قم فاثن لي فوق الوهاد وسادي — Sharif Al Murtaza

قُمْ فَاِثنِ لِي فوقَ الوهادِ وسادِي

فالآن طاب بفِيّ طعمُ رقادي

Rise, and fold my pillow for me upon the lowlands.

For now the taste of my sleep is sweet in my mouth.

قَد شرّدتْ نَصَبي وأيْنِي راحتِي

وَاِستَبدَلَتْ عَينِي الكرى بسُهادِ

My rest has driven away my weariness and exhaustion,

and my eye has replaced sleeplessness with slumber.

وَإِذا رعيتَ لِيَ الإخاءَ فهنِّني

ببلوغِ أوطاري ونيلِ مُرادِي

And if you cherish brotherhood with me, congratulate me

on fulfilling my desires and attaining my wish.

للّهِ يومٌ ملتُ فيه على المُنى

وثنَى الزّمانُ إلى السرورِ قيادِي

God be praised for a day when I turned toward my hopes,

and time turned my reins toward joy!

وحذرتُ دهرِي من أمورٍ جمّةٍ

فأناخَ فيه الأمنُ وسْطَ فؤادِي

And I had feared my fate for many reasons,

then security knelt there in the midst of my heart.

نفَحتْ أميرَ المؤمنين عطيّةٌ

غرّاءُ من وافي العطاءِ جوادِ

A gift has graced the Commander of the Faithful,

radiant, from a generous giver of abundant gifts.

جَبلٌ منَ الأجبالِ إلّا أَنّهُ

عِندَ الوَرى ولدٌ من الأولادِ

A mountain among mountains, except that

to mankind he is a child among children.

وَالسَيفُ أَنتَ وَلم يكُن مَن سَلّه

فينا لِيَتركهُ بِغيرِ نِجادِ

And you are the sword; the one who drew it would not,

among us, leave it without a baldric.

وَالغابُ أَهيَبُ ما يكونُ إِذا ثوَتْ

أَشبالُه فيه مع الآسادِ

And the forest is most fearsome when

its cubs dwell there alongside the lions.

وَالطّعنُ في الأرماحِ يُعوِزُ في الوغى

لَولا الأسنّةُ في رؤوسِ صِعادِ

And thrusting with spears would fail in battle

were it not for the points atop their straight shafts.

وَالنّصلُ لولا حدُّه وغِرارُه

ما كنتَ حاملَه ليومِ جِلادِ

And the blade, were it not for its sharpness and cutting edge,

you would not carry it for a day of combat.

قالوا أَتى وَلَدٌ فَقلت صَدَقتُمُ

لَكِنّه عَضُدٌ منَ الأعضادِ

They said, 'A child has come'; I said, 'You speak truly,

but he is a supporting arm among supporting arms.'

إِنْ كانَ في مَهدٍ رَضيعاً نُومةً

فغداً يكون على ذُرا الأعوادِ

If in a cradle he is a suckling, much given to sleep,

tomorrow he will be atop the wooden pulpits.

وَتَراهُ إِمّا فوقَ صَهْوةِ منبرٍ

يَعِظُ الورى أو في قَطاةِ جوادِ

And you will see him either on the crest of a pulpit,

admonishing mankind, or on a noble steed's back.

ما ضرَّه من قبلِ سلٍّ غِمْده

أنّ السّيوف تُسَلُّ من أغمادِ

His sheath does him no harm before he is drawn;

for swords are drawn from sheaths.

والبدرُ يطويه السِّرارُ وتارةً

هو بارزٌ وسْطَ الكواكبِ بادِ

And the moon's dark phase enfolds the full moon, and at times

it stands forth, clear amid the stars.

حَيَّا الإلهُ صباحَ يومٍ زارنا

فيه وحَيَّا ليلةَ الميلادِ

May God bless the morning of the day he visited us,

and bless the night of his birth.

ريّان من ظفرٍ ونيلِ إرادة

ملآنُ بالإسعافِ والإسعادِ

Sated with victory and the attainment of a wish,

filled with assistance and happiness.

فَلَنِعمَ عهداً عهدُه وأوانُهُ

سقّاه ربّي صوبَ كلِّ عِهادِ

So what a splendid time his time and season are!

May my Lord water it with the downpour of every returning rain.

لو أنصف القومُ الألى لم ينصفوا

جعلوا به عيداً من الأعيادِ

Had those people who were unfair acted fairly,

they would have made it a feast among feasts.

يا خيرَ مَن حنَّتْ إِليه سريرتِي

طرّاً ومَن حنّتْ إليه جِيادي

O best of those for whom my inward heart has yearned,

with all its being, and for whom my steeds have yearned,

وابنَ الّذي طال الخلائقَ كلَّهمْ

فضلاً وإن كانوا على الأطوادِ

and son of him who surpassed all creatures

in excellence, even were they upon mountain peaks!

ما إن رأيتَ ولا ترى شِبهاً له

أبداً من الزُّهاد والعبّادِ

You have not seen, nor will you see, his equal

ever, among ascetics and devout worshippers.

روَّى بصائرَه تُقىً ويمينُه

جلّتْ عن الشّهواتِ وهْيَ صوادِ

Piety has watered his inner vision, and his right hand

has risen above desires, though it remains thirsty.

فكأنَّه لخشوعه ولباسُه

حُللُ الخلائفِ مرتدٍ بِنجادِ

In his humility, though his garments are

caliphs' robes, he seems clad in a baldric.

ذخروا النُّضارَ لهمْ ولم تكُ ذاخراً

إلّا ثَوابَ لُهاً وشكرَ أيادِ

They stored up gold for themselves, but you stored

only the reward of gifts and gratitude for benefactions.

أنَا ذلك المحضُ الّذي جرّبتُمُ

أبداً أوالِي فيكُمُ وأعادِي

I am that pure-hearted man whom you have tested,

ever befriending and opposing for your sake.

وإذا بلغتكُمُ عقرتُ ركائبي

ونقضتُ من حذَرِ النَّوى أقتادِي

And when I reached you, I hamstrung my mounts,

and dismantled my saddle frames for fear of separation.

ما إنْ أبالي بعد قُربي منكُمُ

أنْ كان مِن كلِّ الأنام بِعادي

After my nearness to you, I care nothing

if I am distant from all mankind.

وإذا نصحتُ لكمْ فما ألْوي على

ما شفّني أو فتّ في أعضادي

And when I counsel you sincerely, I pay no heed to

whatever wastes me or weakens my arms.

إِنّي لَراضٍ بالسِّفالِ وَأنتُمُ الْ

معُلون لي ولقد علتْ أجدادِي

Indeed, I am content with lowliness, while you are the

ones who exalt me, and my forebears indeed rose high.

أَبوابُكمْ كرماً وجوداً فائضاً

عَطَنُ الوفودِ وغايةُ القُصّادِ

Your doors, in generosity and overflowing bounty,

are the watering-place of delegations and the goal of seekers.

ما إِنْ يُرى إلّا عَلَيها وحدَها

وفدُ الورى وتزاحمُ الوُرّادِ

Only at them, and nowhere else, are seen

mankind's delegations and the throng of those arriving.

حوشيتُ َأن أُعنى بِغيرِ دِيارِكمْ

أو أنْ أجرَّ بغيرها أبرادِي

Far be it from me to concern myself with any homes but yours,

or to trail my robes elsewhere.

وَإِذا رَشادي كانَ بَينكُمُ فما

أَبغي إِذا خُيّرت غيرَ رشادِي

And if my right guidance lies among you, then

when offered a choice, I seek nothing but my right guidance.

وَكأنَّني ضَوَّعتُ نَشرَ لَطيمةٍ

لمّا سننتُ مديحكمْ في النّادِي

And it is as though I released the scent of a perfume caravan

when I set forth your praise in the assembly.

ما كانَ لَولا أنّكمْ قُدّمتُمُ

مَنٌّ لمخلوقٍ على أكتادِي

Were it not that you were placed foremost,

no creature's favor would weigh upon my shoulders.

أنا في جواركُمُ بأنعمِ عيشةٍ

وَأجلِّ منزلةٍ وأخصبِ نادِ

Under your protection I live the pleasantest life,

in the noblest station and the most flourishing gathering-place.

راضٍ بأنْ نفسي فَدَتك وما حَوَتْ

كفّايَ لي مِن طارفٍ وتِلادِ

Content that my soul should ransom you, along with all

my hands possess, of newly gained and inherited wealth.

وَإذا الزَّمانُ نبا بنا عن مطلبٍ

وَغطا بياض طماعنا بسوادِ

And when time thrusts us away from some desire,

and covers the whiteness of our hopes with blackness,

قُمنا فَنِلنا ما نَشاءُ منَ العُلا

بِالقائِمِ الماضي الشَّبا والآدِي

we rise, then gain whatever heights we wish

through al-Qa'im, keen of edge and powerful,

شائِي الكرامِ بفضلهِ في نفسهِ

طوراً وبالآباء والأجدادِ

who surpasses the noble through his own excellence,

at one time, and through his fathers and forefathers at another.

ما كانَ إلّا في السّماء وَما اِرتَقى

قُلَلَ المعالي في بطون وِهادِ

He was nowhere but in the sky; nor did he ascend

glory's peaks from the depths of lowlands.

لا تَعتَمِدْ إلّا عَليَّ لخدمةٍ

إنّي وَجَدّك خيرُ كلِّ عمادِ

Rely on none but me for service;

by your fortune, I am the best of all supports.

وَمَتى اِنتَقدتَ فَلَن تَرى لِي مُشبها

في خدمةٍ يا أخبرَ النُّقَّادِ

And whenever you scrutinize, you will find no peer for me

in service, O most discerning of critics.

وَإِذا أَردتَ عَظيمةً فَاِهتفْ بِمنْ

ما دبّ فيه على العظيم تمادِ

And when you desire some mighty deed, call upon one

in whom no delay creeps before a mighty task,

عَجِلٍ إلى داعي الصّريخ كأنّه

متوقّعٌ أَبداً نداءَ منادِ

swift to answer the cry for help, as though

forever expecting the call of a summoner.

أنَا منكُمُ نسباً وودّاً صادقاً

أبداً أُراوِح حِفظَه وأُغادِي

I am of you in lineage and sincere affection,

always tending its preservation at evening and dawn.

أَجدى على القُربى إِليَّ تقرّبي

وأحبُّ من نسبي إليَّ وِدادِي

My drawing near is more fruitful to me than kinship,

and my affection is dearer to me than my lineage.

يا أَيُّها المتحكّمونَ على الوَرى

بالعدلِ في الإصدارِ وَالإيرادِ

O you who govern mankind

with justice in sending forth and bringing in,

حَسبي الّذي أُوتيتُه من حبِّكمْ

وولائكمْ ذخراً ليومِ مَعادِي

the love for you that I have been granted suffices me,

and loyalty to you, as a treasure for the day of my return.

إِنْ كُنتمُ قلّلْتُمُ لِيَ بَينكمْ

شِبْهاً فَقَد كثَّرتمُ حُسَّادِي

If you have left me few among you

to match me, you have multiplied my enviers.

للَّهِ دَرّك في مُقامٍ ضيّقٍ

حَرِّ الرّدى مُتلهِّبِ الإيقادِ

God be praised for your prowess in a constricted place,

hot with death and blazing with flame!

وَكَأنّما الأقدامُ فيه تَقَلْقُلا

وَطِئَتْ عَلى الرَّمضاء شوكَ قَتادِ

And it is as though the feet there, in their agitation,

had trodden qatad thorns on the burning ground.

وَالسّيفُ يَرتعُ في يَديك منَ العِدى

بِالضّربِ بينَ ترائبٍ وهوادِ

And in your hands the sword grazes upon the foes,

striking between breastbones and necks.

وَالرُّمحُ يَهتِك كلَّ ثُغرةِ باسلٍ

طعناً ويشرب من دمِ الأكبادِ

And the spear rends every brave warrior's throat,

with thrusts, and drinks the blood of livers.

وَإِذا أَسال من الكَميّ نَجيعَه

غِبَّ الطّعانِ أسالَ كالفِرصادِ

And when it spills an armored warrior's dark blood,

after the thrusting, it pours it out like mulberry juice.

والخيلُ يستلبُ الطّعانُ جلودَها

فكأنّها خُلقتْ بلا أجلادِ

And spear-thrusting strips the horses of their hides,

as though they were created without skins.

حتّى وَفَتْ لك نَجدةٌ ألبستَها

في النّاكثين الوعد بالإيعادِ

Until valor kept faith with you; you clothed it

against the oath-breakers with promise in the form of threat.

وَقضَتْ لدين اللّه كفُّك حقَّه

وبلغتَ للإسلامِ كلَّ مُرادِ

And your hand paid God's religion its due,

and you attained every aim for Islam.

فَاِسمَعْ مَديحاً لم تَشِنْهُ مَينَةٌ

تسرِي قوافيه بكلِّ بلادِ

So hear praise that no lie has marred;

its rhymes travel through every land,

قَطّاعَ كُلِّ ثنيّةٍ وتنوفةٍ

طلّاعَ كلِّ عَليّةٍ ونِجادِ

crossing every mountain pass and trackless waste,

scaling every height and upland.

زينَتْ بهِ الأغراضُ فهْوَ كأنّهُ

وَشْيُ الجسومِ وحِليةُ الأجسادِ

The themes are adorned by it, as though it were

the embroidery of bodies and the adornment of forms.

رِفْدِي عليه حسنُ رأيك إِنّني

راضٍ به من سائر الأرفادِ

My reward for it is your good opinion; indeed, I am

content with that instead of all other gifts.

لا عَيبَ فيهِ غيرَ أنْ لَم يَستمعْ

من منطقي ويزفّه إِنشادي

It has no flaw except that it has not been heard

from my lips, with my recitation escorting it forth.