Sol 6.1

  1. حَبيبٌ سَرى في خُفيَةٍ وَعَلى ذُعرِ

    يَجوبُ الدُجى حَتّى اِلتَقَينا عَلى قَدرِ

    A beloved traveled by night in secrecy and fear,

    traversing the darkness until we met as fate ordained.

  2. تَشَكَّكتُ فيهِ مِن سُرورٍ وَخِلتُهُ

    خَيالاً أَتى في النَومِ مِن طَيفِهِ يَسري

    So great was my joy that I doubted he was real, and thought him

    a dream-vision of him, come gliding through sleep.

  3. وَأَفرَطتُ مِن وَجدٍ بِهِ فَدَرى بِنا

    عَلى ساعَةِ الهِجرانِ مَن لَم يَكُن يَدري

    I was so unrestrained in my longing for him that we became known,

    at the hour of parting, to those who had not known.

  4. وَما الحُبُّ ما وَرَّيتَ عَنهُ تَسَتُّراً

    وَلَكِنَّهُ ما مِلتَ فيهِ إِلى الجَهرِ

    Love is not what you veil to keep secret,

    but what you are drawn to proclaim aloud.

  5. أَتى مُستَجيراً بي مِنَ البَينِ تائِباً

    إِلَيَّ مِنَ الصَدِّ المُبَرِّحِ وَالهَجرِ

    He came seeking refuge with me from separation, returning repentantly

    to me from his agonizing rejection and desertion.

  6. فَلَم يَستَطِع قَلبي اِمتِناعاً مِنَ الهَوى

    وَلَم تَستَطِع نَفسي سَبيلاً إِلى الصَبرِ

    So my heart could not hold out against love,

    nor could my soul find a way to patience.

  7. سَقاني بِكَأسَيهِ وَعَينَيهِ قادِراً

    بِأَلحاظِهِ دونَ المُدامِ عَلى سُكري

    He gave me drink from his two cups and his eyes, though able

    with his glances, without wine, to make me drunk.

  8. وَأَقسَمَ لي أَلّا يَخونَ مَوَدَّتي

    وَإِن أَسرَفَ الواشي وَكَثَّرَ ذو الغِمرِ

    And he swore to me never to betray my affection,

    even if the talebearer went to extremes and the spiteful man said still more.

  9. وَلَم أَنسَنا عِندَ التَلاقي وَضَمَّنا

    سَوالِفُ نَحرٍ مِن مَشوقٍ إِلى نَحرِ

    I have not forgotten us at our meeting, drawn together,

    neck to neck, one longing breast against another.

  10. وَتَكرارَنا ذاكَ العِناقَ إِذا اِنقَضَت

    لَنا عَبرَةٌ عادَت لَنا عَبرَةٌ تَجري

    and our repeating that embrace: whenever there was an end

    to one tear of ours, another came streaming down.

  11. أَحاديثُ شَكوى مِن مُحِبّينَ لا تَني

    تُعِلُّ فُؤاداً بِالصَبابَةِ أَو تُبري

    Words of complaint from lovers, never ceasing

    to sicken a heart with longing, or to heal it.

  12. تَعَجَّبتُ مِن فِرعَونَ إِذ ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ

    إِلَهٌ لِأَنَّ النيلَ مِن تَحتِهِ يَجري

    I marveled at Pharaoh when he thought himself

    a god because the Nile flowed beneath him.

  13. وَلَو شاهَدَ الدُنيا وَجامِعَ مُلكِها

    لَقَلَّ لَدَيهِ ما يُكَثِّرُ مِن مِصرِ

    Had he beheld the world and the one who unites its dominion,

    what he thought so great in Egypt would have seemed small to him.

  14. وَلَو بَصُرَت عَيناهُ بِالزَوِّ لَاِزدَرى

    حَقيرَ الَّذي نالَت يَداهُ مِنَ الأَمرِ

    Had his eyes beheld al-Zaww, he would have scorned

    the paltry measure of power his hands had won.

  15. إِذاً لَرَأى قَصراً عَلى ظَهرِ لُجَّةٍ

    يَروحُ وَيَغدو فَوقَ أَمواجِها يَجري

    Then he would have seen a palace upon the back of the deep,

    traveling evening and morning, gliding over its waves.

  16. تُصادُ الوُحوشُ في حِفافَي طَريقِهِ

    وَتَستَنزِلُ الطَيرُ العَوالي عَلى قَسرِ

    Wild beasts are hunted along both sides of its course,

    and high-flying birds are forced down.

  17. وَلَم أَرَ كَالمُعتَزِّ إِذ راحَ موفِياً

    عَلَيهِ بِوَجهٍ لاحَ في الرَونَقِ النَضرِ

    And I have seen none like al-Mu'tazz, standing aloft at evening,

    upon it, his face shining with fresh splendor.

  18. مَلِيّاً بِأَن يَجلو الظَلامَ بِغُرَّةٍ

    تَخاضَعُ إِكباراً لَها غُرَّةُ الفَجرِ

    well able to dispel darkness with a radiant brow

    before which dawn's own bright brow bows in reverence.

  19. إِذا اِهتَزَّ غِبَّ الأَريَحِيَّةِ وَالنَدى

    وَأَسفَرَ في ضَوءِ الطَلاقَةِ وَالبِشرِ

    When he thrills in the wake of generosity and bounty,

    and beams in the light of openness and good cheer,

  20. وَقابَلَهُ بَدرُ السَماءِ بِوَجهِهِ

    فَبَدرٌ عَلى بَدرٍ وَبَحرٌ عَلى بَحرِ

    and heaven's full moon meets him face to face,

    then a full moon above a full moon, and a sea above a sea.

  21. رَأَيتُ بَهاءَ المُلكِ مُجتَمِعاً لَهُ

    وَديباجَةَ الدُنيا وَمَكرُمَةَ الدَهرِ

    I saw the splendor of kingship gathered in him,

    and the world's brocade, and the nobility of the age.

  22. وَخِرقٌ مَتى اِمتَدَّت يَداهُ بِنائِلٍ

    فَما النَيلُ مِنها بِالزَهيدِ وَلا نَزرِ

    And he is a generous nobleman: whenever his hands reach out with a gift,

    what one receives from them is neither paltry nor scant.

  23. مَواهِبُ مَكَّنَ الفَقيرَ مِنَ الغِنى

    مِراراً وَأَعدَينَ المُقِلَّ عَلى المُثري

    Gifts that enabled the poor to attain wealth,

    time and again, and helped the needy prevail over the rich.

  24. بَقيتَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ فَإِنَّما

    بَقاؤُكَ يُسرُ الناسِ شَرَّدَ بِالعُسرِ

    May you live on, Commander of the Faithful, for truly

    your continued life is the people's ease, putting hardship to flight.

  25. سَأَجهَدُ في شُكرٍ لِنُعماكَ إِنَّني

    أَرى الكُفرَ لِلنَعماءِ ضَرباً مِنَ الكُفرِ

    I shall strive in gratitude for your favors; indeed, I

    regard ingratitude for blessings as a kind of unbelief.