Everlasting Yearning and Sighs
The descendants of Ibrahim after Muhammad
Only eternal yearning and sighs remain.
No one who knows their plight after him
Can deny that mourning for them is forbidden.
Tears bruise their cheeks and fade away,
Hours of their night feel like centuries.
The cousins bear every sin of a person
Except for the slander among them, which is forgiven.
The slanderers spread like flies over their friendship,
Just as flies swarm around food.
And indeed, I grant Abu al-Hussein affection,
Generosity that would be squandered on his enemy.
A king formed as he willed, as if
He depended on the seasons of his destined decree.
Living and Easing the Burdens of Loss
I live, and at the very least, I endure what the death has not taken.
Separation weighs heavily on my weakness, and it does not come easily.
Longing intensifies as distance grows perpetually,
And patience dissolves within me like honey.
If it were not for parting from loved ones, I would have never found
Death’s pathways to our souls.
With your enchanting gaze, the bellies of grief revive
The desire for life; but if you turn away, then there is none.
I burn with longing, for if not for the scent
That visits me in the eastern winds, I would be indifferent.
Behold, or even suspect that you see my longing,
For those who have not tasted its essence have sadly lost it.
May the prince see my humility and intercede for me
To the one who left me an example in love.
I am certain that Sa’id seeks my blood,
As I recognized him, captured by the spear.
And I am not without merit due to my lineage,
Yet his honor is beyond my reach and alas, has stumbled.
It is said that he rests in Manbij, and is graced
With inquiries about others while he himself is questioned.
The moon appears in the midst of the darkness,
And carries death through turmoil if he dares.
His dust lingers in the eyes’ kohl,
And his sword in the haven ahead of those who blame the innocent.
His light breaks through the skies of pride,
Should thoughts ascend, they would never descend.
He is the prince of whom the Banu Tamim mourn,
And during his time, death approached.
When they saw him, mere glimpses of victory approached,
And the war felt nothing but equal when they surrendered.
The earth became so narrow that a fleeing man
Would mistake shadows for men.
So since his departure—and to this day, if I rode
A steed through the delicacies of childhood, I would have no delight.
I have left those I met, deserted,
For I have slain those I did not encounter, lost from awe.
How many burdens did the heart throw due to fate’s call?
The heart of the lover has tired after its venturing.
I have tied one end of my aspirations to a star in its journeys,
And my face burns with the sun’s flame.
Pouring blessings where stones are unyielding,
The journey has drawn me to you through the valleys and mountains.
If I were squeezed tightly in this cloth above the cushion,
I would hear the sounds of the jinn in its groves.
Until I reached a point where most lives have perished,
Oh, I wish I had lived longer with those who favored me.
I long for your bounty without fearing a demand,
O you who, if you grant the world, have done so reluctantly.
The Horses, the Night, and the Desert Recognize Me
One of the notable poems by Al-Mutanabbi:
Alas, my heart aches from one whose heart is dry;
And with my body and state, he bears illness.
Why should I conceal a love that has weakened my body,
While nations claim to adore the Sword of State?
If we are united by love for his essence,
Then I wish we could share love equally.
I visited him, and the swords of India were sheathed,
And I gazed upon him while the swords dripped with blood.
He was the finest of God’s creations,
And within the finest, he possessed the best traits.
To the foe I have aimed to conquer, perhaps there’s sorrow nestled within,
Yet, in that, there lies gratitude as well.
Fear so great has substituted for you, and you have created
A grandeur that the wild beasts do not possess.
You have bound yourself to something that does not bind you.
First, do not be concealed by sea and knowledge.
Every battle you sought, they fled in retreat—
You navigated through their actions with determination.
You earned a victory in every battlefield,
And no shame falls upon you if they are defeated.
Do you not see victory sweeter than mere victory?
In its fabric, the blood of India and the restless stir.
O justest of people—yet in our dealings,
In you lies the argument, and you are both the accuser and judge.
I wish to safeguard her true appearances from your gaze,
Lest you judge the fat in one who is bloated with wind.
What is it to my worldly brother that he gazes?
When the lights and darkness rest equally near him.
The gathering shall know whom we embrace in our meeting,
That I am the best fit for whom walks on foot.
I am the one whom the blind man gazes upon in esteem,
And my words resonate with those who cannot hear.
I sleep deeply while my eyes are closed from wandering,
Yet people are concerned for me, and they quarrel.
An ignorant man mocks my ignorance with laughter
Until the hand of foresight and the mouth catch up.
If you see the lion’s teeth bared,
Do not think that the lion ever smiles.
My soul is missing from its beloved,
Yet I have sought it with a steed that has its limits.
In the race, his legs are like a man’s, and his hands are swift.
With its movement dictated by the intended purpose,
Until struck, where the waves of death clash.
The horses, the night, and the desert know me,
Along with the sword, the spear, the paper, and the pen.
I have traveled in the wilderness, solitary among beasts,
Until even the hills and mountains were astonished by me.
O those who are hard for us to part from,
Our hearts find abundance in your absence.
We were more deserving of your grace,
If your purpose aligned with ours.
Should your secret be what our envious outsider says,
What is there to this wound if it brings you satisfaction?
Among us, if you had cared for that connection,
Truly, knowledge dwells with the noble as a manifest trust.
How often do you search for faults and yet find none,
For God detests what you offer versus generosity.
How distant the blemish and inadequacy from my esteem,
I am the Pleiades while age and weakness loom.
I wish the clouds I see with thunderous strikes
Would carry burdens of water from where it reigns.
I see distance compelling me at every stage,
That cards do not yield to mere outlines.
If they have abandoned conscience from our right side,
They will not pass on sorrow to those they bid farewell.
When you set forth from people who have anticipated,
And it was decreed that they would separate, the departed remain.
The worst of places is one lacking friends,
And the worst acquisition for a person is that which causes offense.
The worst I have captured was in my outstretched hands,
Similar to the vultures, for each is equal with the eagles.
With what words do you label poetry?
You pass there without respect for Arab or foreigner.
This is my lament, though it rings shallow.
If a pearl is pledged, its silence holds meaning.