Sol 6.1

  1. ما كانَ في هَذِهِ الدُنيا بَنو زَمَنٍ

    إِلّا وَعِندِيَ مِن أَخبارِهِم طَرَفُ

    No sons of any age have been in this world

    but I have known some part of their stories.

  2. يُخَبِّرُ العَقلُ أَنَّ القَومَ ما كَرُموا

    وَلا أَفادوا وَلا طابوا وَلا عَرَفوا

    Reason declares that the people were not noble,

    nor did they bring benefit, prove good, or gain knowledge.

  3. عاشوا قَليلاً وَما جوا في ضَلالَتِهِم

    وَلا يَفوزونَ إِن جُوزوا بِما اِقتَرَفوا

    They lived briefly and tossed about in their delusion;

    nor will they prosper if requited for what they committed.

  4. إِذا شَقيتَ فَجِسمٌ نالَهُ نَصَبٌ

    وَإِن تُرِفتَ فَماذا يَنفَعُ التَرَفُ

    If you suffer, it is a body that weariness has afflicted;

    and if you are pampered, what use is luxury?

  5. يا أُمَّ دَفرٍ لَحاكِ اللَهُ والِدَةً

    مِنكِ الإِضاعَةُ وَالتَفريطُ وَالسَرفُ

    O Mother of Stench, may God curse you as a mother!

    From you come waste, neglect, and excess.

  6. لَو أَنَّكَ العِرسُ أَوقَعتُ الطَلاقَ بِها

    لَكِنَّكَ الأُمُّ هَل لي عَنكِ مُنصَرَفُ

    Were you the wife, I would pronounce divorce upon her;

    but you are the mother—have I any escape from you?

  7. وَلَن يُصيبَ خُفاقاً مَن يُقايِضُهُ

    يَوماً بِنُدبَةَ لَمّا فاتَها الشَرَفُ

    And no one will obtain Khufaq by bartering him

    one day for Nudba, since nobility eluded her.

  8. قالَت رِجالٌ عُقولُ الشُهُبِ وافِرَةٌ

    لَو صَحَّ ذَلِكَ قُلنا مَسَّها خَرَفُ

    Men have said, 'The stars have ample intelligence.'

    If that were true, we would say senility had touched them.