بِجُمْلٍ حَدا الغَيْرَانُ بُزْلَ جمائِلهْ

بِجُمْلٍ حَدا الغَيْرَانُ بُزْلَ جمائِلهْ

وأرْقصَ قامات القَنَا في قَنابِلِهْ

وأرْقصَ قامات القَنَا في قَنابِلِهْ

With Juml, the jealous man sang his full-grown camels onward,

With camels whose beauty the parting has marred, ruining their graceful swaying gaits,

and set the tall spears dancing amid his squadrons.

And shaking the slender waists of the spears amidst the clashes of their quivers,

فلا عَصَفَتْ ريحُ الفراقِ الَّتي جرتْ

فلا عَصَفَتْ ريحُ الفراقِ الَّتي جرتْ

بها في خصمّ الجيش سُفْنُ رَواَحلِه

بها في خصمّ الجيش سُفْنُ رَواَحلِه

May the wind of parting never rage, upon which sailed

No sooner did the wind of parting blow, bearing their ships against the enemy host,

the ships of his mounts through the army's surging mass.

Than the courage of the drowsy, made sluggish by prolonged drinking, was roused, their slumbering ferocity awakened from its lair,

ودونَ مهاةِ الخدرِ إقدامُ خادرٍ

ودونَ مهاةِ الخدرِ إقدامُ خادرٍ

مبيد الشذا أظفارُهُ من معاقِلِه

مبيد الشذا أظفارُهُ من معاقِلِه

Before the chamber's oryx stands the daring of a lair-dwelling lion,

Their red banners seem as though the eyelids of the spears have been painted with collyrium by their dusky points,

a destroyer of harm, whose claws are among his strongholds.

Tossing about their eyelashes as though the deadly strokes of their blades had encountered each other at the time of the encounter,

حماليقُهُ حُمْرٌ كأنّ جفُونها

حماليقُهُ حُمْرٌ كأنّ جفُونها

حُشِينَ بكحلٍ من نجيعِ عوِامِلِه

حُشِينَ بكحلٍ من نجيعِ عوِامِلِه

His eye-rims are red, as though their lids

They said, "Stop, that you may hear the voices of their 'Isa in the pressing present, and in the near future,"

were filled with kohl from the gore on his spearheads.

So we stopped, confessing our passion for the slain even as we read in their glances the message of their glance,

يقلّبُ أجفاناً وِراداً كأنّما

يقلّبُ أجفاناً وِراداً كأنّما

تَوَارَدَ يومَ الطعن مُشْرَعُ عامِلِه

تَوَارَدَ يومَ الطعن مُشْرَعُ عامِلِه

He rolls rose-red eyelids, as though

While our minds scattered amidst the lowing camels, watch a flock that has lost its shepherd in the folds,

his leveled spearhead had come repeatedly to drink on the day of thrusts.

The companion of love in its seclusion finds the solitude harrowing, so the noblest of lions are helpless without their cubs,

وقالوا قِفوا كَي تَسمَعوا حَدوَ عيسِهم

وقالوا قِفوا كَي تَسمَعوا حَدوَ عيسِهم

بعاجلِ ما يُرْدي النفوس وآجِلِه

بعاجلِ ما يُرْدي النفوس وآجِلِه

They said, “Stop, so you may hear their pale camels' driving-song,

The mirage disappointed the red camels, so many a diver plunged in never to reach the shore,

with what destroys souls, both soon and late.”

What can avail the slain man in death now that access to him is denied?

وَقَفْنَا نُرَامي بالهوَى مَقْتَلَ الهوَى

وَقَفْنَا نُرَامي بالهوَى مَقْتَلَ الهوَى

ونقْرأُ في الألحاظ وَحْيَ رسائِلِه

ونقْرأُ في الألحاظ وَحْيَ رسائِلِه

We stood, exchanging shots of love at love's mortal spot,

At the halt of parting - painful body-wrenching - to bid farewell to one emaciated and pallid

and reading in glances the revelation of its messages.

Who had before the separation complained of the tattling of slanderers and the rebuke of reproachers;

ونَرقبُ سِرْباً في الخدورِ عُقولنا

ونَرقبُ سِرْباً في الخدورِ عُقولنا

مبدّدةٌ للبين بين عقائِلِه

مبدّدةٌ للبين بين عقائِلِه

We watched a herd within the curtained chambers, our minds

On the kerchief of the beautiful one is a counter-spell to ward off the evil of magic and the guile of Babylon,

scattered by parting among its noble beauties.

Had Harut and Marut but glimpsed her face, they would have become only two shirts to cover her charms;

أَنيسُ الهوى لِلمَوْتِ حَوْلَيهِ وَحشَةٌ

أَنيسُ الهوى لِلمَوْتِ حَوْلَيهِ وَحشَةٌ

فَأُسْدُ الشّرَى مَخذولَةٌ عَن خَواذِلِه

فَأُسْدُ الشّرَى مَخذولَةٌ عَن خَواذِلِه

Love's companion has death's terror all around him;

Without struggle she gathered the ripe fruits of our hearts, and with her soft fingers plucked those fruits in their ripeness;

so al-Shara's lions are helpless to reach his secluded does.

I think the leanness that clothed her waist made lean with love what is within her bracelets;

وَيَوْمَ صَلِينا فيه نارَ صبابةٍ

وَيَوْمَ صَلِينا فيه نارَ صبابةٍ

فَلا لَفَحَتْ إلّا وجوهَ أَصائِلِه

فَلا لَفَحَتْ إلّا وجوهَ أَصائِلِه

And on a day when we burned in the fire of longing,

Far from love he folded what that star of salvation folded, so who will aid a heart entangled in her tresses?

may it scorch only the faces of its late afternoons,

Lavishly they gave us from their lutes, the laughter of the singing girls at the inertness of aged spinsters,

عَشِيَّةَ أبكى البَين مِن رَحمَةٍ لنا

عَشِيَّةَ أبكى البَين مِن رَحمَةٍ لنا

بكاءَ قتيل الشوقْ في إِثرِ قاتِلِه

بكاءَ قتيل الشوقْ في إِثرِ قاتِلِه

that evening when parting drew tears, out of pity for us—

When passion stirred within them, we saw in them the bounty of Ibn 'Abbad and the ease of one who hopes for favor;

the weeping of longing's slain one in his slayer's wake.

A pillar whose glory makes the land surge around him when he lifts his banners above the squadrons,

وفي صدفِ الأحداجِ مكنونُ لؤلؤٍ

وفي صدفِ الأحداجِ مكنونُ لؤلؤٍ

تُكَفّ بأطرافِ الظُّبا كفُّ باذِلِه

تُكَفّ بأطرافِ الظُّبا كفُّ باذِلِه

And the shells of the camel litters hold hidden pearls,

Death overturned therein the eyes of the forsaken in the twinkling of an eye amidst the clashes of its proboscises;

the hand that would bestow them stayed by the points of blades.

At the mention of him the eyes of mankind squint to see the full moon in its mansions,

طَمَى بِالمَنايا الحُمرِ لَجُّ سرابِهِ

طَمَى بِالمَنايا الحُمرِ لَجُّ سرابِهِ

فكم غائصٍ لهفان من دونِ ساحِلِه

فكم غائصٍ لهفان من دونِ ساحِلِه

The deep sea of its mirage swelled with crimson deaths;

For he was a refuge for us when fate dealt roughly, by the truth of an upright father, guardian of the upright state,

how many a yearning diver fell short of its shore!

Who defends the rightly guided from the wrongdoing of the misguided and their supporters;

فمَن لقتيلٍ بالقَتولِ وقد غدتْ

فمَن لقتيلٍ بالقَتولِ وقد غدتْ

وسائلُهُ مصرومةً من وَسائلِه

وسائلُهُ مصرومةً من وَسائلِه

So who will aid one slain by the slayer, now that

A brother to resolute men, an emigrant from hunger when the eye of the lofty turns from their hopes,

his ties are severed from the slayer's ties?

Gentle of mind, dogged of purpose, glorious, as though his traits were mingled in the lineaments traced by the jeweled stylus,

ووقفةِ رودٍ بضّةِ الجسم غَضّةٍ

ووقفةِ رودٍ بضّةِ الجسم غَضّةٍ

لتوديع صَبٍّ شاحبِ الجسمِ ناحِلِه

لتوديع صَبٍّ شاحبِ الجسمِ ناحِلِه

And a gentle maiden's pause, soft of body and tender,

Fierce in the thick of battle, tearing up the enemy ranks when they try the mettle of his warriors,

to bid farewell to a lovesick man, pale-bodied and gaunt,

In the fury of battle a lion as though clad in the softness of an enfolding gown,

شَجٍ كانَ من قبلِ التفرّق يشتكي

شَجٍ كانَ من قبلِ التفرّق يشتكي

نميمةَ واشيه وتأنيبَ عاذِلِه

نميمةَ واشيه وتأنيبَ عاذِلِه

grief-stricken, who even before separation complained

The notches of his sword glisten amidst the stars, and the head of his lance gores in the breasts,

of his slanderer's gossip and his reprover's rebukes.

Abiding in the land of dread, whose heavens rain down upon him spears from the clouds of its catapults,

وفي بُرْقُعِ الحسناءِ مقلةُ جؤذَرٍ

وفي بُرْقُعِ الحسناءِ مقلةُ جؤذَرٍ

بها رُدّ كيدُ السحرِ في نَحرِ بابِلِه

بها رُدّ كيدُ السحرِ في نَحرِ بابِلِه

And in the beauty's veil is a young oryx's eye,

As though the abode of war were more pleasant to him than the plains of India or the nearer tribes,

by which sorcery's guile was turned back into its Babylon's throat.

The leaves of the gilded books are stained with every blood whose plants have drunk the dropping rain,

ولو شامَ هاروتٌ وماروت طَرْفَهُ

ولو شامَ هاروتٌ وماروت طَرْفَهُ

لَما أَصبَحا إِلّا قَنيصيْ حبائِلِه

لَما أَصبَحا إِلّا قَنيصيْ حبائِلِه

Had Harut and Marut glimpsed his gaze,

Plumes on him for the vultures, with glints like lightning flashes in their joints,

they would have become only two captives of his snares.

You would think him a sea with billows swelling, its soul in its first waves, its corpses in its last,

جَنَى غَيْرَ مُستَبِقٍ ثِمارَ قلوبنا

جَنَى غَيْرَ مُستَبِقٍ ثِمارَ قلوبنا

فَعِنَّابهنَّ الرطبُ مِلء أَنامِلِه

فَعِنَّابهنَّ الرطبُ مِلء أَنامِلِه

He plucked the fruits of our hearts, sparing none,

Shadowed by a dense flock of birds tearing away the souls of the foe in their talons;

and their fresh jujubes filled his fingertips.

When resolve precipitates in him a drop, its heights in destruction beneath its depths,

وأغلبُ ظنّي أنّ ما في وشاحهِ

وأغلبُ ظنّي أنّ ما في وشاحهِ

كساهُ نحولاً حبُّ ما في خلاخِلِه

كساهُ نحولاً حبُّ ما في خلاخِلِه

And my strongest surmise is that what his sash encloses

To you we moored the ships, in every storm our guideposts lost in the wastes;

was clothed in slenderness by love of what his anklets enclose.

Repelling terrors is up to the stronghold to which troubles flow whether he draws up its attributes or sends them forth;

طَوَى ما طوى ذاك النجاءُ من الهوى

طَوَى ما طوى ذاك النجاءُ من الهوى

فيا مَنْ لقلبٍ مِن نجِيِّ بَلابِلِه

فيا مَنْ لقلبٍ مِن نجِيِّ بَلابِلِه

That swift departure folded away all the love it folded away;

To a king whose sword and deeds are hell to his adversary and paradise to his aspirant,

oh, who will save a heart from its sorrows' secret whispers?

Marvel of the signs of munificence, companion to the rhythm of gracious deeds, like them in his liberality,

فَجادَ عَلَيهِم كُلُّ باكٍ ربابُهُ

فَجادَ عَلَيهِم كُلُّ باكٍ ربابُهُ

ضَحوكُ المغاني عَن أَقاحي خَمائِلِه

ضَحوكُ المغاني عَن أَقاحي خَمائِلِه

So may every land with weeping clouds shower bounty upon them,

Generous, when the winds of joy blow, the ships of hope sail the sea of his asking;

its haunts smiling with the daisies of its thickets.

We have lifted up the chant of ode and verse in his praise, rapturing the ears of the sublime in their assemblies;

إِذا انهَلَّ فيهِ الوَدقُ عايَنتُ مِنهُما

إِذا انهَلَّ فيهِ الوَدقُ عايَنتُ مِنهُما

عطاءَ ابن عبّاد وراحةَ سائِلِه

عطاءَ ابن عبّاد وراحةَ سائِلِه

When rain streams down there, I behold in both

Ask me of him and hear the truth, for I discourse concerning his resolves and virtues,

Ibn Abbad's bounty and his petitioner's palm.

And ask me not about the obligatory duties of his stature when a portion of his supererogations floods the world;

همامٌ يموجُ البرّ كالبحر حوله

همامٌ يموجُ البرّ كالبحر حوله

إذا رَفَعَ الرّاياتِْ فوقَ جحافِلِه

إذا رَفَعَ الرّاياتِْ فوقَ جحافِلِه

A high-hearted man: the land surges like the sea around him

The most generous of the waters of heaven is Muhammad - does the known generosity of heaven ever fail?

when he raises banners above his vast battalions,

وقَلّبَ فيها الموْتُ في لحْظِهِ العدى

وقَلّبَ فيها الموْتُ في لحْظِهِ العدى

عيونَ ذبالٍ في لدان ذوابِلِه

عيونَ ذبالٍ في لدان ذوابِلِه

and Death, in his glance at the foes, rolls within them

wick-like eyes among his supple spear-shafts.

تحملقُ أبصارُ الوَرَى عند ذِكرِهِ

تحملقُ أبصارُ الوَرَى عند ذِكرِهِ

لكيما تَرَى بدر العُلى في منازِلِه

لكيما تَرَى بدر العُلى في منازِلِه

The eyes of mankind stare wide at his mention,

to see glory's full moon in its stations.

إذاْ جارَ دهرٌ كان منه ملاذُنا

إذاْ جارَ دهرٌ كان منه ملاذُنا

بِحِقْوَي أبيٍّ قيّمِ الملكِ عادِلِه

بِحِقْوَي أبيٍّ قيّمِ الملكِ عادِلِه

When time turns tyrant, our refuge from it lies

at the flanks of an unyielding man, the kingdom's guardian and just ruler.

يصونُ الهدى منه إذا خاف ضَيْمَهُ

يصونُ الهدى منه إذا خاف ضَيْمَهُ

بحاميه من كيدِ الضّلالِ وكافِلِه

بحاميه من كيدِ الضّلالِ وكافِلِه

Right guidance shields itself from time, when it fears its oppression,

through its defender and guardian against error's guile.

أخو عَزَماتٍ للهجوع مهاجرٌ

أخو عَزَماتٍ للهجوع مهاجرٌ

إذا هَجَعَتْ عينُ العُلى عن مواصِلِه

إذا هَجَعَتْ عينُ العُلى عن مواصِلِه

A man of firm resolves, a forsaker of sleep,

when glory's eye slumbers, heedless of its faithful companion.

رقيقُ الحواشي أقعسُ العزّ ماجدٌ

رقيقُ الحواشي أقعسُ العزّ ماجدٌ

كأنّ شَمُولاً رقرقتْ في شمائِلِه

كأنّ شَمُولاً رقرقتْ في شمائِلِه

Gentle in manner, unbending in honor, noble,

as though wine rippled through his character.

شديدُ عراكِ البأس يَعْقِرُ قِرْنَهُ

شديدُ عراكِ البأس يَعْقِرُ قِرْنَهُ

إذا استطعم السرحانُ ما في جمائِلِه

إذا استطعم السرحانُ ما في جمائِلِه

Fierce in battle's struggle, he hamstrings his rival

when the wolf seeks a meal among his camels.

وفي غيضةِ الخطيّ ليثٌ كأنما

وفي غيضةِ الخطيّ ليثٌ كأنما

عليه من الماذيّ لينُ غلائِلِه

عليه من الماذيّ لينُ غلائِلِه

And in a thicket of Khatti spears stands a lion, as though

the fine mail upon him had the softness of his under-robes.

تَوَرَّدُ في الأجيادِ صَفحَةُ سَيفِهِ

تَوَرَّدُ في الأجيادِ صَفحَةُ سَيفِهِ

وتنهشُ في الأكباد حيّةُ عامِلِه

وتنهشُ في الأكباد حيّةُ عامِلِه

The flat of his sword turns rose-red on necks,

and the serpent of his spearhead bites into livers.

مقيمٌ بأرضِ الرّوْعِ حيثُ سماؤها

مقيمٌ بأرضِ الرّوْعِ حيثُ سماؤها

تمورُ عليه من مُثار قَسَاطِلِه

تمورُ عليه من مُثار قَسَاطِلِه

He dwells in the land of terror, where its sky

surges above him with the dust-clouds he has stirred,

كأنّ مقامَ الحربِ أشهى ربوعِهِ

كأنّ مقامَ الحربِ أشهى ربوعِهِ

إليه وبيضُ الهند أدنى قبائِلِه

إليه وبيضُ الهند أدنى قبائِلِه

as though war's arena were the sweetest of his abodes

to him, and India's bright blades his closest kin.

ومخضلّ أوراقِ الصفائح ضُرّجتْ

ومخضلّ أوراقِ الصفائح ضُرّجتْ

بكلّ دمٍ أنْدى نباتِ غوائِلِه

بكلّ دمٍ أنْدى نباتِ غوائِلِه

And a host whose sword-blade leaves are drenched, stained

with all the blood that watered the growth of its deadly assaults:

لُهامٌ عليه للعجاج غلائلٌ

لُهامٌ عليه للعجاج غلائلٌ

لها طُرُزٌ من بارقات مناصِلِه

لها طُرُزٌ من بارقات مناصِلِه

a vast host, clothed in robes of dust,

their embroidery made from the flashes of its sword-blades.

وتَحسَبُه بَحراً تلفُّ عَواصِفاً

وتَحسَبُه بَحراً تلفُّ عَواصِفاً

أَواخرَه أرواحُهُ بِأَوائِلِه

أَواخرَه أرواحُهُ بِأَوائِلِه

And you would think it a sea, where stormily are folded

its rear ranks into its foremost by its winds.

يظلّلُهُ سِرْبٌ منَ الطيرِ مُلْحِمٌ

يظلّلُهُ سِرْبٌ منَ الطيرِ مُلْحِمٌ

يروحُ بأرواحِ العدى في حواصِلِه

يروحُ بأرواحِ العدى في حواصِلِه

A flock of flesh-eating birds overshadows it,

departing at evening with the foes' souls in its crops.

إذا ما رمى قُطْراً به عَزْمُهُ اغْتَدَتْ

إذا ما رمى قُطْراً به عَزْمُهُ اغْتَدَتْ

أعاليهِ بالتدميرِ تَحتَ أَسافِلِه

أعاليهِ بالتدميرِ تَحتَ أَسافِلِه

Whenever his resolve hurls it at a land, by morning

its heights lie devastated beneath its depths.

إِلَيك زَجَرنا الفُلْكَ في كلّ زاخرٍ

إِلَيك زَجَرنا الفُلْكَ في كلّ زاخرٍ

معالُمنا مفقودةٌ في مجاهِلِه

معالُمنا مفقودةٌ في مجاهِلِه

Toward you we urged the ships through every surging sea,

our landmarks lost in its unknown reaches,

مدافعةُ الأهوالِ مدفوعةٌ إلى

مدافعةُ الأهوالِ مدفوعةٌ إلى

جنائبه تجري بها أو شمائِلِه

جنائبه تجري بها أو شمائِلِه

warding off terrors, driven toward

its south winds that carry them onward, or its north winds,

إلى مَلِكٍ في سيفِهِ وَبَنَانِهِ

إلى مَلِكٍ في سيفِهِ وَبَنَانِهِ

جَهنّمُ شانيه وجنّةُ آمِلِه

جَهنّمُ شانيه وجنّةُ آمِلِه

to a king, in whose sword and fingertips lie

his hater's hell and the paradise of one who hopes in him;

وَمُعجِزِ آياتِ الندى ذي سَماحَةٍ

وَمُعجِزِ آياتِ الندى ذي سَماحَةٍ

مُجانِسِ نَظمِ المكرُمات مقابِلِه

مُجانِسِ نَظمِ المكرُمات مقابِلِه

and a maker of inimitable signs of bounty, endowed with generosity,

a matching counterpart to the ordered string of noble deeds.

كريمٌ إذا هبّت رياحُ ارتياحه

كريمٌ إذا هبّت رياحُ ارتياحه

جَرَتْ سُفُنُ الآمال في بحرِ سائِلِه

جَرَتْ سُفُنُ الآمال في بحرِ سائِلِه

A generous man: when the winds of his gladness blow,

the ships of hope sail upon his petitioner's sea.

رفعنا عقيراتِ القوافي بِمَدْحِهِ

رفعنا عقيراتِ القوافي بِمَدْحِهِ

فأطْرَبْنَ أسْماعَ العُلى في محافِلِه

فأطْرَبْنَ أسْماعَ العُلى في محافِلِه

We raised the voices of our rhymes in his praise,

so they thrilled glory's ears in his assemblies.

سلونيَ عنه واسْمعوا الصدق إنّني

سلونيَ عنه واسْمعوا الصدق إنّني

أُحَدّثُ عن هِمّاتهِ وفواضِلِه

أُحَدّثُ عن هِمّاتهِ وفواضِلِه

Ask me about him, and hear the truth: I

speak of his lofty resolves and his abundant gifts.

ولا تسألوني عن فرائض طَوْله

ولا تسألوني عن فرائض طَوْله

إذا غَمَرَ الدنيا ببعضِ نوافِلِه

إذا غَمَرَ الدنيا ببعضِ نوافِلِه

And do not ask me about the obligatory gifts of his bounty,

when he has flooded the world with some of his voluntary gifts.

فَأَنْدى بَني ماءِ السماءِ مُحَمَّدٌ

فَأَنْدى بَني ماءِ السماءِ مُحَمَّدٌ

وهل طَلُّ معروفِ السماء كوابِلِه

وهل طَلُّ معروفِ السماء كوابِلِه

Thus Muhammad is the most generous of the sons of Ma' al-Sama';

and is the dew of heaven's bounty like his downpour?