مقامك مرفوع على عمد السعد — Ibn Alkhatib

مَقامُكَ مرْفوعٌ على عَمَدِ السّعْدِ

وحمْدُكَ مسْطورٌ على صُحُفِ المجْدِ

Your station is raised on pillars of good fortune,

And your praise is inscribed upon the pages of glory.

وحُبُّكَ أشْهى في القُلوبِ منَ المُنى

وذِكْرُكَ أحْلى في الشِّفاهِ منَ الشّهْدِ

And love for you is more pleasing to hearts than wishes,

And mention of you is sweeter on the lips than honey.

كرُمْتَ إلى أنْ كادَ يَسْألُكَ الحَيا

وصُلْتَ إلى أنْ هابَكَ السّيْفُ في الغِمْدِ

You are so generous that the rain almost begs of you,

And so formidable that the sword fears you in its sheath.

وجَمَّعَ فيكَ اللّهُ مُفْتَرِقَ العُلى

وشتّى المَعاني الغُرِّ في عَلَمٍ فَرْدِ

And God gathered in you the scattered heights of eminence,

And the varied, radiant virtues in one peerless figure.

وأحْيَيْتَ آثارَ الخَلائِفِ سابِقاً

جِيادَ المَدى فِيما تُعيدُ وما تُبْدي

And you revived the works of the caliphs, outstripping

The steeds of the course in what you restore and bring forth.

ولا مِثْلَ شَفّافِ الضِّياءِ بَنَيْتَهُ

على الطّائِرِ الميْمونِ والطّالِع السّعْدِ

And peerless is the translucent, radiant dwelling you built,

On a blessed omen and a fortunate ascendant.

توشّحَ منْ زُهْرِ النّجومِ قِلادَةً

ومنْ قَلَقِ الإصْباحِ أصْبَحَ في بُرْدِ

It adorned itself with a necklace of brilliant stars,

And from dawn's restlessness it came to be wrapped in a mantle.

مَقامُ النّدى والبأسِ والعدْلِ والتّقى

ومُسْتَوْدَعُ العَلْياءِ والشّرَفِ العِدِّ

The abode of generosity, valor, justice, and piety,

And the repository of eminence and inexhaustible honor.

دَحَيْتَ من الزُّلِّيجِ صفْحَةَ أرْضِهِ

بلَوْنَيْنِ مُبْيَضِّ الأديمِ ومُسْوَدِّ

You spread the surface of its floor with glazed tiles,

In two colors, white of surface and black,

كَما رُقِمَ الكافورُ بالمِسْكِ والتَقَتْ

ذَوائِبُ منْ شَعْرٍ أثِيثٍ على خدِّ

As camphor is patterned with musk, and there meet

Tresses of luxuriant hair upon a cheek.

وأرْسَلْتَ فيها جَدْوَلَ الماءِ سائِلاً

كما سُلّ مَصْقولُ الغِرارَيْنِ منْ غِمْدِ

And you let a stream of water flow across it,

Like a blade polished on both edges drawn from a sheath.

تقابَلَ بَيْتاهُ وقد أبْرزَتْهُما

منَ الدِّينِ والدُّنْيا عُلاكَ على حَدِّ

Its two chambers face each other, both brought forth

By your eminence, on equal terms in faith and worldly life.

فألْبَسْتَ هذا حُلّةَ المُلْكِ والغِنى

وألْبَسْتَ هذا شَمْلَةَ النُّسْكِ والزُّهْدِ

So you clothed this one in the robe of kingship and wealth,

And clothed the other in the mantle of devotion and renunciation.

وكَمْ عِبْرَةٍ أبْدَيْتَ تلْعَبُ بالنُّهى

فتَنْحَرِفُ الأذْهانُ منّا عنِ القَصْدِ

And how many a lesson you displayed, toying with reason,

So that our minds stray from the right course.

فكمْ غادَةٍ تخْتالُ تحتَ منصَّةٍ

مُعَصْفَرَةِ السِّرْبالِ مصْقولَةِ الخَدِّ

And how many a graceful maiden struts beneath a dais,

Her robe safflower-dyed, her cheek polished,

منَ الصُّفْرِ إلا أنّها عرَبيّةٌ

إذا اجْتُلِيَتْ فيها سِماتُ بَني سَعْدِ

Of brass, yet she is Arabian,

When unveiled, she shows the marks of Banu Sa'd.

حبَتْها دمَشْقُ الشّامِ كلَّ زُجاجَة

أرَقّ منَ الشّكْوى وأصْفى منَ الوُدِّ

Damascus of al-Sham bestowed on her every glass vessel,

More delicate than a plaint and clearer than affection.

رأيْنا بِها كُرْسيَّ كِسْرَى وتاجَهُ

نُلاحِظُهُ عَيْناً على قِدَمِ العَهْدِ

There we saw Kisra's throne and his crown,

We behold it directly, despite the long lapse of time.

وكمْ رامِحٍ للفُرْسِ فيها ونابِلٍ

وراحٍ نُعاطِيها مُهَفْهَفَةَ القَدِّ

And how many Persian spearmen and archers are there,

And wine we pass from hand to hand, slender of waist.

ومِنْ سُرُرٍ مَرْفوعَةٍ وأرائِكٍ

كما رقَمَتْ أيْدي الغَمامِ صَبا نَجْدِ

And raised couches and canopied divans,

As the hands of clouds embroidered Najd's east wind.

يُذكِّرُ مَرآها قُلوبَ أولِي النُّهى

بما وُعِدَ الأبْرارُ في جنّةِ الخُلْدِ

Their sight reminds the hearts of the discerning

Of what the righteous were promised in the Garden of Eternity.

حَدائِقُ دِيباجٍ سَقَتْها منَ الحَيا

سَحائِبُ أفْكارٍ مهنّأةِ الوِرْدِ

Gardens of brocade, watered with rain

By clouds of thought, whose draught is a delight.

فَما شِئْتَهُ منْ نَرْجِسٍ وبنَفْسَجٍ

وآسٍ وسُوسانٍ نَضيرٍ ومنْ وَرْدِ

All you could wish of narcissus and violets,

And myrtle, fresh irises, and roses.

وهَبّتْ رِياحُ النّصْرِ في جَنَباتِها

فأنشأنَ سُحْبَ العَنْبَرِ الوَرْدِ والنَّدِّ

And winds of victory blew through their quarters,

So they raised clouds of rose-colored ambergris and incense.

مَطارِدُ فُرْسانٍ ومَجْرَى سَوابِحٍ

ومَكْنِسُ غِزْلان وغابَةُ ذي لِبْدِ

Hunting grounds for horsemen, and a course for swimming steeds,

And a covert for gazelles, a forest for the maned one.

تكنّفَها عدْلُ الخليفَةِ يوسُفٍ

فترْعَى الظِّباءُ العُفْرُ فيها معَ الأُسْدِ

The justice of the caliph Yusuf has encompassed them,

So tawny gazelles graze there beside the lions.

إمامُ هُدىً منْ آلِ سَعْدٍ نِجارهُ

ونَصْرُ الهُدى مِيراثُهُ لبَني سَعْدِ

An imam of guidance, whose lineage is of the house of Sa'd,

And championing guidance is his legacy to Banu Sa'd.

مآثِرُهُ تلْتاحُ في أفُقِ العُلى

وآثارُهُ تسْتَنُّ في سُنَنِ الرُّشْدِ

His glorious deeds gleam on the horizon of eminence,

And his works follow the paths of right guidance.

فتُلْحَظُ منْ أنْوارِهِ سورَةُ الضُّحى

وتُحْفَظُ منْ آثارِهِ سورَةُ الحَمْدِ

So in his radiance one beholds the Surah of Morning Brightness,

And from his deeds the Surah of Praise is learned by heart.

منَ النَّفَرِ الوُضّاحِ والسّادةِ الأُلى

يُغيثونَ في الجُلّى ويوفونَ بالعَهْدِ

One of the radiant company and the lords who

Bring aid in dire calamity and remain true to their pledge.

إذا حدّثوا تَرْوي الرّواةُ حَديثَهُمْ

عنِ الأسْمَرِ الخَطّيّ والأبيَضِ الهِنْدي

When they speak, narrators recount their words

On the authority of the brown Khatti spear and the white Indian sword.

أَناصِرَ دين 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 is of use,

طَلَعْتَ على الدُّنيا بأيْمَنِ غُرّةٍ

أضاءَ بِها نورُ السّعادَةِ في المَهْدِ

You rose upon the world with a most auspicious brow,

Through it the light of happiness shone in the cradle.

وكمْ رصَدَتْ منّا العُيونُ طُلوعَها

فحُقِّقَ نصْرُ اللهِ في ذلكَ الرّصْدِ

And how often our eyes watched for its rising,

So God's victory was realized in that vigil.

وقَتْ بَيْتَكَ المعْمورَ منْ كلِّ حادِثٍ

عِنايَةُ مَنْ يُغْني عنِ الآلِ والجُنْدِ

Your flourishing house was protected from every calamity

By the care of Him who makes family and armies needless.

تهنّأ بهِ الأيّامَ دانِيَةَ الجَنى

وصافِحْ بهِ الآمالَ منْظومَةَ العِقْدِ

Take delight in it, through days whose fruits are within reach,

And, through it, shake hands with hopes strung in a necklace.

ودونَكَها منْ بَحْرِ فِكْري جَواهِرا

تُقَلَّدُ في نَحْرٍ وتُنْظَمُ في عِقْدِ

And take these jewels from the sea of my thought,

To be worn at the throat and strung in a necklace.

يَقومُ بآفاقِ البِلادِ خَطيبُها

يُتَرْجِمُ عنْ حُبّي ويُخْبِرُ عنْ وُدّي

Its herald rises across the horizons of the lands,

Voicing my love and telling of my affection.

ركَضْتُ لَها خيْلَ البَديهَةِ جاهِداً

وأسْمَعْتُ آذانَ المَعالي على بُعْدِ

I spurred for it the steeds of improvisation, striving hard,

And made the ears of eminence hear it from afar.

فجاءَتْ وفي ألْفاظِها لَفَفُ الكَرى

سِراعاً وفي أجْفانِها سِنَةُ السُّهْدِ

So it came, with the tangles of sleep in its words,

Swiftly, with the drowsiness of sleeplessness in its eyelids.

تَقولُ رُواةُ الشِّعْرِ عنْدَ سَماعِها

تُرَى هلْ لِهذا النّدِّ في الأرضِ من نِدِّ

The reciters of poetry say upon hearing it:

One wonders: does this incense have any peer on earth?

رَعى اللهُ قُطْراً أطْلَعَتْكَ سَماؤُهُ

وبورِكَ في مَوْلىً كريمٍ وفِي عبْدِ

May God guard a land whose sky brought you forth,

And blessed be a noble master and a servant.