Sol 6.1

  1. بَيْنَ سُمْرِ القَنَا وبَيضِ النّصَالِ

    طُرَقُ المُهْتَدينَ والضُلاَّلِ

    Between the dusky spear-shafts and the white blades

    lie the paths of the rightly guided and the astray.

  2. فَإلى الأمنِ والمانةِ أو في

    غَمَراتِ الأَوْجَالِ والآجَالِ

    So either toward security and safety, or into

    the depths of terrors and deaths.

  3. وَمَعَ السّعْدِ والسَّعَادَةِ أوْ بَيْ

    نَ حَنَايا السُّيُوفِ والأَغْلاَل

    And with good fortune and happiness, or

    between the curves of swords and fetters.

  4. أصبحَ الملكُ في ضمانِ عليٍّ

    آمنَ السّربِ ضافيَ السّربال

    Kingship, under ʿAlī’s protection, has become

    secure in its abode, ample in its robe.

  5. في ظلال القنا وقد زالت الهض

    ب بما فوقها زوال الظلال

    In the shade of spears, while the hills

    and all upon them have vanished like shadows.

  6. وسيوفُ الأبطالِ تُرْعِدُ مما

    فعَلَتْ في جماجمِ الإبطال

    And the heroes’ swords tremble at what

    they have done to heroes’ skulls.

  7. كلُّ ماضي الشَّبَا يعوِّدكَ القَتْ

    لَ وإن لم تُعِدَّه للقتال

    Every keen-edged blade accustoms you to

    killing, even if you have not readied it for battle.

  8. مُحْرِمٌ يستحلُّ كلَّ دمٍ بَسْ

    لٍ بِبَسْلٍ منْ حكمه وَحَلال

    Consecrated, it deems every inviolable blood lawful,

    through its own decrees of prohibition and permission.

  9. يَتْرُكُ المعلمينَ في الحربِ كالبُدْ

    نِ وما أُعْلِمُوا به كالنّعال

    It leaves the marked warriors in battle like

    sacrificial camels, their distinguishing emblems like sandals.

  10. يَخْلَعُ الغِمْدَ والحمائلَ مُعْتَا

    ضَاً بلبسِ الأَشْلاَءِ والأَوْصَال

    It casts off sheath and baldrics, taking instead

    a garment of torn flesh and severed limbs.

  11. صَدِئَتْ صفحتاهُ من مُهَجِ القَتْ

    لَى على قُرْبِ عَهْدِهِ بالصّقَال

    Its two flats are rusted with the lifeblood of

    the slain, though it was so lately polished.

  12. عُلّقَتْ فوق مَتْنِه أكْرُعُ النّمْلِ

    وفي حَدِّهِ قُلَوبُ الرِّجَالِ

    Ants’ legs cling above its spine,

    and men’s hearts upon its edge.

  13. شَاحِبٌ ليس من هُزَالٍ ولكنْ

    بالعدا منهُ فَوْقَ كلِّ هُزَال

    Pale, not from wasting, but

    through it the foes suffer wasting beyond all wasting.

  14. مُشْكيلُ الفعلِ بين ماءٍ ونارٍ

    بدعةٌ في الأَضدادِ والأَشْكَال

    Enigmatic in action, between water and fire,

    a marvel among opposites and counterparts.

  15. مثله أذْهَبَ المجيبَ عن الدا

    عي وأرْضَى الدَّنِيْ من المتعالي

    Its like has parted the respondent from

    the caller, and won the lowly redress from the haughty.

  16. هَزَّهُ كلُّ مُعْجِزِ الأَخْذِ والتَّرْ

    كِ مُشِيْحِ الأدْبارِ والإقبالِ

    It has been brandished by every man unmatched in taking and

    leaving, resolute in retreat and advance.

  17. بيمينٍ إذا تَظَلَّمَ منها السيفُ

    عَمْداً أجاره بشمال

    With a right hand: when the sword complains against it,

    he deliberately grants it refuge in his left.

  18. بينما السيفُ كالمجرَّةِ في قَبْضَةِ

    يمناه عادَ مثلَ الهلال

    While the sword is like the Milky Way in the grasp of

    his right hand, it becomes like a crescent moon.

  19. والعوالي شواجرٌ تَصِفُ المو

    تَ بأيمانِ فتيةٍ كالعوالي

    And the tall spears, interlaced, portray

    death in the right hands of youths like tall spears.

  20. أقيلوها وجأجأ الخيل حتى

    شَرِقَتْ بالنجيع أو بالرُّؤَال

    Rest them in the horses’ breasts [uncertain text], until

    they choke on blood or spearheads [uncertain reading].

  21. أنْجُمٌ يَهْتَدِي بها الموتُ

    أوْ تَهْدِي على بُعْدِ شَأوِهَا بالضَّلال

    Stars by which Death finds its way,

    or which, across their far reach, guide into error.

  22. في دُجَى ليلةٍ من النَّفْعِ ليلا

    ءَ أَجَرَّتْ على ثلاثِ ليال

    In the gloom of a pitch-black night of [battle-dust?],

    one that surpassed three nights.

  23. ظلماتٌ تَنَاكَرُ الخيلُ فيها

    غير ما يستبينُ بالتّصْهَال

    Darkness in which the horses cannot recognize each other,

    save for what their neighing reveals.

  24. كما تخَيَّرْتِ في قذاليَ منها

    لم يُرَوِّعْكِ مَفْرِقي وَقَذالي

    As you chose some of that darkness for my nape,

    my parting and nape did not alarm you.

  25. ما يَريبُ الحسناءَ من لونِ شعرٍ

    شَيَّبَتْهُ بين القِلى والتَّفَالي

    What troubles the beauty about the color of hair

    she herself has grayed with aversion and picking through it?

  26. اثبتيهِ فيما تغمدته ثم اشهَ

    دِي لي به على العُذَّل

    Count it among what you have pardoned, then

    testify with it for me against the censurers.

  27. وَهَبيه وَبيضَ تلك الثنايا

    إن أَجَازَتْ عيناكِ عَدْوَى الجمال

    And set it beside the whiteness of those front teeth,

    if your eyes permit beauty to pass from one to another.

  28. ذاك برقٌ لو امتَرى المُزْنَ خِلْنَا

    قَطْرَهُ صَوْبَ مُنْفِسَاتِ اللآلي

    That is lightning which, were it to milk the clouds, we would think

    their drops a shower of the choicest pearls.

  29. أَشبهتْهُ السيوفُ في النَّقْع فاختا

    لتْ وإن لم تكنْ بحين اختيال

    The swords resembled it in the dust, and so

    strutted, though it was no time for strutting.

  30. لكَ ما أحْرَزَتْهُ من باهرِ

    الفَضْلِ وَبَثَّتْ منْ غامرِ الإفضال

    Yours is all they have won of dazzling

    excellence, and all the overflowing bounty they have spread.

  31. لكَ مُدْكُ الملوكِ في البرِّ والبحرِ

    وَأَثناءَ الحلِّ والتّرْحَال

    Yours is the kings’ dominion, on land and sea,

    in times of settling and journeying.

  32. أنت قُدْتَ الجيادَ مثلَ بَنَاتِ

    العُصْمِ أو مثل أُمَّهات الرِّئال

    You have led fine horses like the offspring of

    white-footed ibex, or the mothers of ostrich chicks.

  33. ضُمَّراً كَالقِسِيِّ مُطَّرِدَاتٍ

    كالقنا مُسْتَشِقَّةً كالنبال

    Lean as bows, running straight

    as spears, cleaving the air like arrows.

  34. من منايا الأَوَابِدِ المسْتَفَزَّا

    ت وأقواتِ الضُيّعِ الأَغفال

    Among the dooms of startled wild beasts,

    and the sustenance of the neglected and forgotten.

  35. تَرْتَمِي بالنزالِ في حَوْمَةِ المو

    تِ إذا ما دَعَوْا نَزَالِ نَزَالِ

    Hurling their warriors into the thick of

    death when men call, “To combat! To combat!”

  36. كلُّ رَحْبِ الذِّراعِ في مُلْتَقَى

    الضَيقِ وَرَحْبِ الجَنَانِ رَحْبِ المجال

    Each mighty of arm when confronting

    straits, great of heart and vast in scope.

  37. يملأ الدرعَ نجدةً والحُبَى حلماً

    وصدرَ النديِّ بَذْلَ نوال

    He fills armor with courage, knee-wraps with forbearance,

    and the head of the council with freely bestowed gifts.

  38. كعليٍّ وما الحيا كعليٍّ

    غير أنْ لا مردَّ للأمثال

    Like ʿAlī—yet rain is not like ʿAlī,

    save that comparisons cannot be refused.

  39. وَاهبُ العسكرِ العرمرمِ يلتَفُّ

    على ذي الرياسةِ المختال

    Giver of the vast army that gathers

    around its proudly striding commander.

  40. طبَّقَ الأرض كلما حلّ فيها

    صار فيها جَنْبٌ منَ الزلزال

    It covered the earth; wherever it alighted,

    a share of earthquake came upon it.

  41. تَسْجُدُ الهُضْبُ نَحْوَهُ ولو

    استَعْصَتْ عليه لآدَنَتْ بالزَّوَال

    The hills bow down toward him; if

    they defied him, they would herald their own downfall.

  42. ثلَّ عرشَ العدوِّ منْ دونِهِ حَدُّ

    المُضَاهِي وَحيلةُ المحتالِ

    He shattered the enemy’s throne; beneath him lie the strength of

    the rival and the schemer’s cunning.

  43. مُوغِلاً في البلادِ مُحتكماً في

    حُرُمَاتِ الدماءِ والأَمْوال

    Penetrating far into the lands, ruling at will over

    the sanctity of blood and property.

  44. لا يَمَلَّ النَّدَى وقد تُخْلِف

    الأَنْواءُ حتّى تكونَ مثلَ الآل

    He never tires of giving, though sometimes they fail,

    the rain-stars, till they become like a mirage.

  45. ذاكَ يُعْطي قبلَ السؤالِ

    ولا فَخْرَ فماذا يُعيدُ للسّؤَّال

    He gives before the asking,

    without boasting—what more can he give the petitioners?

  46. ضاقَ ذَرْعُ المُحْصِي وَوُسْعُ المُسَامِي

    ويدُ المجندي وبيتُ المال

    The reckoner’s capacity and the rival’s resources fall short,

    as do the petitioner’s hand and the treasury.

  47. قد جَنَبْتَ العِدَا ذَلولاً وَصَعْباً

    واشتريت العُلا رخيصاً وغالي

    You have led the foe in tow, tractable and unruly,

    and bought high glory, cheap and dear.

  48. وبلغتَ المدى وزدتَ عليهِ

    لا تُبالي وَقَلَّ مَنْ لا يبالي

    You reached the utmost limit and surpassed it,

    without a care—and few are without a care.

  49. إمرةُ المسلمينَ أَيْسَرُ شأنْيْكَ

    إذا خُطّةٌ ثَنَتْ عطف والي

    Command of the Muslims is the easier of your two tasks,

    when a grave affair turns a governor aside.

  50. وَمَحَلُّ السّماكِ أدْنَى مكانَيْكَ

    وإن كانَ عالياً كلَّ عالي

    The station of al-Simāk is the lower of your two stations,

    though it towers above every height.

  51. وَمَحَلُّ السّماكِ أدْنَى مكانَيْكَ

    وإن كانَ عالياً كلَّ عالي

    The station of al-Simāk is the lower of your two stations,

    though it towers above every height.

  52. وجهادُ العدوِّ أوْلى زَمَانَيْكَ

    بطيبِ الغُدُوِّ والآصال

    Of your two seasons, war against the foe is worthier

    of pleasant mornings and evenings.

  53. أوْجَسُوا منكَ خِيْفةً وَتُهابُ

    النَّبْلُ قَبْلَ استِدَادِها بالنّصال

    They sensed fear of you; just so are feared

    arrows, before they are fitted with heads.

  54. لهجوا منْ علاءِ شانكَ باسمٍ

    سوف يَجْري لهم بأَبْرَحِ فال

    They keep repeating a name drawn from your lofty standing,

    which will bring them the direst omen.

  55. يَوْمَ يَغْشَى ديارَهُمْ قَبْلَكَ

    الرُّعْبُ على نَخْوَةٍ بها وَاختيال

    On the day their dwellings are overrun before you

    by terror, despite the pride and swagger within them.

  56. تُقْبلُ الوهدُ فيه بالخفراتِ البيضِ

    والهُضْبُ بالعتاقِ المنَالي

    That day the lowlands come forward with fair, modest maidens,

    and the hills with noble steeds, prizes to be won [uncertain text].

  57. ووراءَ الحُصونِ فَلٌّ من القو

    مِ عيال على بَقَايا العِيَال

    And behind the fortresses, a routed remnant of

    the people, a burden on what remains of their households.

  58. نافَسُوا في الحياةِ واستشعروا الذلَّ

    ولم يَحْفَلُوا بِهُجْرِ المقال

    They vied to live and clothed themselves in humiliation,

    caring nothing for abusive talk.

  59. يحسبونَ العتاقَ من ثائرِ النَّقْع

    ولو كانَ من بُرُودِ الجلال

    They hold their noble steeds back from the rising dust,

    even if it were made of the mantles of majesty.

  60. وَيَرَوْنَ الفِرارَ أوْقَى من القتل

    وَأوْفَى لِرُتْبَةِ الإقْبَال

    They deem flight safer than being killed,

    and more protective of their prosperous rank.

  61. وَيُفَدُّونَ سابحاتِ المذاكي

    بكرامِ الأعْمَامِ والأَخوال

    They ransom their fleet, full-grown horses

    with their noblest paternal and maternal uncles.

  62. يحسبونَ الحياةَ منها وَيَنْسَوْ

    نَ امتدادَ الأعمارِ والآجال

    They think their lives come from them, and

    forget the span of lifetimes and appointed ends.

  63. وَقَفوا حينَ فُتَّ أقصى خُطَاهُمْ

    وِقْفَةَ العاشقينَ في الإطلال

    They stopped when you outstripped their furthest strides,

    like lovers standing among the ruins.

  64. فَقُدِ الخيلَ مُشْرفَاتِ الهوادي

    لاحقاتِ الأَقرابِ والآطالِ

    Then lead the horses, with their necks held high,

    lean-flanked and narrow-waisted.

  65. تتبارى بكل طيارَ كالأَيْمِ

    وَإنْ هجتَهُ فكالرئبال

    Racing with every swift rider, snake-like,

    yet, if you rouse him, like a lion.

  66. باهرٌ في اللئام والطّرفُ لا يَبْهَرُ

    حتى يجولَ مُلْقَى الجلال

    Dazzling in armor; a noble steed does not dazzle

    until it wheels with its coverings cast aside.

  67. يا عليَّ العَلاءِ في كل يومٍ

    والمُغَالَى به على كل حال

    O ʿAlī of loftiness, every day,

    the one held most precious in every circumstance.

  68. يا ربيعَ البلادِ يا غيمةَ العا

    لَم من بين مُؤْتَلٍ وَمُوال

    O springtime of the lands, O raincloud of the world,

    for both the hostile and the loyal.

  69. يا قريعَ الأيامِ عنْ كلِّ مجدٍ

    يا سليلَ الأذواءِ والإقبال

    O champion against the days for every glory,

    O scion of the Dhū-lords and good fortune.

  70. لك من تاشفينَ أو منْ أبي يع

    قوبَ ذكرى مكارمٍ وفعال

    From Tāshfīn or from Abū Yaʿqūb, yours is

    a remembrance of noble qualities and deeds.

  71. نَسَبٌ زادَ رفعةً وجلالاً

    في مدى كلّ رفعةٍ وجلال

    A lineage grown in loftiness and majesty

    through every reach of loftiness and majesty.

  72. واضحٌ كالصباحِ مُتَّسِقٌ كالنجمِ

    مُمْرٍ كالعارضِ الهطَّال

    Clear as morning, ordered as the stars,

    abundantly yielding as the pouring raincloud.

  73. إنْ تُسَائِلْ به يحَدِّثْكَ عَنْهُ

    المجْدُ ثَبْتَ الإسنادِ والأرسال

    If you ask about it, you will be told of it

    by Glory, reliable in linked and unlinked reports.

  74. أنا مِمَّنْ أهلَّ منْ جودِ نَعما

    كَ الغيث مستهل العرالي

    I am one upon whom, from the bounty of your favors,

    rain has poured, streaming from its spouts.

  75. أنا ممنْ أَفْضَى به فَرْحُ لقيا

    كَ إلى فُرْجَةٍ كحلِّ العقال

    I am one whom the joy of meeting you

    has brought to freedom, like the untying of a hobble.

  76. أنا ممنْ أَهْدَى إليكَ القوافي

    غَيْرَ وَحْشِيَّةٍ ولا أهْمَال

    I am one who has offered you rhymes,

    neither wild nor left to stray.

  77. كنجومِ السماءِ يَطْلُعْنَ في الكُتْبِ

    وَيَغْرُبْنَ في صُدُور الرجال

    Like stars of heaven, rising in books

    and setting in the breasts of men.

  78. جادَهَا في بلادِها رائدُ الوَبْلِ

    فأغنى عن نُجْعَةٍ وَارْتحال

    The herald of the downpour watered them in their own land,

    making the quest for pasture and travel needless.

  79. وأقيمتْ لها الصلاة بذكرا

    كَ فكانتْ صلاتها في الرحال

    And prayer was established for them at your mention,

    so their prayer was in their lodgings.