أسبل الروض برقع التوريد — Mufti Fathallah

أَسبلَ الرّوضُ بُرقُعَ التّوريدِ

وَهوَ يَزهو عَلى وُجوهِ الوُرودِ

The garden let fall its rose-tinted veil,

As it flaunts its beauty over the faces of the roses.

وَأَبانَ العَروسَ مِن كلِّ زَهرٍ

حينَ ماسَت تختالُ فوقَ القُدودِ

And revealed a bride from every blossom,

When she swayed, strutting above the slender forms.

رقَصت فيهِ وهيَ تَهتزُّ حُسْناً

رَقصَةَ الغيدِ في اِهتِزازِ البُنودِ

She danced within it, swaying in beauty,

The dance of graceful beauties amid swaying banners.

وَتَحلَّت أَجيادُها بَعدَ عُطلٍ

مِن لَآلي الجَمالِ أَبهى العُقودِ

And their necks, once bare, were adorned

With the fairest necklaces of beauty's pearls.

فَعَلت بِالأَرواحِ في نفحاتٍ

نشرَتها فِعلَ ابنةِ العُنقودِ

They worked upon souls through fragrant breaths

Which they spread, as does the grape-cluster's daughter.

أَطرَبَتني طُيورُهُ حينَ غَنَّت

نَغمَةً تَزدَري بِصَوتِ العُودِ

Its birds enraptured me when they sang

A melody that put the lute's voice to shame.

خَطَبَت فَوقَ مِنبرٍ مِن غُصونٍ

وَهْيَ تشدو بأفصَحِ التغريدِ

They preached atop a pulpit of branches,

Singing in the most eloquent birdsong.

لَم أَكُنْ إِذْ دَخلتُه ذا اِرتِيابٍ

أَنَّ ذا الرّوضَ من جِنانِ الخُلودِ

When I entered it, I had no doubt

That this garden was among the gardens of eternity.

يا رَعى اللَّهُ لَيلةً قَد تَقَضَّتْ

لِيَ فيهِ بِطيبِ عَيْشٍ رَغيدِ

Ah, may God preserve a night that has passed

For me within it, in the sweetness of a life of ease.

كانَ فيها رَوْضُ الشَّبابِ خَصيباً

حيثُ فيه أجُرُّ أغلى البُرودِ

In it, the garden of youth was lush,

Where, within it, I trailed the costliest cloaks,

أَتَعاطى السُّلافَ صِرْفاً حَلالاً

مِنْ لَمى الغيدِ وَاِرتِشافِ الخُدودِ

Partaking of choice wine, unmixed and lawful,

From beauties' dusky lips and the sipping of cheeks.

أَجتَني الأُنسَ مِن وُرودِ سُرورٍ

بِيَدِ الصَّفْوِ بِالهنا والسُّعودِ

I plucked delight from roses of joy,

With serenity's hand, in bliss and good fortune.

لَم أَكُنْ أَعرِفُ المكدِّرَ حتَّى

ذُقتُ في الحبِّ عَلقَمَ التبعيدِ

I knew no cause of distress until

I tasted, in love, the bitter colocynth of estrangement.

لَهْفَ قَلبي عَلى لَيالي وِصالٍ

أَخلَفتني بِعَوْدِها المَوعودِ

Oh, my heart's anguish for nights of union

That failed me in their promised return.

تَرَكَتني وَالقَلبُ مِنّي يُشوى

فَوقَ نارِ البعادِ ذاتِ الوقودِ

They left me, my heart being roasted,

Above the fuel-fed fire of separation.

رُبَّ لاحٍ لي قالَ لَستَ رَشيداً

حَيثُ في الحبِّ قَد أَضَعتُ وُجودي

Many a reproacher said to me, 'You are not wise,'

Since in love I had squandered my very being,

حَيثُ فيهِ أَنفَقت عُمري ومالي

لاِكتِسابِ الضَّنا بِمُرِّ الصُّدودِ

Since upon it I had spent my life and wealth,

To acquire wasting sickness through bitter rejection.

كَذِبَ العاذِلُ المفنِّدُ فيما

قالَ وهوَ الحَريُّ بِالتفنيدِ

The fault-finding reproacher lied in what

He said; it is he who deserves rebuke.

كَيفَ يَنفي بِجَهلِهِ الرُّشدَ عنّي

وأنا الرُّشدُ بعضُ وَصْفي الحميدِ

How can he, in his ignorance, deny me good judgment,

When good judgment is part of my praiseworthy character?

أَنا عِندَ الكِرامِ خَيرُ رَشيدٍ

بِاِنتِسابي إِلى الإِمامِ الرّشيدي

Among the noble, I am the best of the wise,

Through my affiliation with Imam al-Rashidi.

فاضِلُ الوقتِ طَوْدُ عزٍّ ومَجدٍ

عالمُ العَصرِ بحرُ علمٍ وجُودِ

The virtuous man of the age, a mountain of honor and glory,

The scholar of the era, an ocean of knowledge and generosity.

أَوحَدُ النّاسِ جَهبَذٌ لَوذَعيٌّ

عارفُ الدّهرِ وهو شمسُ المُريدِ

Peerless among men, a master of penetrating wit,

The sage of the age, and the disciple's sun.

جَوهَرٌ مُفردٌ عَديمُ مِثالٍ

كلُّ حُسْنٍ في وَصفِهِ المَحمودِ

A singular jewel, without equal,

Every beauty lies in his praiseworthy character.

هَيِّنٌ لَيِّنٌ وَسَهلُ طِباعٍ

وَلِرَفعِ القَبيحِ أَقوى شديدِ

Gentle, tender, and easy in temperament,

And, in removing what is foul, the strongest of the strong.

الفَصيحُ البليغُ عِندَ كلامٍ

لَيس قِسٌّ لَدَيهِ بِالمَعدودِ

Fluent and eloquent whenever he speaks;

Beside him, Quss is of no account.

لَو رَآهُ سَحبانُ وَهوَ لبيدٌ

لَتَبدّى سَحبانُ أَعلى بليدِ

If Sahban saw him, even were he Labid,

Sahban would surely appear the greatest dullard.

الأَديبُ الأَريبُ شَمسُ كَمالٍ

صائِبُ الرأيِ وَالمَقالِ السّديدِ

Cultured and discerning, a sun of perfection,

Sound in judgment and upright in speech.

الحَسيبُ النَّسيبُ نَجلُ المَعالي

وَهوَ مِنها قَد كانَ خَيرَ وَليدِ

Of noble worth and lineage, a son of lofty virtues,

And of them he was the finest offspring.

كُلُّ شَخصٍ فَخارُه بِجُدودٍ

وَهوَ فيهِ كانَ اِفتِخارُ الجُدودِ

Every man's pride rests in his ancestors,

But in him the ancestors found their pride.

كُلُّ دَعْوى مِنَ الفَخارِ اِدّعاها

فَعَلَيها العَلياءُ خيرُ شُهودِ

Every claim to glory that he has made—

Loftiness itself is the finest of witnesses to it.

فَهوَ كلُّ الوَرى كَمالاً وَمَجداً

وَهوَ عَينُ العُلى وَبَيتُ القصيدِ

So he is all mankind in perfection and glory,

And he is the essence of greatness and the heart of the poem.

بِأَبي لَمحَةٌ بِهِ جَمَعَتنا

ضِمنَ عكّا فَإِنّها خَيرُ عيدِ

My father be ransom for a moment that brought us together with him

Within Acre—for it was the finest festival.

وَشَّحتنا مِن لَفظهِ بِلآلٍ

يَزدري نَظمها بِعقدٍ نَضيدِ

It adorned us with pearls from his utterance,

Their stringing puts a finely strung necklace to shame.

وَكَسَتنا مِن نُورِهِ خَيرَ تاجٍ

وَاِنتَشَقنا مِن طِيبِهِ خَيرَ عُودِ

And clothed us, from his light, in the finest crown,

And from his fragrance we inhaled the finest aloeswood.

فَلَهُ اللّهُ مِن شَريفٍ كريمٍ

وَلَه اللَّهُ مِن لَبيبٍ فريدِ

So God be with him—what a noble, generous man!

And God be with him—what a discerning, peerless man!

قَد تَطاوَلت في اِمتِداحي مَزايا

هُ الّتي أُطلِقت عَنِ التّحديدِ

I have overreached in praising merits

Of his that are beyond all limitation.

أَنا أَدري أَنّي المُسيءُ وَأنّي

كنت فيه مجاوِزاً للحُدودِ

I know that I am at fault, and that I

Have overstepped the bounds in this.

وَهوَ بِالعَفوِ لَو عَلِمتَ حَقيقٌ

أَيُّ ذَنبٍ مَعَ عَفوِهِ في وُجودِ

And pardon befits him, if you only knew;

What sin can exist alongside his forgiveness?

أَيّها السّيِّدُ الّذي لا يُضاهَى

يا عَلِيَّ القَدرِ يا اِبنَ خَيرِ الجدودِ

O lord who has no equal,

O exalted in rank, O son of the finest ancestors,

إِنَّ فِكري الكليلَ أَهداكَ بِكراً

مثلَ حَوْراءَ من جِنانِ الخلودِ

Indeed, my dull mind has offered you a virgin,

Like a dark-eyed houri from the gardens of eternity.

هاكَها من أبي نؤاسٍ عَروساً

حَيثُ تُجلى في حلّةٍ وعُقودِ

Take her from Abu Nuwas as a bride,

As she is unveiled in a robe and necklaces.

لَيسَ بِدْعاً إِهداؤُها لَكَ منهُ

أَعَجيبٌ إِهداؤُها لِلرّشيدي

It is no novelty for him to offer her to you;

Is offering her to al-Rashidi strange?

وَالهَدايا يُسَنُّ فيها قَبولٌ

كَيفَ كانَت وَالرّدُّ غيرُ حَميدِ

And accepting gifts is a recommended practice,

Whatever they may be; refusal is not praiseworthy.

وَهيَ تَرضى بِعدِّها حينَ تَأتي

في جوارِ الجنابِ أَو في العبيدِ

And she is content, when she comes, to be counted

Within the shelter of your presence, or among the slaves.

فَاِلْقَها بِالرِّضا وَأَلْقِ عَلَيها

بُردَ سِترٍ يَكونُ خَيرَ البُرودِ

So receive her with favor, and cast over her

A cloak of concealment, the finest of cloaks.

وَاِبْقَ في رِفعةٍ وَجاهٍ عَريضٍ

وَاِنتِصارٍ بِغايَةِ التأييدِ

And remain in exalted rank and far-reaching prestige,

And in victory, with the utmost support,

ما تَغنَّتْ في أَيْكِها الوُرْقُ وما

أَسبَلَ الرّوضُ برقُعَ التّوريدِ

As long as the gray doves sing in their grove, and as long as

The garden lets fall its rose-tinted veil.