Sol 6.1

  1. عللوا قلبي بتذكار اللقاء

    وانقذوا طرفي من فيض بكائي

    Console my heart with remembrance of meeting,

    And save my eyes from the flood of my weeping.

  2. واذكروا الحسنى من القرب فقد

    يبرأ الداء بأوصاف الدواء

    And recall the good in nearness, for

    An ailment may be cured by descriptions of its remedy.

  3. لا تظنوا بي صبرا إنما

    غلب اليأس على حكم الرجاء

    Do not suppose I have patience; rather,

    Despair has overruled the judgment of hope.

  4. فالهوى يلعب بالقلب كما

    لتعب الذرة في قلب الهواء

    For passion plays with the heart just as

    A mote plays in the heart of the air.

  5. ولولوا الحب يرى أسعدهم

    مسلب اللب بأسباب الشقاء

    Wail! Love sees the happiest of them

    Robbed of reason by the causes of misery.

  6. وارحموا صباً إذا جن الدجا

    حن مشتاقاً لري ودواء

    And pity a lovesick man who, when darkness falls,

    Yearns, longing for his thirst to be quenched and for a cure.

  7. قد خفا رسماً فلو هب الصبا

    ترك الصب خفاءً كالهباء

    His outline has grown faint; were the east breeze to blow,

    It would leave the lover unseen, like floating dust.

  8. وأحال الدمع عن رؤيته

    لدمي السفح بسفح من دماء

    And tears turned one away from seeing him;

    For my blood, a spilling in a torrent of blood [unclear wording].

  9. كيف يسطيع سلواً دنف

    رهن آمال التداني والتنائي

    How can a wasted lover find solace,

    Held hostage to hopes of nearness and separation?

  10. لا يرى إتلافه إلا رفاً

    وعلى هذا مضى أهل الوفاء

    He sees his destruction as nothing but healing,

    And this is the path the faithful have followed.

  11. خص بالصبر على الحب كما

    خص بالفضل كريم الكرماء

    He was singled out for patience in love, just as

    The noblest of the generous was singled out for excellence:

  12. الإمام المنتمي يوم الندى

    والهمام المنتمي عند النداء

    The imam who proclaims his lineage on the day of giving,

    And the hero who proclaims it at the call.

  13. ورد الشهباء يوماً والردى

    سالك ما بين عطف ورداء

    He entered al-Shahba one day, while death

    Was making its way between flank and cloak.

  14. ومدى الأعمار من آمالنا

    في تناهٍ والرزايا في ابتداء

    And the lifespans we hope for

    Are nearing their end, while calamities are just beginning.

  15. وخطوب الدهر لا أحسبها

    غير غارات أسود بظباء

    And the calamities of time I reckon

    Nothing but lions' raids upon gazelles.

  16. فلوى عن لمسها أبدى العدا

    وأخو البأساء منصور اللواء

    So he turned the enemies' [hands?] away from touching her,

    And the warrior's banner was victorious.

  17. أخرج الطاغين منها عنوة

    وهم بين عناد وعناء

    He drove the tyrants from her by force,

    While they were caught between defiance and hardship.

  18. فحلت بالعدل منه بعد ما

    جُرع الرائي لها ميما براء

    Through his justice she grew sweet, after

    Her beholder had been made to drink mīm with rā—'bitter.'

  19. من أولى مجد وجد قد سموا

    بمعاليهم على أهل السماء

    From men of glory and diligence who have risen

    By their lofty merits above the inhabitants of heaven.

  20. خلقوا برءاً لعلات الورى

    ولولوا الرحمة برؤ الضعفاء

    They were created as a cure for humankind's ailments.

    Wail! Mercy is healing for the weak.

  21. وأتوا الدنيا ملوكاً وهم

    مع غنى أنفسهم كالفقراء

    And they came into the world as kings, yet they,

    For all their souls' wealth, were like the poor.

  22. يا ابن من طيب أرجا طيبة

    وثراها فهي ترجى كالثراء

    O son of him who made Tayba's reaches fragrant,

    And her soil; so she is longed for like riches.

  23. من يساويك بقاض في العلا

    قد أطال الفكر في رد القضاء

    Whoever ranks you with a judge in eminence

    Has pondered long over rejecting the judgment.

  24. وسها الراجي قياساً بالسهى

    قمر الظلماء أو شمس الضحاء

    And the hopeful man errs in comparing with al-Suha

    The moon of darkness, or the morning sun.

  25. كلهم خير ولكن أين من

    أحد الخلق سليل الأنبياء

    All are good, but what comparison is there between

    Any mortal and a descendant of the prophets?

  26. فابق يا فرعا زكى من أصله

    وذكى خاطره نار الذكاء

    So remain, O branch that flourished from its root,

    And whose mind kindled the fire of intelligence.

  27. واسلم الدهر فما يشكى الصدى

    ومرائيك تجلت عن صداء

    And stay safe throughout time; no thirst is lamented,

    While your mirrors shine free of rust.

  28. وبه يفديك من قد خصني

    بثناء طال عن طول ثنائي

    And with it may he ransom you, he who favored me

    With praise that surpassed the length of my own praise.

  29. جامد الكفين يندي وجهه

    خجلاً عند مديحي لا هجائي

    His hands are frozen, yet his face grows moist

    With shame at my praise, not my satire.

  30. لا برحت الدهر يا كهف الندى

    ورد الأعدا وحبر العلماء

    May you never cease, throughout time, O refuge of generosity,

    A lion to enemies and a learned master among scholars,

  31. تترقي رتباً من دونها

    رتب العز بعز الارتقاء

    To ascend to ranks beneath which

    Lie ranks of glory, hard to attain.

  32. فالورى وجه به أنت حياً

    وحياة الوجه إبقاء الحياء

    For humankind is a face, and you are its modesty;

    And the life of a face is keeping modesty alive.

  33. وله لا يضر الكريم قلة مال

    لا ولا باللئيم يجدي الثراء

    And his verse: scant wealth does not harm the noble;

    No, nor does wealth benefit the ignoble.

  34. فتبا مرهف الجبان كليل

    وبصنديدها تقد العضاء

    So fie! A coward's keen blade is blunt,

    And in its champion's hand it cleaves thorny trees.