Sol 6.1

  1. زَماني على رغم الحسود مسالمي

    وإنْ كانَ يَخشى سطوةً فعزائمي

    My time is at peace with me, despite the envious man;

    and if it fears any onslaught, it is that of my resolves.

  2. ولي همّة فوق السَّماء وعفَّةٌ

    تريني الغنى والعزّ عبدي وخادمي

    And I have ambition above the sky, and self-restraint

    that shows me wealth and honor as my slave and my servant.

  3. ونحن أناسٌ من قريش أكابرٌ

    لَبسْنا المعالي قبل خلع التمائم

    And we are people of Quraysh, of high rank;

    we donned high honors before casting off our amulets.

  4. وربةُ قَفر قد سلكت فجاجها

    فَأمسيت أطوي بيدها بالمناسم

    And many a desert whose passes I have traversed,

    so by evening I was folding up its wastes beneath camels' footpads.

  5. وصَحْبي من البيض الحِداد مُهَنَّدٌ

    تعوَّد يومَ الحرب حَزَّ الغلاصم

    And my companion is an Indian-forged sword among sharp white blades,

    accustomed, on the day of battle, to severing windpipes.

  6. عُذِلتُ على حبّيكِ يا ابنة يعربٍ

    ولم يَخْلُ صبٌّ من عذول ولائم

    I was reproached for loving you, O daughter of Ya'rub;

    and no lovesick lover has been free of a reproacher and a blamer.

  7. جَرَحْتِ بلحظيك الفوادَ صبابةً

    وجرح الهوى لم يلتئم بالمراهم

    With your twin glances you wounded my heart with longing;

    and love's wound has not healed with ointments.

  8. فهل من صَباً تصبو النفوس لريّها

    فتحمل تسليمي إلى أمّ سالم

    Is there an east wind for whose refreshment souls yearn,

    to carry my greetings to Umm Sālim?

  9. تذكَّرْتُ عهدي بالحمى ليلة النقا

    وما أنا من عهدي به غير حالم

    I recalled my time in the sanctuary, the night at al-Naqa;

    and I am only a dreamer of my time there.

  10. تقدَّمَ لي فيها عهودٌ قديمةٌ

    فواصبوتي من عهدها المتقادم

    There I had days in the distant past;

    ah, how I long for its days of old!

  11. أروم بأنفاس النسيم خمودها

    وهل تخمد النيران مرُّ النسائم

    I seek to quench it with the breeze's breaths;

    but can the passing of breezes extinguish fires?

  12. ومن لي بهاتيك الديار عشية

    أروّي ثراها بالدموع السواجم

    And who can grant me those distant dwellings for an evening,

    to water their earth with streaming tears?

  13. إذا جئْتُما تلك المعالم فاقرآ

    سلامي على تلك الرُّبا والمعالم

    If you two reach those landmarks, offer

    my greetings to those hills and landmarks.

  14. معاهد آرام ومغنى صبابة

    تُصادُ بها الآسادُ في لحظة باغم

    Haunts of gazelles, and a dwelling of yearning,

    where lions are caught in the glance of a softly calling gazelle.

  15. يُؤَرّقني فيه الحمامُ ونَوْحُه

    وما كانَ وَجدي مثلَ وَجْد الحمائم

    The doves and their lament keep me sleepless there;

    and my longing was not like the doves' longing.

  16. رعى الله سكّان الغضا فلَطالما

    أذابوا بنار الوَجْد مهجةَ هائم

    May God protect the dwellers among the ghada trees, for many a time

    they melted a lovesick wanderer's heart with the fire of longing.

  17. همُ أثِموا في قَتْلي وتجنَّبوا

    وقد حَمَّلوني بعدَها وِزْرَ آثم

    They sinned by killing me, then kept away;

    and afterward burdened me with a sinner's guilt.

  18. فيا ليت قاضي الحبّ يعدل بيننا

    فينتصف المظلوم من كل ظالم

    Would that love's judge dealt justly between us,

    so the wronged could win justice from every wrongdoer.

  19. وقائلةٍ ما لي أراك بأرضنا

    حَلَلْت مَحلّ السرّ من صدر كاتم

    And many a woman said, 'Why do I see you in our land

    lodged like a secret in its keeper's breast?'

  20. تلوم ووجه اللَّيل إذ ذاك عابسٌ

    وللبرق في أطرافه ثغر باسم

    She reproaches me, while night's face at that moment frowns;

    and at night's edges lightning shows a smiling mouth.

  21. ذَريني فما وجدي ثكلتك نافع

    وما الضرّ والسرّاء يوماً بدائم

    Leave me—may your mother lose you! My anguish does no good;

    and neither hardship nor happiness lasts forever.

  22. لئن نام حظّي يا أميمُ عن العُلى

    فعزمي كما تدرينَهُ غير نائم

    Even if my fortune sleeps, O Umaym, heedless of lofty rank,

    my resolve, as you know it, is not asleep.

  23. إذا كنتُ واليت الشهاب أبا الثنا

    فلستُ أبالي بالزمان المخاصم

    If I have allied myself with al-Shihab, Abu al-Thana,

    then I care nothing for hostile Time.

  24. من السادة الغرّ الكرام مهذب

    مكرٌّ على أمواله بالمكارم

    A refined man among the illustrious, generous lords,

    ever assailing his wealth with generous deeds.

  25. موارد فضلٍ للأنام وحكمة

    على وِردها للناس ألف مزاحم

    Springs of bounty and wisdom for humankind,

    with a thousand people jostling to drink from them.

  26. فتىً صاغ أيديه المهيمنُ للورى

    نَقيعاً لظمآن وَوَرْداً لحائم

    A youth whose hands the Guardian fashioned for humankind

    as a pool for the thirsty, a watering place for those circling for water.

  27. يخبّر عن إحسانه بِشْرُ وجهه

    ووبل العطايا بعد برق المباسم

    The cheer of his face tells of his kindness;

    and gifts rain down after the lightning of smiles.

  28. وما الجود والمعروف إلاَّ سجيّة

    يزين بها الباري سجايا الأكارم

    And generosity and kindness are but an inborn trait

    with which the Creator adorns the natures of the noble.

  29. يمدّ إليه كفّه وفد راغب

    ويقرع عنه خصمه سنّ نادم

    A delegation seeking favor extends its hand toward him;

    and his opponent gnashes his teeth in regret on his account.

  30. فإن جحد الحساد فضلك والنهى

    إذَنْ مزجت بالشهد سمّ الأراقم

    And if the envious deny your merit and intellect,

    then you have mixed vipers' venom with honey.

  31. فهل لك في فرسانها من مبارز

    وهل لك في أبطالهم من مصادم

    Is there any challenger for you among its horsemen?

    And among their champions, is there anyone to confront you?

  32. وكم من جهول رام بحثك صائلاً

    فهابَ وما للكلب بأس الضراغم

    And many an ignoramus sought to debate you, charging aggressively,

    then took fright; a dog has none of the lions' might.

  33. وأعظمُ جهلٍ جهلُهُم قَدْرَك الَّذي

    يُعدُّ ويرجى للأمور العظائم

    Their greatest ignorance is ignorance of your worth, which

    is counted on and looked to for momentous affairs.

  34. نَشَرْتَ الهدى والعلم من بعد طيّه

    واحْيَيْتَ عِلْمَ الدِّين بين العوالم

    You spread guidance and knowledge after they had been folded away,

    and revived religious knowledge throughout the worlds.

  35. وشَيَّدْت ما أعيا حسودَك هدْمُهُ

    وما كانَ باني المكرمات كهادم

    And you raised what your envier could not tear down;

    and a builder of noble deeds is not like a destroyer.

  36. خَطَبْتَ وخاطَبْتَ العُفاة بسُؤْلهم

    فَأنْسَيْتَنا أخبار قَسٍّ وحاتم

    You delivered orations and answered petitioners with what they sought,

    so you made us forget the tales of Quss and Hatim.

  37. فصاحة نطق يسبق الماء جريه

    وها هو أمضى من شفير الصوارم

    Eloquent speech whose flow outstrips water,

    and behold, it is sharper than the edges of keen swords.

  38. سأتلو على علياك غرَّ قصائدي

    وكم ناثر مثلي لديك وناظم

    I shall recite my brightest poems in praise of your eminence;

    and how many prose writers like me, and poets, attend you!

  39. يهزّ صناديد الرِّجال نشيدها

    فتغدو على ذكراك ميلَ العمائم

    Their chant stirs the stalwarts among men,

    so their turbans tilt at the mention of you.

  40. وحسبي فَدَتك النفسُ جوداً ونائلاً

    إذا لَحَظَتْني منك عين المراحم

    And it is bounty and gifts enough for me—may my soul ransom you—

    if an eye of your compassion looks upon me.

  41. وكم منّةٍ أسْدَيْتَ لي فَمَلَكْتَني

    سَلِ الرَّوض ما جادت هتان الغمائم

    And how many favors you have bestowed on me, making me yours!

    Ask the garden what the rain-pouring clouds have bestowed.

  42. وأوْلَيْتَني باللُّطف أعظمَ نعمةٍ

    فأصبحتُ في نعماك فوق النعائم

    And with kindness you granted me the greatest blessing,

    so in your bounty I rose above the Na'a'im stars.

  43. أمَتُّ بك الأعداء قهراً بغيظها

    وطعنُ لساني مثل طعن لهازمي

    Through you I slew my foes, subduing them with their own rage;

    and my tongue's thrust is like the thrust of my spearheads.