Sol 6.1

  1. أَجَلتُ لِحاظي في الرِياضِ الرَمائثِ

    وَنَزَّهتُ فكري في فُنونِ المَباحثِ

    I let my glances roam through gardens thick with ramth shrubs,

    And let my thought stroll through the branches of inquiry.

  2. وَشاهَدتُ مَجموعاً حَوى العلمَ كُلَّه

    فَأَولُ مَكتوبٍ وَثانٍ وَثالثِ

    And I beheld a compilation encompassing all knowledge:

    The first written work, the second, and the third.

  3. فَيا حُسنه مِن جامِعٍ لِفَضائلٍ

    جَليلٍ على نَيلِ المَعارفِ باعثِ

    So how splendid a compendium of virtues it is,

    Noble, inspiring the attainment of learning!

  4. لَحازَ لِسانَ العُربِ أَجمَعَ فَاِغتَدى

    نِهايةَ مُرتادٍ وَمَطلَبَ باحِثِ

    It surely embraced the whole tongue of the Arabs and so became

    The seeker's ultimate goal and the researcher's aim.

  5. بِهِ أَزهَرَت لِلأَزهَريِّ رِياضُهُ

    فَأَنوارُها تَجلو دَياجي الحَوادثِ

    Through it al-Azhari's gardens burst into bloom,

    So their lights dispel the dark nights of misfortune.

  6. وَصَحَّت بِهِ لِلجَوهَريِّ صِحاحُه

    فَلا كسرَ يَعروها وَلا نقرَ عابِثِ

    And through it al-Jawhari's Ṣiḥāḥ became sound,

    So no fracture afflicts it, nor any meddler's pecking.

  7. وَسادَ بِهِ بَينَ الأَنامِ ابنُ سيدةٍ

    فَمحكمُهُ ما فيهِ عيثٌ لِعايثِ

    And through it Ibn Sidah rose to eminence among humankind,

    So his Muḥkam bears no havoc wrought by a despoiler.

  8. وَبرّ ابنُ بريٍّ وَصَحَّت بِنَقدِهِ الص

    صحاحُ اِستَقَلَّت في بَراثِنِ ضابثِ

    And Ibn Barri did well; his critique made sound the

    Ṣiḥāḥ, rising aloft in a grasper's claws.

  9. وَللجزريِّ ابنِ الأَثير نِهايَةٌ

    إِذا قُرِئَت أَزرَت بِسَمعِ المَثالِبِ

    And al-Jazari, Ibn al-Athir, has his Nihāyah,

    Which, when read, puts listening to detractions to shame.

  10. وَكُلّ مُجَلٍّ إِذ تَقادَمَ عَهدُهُ

    وَلَيسَ المُصلّي في السباقِ بِرابِثِ

    And each is a front-runner, his day long since past;

    Yet the runner-up in the race is no laggard.

  11. وَإِنَّ جَمالَ الدينَ جَمَّلَ كُتبَهُمُ

    بإصلاحِ ما قَد أَوهَنوا مِن رَثائِثِ

    And indeed, Jamal al-Din adorned their books

    By repairing the worn remnants they had weakened.

  12. لَقَد فاقَهَم عِلماً وَزادَ عَلَيهِم

    وَأَنّى بِبادي الفتخ حُرج الأَباغِثِ

    He indeed surpassed them in learning and rose above them.

    And how can throngs of lesser birds compare with the broad-winged one?

  13. تَجمَّع فيهِ ما تَفَرَّقَ عِندَهُم

    وَأَربى عَلَيهِم بِالعلوم الأثائِثِ

    In him was gathered what was scattered among them,

    And he surpassed them in luxuriant learning,

  14. بنثرٍ كَشِبهِ الزَهرِ غِبَّ سَمائِهِ

    وَنَظمٍ كَمثلِ الزَهرِ بِالسحرِ نافثِ

    With prose like blossoms just after their rain,

    And verse like blossoms, breathing enchantment.

  15. لَهُ قدمٌ في ساحةِ الفَضلِ راسِخٌ

    وَمَجدٌ قَديمٌ لَيسَ فيهِ بِحادثِ

    He has a foot firmly planted in the field of excellence,

    And ancient glory, to which he is no newcomer,

  16. وَنسبةُ علمٍ كابِراً بَعدَ كابرٍ

    فَمِن خَيرِ مَوروثٍ إِلى خَيرِ وَارثِ

    And a lineage of learning, great forebear after great forebear,

    Thus from the finest forebear to the finest heir.

  17. حَفيظٍ لِأَسرارِ المُلوكِ أَمينها

    عَليمٍ بِتَصريفِ الخُطوبِ الكَوارثِ

    A vigilant keeper of kings' secrets, their trusted custodian,

    Well versed in managing calamitous affairs.

  18. بِهِ افتخرت قحطانُ وَاشتَدَّ أَزرُها

    وَباهت بِهِ الأَملاكَ أَبناءُ يافثِ

    In him Qahtan took pride, and her back grew strong;

    And Japheth's sons vied with kings in boasting of him.

  19. وَلا بَرِحَت روحُ الجَمالِ مُقيمَةً

    بِعَدنٍ لَدى الحُورِ الحِسانِ الأَواعثِ

    And may Jamal's soul forever dwell

    In Eden, beside the lovely, soft-bodied houris.