Sol 6.1

  1. رَأَيتُ زِياداً يَجتَويني بِشَرِّهِ

    وَأُعرِضُ عَنهُ وَهوَ بادٍ مَقاتِلُه

    I saw Ziyad treating me with spiteful aversion,

    and I turn away from him, though his vulnerable spots lie exposed.

  2. وَكُلُّ امرىءٍ واللَهُ بِالناس عالِمٌ

    لَهُ عادَةٌ قامَت عَلَيها شَمائِلُهُ

    And every man—and God knows mankind—

    has a habit on which his character is founded.

  3. تَعَوَّدَها فيما مَضى مِن شَبابِهِ

    كَذَلِكَ يَدعو كُلَّ أَمرٍ أَوائِلُه

    He acquired it in the bygone days of his youth;

    so every affair is drawn onward by its beginnings.

  4. وَيُعجِبُهُ صَفحي لَهُ وَتَحمُّلي

    وَذو الجَهلِ يُحذي الفُحشَ مَن لا يُعاجِلُه

    And my pardoning him and my forbearance delight him;

    a fool heaps abuse on whoever does not swiftly retaliate against him.

  5. فَقُلتُ لَهُ ذَرني وَشَأنيَ إِنَّنا

    كِلانا عَليهِ مَعمَلٌ فَهوَ عامِلُه

    So I told him: Leave me to my affairs, for we

    each have a task laid upon us, and each must perform it.

  6. فَلَولا الَّذي قَد يُرتَجى مِن رَجائِهِ

    لَجَرَّبتَ مِنّي بَعضَ ما أَنتَ جاهِلُه

    Were it not for what may be hoped for by placing hope in him,

    you would have experienced from me some of what you do not know.

  7. لَجَرَّبتَ أَنّي أَجلِبُ الغَيَّ مَن غَوى

    عَليَّ وَأَجزي ما جَزى وَأُطاوِلُه

    You would have found that I bring ruin on whoever does wrong

    to me; I repay him in kind and strive to outlast him.

  8. كَما كُنتَ لَو آخَيتَني لَوَجَدتَني

    أُكارِمُ مَن آخَيتُهُ وَأُباذِلُه

    Likewise, had you been a brother to me, you would have found me

    vying in generosity with whomever I take as a brother, and sharing freely with him.

  9. وَذو خَطلٍ في القَولِ ما يَعتَرِض لَهُ

    مِنَ القَولِ مِن ذي إِربَةٍ فَهوَ قَائِلُه

    And one reckless in speech—whatever comes his way

    of words from a shrewd man, he repeats them.

  10. ونَمٍّ ظَنونٍ مُستَظَنٍّ مُلَعَّنٍ

    لُحومُ الصَديقِ لَهوُهُ وَمآكِلُه

    And a tale-bearer, untrustworthy, suspected, much accursed—

    a friend's flesh is his pastime and his fare.

  11. تَجاوَزتُ عَمّا قالَ لي واحتَسَبتُهُ

    وَكانَ مِنَ الذَنبِ الَّذي هوَ نائِلُه

    I overlooked what he said to me and sought reward for bearing it;

    and it was among the sins he himself would incur.

  12. فَقُلتُ لِنَفسي والتَذَكُّرُ كَالنُهى

    أَتَسخَطُ ما يَأَتي بِهِ وَتُماثِلُه

    So I said to myself—and reflection is akin to reason—

    Do you resent what he does, yet imitate him?

  13. فَكَدَّ قَليلاً ثُمَ صَدَّ وَقَد بَنَت

    عَلى كُرهِهِ أَنيابُهُ وَأَنامِلُه

    He strove a little, then turned away; already blunted were

    his fangs and fingertips, against his will.

  14. فَما إِن تَراني ضَرَّني إِذ تَرَكتُهُ

    بِظَهري وَأَشقى الناسِ بِالشَرِّ فاعِلُه

    So you see he did me no harm when I left him

    behind me; evil's doer is the one who suffers most from it.

  15. وَمُؤتَمَنٍ بِالسِرِّ أَوثَقتُ سِرَّهُ

    مَع القَلبِ مَقروناً بِهِ لا يُزايِلُه

    And a trusted confidant—his secret I bound

    to my heart, tied to it, never to part from it.

  16. وَأَسمَعتُ مَن أَخشى عَليهِ مَغازِلَ ال

    حَديثِ وَأَحراسُ الحَديثِ مَغازِلُه

    And I let the one I fear for hear the spindles of

    speech; speech's guardians are its spindles.

  17. وَصاحِبَ صِدقٍ ذي حَياءٍ وَجُرأَةٍ

    يَنالُ الصَديقَ نَصرُهُ وَفواضِلُه

    And a true companion, possessed of modesty and courage,

    whose help and bounties reach his friend,

  18. كَريمٍ حَليمٍ يَكسِبُ الحَمدَ والنَدى

    إِذا الوَرَعُ الهَيّابُ قَلَّت نَوافِلُه

    generous and forbearing, who gains praise and bounty,

    when the cautious, timorous man's gifts grow few—

  19. مَدَدتُ بِحَبلِ الودِّ بَيني وَبينَهُ

    كِلانا مُجِدٌّ ما يَليهِ وَواصِلُه

    I stretched affection's cord between myself and him;

    each of us diligently tends his own end and keeps it joined.

  20. وَغَيثٌ مِن الوَسمِيِّ حُوٌّ تِلاعُهُ

    تَمَنَّعَ زَهواً نَبتُهُ وَسَوابِلُه

    And a pasture fed by early autumn rains, its gullies dark green,

    its plants and drooping stalks rising proudly beyond reach,

  21. كَأَنَّ الظِباءَ الأُدمَ في حُجُراتِهِ

    وَجُونَ النَعامِ شاجِنٌ وَجَمائِلُه

    as though the tawny gazelles in its recesses

    and the dark ostriches were Shajin and his camel herds.

  22. هَبَطتُ إِذا ما الآلُ آضَ كَأَنَّهُ

    عِضاهٌ تَرَدّى بِالمُلاءِ أُطاوِلُه

    I descended into it when the mirage had become as though it were

    thorn trees, their tallest draped in mantles.

  23. تَسَمَّعتُ وَاستَوضَحتُ ثُمَّ استَجَزتُهُ

    بِأَبيَضَ مَلحوبٍ قَواءٍ مَنازِلُه

    I listened and looked closely, then crossed it

    by a pale, well-trodden track, its halting places deserted,

  24. عَلى ذاتِ لَوثٍ أَو بِأَهوَجَ وَشوَشٍ

    صَنيعٍ نَبيلٍ يَملأُ الرحلَ كاهِلُه

    on a powerful she-camel, or a headlong, nimble male,

    well-tended and noble, his withers filling the saddle,

  25. لِأُدرِكَ نُجحاً أَو أُسلّيَ حاجَةً

    وَهَمُّ القَصيرِ الباعِ داءٌ يُماطِلُه

    to gain success or soothe a longing;

    and the worry of a man of little reach is a sickness that delays him.

  26. يَهُمُّ وَلا يَمضي وَيرتَدُّ أَمرُهُ

    إِذا قامَ ناهيهِ عَليهِ وَعاذِلُه

    He plans but does not press on, and his purpose recoils

    when his restrainer and his reprover rise against him.