Sol 6.1

  1. جَوانحُ واجدٍ وجُفونُ سالِ

    ودَمْعُ الحُرِّ عند الخَطْبِ غالِ

    A mourner's ribs, and a consoled man's eyelids;

    a noble man's tears are precious in calamity.

  2. نُبالي بالمصائبِ نازِلاتٍ

    وتُبصِرُنا كأنّ لا نُبالي

    We feel the calamities as they descend,

    yet you see us as though we did not care.

  3. تَدرَّعْنا التّجلُّدَ وانْتصَبْنا

    لدَهْرٍ غيرِ مُنْقطِعِ النِّصال

    We donned endurance as armor and stood

    against a time whose blades are never exhausted,

  4. أمامَ الحادثاتِ ولا نُولّي

    وأَغراضَ النِّبالِ ولا نُبالي

    facing disasters without turning away,

    targets for arrows, yet untroubled.

  5. وما كُنّا بأوّلِ مَن رمَتْه

    على هذا مضَى الأُمَمُ الخَوالي

    We were not the first whom they struck;

    thus passed the nations of old.

  6. فلا تَجْعَلْ إذا نابَتْ خُطوبٌ

    شِعارَكَ ما لِنائبةٍ ومالي

    So when calamities befall, do not make

    your watchword, 'What has misfortune to do with me?'

  7. وخَلّ الدَّهْرَ يَحكُم في بَنيهِ

    كما يَهوَى بإمْرتِه السِّجال

    Let time govern its children

    as it pleases, with its ever-changing rule.

  8. فلا تَحتَلْ لنازلةِ الرّزايا

    فقد أَعيَتْ على كُلِّ احْتِيال

    Devise no stratagem against descending disasters,

    for they have defeated every stratagem.

  9. على أيِّ الجيادِ إذا عرَتْنا

    نَفوتُ خُطا المَقاديرِ العِجال

    Upon what steeds, when they assail us,

    can we outstrip the swift steps of fate?

  10. ستَأْتينا المَنونُ بلا قِتالٍ

    فلِمْ نَسْعَى إليها بالقِتال

    Death will come to us without a fight;

    why, then, hasten toward it through fighting?

  11. يُبارِزُنا الزّمانُ بكُلِّ ضَرْبٍ

    وتَدهَمُنا الخُطوبُ بكُلِّ حال

    Time challenges us with every kind of blow,

    and calamities assail us in every circumstance.

  12. لأمرِ اللهِ خَلْفَ الخَلْقِ رَكْضٌ

    كأنَّ المَرْءَ منه في عِقال

    God's decree races after His creatures,

    as though man were held in its hobble.

  13. أَنُنكِرُ منه تَغْييرَ المَعاني

    وهانَ عليه تَزْييلُ الجِبال

    Do we marvel that it changes conditions,

    when sundering mountains is easy for it?

  14. يُصبِّحُنا الزّمانُ بكُلِّ خَطْبٍ

    ويَشْغَلُ بالحوادثِ كُلَّ بال

    Time greets our mornings with every calamity

    and occupies every mind with disasters:

  15. فيَوماً باللّقاء لِمَنْ نُعادي

    ويَوماً بالفِراقِ لمَنْ نُوالي

    one day with meeting those we oppose,

    another with parting from those we love.

  16. وأيّةُ دُرّةٍ لنظامِ عَلْيا

    ئها قد كان جِيدُ المَجْدِ حال

    And what a pearl! With the strand of her loftiness

    the neck of glory had been adorned.

  17. أهابَ بِرُوحِها داعي المنايا

    فغاب بفَقْدها باقي الّلآلي

    The caller of death summoned her soul,

    and with her loss the remaining pearls vanished.

  18. فكانَتْ في النّساء إذا اعتَبرْنا

    كمَولانا أبيها في الرِّجال

    Among women, when we consider her, she was

    like our lord, her father, among men:

  19. يَمينُ مكارمٍ وَعُلاً ولكنْ

    يَمينٌ لا تُقابَلُ بالشِّمال

    a right hand of noble deeds and loftiness, yet

    a right hand unmatched by any left.

  20. نَعُدُّ لها أَماثِلَ من ذَويها

    وإن كانتْ تُعَدُّ بلا مِثال

    We count her peers among her kindred,

    though she herself was counted peerless.

  21. ونَشْهَدُ بالجميلِ لها صَنيعاً

    وعِلْمُ اللهِ يَشْهَدُ بالجَمال

    We testify to the goodness of her deeds,

    and God's knowledge testifies to her beauty:

  22. كَمالُ العَقْلِ في عُظْمِ الأيادي

    وصِدْقُ القَوْلِ في َكرِم الفِعال

    perfection of mind in the greatness of her favors,

    and truth of speech in the nobility of her deeds.

  23. ففيمَ فجَعْتِ قومَك بالتَّنائي

    وفيمَ جفَوْتِ كُفْؤَك بالزِّيال

    Why, then, did you afflict your people by going far away,

    and why forsake your equal by departing?

  24. فرَهْنٌ بالتّفرُّقِ كُلُّ شمْل

    ونَصْبٌ للتّحوُّلِ كُلُّ حالِ

    Every gathering is pledged to separation,

    and every condition stands exposed to change.

  25. وكُلُّ أَخٍ مُفارِقُه أَخوهُ

    كما قيلَ القَديمُ منَ المقال

    Every brother must be parted from his brother,

    as was said in the words of old.

  26. وشَمْلُ الفَرقدَيْنِ كذاك أيْضاً

    يَؤولُ إلى افْتراقٍ في المآل

    The union of the two Farqad stars, likewise,

    will ultimately come to separation.

  27. وكُنّا قَبلَ رُؤْيتِها عِياناً

    نَعُدُّ مَقالَ ذاكَ منَ المُحال

    Before we saw it with our own eyes,

    we counted such a saying impossible.

  28. ففارقَ فَرقَدُ العَلْيا أَخاهُ

    وأُفرِدَتِ اليَمينُ عنِ الشِّمال

    Then the Farqad of loftiness parted from its brother,

    and the right hand was left apart from the left.

  29. وكان مُزاوَجاً من دُرِّ مَجْدٍ

    به جِيدُ العُلا والمَجْدِ حال

    There had been a matching pair of glory's pearls,

    adorning the neck of loftiness and glory.

  30. فأصبحَ ذلك الحالي بكُرْهٍ

    ومنه الشّطْرُ للأبصار خال

    But that adorned neck became, against its will,

    half bare to the eyes.

  31. وعاد تُؤامُ ذاكَ الدُّرِّ فَذّاً

    وحُسْنُ النّظْمِ في مَثْنَى الّلآلي

    The twin of that pearl became solitary,

    though a string's beauty lies in paired pearls.

  32. برَغْمي أنْ مضَى مَوروثُ عُمْرٍ

    من الأترابِ لا مَوروثُ مال

    Against my wish, he passed, bequeathing years

    to his peers, not bequeathing wealth.

  33. وفارقَ صِنْوُه أَوْحَى فِراقٍ

    وزالَ بهِ الرَّدى أشْجَى زِيال

    His twin parted in the swiftest parting,

    and death bore him away in the saddest departure.

  34. أتاحَ له اللَّيالي وهْو طِفْلٌ

    فِصالَ منيّةٍ قبلَ الفِصال

    The nights allotted him, while still a child,

    death's weaning before the time of weaning.

  35. ولو غيْرُ المَنونِ غزا حِماها

    لَقَوهُ بالفوارسِ والرِّجال

    Had any but death invaded her sanctuary,

    they would have met him with horsemen and warriors.

  36. وسُدِّدَ دُونَها عِشرونَ ألْفاً

    تَزعزعُ فَوقَهمْ عَذَبُ العَوالي

    Twenty thousand would have been arrayed in her defense,

    the pennons of tall spears fluttering above them.

  37. إذا وَردوا بها الهَيْجاءَ ظَمْأَى

    صدَرْنَ من الكُلَى صَدَرَ النِّهال

    When they brought them thirsty into battle,

    the spears returned from kidneys fully slaked.

  38. وُلاةُ البِيضِ أحلاسُ المَذَاكي

    هِضابُ الطَّعْنِ أَقْرانُ النِّضال

    Masters of white swords, constant riders of seasoned steeds,

    mountains of spear-thrusting, champions of archery.

  39. ولو ركضوا على الأفلاك صارَتْ

    أَهِلّتُها طِراقاً للنِّعال

    Had they ridden upon the celestial spheres,

    their crescents would have become layers beneath their horseshoes.

  40. أإخْوتَها الملوكُ بلا ادّعاءٍ

    وأربابَ الكمالِ بلا انتِحال

    O her brothers, kings without pretension,

    and masters of perfection without false claims,

  41. سُراةٌ في ظلامِ الخطْبِ قِدْماً

    وأطْرافُ الذَّوابِلِ كالذُّبال

    noble leaders from of old in calamity's darkness,

    the tips of their slender spears like wicks!

  42. فلو ضَلَّ الكَرى في جُنحِ لَيلٍ

    هدَوْهُ إلى النّواظرِ بالنِّبال

    If sleep went astray in the darkness of night,

    they would guide it to eyes with arrows.

  43. ولو هابَ المَشيبُ جلالَ قَوْمٍ

    جَنَوهُ على المَفارقِ بالنِّصال

    If gray hair feared a people's majesty,

    they would reap it upon heads with their blades.

  44. ولكنْ قلّما أغْنَى احْتيالٌ

    إذا ما حُمَّ مَقْدورُ اغْتِيال

    Yet seldom does a stratagem avail

    when a destined slaying has been decreed.

  45. وما أَعمارُنا إلاّ شُموسٌ

    وهل للشّمْسِ بُدٌّ من زَوال

    Our lifespans are nothing but suns;

    can the sun escape its setting?

  46. أقَلُّ النّاسِ عُمْراً أَكرَمُوهمْ

    وأقصَرُ أكْعُبِ الرُّمحِ الأَعالي

    The noblest people have the shortest lives,

    and a spear's uppermost joints are its shortest.

  47. كسَوْتَ جديدَ حُزنِك غيرَ بالٍ

    وحُزْنُ أبيكَ منه غيرُ بال

    You gave us a new, unworn garment of grief for you,

    and your father's grief over it has not worn thin.

  48. فزِدْتَ بكاءَ جَفنٍ غيرِ راقٍ

    وهجْتَ غرامَ قَلْبٍ غيرِ سال

    You increased the weeping of an eye whose tears had not ceased,

    and stirred the anguish of a heart not yet consoled.

  49. فيا لَهْفي على إنسانِ عَيْنٍ

    عَظيمِ العزِّ مَعْ صِغَرِ المِثال

    How I grieve for that pupil of the eye,

    great in honor, though small in form!

  50. فَدَى كَرماً أخاه منَ المنايا

    ومن مُتحوِّفِ الدّاء العُضال

    He generously ransomed his brother from death

    and from the ravages of incurable disease.

  51. فإن يَكُ في سِنيهِ غدا صغيراً

    فلَمْ يَصغَرْ له كَرَمُ الفَعال

    Though he was young in years,

    the nobility of his deeds was not small.

  52. ومهما أنْسَ من أشياءَ يوماً

    فلا أنْسَ بغُرّتِه اكْتِحالي

    Whatever things I may someday forget,

    I shall not forget his radiant brow as kohl for my eyes,

  53. وخَدّاً منه يَبرُقُ مِلءَ عَيْني

    كما برَق المُهنّدُ ذو الصِّقال

    or his cheek flashing, filling my eye,

    as a polished Indian sword flashes.

  54. وقد وعَد الجميلَ الكَفُّ منه

    كما شَهِدَ المُحيّا بالجَمال

    His hand had promised beneficence,

    as his face bore witness to beauty.

  55. فعَيْني لا تَزالُ الدَّهرَ منه

    مُوكّلَةً بطَيْفٍ من خيال

    Through all time my eye remains, for him,

    entrusted to a phantom of his image.

  56. طلَعْتَ لأعيُنٍ وغَرَبْتَ عنها

    ألا يا قُرْبَ هَجْرٍ من وِصال

    You rose upon eyes and then set from them;

    ah, how close estrangement lies to union!

  57. وكنتَ سرورَ أيامٍ قصارٍ

    غَرسْنَ هُمومَ أعوامٍ طِوال

    You were the joy of a few short days

    that planted the sorrows of long years.

  58. سَماءٌ في سمَاءِ المَجْدِ تَسْمو

    فعاجَلَها المنايا بالزَّوال

    A heaven rising in the heaven of glory,

    till death hastened its setting.

  59. فلا تَنأَى فإنّك من أُناسٍ

    مَصائبُهمْ مصائب للمَعال

    Be not far away, for you are of a people

    whose misfortunes are misfortunes for all nobility.

  60. وكان الموتُ يَعرِفُهمْ كراماً

    فَمدَّ إليهمُ كَفَّ السُّؤال

    Death knew them to be generous,

    so it stretched toward them a beggar's palm.

  61. فلا تَشْكُرْ نَداهُمْ بعدَ هذا

    كَفاهُ ما أَصابَ من النَّوال

    Praise their bounty no further after this;

    what death has gained of their gifts is enough.

  62. فَشُدَّ يَديْكَ مجْدَ المُلْك مِنهمْ

    بأنصارٍ على الخَطْبِ العُضال

    So strengthen your hands, Majd al-Mulk, with men of theirs,

    as helpers against relentless calamity.

  63. هُمُ خُلِقُوا عُلاً وخُلِقْتَ مَجْداً

    فبَينكُما مُناسَبةُ الجَلال

    They were created loftiness, and you were created glory;

    between you lies the kinship of majesty.

  64. ستَجْتَمعانِ في الزَّمَنِ اتّحاداً

    كَجمْعِكُما اعتياداً في المَقال

    You two shall unite as one in time,

    as you are habitually joined in speech.

  65. فلا تَسمَعْ منَ الحدَثانِ أن قد

    سعَى في قَطْعِ ذاك الاِتّصال

    So never heed Time's claim that it has

    striven to sever that connection.

  66. فما سَبَبٌ يَشُدُّ بمِثْلِ هذا

    فَيُمكِنَ أن يَصيرَ إلى انْحِلال

    No cord can be fastened with a bond like this

    and then be able to unravel.

  67. ألا يَكْفي ولو إحْدَى اللّيالي

    كحَلْتَ العَيْنَ منها بالخَيال

    Is it not enough that, if only on a single night,

    you darkened your eye with her phantom?

  68. فقد وجَبَ الذِّمامُ به قَديماً

    وشَبَّ له الوغَى يَومَ النِّزال

    A bond of loyalty was owed for that of old,

    and battle blazed for it on the day of combat.

  69. وذلك كان بعدَ طويلِ عَهْدٍ

    وكُلٌّ للمرائرِ والخِلال

    That was after a long passage of time,

    and all was for firm bonds and friendship.

  70. فكم نَطْوي المَنازلَ في هَوانا

    وآخِرُ مَنزِلٍ تحتَ الرِّمال

    How many stations we traverse in our love,

    while the last dwelling lies beneath the sands!

  71. وفي الدُّنيا الدَّنيّةِ كُلُّ عالٍ

    فَعُقْباهُ إلى ذاك السَّفال

    In this lowly world, every lofty one's

    end leads down to that lowliness.

  72. صلاةُ اللهِ كُلَّ صباح يومٍ

    مُعطّرةً بأنفاسِ الظِّلال

    May God's blessing, every morning,

    perfumed with the breaths of shade,

  73. على الشّخْصِ الّذي شخَص المنايا

    به عنّا وودَّع غيرَ قال

    rest upon the one whom death bore away

    from us, who bade farewell without hatred.

  74. مضَى يَعتاضُ من قَصْرٍ بقَبْرٍ

    ويَنزِلُ سافلاً منَ بَعْدِ عال

    He departed, exchanging a palace for a grave,

    descending low after being high.

  75. وعَزَّ على المُعزِّي أن يُعزّي

    بأكرمِ ذاهبٍ لأَجلّ آل

    Hard it is for the comforter to offer comfort

    to the noblest house for the noblest one departed.

  76. ألا يا ناصراً للدّينِ نَصْراً

    عزيزاً بالجِلادِ وبالجدال

    O champion of the faith, championing it

    mightily with swordplay and debate,

  77. أُجِلُّكَ أن أقولَ اصْبِرْ لدَهْرٍ

    أَجلّك فيه رَبُّك ذو الجَلال

    I honor you too highly to say, 'Be patient with a time

    in which your Lord, the Majestic, has honored you.'

  78. وأنتُ ثِمالُ كلِّ أخي مَعالٍ

    إلى الجَوزاء يَنْظُر من مُعال

    You are the refuge of every man of lofty deeds

    who gazes toward al-Jawza from on high.

  79. وتَكْمُلُ خَلّةٌ في كُلِّ نَدْبٍ

    وأنت كَمُلْتَ في كُلِّ الخِلال

    A single virtue reaches perfection in each noble man,

    but you have attained perfection in every virtue.

  80. خُلِقتُمْ في الأنامِ نجومَ لَيْل

    لها في كُلّ ِداجيةٍ تَلالي

    You were created among mankind as stars of night,

    sparkling in every darkness.

  81. فآخِرُكْم لآخِرِهِمْ هُداةٌ

    كذا كان الأَوالي للأوالي

    The last of you shall guide the last of them,

    as your forebears guided theirs.

  82. فإن يك غابَ عن غابٍ بِشبْلٍ

    زَمانٌ في التّغشُّمِ غَيرُ آل

    If a cub has been borne away from a thicket

    by Time, unstinting in its ruthless assaults,

  83. فنأمُلُ أن ستَخْلُفُه وشيكاً

    شُبولٌ يُقْبِلونَ على تَوال

    we hope he will soon be succeeded

    by lion cubs coming in succession.

  84. وفي بَدْرٍ بأُفْقِك مُستَنيرٍ

    إذا أفْكَرتَ مُسْلٍ عن هِلال

    In a full moon shining on your horizon,

    if you reflect, lies solace for a crescent moon.

  85. فثِقْ باللهِ واستَنْجِدْ بصَبْرٍ

    تَنلْ من عندِه أسنَى المَنال

    Trust in God and seek aid through patience;

    you will obtain from Him the loftiest reward.

  86. ومثْلُكَ للورى مَن سَنَّ صَبْراً

    لأنّك سابِقٌ والخَلْقُ تَال

    A man like you sets mankind the example of patience,

    for you lead, and creation follows.

  87. وأربابُ الحِجا خُلِقوا ليَأْتوا

    خِلافَ صَنيعِ رَبّاتِ الحِجال

    Men of understanding were created to act

    unlike the women behind the curtains.

  88. تَقِرُّ إذا الغَرائبُ بادهَتْنا

    وثَمّ يكونُ مُمتَحَنُ الرّجال

    You remain steady when strange calamities strike us;

    there lies the testing ground of men.

  89. وتَحقِرُ كُلَّ حُزْنٍ أو سُرورٍ

    كذلك كلُّ مَن عرَف اللّيالي

    You disdain every grief or joy;

    so does everyone who knows the nights.

  90. ودونَك نَفْثةَ المَصْدور منّي

    بخَيْلِ الفِكْرِ ضَيّقةِ المَجال

    Take from me the sigh of an ailing breast,

    while thought's horses have little room to range.

  91. فإن قضَتِ الضّرورةُ بارْتحالٍ

    فيا بَيْنَ ارتجائي وارْتحالي

    If necessity decrees departure,

    ah, the distance between my hopes and my departure!

  92. ولم أختَرْ مُفارَقةً ولكنْ

    غدا بك عنك قلبي في اشْتِغال

    I did not choose separation, but

    concern for you has kept my heart from you.

  93. ومَنْ أختارُ بعدَك من هُمامٍ

    وما بعدَ الهُدى غيرُ الضَّلال

    What great man could I choose after you?

    After guidance there is nothing but error.

  94. أتاني عن رسولٍ منكَ قَولٌ

    عرَفْتُ به مُقدَّمةَ المَلال

    A statement reached me through a messenger from you;

    in it I recognized the onset of weariness.

  95. فلا تُعدَمْ قَطوعاً أو وَصولاً

    ولا تُذمَمْ بمَيْلٍ واعْتِدال

    May we never lose you, whether you sever ties or join them,

    and may you be blamed neither for partiality nor for fairness.

  96. بَقِيتَ لنا ونَجْلَك في نعيمٍ

    وفي نِعَمٍ تَدومُ على اتِّصال

    May you and your son remain with us in bliss,

    amid blessings that endure unbroken.

  97. وعِشْتَ من النّوائبِ في أمانٍ

    ودُمتَ منَ السّعادةِ في ظِلال

    May you live secure from calamities

    and remain beneath the shade of happiness.

  98. أيا عَينَ الكمالِ ولا أُحابي

    وقاك اللهُ من عَيْنِ الكَمال

    O essence of perfection—and I do not flatter—

    may God guard you from perfection's evil eye.