Sol 6.1

  1. يا مُودِعَ السِّرِّ دُرّاً عنْدَ أَجفاني

    ومُتْبعَ السِّرِّ إيصاءً بكِتْمانِ

    O you who deposited the secret as pearls beside my eyelids,

    And followed the secret with instructions to conceal it,

  2. وخاتِماً لي على العَيْنَيْنِ في عَجَلٍ

    يومَ الوَداعِ وقد غابَ الرَّقيبان

    And hastily set a seal upon my two eyes

    On the day of farewell, when the two watchers were absent,

  3. بخاتِمٍ من عَقيقٍ أَحمرٍ عَجَبٍ

    ونَقْشُه باللّآلي البِيضِ سَطْران

    With a wondrous ring of red agate,

    Its engraving in white pearls forming two lines:

  4. أَمِنْتُ إنسانَ عيني أَنْ يَنمَّ به

    أَيّامَ ما مِن وفاءٍ عند إنْسان

    I trusted my eye's pupil not to betray it,

    In days when no human being possessed loyalty.

  5. لم يُغْرِ بي غَيْرُ شانٍ في وِشايته

    والنّاس بالبُعْدِ لا يَدْرونَ ما شاني

    None informed against me but a malicious tale-bearer,

    While people far away knew nothing of my condition.

  6. لم تَحْكِ يا دمعَ عيني عند قاتلتي

    غداةَ تَرجمْتَ عن بَثّي وأَشجاني

    O tear of my eye, before my slayer you resembled

    That morning when you interpreted my anguish and sorrows,

  7. إلاّ العِبادِيَّ زيْداً عند مَوقفِه

    مُترجِماً عند كِسْرَى قَولَ نُعْمان

    None but Zayd al-'Ibadi at his audience,

    Interpreting Nu'man's words before Kisra.

  8. للهِ بدْرٌ وأطرافُ القنا شُهُبٌ

    يَجلوهُ فيهِنَّ من صُدْغَيْهِ لَيْلان

    A wondrous full moon, by God, with spearpoints for shooting stars!

    His temple-locks, two nights, reveal him among them.

  9. تقولُ للبدرِ في الظَّلماءِ طَلْعتُه

    بأَيِّ وجهٍ إذا أقبلتُ تَلْقاني

    His countenance says to the moon in the darkness:

    With what face will you meet me when I approach?

  10. وجْهُ السّماءِ مِرآة لي أُطالِعُها

    والبدرُ وَهْناً خيالي فيه لا قاني

    The face of heaven is a mirror I gaze into;

    The moon at night met me there as my own reflection.

  11. لم أنسَه يومَ أبكاني وأضحكَهُ

    وُقوفُنا حيثُ أرعاه ويَرعاني

    I have not forgotten him that day: what made me weep and him laugh

    Was our standing where I watched him and he watched me.

  12. كلٌّ رأي نفْسَه في عَيْنِ صاحبه

    فالحُسْنُ أَضحكَه والحُزْنُ أَبكاني

    Each saw himself in his companion's eye:

    Beauty made him laugh, and sorrow made me weep.

  13. قد قوَّس القَدَّ توديعاً وقرَّبني

    سَهْماً فأبعدَني من حيثُ أدناني

    He bowed his stature in farewell and drew me close

    As an arrow, then sent me far by the very act that brought me near.

  14. وكنتُ والعِشْقَ مثْلَ الشّمعِ مُعتلِقاً

    بالنّارِ أَبقيْتُه جَهلاً فأفناني

    I, with love, was like wax clinging

    To fire: in ignorance I kept it alive, and it consumed me.

  15. يا مَنْ بطَرْفٍ وقَدٍّ منه غادرَني

    مُتَعتَماً بينَ مَخْمورٍ وسَكْران

    O you whose glance and stature left me

    Faltering between wine-dazed and drunk,

  16. لِمْ فَتْلُ صُدغَيكَ طولَ الدَّهرِ تُلبسُه

    أذْنَيْكَ قَيْداً وقلبي عندك العاني

    Why do you forever make your twisted temple-locks adorn

    Your ears as fetters, when my heart is your captive?

  17. والسّاحران هما العينانِ منك لنا

    فلِمْ يُعاقَبُ بالتَّنكيسِ قُرْطان

    The two sorcerers you work upon us are your eyes;

    Why, then, are two earrings punished by being hung head-down?

  18. أخشَى عليك وقد أضَرَرْتَ مُعتدِياً

    عُقْبَى جنايةٍ طَرْفٍ منكَ فَتّان

    I fear for you, now that you have wrongfully done harm,

    The consequences of a crime by your bewitching glance.

  19. ففي زمانٍ مُغيثُ الدّينِ سائسُهُ

    لا يَجسُرُ الدَّهرُ إبقْاءً على جان

    For in an age whose ruler is Mughith al-Din,

    Time dares not spare a criminal.

  20. أعلى السّلاطينِ في يَوْمَيْ وغىً وندىً

    رأياً وأفضلُ في سرٍّ وإعلان

    Highest of sultans on days of battle and bounty,

    In judgment, and most excellent in private and in public.

  21. لا يملأُ العينَ منه نظْرةً أحدٌ

    ويَملأُ الأرضَ منْ عدلٍ وإحْسان

    No one can gaze his fill at him,

    Yet he fills the earth with justice and beneficence.

  22. في القلبِ منه مكانٌ لا يُتَيِّمُه

    أجفانُ بيضٍ ولكنْ بِيضُ أجفان

    In his heart is a place not enthralled

    By fair women's eyelids, but by white blades in scabbards.

  23. لم يَعْهدوا كمَضاءٍ في صَوارمه

    في سَيْفِ غِمْدٍ ولا في سَيْفِ غُمْدان

    They have never known an edge like that of his cutting swords

    In a sheathed sword, nor in Sayf of Ghumdan.

  24. أَغرُّ تَمتَحُ من قُلْبِ القُلوبِ له

    حُمْرَ المياهِ دِراكاً سُمْرُ أشْطان

    A radiant lord, for whom, from the wells of hearts, are drawn

    Red waters in rapid succession by brown well-ropes.

  25. سُيوفُه البيضُ ما لم تُجْرِ بَحْرَ دمٍ

    في عَيْنه كَسرابٍ عند ظَمْآن

    His white swords, unless they send a sea of blood flowing,

    Are in his eyes a mirage before a thirsty man.

  26. تَكِلُّ إن سار عَيْنُ الشّمس عنه سناً

    حتّى تَودُّ لو انْصانَتْ بأجفان

    When he rides out, the sun's eye is wearied by his radiance,

    Until it wishes it could shield itself with eyelids.

  27. لكنْ مِظَلَّتُه تُضْحي مَسَدَّتَها

    فَيتّقي نورَها منه بإكْنان

    But his parasol by day takes their place,

    So the sun's light shields itself from him by taking cover.

  28. إذا بدا طالعاً في سَرْجِ سابقةٍ

    في يومِ هَيْجاءَ أو في يومِ مَيْدان

    When he appears, rising in the saddle of a swift mare,

    On a day of battle or a day in the riding-ground,

  29. والطَّرْفُ حاكي رياح أَربع حَملَتْ

    قَصراً وفارِسُه حاكي سُلَيمان

    His steed resembles four winds that bore

    A palace, and its rider resembles Solomon—

  30. مَن خاتِمُ المُلكِ في يُمناهُ صارِمُه

    فلا يُخافُ عليه خَطْفُ شَيطان

    One whose sharp sword in his right hand is the seal of kingship,

    So no devil's snatching it away need be feared.

  31. بل مَتْنُه الدَّهْرَ فيه من سياستهِ

    إذا نظرْتَ إليه حَبْسُ جِنّان

    Indeed, its flat forever holds, by his governance,

    When you look upon it, a prison for jinn.

  32. يا آخِذَ الأرضِ بأساً ثُمّ مُعطِيَها

    جُوداً فللنّاسِ منه الدَّهرَ يومان

    O you who seize the earth by might, then give it away

    In bounty; mankind has two days from him throughout time.

  33. مَن لو تَصافنَ ماءَ البحرِ عَسْكرُه

    لَما استَتمَّ لهمْ في الشُّرْبِ دَوْران

    One whose army, were it to share out the sea's water,

    Would not have enough for two rounds of drinking.

  34. مَن يَرتدي بحديدِ الهندِ منْ شَرَفٍ

    ويُنْعلُ الخيلَ راجيهِ بعِقْيان

    One who, in nobility, clothes himself in Indian iron,

    While his hopeful petitioner shoes horses with pure gold.

  35. لا غرْوَ إنْ وَسَمَتْ أَيدي الجيادِ له

    مناكبَ الأرضِ من قاصٍ إلى دان

    No wonder if his steeds' forefeet have branded

    The earth's shoulders, from far away to near.

  36. فأنتِ وُسِّمتِ أَيضاً يا سماءُ له

    فما هِلالُكِ إلاّ نونُ سُلْطان

    For you too, O heaven, have been branded for him:

    Your crescent is only the letter nun in 'sultan.'

  37. لمّا امتطَى الخيلَ والأفلاكَ لاح له

    بالنّارِ والنُّورِ للأبصارِ وَسْمان

    When he mounted horses and the celestial spheres, there appeared for him

    Two brands to men's eyes, of fire and light.

  38. يَسترزِقُ الوحْشُ مثلَ الإنْس نائلَه

    من كفِّ مطْعامِ خَلْقِ اللهِ مِطْعان

    Wild beasts, like humankind, seek sustenance from his bounty,

    From the hand of one who feeds God's creatures and thrusts his spear.

  39. يَقْري الوَليَّ ويُقْرَى بالعدوِّ إذا

    ما ضافَهُ جائعاً نَسْرٍ وسِرْحان

    He feeds his ally and offers his enemy as fare whenever

    A hungry vulture and wolf come as his guests.

  40. كم يَغْتدي كلّما شاءَ القنيصَ له

    غُرٌّ على الغُرِّ من خَيلٍ وغِلْمان

    How many set out for him at dawn whenever he desires the hunt:

    Fair-faced pages upon white-blazed horses.

  41. وفي الكنائنِ منهمْ والأكفِّ معاً

    إلى وُحوشِ الفلا جُنْداً خليطان

    In their quivers and their hands alike,

    Two intermingled armies advance toward the wilderness beasts:

  42. من كُلِّ سَهْمٍ وشَهْمٍ طائرٍ بهما

    من مُستعارٍ ومَمْلوكٍ جناحان

    Of every arrow and bold bird, borne in flight by

    Two wings—the borrowed and the owned.

  43. زُرْقٍ جَوارحَ أَو زُرْقٍ جَوارحَ قد

    علِقْنَ منهمْ بأيسارٍ وأَيْمان

    Blue wounders, or blue-eyed birds of prey, already

    Hung from their left sides and right hands.

  44. وكلُّ مُستَردَفٍ يَعْدو الحصانُ به

    مثْلُ السّبايا قُعوداً خلْفَ فُرسان

    And every creature borne pillion, the horse galloping with it,

    Is like captives seated behind horsemen.

  45. تَقولُ خاطَتْ له ثوباً رشَتْهُ بهِ

    من فأرِ مسْكٍ فتيقٍ أُدْمُ غِزْلان

    You would say they sewed it a robe and sprinkled it

    With musk from opened pods—the tawny gazelles.

  46. كأنّ في كلِّ عضْوٍ منه من شَرَهٍ

    إلى التَّقنُّصِ مفْتوحاتِ أَعيان

    As though in every limb of it, from its ravenous eagerness

    For hunting, there were wide-open eyes.

  47. وأَغضفٍ مثلِ نجْم القَذْفِ من سَرَعٍ

    إذا عدا لاحقِ الأحشاء طيَّان

    And a droop-eared hound, swift as a shooting star,

    When it runs, its belly drawn tight, lean and hungry.

  48. تَعودُ في كفِّه حَظْفاً وَسيقتُه

    كأنّها قَبْسةٌ في كَفِّ عَجْلان

    Its quarry comes back into its paw in a flash,

    Like a firebrand in a hurried man's hand.

  49. فاسْألْ يُجِبْكَ خَبيرُ القومِ عن مَلكٍ

    يَداهُ والجودُ في الدُّنيا حليفان

    Ask, and one who knows the people will tell you of a king

    Whose hands and generosity are allies in this world.

  50. ما بالُ تصويرِ أُسْدٍ في سُرادقه

    وليس تُملأُ خَوفاً منه عَيْنان

    What need is there to depict lions on his pavilion,

    When no two eyes can gaze their fill for fear of him?

  51. والأُسْدُ إن كان يومَ الصَّيْدِ يُبْصِرُها

    يُقَدْنَ قُدّامَه قَوْداً بآذان

    And if he sees lions on a hunting day,

    They are led before him, led by their ears.

  52. هل ذاك إلاّ لأنَّ المُستَجيرَ بهِ

    يُعيضُه الدَّهرُ إعزازاً بإهْوان

    Is this for any reason but that whoever takes refuge with him

    He forever rewards with honor in exchange for humiliation?

  53. يا عادلاً عَدْلُه والجودُ في قَرَنٍ

    وقائلاً قولُه والفِعْلُ تِرْبان

    O just one, whose justice and bounty share one yoke,

    And speaker, whose word and deed are peers!

  54. إنْ كان في عَدْلِ نُوشروانَ مُفتخَرٌ

    والنّاسُ في عَهْدِه عُبّادُ نيران

    If there is pride to be taken in Nushirwan's justice,

    Though the people in his reign worshipped fires,

  55. فأنتَ تكْبرُ عن شِبْهٍ تُقاسُ به

    لكنْ وزيرُك نُوشروانٌ الثّاني

    You are too great to be measured against a likeness,

    But your vizier is a second Nushirwan.

  56. ليس السّعادةُ إلاّ كالكتابِ ولا

    حُسْنُ اخْتيارِ الفَتى إلاّ كعُنوان

    Good fortune is nothing but a book, and

    A man's wise choice is nothing but its title.

  57. فَرغْتَ للدّينِ والدُّنيا تَسوسُهما

    وأنت ملآنُ من عُرْفٍ وعِرفان

    You have devoted yourself to religion and the world, governing both,

    Filled with beneficence and knowledge.

  58. ذو همّةٍ في سماءِ المجدِ عاليةٍ

    من دونِ أقصرِ سَمكَيْها السِّماكان

    Possessed of an ambition high in the heaven of glory,

    Below even its lower height lie the two Simaks.

  59. لا يَهْتدي الفَلَكُ الأعلى لغايتها

    فدَوْرُه المُتمادي دَوْرُ حَيران

    The highest sphere cannot find that ambition's utmost reach;

    Its ceaseless turning is the turning of one bewildered.

  60. مَلْكٌ إذا ما توالَتْ نَظْرتانِ له

    فَعَدِّ عن ذِكْرِ بِرْجيسٍ وكِيوان

    A king: if two of his glances follow one another,

    Then leave all mention of Birjis and Kiwan aside.

  61. محمودٌ اسْماً وفعْلاً في مَمالكِه

    بكلِّ ما ساسَ من رِزْقٍ وحِرْمان

    Mahmud by name, praised in deed throughout his kingdoms,

    In all that he governs, granting provision or withholding it.

  62. تَقْضي كواكبُ أطرافِ الرّماح له

    على المُلوكِ بنَصْرٍ أو بِخذْلان

    The stars at his spearpoints pass judgment for him

    Upon kings, granting victory or defeat.

  63. أضحَتْ علامةُ باللهِ اعتصمتُ له

    على فُتوحٍ عَذاريَ مثْلَ بُرهان

    His signature, 'In God I have sought refuge,' has become

    A proof attesting virgin conquests.

  64. كفعلِ مُعْتصمٍ باللهِ قام فلَمْ

    يُعهَدْ كفَتْحَيْهِ للإسلامِ فَتحان

    Like al-Mu'tasim bi'llah's deed: he rose, and never

    Were two conquests known for Islam like his two,

  65. في الرُّومِ والخُرَّميّينَ الّذينَ طغَوْا

    وسْطَ الممالكِ دَهْراً أيَّ طُغْيان

    Against the Rum and the Khurramites, who had rebelled

    Amid the kingdoms for an age—what a rebellion!

  66. كذاكَ نرجوكَ للفتْحَيْنِ في نَسَقٍ

    وقد تَشبَّه أَزمانٌ بأزمان

    So we hope for two conquests from you, one after another,

    For ages have indeed resembled other ages.

  67. يا زائداً عُظْمَ شأنٍ كلّما نظروا

    لا زلتَ ذا عُظْمِ شأنٍ يُرغم الشّاني

    O you who grow in greatness each time men look,

    May you always possess a grandeur that thrusts the hater's nose into dust.

  68. إذا نظَرْتَ إلى قِرْنٍ قضَى فَرَقاً

    فأنت عن سلِّ سَيْفٍ للعدا غان

    When you glance at an adversary, he dies of fear,

    So you have no need to draw a sword against your enemies.

  69. تقبيلُ كفِّكَ وهْيَ البحرُ غوصُ فمي

    للقول فيك على دُرٍّ ومَرْجان

    Kissing your hand, which is a sea, is my mouth's diving

    For pearls and coral with which to speak of you.

  70. حَتّام كَفِّيَ مَلأْى من لُها مَلكٍ

    وسَمْعُه من ثنائي غَيْرُ ملآْن

    How long shall my hand be full of a king's gifts,

    While his hearing is not filled with my praise?

  71. إنْ كان في النّاسِ مَنْ كُفرانُ أنعُمه

    كُفْرٌ فكُفرانُ مَوْلَى الأرضِ كُفْران

    If, among men, ingratitude for someone's favors

    Is unbelief, then ingratitude to the earth's lord is ingratitude indeed.

  72. إلى كَنيِّ النّبيِّ ابْنِ السَّميِّ له

    من الملوكِ سَرتْ بي كُلُّ مِذْعان

    To him who shares the Prophet's kunyah, son of his namesake,

    Among kings, every docile mount bore me by night.

  73. حَرْفٌ تُصرَّفُ في حَلٍّ ومُرتَحَلٍ

    تَصريفَ حرْفٍ بتحْريكٍ وإسْكان

    A lean she-camel turned about in halting and departure,

    Like a letter varied by movement and stillness.

  74. فاسْمعْ فدَى العبدُ سَمْعاً دُمتَ مرعيَهُ

    فليس خلْفَ المعاني مثْلُ إمعاني

    So listen—may this servant ransom your ear; may you ever tend it—

    For no one pursues meanings as deeply as I do—

  75. بديعةً تَتلقّاها الرُّواةُ لها

    حيثُ انتهَتْ من عِراقٍ أو خُراسان

    To a wondrous poem that reciters welcome,

    Wherever it arrives, in Iraq or Khurasan.

  76. إنِ لم تكنْ قَبلَ حسّانٍ فرائدُها

    فإنّ مُهديَها من جيلِ حَسّان

    If its unique pearls do not rank ahead of Hassan's,

    Its giver is of Hassan's people.

  77. إذا يَمينُ أميرِ المؤمنينَ غدا

    وقد تسوَّرها فالفَخْرُ أغناني

    If the Right Hand of the Commander of the Faithful should begin the day

    Wearing it as a bracelet, pride alone will enrich me.

  78. أضحى سريرُك قد حَفَّ الكُفاةُ بهِ

    كأنّه البيتُ مَحْفوفاً بأركان

    Your throne is now surrounded by capable men,

    As though it were the House, ringed with pillars.

  79. فليس يَنْفكُّ من قُرْبٍ ومن بُعُدٍ

    يَحُجُّ أذْراءه عيسٌ برُكبان

    From near and far, there never cease

    To make pilgrimage to its precincts pale camels bearing riders.

  80. فعِشْتَ في ظلِّ مُلْكٍ لا انْحسارَ له

    حليفَ جَدٍّ وفيٍّ غيرِ خَوّان

    May you live beneath the shade of a kingship that never recedes,

    Allied to faithful fortune, never treacherous.

  81. جدَّدْتَ ما أبْلَتِ الأيّامُ من أدَبٍ

    فدُمْتَ للمُلْك أو يَبْلَى الجديدان

    You have renewed the letters that the days had worn away;

    May you endure for kingship until day and night, the ever-new pair, wear out.