The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Pre-Islamic Era
The renowned poet Imru’ al-Qais articulated:
When I stood upon the ancient courtyard at dusk,
:::It is as though I call or speak to a silent one.
If the people of the house were as we knew them,
:::I would find a resting place among them to stay.
So do not deny me; I am indeed that one,
:::On nights when the tribe lingered full of joy.
Either you see me, I do not close my eyes for an hour,
:::At night except when I fall and slumber deep.
My old ailment revisits me, and darkness dawns,
:::I fear that my ailment will return, leaving me slumped.
Oh, the times of distress, I retraced my steps,
:::And I fought off the horses until they could catch their breath.
And perhaps one day I will find myself amongst
:::The fair ones, friends with bright cheeks, in repose.
They heed my voice whenever they hear it,
:::Like gazelles startled by the sound of the hunter.
They do not love anyone whose wealth is scant,
:::Nor one who they see aged and bent.
And I do not fear the hardships of life as I see them,
:::My arms grow weary from the effort to rise and dress.
If the soul were to die entirely,
:::But it is a soul that lets others fall by the wayside.
I have exchanged a bloody wound following health,
:::Oh, how you have turned into misfortune and grief.
The one who seeks more has become far from his land,
:::To clothe me with his debts as he has done.
Indeed, after nothingness, the seeker has hope,
:::And after greyness, there is a long life and attire.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Prophetic Era
The poet al-Marar ibn Munqidh stated:
A radiant whiteness of hers captivates the eye,
:::Adorning the sight with intricacies.
The clashing swords perish in her presence,
:::But when he is sent forth, he gallops away.
With curling hair, sway their magnificent crowns,
:::Parts that obscure her gone like the morning dew.
Her beauty, unmatched by any woman,
:::Leaving other women envious of their grace.
Her eyes shine with a bewitching charm,
:::Capturing the hearts as if they were branches of the samur.
When she laughs, she reveals a smile,
:::Like a flower in bloom that captures the gaze.
If you tasted her sweetness, you’d compare it,
:::To honey combined with the ice of snow.
The contours of her cheek are long and pristine,
:::A graceful form that hasn’t yet been broken.
Like the nose of the deer that declares her intent,
:::In a sky devoid of clouds.
She is graceful yet robust,
:::Majestic as the essence of valor unfolds.
Her stature sways as she walks to her fellow companions,
:::Before she reaches them, she dazzles.
The clothes cling to her body,
:::And she glides like a leaf upon the autumn breeze.
When she approaches, she is grand,
:::A significant figure, tall and remarkable.
The weight of her adornments jingles at her ankles,
:::But when forced, they break apart.
She is nurtured by a mother of sincerity,
:::And a father who cherishes her with kindness.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs
Abu Muhammad al-Fuq’aasi once expressed:
Was I not with them embracing the proud and their wealth,
:::Like palms adorned with silk handkerchiefs?
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Umayyad Period
Swid ibn Kura’a narrated:
Subai’a offered me a drink, and I relished it,
:::I remembered from it where the streams flow.
A lament grew within my heart for someone who loves deeply,
:::And who is from Kufa, yet longs from a distance.
I told my companions who mix the drinks,
:::There lies a door for all who seek refuge.
The two said neighborhoods have now become his home,
:::Except that the rhymes of poetry may fail.
And his hair became disheveled, exposed to the elements,
:::While Aysaa weaves tidily once and again.
Like a creeping animal, frightened in the glade,
:::In a garden of familiarity, on stormy nights.
It grazes, undaunted by the approaching dawn,
:::With the promises of summer promising rewards.
He saw only seven women bearing adornments,
:::Who held upon their necks the treasures.
Death is before them, and yet to him it is not,
:::Upon the doorstep of destiny, alas!
If he desired, salvation could have been his, but circumstances diverged,
:::The absent one has not yet left his mark.
However, his demise came eventually, he remained a witness,
:::Engaging with her at one moment, pursuing her at another.
So it is fitting to say only that they were and he was like,
:::A shooting star illuminating the night skies.
If he charged forth amongst them, it was as though,
:::He became buried beneath the waves of fate.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Abbasid Era
Hussein al-Hallaj remarked:
Love has eternally existed throughout time,
:::In its essence revealing itself in various forms.
Love is not a mere occurrence when it is a trait,
:::Among the attributes of those brought back to life.
Its attributes within it remain unchanged,
:::And that which is newly minted, begins other things.
When existence made its appearance, love unveiled its essence,
:::In that which appeared, subsequently illuminating.
Both the lam and the alif are connected,
:::Each is unique in precedence and meaning.
In separation, they are two when together,
:::In disunion, they are servants and masters.
Thus, the realities of longing burn brightly,
:::From the truth even when they sleep or journey.
They yield without compulsion when their passion is aroused,
:::Indeed, the esteemed find themselves humbled in despair.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Mamluk Period
According to al-Ba’uni:
In my lament, there lies a state born of need,
:::I have woven patience, yet it does not cease my blood.
Oh fortune, should your eyes see Kadhim,
:::Come forward and inquire about the ancients.
There are moons awaiting their time to shine upon,
:::The longings of their tribe, and descend in their midst.
Beloved ones whom I continue to hope for,
:::And if they are absent, they evoke my suffering.
They rose in elegance and wept beauty,
:::Increasing their charms, thus my patience has waned.
I held high hopes while they sought my ruin,
:::For therein lies a secret known in my mild thoughts.
Al-Yahmadi and Abu Tammam sang,
:::Suffering love, my heart yearns for their sake.
I was told to seek out their words, I said: If breezes blow on the dawn,
:::And the full moon ascends, releasing its month.
I have no return from anguish borne of cravings,
:::Rather from my longing for solace that remains.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from the Ottoman Era
Abu Bahr al-Khati recited:
Oh God, your neighbor, have you seen the dwellings,
:::Stripped bare, overtaken by torrents of tears?
And preserve a heart that does not live without it,
:::And a soul that, if it fades, has not truly dawned.
And divert from you the worries that may haunt,
:::For as joy disperses, they will gather again.
A moment breaks into pieces the stingy one,
:::As if the son of Mamata descended under your fingers.
For this is the skill that endowed a truthful binding,
:::If sorrows do not surpass it in residing.
With every enchanting glance that seems to,
:::Gazed upon like the collective smile of the morning sun.
As if she chose the seams of the veil adorned,
:::As if she was placed among the worldly offers.
Oh, who escapes from tragedies and their turning,
:::I see him fleeing, pursued by their fascination.
The Most Challenging Poetic Verse from Later Eras
Al-Arjani expresses:
Oh, who can comfort me from the anguish within,
:::And from the tearful eyes that hide deep secrets?
And from the reproacher who seeks to scold me,
:::Over the unrelenting persistence of my love.
And when I stood at the moment of farewell,
:::It provoked the sorrows deep in wounded hearts.
I said, and camels were bridled by evening time,
:::As the hands of parting have cut into my core.
The blood of the heart weeps in my eyes, pours out,
:::Pour it into a vessel that has not been filled.
But I sought to excuse the eye from its burden,
:::And said, some words manifest openly and clearly.
They entrusted me with pearls on the day of their departure,
:::In a vast sea of longing, they take their respite.