The Pain of Farewell
By the poet Jarir:
Perhaps the separation from friends is intentional
On the eve of the desperate journey’s show.
By the life of beautiful women, they have never reciprocated my longing
With them, nor have I ever crafted my verses with care.
How many a loyal friend we have severed ties with
And many a deeply rooted believer we led astray.
For the one whom the dove turned to on that day
Had a heart that constantly repents, prostrating to God.
I have seen the beautiful women consumed by passion
Content with desire yet stingy with promises.
They have long ensnared hearts with gazes
Directed towards the reeds adorned with the world’s beauty and adornments.
As for separation, it is nothing new
As stated by Al-Mutanabbi:
As for separation, it is nothing unfamiliar;
It is my twin, were there a gap to be filled.
And indeed, we knew we would obey it
Once we learned we cannot remain eternal.
When the horses lead us away from the glorious raiment,
We find its let-downs are sadder than the finest mounts.
Whoever blames separation, for I am
One who sees nothing in life worthy of praise.
When the call for farewell was heard
According to Ibn Sana al-Mulk:
When the call for parting rang out within the caravan,
The tears replied from every eye.
Oh, tear, you called not for anything but my essence;
So why did you intrude upon this gathering?
If you fear the blaze of my sighs,
You are excused for this escape.
If you have hastened beyond a sigh,
That has a thousand mournful responses.
Hold on, you are not like a tear that flows,
But rather a blood that spills.
So I stood, with my eyelids heavy with tears,
And my tears flowed from my pleas in a quarrel.
I water the garden of longing with the rain of sorrow;
Oh, how fruitful the farewell has made me!
And I position the farewell for my intoxication,
Hoping to deceive my heart with the promise of the reunion.
This is separation, and thus is farewell
Said the poet Al-Lawwah:
This is separation, and thus is farewell,
A matter that raises the heart and ribs.
We feel the flames on the cheeks’ surfaces
At parting time, as tears begin to flow.
A bond shatters at the dawn of absence;
Were it not for absence, there would be no shattering.
Such is the nature of nights, with their shifts;
What is new fades, and unity is torn apart.
It rises up, only to fall once more,
Resting, then being brought low.
How many a humble one encounters the wealthy,
While the exalted one finds himself among the lowly.
Should we not turn back before separation?
As stated by Al-Ahwasi Al-Ansari:
Should we not turn back before the separation?
For the dawn of parting with friends has come.
Bestow upon a dear one, not a reluctant farewell;
The part of separation is no less than a flurry.
If the saddled camel enters among you at dawn,
There will be no reunion except what the heart desires.
For the affection of the kind-hearted will hinder
A farewell that seems like an inevitable task.
And if the matters deter you from reuniting,
And the visitation is distant, then the heart is captive.
The night will linger without an end,
For the night once revealed joy; now it is short.
It delights us that the passage of time brings us closer,
When your beautiful nights seem like a rug,
And we perish without fearing separation, eager to meet,
For there shall be no sovereign in our reunion.
The parting and the one I parted with, not to blame
As stated by Al-Mutanabbi:
Separation, and the one I parted with is not to blame;
And a mother, and whoever I turned to is also good.
For the abode of pleasures does not hold a place for me
If I do not receive honors and respect there.
The inherent nature remains beautiful,
Despite being cast aside by the harsh treatment.
I departed, and how many mournful eyes have cried harshly
For me, and how many have wept from their sorrow.
And the mistress of the beautiful earrings is far from it,
In dismay from the lord of the unwavering sword.
If what torments me comes from a disguised beloved,
I would excuse them; however, it comes from a beloved in disguise.
Someone wounded and who protects themselves from attack;
Broken-hearted, both my hand and my arrows are.
As for separation, I resisted it, yet it prevailed
By Ibn Hiyous:
As for separation, I resisted it, yet it overcame me,
And the struggle has prolonged, yet it triumphed.
I saw the pain settling when faced with fate,
Our farewell became but a playful jest.
I complain to God about the blade unsheathed,
And the lion eager and the rain pouring.
And the knowledge, patience, and soul that distanced itself
From base matters and a heart that remains open.
And if I revive my life with freshness and my hand,
It fills me, granting me the life I had lost.
I used to guzzle goblets of slumbered wines,
Yet after separation from you, I did not taste new ones.
The Pain of Farewell
As stated by Jarir:
Perhaps the separation from friends is intentional
On the eve of the desperate journey’s show.
By the life of beautiful women, they have never reciprocated my longing
With them, nor have I ever crafted my verses with care.
How many a loyal friend we have severed ties with
And many a deeply rooted believer we led astray.
For the one whom the dove turned to on that day
Had a heart that constantly repents, prostrating to God.
I have seen the beautiful women consumed by passion
Content with desire yet stingy with promises.
They have long ensnared hearts with gazes
Directed towards the reeds adorned with the world’s beauty and adornments.
Tell me about the dreadfulness of the day of parting
As noted by Ibn Qalaqis:
Inform me about the dreadfulness of the day of parting,
What patience is afforded to the yearning heart?
For the heart has become forlorn,
And tears stream unchecked.
Thus love has overpowered me,
And I have become light-headed from this state.
Parting has highlighted the absence of a beloved
The idol of beauty that draws in lovers.
She bade me farewell, yet my eyes saw no moon,
As they bore the weight of the sacrifice.
I faltered when she bid me farewell as my heart
Was consumed in flames and my tears overflowed.
The Pain of Separation Drives Away Sleep
As stated by King Al-Amjad:
The pain of separation has driven away my sleep;
This is why my eyelids are unaccustomed to rest.
A body melts from yearning, with eyes
That have been punished by distance and its injustices.
Oh, dwelling where I hope to find solace,
It feels as if I am drawing in musk’s essence.
It seems that as I breathe in its fragrance,
I am enclosing a flock of fragrant scents.
The passage of time brings ease to the land,
As if the clouds are weeping my sorrows.
And my tears, every time I quiet them,
They surge forth like incessant rain.
I indeed value your soil more than I can express,
To one day witness it bare, unadorned.
And I have thanked the apparition for its visits,
After silence, and rightly so deserves thanks.
On the day of separation, my heart was set ablaze
As expressed by the poet Ibn Zakour:
Indeed, the day of separation ignited my heart;
Separation has seared me with fires untold.
If God decreed our union again,
Then I shan’t recall separation as long as I live.
I wept tears to avert parting
Stated by Al-Abbas Ibn Al-Ahnaf:
I wept tears to ward off separation,
Before separation, and I did not know.
If the beloved had left and journeyed away,
My tears would replace blood from wounds.
In love, there are two poisoned cups,
Both filled with bitter taste and pain.
One is the cup of the beloved’s estrangement;
And the other, the cup of parting, is the most bitter.