Sol 6.1

  1. سَلا هلْ لدَيْها من مُخَبّرَةٍ ذِكْرُ

    وهلْ أعشَبَ الوادي ونمّ بهِ الزّهْرُ

    Ask, you two: has she any tidings to recall?

    And has the valley grown grassy, its blossoms breathing fragrance?

  2. وهلْ باكَرَ الوَسْميّ داراً على اللِّوى

    عفَتْ آيُها إلا التوهُّمُ والذِّكْرُ

    And has the autumn rain come early to a dwelling at al-Liwā,

    Whose traces have vanished, save in fancy and remembrance?

  3. بلادِي التي عاطَيْتُ مشْمولةَ الهَوى

    بأكْنافِها والعيْشُ فَيْنانُ مخْضَرُّ

    My land, where I shared the cool wine of love

    In its sheltered places, while life was leafy and green;

  4. وجوّي الذي ربّى جَناحيَ وَجْرُهُ

    فَها أنا ذا ما لي جَناحٌ ولا وَكْرُ

    And my native sky, whose nurture raised my wings—

    Here I am now, with neither wing nor nest.

  5. نَبَتْ بيَ لا عنْ جفْوَةٍ وملالَةٍ

    ولا نسخَ الوصْلَ الهَنيَّ بِها هَجْرُ

    It cast me out, not from coldness or weariness,

    Nor did estrangement undo my happy union there.

  6. ولكنّها الدُّنْيا قليلٌ مَتاعُها

    ولَذّاتُها دأباً تَزورُ وتَزْوَرُّ

    But such is this world, whose enjoyment is slight,

    Its pleasures forever visiting, then turning away.

  7. فمنْ لي بقُرْبِ العَهْدِ منْها ودونَنا

    مَدىً طالَ حتّى يوْمُهُ عنْدَنا شهْرُ

    Who can bring back my recent days with her, when between us lies

    A distance so long that a day of it seems a month to us?

  8. وللّهِ عَيْنا مَنْ رآنا وللأسى

    ضِرامٌ لهُ في كلِّ جانِحةٍ جَمْرُ

    God bless the eyes that saw us, while grief

    Blazed, with an ember beneath every rib,

  9. وقد بدّدَتْ دُرَّ الدّموعِ يدُ النّوى

    وللشّوْقِ أشجانٌ يَضيقُ لها الصّدْرُ

    And separation's hand had scattered the pearls of tears,

    And longing's sorrows made the breast too narrow.

  10. بكَيْنا على النّهْرِ الشّروبِ عشيّةً

    فعادَ أُجاجاً بعْدَنا ذلكَ النّهْرُ

    We wept one evening beside the sweet-water river;

    After us, that river turned bitter salt.

  11. أقولُ لأظْعاني وقدْ غالَها السَّرى

    وآنسَها الحادي وأوْحَشَها الزَّهْرُ

    I say to my caravan, worn down by night travel,

    Comforted by the camel-driver, made lonely by the bright stars:

  12. روَيْدَكِ بعْدَ العُسْر يُسْرٌ أنِ ابْشِري

    بإنْجازِ وعْدِ اللهِ قد ذهَبَ العُسْرُ

    Gently now: after hardship comes ease; rejoice

    In the fulfillment of God's promise: hardship has passed.

  13. وللهِ فينا سِرُّ غيْبٍ وربّما

    أتى النّفْعُ منْ حالٍ أريدَ بها الضّرُّ

    God holds a hidden secret concerning us; and often

    Good comes from a situation meant to bring harm.

  14. وإنْ تَخُنِ الأيامُ لمْ تَخُنِ النُّهى

    وإنْ يخْذُلِ الأقْوامُ لمْ يخْذُلِ الصّبْرُ

    If the days betray us, sound judgment does not;

    If people fail us, patience does not.

  15. وإن عرَكَتْ منّي الخُطوبُ مجَرِّباً

    نِقاباً تَساوَى عنْدَهُ الحُلْوُ والمُرُّ

    Though calamities have tried in me an experienced man,

    Keen-sighted, to whom sweet and bitter are alike,

  16. فقد عجَمَتْ عوداً صَليباً على الرّدى

    وعزْماً كَما تمْضي المهنّدَةُ البُتْرُ

    They have tested timber tough in the face of death,

    And a resolve that cuts like keen Indian blades.

  17. إذا أنتَ بالبيضاءِ قرّرْتَ منزِلي

    فَلا اللّحمُ حِلَّ ما حَييتُ ولا الظّهْرُ

    If you secure my lodging at al-Bayḍāʾ,

    Neither your flesh nor your back shall be lawful to me while I live.

  18. زجَرْنا بإبْراهيمَ بُرْءَ هُمومِنا

    فلمّا رأينا وجْهَهُ صدَقَ الزّجْرُ

    In Ibrāhīm we augured a cure for our cares;

    When we saw his face, the omen proved true.

  19. بمُنْتخَبٍ منْ آلِ يعْقوبَ كلّما

    دَجا الخَطْبُ لمْ يكْذِبْ لعَزْمَتِهِ فجْرُ

    Through a chosen one of the house of Yaʿqūb: whenever

    Trouble darkened, his resolve never lacked a faithful dawn.

  20. تناقَلَتِ الرّكْبانُ طيبَ حَديثِهِ

    فلمّا رأتْهُ صدّقَ الخَبَرَ الخبرُ

    Travelers passed on the sweetness of his renown;

    When they saw him, experience confirmed the report.

  21. ندىً لو حَواهُ البحْرُ لذّ مذاقُهُ

    ولمْ يتعقّبْ مَدَّهُ أبداً جَزْرُ

    A bounty that, were the sea to hold it, would sweeten its taste,

    And no ebb would ever follow its flood;

  22. وبأسٌ غَدا يرْتاعُ منْ خوْفِهِ الرّدى

    وترْفُلُ في أثْوابِهِ الفَتْكَةُ البِكْرُ

    A might before whose terror death itself now trembles,

    While the maiden deathblow struts in its robes.

  23. أطاعَتْهُ حتّى العُصْمُ في قُنَنِ الرُّبى

    وهشّتْ الى تأمِيلِهِ الأنْجُمُ الزّهْرُ

    Even the mountain goats on the hilltops obeyed him,

    And the bright stars rejoiced to set their hopes on him.

  24. قصدْناكَ يا خيْرَ المُلوكِ على النّوى

    لتُنْصِفَنا ممّا جَنى عبْدُكَ الدّهْرُ

    We sought you across the distance, O best of kings,

    For redress against the wrongs wrought by your servant, Time.

  25. كفَفْنا بكَ الأيّامَ عنْ غُلَوائِها

    وقدْ رابَنا منْها التعسّفُ والكِبْرُ

    Through you we checked the days in their excesses,

    Whose tyranny and pride had filled us with misgiving.

  26. وعُذْنا بذاك المجْدِ فانْصَرَم الرّدى

    ولُذْنا بذاكَ العزْمِ فانهزَمَ الذّعْرُ

    We sought shelter in that glory, and death withdrew;

    We took refuge in that resolve, and terror fled.

  27. ولمّا أتيْنا البحْرَ يُرْهِبُ موْجُهُ

    ذكَرْنا نَداكَ الغَمْرَ فاحْتُقِرَ البحْرُ

    When we came to the sea, its waves inspiring dread,

    We recalled your overflowing bounty, and the sea seemed small.

  28. خلافَتُك العُظْمى ومَنْ لم يدِنْ بِه

    فإيمانُهُ لغْوٌ وعِرْفانُهُ نُكْرُ

    Yours is the supreme caliphate; whoever will not acknowledge it,

    His faith is empty talk, his acknowledgment denial.

  29. ووَصْفُكَ يهْدي المَدْحَ قصْدَ ثَوابِهِ

    إذا ضلّ في أوْصافِ مَنْ دونَكَ الشِّعْرُ

    Describing you guides praise straight toward its reward,

    When poetry strays in describing those beneath you.

  30. دعَتْكَ قُلوبُ المؤمِنينَ وأخْلَصَتْ

    وقد طابَ منْها السّرُّ للهِ والجَهْرُ

    The believers' hearts called for you with sincere devotion,

    Their secret and open thoughts made pure for God.

  31. ومُدّتْ إلى اللهِ الأكُفُّ ضَراعَةً

    فقال لهنّ اللهُ قد قُضيَ الأمْرُ

    Palms were stretched toward God in supplication,

    And God said to them: 'The matter is settled.'

  32. وألْبَسَها النّعْمى ببَيْعَتِكَ التي

    لَها الطّائِرُ المَيْمونُ والمحْتِدُ الحُرُّ

    He clothed them in blessing through your pledge of allegiance, which

    Has an auspicious omen and a noble origin.

  33. فأصْبَحَ ثغْرُ الثّغرِ يَبسِمُ ضاحِكاً

    وقد كانَ ممّا نابَهُ ليسَ يفْتَرُّ

    The frontier's mouth began to smile with laughter,

    Though what had befallen it had kept its lips from parting.

  34. وأمّنْتَ بالسَّلْمِ البِلادَ وأهْلَها

    فلا ظُبَةٌ تُعْرى ولا روْعَةٌ تعْرو

    Through peace you made the lands and their people safe:

    No blade is bared, and no terror assails.

  35. وقد كانَ موْلانا أبوكَ مصَرِّحاً

    بأنّكَ في أبنائِهِ الولَدُ البَرُّ

    Our lord, your father, had openly declared

    That among his sons you were the dutiful son.

  36. وكُنْتَ خَليقاً بالإمارَةِ بعْدَهُ

    على الفوْرِ لكِنْ كلُّ شيْءٍ لهُ قَدْرُ

    You deserved the emirate after him

    At once; yet everything has its appointed measure.

  37. وأوْحَشْتَ منْ دارِ الخِلافةِ هالَةً

    أقامَتْ زَماناً لا يَلوحُ بها البدْرُ

    You left a halo desolate in the caliphate's abode,

    Long without the full moon shining within it.

  38. فردَّ عليْكَ اللهُ حقَّكَ إذْ قضى

    بأنْ تشْمَلَ النّعْمى وينْسَدِلَ السّتْرُ

    Then God restored your right to you when He decreed

    That blessing should embrace all and the veil descend.

  39. وقادوا إليْكَ المُلْكَ رِفْقاً بخَلْقِهِ

    وقد عدِموا رُكْنَ الإمامةِ واضْطَرّوا

    They brought you kingship, in mercy toward His creatures,

    Having lost the pillar of leadership and been driven by need.

  40. وزادَكَ بالتّمحيصِ عِزّاً ورِفْعَةً

    وأجْراً ولوْلا السّبْكُ ما عُرِفَ التِّبْرُ

    Through testing He increased your honor and elevation,

    And reward: without smelting, raw gold would not be known.

  41. وأنت الذي تدْعى إذا دهَمَ الرّدى

    وأنتَ الذي تُرْجى إذا أخْلَفَ القَطْرُ

    You are the one called upon when death descends;

    You are the one hoped in when rain fails.

  42. وأنتَ إذا جارَ الزّمانُ محكَّمٌ

    لكَ النّقْضُ والإبْرامُ والنّهيُ والأمْرُ

    When Time deals unjustly, you are the appointed arbiter:

    Yours are rescinding and confirming, forbidding and commanding.

  43. وهَذا ابْنُ نصْرٍ قد أتى وجَناحُهُ

    مَهيضٌ ومنْ عُلْياكَ يُلْتَمَسُ الجَبْرُ

    Here Ibn Naṣr has come, his wing

    Broken; from your high estate he seeks its mending.

  44. غريبٌ يرجّي منْكَ ما أنتَ أهْلُهُ

    فإنْ كنتَ تبْغي الفخْرَ قد جاءَكَ الفخْرُ

    A stranger, hoping from you for what befits you:

    If you seek glory, glory has come to you.

  45. ففُزْ يا أميرَ المؤمنينَ ببَيْعَةٍ

    موثّقَةٍ قد حلّ عُرْوَتَها الغَدْرُ

    So win, Commander of the Faithful, a pledge of allegiance

    Firmly bound, whose knot treachery has undone.

  46. ومثلُكَ مَنْ يرْعى الدّخيلَ ومَنْ دَعا

    بِيا لمَرينٍ جاءَهُ العِزُّ والنّصْرُ

    One such as you protects the suppliant; whoever cries

    'O Marīn, to the rescue!' receives honor and victory.

  47. وخُذْ يا إمامَ الحقِّ بالحقِّ ثأرَهُ

    فَفي ضِمْنِ ما تأتي بهِ العِزُّ والأجْرُ

    Take rightful vengeance for him, O imam of truth:

    Honor and reward lie within what you undertake.

  48. وأنتَ لها يا ناصِرَ الحقِّ فلْتَقُمْ

    بحقٍّ فَما زَيْدٌ يرَجّى ولا عَمْرو

    You are equal to it, O champion of truth: rise

    To uphold the right; neither Zayd nor ʿAmr is the one hoped for.

  49. فإنْ قيلَ مالٌ مالُكَ الدّهْر وافِرٌ

    وإنْ قيلَ جيْشٌ عنْدَكَ العسْكَرُ المَجْرُ

    If wealth is asked for, your wealth is ever abundant;

    If an army is asked for, yours is the mighty host.

  50. يُكَفّ بكَ العادي ويُحْيَ بكَ الهُدى

    ويَبْني بكَ الإسْلامُ ما هَدَمَ الكُفْرُ

    Through you the aggressor is restrained and guidance revived;

    Through you Islam rebuilds what unbelief destroyed.

  51. أعِدْهُ الى أوْطانِهِ عنْكَ راضِياً

    وطوِّقْهُ نُعْماكَ التي مالَها حصْرُ

    Return him to his homelands, pleased with you,

    And deck his neck with your favors, which know no bounds.

  52. وعاجِلْ قُلوبَ النّاسِ فيهِ بجَبْرِها

    فقدْ صدّهُمْ عنْهُ التغَلّبُ والقَهْرُ

    Hasten to mend the people's hearts concerning him,

    For usurpation and coercion have kept them from him.

  53. وهُمْ يرْقُبون الفِعْلَ منْكَ وصَفْقَةً

    تُحاولُها يُمْناكَ ما بعْدَها خُسْرُ

    They await your action, and a bargain

    Your right hand undertakes, with no loss to follow.

  54. مَرامُكَ سهْلٌ لا يَؤودُكَ كُلْفَةً

    سِوى عرَضٍ ما إنْ لهُ في العُلا خطَرُ

    Your objective is easy; it will not burden you with expense,

    Save worldly goods of no account beside high glory.

  55. وما العُمْرُ إلا زينَةٌ مُستَعارَةٌ

    تُرَدُّ ولكنّ الثّناءَ هوَ الُعمْرُ

    Life is only borrowed finery,

    To be returned; but praise is life itself.

  56. ومَنْ باعَ ما يَفْنى بباقٍ مُخَلَّدٍ

    فقدْ أنْجَحَ المسْعى وقد ربحَ التّجْرُ

    Whoever sells what perishes for what endures forever

    Has made his endeavor succeed and his trade profit.

  57. ومن دونِ ما تَبْغيهِ يا ملِكَ العُلا

    جيادُ المَذاكي والمحجَّلَةُ الغُرُّ

    At hand for what you seek, O king of glory,

    Are noble, full-grown steeds, white-stockinged and white-blazed:

  58. وِرادٌ وشُقْرٌ واضِحاتٌ شِياتُها

    فأجْسامُها تِبْرٌ وأرْجُلُها دُرُّ

    Bay and chestnut, with clear markings,

    Their bodies gold and their legs pearls;

  59. وشُهْبٌ إذا ما ضُمِّرَتْ يوْمَ غارَةٍ

    مطَهّمةٌ غارَتْ بها الأنْجُمُ الزُّهْرُ

    And gray steeds, when trained lean for a day of raiding,

    Finely formed, making the bright stars sink from sight.

  60. وأسْدُ رِجالٍ منْ مَرينٍ مُخيفَةٌ

    عَمائِمُها بيضٌ وآسالُها سُمْرُ

    And fearsome lion-men of Marīn,

    Their turbans white, their spears brown.

  61. علَيْها منَ الماذي كلَّ مُفاضَةٍ

    تَدافَعَ في أعْطافِها اللّجَجُ الخُضْرُ

    Upon them lies every flowing coat of fine steel,

    In whose folds green billows surge against one another.

  62. همُ القوْمُ إنْ هبّوا لكَشْفِ مُلمّةٍ

    فَلا المُلْتَقى صَعْبٌ ولا المُرْتَقى وَعْرُ

    They are the men who, when they rise to dispel calamity,

    Find neither the encounter hard nor the ascent rugged.

  63. إذا سُئِلُوا أَعْطَوْا وإنْ نوزِعوا سَطَوْا

    وإنْ واعَدوا وَفَوْا وإنْ عاهَدوْا برّوا

    Asked, they give; challenged, they strike;

    They keep their promises and honor their covenants.

  64. وإنْ مُدِحوا اهْتَزّوا ارْتِياحاً كأنّهم

    نَشاوَى تمشّتْ في مَفاصِلِهِمْ خَمْرُ

    Praised, they sway with delight as though

    Drunk, with wine coursing through their joints.

  65. وإنْ سَمِعوا العَوْراءَ فرّوا بأنْفُسٍ

    حَرامٌ على هاماتِها في الوَغى الفَرُّ

    When they hear foul speech, they flee with souls

    For whose heads flight in battle is forbidden.

  66. وتَبْسِمُ ما بيْنَ الوَشيجِ ثُغورُهُمْ

    وما بيْنَ قُضْبِ الدّوْحِ يبْتَسِمُ الزّهْرُ

    Their mouths smile among the clustered spears,

    And blossoms smile among the branches of great trees.

  67. أمَوْلايَ غاضَتْ فكْرَتي وتبلّدَتْ

    طِباعي فلا طَبْعٌ يُعينُ ولا فِكْرُ

    O my lord, my thought has run dry, and grown dull

    Have my faculties: neither talent nor thought helps me.

  68. ولوْلا حَنانٌ منْكَ دارَكْتَني بهِ

    وأحْيَيْتَني لمْ تَبْقَ عيْنٌ ولا أثَرُ

    But for a tenderness from you, with which you rescued me

    And revived me, neither substance nor trace would have remained.

  69. فأوْجَدْتَ منّي فائِتاً أيَّ فائِتٍ

    وأنْشَرْتَ ميْتاً ضمّ أشْلاءَهُ قَبْرُ

    You brought back from me one utterly lost,

    And raised a dead man whose limbs a grave had gathered.

  70. بدأْتَ بفَضْلٍ لمْ أكُنْ لعَظيمِهِ

    بأهْلٍ فحلّ اللُّطْفُ وانفرَجَ الحَصْرُ

    You began with a bounty whose greatness I did not

    Deserve; kindness arrived and distress was dispelled.

  71. وطوّقْتَني النّعْمى المُضاعَفةَ التي

    يقِلُّ علَيْها الحمْدُ منّيَ والشُّكْرُ

    You hung about my neck redoubled blessings, for which

    My praise and thanks fall short.

  72. وأنتَ بتَتْميمِ الصّنائِعِ كافِلٌ

    الى أن يعودَ الجاهُ والعِزُّ والوَفْرُ

    You guarantee the completion of your favors,

    Until standing, honor, and abundance return.

  73. جَزاكَ الذي سَنّى مقامَكَ عِصْمَةً

    يُفَكُّ بِها عانٍ ويُنْعَشُ مُضْطَرُّ

    May He reward you who exalted your station as a refuge,

    Through which a captive is freed and the distressed revived.

  74. إذا نحْنُ أثْنَيْنا عليْكَ بمِدْحَةٍ

    فهيْهاتَ يُحْصى الرّمْلُ أو يُحْصَرُ القَطْرُ

    If we offer you a poem of praise,

    How could the sands be counted, or the raindrops numbered!

  75. ولكنّنا نأتي بِما نسْتَطيعُهُ

    ومَنْ بذَلَ المَجْهودَ حُقّ لهُ العُذْرُ

    Yet we bring what we can,

    And whoever gives his utmost deserves to be excused.