Sol 6.1

  1. أَلَم يَأنِ أَن تَسلى مَوَدَّةَ مَهدَدا

    فَتَخلُفَ حِلماً أَو تُصيبَ فَتَرقُدا

    Has the time not come to forget your love for Mahdad,

    Then turn to good sense, or attain your wish and sleep?

  2. وَما ذِكرُكَ اللائي مَضَينَ بِراجِعٍ

    عَلَيكَ نَوى الجيرانِ حَتّى تَبَدَّدا

    Your remembrance of those women gone cannot

    Undo your neighbors' departure, now that they have scattered.

  3. أَجِدَّكَ لا تَنسى بِمَقصودَةِ اللِوى

    عَشِيَّةَ إِذ راحَت تَجُرُّ المُعَضَّدا

    Do you truly never forget, at Maqsudat al-Liwa,

    That evening when she left, trailing her patterned robe?

  4. عَسيباً كَإيمِ الجِنِّ ما فاتَ مِرطُها

    وَمِثلُ النَقا في المِرطِ مِنها مُلَبَّدا

    Beyond her mantle hung a palm-stalk, like a serpent of the jinn,

    And within the mantle, a mass like a close-packed dune.

  5. تُريكَ أَسيلَ الخَدِّ أَشرَقَ لَونُهُ

    كَشَمسِ الضُحى وافَت مَعَ الطَلقِ أَسعَدا

    She shows you a smooth cheek, its color radiant,

    Like the forenoon sun appearing in clear, auspicious weather.

  6. وَنَحراً يُريكَ الدُرَّ لَمّا بَدَت لَنا

    بِهِ لِبَّةٌ مِنها تَزينُ الزَبَرجَدا

    And a neck displaying pearls, when she appeared to us,

    With a throat-hollow lending emeralds their beauty.

  7. وَحَمراءُ كَلواذِ الكَثيبِ تَطَرَّبَت

    فُؤادي وَهاجَت عَبرَةً وَتَلَدُّدا

    A rosy woman, like a dune's sheltered flank, stirred

    My heart to longing, and roused tears and restless bewilderment.

  8. ثَقالٌ إِذا راحَت كَسولٌ إِذا غَدَت

    وَتَمشي الهُوَينا حينَ تَمشي تَأَوُّدا

    Heavy when she goes at evening, languid when she goes at dawn,

    She walks softly, swaying as she walks.

  9. تَرى قُرطَها مُستَهلَكاً دونَ حَبلِها

    بِنَفنَفِهِ مِن واضِحِ الليتِ أَجيَدا

    You see her earring lost short of her neck-tendon,

    In the broad expanse of a bright, gracefully long neck.

  10. غَدَت بِهَوانا مِن رُفاعَةَ نِيَّةٌ

    شَطونٌ وَدَهرٌ فاجِعٌ مَن تَوَدَّدا

    A destination has carried our beloved away from Rufa'a,

    Far distant; and time bereaves whoever loves.

  11. فَآلى عَلى الهَجرِ الرُقادُ وَلَم تَزَل

    نَجِيّاً لِضيفانِ الهُمومِ مُسَهَّدا

    Sleep has sworn to desert you, and you remain

    A sleepless confidant to the visiting cares.

  12. فَآني غَداةَ اِستَقرَأَ الحَيُّ هالِكٌ

    شَرِبتُ بِبَينِ الحَيِّ مِن سُمِّ أَسوَدا

    That morning, when the tribe sought a settlement, I was dying;

    At the tribe's parting I drank a black serpent's venom.

  13. إِذا اِنجابَ هَمٌّ آبَ آخَرُ مِثلُهُ

    وَلَم تَكتَحِل عَيني مِنَ الحَمِّ مِروَدا

    Whenever one care clears away, another like it returns,

    Nor, for anguish, has my eye felt a kohl-stick.

  14. وَكُنتُ إِذا ضاقَت هُمومي قَرَيتُها ال

    أَراجِيَّ حَتّى أورِدَ الهَمَّ مَورِدا

    When my cares pressed hard, I used to entertain them with

    Hopes, until I brought sorrow to a watering-place,

  15. بِذي اللَوثِ مِن سِرِّ المَهاري كَأَنَّما

    يَروحُ مُعَدّىً أَن يَكِلَّ وَيَعمَدا

    On a sturdy beast of the choicest Mahri stock, as though

    He journeyed exempt from weariness and lameness.

  16. بِدِفَّيهِ آثارُ النُسوعِ كَأَنَّها

    مَجَرُّ سُيولٍ في الصَفا حينَ خَدَّدا

    On his two flanks the girth-straps have left marks, like

    Channels of torrents furrowing smooth rock.

  17. وَناعِمَةِ التَأويبِ عَدَّيتُ لَيلَها

    بِتَكليفِناها فَدفَداً ثُمَّ فَدفَدا

    Many a smooth-traveling she-camel's night I passed

    By driving her across one desert tract, then another.

  18. حَمَيتُ الكَرى عَيناً لَها وَاِحتَمَيتُهُ

    إِلى أَن جَلا وَجهٌ مِنَ الصُبحِ أَربَدا

    I denied sleep to an eye of hers, and denied it to myself,

    Until a face of dawn cleared the ashen darkness.

  19. فَأَصبَحتُ أَثني غَربَ رَوعاءَ أَوحَشَت

    بِها جِنَّةٌ مِن طائِرٍ حينَ غَرَّدا

    At dawn I curbed the fierceness of a terrified creature, made wild

    By a frenzy when a bird began to sing.

  20. مُواشَلَةٌ مِثلَ الفَريدَةِ عَبَّدَت

    بِشَرقِيِّ وَعساءِ السُمَينَةِ مَرقَدا

    A nursing mother, like a solitary pearl, had smoothed

    A resting-place east of al-Sumayna's soft sands.

  21. رَعَت غيبَةً عَنهُ وَأَضحى بِغَيبِهِ

    لَقىً لِلمَنايا بَينَ دِعصَينِ مُفرَدا

    She grazed away from him, while he lay unseen,

    A lone castaway for death between two sand-hills.

  22. غَدَت وَبِها شَيءٌ وَراحَت بِمِثلِهِ

    لِتُرغِدَهُ مِن حَشيِها أَن تَرَغَّدا

    She went out with milk within her and returned with as much,

    To nourish him from her inward store, that he might thrive.

  23. فَما وَجَدَت إِلّا مَجَرَّ إِهابِهِ

    وَإِلّا إِهاباً بِالقَفِيِّ مُقَدَّدا

    But she found only the trail of his hide,

    And a hide, left behind in shredded strips.

  24. فَسافَت عَلَيهِ ساعَةً ثُمَّ أَدبَرَت

    حَديدَةَ طَرفِ العَينِ نَظّارَةِ العِدا

    She sniffed over him a while, then turned away,

    Sharp-eyed, keeping watch for enemies.

  25. رَشِدتَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ وَإِنَّما

    ظَفَرتَ وَوَلَّيتَ الأَمينَ المُسَدَّدا

    You have chosen rightly, Commander of the Faithful; indeed,

    You have succeeded, appointing the trustworthy, well-directed man.

  26. وَنِعمَ أَميرُ المِصرِ يُصبِحُ لِلِّقا

    وَدوداً وَفي الإِسلامِ عَفّاً مُوَدَّدا

    An excellent governor of the city is he, meeting others

    With affection; chaste in Islam and well beloved.

  27. أَغَرَّ عَليماً بِالسِياسَةِ لَم يُقِم

    عَنيفاً وَلا رَثَّ القُوى مُتَهَدَّدا

    Radiant, skilled in governance, he has never stood

    As a violent man, nor weak in strength and full of threats.

  28. يَزينُ بِعَدلٍ مُلكَهُ وَيَزينُهُ

    مَحاسِنُ ديناً مَن يَدينُ تَأَيُّدا

    He adorns his rule with justice, and is himself adorned

    By virtues of faith, strengthening those who profess it.

  29. مِنَ المُنعِمينَ الشُمِّ يَجري بِحِلمِهِ

    وَإِن جَرَّدَتهُ الحَربُ يَوماً تَجَرَّدا

    One of the lofty benefactors, he proceeds with forbearance;

    And if war strips him for action one day, he strips himself.

  30. رَحيمٌ بِنا سَهلُ الفِناءِ كَأَنَّما

    يَرانا بَنيهِ بَينَ كَهلٍ وَأَمرَدا

    Merciful to us, his courtyard accessible, as though

    He saw us as his sons, mature men and beardless youths.

  31. فَبَلِّغ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ وَقُل لَهُ

    بَعَثتَ عَلَينا مَن أَراحَ وَأَرقَدا

    So inform the Commander of the Faithful, and tell him:

    You sent over us one who brought repose and sleep.

  32. نَكىً زادَهُ بِالمُلحِدينَ فَأَصبَحوا

    خَبيئاً كَمَن تَحتَ الثَرى أَو مُجَرَّدا

    Harm he has multiplied against the heretics, until they became

    Hidden like those beneath the earth, or stripped bare.

  33. فَزِد مَن كَفاكَ المِصرَ حينَ هَزَزتَهُ

    فَإِنَّ الَّذي يَعنيكَ يَعني مُحَمَّدا

    Reward still more the man who relieved you of the city when you roused him;

    For what concerns you concerns Muhammad.

  34. لَهُ صَفَدٌ دانٍ وَشَعبٌ مُؤَخَّرٌ

    وَإِن سيمَ خَسفاً قَذَّمَ المَوتَ أَسوَدا

    His gifts are close at hand, estrangement long deferred;

    If subjected to humiliation, he gulps down black death.

  35. بِهِ نَطحَرُ الأَقذاءَ عَن سَرَياتِنا

    وَنَلقى إِذا نَأبى الجِنانَ تَغَرَّدا

    Through him we drive harmful specks from our noblewomen,

    And when we defy the jinn, we face them singing.

  36. تَعَوَّدَ أَخذَ الحَمدِ مِنّا بِمالِهِ

    وَكُلُّ اِمرِئٍ جارٍ عَلى ما تَعَوَّدا

    He has grown accustomed to winning our praise with his wealth;

    Every man proceeds according to his habits.

  37. يَجودُ لَنا لا يَمنَعُ المالَ باخِلاً

    وَلا اليَومَ إِن أَعطاكَ مانِعُهُ غَدا

    He gives freely to us, not withholding wealth in avarice;

    If he gives you today, he will not withhold it tomorrow.

  38. كَذَلِكَ تَلقى الهاشِمِيَّ إِذا غَدا

    جَواداً وَإِن عاوَدتَهُ كانَ أَجوَدا

    Thus you find the Hashimite when he goes forth:

    Generous; and if you return to him, he is more generous.

  39. لَهُ شِيَمٌ تَحكي أَباً كانَ سابِقاً

    إِذا قُسِمَت كانَت نُحوساً وَأَسعُدا

    He has qualities resembling a father who was foremost;

    When apportioned, they were stars of ill and good fortune.

  40. إِمامانِ لا يُدرى أَهَذا بِسَيبِهِ

    عَلى الناسِ أَم ذا كانَ أَم ذاكَ أَعوَدا

    Two imams: none can tell whether this one's bounty

    To men surpassed the other's, or the other was more generous.

  41. هُما جُرِّبا قَبلَ الجِيادِ وَقُلِّدا

    فَأَيَّهُما أَشبَهتَ كُنتَ المُقَلِّدا

    Both were tested before the noble steeds and invested;

    Whichever you resemble, you are their imitator.

  42. سَماحاً إِذا ما جَرَّتِ الحَربُ ذَيلَها

    وَعِزّاً إِذا جَمرٌ كَجَمرٍ تَوَقَّدا

    Generous when war drags her train,

    And mighty when ember flares like ember.

  43. تَخَوَّلتَ مَخزوماً وَفُزتَ بِهاشِمٍ

    فَأَصبَحتَ مِن فَرعَي قُرَيشٍ مُرَدَّدا

    You have Makhzum as your maternal kin, and have gained Hashim;

    Thus your descent runs through both branches of Quraysh.

  44. وَأَنتَ اِبنُ مَن رادى أُمَيَّةَ بِالقَنا

    جِهاراً وَبِالبَصرِيِّ ضَرباً مُؤيَّدا

    You are the son of him who fought Umayya with spears,

    Openly, and with the Basran blade, striking mightily.

  45. أَهَبَّ لَهُم فُرسانَ حَربٍ مُطِلَّةٍ

    وَخُرساً تَباهى في السَنَوَّرِ حُشَّدا

    He roused against them the horsemen of a looming war,

    And silent troops, resplendent in armor, massed together.

  46. فَما بَرِحوا يَسدونَ حَتّى رَماهُمُ

    بِمَلمومَةٍ لَم تُبقِ نيراً وَلا سَدا

    They went on weaving until he struck them

    With a massed host that spared neither heddle nor warp.

  47. فَأَصبَحَتِ النُعمى عَلَينا وَأَصبَحوا

    قَتيلاً وَمَحمولاً إِلَيكَ مُصَفَّدا

    Then blessings came upon us, while they became

    Slain, or carried to you in chains.

  48. أَبوكَ أَبو العَبّاسِ جَلّى بِسَيفِهِ

    وَأَنتَ المُرَجّى في قَرابَةِ أَحمَدا

    Your father, Abu al-Abbas, excelled with his sword;

    And you are the hope among Ahmad's kin.

  49. وَكُلُّ أَبٍ يُدعى لَهُ سَيفُ نَجدَةٍ

    يُعَدُّ وَيَسمو في المَكارِمِ مَصعِدا

    Every father to whom a sword of valor is ascribed

    Is reckoned, and rises ever higher in noble deeds.

  50. وَكَم لَكَ أَمٍّ حُرَّةٍ حارِثِيَّةٍ

    وَأُخرى مِنَ الصيدِ المُقيمينَ مُرفَدا

    How many a freeborn Harithite mother you have,

    And another from the proud lords who maintain a place of bounty.

  51. خَزَمتَ بِمَخزومٍ أُنوفاً كَثيرَةً

    وَهَشَّمتَ أُخرى بِالهَواشِمِ حُشَّدا

    Through Makhzum you have pierced many noses,

    And through the Hashimites crushed others in their throngs.

  52. وَلا بَيتَ إِلّا بَيتُ مَجدِكَ فَوقَهُ

    مُنيفاً يُراعي الفَرقَدَينِ مُشَيَّدا

    There is no house but your house of glory stands above it,

    Lofty and firmly built, watching the two Farqad stars.

  53. وَأَنتَ الهُمامُ المُستَجارُ مِنَ الرَدى

    مِراراً وَمِن دَهرٍ طَغى وَتَمَرَّدا

    You are the heroic lord whose protection is sought from destruction,

    Repeatedly, and from a time grown tyrannical and rebellious.

  54. وَإِن يَأتِكَ المُستَشرِعونَ فَرُبَّما

    أَتَوكَ فَرَوَّيتَ القَديمَ المُصَرَّدا

    If those seeking water come to you, how often

    They have come, and you have slaked the one long stinted of drink.

  55. فَعالُكَ مَحمودٌ وَأَنتَ مُحَسَّدٌ

    وَهَل تَجِدُ المَحمودَ إِلّا مُحَسَّدا

    Your deeds are praiseworthy, and you are much envied;

    Do you find anyone praised who is not envied?

  56. فَرَعتَ قُرَيشاً في أَرومَتِها الَّتي

    يَمُدُّ يَدَيهِ دونَها كُلُّ أَصيَدا

    You overtopped Quraysh at its root, toward which

    Every proud lord stretches out his hands, yet remains below it.

  57. يَذُبّونَ عَن وادٍ حَرامٍ وَبَيضَةٍ

    إِذا أَفرَخَت أَحيَت مِنَ الدَهرِ مُجمَدا

    They defend a sacred valley and an egg

    That, when it hatches, revives what time has made barren.

  58. أَرى الناسَ ما كُنتُم مُلوكاً بِأَمنَةٍ

    وَلَو فَقَدوكُم خالَفَ القائِمُ اليَدا

    I see men safe as long as you are kings;

    Were they to lose you, the sword-hilt would defy the hand.

  59. وَأَنتُم سُقاةُ الحَجِّ لَولا حِياضُكُم

    وَأَدلُئِكُم لَم تَحمَدِ الناسُ مَورِدا

    You give water to the pilgrims; were it not for your basins

    And your buckets, men would praise no watering-place.

  60. وَرِثتُم رَسولَ اللَهِ بَيتَ خِلافَةٍ

    وَعِزّاً عَلى رَغمِ العَدُوِّ وَسُؤدَدا

    You inherited from God's Messenger a house of caliphate,

    And might, despite the foe, and lordship.

  61. لَكُم نَجدَةُ العَبّاسِ في كُلِّ مَوطِنٍ

    وَيَومَ حُنَينٍ إِذ أَشاعَ وَأَشهَدا

    Yours is al-Abbas's valor in every field,

    And on Hunayn's day, when he raised his cry and called men to witness:

  62. مُقيمٌ يَذُبُّ المُشرِكينَ بِسَيفِهِ

    حِفاظاً وَقَد وَلّى الخَميسُ وَعَرَّدا

    Standing firm, repelling the polytheists with his sword,

    In loyal defense, when the army had fled and turned tail.

  63. بَنى لَكُمُ العَبّاسُ في شَرَفِ العُلى

    وَفَضلُ اِبنِ عَبّاسٍ أَغارَ وَأَنجَدا

    Al-Abbas built for you upon the noblest heights,

    And Ibn Abbas's excellence ranged through lowlands and highlands.

  64. وَأَنتُم حُماةُ الدينِ لَولا دِفاعُكُم

    لَقَد قَذِيَت عَيناهُ أَو كانَ أَرمَدا

    You are the defenders of religion; were it not for your defense,

    Its eyes would have filled with grit, or grown inflamed.

  65. وَمَروانُ لَمّا أَن طَغى وَأَتَتكُمُ

    زَوائِرُ مِنهُ بادِئاتٍ وَعُوَّدا

    And when Marwan rebelled, and there came to you

    Visitations from him, first assaults and repeated ones,

  66. نَصَبتُم لَهُ البيضَ اللَوامِعَ بِالرَدى

    وَخَطِّيَّةً أَخمَدنَ ما كانَ أَوقَدا

    You raised against him bright, flashing swords bearing death,

    And Khatti spears that quenched what he had kindled.

  67. فَفَرَّقتُمُ أَشياعَهُ وَهَدَمتُمُ

    بِمُلكِكُمُ العادِيِّ مُلكاً مُوَلَّدا

    You scattered his partisans and demolished,

    With your age-old kingship, a newly fashioned reign.

  68. فَأَصبَحَ مَطلوباً وَآبَ بِرَأسِهِ

    كَتائِبُ أَدرَكنَ الحِمارَ المُطَرَّدا

    He became a hunted man, and with his head returned

    Battalions that caught the hunted Ass.

  69. وَمُستَوقَعٌ عِندَ البَرِيَّةِ أَنَّكُم

    مُدَعّونَ في الهَيجا إِلى مَن تَوَرَّدا

    It is expected among humankind that you

    Are called upon in battle against whoever comes charging.

  70. أَنَختُم لَنا ما بَينَ شَربَةِ جيدَةٍ

    إِلى الصينِ تُروونَ القَنا وَالمُهَنَّدا

    You encamped for us throughout the lands from Sharbat Jida

    As far as China, slaking the spears and Indian blades.

  71. فِدىً لِبَني العَبّاسِ نَفسي وَأُسرَتي

    وَما مَلَكَت نَفسي طَريفاً وَمُتلَدا

    May my soul and family be a ransom for the sons of al-Abbas,

    And all I possess, newly acquired and inherited.

  72. إِذا حارَبوا قَوماً رَأَيتَ لِواءَهُم

    يَقودُ المَنايا بارِقاتٍ وَرُعَّدا

    When they wage war against a people, you see their standard

    Leading deaths that flash and thunder,

  73. بِأَرعَنَ تُمسي الأَرضُ مِنهُ مَريضَةً

    وَتَلقى لَهُ الجِنَّ العَفاريتَ سُجَّدا

    With a vast army beneath which the earth lies sick,

    And before which you find the mighty jinn prostrate.

  74. أَقولُ لِسُعدى حينَ هَزَّ عَدُوُّها

    وَجانَبَها المَعروفُ مِمَّن تَزَيَّدا

    I say to Su'da, when her foe stirred against her,

    And kindness from a boastful man had shunned her:

  75. سَيَكفيكَ سَجلٌ مِن سِجالِ مُحَمَّدٍ

    وَعيدَ العِدى وَالبُخلَ مِمَّن تَعَقَّدا

    A bucketful from Muhammad's many buckets will suffice you

    Against the threats of foes and the avarice of the tight-fisted.

  76. إِذا عَزَّتِ الأَندادُ ذَلَّ نَوالُهُ

    وَسِيّانِ تَذليلُ المَواهِبِ وَالنَدا

    When rivals grow unapproachable, his bounty becomes accessible;

    Making gifts accessible and generosity are one.

  77. ذَرِيُّ الذُرى في المَحلِ يوري زِنادَهُ

    إِذا المُسهِبُ المَأمولُ أَكدى وَأَصلَدا

    Lofty among the lofty, in drought he kindles his firesticks,

    When the lavish giver men hope in fails and strikes no spark.

  78. إِذا آذَنَتهُ الحَربُ آذَنَ نَومُهُ

    بِحَربٍ إِلى أَن يُقعِدَ الحَربَ مَقعَدا

    When war gives him notice, his sleep declares

    War, until he brings war itself to rest.

  79. حَمولٌ عَلى المَكروهِ نَفساً كَريمَةً

    إِذا هَمَّ لَم يَقعُد بِما كانَ أَوعَدا

    He carries his noble soul through hardship;

    When he resolves, he does not shrink from what he has threatened.