1. راحَ شَيْبي عليَّ مثلَ الثَّغامِ

    وغدا عاذلي ألدَّ الخصامِ

    My gray hair came upon me like white thawgham grass,

    and my reprover became the bitterest of adversaries.

  2. عزَّني في خطابه أنْ رآني

    صارَ بعضي ظهيره في ملامي

    He prevailed over me in his argument when he saw

    that part of me had become his ally in blaming me.

  3. وبحسب المُفَنِّدي بمشيبٍ

    ردَّ غَرْبَ الجماح ردَّ اللِّجام

    Gray hair alone suffices the reprover:

    it checked the edge of rebelliousness as a bridle does.

  4. قنَّعَ الرأسَ ثم لثَّم وجهي

    وكفى بالقِناع دونَ اللثام

    It veiled my head, then masked my face;

    the veil alone was enough, without the mask.

  5. حلَّ رأسي فراعني أن في الشي

    ب نَعِيَّ الصِّبا نذيرَ الحِمام

    It settled on my head; I feared, for in gray hair

    was youth's death-announcer, the herald of death.

  6. راعني شخصُهُ وراع بشَخْصي

    بقر الإنس ساكناتِ الخيام

    Its appearance frightened me, and through my appearance frightened

    the human antelopes dwelling in tents.

  7. فتناهَيْنَ قالياتٍ وِصالي

    وتناهيتُ خائفاً ما أمامي

    They withdrew, hating union with me,

    and I withdrew, fearing what lay ahead.

  8. بل تناهيتُ مُكرهاً بتناهي ال

    بيضِ عنِّي وما انتهتْ أعرامي

    Rather, I withdrew unwillingly because the fair women

    withdrew from me, though my unruliness had not ceased.

  9. كالذي ذَاده السُّقاة عن الما

    ء ولم يشفِ ما به مِنْ أُوامِ

    Like someone whom the water-bearers drive away from water,

    while the burning thirst within him remains unquenched.

  10. حَسْرتي للشَّباب لا بلْ من الشيْ

    بِ لقد طال مُذْ بدا تَحوامي

    My grief is for youth—no, rather, because of gray hair;

    since it appeared, my circling has gone on long.

  11. ذادني عن مواردٍ ليَ كانتْ

    شافياتٍ من الغليلِ الهُيام

    It drove me from watering places that had been mine,

    healing the thirst that maddened me.

  12. حَرُمَتْ بالمشيب أشياء حَلَّتْ

    لي زماناً بإذنِ جَعْدٍ سُخام

    Gray hair forbade things once permitted

    to me for a time by curly, coal-black hair.

  13. لم تُحَلَّلْ لمَنْ أتاها ولكِنْ

    لم يكنْ دونَها من الشيْبِ حامي

    They were never made lawful for those who approached them, but

    no guardian of gray hair had stood before them.

  14. فأتى الآنَ دونَها فهيَ اليوْ

    مَ حرامٌ عليَّ كلَّ الحرام

    Now it has come between us, and today they are

    utterly forbidden to me.

  15. سوأتي أنْ أطعتُ شيْبي فيما

    لم أُطِعْ فيه حاكم الحكَّامِ

    Shame on me for obeying my gray hair in matters

    where I did not obey the Judge of judges!

  16. وعظَ اللَّهُ والكتابُ فصممْ

    تُ وأقدمت أيما إقدام

    God and the Book admonished me, but I turned deaf

    and pressed forward with utter boldness.

  17. ونهى الشيبُ بعد ذاك فسلَّمْ

    تُ وأحجمتُ أيما إحجام

    Then gray hair forbade me, and I submitted

    and held back with utter restraint.

  18. صُمْتُ عن كُل لذّةٍ لمشيبي

    أفلا كان للإله صيامي

    I fasted from every pleasure for my gray hair;

    why was my fasting not for God?

  19. واحيائي أن لا يكون من اللَّ

    هِ حيائي من غيره واحتشامي

    How shameful that my shame and restraint should not be before God,

    but before another!

  20. إذْ تعديتُ لا حياءٌ من اللَّ

    هِ نهاني ولا اتِّقاءُ انتقام

    When I transgressed, no shame before God

    restrained me, nor fear of vengeance.

  21. وتناهيْتُ مُعْظِماً لمَشيبي

    ومَشيبي أحقُّ بالإعظام

    I desisted out of reverence for my gray hair,

    and my gray hair was more deserving of reverence.

  22. أَفَلا هِبتُ ذا المهابة من قب

    لُ وأكرمتُ وجهَ ذي الإكرام

    Why did I not earlier fear the One worthy of awe,

    and honor the face of the Lord of honor?

  23. كاد هذا المتابُ يُعْتدُّ إجرا

    ماً وبعض المتاب كالإجرام

    This repentance almost counts as a crime,

    and some repentance resembles wrongdoing.

  24. توبةٌ مثلُ حَوْبةٍ وقديماً

    أتبعَ الجهلُ زلةً بارتطام

    Repentance like a sin! Long ago,

    ignorance followed a slip with a headlong fall.

  25. دحضتْ حُجَّةُ المنيبِ إلى الشيْ

    ب وأنَّى لطالبٍ بقوام

    The plea of one who turns to gray hair has failed;

    how can such a seeker find firm standing?

  26. أيُّ عذرٍ لتائبٍ لا إلى اللَّ

    ه ولكن إلى شبِيه الثغام

    What excuse has one who repents—not to God,

    but to something resembling thawgham grass?

  27. إن عُذراً من الذهاب إلى اللَّ

    ه لعُذْرٌ يغْلو على المُستام

    An excuse for turning away from God

    is an excuse priced too high for the bidder.

  28. أإلى أرذلي جعلتُ متابي

    ضلَّةً مثلَ ضلةِ الأنعام

    Have I directed my repentance toward my basest part,

    in an error like the error of cattle?

  29. بل إلى الله تبتُ لمَّا ثناني

    بِعِناني وزاعني بزِمامي

    Rather, I repented to God when He turned me back

    by my reins and restrained me by my halter.

  30. راعني بالمشيبِ عمَّا نهى عن

    ه بآي الكتابِ ذي الإحكام

    Through gray hair He frightened me away from what He forbade

    through the verses of the firmly ordered Book.

  31. كم بدا في الكتاب لي من ضياءٍ

    كان مِنْ قبلُ دونه كالقَتام

    How much light appeared to me in the Book,

    where before a dusty haze had stood between!

  32. هَتَك الشيبُ ذلك السِّتْرَ لي عن

    ه فزال العمى وراح التعامي

    Gray hair tore that veil away for me,

    and blindness vanished, and willful blindness departed.

  33. وكِلا الشيبِ والكتابِ جميعاً

    واعِظٌ زاجرٌ عَنِ الآثام

    Both gray hair and the Book alike

    admonish and deter from sins.

  34. غيرَ أنَّ الكتابَ يُكْتَبُ بالأقْ

    لام والشيبُ ليس بالأقلامِ

    Except that the Book is written with pens,

    while gray hair is not written with pens,

  35. بلْ بِرَدْعِ الحوادث المُصْمَئِلّا

    ت ومرِّ الشهور والأعوام

    but through the chastening of grim calamities

    and the passage of months and years.

  36. لن ترى مثلهُ كتاباً مُبيناً

    لا بشكْلٍ لهُ ولا إعجام

    You will never see so clear a book as this,

    without vowel marks or consonant dots.

  37. خُطَّ غُفْلَ الحُروفِ يقرؤه الأُمْ

    مِيُّ كالصبح غير ذي استعجام

    Written with unmarked letters, the illiterate reads it,

    like dawn, without obscurity.

  38. فيه للقارئين أيُّ نذيرٍ

    بِبلَى جِدّة ووشك اخترام

    What a warning it holds for its readers

    of freshness wearing out and imminent destruction!

  39. عاذِلي قد نزعتُ فانزع عن العَذْ

    لِ وإن كنتَ في صواب حَذَام

    My reprover, I have desisted; desist from reproach,

    even if your judgment is as true as Hadhām's.

  40. قد رأيت الذي هويتَ فأرْضَيْ

    تَ وأرغمتَ فارْضَ لي إرغامي

    You have seen what you desired and been satisfied;

    you forced my submission, so be content with it.

  41. حَلَّأتْني الخطوبُ عن شِرَع اللَّهْ

    و فأصبحتُ حائماً في الحيام

    Calamities drove me from pleasure's watering places,

    and I became a circler among the thirsty wanderers.

  42. وأبيها لقد حمتْ سائغاتٍ

    بارداتِ النِّطافِ زُرْقَ الجِمام

    By her father, they have barred sweet waters,

    cold in their drops, blue in their brimming pools.

  43. لن تراني العيون أشرعُ فيها

    فدعِ اللَّومَ ولْيُدَعْ اتِّهامي

    No eyes will see me entering them;

    so leave off blame, and let suspicion of me cease.

  44. متُّ إلا حُشاشةً وادّكارا

    مثل أحلامِ حالمِ النُّوَّام

    I am dead, save for a remnant of life and recollection,

    like the dreams of a dreamer among sleepers.

  45. ومتى ما انقضتْ أجاريُّ طِرْفٍ

    ماتَ إلا صيامَه في المصام

    Whenever a thoroughbred's racing runs are spent,

    it is dead, save for standing in its stall.

  46. غيرَ أنِّي مع انْتِزاعي وإقلا

    عي ودفعي إلى نصيحي خِطامي

    Yet despite my withdrawal and desisting,

    and my handing my halter to my adviser,

  47. قائلٌ قول ذاكرٍ خيرَ عصريْ

    ه طويلِ الحنين والتهيام

    I speak as one remembering the better of his two ages,

    long in yearning and distracted longing.

  48. لهفَ نفسي على الشبابِ الذي أص

    بحَ خَلْفي وذِكْرُه قدّامي

    Alas for the youth that has become

    a thing behind me, while its memory stands before me!

  49. لهْفَ نفسي عليه أن صار حظِّي

    منه لهفاً يُعِضُّني إبهامي

    Alas for it, now that my share

    is grief that makes me bite my thumb!

  50. لهفَ نفسي على الظِّباء اللّواتي

    عاقني عن قَنِيصها إحرامي

    Alas for the gazelles

    whose hunting my consecration has prevented!

  51. لهف نفسي على احتكامي على البِي

    ضِ وإذْعانِهنَّ عند احتكامي

    Alas for my sway over the fair women,

    and their submission when I exercised it!

  52. واقتحامي وللهوى عزماتٌ

    يقتحمْن العِقابَ أيَّ اقتحام

    And my bold plunges—desire has resolutions

    that storm the mountain passes with utter daring!

  53. ودفاعي خلالَ ذلك نفسي

    عن خلاط الحرام بالإلمام

    And my shielding myself amid all that

    from full involvement in the forbidden through mere dalliance!

  54. لهف نفسي على الشراب السّرامِيْ

    ي وإعماله بطاسٍ وجام

    Alas for the Sarami wine,

    and its passing through bowl and goblet!

  55. وعزيفٍ عليه من مُسْمِعات

    وحديثٍ عليه من أخلام

    And music over it from singing women,

    and conversation over it among friends!

  56. وفُكاهاتِ فتيةٍ هُمْ إذا شِئْ

    تُ إدامٌ للْعيشِ خيرُ إدام

    And the jests of young men who, whenever I wished,

    were life's relish—the finest relish!

  57. أخفقتْ رَوْحَتي من الربرب العِي

    ن وطاشتْ من الرمايا سِهامي

    My evening outing among the wide-eyed herd has failed,

    and my arrows have missed their targets.

  58. ولعهدي بهنَّ قبلَ مشيبي

    ينتظمن القلوبَ أيَّ انتظام

    Yet I remember them before my gray hair:

    they threaded hearts with perfect aim.

  59. وقضيتُ الرضاعَ من دِرة الكر

    م لتجريم أربعين تمامِ

    I finished suckling the vine's flowing milk

    when forty full years had been completed.

  60. ولتجريم أربعين قديماً

    يتناهى الرضاعُ بابن المُدام

    At the completion of forty years, from of old,

    the son of wine finishes his suckling.

  61. يا زمانَ الرضاع أرضعكَ المُزْ

    نُ وأكدى على زمانِ الفِطام

    O time of suckling, may rainclouds suckle you,

    and fail to nourish the time of weaning!

  62. دعوةً إنْ تُجَبْ بِسُقْيا وإلا

    فسأسقيك بالدموعِ السِّجام

    A prayer—if answered, you will be watered; otherwise,

    I shall water you with streaming tears.

  63. جارتي إن أكُنْ كبرتُ وأودى

    بعُرامي اتِّقاءُ غِبِّ الأثام

    My neighbor, though I have grown old, and fear

    of sin's aftermath has destroyed my unruliness,

  64. ودعتني النساءُ عمّاً وقد كنْ

    تُ لديهِنَّ من بني الأعمام

    and women call me uncle, though I was

    among their cousins,

  65. فلقد أغتدى يُفَيِّئ غُصْني

    خُيلاءُ الشباب حَيَّ العُرام

    I once went out at dawn, my branch swaying

    with youth's proud grace, my wildness still alive.

  66. تتراءاني الحِسانُ العطابي

    ل جلاء القذى شفاء السَّقام

    The beautiful, stately women would look toward me,

    clearing specks from the eye, curing sickness,

  67. ناظرات بأعيُنِ العينِ نَحْوي

    عاطفاتٍ سوالفَ الآرام

    gazing toward me with wide, gazelle-like eyes,

    bending necks like those of white antelopes.

  68. ولقد أهبِطُ الرياض بصَحبِي

    تتراءى عيونها بابتسام

    And I would descend into gardens with my companions,

    their flower-eyes appearing with a smile.

  69. بُكرةً أو عشيةً يضحك الروْ

    ض ويَبْكي الحمامُ شَجْوَ الحمام

    Morning or evening, the garden laughed,

    and doves wept the sorrow of doves.

  70. نتعاطى بها الكؤوسَ رَواءً

    واصِلي طِيبِها بِطيبِ نِدام

    There we passed brimming cups among us,

    joining their sweetness to the sweetness of companions.

  71. درَّ دَرُّ الصِّبا ودَرُّ مغاني الْ

    لهو لو أنَّها دِيار مُقام

    Blessed be youth, and blessed pleasure's haunts,

    if only they were dwellings where one could remain!

  72. عَدِّ عن ذكر ما مضى واستمرَّتْ

    دون مأتاهُ مِرَّةُ الأوذام

    Turn from the memory of what has passed; tightly twisted

    are the thongs that bar the road back to it.

  73. وفلاةٍ قطعتُها بفَلاةٍ

    كاللِّياحِ الملمَّع الأزلام

    Many a wilderness I crossed on a great she-camel,

    like a white wild bull with mottled limbs.

  74. باتَ في لُجَّةِ الظلامِ فريداً

    تحتَ أهوالِ رائحٍ مِرْزامِ

    He spent the night alone in the depths of darkness,

    beneath the terrors of a thundering evening cloud,

  75. مُطرِقاً يبحثُ الرّوي عن الظَّمْ

    آنِ من عانِكٍ رُكام هيام

    head bowed, scraping the wet sand off the dry

    in deep, heaped, powdery sand.

  76. عَطَفَ اللَّيْلُ هَيْدَبَيْهِ عليه

    وتداعتْ سماؤُهُ بانهدام

    Night folded its two fringes over him,

    and its sky seemed to collapse.

  77. يقق اللَّونِ كالمُلاءةِ إلا

    لُمعاً في شَواهُ مثلُ الوِشام

    Brilliant white, like a sheet, except

    for spots on his extremities resembling tattoos.

  78. ينْتَمي كُلُّهُ إلى آلِ سامٍ

    غير هاتيكَ فهْي من آلِ حام

    All of him belongs to the descendants of Shem,

    except those marks, which belong to Ham's descendants.

  79. تلكَ أو سُفْعَةٌ بخدَّيْهِ تُهْدي

    جُدَّةً في سراته كالعِصام

    Those—or a dark patch on his cheeks—lead

    to a stripe along his back like a strap:

  80. هَنَةٌ قُوِّمتْ وعُوِّجَ منها

    فتراها كأنَّها خَطُّ لام

    a little mark, partly straightened and partly bent,

    so that it looks like a written lām.

  81. خَطّها في القَرا وفي الذَّنَبِ الزَّا

    ئلِ قِسْمَيْنِ أعدلُ القُسَّام

    The most just of dividers drew it upon the back

    and the swaying tail, in two portions.

  82. ذو إهاب يضاحك البرقَ مالا

    حَ وطوراً يضيءُ في الإظلام

    His hide smiles back at lightning whenever it flashes,

    and at times shines in the darkness.

  83. ضُوعِفَ الليْلُ في الكثافةِ والطُّو

    لِ عليه بِمُرْجَحِنٍّ رُكام

    Night was doubled upon him in thickness and length

    by heavy, piled clouds,

  84. وخريقٍ تَلُفُّهُ في كِناس

    عُدْمُليٍّ بجانبيه حوامي

    and a fierce gale wrapping him in a lair,

    long-established, with protective cover on both sides.

  85. دمَّنَتْهُ الأرواحُ قِدْماً فريَّا

    هُ كريَّا حرائرِ الأهضام

    The winds had long strewn it with debris, and its scent

    was like the scent of choice lowland soils.

  86. رقْرقتْهُ الشَّمال والرعد والبَرْ

    قُ وفيْقاتُ وابل سجّام

    The north wind, thunder and lightning shook him,

    and successive bursts of pouring rain.

  87. حرجفٌ لو عداه منها أذى القَرْ

    رِ كفاه دُؤوبُها في المَوامي

    A biting gale—even had its cold spared him,

    its ceaseless passage through the wastes was trouble enough.

  88. وسوارٍ عليه لو كفتِ القَطْ

    ر أطارت كراه بالإرزام

    And night clouds above him—had they withheld their rain,

    their thunder would still have scattered his sleep.

  89. دأْبُهُ ذاك فحمةَ الليل حتَّى

    طلعَ الفجرُ ساطعاً كالضِّرام

    That was his lot through the blackness of night, until

    dawn rose, blazing like fire.

  90. أنقذ الصُّبْحُ شِلْوَهُ من شفا المو

    تِ فأضحى يعلو رؤوس الأكام

    Morning rescued his body from the brink of death,

    and he began climbing the tops of hills,

  91. فرحاً بالنَّجاة ترمي به المَيْ

    عةُ رمْيَ الوليدِ بالمِهزام

    glad of deliverance, his briskness flinging him

    like a child's throw with a play-stick.

  92. بينما الشَّاةُ ناصلاً مِنْ هَنَاتٍ

    بات يَشْقى بِهنَّ ليلَ التمام

    While the wild bull was escaping the afflictions

    that had tormented him through the longest night,

  93. قدْ صحتْ شمسُه وأقفرَ إلا

    من نِعاج خَواذلٍ ونعام

    his sunshine had cleared, and the waste was empty except

    for cows lingering apart and ostriches.

  94. يصْطلي جَمْرةَ النَّهار ويلهو

    بالرخامى وخَلْفَهُ العُلّام

    He basked in the day's burning heat and played

    among rukhama plants, with ʿullam shrubs behind him,

  95. إذ أُتيحتْ له ضوارٍ وطِمْل

    مالهُ غيرَ صَيْدِها من طعام

    when savage hounds and a ragged hunter were brought upon him,

    the hunter having no food but what they caught.

  96. ينتهبن المدى إليْه ويضْرمْ

    نَ له الشَّدَّ أيَّما إضْرام

    They plundered the distance toward him and set blazing

    their pursuit of him with furious speed.

  97. ولديه لهُنَّ إنْ فَرَّ أو كَرْ

    رَ عتاد المفَرِّ والمقدام

    He had ready for them, whether he fled or charged,

    the equipment of the fugitive and the attacker.

  98. فترامتْ به الأجارِيُّ شأواً

    ثم ثابت حفيظة من محامي

    His racing runs carried him far,

    then a defender's fierce resolve returned.

  99. كرَّ فيها بمذوديه مُشيحاً

    فسقاها كؤوسَ مَوْتٍ زُؤام

    He charged among them with his two defending horns, resolute,

    and gave them cups of swift, deadly death.

  100. فارعَوَتْ مِنْ مُرَنَّح وصريع

    ومُوَلٍّ مُهتَّكِ النحر دامي

    They recoiled: one staggered, another lay struck down,

    another fled with torn, bleeding throat.

  101. ومضى يَعْسِفُ النجاء كما زلْ

    ل من المنجنيقِ مِرْدى رِجام

    He rushed headlong into escape, like a stone slipping

    from a stone-hurling catapult,

  102. أو كما انقضَّ كوكبٌ أو كما طا

    رت من البرق شقَّةٌ في غمامِ

    or like a falling star, or a streak

    of lightning flying through clouds.

  103. ذاك شبَّهْتُ ناقتي حينَ راحت

    صخِباً رحلُها كَتُومَ البُغام

    To that I likened my she-camel as she traveled,

    her saddle noisy, her lowing suppressed,

  104. ميلعَ الوخدِ تقذفُ المروَ بالمرْ

    وِ وتَرمي اللُّغامَ بعد اللُّغام

    swift in her stride, flinging flint against flint,

    and casting foam after foam.

  105. كم أجازت إلىالأميرِ عُبَيْدَ الْ

    لهِ حامِي الحمى وراعي الذِّمام

    How often she sped to Emir ʿUbayd Allah,

    guardian of the sanctuary and keeper of pledges!

  106. عبْدَليٌّ مُهَذَّبٌ طاهِريٌّ

    مُصْعَبيٌّ يبذُّ كلَّ مُسامي

    An ʿAbdali, refined, a Tahirid,

    a Musʿabid who outstrips every rival.

  107. فيه جِدُّ الفتى وحِلْمُ المذكِّي

    وحجا الكهل وارتياحُ الغلام

    He has a young man's vigor and a mature man's forbearance,

    an elder's judgment and a boy's eager generosity.

  108. مَلِكٌ حلَّ من سماءِ المعالي

    فوق شمسِ الضُّحى وبدرِ الظلام

    A king who dwells in the heaven of high distinctions,

    above the morning sun and the full moon of darkness.

  109. حلَّ منها محلَّ أنجمها الزُّهْ

    رِ سواقي الغيوثِ والأعلام

    There he occupies the place of its brilliant stars,

    bringers of rain and guiding landmarks.

  110. فهْوَ فيها مغوثة وهدى لل

    ناس عين الجواد والعلّام

    There he is relief and guidance for people,

    the very embodiment of generosity and knowledge.

  111. وهْو من بعد ذاك زينتُها الحُسْ

    نى بذاك السَّنا وذاك الوسام

    And beyond that, he is its fairest ornament,

    with that radiance and that beauty.

  112. وهو رجمٌ لكلِّ عفريتِ حربٍ

    أيُّ سهمٍ أعدَّهُ أيُّ رامي

    He is a missile against every demon of war:

    what an arrow, made ready by what a bowman!

  113. وهْو إنْ مارسَ الخطوبَ فناهي

    كَ به أيُّ واصلٍ صرَّامِ

    When he wrestles with calamities, he is enough for you—

    what a joiner and severer he is!

  114. ذو هناتٍ بهنّ يلتئمُ الصَّدْ

    عُ إذا قلتَ لاتَ حينَ التئام

    He possesses abilities by which a breach is mended

    when you say, 'There is no time left for mending.'

  115. ثاقبُ الفِكرِ ما تمهَّلَ في الرأْ

    يِ شديدُ الإسداء والإلحام

    Penetrating in thought when he takes time over judgment,

    firm at setting its warp and weft.

  116. فإذا بادَه الحوادثَ بالرأ

    ي أصاب الصَّوابَ بالإلهام

    When he meets events with an immediate judgment,

    he reaches the right answer through inspiration.

  117. ألْمَعِيٌّ مُوَفَّقٌ بهدى اللَّ

    ه لدى الخُطَّةِ العَياء العَقام

    Quick-witted, granted success through God's guidance

    before the baffling, barren difficulty.

  118. وإذا الشكّ خالجَ الرأيَ أمضى

    رأيَهُ عزْمُ عازمٍ مِجْذام

    When doubt unsettles judgment, his decision is carried through

    by the resolve of a decisive man.

  119. لا كإمْضاءِ جاهلٍ عجرفيٍّ

    يركبُ الرأيَ قبل شَدِّ الحزام

    Not like the rash decision of an ignorant, arrogant man

    who mounts an opinion before tightening the girth.

  120. صاحبُ السيف والمكائدِ والنق

    ضِ لتلك الأمور والإبرامِ

    Master of the sword, stratagems, and undoing

    and firmly settling those affairs.

  121. لا تراه يخِفُّ للمستخفّا

    ت ولا يستكينُ للآلام

    You never see him made frivolous by frivolities,

    nor subdued by pains.

  122. جبلُ الأرضِ ذو الشماريخِ والأط

    وادِ والناسُ حوله كالرُّضام

    The earth's mountain, possessed of peaks and towering masses,

    while people around him are like small stones.

  123. صاحبُ الدعوةِ التي ردت الحقْ

    قَ على أهله برغم الرغام

    Master of the call that restored right

    to its rightful people, in defiance of humiliation.

  124. والذي أسرعَ الإجابةَ واستعْ

    جل قبل الإسراج والإلجام

    The one who hastened to answer and hurried

    before saddling and bridling.

  125. صاحبُ النصرةِ التي شفعتْ نُصْ

    رةَ أهل الفسيل والآطام

    Master of the aid that reinforced the aid

    of the people of palm shoots and fortresses.

  126. صاحبُ الشرطةِ الذي انهزم الطَّا

    غوتُ إذْ كافحتهُ أيَّ انهزام

    Master of the police, before whom the tyrant fled

    when he confronted him—what a rout!

  127. صاحبُ الراية المظفَّرة السَّوْ

    داء تهفو على الخميسِ اللُّهام

    Master of the victorious black banner,

    fluttering over the mighty army.

  128. صاحبُ الحربةِ التي تنفث المو

    تَ كنفْثِ الأفعى زُعافَ السِّمام

    Master of the spear that spits death

    as a viper spits deadly venom.

  129. لم يزل شاملَ المنافع للأمْ

    مَة طُرّاً مَأْمُومِها والإمام

    He has always extended his benefits to the whole community,

    both its followers and its leader.

  130. حاملُ الظرف والسلاح جميعاً

    حين لا يُجمعان في الأقوامِ

    Bearing refinement and arms together

    when they are not joined among other people.

  131. صارمُ القلبِ واللسانِ إذا ما

    كَهَمَتْ شَفْرَةُ الجبانِ الكَهام

    Keen of heart and tongue when

    the dull coward's blade has blunted.

  132. يغتدي من بني عُطاردَ في السِّلْ

    مِ وفي الحربِ من بني بهرام

    In peace he is among ʿUtarid's sons,

    and in war among Bahram's sons.

  133. ذو البيانِ المُبينِ عن حجة اللَّ

    ه وليس المبينُ كالتمتام

    Possessed of eloquence that makes God's proof clear:

    the articulate man is not like the stammerer.

  134. ذو اليد الثرَّة المُقبَّلةِ الظَّهْ

    رِ وأفواهُ حاسديه دَوامي

    Possessed of a bountiful hand whose back is kissed,

    while his enviers' mouths bleed.

  135. باطنا راحتَيهِ زمزم تُمتا

    حُ وظهراهما فركنا استلام

    The insides of his palms are Zamzam, drawn from;

    their backs are two corners touched in reverence.

  136. مَلِكُ تُمْطِرُ المواهبَ كفّا

    ه كما انهلّ صيِّبُ الودْقِ هامي

    A king whose two hands rain gifts,

    as a pouring raincloud spills its downpour.

  137. لم يزل كل عاجل من عطايا

    ه بشيراً بآجلٍ مستدامِ

    Every immediate gift of his has always been

    good tidings of a later, lasting gift.

  138. وكأنّ المؤمِّلين يمتّو

    ن إليه بأقرب الأرحام

    It is as though those who hope in him claim connection

    through the nearest ties of kinship.

  139. أمَلُ الآملينَ إيَّاه زُلْفَى

    لهمُ عنده وحَبْلُ اعتصام

    The hopeful people's hope in him brings them closeness

    with him, and a rope to cling to.

  140. في يَدَيْ كُلِّ ذي رجاء وخوفٍ

    عروةٌ منه غير ذاتِ انفصام

    In the hands of everyone possessed of hope or fear

    is a hold upon him that never breaks.

  141. وهو كالكَعْبَةِ المُصلِّي إليها ال

    ناسُ من بين مُنْجِدٍ وتَهامي

    He is like the Kaaba toward which people pray,

    whether from Najd or Tihama.

  142. قِبْلةُ الآملينَ مُنْتَجَعُ الرَّا

    جين مأوى الضِّعاف والأيتام

    The hopeful people's prayer-direction, the seekers' resort,

    shelter of the weak and the orphans.

  143. معقلُ الخائفينَ عند اللُّتيَّا

    والتي بعدها وأزمِ أزامِ

    Stronghold of the fearful amid the lesser calamity,

    the greater that follows, and the direst distress.

  144. يتَّقي جودُهُ صُلولَ القناطي

    رِ كما يُتَّقَى صُلولُ اللِّحام

    His generosity guards against treasure's rotting,

    as one guards against the rotting of meat.

  145. والقناطيرُ لا تَصِلُّ ولكنْ

    منعها الحقَّ أيُّما اسْتذمام

    Treasure does not rot, but

    withholding its due earns utter censure.

  146. وصلولُ اللِّحام يُسْقِمُ لكن

    سقَمُ البخلِ أبرح الأسقام

    Rotting meat causes illness, but

    the sickness of avarice is the worst of sicknesses.

  147. وكذا الماءُ طيِّبٌ ما استقوْهُ

    آجنٌ آسِنٌ على الإجمام

    Likewise, water is sweet while people draw it;

    left standing, it grows tainted and stale.

  148. يعذُبُ الموردُ الذي يُستقى من

    هُ ولا تعذبُ المِياهُ الطَّوامي

    The watering place from which water is drawn grows sweet,

    but deep, standing waters do not.

  149. يجتبى المال من مجابيه بالعَدْ

    لِ ويُعطيه غيرَ ما ظلّام

    He collects wealth from its sources with justice,

    and gives it without being oppressive.

  150. أرخصتْ كفُّهُ العطايا وأغْلَتْ

    حَمْدَ سُوَّامِها على السُّوَّام

    His hand has made gifts cheap and made costly

    the praise their seekers owe, even to the seekers.

  151. ليس ينفكُّ من عطايا تُبارِي

    سائراتٍ خواطرَ الأفهام

    He never ceases giving gifts that compete,

    speeding along, with the mind's passing thoughts.

  152. حاصلاتٍ وهُنَّ من عظم القَدْ

    رِ كَبَعْضِ المُنَى أوِ الأحلامِ

    Already received, yet in their vast worth

    like wishes or dreams.

  153. وعطايا كوامن في المواعي

    د كُمونَ الثِّمارِ في الأكمام

    And gifts lie hidden within promises,

    as fruits lie hidden within their husks.

  154. فعطاياهُ دانياتٌ يدَ الده

    رتوالَى كأنَّها في نظام

    His gifts remain close at hand throughout time,

    coming in succession as though strung on a thread.

  155. ساعياتٌ إلى رجالٍ قُعودٍ

    سارياتٌ إلى أناسٍ نيامِ

    Going to men who sit still,

    traveling by night to people asleep.

  156. مُعفَياتٌ من السؤالِ مصفَّا

    ةٌ ألا هكذا عطاء الكرامِ

    Free of asking, pure—

    yes, such is the giving of noble men!

  157. مُعْفِياتٌ من الهوانِ وجوهاً

    عبَّدتها مُطالَباتُ اللِّئام

    Sparing faces the humiliation

    to which demanding gifts from the base had enslaved them.

  158. أمسكَ السائلونَ عنه وكانوا

    قبلهُ للملوكِ كالغُرَّام

    Petitioners ceased asking him, though

    before him they had pursued kings like creditors.

  159. نَهْنهتهُم لُهىً له ليس تنفكْ

    كُ على المُقْترينَ ذات ازدحام

    His gifts restrained them, gifts that never cease

    crowding upon those in want.

  160. فوفودُ السؤال عنه قُعودٌ

    مَقْعَدَ الحامدين لا اللُّوام

    Delegations of petitioners sit back from him

    in the place of praisers, not reproachers.

  161. ووفودُ السلامِ والشكرِ يغدو

    ن قياماً إليه بعدَ قيام

    Delegations of greeting and thanks come

    standing before him, one gathering after another.

  162. ساهرٌ لا ينامُ عن حاجةِ السّا

    هر حتى يذوق طعمَ المنام

    Wakeful, he does not sleep through a wakeful man's need

    until that man tastes the sweetness of sleep.

  163. ويصونُ الوليّ بالجاه والما

    لِ كصونِ الكَميِّ نصلَ الحسام

    He protects his ally with standing and wealth,

    as an armored warrior protects a sword's blade.

  164. ما هُمَا للْوَليِّ إلا كغِمْدَيْ

    ن لديه كصارم صمصام

    For his ally, those two are only like two sheaths,

    while the ally stands beside him like a cutting sword.

  165. وحقيقٌ بذاكَ مَنْ أوَّلوهُ

    كالنواصي والناسُ كالأقدام

    He deserves that, whose forebears

    were like forelocks, while other people were like feet.

  166. ضربتْ تحتَهُ عُروقٌ نوامٍ

    فتعالتْ به فروعٌ سوامي

    Growing roots struck deep beneath him,

    and lofty branches rose high through him.

  167. نعمةُ اللَّهِ عند من وصل اللَّ

    ه به أُختَ نعمةِ الإسلام

    God's blessing rests with one through whom God joined

    a sister blessing to Islam's blessing.

  168. ذاك فيه الأمانُ من كبة النَّا

    رِ وهذا جارٌ من الأيام

    In that is safety from the plunge into the Fire;

    this is a protector from the days.

  169. في ذَراهُ يُستبدَلُ العِزُّ والثَّرْ

    وة من ذِلةٍ ومن إعدام

    In his shelter, honor and wealth replace

    humiliation and destitution.

  170. مُسْتَحِقٌّ نُعمَى الإله عليه

    حقَّ فضلِ المِنعام للْمنعامِ

    He rightly deserves God's bounty upon him,

    as one giver of bounty rightly favors another.

  171. إنِّ مَنْ يرتجي سواهُ لكالذا

    هبِ عن ربِّه إلى الأصنام

    Whoever hopes in anyone else is like one departing

    from his Lord to idols.

  172. يظلمُ الحاسدونَ إذْ حسدوهُ

    وهْو في ماله شريكُ الأنامِ

    The envious act unjustly when they envy him,

    for he shares his wealth with all mankind.

  173. غيرَ حُسّاده على الشِّيَمِ الغُرْ

    رِ اللواتي سلمْنَ من كُلِّ ذام

    Except those who envy his radiant qualities,

    which have escaped every fault-finder.

  174. فهُمُ منصفونَ في ذاكَ لا شكْ

    كَ لدى المُنْصفينَ في الأحكام

    They are just in that, without doubt

    among those who judge fairly.

  175. هل يُعرَّى امرؤٌ من الحسدِ المَحْ

    ضِ على نيلِ أفضلِ الأقسام

    Can anyone be free of pure envy

    for gaining the finest portions?

  176. أنا من حاسديه لكنني لس

    تُ بباغ نُعماه غيرَ الدَّوام

    I am among his enviers, but I seek

    nothing for his blessings except continuance.

  177. حسدي أنَّني أريدُ لنفسي

    بعض أخلاقه بغير اكتتام

    My envy is that I wish for myself

    some of his virtues, without concealment.

  178. وإذا حاسدٌ صفا من غليل

    فهْوَ في وزْن عاشقٍ مُسْتهامِ

    When an envier is free of rancor,

    he is equivalent to an enraptured lover.

  179. لستَ تَدْرِي نثاه أحلى مذاقاً

    أم سماعاً من ألسُنِ الأقوامِ

    You cannot tell whether his good name is sweeter to taste

    or to hear from people's tongues.

  180. رُبَّ نُعمَى له عليَّ ونُعمَى

    وأيادٍ له لديَّ جِسام

    How many blessings he has bestowed on me, blessing after blessing,

    and mighty favors he has done me!

  181. حطَّ ثِقلَ الخراجِ عنِّي وقد كا

    ن كأركانِ يَذْبُلٍ وشمام

    He lifted the burden of land tax from me, though it had been

    like the masses of Yadhbul and Shamam.

  182. وأراني الضِّياعَ مالاً وقد كن

    تُ أرى ملكَها كبعضِ الغرام

    He showed me estates as wealth, though I had been

    seeing their ownership as a kind of penalty.

  183. كفَّ من سورة ابن بسطامَ عنِّي

    وهْي مشبوبةٌ كحرِّ الضّرام

    He checked Ibn Bistam's fury against me,

    blazing as it was like the heat of fire.

  184. وأراهُ بنورهِ حَقَّ مِثْلي

    وهْو مُذْ كان موقِظُ الأفهام

    With his light he showed him the right of one like me;

    he has always awakened understanding.

  185. فقضى حاجتي وكان كسَيْفٍ

    هُزَّ فاهتَزَّ وهْوَ غيْرُ كَهام

    So he fulfilled my need and was like a sword

    shaken into motion, not a dull one.

  186. هزَّهُ ماجدٌ يناصح في الهزْ

    زِ هُمَامٌ مُتَوَّجٌ لهُمام

    A noble man shook it, sincerely guiding that motion:

    a crowned, high-souled champion for a champion.

  187. ومُحالٌ ألّا يقومَ بما قلْ

    لَدَهُ الأولياءُ كُلَّ القِيامِ

    It is impossible that he should fail to discharge

    what his allies entrusted to him, to the fullest.

  188. وهْو ممَّنْ تقدَّمَ الناسَ كالرَّأ

    سِ وممن علاهُمُ كالسنام

    He is among those who lead people like the head,

    and rise above them like a camel's hump.

  189. فجزاهُ الإلهُ عنِّي خُلوداً

    ونعمياً في ظِلِّ دار السلام

    May God reward him on my behalf with immortality

    and bliss in the shade of the Abode of Peace,

  190. بعدما يعم البقاء به الدنْ

    يا صحيحاً ممتَّعاً ألفَ عامِ

    after his survival has blessed the whole world,

    healthy and enjoying life for a thousand years.