جادك الواكف الهتن — Sibt Ibn Altaawithy

جادَكِ الواكِفُ الهَتِن

مِن مَغانٍ وَمِن دِمَن

May the pouring, unceasing rain water you,

dwellings and traces of deserted camps;

وَسَقَتكِ الدُموعُ إِن

رَقَأَت أَدمُعُ المُزَن

and may tears water you, if

the clouds' tears cease.

أَينَ أَقمارُكِ الوِضا

ءِ وَأَغصانِكَ اللُدُن

Where are your radiant moons

and your supple boughs?

وَزَمانٌ كَأَنَّ أَي

يامَهُ الغُرَّ لَم تَكُن

And that time—as though its

bright days had never been?

إِذ رَقيبُ الهَوى غَفو

لٌ وَأَسرارُهُ عَلَن

When love's watcher was heedless,

and its secrets were public;

وَسِهامُ المَلامِ ما

قَرَعَت بَعدُ لي أُذُن

and the arrows of reproach had not

yet struck my ear;

وَمَزارُ الأَحبابِ لَم

يَنأَ وَالدارُ لَم تَبِن

and the loved ones' meeting place had not

grown distant, nor had the home vanished.

كَم بِذاكَ الأَراكِ مِن

وَطَرٍ لي وَمِن وَطَن

How many, beside that arak grove,

were my pleasures and my homes!

وَإِلى ساكِنيهِ مِن

شَجوِ قَلبٍ وَمِن شَجَن

And for its dwellers, how much

heartache and sorrow!

ظَعَنوا بِالعَزاءِ وَال

صَبرِ وَالوَهدُ ما ظَعَن

They departed, carrying solace and

patience; the lowland did not depart.

فَوَجيبُ الفُؤادِ مُذ

نَفَرَ الحَيُّ ما سَكَن

So my heart's pounding, since

the tribe departed, has never stilled.

مَن لِقَلبٍ مَعَ الصَبا

بَةِ وَالشَوقِ مُرتَهَن

Who will tend a heart that, with passion

and longing, is held hostage?

أَنا ضَيَّعتُهُ بِإي

داعِهِ غَيرَ مُؤتَمَن

I squandered it by entrusting it

to one unworthy of trust.

وَلِطَرفٍ حِلٍّ عَلى ال

دَمعِ حِجرٍ عَلى الوَسَن

And an eye free to shed

tears, but forbidden sleep?

وَلِعانٍ يَبكي المَنا

زِلَ شَوقاً إِلى السَكَن

And a captive weeping for the dwellings,

longing for those who dwelt there?

ضَلَّ وَجداً بِالآنِسا

تِ الَّذي يَسأَلُ الدِمَن

Lost in yearning for the lovely women

is he who questions the campsite ruins.

عَذَلوهُ وَما دَروا

وَجدَهُ في الهَوى بِمَن

They reproached him, not knowing

for whom his passion burned.

ما عَلى ذي صَبابَةٍ

بِهَوى الغيدِ مُمتَحَن

What blame falls on a passionate lover

tried by love for slender beauties?

فَتَنتَهُ أَدماءُ سا

حِرَةُ الطَرفِ فَاِفتَتَن

A dusky beauty bewitched him—enchanting

of eye—and he was enthralled.

غادَةٌ بِتُّ عاكِفاً

مِن هَواها عَلى وَثَن

A graceful woman: I spent the night in devotion,

for love of her, before an idol.

تَفضَحُ الدِعصَ وَالأَرا

كَةَ وَالشادِنَ الأَغَن

She puts to shame the sand dune, the arak tree,

and the sweet, nasal-voiced fawn.

اُنظُروها كَما نَظَر

تُ فَلوموا فيها إِذَن

Look upon her as I looked,

then blame me for loving her!

أَنتِ يا مُقلَتي جَلَب

تِ لِيَ الهَمَّ وَالحَزَن

You, O my eye, have brought

me worry and sorrow.

أَنتِ عَرَّضتِني بِإِرسا

لِكِ اللَحظَ لِلفِتَن

You exposed me, by casting

your glance, to temptations.

لَستِ أولى عَينٍ جَنَ

يتِ سَقاماً عَلى بَدَن

You are not the first eye to bring

sickness upon a body.

يا زَمانَ المَشيبِ لا

جاءَكَ الغَيثُ مِن زَمَن

O time of gray hair, may no

rain ever come to you from any season!

أَنتَ أَظهَرتَ مِن عُيو

بِ أَخي الشَيبِ ما بَطَن

You have exposed the flaws

of the gray-haired man that lay hidden.

وَالحَبيبُ الخَوّانُ لَو

لاكَ يا شَيبُ لَم يَخُن

And the treacherous beloved, were it not

for you, O gray hair, would not betray.

قَلَبَ الدَهرُ في تَقَل

لُبِهِ لي ظَهرَ المِجَن

Time has turned, amid its changes,

the shield's back toward me.

فَرَماني مُجاهِراً

بِالمُلِمّاتِ وَالمِحَن

And openly hurled at me

calamities and ordeals.

فَمَتى يا صُروفَهُ

تَنقَضي بَينَنا الإِحَن

When, O turns of time,

will the rancor between us end?

فَسُدَ الناسُ فَالمَ

وَدّاتُ فيهِمُ عَلى دَخَن

People have grown corrupt, and their affections

are tainted among them.

فَتَوَحَّد وَلا تَكُن

ذا سُكونٍ إِلى سَكَن

So stand alone, and do not

rely for peace upon a companion.

وَتَغَرَّب لا تَحمِلِ ال

ضَيمَ في مَوطِنٍ تَهُن

And travel abroad; do not bear

oppression in a homeland, lest you be abased.

فَأَخو الفَضلِ حَيثُ كا

نَ غَريباً عَنِالوَطَن

For a man of merit, wherever he is,

is a stranger away from his homeland.

فَهوَ كَالماءِ ما أَقا

مَ بِأَرضٍ إِلَّصٍ أَجِن

He is like water: whenever he stays

in one land, he can only stagnate.

وَالفَتى الحازِمُ الَّذي

سَبَرَ الدَهرَ وَاِمتَحَن

The prudent young man is one

who has probed time and put it to the test:

مَن دَنَت مِنهُ فُرصَةٌ

فَرَأى فَوتَها غَبِن

when an opportunity draws near him,

he sees letting it slip as a loss;

وَإِذا ما تَغافَلَت

عَنهُ أَيّامُهُ فَطَن

and when his days overlook

him, he stays alert.

كَالأَجَلِّ المُوَفَّقِ اِب

نِ الدَوامِيِّ ذي المِنَن

Like the illustrious, favored Ibn

al-Dawami, the giver of favors,

جامِعِ البَأسِ وَالسَما

حَةِ وَالرَأيِ في قَرَن

who joins valor and generosity

with sound judgment in one bond;

يَتَّقي اللَهَ في السَري

رَةِ تَقواهُ في العَلَن

he fears God in secret

as he fears Him in public.

قائِمٌ بِالفُروضِ مِن

مَذهَبِ الجودِ وَالسُنَن

He upholds the obligations of

the creed of generosity, and its observances.

فَهوَ مِن سُنَّةِ المَكا

رِمِ جارٍ عَلى سَنَن

Thus, in the tradition of noble deeds,

he follows a clear path.

حَلَّ مِن ذُروَةِ العُلى

في الشَماريخِ وَالقُنَن

He has settled on the heights of glory,

among the peaks and summits.

نَهَضَت عَنهُ مُنجِبٌ

طاهِرُ الذَيلِ وَالرُدُن

A mother of noble offspring brought him forth,

pure in hem and sleeve;

فَسَقَتهُ الوَفاءَ وَال

كَرَمَ المَحضَ في اللَبَن

and gave him loyalty to drink, and

pure generosity, in her milk.

خُلُقٌ كَالزُلالِ صا

فٍ مِنَ الغِلِّ وَالدَرَن

A nature like clear water, pure

of rancor and stain;

وَيَدٌ كَالغَمامِ أَث

قَلَهُ الوَدقُ فَاِرجَحَن

and a hand like a cloud, weighed down

by rain until it sagged;

وَاِعتِزامٌ ما خارَ يَو

مَ جِلادٍ وَلا وَهَن

and a resolve that never faltered on a day

of combat, nor grew weak.

وَهوَ غَيثٌ إِذا اِستَلا

نَ وَلَيثٌ إِذ خَشُن

He is rain when he is gentle,

and a lion when he is stern.

يَزِنُ الحَمدُ عِندَهُ

مُلكَ كِسرى وَذي يَزَن

Praise, in his eyes, weighs as much as

the kingdom of Kisra and that of Dhu Yazan.

وَيُرى أَنَّ مُشتَري ال

حَمدِ بِالمالِ قَد غَبَن

And it is held that whoever buys

praise with money has the better bargain.

فَهوَ يَستَعظِمُ المَدي

حَ وَيَستَحقِرُ الثَمَن

So he sets great store by praise,

and thinks little of its price.

وَإِذا العِرضُ لَم يَذِل

دونَهُ المالُ لَم يُصَن

And if, for the sake of honor,

wealth is not humbled, honor is not preserved.

قُل لِساري الظَلامِ يُع

مِلُ وَجناءَ كَالفَدَن

Tell the traveler by night who urges on

a stout-cheeked she-camel, huge as a palace:

غادَرَتها النَوى الشُطو

نُ مِنَ الأَينِ كَالشَطَن

far-reaching journeys have left her,

from exhaustion, thin as a rope.

فَهيَ نِسعٌ في النِسعِ أَو

رَسَنٌ قيدَ في رَسَن

She is a strap among the saddle-straps, or

a halter led within a halter.

يَتَرامى بِهِ البِلا

دُ وَتَنبو بِهِ المُدُن

The lands fling him onward,

and the cities reject him.

شِم سَماءً أَبو عَلِي

يٍ لَها عارِضٌ هَتِن

Scan a sky where Abu Ali

is an unceasingly pouring raincloud.

وَتَبَدَّل لينَ المِها

دِ مِنَ المَنزِلِ الخَشِن

And take the softness of a bed

in place of rough lodging.

فَهوَ لِاِبنِ السَبيلِ يَأ

وي إِلَيهِ نِعمَ العَطَن

For the wayfarer who seeks refuge

with him, he is an excellent watering-place.

فَنَزيلُ الإِحسانِ مَن

باتَ في مَنزِلِ الحَسَن

A guest of kindness is anyone who

spends the night in al-Hasan's house.

ذي الحِجى وَالوَقارِ يَص

غَرُ في حِضنِهِ حَضَن

A man of wisdom and dignity, in whose embrace

Mount Hadan itself seems small.

لَم يُشَب وَعدُهُ بِمَط

لٍ وَلا جودُهُ بِمَن

His promise is not marred by delay,

nor his generosity by reminders of favors.

سَلَّفَ المالَ في الثَنا

ءِ إِذا غَيرُهُ اِحتَجَن

He invests wealth in praise,

while others hoard it.

وَيُرى ما سَخا بِهِ

مِنهُ أَبقى مِمّا خَزَن

And what he freely gave

of it is deemed more lasting than what he stored.

وَسَحابُ نَداهُ يَن

هَلُّ وَالماءُ يَصطَفَن

The cloud of his bounty pours

while the water gathers in pools.

قَد أَتَتكَ العَذراءُ ما

مَسَّ أَثوابَها دَرَن

The virgin has come to you; no

stain has touched her garments.

حُرَّةُ الأَصلِ لا تُعا

بُ بِنَقصٍ وَلا تُزَن

Noble of birth, she is not faulted

for any defect, nor accused of unchastity.

فَهيَ أُختُ الآدابِ أُم

مُ المَعالي بِنتُ اللَسَن

She is the sister of letters, the mother

of lofty achievements, the daughter of eloquence.

وَهيَ دونَ الأَعراضِ نِع

مَ السَرابيلُ وَالجُنَن

And for honor's defense, she is the finest

of garments and shields.

زَفَّها مُحسِنٌ تُقِر

رُ لِإِحسانِهِ الفِطَن

An accomplished man brought her as a bride,

whose artistry keen minds acknowledge.

راضَها بُرهَةً وَتَأ

بى عَلَيهِ إِلّا الحَرَن

He schooled her for a time, while she

offered him nothing but stubbornness.

ثُمَّ أَعطى قِيادَهُ

وَزنُها فيكَ فَاِتَّزَن

Then her meter surrendered its reins,

in praise of you, and settled into measure.

بارَكَ اللَهُ فيكُما

مِن عَروسٍ وَمِن خَتَن

May God bless you both,

bride and bridegroom!

كَرُمَت مَحتِداً وَكُل

لُ كَريمٍ بِها قَمِن

She is noble of stock, and every

noble man is worthy of her.

وَدَعاها إِلَيكَ ما

سارَ مِن ذِكرِكَ الحَسَن

What drew her to you was

the fair renown of you that spread,

وَوِدادٌ مِنِّي بِمَن

زِلَةِ الروحِ في البَدَن

and a love from me, like

the soul's place within the body.

أَحكَمَتهُ عَلى مُرو

رِ اللَيالي يَدُ الزَمَن

It has been made firm, through the passing

of nights, by the hand of time.

فَهوَ بَينَ الضُلوعِ في

حَبَّةِ القَلب مُختَزَن

It lies between my ribs, within

the heart's core, treasured away.

وَسَيُطوى مَعي إِذا

ضَمَّني اللَحدُ في الكَفَن

And it will be folded away with me when

the grave enfolds me in my shroud.

فَاِبقَ ما غَرَّدَت مَعَ ال

صُبحِ وَرقاءُ في فَنَن

So live on as long as, with the

dawn, a gray dove sings upon a bough,

وَأَقَلَّت غَوارِبُ ال

ماءِ في دِجلَةَ السُفُن

and the water's crests bear

ships upon the Tigris,

وَاِستَمالَ النَسيمُ مُح

تَضِناً قامَةَ الغُصُن

and the breeze bends, embracing,

the bough's upright form.