Sol 6.1

  1. أفي طيِّ الصَّبا نشرُ التصابي

    فقد نفحَتْ بنا روحُ الشبابِ

    Is the fragrance of youthful dalliance within the folds of the east wind?

    For the spirit of youth has wafted over us.

  2. وهل طرقَتْ مجَرَّ ذُيولِ لَيلى

    فقد جاءَتْ معطّرةَ الثّيابِ

    And has it visited the trail of Layla's hems by night?

    For it has come with perfumed garments.

  3. وهلْ رشفَتْ ثناياها فأمسَتْ

    تحدِّثُ عن رحيقٍ مُستطابِ

    And has it sipped from her front teeth, so that now

    it speaks of delectable nectar?

  4. تمرّ بنا فتثنينا سُكارى

    كأنّا لا نُفيقُ من الشّرابِ

    It passes us and leaves us swaying, drunk,

    as though we never sober from wine.

  5. كأنّ نسيمَها شكوى مَشوقٍ

    أخي أدبٍ تلطّفَ بالعِتابِ

    Its breeze is like the complaint of a yearning lover,

    a man of refinement, gentle in reproach.

  6. سَلوها هل لها وجدٌ بنجدٍ

    فرقّتْ رقّةَ الصّبِّ المُصابِ

    Ask it whether it has a passion for Najd,

    and so has softened with an afflicted lover's tenderness.

  7. سقى نجداً وأهلِيه مُلِثٌّ

    يُجاري رعدُه طولَ اِنتحابي

    May a lingering raincloud water Najd and its people,

    its thunder matching the length of my sobbing.

  8. ولا برِحَ الزمانُ به ربيعاً

    يطرّزُ زَهرُهُ حُللَ الرّوابي

    And may time never cease to be spring there,

    its flowers embroidering the robes of the hills.

  9. زكيٌّ لا تَمَلُّ له اِنتِشاقاً

    كأنّ هواهُ أنفاسُ الكعابِ

    Fragrant—you never tire of breathing it in—

    as though its air were the breath of full-breasted maidens.

  10. بموردِه لِصادي القلبِ رِيٌّ

    كأنّ بمائِه بردَ الرُّضابِ

    At its watering place the thirsty heart finds its fill,

    as though its water held the coolness of sweet saliva.

  11. إذا برُبوعِه حزَناً مزَجْنا

    لُجَيْنَ الدّمعِ بالذّهبِ المُذابِ

    When, grieving in its dwellings, we mingle

    the silver of tears with molten gold,

  12. تسيرُ جُسومُنا فوقَ المطايا

    وأنفُسُنا تسيلُ على التّرابِ

    our bodies travel upon mounts,

    while our souls flow over the dust.

  13. فكم من فاقدٍ فيه فؤاداً

    وواجدِ مهجةٍ ذاتِ اِلتِهابِ

    How many there have lost a heart,

    and found a soul ablaze!

  14. إلى نخلِ النّخيل تحنّ شوقاً

    وترزُمُ تحتَنا خوصُ الرِّكابِ

    Longingly toward the palms of al-Nakhil they yearn,

    and beneath us the narrow-eyed riding camels rumble.

  15. ونلثِمُ من ثنايا الجِذْعِ برقاً

    فنحسَبُهُ ثُغورَ بَني حِسابِ

    And we kiss a lightning-flash from the passes of al-Jidhʿ,

    taking it for the mouths of Banu Hisab.

  16. بنفسي أسرةٌ أسروا رُقادي

    وحلّوا بين قلبي والذّهابِ

    My life be ransom for a family that captured my sleep

    and lodged between my heart and departure.

  17. سَراةٌ تُلحِقُ العِقبانُ منهم

    بريشِ النّبلِ بيضاتِ العُقابِ

    Nobles whose eagles fasten

    eagle eggs to the feathers of arrows.

  18. تهزُّ أكفُّهُم حيّات لُدْنٍ

    وتمرحُ خيلُهم بأسودِ غابِ

    Their hands brandish supple serpents,

    and their horses prance bearing forest lions.

  19. إذا لبِسوا الدّروعَ حسِبْتَ فيها

    نُجومَ الليلِ غَرقى في السّرابِ

    When they put on armor, you would think within it

    the stars of night were drowning in a mirage.

  20. فكم فيهم ترى قمَراً تجلّى

    وشمسَ ضُحىً توارَتْ في حِجابِ

    How many a moon you see shining among them,

    and a midmorning sun concealed behind a veil,

  21. وصُبْحَ طلاً تستّرَ في خِمارٍ

    وآخرَ قد تنفّس في نِقابِ

    and a fawn's dawn hidden beneath a headscarf,

    and another dawn breathing within a face veil;

  22. وراحاتٍ بدمعٍ أو نجيعٍ

    مضرّجةً وأخرى في خِضابِ

    and palms, with tears or fresh blood,

    stained, and others colored with henna.

  23. وكم بخُدودِ نِسوَتِهم وأيدي

    فوارسِهِم توقّد من شِهابِ

    And how many—in their women's cheeks and the hands

    of their horsemen—are the meteors that blaze!

  24. حوَتْ أفواهُهم خَمراً فصِيغَتْ

    ثناياهم على نسَقِ الحَبابِ

    Their mouths held wine, and so were fashioned

    their front teeth in the pattern of bubbles.

  25. يكادُ يعربِدُ المِسواكُ فيها

    إذا منها ترشّفَ باللُعابِ

    The tooth-stick almost grows drunkenly riotous within them

    when it draws a sip of saliva from them.

  26. كأنّهمُ إذا سطعَتْ عليهم

    مجامرُهُم شُموسٌ في ضَبابِ

    They seem, when over them flare

    their incense burners, suns amid mist.

  27. تحنّ الساجعاتُ إذا تثنّوا

    فتُؤثرُهم على القُضُبِ الرِّطابِ

    The cooing birds yearn whenever they sway,

    preferring them to tender boughs.

  28. همُ راحي ورَيحاني وروحي

    وجنّاتي وإنْ كانوا عذابي

    They are my wine, my sweet basil, and my soul,

    and my gardens of paradise, though they are my torment;

  29. وعافيَتي وأمراضي وبُرْئي

    وأفراحي وحُزني واِكتِئابي

    my health, my ailments, and my healing,

    my joys, my sorrow, and my dejection.

  30. تولّوا والصِّبا معهُم تولّى

    فهل لهُمُ إلينا من إيابِ

    They departed, and youth departed with them;

    will they ever return to us?

  31. إلامَ أطالِبُ الأيّامَ فيهم

    فلم تسمعْ ولم ترْدُدْ جَوابي

    How long shall I petition the days concerning them?

    Yet they have not listened or given me an answer.

  32. أعوذُ من الزّمانِ ومن نَواهُم

    بربِّ المجدِ والمولى المُهابِ

    I seek refuge from time and from their separation

    with the lord of glory, the revered master,

  33. أخي الشرَفِ الرّفيعِ أبي حسينٍ

    عليِّ المجدِ ذي الشيَمِ العُجابِ

    the man of lofty honor, Abu Husayn,

    Ali of glory, endowed with wondrous qualities.

  34. مُبيدُ المالِ في بيدِ العَطايا

    مُجلّي السّبْقِ في يومِ الطّلابِ

    He exhausts wealth in the deserts of giving,

    the winner of the race on the day of striving.

  35. زكيُّ النفسِ محمود السّجايا

    مُصانُ العِرضِ ممدوحُ الجنابِ

    Pure of soul, praised for his character,

    his honor protected, his presence acclaimed.

  36. قديرٌ ذو قُدورٍ راسياتٍ

    تُقابلُها جِفانٌ كالجوابي

    Mighty, with cauldrons firmly fixed,

    with bowls like cisterns facing them.

  37. فصيحٌ ما لمنطقِه شَبيهٌ

    ولو حملَتْ به أمُّ الكِتابِ

    Eloquent, with no equal to his speech,

    even had the Mother of the Book conceived him.

  38. شِهابٌ في الثّغورِ عليه تثني

    بيومِ الحربِ ألسِنةُ الحِرابِ

    A meteor on the frontiers, praised

    on the day of war by the tongues of spears.

  39. تسيرُ جُيوشُه فتكادُ رُعباً

    تميدُ الرّاسياتُ من الهِضابِ

    His armies march, and terror almost makes

    the firmly rooted hills sway.

  40. تقابلُه البوارِقُ مُغمَداتٍ

    وتصحَبُه السّحائِبُ في القِبابِ

    Lightning-flashes meet him sheathed,

    and clouds accompany him within the pavilions.

  41. به يَدري الخميسُ إذا رآهُ

    سيحشرُه بأحشاءِ الذّئابِ

    At the sight of him, the army knows

    he will muster it in the bellies of wolves.

  42. ويعتقدُ الهِزَبْرُ إذا اِلتقاهُ

    بأنّ رِجامَه جوفُ الغُرابِ

    And the lion believes, when it meets him,

    that its grave will be the belly of a raven.

  43. إذا هزّ المثقَّفَ خلتَ فيه

    جرى من بأسِه سُمُّ الحُبابِ

    When he brandishes the straightened spear, you imagine within it

    a serpent's poison flowing from his might.

  44. كريمٌ صاغَ من بيضِ الأيادي

    خواتِمَهُ وأطواقَ الرِّقابِ

    Generous, he fashioned from white-handed favors

    his rings and the necklaces about necks.

  45. وحسّن بالنّدى وجهَ المعالي

    وورّد خدّها بدمِ الضِّرابِ

    He beautified the face of exalted deeds with generosity,

    and made its cheek rosy with the blood of combat.

  46. ومن مِسكِ الغُبارِ أثارَ سُحباً

    مخضّبةَ المَبارقِ بالمَلابِ

    And from the musk of dust he raised clouds,

    their lightning-gleams dyed with saffron perfume.

  47. مكارمُهُ تسيرُ بكلِّ أرضٍ

    كأنّ يمينَهُ حوضُ السَّحابِ

    His noble deeds travel through every land,

    as though his right hand were the clouds' reservoir.

  48. وأنعُمُه تعلّمُنا القوافي

    فهذا الدُرُّ من ذاكَ العُبابِ

    His favors teach us rhymes,

    so these pearls come from that surging sea.

  49. حلَتْ منه الطِباعُ فعزّ بأساً

    فأصبحَ وهْوَ من شهدٍ وَصابِ

    His nature grew sweet, yet he was fierce in valor,

    and he became a blend of honey and bitter sap.

  50. فأحدثَ في الورى نِعَماً وبؤساً

    كذلك شيمةُ الغَيمِ الرّبابِ

    He brought blessings and misery among creation:

    such is the nature of low-lying clouds.

  51. يسوقُ إلى الوليِّ وليَّ فضلٍ

    ونحوَ عِداهُ صاعقةَ العِقابِ

    He brings his ally a following shower of bounty,

    and toward his enemies the thunderbolt of punishment.

  52. يرى عِقبانَ راياتِ الأعادي

    إذا خفقَتْ كأجنحةِ الذبابِ

    He sees the eagles on the enemies' banners,

    when they flutter, as the wings of flies.

  53. يفوق أبا السَّحابِ أباً وجوداً

    إذا ما قيلَ ذا اِبنُ أبي تُرابِ

    He surpasses Abu al-Sahab in ancestry and generosity,

    when it is said, 'This is the son of Abu Turab.'

  54. تزفُّ جيادَهُ العزَماتُ منه

    زِفافَ النّملِ أجنحةَ العُقابِ

    His own resolves set his steeds speeding,

    as ants set eagle-wings speeding.

  55. له عَضْبٌ بليلِ الخطْبِ فجرٌ

    ونابٌ في النّوائِبِ غيرُ نابِ

    He has a sharp sword, a dawn in the night of calamity,

    and a fang amid misfortunes that never fails to strike.

  56. تَصيدُ نِمالُه الأسْدَ الضّواري

    ويقتنِصُ الجوارحَ بالذّبابِ

    His ants hunt ferocious lions,

    and he captures birds of prey with flies.

  57. وآراءٌ كأسهُمِه نفاذاً

    مفوّقةُ لإدراكِ الصّوابِ

    And judgments as piercing as his arrows,

    nocked to attain what is right;

  58. وآثارٌ على دُهْمِ الليالي

    حكَتْ غُرَرَ المسوّمةِ العِرابِ

    and deeds upon the blackness of nights,

    like the white forehead-blazes of marked Arabian steeds.

  59. ألا يا اِبنَ الأُلى شرُفوا وسادوا

    على الدُنيا بفضلٍ واِنتسابِ

    O son of those who won honor and dominion

    over the world through merit and descent!

  60. لقد فلّقْتَ هاماتِ الرّزايا

    وقُدتَ أبيّةَ النّوَبِ الصِعابِ

    You have indeed split the heads of calamities,

    and led the stubborn, harsh reversals of fate.

  61. وأثكَلْتَ الخزائِنَ فهْي تنعى

    على الولدِ المقرَّطِ بالجِرابِ

    You bereaved the treasuries, which now lament

    the child adorned with a pouch for an earring.

  62. خلَتْ دارُ النّدى فظهرت فيه

    ظُهورَ الكنزِ في البلدِ الخَرابِ

    The house of bounty lay empty; you appeared there

    like treasure appearing in a ruined town.

  63. ليَهنِكَ سيّدي عيدٌ شريفٌ

    يبشّر عن صيامِكَ بالثّوابِ

    May a noble Eid gladden you, my lord,

    bringing tidings of reward for your fasting.

  64. فقابِلْ بالمسرّة وجهَ فِطْرٍ

    تبسّم عن ثناياهُ العِذابِ

    So greet with joy the face of Eid al-Fitr,

    smiling to reveal its sweet front teeth.

  65. كأنّ لقاءَهُ لُقيا حبيبٍ

    تعطّفَ زائِراً بعدَ اِجتِنابِ

    Meeting it is like meeting a beloved

    who tenderly comes visiting after avoidance.

  66. وجلّى رونقُ البُشْرى هِلالاً

    تصدّى كالحُسام بلا قِرابِ

    The luster of good tidings unveiled a crescent

    that appeared like a sword without a sheath:

  67. هِلالاً شقَّ جيبَ الهمِّ عنّا

    بمِخلبِه وضرّسَهُ بِنابِ

    a crescent that ripped sorrow's collar off us

    with its claw, and bit it with a fang;

  68. أخا كلَفٍ إذا رامَ اِنصرافاً

    ثناهُ الشّوقُ وهو إليكَ صابي

    a love-smitten one that, when it seeks to depart,

    is turned back by longing, yearning toward you.

  69. أتاك على النّوى نِضواً طليحاً

    كأنّ به إلى رؤياكَ ما بي

    It came to you across the distance, wasted and weary,

    as though, for the sight of you, it bore what I bear.

  70. فدُمْ بالمجدِ ما حنّتْ قُلوبٌ

    إلى الأوطانِ في دارِ اِغترابِ

    So endure in glory as long as hearts yearn

    for their homelands in a house of exile.

  71. ولا برِحَتْ أكُفُّ نداكَ تُجري

    بنَثرِ الدُرِّ منظومَ الخِطابِ

    And may the hands of your bounty never cease to make flow

    versified speech through the scattering of pearls.

  72. ولا زالَتْ لك الأقدارُ تقضي

    بما تهوى إلى يومِ الحِسابِ

    And may the decrees of fate ever ordain for you

    what you desire, until the Day of Reckoning.