قصيدة البردة
Qasida Al Burdah
En

Chapter 1

On Words of Love & the Intense Suffering of Passion

مَوْلَاىَ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ دَائِمًا أَبَدًا
عَلَى حَبِيبِكَ خَيْرِ الخَلْقِ كُلِّهِمِ
mawlā’a ṣalli wasallim dā’iman abadan
ʿalā ḥabībika khayril khalqi kullihimi
O my Lord, bless and grant peace always and forever
Upon Your beloved one, the Best of all Creation
أَمِنْ تَذَكُّرِ جِيرَانٍ بِذِي سَلَمِ
مَزَجْتَ دَمْعًا جَرَى مِنْ مُقْلَةٍ بِدَمِ
amin tadhakkuri jīrānin bidhī salami
mazajta damʿan jarā min muqlatin bidami
Is it the memory of neighbours in Dhu Salam
That has left your eyes so red with tears?
أَمْ هَبَّتِ الرِّيحُ مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ كَاظِمَةٍ
وَأَوْمَضَ البَرْقُ فِي الظَّلْمَاءِ مِنْ إِضَمِ
am habbatir rīḥu min tilqā’i kāẓimatin
wa awmaḍal barqu fīẓ ẓalmā’i min iḍami
Or is it the wind blowing from the direction of Kāẓima
And the lightning flashing in the black night from Mount Iḍam?
فَمَا لِعَيْنَيْكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اكْفُفَا هَمَتَا
وَمَا لِقَلْبِكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اسْتَفِقْ يَهِمِ
famā liʿaynayka in qultak fufā hamatā
wamā liqalbika in qultas tafiq yahimi
What is the matter with your eyes, that when you tell them to refrain,
They only weep more? And your heart – when you try to rouse it, It only becomes more bewildered
أَيَحْسَبُ الصَّبُّ أَنَّ الحُبَّ مُنْكَتِمٌ
مَا بَيْنَ مُنْسَجِمٍ مِنْهُ وَمُضْطَرِمِ
ayaḥsabuṣ ṣabbu annal ḥubba munkatimun
mā bayna munsajimin minhu wamuḍṭarimi
Does the one in love suppose his love can be concealed
Between pouring tears and a blazing heart?
لَوْلاَ الهَوَى لَمْ تُرِقْ دَمْعًا عَلَى طَلَلٍ
وَلاَ أَرِقْتَ لِذِكْرِ البَانِ وَالعَلَمِ
lawlal hawā lam turiq damʿan ʿalā ṭalalin
wala ariqta lidhikril bāni wal ʿalami
If not for love, your tears would not pour forth over traces left by your beloved,
Nor would you be sleepless remembering the willow tree and the mountain
فَكَيْفَ تُنْكِرُ حُبًّا بَعْدَمَا شَهِدَتْ
بِهِ عَلَيْكَ عُدُولُ الدَّمْعِ وَالسَّقَمِ
fakayfa tunkiru ḥubban baʿdamā shahidat
bihi ʿalayka ʿudūlud damʿi was saqami
So how can you deny this love when such honest witnesses
as weeping and looking gaunt have testified to it against you?
وَأَثْبَتَ الوَجْدُ خَطَّيْ عَبْرَةٍ وَضَنىً
مِثْلَ البَهَارِ عَلَى خَدَّيْكَ وَالعَنَمِ
wa athbatal wajdu khaṭṭay ʿabratin waḍanan
mithlal bahāri ʿalā khaddayka wal ʿanami
The agony of love has inscribed two lines of tears and grief
Upon your cheeks, pale as bahār4 and red as canam
نَعَمْ سَرَى طَيْفُ مَنْ أَهْوَى فَأَرَّقَنِي
وَالحُبُّ يَعْتَرِضُ اللَّذَّاتِ بِالأَلَمِ
naʿam sarā ṭayfu man ahwā fa arraqanī
wal ḥubbu yaʿtariḍul ladhdhāti bil alami
Yes, a vision of the one I love came to me by night, and I could not sleep,
Oh, how love hinders the tasting of delight with its suffering!
يَا لَائِمِي فِي الهَوَى العُذْرِيِّ مَعْذِرَةً
مِنِّي إِلَيْكَ وَلَوْ أَنْصَفْتَ لَمْ تَلُمِ
yā lā’imī fīl hawal ʿudhriyyi maʿdhiratan
minnī ilayka walaw anṣafta lam talumi
O you who would rebuke me for this pure love, accept my excuse.
If you were truly fair, you would not reproach me at all
عَدَتْكَ حَالِيَ لَا سِرِّي بِمُسْتَتِرٍ
عَنِ الوُشَاةِ وَلاَ دَائِي بِمُنْحَسِمِ
ʿadatka ḥāliya lā sirrī bimustatirin
ʿanil wushāti wala dā’ī bimunḥasimi
May you be spared a state such as mine! My secret cannot be concealed
From my detractors, nor will there ever be an end to my malady
مَحَّضْتَنِي النُصْحَ لَكِنْ لَسْتُ أَسْمَعُهُ
إِنَّ المُحِبَّ عَنِ العُذَّالِ فِي صَمَمِ
maḥḥaḍtanīn nuṣḥa lakin lastu asmaʿuhu
innal muḥibba ʿanil ʿudhdhāli fī ṣamami
You gave me sincere good counsel, but I did not hear it,
The lover is quite deaf to those who blame him
إِنِّي اتَّهَمْتُ نَصِيحَ الشَّيْبِ فِي عَذَلِي
وَالشَّيْبُ أَبْعَدُ فِي نُصْحٍ عَنِ التُّهَمِ
innīt tahamtu naṣīḥash shaybi fī ʿadhalī
wash shaybu abʿadu fī nuṣḥin ʿanit tuhami
I even suspected the counsel of my own grey hairs rebuking me,
When I knew the counsel of old age and grey hair to be above suspicion