محبك يا شقيق الروح يرجو — Shabrawy

محبك يا شَقيق الروح يَرجو

مَجيئكَ لِلتَأَنُّسِ وَالسرور

Your loving friend, O brother of my soul, hopes

for your coming, for companionship and joy.

وَيَنهى أَنَّهُ لَكَ ذو اِشتِياق

تَضيق لَهُ فَسيحات السُطور

And he makes known that he longs for you,

with a longing for which spacious lines are too narrow.

وَيَأَمل مِنكَ في ذا اليَوم تَأتي

وَتَنعُم بِالجُلوس وَبِالمُرور

And he hopes you will come this day

and favor him by sitting awhile and dropping by.

فَاِن يَكُ قَد أَخَذت اليَوم اِذنا

مِنَ المَولى الوَزير اِبن الوَزير

So if you have already obtained leave today

from the master, the minister, son of a minister,

فَخَير البِرّ عاجَله وَالا

فَخذ اِذنا وَعجل بِالحُضور

the best kindness is prompt kindness; otherwise,

obtain leave and hasten to attend.

وَلا تَترُك محبك في اِنتِظار

فَما يَقوى عَلى البُعدِ الكَبير

And do not leave your loving friend waiting,

for he cannot endure a long separation.

وَقُل لِلفاضِل المَولى عَلي

وَصاحِبه الشهاب المُستَنير

And tell the learned master Ali

and his companion, the radiant Shihab:

محبكما لمنزله دَعانا

ثَلاثَتَنا هلما بِالبكور

'The friend who loves you both has invited us to his home,

all three of us—come, you two, early in the morning.'

وَانى أَرتَجي مِنكُم جَميعا

اِجابَة ما يؤمّله ضَميري

And I hope from all of you

for fulfillment of what my heart desires.

وَأَشكر فَضل مَولانا عَلَيّ

وَأَجد في الزَيارة وَالمسير

And I thank our master for his favor toward me,

and am earnest in visiting and making the journey.

وَأَسأل لطف كُل مِنهُما في

زِيارَة مَنزِل العبد الفَقير

And I ask the kindness of each of them in

visiting the home of this poor servant.

فَاِن أَنتُم تفضلتم وَجِئتُم

فَقَد حزتُم عَظيمات الاِجور

So if you show kindness and come,

you will indeed have gained immense rewards.

وَاِن عاقَتكُم الاِقدار عنا

بِعذر كان أَو أَمر ضرور

And if fate keeps you from us,

through some excuse or a pressing necessity,

فَيوم غير هذا اليَوم لكن

بِوَعد فيه شَرح لِلصُّدور

then on a day other than this one—but

with a promise that brings relief to our hearts.

وَلا تَضجر شَقيق الروح مني

فَلَيسَ أَخو المودة بِالضُجور

And do not be annoyed with me, brother of my soul,

for a brother in affection is not impatient.

وَاِنّ الحب يَستر كل عَيب

خُصوصا وَهو من خَلّ بِالضُجور

And indeed, love conceals every fault,

especially when it comes from an impatient friend.

وَان اللَه مَولانا غَفور

وَأَنتَ كَما تَرى عَبد الغَفور

And God, our Lord, is All-Forgiving,

and you, as you see, are Abd al-Ghafur—servant of the All-Forgiving.

وَطِب نَفسا بِصُحبَة من تَسامى

اِلى العَلياء مُنقَطِع النَظير

And take heart in the company of one who has risen

to the heights, utterly without equal:

أَبى اليَقظات عَبد الله باشا

سَليل المُكرَمات اِبن الكَفوري

Abu al-Yaqazat, Abd Allah Pasha,

scion of noble deeds, son of al-Kafuri.

عَريق المَجد مَولى كل مَولى

كَريم الطَبع وَالاِصل الشَهير

Deep-rooted in glory, master of every master,

noble in nature and renowned in lineage.

وَزير في سَعادَته ظَهير

حَكى شَمس الظَهيرَة في الظُهور

A minister, a support in his good fortune,

he resembles the noonday sun in radiance.

تَوَشحت الوَزارَة من علاه

بَعقد صانَها مِن كل زور

The ministry has adorned itself, through his eminence,

with a necklace that protected it from every falsehood.

أَقامَ العَدل في مصر وَأَحيا

مَعالِمَه بِها بَعد الدُثور

He established justice in Egypt and revived

its landmarks there after their effacement.

وَساسَ الملك دَهرا فَاِستَقامَت

بِقُوّة عَزمِه كل الثُغور

He governed the realm for an age, and there stood firm,

through the strength of his resolve, every frontier.

وَقَد وَرِث العُلا فَرضا وَرَدّا

أَمييرا عَن أَمير عَن أَمير

He inherited eminence by allotted share and reversion,

an emir descended from an emir descended from an emir.

وَيَقضي في البَرية لا بِظُلم

يُعاب بِهِ القَضاء وَلا بجور

And he judges among the people, not with oppression

that would disgrace judgment, nor with injustice.

تجمعت المَحاسِن فيه حَتّى

لعمر أَبيكَ فاقَ عَلى كَثير

All fine qualities gathered in him, until—

by your father's life—he surpassed many.

سَجيته اِقالَة مستَقيل

وَهمته اِجارَة مُستَجير

His nature is to grant release to one who seeks release,

and his purpose is to shelter one who seeks shelter.

هزبران تبيهنس اَو تَمطي

فَكم بطل قَتيل أَو أَسير

A lion, if he struts or stretches—

how many a champion is slain or captive!

وَضَرغام اِذا اِلتَقَت العَوالي

فَما لِمُبارِزيهِ من نَصير

And a mighty lion when the spearheads clash,

his challengers have no helper.

وَاِن لَمعت صَوارِمه بارض

تَسارَعَت العصاة اِلى القُبور

And if his sharp swords flash in a land,

the rebels rush toward their graves.

وَاِن قاتَلتَه اَسد جَرىء

وَاِن قابَلته فَمن البُدور

And if you fight him, he is a daring lion;

and if you meet him, he is one of the full moons.

وَان حادَثته في العلم تَلقى

بُحورا موجها دَرّ النُخور

And if you converse with him about knowledge, you encounter

seas whose waves are pearls for necks.

وَان ساوَمتُه شِعرا فحدث

عَن اِبنِ أَبي رَبيعَة أَو جَرير

And if I vie with him in poetry, then speak

of Ibn Abi Rabi'a or Jarir.

وَان تَسمَع تِلاوَتِه تجده

حَكى داود يَلهج بِالزُبور

And if you hear his recitation, you will find him

like David, intoning the Psalms.

وَان أَبصَرت طلعته تَراه

من الاِنوار كَالبَدر المُنير

And if you behold his countenance, you will see him,

among lights, like the shining full moon.

بَديع في البَديع له مَعان

يَكادُ بَيانُها كَالزَنديوري

Marvelous in rhetorical artistry, he has meanings

whose expression almost kindles like a fire-stick.

وَمنطقة البَديع وَما اِبن هاني

لَدَيهِ وَما مَقامات الحَريري

And his marvelous speech—what is Ibn Hani

beside him, and what are al-Hariri's Maqamat?

تَبارَكَ من تولاه عَلَينا

وَأَعطاهُ مَقاليد الامور

Blessed is He who appointed him over us

and gave him the keys to affairs,

وَخص أُصوله بِأَعز وَصف

وَأَكمل عُنصر وَأَتم خير

and distinguished his ancestry with the noblest qualities,

the most perfect stock and the fullest goodness.

أَدامَ اللَه دَولَتِه بِمِصر

وَمتعنا بِهِ دَهر الدُهور

May God preserve his rule in Egypt,

and let us enjoy him for ages upon ages,

وَأَنقَذنا بِه من كُل كرب

وَكف بِعَزمه أَهل الفُجور

and deliver us through him from every distress,

and restrain the wicked through his resolve.

أَطالِب قَدره في المَجد أَقصر

وَلا تَبحَث عَن الاِمر العَسير

O seeker of his rank in glory, desist,

and do not inquire into so difficult a matter.

وَيا من جاءَ يحصيه كَمالا

وَيطمَع مِنهُ في الاِمر الحَظير

And O you who came to enumerate his perfections,

and hope thereby to accomplish that weighty task,

اِلَيكَ فَلَيسَ هذا في قَوانا

نِعم أَنبيك عَن شَيء يَسير

stand back: this is not within our powers.

Yes, I can tell you something small:

قصاراه وَزير ماله من

شَبيه في الوُزارَة أَو نَظير

in short, he is a minister who has no

peer or equal in the ministry.

سَجاياهُ الشَريفَة لَيسَ يحصى

مَحاسِنُها سِوى المَولى القَدير

His noble traits—none can count

their beauties except the Almighty Lord.

كَمال في كَمال في كَمال

وَنور فَوق نور فَوق نور

Perfection within perfection within perfection,

and light above light above light.

وَنسبة ما ذكرت اِلى علاه

وَكامِل فَضلِه الجَم الغَفير

And the proportion of what I have mentioned to his eminence

and the fullness of his vast, abundant virtue

كَنِسبَة قطرة يَوما أَضيفَت

اِلى بَحر عَظيم أَو بُحور

is like that of a drop one day added

to a mighty sea, or to many seas.

وَهذا ما سَمِعت مَع اِختِصار

وَلكِن جِئتَ في الزَمَن الاِخير

And this is what you have heard, in brief,

but you have come in the latter days.

وَحسبُك أَنه عَبد مُطيع

لِشَرع نَبِيِّه طه البَشير

And it is enough for you that he is a servant obedient

to the law of his Prophet, Taha, bearer of glad tidings.

عَلَيه الله صلى ما تَناحَت

عَلى الاِغصان أَلسِنَة الطُيور

Upon him may God send blessings as long as they lament together

upon the branches—the tongues of birds.

فَخُذها بنت يَوم وَهي لَفظ

قَصير لَيسَ َخلو عَن قُصور

So take it, a daughter of one day, an utterance

brief, yet not free of shortcomings.

وَعذرى واضِح فيها لاني

لَدى الفُضَلاء ذوباع قَصير

And my excuse for it is clear, for I,

among the learned, have but a short reach.

وَمَدح علاه لا يُحصيهِ شَىء

يقدّر بِالسِنين أَو الشُهور

And praise of his eminence cannot be encompassed by anything

measured in years or months.