Sol 6.1

  1. وما حيوان في الرياض ممايلا

    معاين ضراب بجولتي

    And what animal sways in the gardens,

    Witnessing blows during my roaming?

  2. تراه إذا أسقطت حرفا بجزئه

    الظمإ عليل لسطوتي

    You see it, if you omit a letter from part of it,

    Ailing with thirst beneath my might.

  3. إذا أنت قدمت الحروف فعكسه

    وضعفته بالعلو بيت الأحبتي

    If you move the letters forward, then its reverse,

    And you double it on high: the house of the beloveds.

  4. وإن زدت حرفا بعد جزئيه سمه

    ضعيف الحجا يوما بحسن أسوتي

    And if you add a letter after its two parts, call it

    Weak of mind, one day, by my good example.

  5. وإن زدت جزءا بعد جزئيه فاعلمن

    بأن بلوج الصفا قطع حجتي

    And if you add a part after its two parts, know for certain

    That al-Safa's gleaming cut short my argument.

  6. وإن زدت بعد الفك حرفين إنه

    عدو لكفار بحبل الشريعة

    And if you add two letters after separating it, it is

    An enemy of unbelievers, with the cord of sacred law.

  7. وما شيء لم يمكن بغير طهارة

    وذا ناقص قد قرروه بحيلتي

    And what thing is impossible without ritual purity?

    And this is deficient; they have established it through my stratagem.

  8. وإن أنت أسقطت الأخير فإنه

    فريضة إسلام برب البرية

    And if you omit the last, it is

    An obligation of Islam, by the Lord of creation.

  9. وإن اسقطت المقدم إنه

    يسمى حروفا للنحاة كحلتي

    And if you omit the first, it

    Is called particles by the grammarians, like my robe.

  10. وإن وسطا أسقطته صار مالكا

    لغيره أو غيرته بذل ثروتي

    And if you omit a middle letter, it becomes an owner

    Of something other than itself; or, if you alter it, the giving of my wealth.

  11. وإن وسطا قدمته هذا رمسه

    وإن صحفت أجزاؤه عين فطنتي

    And if you put a middle letter first, this is its grave.

    And if its parts are re-dotted, it is the very essence of my discernment.

  12. وما آكل ليلا وقد باء مفطرا

    وذاك أوان الصوم عجل بفطرتي

    And who eats at night, having already returned no longer fasting,

    And that is fasting time—hasten with my fast-breaking meal?

  13. وما هو شخص آكل في صيامه

    نهارا أو ذا في العمر صح بفتوتي

    And who is a person eating during his fast

    By day—or is this, in a lifetime, valid through my youthful vigor?

  14. وما امرأة قد أبطلت صوم يومها

    بضحة فاعجب للعلوم المريتي

    And what woman has invalidated her day's fast

    With [unclear word]; then marvel at the [unclear] sciences.

  15. وما شيء إن أسقطت أماحه

    فقد زال عن قبح وعن فطم خيبتي

    And what thing, if you omit its [unclear part],

    Has then departed from ugliness and from the weaning of my disappointment?

  16. وما هو شخص حاكم في جميعنا

    وليس له عقل وروح كصخرتي

    And who is a person ruling over us all,

    Yet has no mind or soul, like my rock?

  17. وما هو في قبر وقبره سائر

    ومن هو في غيب وهو في حضرتي

    And what is in a grave, while its grave is moving?

    And who is in the unseen, while he is in my presence?

  18. وما هو لفظ في الحقيقة واحد

    وإن شيئته فعلا أو اسما بكلمتي

    And what expression is, in truth, a single one,

    And if you make it a verb or a noun, through my word,

  19. وإن شيئته حرفا بقصرك مظهر

    خليلي خليلي ذاك فوق خيبتي

    And if you make it a particle, it is manifest through your shortening?

    My friend, my friend, that is above my disappointment.

  20. وما سنّة لم يجز في الليل فعلها

    وما واجب لم يجز إلا في ليلتي

    And what sunnah practice may not be performed at night?

    And what obligatory act is permitted only in my night?

  21. وما هو دواء القلب عند فنائه

    وما موضع التنزيل طب الجريحتي

    And what is the heart's remedy at its annihilation?

    And where is revelation's abode, the remedy for the wounded one?

  22. وما هو بيت في العروض مركب

    ببحرين فالأفلاك فيه حمرتي

    And what verse in prosody is composed

    In two meters—the celestial spheres within it are my redness?

  23. وما أفضل الشيخين بين مكانه

    وقيت الردى حبا ووقت المنيتي

    And which of the two shaykhs is superior? Make his station clear,

    May you be spared ruin, out of love, and the hour of death.

  24. ومن هو قبل الراح لعسه

    نبي الورى فافهم مكان خصبيتي

    And who, before the wine, was licked by

    The Prophet of humankind? Understand the place of my fertility.

  25. ومن هو شيء قد أضاء في فوقه

    وإن زلته حرفا فجمرا لكرعيتي

    And what thing has shone at its top,

    And if you remove a letter from it, then embers for my [unclear word]?

  26. وكم من جبال في القفار ممدة

    وكم من نجوم في السماء المضيئتي

    And how many mountains lie stretched across the wastes,

    And how many stars are in the shining sky,

  27. وكم من حيتان في البحور صلبة

    وكم من سطور في الطروس القديمة

    And how many sturdy whales are in the seas,

    And how many lines are on the old pages,

  28. وكم شعرة في الجسم لبت مكانها

    وما اسم طيور في الهواء مغيضتي

    And how many hairs on the body have stayed in their place,

    And what is the name of birds in the air—my thicket?

  29. وما كبير قد أطال عنانه

    أهيل الدهر في حل عقدتي

    And what great one has lengthened his rein,

    Dear folk of the age, in untying my knot?

  30. وأين مقر النوم عند نزوله

    وأين حلول العشق بين الخليقتي

    And where is sleep's resting place when it descends?

    And where does love dwell among creation?

  31. وأين يكون الليل وقت بروزه

    وغلسة بالأقدار جاءت بوصمتي

    And where is night when it emerges?

    And predawn darkness came, by fate's decrees, with my stain.

  32. وما اسم نلا يلذ سماعه

    وإن صحفت أجزاؤه فهو بغضتي

    And what name—[unclear word]—is delightful to hear,

    And if its parts are re-dotted, it is my hatred?

  33. وحمدا لرب العرش حمد متيم

    مدى الدهر إجلالي لديه تحيتي

    And praise to the Lord of the Throne, the praise of one enslaved by love,

    For all time: my reverence before Him is my greeting.

  34. اصلي صلاة طبق أرض وضدها

    إلى منتهى العلم القديم بذلتي

    I offer a prayer spanning the earth and its opposite,

    To the utmost reach of eternal knowledge, with my humility.