صرف الوجد نحو قلبي عنانه — Ibn Farkoun

صرَفَ الوجْدُ نحو قلبي عِنانَهْ

مُعْمِلٌ فيهِ سيْفَهُ وسِنانَهْ

Longing turned its rein toward my heart,

wielding its sword and spearpoint within it.

والِهاً قد جَفاهُ دمْعُ جُفوني

حينَ أبْدى غرامَهُ وأبانَهْ

Distraught, it was forsaken by the tears of my eyelids,

when it revealed its passion and made it plain.

ما لِقَلْبي وجيرةَ الحيّ لمّا

أتْلَفوهُ وأصْبَحوا سُكّانَهْ

What has my heart to do with the camp's neighbors, when

they destroyed it and became its inhabitants?

ولمُغرىً بحبّهم حينَ أمْسى

ساهِرَ الجَفْنِ بعْدهُمْ يَقظانَهْ

And what of one enthralled by their love, when he became

sleepless-eyed after them, wide awake?

وبرَبْعِ الحِمى غَداة اسْتَقلّوا

طَلَلٌ بَثّ عندهُ أشجانَهْ

At the dwelling in the protected grounds, the morning they departed,

stands a ruin beside which he poured out his sorrows.

ما لَهُ والوقوفَ طوْعَ هَواهُ

برسومٍ قد أنكَرَتْ عِرْفانَهْ

What has he to do with standing, obedient to his desire,

among ruins that have denied his recognition?

والتي هامَ في صِفاتِ حُلاها

قد جَفا النوْمُ بعْدَها أجْفانَهْ

And she whose lovely qualities he adored—

sleep has shunned his eyelids since her departure.

ذهبَتْ كلَّ مذْهَبٍ في هَواها

بفؤادٍ لا يَرْتَجي سُلوانَهْ

Through love of her, she carried along every path

a heart that hopes for no consolation.

أينَ منها بدْرُ الدُجَى إنْ تجلّتْ

وهوَ يخشَى في أفْقِه نقْصانَهْ

What is the full moon of night beside her when she appears,

while in its own horizon it fears its waning?

لحظةُ الظّبْي في شَذا الزّهْرِ طِيباً

في سَنا الشّمسِ في انعِطاف الْبانَهْ

A gazelle's glance, with the sweet fragrance of flowers,

with the sun's radiance and the swaying of a bān tree.

أيْنَ يا راكِبَ المَطيّةِ تبغي

دونَك الحيَّ فاتّبِعْ رُكْبانَهْ

Where are you bound, O rider of the mount?

Before you is the camp: follow its riders.

أيَضِلُّ الرّكْبُ اليمانيُّ قَصْداً

وسَنا البرْق قدْ هَدَى أظْعانَهْ

Can the Yemeni caravan stray from its course,

when lightning's gleam has guided its traveling litters?

ورياضٍ جالَ النّسيمُ لديْه

فثَنى فيه للّقا أغْصانَهْ

And gardens where the breeze wandered,

bending their branches toward one another in greeting.

وأدارَتْ كأسُ السّحابِ مُداماً

ردّد الطيْرُ عندَها ألْحانَهْ

The goblet of clouds passed round a vintage,

beside which the birds repeated their melodies.

ما لغُصْنِ النّوى وقد مالَ زهْواً

لوْ أقامَتْ ريحُ الصَّبا نَشْوانَهْ

What of separation's branch, leaning proudly—

if only the east wind would straighten its drunken form!

أتُرَى السحْبُ أمْ دموعيَ جادتْ

ريّةً فانثَنَتْ بِها ريّانَهْ

Was it the clouds, I wonder, or my tears, that poured

a soaking draught, till it bent, well-watered by it?

لا ولكن جودُ الخليفَة لمّا

جادها أمْسكَ الحَيا هتّانَهْ

No: it was the caliph's bounty; when

he lavished it upon them, the rain withheld its downpour.

ثمَّ وافَى أُمَّ البِلادِ مُعيداً

بِنداهُ لعَهْدِها ريْحانَهْ

Then he came to the mother of the lands, restoring

with his bounty the sweet basil of her former days.

ساجَلَ الغيْثُ إذْ أتاها نَداهُ

فثنى حين لمْ يُطِقْهُ عِنانَهْ

The rain competed when his bounty came to her,

then, unable to match it, turned back its rein.

وتوارتْ شمسُ الضحى إذ تبدّتْ

شمسُ مَرْآهُ فذّةً حُسّانَهْ

The morning sun hid when there appeared

the sun of his countenance, peerlessly beautiful.

حسدَ البدْرُ والغَمامُ سَناءً

وسنىً نورَ وجهه وبَنانَهْ

The full moon and the clouds envied the splendor

and radiance of his face's light and his fingers.

قد قضيْنا أوْطارَنا عندَما قدْ

حلّ موْلَى مُلوكِها أوْطانَهْ

We fulfilled our wishes when

the lord of her kings settled in his own lands.

واصلَ الرّبْعَ وهْوَ أشْوَقُ شيءٍ

للِّقا بعْدَ أن أرى هِجْرانَهْ

He rejoined the dwelling, which longed above all

for reunion, after he had shown it his estrangement.

كمْ عُيونٍ تشوّفَتْ للِقاهُ

وقلوبٍ مَشوقَةٍ هَيْمانَهْ

How many eyes yearned to meet him,

and hearts were longing, stricken with love!

مَنْ يُضاهي في الأرضِ يوسُفَ مَوْلىً

قد خبَرْنا تمْكينَهُ ومكانَهْ

Who on earth can rival Yusuf as a lord,

whose power and standing we know from experience?

من يُضاهِيه يوسُفيَّ خِلالٍ

بيْنَ دُنْيا أعظِمْ بِها ودِيانَهْ

Who rivals him in Yusuf-like virtues,

in worldly life—how magnificent!—and in faith?

يوسُفُ الصَّدْق مُعْجِبٌ بينَ وصْفَيْ

حجّتَيْهِ إنابَةً وإبانَهْ

Yusuf the truthful is wondrous in the two qualities

of his two proofs: devotion and clear expression.

لعُلاهُ في الغَيْبِ سرٌّ عجيبٌ

كلّ مَلْكٍ يبْدي لهُ إذْعانَهْ

His exalted rank has a wondrous secret in the unseen:

every king displays his submission to him.

فالشقيُّ الذي اعتدَى قبْلَ هذا

قرَّب الدهْرُ حتفَهُ وأحانَهْ

As for the wretch who transgressed before this,

time brought his death near and made it due.

ألمَوْلى الملوكِ شرْقاً وغرْباً

يوسُفٍ يظهِرُ امْرؤٌ عِصْيانَهْ

Is it against the lord of kings, east and west,

Yusuf, that any man displays rebellion?

كانَ حلفَ النجاةِ لوْ قد أتاهُ

راجياً منهُ لطْفَهُ وحَنانَهْ

He would have been allied with salvation, had he come to him,

hoping for his kindness and tenderness.

ووليُّ الضّلالِ والبغْي لمّا

أن غَدا وهْوَ مُظْهِرٌ طغْيانَهْ

But the ally of error and oppression, when

he went forth, openly displaying his tyranny,

ظاهَرَ الكافِرين واعتزّ حتّى

أظهرَ الحقُّ والهُدَى بُرْهانَهْ

supported the unbelievers and grew proud, until

truth and guidance revealed their proof.

لكأني بهِ وقدْ خاب سَعْياً

وجَلَتْ دعوةُ الرّدى بُهْتانَهْ

It is as though I see him, his striving failed,

and death's summons having exposed his falsehood,

وسُيوفُ الهُدَى تُحَكّمُ فيهِ

قد أحانتْهُ كيفَ شاءتْ مكانَهْ

while the swords of guidance are given judgment over him,

bringing him death as they pleased, in his own place.

ولسانُ الزّمانِ ينشِدُ لمّا

أعْدمَ اللهُ في الورى وِجْدانَهْ

And the tongue of time chants, once

God has erased his existence among mankind:

سُمْتَ أهْلَ الغرورِ منهُمْ نكالاً

وخَبالاً وذِلّةً وإهانَهْ

You inflicted on those deluded folk among them punishment,

and ruin, humiliation, and disgrace.

لمْ يَزالوا للغدْرِ والمكْرِ أهْلاً

وهَواهُمْ قد أصْبَحوا عُبْدانَهْ

They have always been fit for treachery and deceit,

and have become slaves to their own desire.

كان فيهمْ عُثْمانُهُم وهْوَ منهُمْ

فأباحُوا حِماهُ بلْ سُكّانَهْ

Their Uthman was among them, one of their own,

yet they violated his protected domain—indeed, its inhabitants.

والطّريفيُّ عبْدُهُ عبْدُ سَوْءٍ

جمعَ اللُّؤمَ والخَنى والخِيانَهْ

And al-Tarifi, his servant, was an evil servant,

combining baseness, obscenity, and treachery.

سار منْ قبلُ للجَحيمِ بَشيراً

مُخبِراً أنّ بَعْدَهُ إتْيانَهْ

He went before him to Hell as a bearer of tidings,

announcing that he would come after him.

أخْذَةٌ روّعَتْ وبالدّمِ روّتْ

حين وافَتْ جَنابَهُ وجَنانَهْ

A stroke that terrified and drenched with blood,

when it reached his domain and his heart.

أوَ لمْ يعْلَموا بأنّ ابْنَ نَصْرٍ

يوسُفاً كفُّهُ كفَتْ عُدْوانَهْ

Did they not know that Ibn Nasr,

Yusuf, had a hand that checked his aggression?

خاب قصْدُ الملوكِ إن لم تؤمِّلْ

منهُ إحْسابَهُ ولا إحْسانَهْ

The kings' designs fail if they do not hope

for his ample bounty or his kindness.

ربّما حلّتِ السُعودُ حُباها

لو تلقّى منَ السّعيدِ أمانَهْ

Perhaps the auspicious stars would have loosened their girdles,

had he received safe-conduct from al-Sa'id.

ولأصْفَى له مشارِبَ نعْما

هُ وأوْلاهُ فضْلَهُ وامْتِنانَهْ

And he would have cleared for him the drinking-places of his bounty,

and bestowed on him his grace and favor.

أخذ اللهُ منهُ خَبّاً لَئيماً

تابعاً في ضَلالِه شَيْطانَهْ

God took from him a vile deceiver,

following his devil in his error.

وهْوَ يُبْدي على مُظاهَرة الكفْ

رِ معَ البَغْي والخَنى جَرَيانَهْ

He displayed, in his support of unbelief,

his headlong course with oppression and obscenity.

يتَمادى على الخِلافِ ويَدْري

أنهُ غيْرُ مُفلِحٍ مَنْ خانَهْ

He persists in opposition, though he knows

that whoever betrays him will not prosper.

تركَ المُلك والمَمالِكَ والما

لَ لديْهِ وكُلَّ عِلْقٍ صانَهْ

He left dominion, kingdoms, and wealth

with him, and every precious thing he had preserved.

وكأنْ بالسّعيدِ وارِثَ ما قدْ

أظهَروهُ أو أضمَروا كِتْمانَهْ

It is as though al-Sa'id is heir to all they have

revealed or inwardly kept concealed.

وكأنْ بالسّعيدِ قد ساعَدَتْهُ

نيّةٌ منكَ مهّدت بُلْدانَهْ

It is as though al-Sa'id has been aided

by an intention of yours that secured his lands.

أسّسَتْ مُلكَهُ على البرِّ حتّى

أصْعَدَتْهُ وشيّدتْ أرْكانَهْ

It founded his sovereignty upon righteousness, until

it raised him high and strengthened its pillars.

حلّ منهُ السّعيدُ ذِرْوَةَ عزٍّ

فهوَ عيْنٌ وقد غَدا إنسانَهْ

Within it al-Sa'id reached the summit of glory;

for it is an eye, and he has become its pupil.

بكَ أضْحى والمُلْكُ طوْعُ يَديْهِ

حيثُ رقّيتَهُ لأعْلى مكانَهْ

Through you he stands, with sovereignty obedient to his hands,

since you raised him to his highest station.

يورِدُ السّيفَ في دِماءِ عِداهُ

فيُروّي في بَحْرِه ظَمْآنَهْ

He leads the sword to drink in his enemies' blood,

and in its sea quenches his thirsty blade.

إنما الغَرْبُ في يديْكَ مجالٌ

ملأتْ شيعةُ الهُدى مَيدانَهْ

The West, in your hands, is but an arena

whose field the followers of guidance have filled.

فتهنّأْ يا ناصِرَ الدّين مُلكاً

فاقَ منصورَهُ شأَى مروانَهْ

So rejoice, defender of the faith, in a sovereignty

surpassing its Mansur, outstripping its Marwan.

لوْ أتَى قيصَرٌ لقَصّرَ عنْهُ

ولألْقى كِسْرَى لهُ تيجانَهْ

Were Caesar to come, he would fall short of him,

and Kisra would lay his crowns before him.

وهَنيئاً بمَقْدَمِ العزِّ يا مَنْ

ألْبَسَ العِزَّ مُضْفِياً أرْدانَهْ

And joy at the arrival of glory, O you who

clothed glory, spreading wide its sleeves!

وهنيئاً بها سَوابحَ تأتي

وهْيَ بيْن اسْتِمالَةٍ واستِكانَهْ

And joy in those swimming ships as they come,

between winning favor and submission.

وحَكتْ صفْحةُ البِحارِ مُحَيّاً

فيه تُلْفي أجفانُها أجْفانَهْ

The surface of the seas mirrored a face

where its ships find that face's eyelids.

والذي جاء بالبِشارةِ منْها

رفَعَ اللهُ في الشّوانيِّ شانهْ

And the one among them that brought the glad tidings—

may God raise its standing among the galleys!

تأخُذُ الرّيحُ عنْ حُلاهُ وتأبى

أن تُباري هُبوبُها جَريانَهْ

The wind learns from its charms, yet refuses

to let its gusts compete with its course.

لوْ بذلنا النّفوسَ كان قَليلاً

للذي قدْ أتَى بهِ وأبانَهْ

Were we to give our lives, it would be little

for what it brought and made manifest.

وتهنّأْ منْ قَبْلِ ذلك فتحاً

قرّبَ الدّهْرُ وقتَه وأوانَهْ

And rejoice, before that, in a conquest

whose time and season fate has brought near.

لا تَسَلْ عنْ سِواهُ إذ سوفَ تُلْفِي

جبلَ الفتحِ تابعاً شمَّانَهْ

Ask of no other, for you shall find

the Mount of Conquest following Shammana.

قد علِمْتُمْ والشِّعْرُ أصْدقُ فالاً

ما دَعا المُصْطَفى لهُ حسّانَهْ

You know—and poetry is the truest omen—

why the Chosen One summoned his Hassan to it.

دونَ مَوْلايَ من نِظامِيَ خَوْداً

فذّةَ الحُسْنِ والحُلَى فتّانَهْ

Before my lord, from my verse, stands a maiden,

peerless in beauty and adornments, enchanting.

راقَ منها بالمَدْحِ فيكَ بَيانٌ

أفُقُ الطّرْسِ مُطْلِعٌ شُهْبانَهْ

Her eloquence delights in praising you,

the page's horizon a rising-place for its shooting stars.

أنا عبْدٌ غذَتْهُ نُعْماكَ حتّى

رفَعَتْ قدْرَهُ لديْكَ وشانَهْ

I am a servant nourished by your bounty, until

it raised his rank and standing before you.

نِعمةٌ منكَ لِي بأنّ نِظامي

زَهَرٌ تجتَلي النُهَى بسْتانَهْ

It is a favor from you to me that my verse

is blossom whose garden minds behold.

أيُوَفَّى عليْكَ حُسْنُ ثَناءٍ

وبهِ اللهُ مُنزِلٌ فُرْقانَهْ

Can fine praise of you be fully rendered,

while with it God sends down His Criterion?

دُمْتَ والنّصْرُ عِند بابِكَ ركْبٌ

يجذُبُ السّعْدُ نحوَهُ أرْسانَهْ

May you endure, with victory a caravan at your gate,

good fortune drawing its halters toward it.