Sol 6.1

  1. الهجر أروحُ من وصلٍ على حذرٍ

    والموتُ أطيبُ من عَيشٍ على غرَرِ

    Parting is more restful than a union fraught with fear,

    And death is sweeter than a life in peril.

  2. كيف السُّلُوُّ ومالي مشتكا حَزَن

    إلا الدموعُ ووسواسٌ من الفكرِ

    How can I find solace, when I have no outlet for grief

    But tears and the whisperings of thought?

  3. إذا رأيت محباً نال بُغيَتَه

    وأمَّنَته لياليه من الغِيَرِ

    Whenever I see a lover who has attained his desire,

    And whose nights have kept him safe from fortune's reversals,

  4. تَوَقَّدَت جمراتُ الشوقِ في كِبَدي

    وَكِدتُ أُتلفُ من همي ومن حَسَري

    The embers of longing flare within my liver,

    And I nearly perish from my anguish and regret.

  5. يا ويح رُوحي لقد طالت شِقاوتُها

    لو أنها في يدي قَصَّرتُ من عُمُري

    Alas for my soul—its misery has lasted so long!

    Were it in my hand, I would shorten my life.

  6. بالله يا مقلتي جودي فإن قصرت

    بك الدموعُ فذوبي أنت وانحدري

    For God's sake, my eye, pour freely; and if you run short

    Of tears, then melt yourself and stream down.

  7. إني بلوتُ أخلائي فما زُكِنُوا

    عند الحِفاظ ولا طابوا على الخَبَرِ

    I have tested my close friends: they were not known

    For loyalty, nor did they prove good upon trial.

  8. مُثَبِّطين عن العلياءِ طَالبها

    رَاضِين من دوَل الأيامِ بالنظَرِ

    Holding back from the heights whoever seeks them,

    Content merely to watch the days' changing fortunes.

  9. إن أَذنَبوا فعتابي غيرُ مُستمع

    وإن هَفَوتُ فَذَنبي غيرُ مُغتَفر

    If they do wrong, my reproach goes unheard;

    And if I slip, my fault is unforgiven.

  10. وجدتُ أَخوَنَهم من كان أوثقهم

    وخيرَهم شَرَّهم في الحادثِ الخَطَرِ

    I found their most treacherous was the one most trusted,

    And their best, their worst in a perilous crisis.

  11. إذا هَشَتُ إليه قال مُختَدِعٌ

    ضاقت يداه فوافي يرتجى مَطَري

    If I greet him warmly, he says, 'A schemer—

    His hands are straitened, so he has come hoping for my rain.'

  12. وإن تَقَبَّضتُ عنه قال ذو صَلَفٍ

    أثرى فقد لَحِقَته زَهوةُ البطرِ

    And if I draw away from him, he says, 'An arrogant man—

    He has grown rich, and insolent pride has overtaken him.'

  13. وإن تَرِأسَ اولاني مباعدةً

    وضنَّ عني بالتسليم والنَّظرِ

    And if he becomes a leader, he keeps me at a distance,

    And withholds from me both greeting and glance.

  14. وصرتُ في ثِقل أُحدٍ عندهَ ورأى

    في طلعتي رأيَ أهلِ الرَّفضِ في عُمَرِ

    And I become as heavy as Mount Uhud to him; he regards

    My face as the Rafidites regard Umar.

  15. فلا تَثِق بأخٍ تُرضيك صحبتُه

    وَكُن من الصَّاحِبِ الأدنى على حَذَرِ

    So do not trust a brother whose company pleases you,

    And be on guard against your closest companion.

  16. ليس الصديقُ الذي ترضى بصحبته

    إلا المشاركُ في الإعسارِ واليُسُرِ

    The friend whose company you cherish is none other

    Than one who shares in hardship and ease,

  17. ومَن يقيك إذا نَابَتكَ نائبةٌ

    وقايةَ المرءِ عينَه من العَوَرِ

    And who shields you when calamity befalls you,

    As a man shields his eye from blindness.

  18. إذا رضيتَ فعبدٌ في خلائقه

    وإن غَضِبتَ فكالصَّمصامة الذكرِ

    When you are pleased, he is a slave in his manners;

    And when you are angry, he is like the hard-steeled Samsama sword.