ابنة الحسن بها الحسن سما — Mufti Fathallah

اِبنَةُ الحُسنِ بِها الحُسنُ سَما

وَتَجلَّت بِالجَمالِ الأَنفَسِ

Beauty's daughter—through her, beauty has soared,

and she has revealed herself in the most precious beauty.

تَكسِفُ الشّمسَ وَتَمحو الأَنجُما

تَخسِفُ البَدرَ وَكلّ الخنَّسِ

She eclipses the sun and effaces the stars;

she eclipses the full moon and all the retreating stars.

صاغَها اللَّه مِنَ الحُسنِ وَصَانْ

حُسنَها عَن أَن يُضاهى بِمِثالْ

God fashioned her from beauty and guarded

her beauty from being matched by any likeness.

جَمَّل اللَّهُ بِها الحُسنَ وَزان

وَسِواها زِينَ مِنهُ بِالجَمال

God adorned beauty with her and embellished it,

while others were adorned with beauty drawn from it.

فَهيَ عَينُ الحُسنِ في كلِّ زَمان

فاضَ مِنها جَوهرُ الحُسنِ وَسال

She is the very essence of beauty in every age;

from her the essence of beauty overflowed and streamed.

مَن يُشبِّهْها بِشَمسٍ عدما

فَهمَهُ بَل هُوَ عَينُ الأَهوَسِ

Whoever likens her to a sun has lost

his understanding; indeed, he is folly incarnate.

فاسِدُ الرّأيِ بِجَهلٍ وَعَمى

لَو رَأى الفرقَ هُنا لَم يَقِسِ

His judgment is corrupted by ignorance and blindness;

had he seen the difference here, he would not have compared.

خَدُّها جَنّةُ حُسنٍ وَهوَ نارْ

نَعّمت قَلبِيَ فيها بِالعِذابْ

Her cheek is a garden of beauty, yet it is fire;

she delighted my heart there through torment.

نَبتَ الوَردُ بِها وَالجلّنار

وَبِها ياقوتُ أَحشائِيَ ذَاب

The rose and pomegranate blossom grew in it,

and in it the ruby of my entrails melted.

وَعَلَيها سُندس السالِفِ دَار

قاصِداً لِلخُلدِ مِن غَيرِ اِرتِياب

And around it curled the silk of her cheek-side,

seeking eternal Paradise without a doubt.

بِأَبي النّار بِها الوَردُ نَما

وَاِكتَسى فيها بِأَسنى السندُسِ

My father be ransomed for that fire in which the rose grew,

and clothed itself in the finest silk.

لَثمُ هَذي النّارِ مُطفٍ للظّما

مِثلَما فيهِ شِفاءُ الأَنفُسِ

Kissing this fire quenches thirst,

just as it holds healing for souls.

خَالها إِنسان عَيني قَد ظَهَرْ

فَوقَ ذاكَ الخدِّ مثلَ العَنبَرِ

Her beauty mark is the pupil of my eye, now revealed

above that cheek like ambergris.

وَبَدا فيهِ عَلى حُسنِ الخَفرْ

نُقطَة في الشّمسِ أَو في القَمرِ

And there, in bashful beauty, it appeared:

a dot upon the sun or upon the moon.

فَهوَ في الشّمسِ كَما صَحَّ الخَبرْ

كَسَوادِ العَينِ وَسطَ الحَورِ

There in the sun it is, as the account confirms,

like the eye's black pupil amid its white.

بِأَبي العَنبر يَزهو حَيثُما

كانَ فَوقَ الوَردِ بِالمُنغَرِسِ

My father be ransomed for that ambergris, resplendent wherever

it lies, planted above the rose.

وَهوَ مِسكٌ بِلَظى الخَدِّ اِحتَمى

تَحتَ ظِلِّ السّيفِ ثمّ النّرجِسِ

And it is musk, sheltered in the cheek's blaze,

beneath the sword's shadow, then the narcissus's.

ثَغرُها الأَلمى العُذيبُ الأَشنَبُ

يَلفِظُ الجَوهَرَ مِن بَينِ العَقيقْ

Her sweet mouth, dark-lipped and pearly-toothed,

utters jewels from between carnelians.

درُّهُ يَزهو عَلَيهِ الحببُ

وَهوَ في الياقوتِ يُسقى مِن رَحيق

Its pearl gleams, with bubbles upon it,

and, set in ruby, is watered with nectar,

سَلسلٍ تَحلو فَينسى الغربُ

رَشفُها إِحياؤُهُ المَوتى حَقيق

smooth-flowing; it tastes sweet, and thirst is forgotten.

Sipping it truly brings the dead to life.

هَذِهِ الخَمرة تُحيي الأَعظما

تُنعِشُ الأَرواح مِنها فَاِحتَسِ

This wine revives the bones;

it enlivens souls—so drink from it.

لَيتَ شِعري هَل إِمامٌ حَرَّما

هَذِه الخَمرَ عَلى مَن يَحتَسي

Would that I knew: has any imam forbidden

this wine to anyone who drinks?

مَن يَذُقها يَعِشِ الدّهرَ وَلَم

يَذُقِ المَوتَ فدى عَين الحَياهْ

Whoever tastes it lives for all time and never

tastes death; I would be ransomed for the spring of life!

لَم يَذُقها خِدن داءٍ وَسَقَم

مُزمنٍ إِلّا بِها نال شِفاه

No companion of disease and illness has tasted it,

however chronic, without finding his cure in it.

إِنْ تَرُمْ أَن لا يُدانيكَ العَدَم

فَاِرتَشِفها وَهيَ ما بَينَ الشّفاه

If you desire that extinction should not approach you,

then sip it while it lies between the lips.

فَالّذي ما بَينَها أَسنى اللّمى

يُذهِبُ الغمَّ وَضيق النّفسِ

For between them lies the loveliest dusky hue,

dispelling grief and the soul's distress.

وَتَكن مَعها لَثمت المَبسما

حاوِيَ البَرقِ وَحسْنِ اللعسِ

And with it you will have kissed the smiling mouth,

which holds lightning and the beauty of dusky lips.

جَفنُها المَكسور مِن حُسنِ الوَطَفْ

وَهوَ مَكحولٌ بِسِحرِ الدّعجِ

Her eyelid droops with the beauty of its long lashes,

and is kohled with the enchantment of dark eyes.

فَلَكم بِالسّحرِ مِن عَقلٍ خَطَف

وَبِهِ قَد طالَ سَلبَ المهجِ

How many a mind has it stolen through magic!

And through it the plundering of souls has long endured.

كُلّما الهدبُ مِنَ الغمزِ اِنعَطَف

رَشق النّبلَ بِأَحشاءِ الشّجي

Whenever the lashes bend in a wink,

it shoots arrows into the lovelorn one's entrails.

وَبِهِ يصمي فُؤاداً قَد رمى

وَلَوِ اِحتَفّ بِحِفظِ الحرسِ

And with it, it slays a heart it has struck,

even if surrounded by the guards' protection.

وَهوَ مَخمورٌ بِخَمرينِ هُما

خَمرةُ الحُسنِ وَخَمر النَّعَسِ

And it is intoxicated with two wines, which are

the wine of beauty and the wine of drowsiness.

لَحظُها الأَحوَرُ سَيفٌ باترُ

لَم يَدَع مِن مُهجَةٍ إِلّا فَتَكْ

Her dark-pupilled, white-eyed glance is a cleaving sword;

it has left no heart without slaying it.

فيهِ إِنسانٌ وَلَكِن ساحِرُ

يَنسِجُ السّحرَ لِأَمثالي شَرَك

Within it is a pupil, yet a sorcerer,

weaving magic into a snare for the likes of me.

لَو أَرادَ الشّمسَ إِذ تظَّاهرُ

صادَها وَاللَّه مِن كبدِ الفَلَك

If it sought the sun when it appears,

by God, it would catch it from the heart of the heavens.

لَيتَ شِعري مَنْ رَأى مَنْ عَلِما

ساحِراً في الجِنِّ أَو في الأنّسِ

Would that I knew: who has seen, who has known

a sorcerer among the jinn or humankind

صائِداً لِلشّمسِ مِن كَبدِ السّما

أَو سِواها كَالجَواري الكنَّسِ

who hunts the sun from the heart of the sky,

or others, such as the coursing, hiding stars?

وَجهُها الشَّمسُ مَحَت حُسنَ المِلاحْ

وَرَفيع الحُسنِ مِنهم وُضِعا

Her face is the sun; it effaced the beauty of the fair,

and their loftiest beauty was brought low.

صدغُها العَقرَبُ وَسطَ الشّمسِ لاح

عِندَ قَوسِ الحاجِبين اِرتَفعا

Her temple-lock, a scorpion, appeared amid the sun,

rising beside the bow of her two eyebrows.

فَرعُها وَالفَرقُ لَيلٌ وَصَباح

فَوقَ شَمسِ الوَجهِ حُسناً طَلعا

Her hair and its parting are night and morning;

in beauty they rose above the sun of her face.

لَم يَغيبا في نَهارٍ مِثلَما

لَم يَغيبا حينَ جَنح الحندسِ

Neither disappeared by day, just as

neither disappeared when dense darkness fell.

ذَلكَ اللّيلُ تَداجى مُظلِما

ذَلكَ الصّبح مُضيئ الغلسِ

That night grew ever darker;

that morning illuminates the predawn gloom.

قَدُّها الغصنُ وَلَكِن بِالدّلالْ

مِن يَدِ الحُسنِ تَبَدّى يَنثَني

Her figure is a bough, but with coquettish grace

it emerged from Beauty's hand, swaying.

يَزدَري بِالرّمحِ طولاً وَاِعتِدالْ

وَيحَ قَلبي مِنهُ ظَهري مُنحَني

It scorns the spear in height and straightness;

alas for my heart—because of it, my back is bent.

كُلّما الحسنُ لَهُ عِطفاً أَمال

يَزدري بِالمَيل مَيل الأَغصنِ

Whenever Beauty bends its side,

its sway scorns the swaying boughs.

أَسِواهُ يَزدَري الغُصنَ وَما

كُلُّ قَدٍّ يزدري بالميسِ

Does any other scorn the bough? Not

every figure can disdain it through graceful swaying.

وَلو الغصن بِهذا أَعلَما

لَتَمنّى أَنَّه لَم يُغرَسِ

Were the bough informed of this,

it would wish it had never been planted.

جيدُها مِثلُ عَمودِ الصُّبحِ بانْ

حُسنُهُ فاقَ ضِياءَ الكَوكبِ

Her neck appeared like the pillar of dawn;

its beauty surpassed the star's radiance.

وَعَليهِ عقدُ دُرٍّ وَجُمان

فيهِ حارَ الطّرفُ وَالعقلُ سُبِي

And upon it is a necklace of pearls and lustrous beads,

at which the gaze was bewildered and the mind taken captive.

كَنُجومِ الأُفقِ تَبدو لِلعَيان

ضَوؤُها مِن مَشرق لِلمَغربِ

Like the horizon's stars, they appear before the eyes,

their light reaching from east to west.

بِأَبي الأَنجُمُ عقداً نظما

وَعَمود الصّبحِ فيهِ يَكتَسي

My father be ransomed for those stars, strung as a necklace,

in which the pillar of dawn clothes itself,

تَحتَ نورِ الشّمسِ نوراً بسما

وَثُرِيَّا الشنفِ مثل القبسِ

beneath the sun's radiance, in light that smiled;

and the Pleiades of her earring are like a flame.

غادَةٌ لِلحُسنِ فيها مَفخرُ

فَخرُ ذاتِ الحُسنِ في أَسنى الحُلِي

A graceful maiden in whom beauty finds a source of pride:

a beauty's pride, wearing the finest ornaments.

إِن رَأَتها الشّمس لَيسَت تظهرُ

خَشيَةَ الكَسفِ وَذلِّ الخَجَلِ

If the sun sees her, it will not appear,

for fear of eclipse and the humiliation of shame.

بِعَلِيِّ الحسنِ تيهاً تفخرُ

صَدَقت ما الفَخر إِلّا بِعَلي

She proudly boasts of exalted beauty;

she speaks truly: pride is only in Ali.

مَن لَهُ سامي المَعالي خَدَما

وَبِهِ فازَت بِرَفعِ الأَرؤُسِ

He whom the loftiest attainments have served,

and through whom they won the right to raise their heads;

مَن بِهِ المَجدُ تَسامى وَسَما

وَبِهِ صارَ أَشَمَّ المعطسِ

he through whom glory grew exalted and soared,

and through whom it became proudly high-nosed.

دَوحَةُ العِزِّ وَفَخرُ الشّرفِ

مُقلَةُ الدّهرِ وَإِنسانُ الكَمالْ

The great tree of might and the pride of nobility;

the eye of the age and the pupil of perfection.

في ذُرى العَلياءِ أَسنى الغرفِ

قَد بَناها فَوقَ هاماتِ المَعال

Upon the summits of eminence, the loftiest chambers

he has built above the crowns of high attainments.

حَدّث الدّهرَ وَسِرْ لا تَقفِ

عَنهُ بِالمَجدِ وَبالِغ بِالمَقال

Tell the age, and keep going; do not stop

speaking of his glory, and be lavish in your words.

لَم تَطُل وَاللَّهِ مِنهُ عشرُ ما

حازَهُ أَو عشرُ عشر الخُمسِ

You have not reached, by God, a tenth of what

he has attained, or a tenth of a tenth of a fifth.

كَيفَ يُحصى البَحرُ قطعاً إِنّما

ظَنُّ حَصرِ البحرِ عَينُ الهوسِ

How can the sea be reckoned? Surely, nothing but

sheer madness is the thought of encompassing the sea.

يا لَهُ مِن أَمجَدٍ قَد جَمعا

كَرمَ الأَصلِ وَأَعلى النّسبِ

What a glorious man, who has united

nobility of stock with the highest lineage,

وَحَوى مَع حَسبٍ قَد رُفِعا

شَرفُ العِلمِ وَحسنِ الأدبِ

and gathered, beside exalted ancestral honor,

the distinction of knowledge and the beauty of refinement.

فيهِ مَجدُ الدّهرِ وَالفخرُ مُعا

وَبِهِ الفَخر لِأمّ وَأَبِ

In him are the glory of the age and pride together;

through him comes pride to mother and father.

قَسَماً بِاللَّه مَن قَد أَقسَما

بِالضُّحى وَاللّيلِ ثمَّ الخنَّسِ

I swear by God, He who swore

by the morning light, the night, and then the retreating stars:

هَكَذا الفَخرُ وَلَكِن قَلَّما

هَكَذا المَجد وَمَن فيهِ كُسي

such is pride—but rarely

is glory like this, and the one clothed in it.

يا رَعاهُ اللَّه مِن حَبْرٍ إِمامْ

إِذ بِهِ كلُّ إِمامٍ يَقتدي

What a learned imam—may God protect him—

since every imam follows his example.

جَهبَذٌ فَردٌ شَهيرٌ وَهُمام

مُتَردٍّ بِكمالِ السّؤددِ

A peerless, renowned master scholar and noble champion,

cloaked in the perfection of lordliness.

شَمسُ هَديٍ أَشرَقَت تَهدِي الأنام

بِهُداها كلُّ نَجمٍ يَهتدي

A sun of guidance that rose to guide humankind;

by its guidance every star finds its way.

نُورُها وَاللَّهِ يَجلو الظُّلُما

فَلَهُ بادِرْ وَمِنهُ اِقتَبس

Its light, by God, dispels the darkness;

so hasten to him and take a spark from him.

تَكتَسِبْ وَاللّهِ مِنهُ حِكَما

لَيسَ يُعطاها سِوى المُقتَبِس

You will gain, by God, wise teachings from him,

bestowed only upon one who draws from him.

أَسَدٌ وَاللَّهِ لا يَخشى الأُسودْ

يُثبِتُ الحقَّ وَيَمحو الباطِلا

A lion, by God, who fears no lions;

he establishes truth and effaces falsehood.

يَنطِقُ الحقّ عَلى رَغمِ الحَسود

لَم يَكُن في اللَّهِ يَخشى قائِلا

He speaks the truth despite the envious;

in God's cause, he never feared any speaker.

مَن يَقولُ الحَقَّ وَاللَّهِ يَسود

مَن يَقولُ الحقّ كانَ العاقِلا

Whoever speaks the truth, by God, prevails;

whoever speaks the truth is the sensible one.

كَم بِقَولِ الحقِّ قرماً صَدَما

وَعَليهِ صالَ كَالمُفتَرِسِ

How many a mighty chief has he struck with words of truth,

and charged against him like a predator!

كَم بِسَهمِ الحقِّ مِن ليثٍ رَمى

وَبِسَهمِ الحقِّ يَرمي عَن قِسي

How many a lion has he shot with truth's arrow!

And with truth's arrow he shoots from bows.

كَعبَةُ القَصدِ وَنجح الأربِ

دَوحَةُ المَعروفِ ذات الثّمرِ

The Kaaba of those who seek, the fulfillment of desires;

the fruit-bearing tree of benevolence.

مُهجَةُ اللّطفِ وَروحُ الأَدبِ

لُطفُهُ فاقَ نَسيمَ السّحرِ

The heart of kindness and the soul of refinement;

his kindness surpassed the predawn breeze.

حاتمُ الجودِ سَخِيُّ العَربِ

أَخجَلَت كَفّاهُ سَحَّ المَطرِ

A Hatim in generosity, the generous man of the Arabs;

his two palms put the pouring rain to shame.

إِذ هُما عَينٌ تَفيضُ الكَرَما

في سِوى كَفَّيهِ لَم تَنبَجِسِ

For the two are a spring overflowing with generosity,

which has gushed forth nowhere but in his two palms.

ما سَمِعنا مِثلَهُ في الكُرَما

وَلَديهِ مِثلَ مَعنٍ قَد نُسي

We have heard of none like him among the generous,

and beside him one like Ma'n has been forgotten.

نَجلُ سُلطانِ جَميعِ الأَولِيا

عارِفُ الأَقطابِ قُطبُ العارِفينْ

Descendant of the sultan of all saints,

knower of the spiritual poles, pole of the gnostics,

سَيِّدي الجيلِيُّ شَيخُ الأَتقِيا

صاحِبُ الأَسرارِ وَالكَشفِ المُبين

my master al-Jili, sheikh of the pious,

possessor of secrets and manifest unveiling,

مُقتَفي آثارِ خَيرِ الأَنبِيا

جَدُّهُ المُختارُ خَيرُ المُرسَلِين

following the footsteps of the best of prophets.

His forefather is the Chosen One, the best of messengers,

مَن لَهُ اللَّهُ تَعالى كَلَّما

وَحَباهُ بِالدنوِّ الأَقدسِ

to whom God, exalted is He, spoke,

and whom He favored with the holiest proximity,

حينَما أَسرى بِهِ رَبُّ الّسما

مَعَهُ جِبريلُ رُوحُ القُدُسِ

when the Lord of heaven took him on the night journey,

with Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, beside him.

دامَ ذاكَ الشّهمُ في أَهنى الهَنا

ناعِمَ العَيشِ وَبِالعَيشِ الهَني

May that noble man endure in the happiest bliss,

at ease in life and enjoying a pleasant life.

لا يرى في الجِسمِ مِنهُ وَهَنا

بَل يُرى الدّهرَ صَحيحَ البدنِ

May he see no weakness in his body,

but be seen forever sound of body.

وَعَليهِ اللَّهُ وَالى المِنَنا

ما تَغَنَّى الورقُ فَوقَ الفننِ

And may God continually bestow favors upon him,

as long as doves sing upon the branch,

ما تَجَلَّى الرّوضُ مِن وَبلٍ هَمى

بِلُجَينِ الزّهرِ فَوقَ السندسِ

as long as the garden shines after a pouring downpour,

with the silver of flowers upon its silk,

ما اِبنَةُ الحُسنِ بِها الحُسنُ سَما

وَتَجلَّت بِالجَمالِ الأنفسِ

as long as Beauty's daughter makes beauty soar through her,

and reveals herself in the most precious beauty.