حبل المنى بحبال اليأس معقود — Safi Al Din Al Hilli

حَبلُ المُنى بِحِبالِ اليَأسِ مَعقودُ

وَالأَمنُ مِن حادِثِ الأَيّامِ مَفقودُ

The cord of hope is knotted to the cords of despair,

and safety from time's calamities is lost.

وَالمَرءُ ما بَينَ أَشراكِ الرَدى غَرَضٌ

صَميمُهُ بِسِهامِ الحَتفِ مَقصودُ

Man, amid the snares of death, is a target,

his very heart the aim of death's arrows.

لا تَعجَبَنَّ فَما في المَوتِ مِن عَجَبٍ

إِذ ذاكَ حَدٌّ بِهِ الإِنسانُ مَحدودُ

Do not marvel: there is nothing strange in death,

since that is the boundary by which mankind is bounded.

فَالمُستَفادُ مِنَ الأَيّامِ مُرتَجَعٌ

وَالمُستَعارُ مِنَ الأَعمارِ مَردودُ

For what is gained from the days is reclaimed,

and what is borrowed from lifetimes is returned.

وَلِلمَنِيَّةِ أَظفارٌ إِذا ظَفِرَت

رَأَيتَ كُلَّ عَميدٍ وَهوَ مَعمودُ

And death has talons; when it triumphs,

you see every chieftain stricken.

لَم يَنجُ بِالبَأسِ مِنها مَع شَراسَتِهِ

لَيثُ العَرينِ وَلا بِالحيلَةِ السيدُ

He could not escape it by might, despite his ferocity—

the lion of the lair—nor could the wolf by cunning.

قَد ضَلَّ مَن ظَنَّ بَعضَ الكَائِناتِ لَها

مَكثٌ وَلِلعالَمِ العُلوِيَّ تَخليدُ

Truly astray is anyone who thinks some beings have

permanence, and the celestial world immortality.

أَلَم يَقولوا بِأَنَّ الشُهبَ خالِدَةٌ

طَبعاً فَأَينَ شِهابُ الدينِ مَحمودُ

Did they not say that the stars are everlasting

by nature? Then where is Shihab al-Din Mahmud?

مَن كانَ في عِلمِهِ بَينَ الوَرى عَلَماً

يُهدى بِهِ إِن زَوَت أَعلامَها البيدُ

He who, in learning, was a beacon among mankind,

by whom one is guided if deserts hide their landmarks;

وَمَن رَوَت فَضلَهُ حُسّادُ رُتبَتِهِ

وَعَنعَنَت عَن أَياديهِ الأَسانيدُ

and whose excellence the enviers of his rank recounted,

while chains of transmission handed down accounts of his favors.

فَضلٌ بِهِ أَوجُهُ الأَيّامِ مُشرِقَةٌ

كَأَنَّهُ لِخُدودِ الدَهرِ تَوريدُ

An excellence that makes the faces of the days shine,

as though it were a rosy blush upon the cheeks of time.

مُهَذَّبُ اللَفظِ لا في القَولِ لَجلَجَةٌ

مِنهُ وَلا عِندَهُ في الرَأيِ تَرديدُ

Refined in diction: no faltering in speech

comes from him, nor is there hesitation in his judgment.

لا يَهدِمُ المَنُّ مِنهُ عُمرَ مَكرُمَةٍ

وَلا يُعَمَّدُ بِالمَطلِ المَواعيدُ

No reproachful reminder from him destroys a kindness's life,

nor are promises propped up with delay.

إِن كانَ يُقصَدُ مَقصودٌ لِبَذلِ نَدىً

فَإِنَّهُ لِلنَدى وَالفَضلِ مَقصودُ

If anyone is sought for the bestowal of bounty,

then he is sought for generosity and excellence.

لَهُ اليَراعُ الَّذي راعَ الخُطوبَ بِهِ

في حَلبَةِ الطَرسِ تَصويبٌ وَتَصعيدُ

His reed pen, with which he made calamities quake,

sweeps down and up in the arena of the page.

أَصَمُّ أَخرَسُ مَشقوقُ اللِسانِ إِذا

طارَحتَهُ سُمِعَت مِنهُ الأَغاريدُ

Deaf, mute, split-tongued—yet when

you trade words with it, melodies are heard from it.

إِن شاءَ تَسويدَ مُبيَضِّ الطَروسِ فَمِن

إِنشائِهِ لِبَياضِ الناسِ تَسويدُ

If it wishes to blacken the white pages, then from

its compositions comes lordship for the noblest of men.

لَو خَطَّ سَطراً تَرى عَكسَ القِياسِ بِهِ

الشَمسُ طالِعَةٌ وَاللَيلُ مَوجودُ

Were it to write a line, you would see the natural order reversed:

the sun rising while night is still present.

وَالسائِراتُ الَّتي راقَت لِسامِعِها

أَلفاظُها وَحَلَت مِنهُ الأَناشيدُ

And the far-ranging verses whose hearers found delight

in their words, and whose recitations from him were sweet,

رَشيقَةُ السَبكِ لا المَعنى بِمُبتَذَلٍ

مِنها وَلا لَفظُها بِالعَسفِ مَكدودُ

are graceful in their casting: no hackneyed meaning

is in them, nor is their diction strained by force.

يا صاحِبَ الرُتبَةِ المَعذورِ حاسِدُها

إِنَّ السَعيدَ عَلى النَعماءِ مَحسودُ

O holder of a rank whose envier is excused:

the fortunate are envied for their blessings.

ما شامَ بَعدَكَ أَهلُ الشامِ بارِقَةً

لِلفَضلِ حينَ ذَوى مِن رَبِّهِ العودُ

After you, the people of al-Sham saw no gleam

of excellence, since its branch withered with its master.

إِلَيكَ قَد كانَ يُعزى العِلمُ مُنتَسِباً

وَاليَومَ فيكَ يُعَزّى العِلمُ وَالجودُ

To you knowledge once traced its lineage;

and today, knowledge and generosity are consoled for your loss.

كَم خُطبَةٍ لَكَ راعَ الخَطبَ مَوقِعُها

وَكَم تُقُلِّدَ مِنهُ الدَهرَ تَقليدُ

How many an oration of yours awed calamity by its impact,

and how many a commission from him was assumed through the ages!

وَلَفظَةٍ لا يَسُدُّ الغَيرُ مَوضِعَها

غَرّاءَ تُحسَبُ ماءً وَهيَ جُلمودُ

And many a word whose place no other can fill,

radiant, taken for water though it is solid rock.

وَجَحفَلٍ لِجَدالِ البَحثِ مُجتَمِعٌ

كَأَنَّهُ لِجِلادِ الحَربِ مَحشودُ

And many a host assembled for scholarly debate,

as though mustered for the clash of war.

قَد جَرَّدَ الشوسُ فيهِ قُضبَ أَلسِنَةٍ

في مَعرَكٍ يَومُهُ المَشهورُ مَشهودُ

The fierce-eyed warriors had drawn there the blades of their tongues

in a battle whose famous day was well attended.

عَقَرتَ كُلَّ كَمِيٍّ في عَقيرَتِهِ

بِهِ وَأَزرُكَ بِالتَحقيقِ مَشدودُ

You felled every armored champion mid-cry,

with it, your strength bolstered by rigorous proof,

بِصارِمٍ لا يَرُدُّ الدِرعُ ضَربَتَهُ

وَلَو سَنى نَسجَهُ المَردودَ داوودُ

with a blade whose blow no armor can repel,

even had David perfected its doubled weave.

حَتّى إِذا نَكَصَ القَومُ الكَمِيُّ بِهِ

وَأَعوَزَت عِندَ دَعواهُ الأَسانيدُ

Until, when the armored host recoiled before it,

and supporting authorities were lacking for its claim,

أَلقوا مَقاليدَهُم فيهِ إِلى بَطَلٍ

شَهمٍ إِلى مِثلِهِ تُلقى المَقاليدُ

they handed over their reins in it to a hero,

a noble-hearted man, to whose like the reins are entrusted.

يا مُفقِدي مَع وُجودي فَيضَ أَنعُمِهِ

هَمّي وَمَوجودُ وَجدي وَهوَ مَفقودُ

O you whose flowing favors I have lost, though I live—

my heart's concern and my grief's abiding presence, though he is gone—

وَجاعِلَ الفَضلِ فيما بَينَنا نَسَباً

إِذ كانَ في نَسَبِ الآباءِ تَبعيدُ

and who made excellence a kinship between us,

when our fathers' lineages set us far apart.

قَد كانَ يُجدي التَناسي عَنكَ دَفعُ أَسىً

لَو أَنَّ مِثلَكَ في المِصرَينِ مَوجودُ

Trying to forget you might have helped to banish grief,

if your like existed in the two cities.

قَد أَخلَقَت ثوبَ صَبري فيكَ حادِثَةٌ

أَضحى بِها لِثِيابِ الحُزنِ تَجديدُ

A calamity concerning you has worn out my garment of patience,

and through it the garments of grief have been renewed.

بِرُغمِ أَنفِيَ أَن يَدعوكَ ذو أَمَلٍ

فَلا يَسُحُّ عِهادٌ مِنكَ مَعهودُ

It grieves me that a hopeful man should call on you,

yet no accustomed, returning rain pours down from you;

وَأَن يُرى رَبعُكَ العافي وَليسَ بِهِ

مَرعىً خَصيبٌ وَظِلٌّ مِنكَ مَمدودُ

and that your deserted dwelling should be seen with no

lush pasture or shade outspread from you.

أَبكي إِذا ما خَلا أَوصافُ مَجدِكَ لي

فِكري وَأَطلُبُ صَبري وَهوَ مَطرودُ

I weep whenever, alone with the qualities of your glory,

my mind withdraws; I seek my patience, but it is banished.

وَأَلتَجي بِالتَسَلّي أَن سَتُخلِفُها

أَبناؤُكَ الغُرُّ أَو أَبناؤُكَ الصيدُ

And I seek consolation that they will carry on those virtues—

your illustrious sons, or your lordly sons.

فَسَوفَ تَرثيكَ مِنّي كُلُّ قافِيَةٍ

بِها لِذِكرِكَ بَينَ الناسِ تَخليدُ

So every rhyme of mine shall elegize you;

through it your memory among people is made immortal.

وَأُسمِعُ الناسَ أَوصافاً عُرِفتَ بِها

حَتّى كَأَنَّكَ في الأَحياءِ مَعدودُ

And I shall make people hear the qualities for which you were known,

until you seem numbered among the living.

فَلا عَدا الغَيثُ تُرباً أَنتَ ساكِنُهُ

مَع عِلمِنا أَنَّ فيهِ الغَيثَ مَلحودُ

So may rain never pass by the soil where you dwell,

though we know that rain itself is buried there.

وَدامَ وَالظِلُّ مَمدودٌ بِساحَتِهِ

وَالسِدرُ وَالطَلعُ مَحصورٌ وَمَنضودُ

And may it endure, with shade outspread in its courtyard,

and lote trees enclosed, and date clusters piled in tiers.