لك الله ما هذا التواني بلا جد — Mufti Fathallah

لَكَ اللَّهُ ما هَذا التّواني بِلا جَدِّ

إِلى المَطلَبِ الأَسنى إِلى غايَةِ القَصدِ

God be with you! What is this slackness, without earnestness?

Toward the most exalted goal, toward the utmost aim of purpose!

فَحَثَّ مَطايا القَصدِ تَضرِبْ كبدها

وَسُقْها بِسَوطِ الشّوقِ في غايَةِ الجُهدِ

Then urge the mounts of purpose, striking their bellies,

And drive them with longing's whip, exerting your utmost effort.

وَجَدَّ عَلَيها السّير تَهوى إِلى المُنى

فَذَو العَزمِ مِن عاداتِهِ الجد بِالجدِّ

And press their journey onward, racing toward your wishes,

For the resolute habitually win good fortune through diligence.

لِنَحوِ حِمى عكار عالية الذُّرى

مُشيّدة العَلياءِ بِالعِزِّ وَالمجدِ

Toward Akkar's protected domain, lofty in its summits,

Its eminence built up with might and glory.

فَتِلكَ بُروجُ العزِّ في الدَّهرِ كلّهِ

مِنَ الشّرفِ الأَعلى عَلى مَطلَعِ السّعدِ

Those are honor's towers throughout all time,

Of the highest nobility, where good fortune rises.

وَتِلكَ دِيارُ الأُنسِ بَل هِيَ جنّةٌ

زَهَت فَحَكَتها أَو حَكَت جَنّة الخلدِ

Those are abodes of delight—rather, a garden

So splendid that the eternal Garden mirrored it—or it mirrored that Garden.

وَتِلكَ دِيارُ الحُسنِ تَزهو رُبوعها

وَتَسمو سُموَّ الحُسنِ في وَجنَةِ الخدِّ

Those are beauty's abodes, their quarters splendid,

Rising as beauty rises upon a cheek.

رِياضٌ بِها المَعروفُ أَضحى غِراسَها

فَأَثمَرَ هَذا الغرسُ لِلجودِ وَالرفدِ

Gardens where kindness has become the planting,

And this planting has borne fruit for generosity and bounty.

وَأُسقِيَ ماءَ المَجدِ مِن مَنبَعِ العُلى

فَكانَ بِهِ ذا الغرس أَحلى مِنَ الشّهدِ

It was watered with glory's water from eminence's spring,

Making this planting sweeter than honey from the comb.

وَأَنبَتَ أَغصانَ المَكارِمِ وَالنّدى

تَهزُّ بِأَيدي الشُّكرِ وَالمدحِ وَالحَمدِ

It sprouted branches of noble virtues and generosity,

Swaying beneath the hands of gratitude, praise, and acclaim.

مَنازِلُ أَقمارٍ مَطالِعُ أَنجُمٍ

مَشارِقُ أَنوارٍ تَدلُّ عَلى الرّشدِ

Abodes of moons, rising places of stars,

Dawning places of lights that guide toward wisdom,

بُروجِ شموسٍ في سَماءِ كَواكِبٍ

أَضاءَت بِها العليا ضياءً بِلا حدِّ

Towers of suns within a sky of stars,

Through which eminence shone with boundless light.

فَوَدَّت نُجومُ الأُفقِ لَو أَنّها السّما

وَهَل كانَ ودُّ المُستَحيلاتِ بِالمُجدي

The horizon's stars wished that it were their sky,

But has wishing for impossibilities ever been of use?

مَواطِنُ أَمجادٍ كِرام أَكاسِر

وَغاب وَغيل لِلضّياغِمِ والأُسدِ

Homes of illustrious men, noble Khosrows,

And forests and thickets for mighty lions and lions.

هَوَوا بِالهَوى العُذري كلّ فَضيلَةٍ

وَلَم يَهتَووا أَمثاَل عَزَّةَ أَو دَعدِ

They loved every virtue with chaste, 'Udhri passion,

And never desired the likes of 'Azza or Da'd.

فَلا حُسنَ في غَيرِ الفَضائِلِ عِندَهُم

فَهُم لَم يَقولوا بِالغَواني وَلا المردِ

In their eyes, no beauty exists outside the virtues;

They professed no devotion to lovely women or beardless youths.

وَقبلَةِ آمالٍ وَكَعبَةِ قاصِدٍ

يَعودُ بِجبرِ القَلبِ لِلفَوزِ بِالقَصدِ

A qibla of hopes, a Kaaba for the seeker,

Who returns with a mended heart, having attained his aim.

فَيا طيبَ عَكّارٍ تَسيرُ بِهِ الصّبا

وَفي مِثلِهِ لَم تَسرِ يَوماً صَبا نَجدِ

O fragrance of Akkar, borne by the east wind!

Never has Najd's east wind carried its like.

لَئِن ضَلَّ عَنها مَن يُريد كِرامها

فَنَفحُكَ لا رَيب إِلَيها لَهُ يهدي

If someone seeking its noble men loses his way,

Your wafting scent surely guides him there.

تَوَجَّه إِلَيها وَاِجهَد النّفسَ ساعِياً

وَسِر سَيرَ مُشتاقٍ يَجدُّ عَلى وَجدِ

Turn toward it and exert yourself in pursuit,

And travel like a yearning lover, striving amid longing.

وَسِر عامِداً بِالسّيرِ وَالسّعي بُرجَها

فَذَلكَ في عكّار كَالعَلمِ الفَردِ

Travel, directing your journey and striving toward its tower,

For it stands in Akkar like a solitary landmark.

فَعَكّار عَينٌ لِلبِلادِ وَبرجِها

فَإِنسانُها المَكحول بِالحُسنِ وَالمَجدِ

Akkar is an eye among the lands, and its tower

Is its pupil, lined with the kohl of beauty and glory.

تَتيهُ بِهِ عكّار فَخراً عَلى السّما

وَحقَّ لَها فيه الفَخارُ وأن تُبدي

Akkar proudly boasts of him over the sky,

And rightly takes—and displays—pride in him.

وَقَد كانَ بِالجَوزاءِ فَخر سَمائِها

وَقَد كانَتِ الجَوزاءُ تَخلو عَنِ الندِّ

Its sky had taken pride in al-Jawza,

And al-Jawza had been without a peer.

وَإِذ كانَ هَذا البرجُ قَد قَلَّ فَخرها

بِجَوزائِها وَالخط بِالردِّ وَالطّردِ

But when this tower came to be, its pride diminished

In its al-Jawza, with rejection and expulsion inscribed.

بِهِ شَمسُ عَلياءٍ وَعِزٍّ وَسُؤددٍ

وَبَدرِ كَمالٍ لاحَ مِن جَبهَةِ السّعدِ

Within it is a sun of eminence, might, and lordship,

And a full moon of perfection shining from fortune's brow.

تَوَلَّدَ مِن مَجدٍ بِأَكرمِ محتَدٍ

تَسامى عَلى الأَنسابِ بِالأَبِ وَالجدِّ

Born of glory, of the noblest stock,

He rose above all lineages through his father and grandfather.

تَغَذَّى بِأَلبانِ المَكارِمِ وَالنّدى

تَرَبّى بِحضنِ العِزِّ مِن زَمَنِ المَهدِ

He was nourished on the milk of noble virtues and generosity,

Raised in might's embrace from the time of the cradle.

تَحَلَّى بِحُسنِ الخلقِ مِن حينِ مَهدِهِ

وَقَد زين بِالآدابِ مِن ذَلكَ العَهدِ

He was adorned with good character from his cradle,

And embellished with refinement from that time.

تَرَدّى بِبُرد الحلمِ مِن زَمَنِ الصِّبا

فَكانَ لَهُ وَاللَّه مِن أَفخَرِ البُردِ

He clothed himself in forbearance's cloak from youth,

And, by God, it was among his finest cloaks.

تَجَسّمَ مِن لُطفٍ وَذَوقٍ وَرقّة

بِطَبعٍ وَمَعروفٍ وَخَيرٍ لَهُ يُسدي

He took bodily form from gentleness, taste, and tenderness,

In his nature, with kindness and good to bestow.

تَرَكّب مِن هَذي المَحاسِنِ جَوهراً

فَسمّيَ بِالتّركيبِ بِالجَوهَرِ الفردِ

He was composed of these graces into a jewel,

And through that composition was named the indivisible jewel.

تَدَرَّعَ في ثَوبِ الكَمالِ مطهّراً

مِنَ النّقصِ وَالأَدناسِ كَالغَدرِ وَالحقدِ

He armored himself in perfection's robe, purified

Of deficiency and stains such as treachery and rancor.

جَمالُ كَمالِ الماجِدينَ وَعِزِّهم

وَمَرجِعِهم في حالَةِ الحلّ وَالعَقدِ

The beauty of the illustrious men's perfection and their might,

And their recourse in matters of unbinding and binding,

وَإِنسانِ عَينِ الأَكرَمينَ وَنورها

وَصَدرهم المَوفورِ بِالخَيرِ وَالرّشدِ

The pupil of the noblest men's eye, and its light,

And their chief, richly endowed with goodness and wisdom.

إِذا اِنتَظَم الأَمجادُ في سلكِ سُؤددٍ

فَذَا بَينَهُم وَاللَّه واسِطَةُ العقدِ

When illustrious men are strung on a thread of lordship,

This one among them, by God, is the necklace's central jewel.

عَلِيّ السّجايا وَالمَزايا مَعَ الذّرى

وَالاِسمِ عَليِّ الجاهِ وَالبختِ والجَدِّ

Lofty in character and qualities, in eminence,

And in name—'Ali—lofty in standing, fortune, and luck.

عَزيزٍ كَريم النّفسِ وَهيَ أَبيَّة

عَنِ الضّيمِ تَأباهُ عَلى الهَزلِ وَالجِدِّ

Mighty, noble of soul, a soul too proud

For oppression, rejecting it in jest and earnest.

هُوَ الأَسعَدُ المَسعودُ وَاِبنٌ لِأَسعَدٍ

بنيّ شَديد مُرعِب الأُسدِ وَالضدِّ

He is the happiest, the fortunate, and a son of As'ad,

Of Bani Shadid, terrifying lions and foes.

مهيبٌ فَلولا حِلمُه يُدرِكُ الفَتى

بِإِغضابِهِ كانَ الفتى حَلَّ في اللّحدِ

Awe-inspiring: were his forbearance not to save a young man,

That young man, by angering him, would have settled in the grave.

أَميرٌ لَهُ الآسادُ ثمّ العظامُ قَد

تَبَدَّوْا مِنَ الخدّام لا شكّ وَالجندِ

A prince before whom lions, and even the great,

Have appeared, beyond doubt, as servants and soldiers.

غَدا بَندُهُ المَضروبُ في قُبَّةِ العُلى

وَقَد قامَتِ الأَمجادُ مِن تَحتِ ذا البَندِ

His banner has been planted in eminence's dome,

And illustrious men have stood beneath this banner.

وَرايَتُهُ البيضاءُ في كُلِّ مَوكِبٍ

بِها الفتحُ يَتلو النّصرَ في سورَةِ الحَمدِ

His white flag, in every procession,

Bears conquest following victory in the Surah of Praise.

هِزَبرُ الشّرى لَيثُ الكَريهَةِ وَالوَغى

حَمى بَيضَة العَلياءِ بِالرّمحِ وَالهِندي

A lion of al-Shara, a lion of fierce battle and warfare,

He guarded eminence's stronghold with spear and Indian sword.

إِلى نَجدَةِ العَلياءِ يَسطو بِصارِمٍ

تَعَوَّدَ في الآسادِ للقَطِّ والقَدِّ

To rescue eminence, he attacks with a keen sword,

Accustomed against lions to cutting across and cleaving lengthwise.

لَئِن مَدَّ لِلأَعداءِ بِالطّعنِ رُمحَهُ

وَلَو بَعُدُوا نِيلوا لَدى ذَلكَ المَدِّ

If he extends his spear toward his enemies to thrust,

Even if they are far away, that extension reaches them.

وَلَو هَزَّ في وَجهِ العداةِ حُسامَهُ

لَذابوا بِهِ رُعباً وَلَو كانَ في الغمدِ

And if he brandishes his sword before his enemies,

They would melt in terror at it, even were it sheathed.

فَكَم شامَهُ الأَعداءُ جَيشاً عَرمرَماً

وَلَيسَت عُيونُ القَومِ بِالأَعيُنِ الرُّمدِ

How often his enemies have beheld him as a vast army,

And those men's eyes were not inflamed!

وَكَم صَفَّ في الهَيجاءِ وَالحَربِ وَحدهُ

وَقَد صالَ في الهَيجاءِ كَالأَسدِ الوردِ

How often he stood alone in the battle-line and war,

Charging in battle like a tawny lion.

فَكَم مِن أُلوفٍ لا تُعَدُّ بِواحِدٍ

وَكَم واحِدٍ بِالأَلفِ يحسبُ في العدِّ

How many thousands do not count for a single man,

And how many a single man counts as a thousand!

وَلَو كَرَّ فيها فَوقَ ظَهرِ مُطهَّمٍ

يَطولُ الثريّا فيهِ بِالكفِّ وَالزّندِ

Were he to charge there on a well-built steed,

Reaching the Pleiades on it with palm and forearm,

وَصَعد فيها رُمحَهُ نَحوَ صفّهِم

وَجَرَّدَ فيها عَضبهُ الماضِيَ الحدِّ

And lift his spear there toward their ranks,

And bare his keen-edged blade there,

لِشمتِ العِدى مِنهُ مَخافاً تَأَخّروا

وَوَلَّوا فِراراً بِالمُطهّمَةِ الجردِ

You would behold his foes drawing back in fear of him,

And turning in flight on sleek, well-built steeds.

وَقَد خَطَّ بِالخطّي أَوراقَ صَدرِهِم

وَقَد خَطَّ في رقّ المَناحِرِ بِالهِندي

He wrote with his Khatti spear upon the pages of their chests,

And with his Indian sword upon the parchment of their throats.

وَنَظَّمَ بِالخَطِّيِّ عقداً قُلوبهم

وَلا سمطَ مِثلَ الرّمحِ في النّظمِ لِلعَقدِ

He strung their hearts as a necklace on his Khatti spear;

No strand equals the spear for stringing a necklace.

عَلى نَسَقٍ وَاللَّه يَجري عَطاؤُهُ

فَكالبحرِ ما أَسدى وَكالبحرِ ما يُسدي

His giving flows in unbroken order, by God;

Like the sea is what he bestowed, and like the sea what he bestows.

جَوادٌ فَلَو أَهدى الدّنى لِاَستَقَلَّها

وَمَن ظنّه التّقصير لِلعُذرِ قَد يبدي

Generous: were he to give the worlds away, he would deem them little,

And whoever thinks it deficient may offer an apology.

وَإِن الجواد المِستقلُّ عَطاءهُ

وَذو البخلِ مَن لا يَستَقِلّ لما يُهدي

Indeed, the generous man is he who thinks his giving little,

And the miser is one who does not think what he gives little.

لَقَد أَمَّه العافونَ مِن كلِّ جانِبٍ

رُكوباً عَلى الآمالِ لِلجودِ والرِّفدِ

Favor-seekers have sought him from every side,

Riding upon hopes for generosity and bounty.

وَمِنهُ اِستَطابوا مَنهَلَ الجودِ مَورِداً

أَما مَنهلُ الإِحسانِ مُستَعذَب الوِردِ

From him they found generosity's spring a pleasant watering place;

Indeed, benevolence's spring is sweet to drink from.

فَعَكّارُ بِالعافينِ أَضحَت دُروبها

تَغُصُّ بِهِم ملأى لِمُزدَحم الوفدِ

Thus Akkar's roads, through favor-seekers, have become

Choked with them, full of thronging visitors.

كَأَسواقِ مِصر بِاِزدِحامٍ وَغصّةٍ

بِها تُضرَبُ الأَمثالُ بالِغَةُ الحَدِّ

Like Egypt's markets in their crowding and congestion,

Proverbial for crowding that reaches the utmost limit.

فَيا أَيّها الشّهمُ الّذي عندَ بابِهِ

لَقَد قامَتِ العَلياءُ تَخدم كَالعَبدِ

O noble-hearted man, at whose gate

Eminence stands serving like a slave,

بَنيت المَعالي بِالعَوالي وَبِالنّدى

وَفي حُسنِ أَخلاقٍ تَزيدُ عَلى العَدِّ

You built lofty deeds with lofty spears and generosity,

And in goodness of character you exceed all reckoning.

وَكُنتُ بِعزِّ النّفسِ مَع غايَةِ التّقى

تؤسّسُ ذا البنيانَ بِالعِزِّ وَالمَجدِ

And I was, with dignity of soul and the utmost piety,

You establish this building with might and glory.

وَمَن يَبنِها في غَيرِ ما قَد بَنيتها

يَؤولُ بِها البنيان لِلهَدمِ وَالهدِّ

Whoever builds it on foundations other than yours,

His building ends in demolition and ruin.

فَهاكَ حَماكَ اللَّهُ مِن كلِّ عاهَةٍ

مُخدَّرة هَيفاء مَمشوقَة القَدِّ

So take this—may God protect you from every affliction—

A secluded maiden, slender and graceful in stature,

فَريدَة حُسنٍ بِنتَ فِكرٍ يَتيمَةٍ

جَميلة وَجهٍ وَهيَ كاعِبةُ النّهدِ

Unique in beauty, an orphan daughter of thought,

Beautiful of face, with budding breasts.

يَسيلُ بِها ماءُ البَلاغَةِ صافِياً

وَيَنسابُ مِن دُرِّ البديعِ على مَهدِ

Through her flows the clear water of eloquence,

Streaming from rhetoric's pearls upon a smooth bed.

يُمازِجُه سِحر البَيانِ قَدِ اِرتَقى

مَراتِبَ لَم تدرك عَلى القُربِ وَالبعدِ

The magic of expression mingles with it, having risen

To ranks never attained, whether near or far.

أَتَتكَ تَهزّ الكشحَ عَجباً وَمفخراً

وَتَسحَبُ ذَيلَ التِّيهِ كاشِفة الخَدِّ

She has come to you, swaying her waist in self-admiration and pride,

Trailing haughtiness's hem, her cheek unveiled.

مُعطّرة مِن عطرِ مَدحِك نافِحاً

فَكانَ بِها أَشذى مِنَ المِسكِ وَالندِّ

Perfumed with the wafting fragrance of your praise,

Which in her became more fragrant than musk and aloeswood.

فَأَحسِنْ إِلَيها بِالقَبولِ وَبِالرّضى

وَصُنْها أَبا المَعروفِ مِن خَجلَةِ الصدِّ

So be kind to her by accepting and approving,

And protect her, O father of kindness, from rejection's shame.

فَشيمَتُكَ العَلياءُ مِن دَأبِها الرّضى

وَعادَتُك الحَسناءُ تَنبو عَنِ الردِّ

For your lofty nature habitually grants approval,

And your gracious custom recoils from refusal.

وَدُمتَ بِعَينِ اللَّه مَكلوءَ حِفظِهِ

وَمَلحوظَ عينِ اليمنِ وَالخيرِ وَالسّعدِ

May you remain beneath God's eye, guarded by His protection,

And regarded by the eye of auspiciousness, goodness, and fortune,

بِصِحَّةِ جِسمٍ في مَسَرَّةِ مُهجَةٍ

بِعَيشٍ هَنِيٍّ ناعِمٍ رَغدِ

With health of body and gladness of soul,

In a pleasant, comfortable, abundant life,

مَدى الدّهرِ ما غَنَّى الرّبيعَ عنادِلٌ

فَأَبدينَ حُسنَ الصّدحِ في زَمَنِ الوردِ

For all time, as long as nightingales sing of spring,

Revealing the beauty of song in the season of roses,

وَما قالَ ذو جِدٍّ يحثُّ بِجدّهِ

لَكَ اللَّه ما هَذا التّواني بِلا جدِّ

And as long as an earnest man says, urging with his earnestness:

God be with you! What is this slackness, without earnestness?