bow in submission.

فاسْتَشْهِدِ الآثارَ في أرْضِها

تُلْفِ بكُلِّ رَبْوَةٍ مَصْرَعا

Call the traces in their land to bear witness:

at every hillock you will find a place of death.

إنْ بَطَشَ الدّهْرُ بقوْمٍ حمَوْا

أو تعْثُرِ الأيّامُ قالوا لَعا

If fate assailed a people, they protected them;

or if the days stumbled, they said, 'May you recover!'

أوْ جِئْتَهُم في الجَدْبِ تبْغي النّدى

سحّوا عليْكَ السُّحْبَ الهُمَّعا

Or if you came to them in drought, seeking bounty,

they poured upon you clouds streaming with rain.

وإنْ خبرْتَ القوْمَ ألفَيْتَهُمْ

للّهِ ما أهْدَى وما أوْرَعا

And if you tested the people, you would find them—

by God, how well guided, and how devout!

في حَوْمَة الحرْبِ أسودَ الشّرَى

وفي الظّلامِ سُجَّداً رُكّعا

Lions of al-Shara in the thick of battle,

and in the darkness, prostrate and bowing.

كَواكِبُ الأرْضِ وأنْوارُها

أضْحَى بهِمْ مَغْرِبُها مَطْلِعا

Stars of the earth and its lights,

through them its west became a place of sunrise.

كَفاهُمُ أنْ أنْجَبوا يوسُفاً

الأريَحيَّ المَلِكَ الأرْوَعا

It is enough for them that they brought forth Yusuf,

the generous, magnificent king.

ملْكاً عميمَ الجودِ سحَّ النّدَى

أجدى منَ الوابِلِ أو أنْفَعا

A king of all-embracing generosity, pouring forth bounty,

more bountiful than the downpour, or more beneficial.

ألّفَ بالعدِل قُلوبَ الوَرى

وفرّقَتْ يُمْناهُ ما جمّعا

With justice he united the hearts of humankind,

and his right hand distributed what he had gathered.

يهْوي إليْهِ الوَفْدُ مُسْتأنِساً

منْ نازِحِ الآفاقِ ما أشْسَعا

The delegation hastens to him, reassured,

from distant horizons—how very far away!

حتّى إذا ما أبْصَروا وَجْهَهُ

صدّقَ مرْأىً عندَهُمْ مَسْمَعا

Until, when they behold his face,

the sight confirms for them what they had heard.

حاطَ بِلادَ اللهِ منْ بعدِما

هبّتْ بِها ريحُ العِدَى زِعْزِعا

He guarded God's lands after

the enemy's wind had blown through them in fierce gusts.

وابتَهَلتْ فيهِ قُلوبُ الوَرى

واللهُ جلّ اسْماً سَميعُ الدُّعا

And the hearts of humankind prayed fervently for him;

and God, exalted in name, hears supplication.

فصانَها منْهُ بماضِي الظُّبَى

إنْ هَمّ أمْضى أو هَمى أتْرَعا

So he shielded them from the foe with keen-edged blades.

If he resolves, he carries through; if he pours forth, he fills to the brim.

فجرّد البيضَ وجرّ القَنا

وجرّعَ الأعْداء ما جرَّعا

He unsheathed the bright swords and dragged the lances,

and made his enemies drink what he made them drink.

يا ناصِرَ الدّينِ وحامِي الهُدَى

إنْ غالهُ خطْبٌ وإنْ روّعا

O champion of the faith and protector of guidance,

when calamity assails it and fills it with dread,

ما لي بِما أوْلَيْتَ منْ مِقْوَل

وإنْ غدَوْتُ اللَّسِن المِصْقَعا

I have no tongue to tell what you have bestowed,

though I have become a fluent, consummate orator.

فاسْتَقْبِلِ الأيّامَ وضّاحَةً

واجْنِ جنيَ النّصْرِ فقدْ أيْنَعا

So welcome radiant days,

and gather victory's fruit, for it has ripened.

وهْنأ بنَيْروزٍ مسَرّاتُه

قدْ أصْبَحَتْ أبوابُها شُرَّعا

And delight in a Nayruz whose joys

now have their gates standing wide open.

دُمْتَ رفيعَ المُلْكِ سامِي العُلا

ما طافَ بالبَيْتِ امْرُؤ أو سَعى

May you endure, exalted in kingship and lofty in glory,

as long as anyone circles the House or performs the ritual running.