بكَ من معالجةِ الفراقِ عيانُهُ

بكَ من معالجةِ الفراقِ عيانُهُ

وبنا الغَداةَ ضرابُهُ وطعانُهُ

وبنا الغَداةَ ضرابُهُ وطعانُهُ

In you, the ordeal of separation stands plain to see;

Your share of grappling with separation is the sight of it;

and in us this morning are its blows and spear-thrusts.

ours this morning are its blows and thrusts.

إنْ كنتَ تبلُو من خليلكَ صبرَه

إنْ كنتَ تبلُو من خليلكَ صبرَه

فالصبرُ منه بِكْرُهُ وعَوانُهُ

فالصبرُ منه بِكْرُهُ وعَوانُهُ

If you would test your friend’s devotion,

If you are testing your friend's patience,

his patience will prove both youthful and mature.

his patience is both untried and seasoned.

تَلقى فُكاهَةَ كلِّ خلْقِ لَهْوَهُ

تَلقى فُكاهَةَ كلِّ خلْقِ لَهْوَهُ

وفُكاهةُ ابنِ نُباتَةٍ أحزانُهُ

وفُكاهةُ ابنِ نُباتَةٍ أحزانُهُ

You find every creature’s amusement in its pastime,

You find everyone's amusement in his diversions;

but Ibn Nubāta’s amusement lies in his sorrows.

Ibn Nubata's amusement is his sorrows.

قد فارقَ الأحبابَ قبلَ فِراقِهِ

قد فارقَ الأحبابَ قبلَ فِراقِهِ

أهلَ الحِمى وتقطعتْ أقرانُهُ

أهلَ الحِمى وتقطعتْ أقرانُهُ

He had parted from loved ones even before this parting—

He had parted from loved ones before parting from

the people of the protected encampment—and his companions were severed from him.

the people of the homeland, and his bonds were severed.

لو أنصفَ الدُنْيا محبٌّ ما سختْ

لو أنصفَ الدُنْيا محبٌّ ما سختْ

يومَ الوداعِ بقطرةٍ أجفانُهُ

يومَ الوداعِ بقطرةٍ أجفانُهُ

Had a lover dealt fairly with the world,

Were a lover fair to this world, his eyelids would not yield

his eyelids would not have bestowed even one tear on farewell day.

a single drop on the day of farewell.

يَبكي على فَقْدِ الأحبةِ إنّما

يَبكي على فَقْدِ الأحبةِ إنّما

فقدُ الأحبّةِ أن يبينَ بيانُهُ

فقدُ الأحبّةِ أن يبينَ بيانُهُ

He weeps over the loss of loved ones; indeed,

He weeps over losing loved ones; yet the real

losing loved ones makes the full meaning of loss plain.

loss of loved ones is when his speech departs.

أو ما أناخَ بها وما حوباؤه

أو ما أناخَ بها وما حوباؤه

منها على ثِقَةٍ ولا إخوانُهُ

منها على ثِقَةٍ ولا إخوانُهُ

Has he not merely alighted in this world, though his very soul

Or has he not alighted in it, while neither his soul

places no trust in it, nor do his brethren?

nor his brothers have any security from it?

فمُفارقُ الإوانِ فيها رابحٌ

فمُفارقُ الإوانِ فيها رابحٌ

ما لم يُفارقْ روحَهُ جُثمانُهُ

ما لم يُفارقْ روحَهُ جُثمانُهُ

Thus whoever leaves its dwelling is the gainer,

Thus one who leaves a dwelling in it gains,

so long as his body does not part from his soul.

so long as his body does not part from his soul.

لا أشتكي نوبَ الزمانِ ولَيتني

لا أشتكي نوبَ الزمانِ ولَيتني

أبقى وبي دونَ الوَرى حِدْثانُهُ

أبقى وبي دونَ الوَرى حِدْثانُهُ

I do not complain of Time’s assaults—if only

I do not complain of time's calamities; would that I

I might live, though its disasters struck me instead of all mankind.

might live on, bearing its misfortunes alone among mankind.

شَهّى إليّ جِلادَه وقِراعَه

شَهّى إليّ جِلادَه وقِراعَه

أنّ الحِمامَ من الخُطوبِ أمانُهُ

أنّ الحِمامَ من الخُطوبِ أمانُهُ

Its swordplay and clash have grown sweet to me,

What made its combat and clashes dear to me

for death is a refuge from calamities.

is that death is one's refuge from calamities.

تَهوى أخاكَ وغيرُ رأيكَ رأيُهُ

تَهوى أخاكَ وغيرُ رأيكَ رأيُهُ

فيما هويتَ وغيرُ شأنكَ شأنُهُ

فيما هويتَ وغيرُ شأنكَ شأنُهُ

You love your brother, though his judgment differs from yours

You love your brother, though his view differs from yours

in what you love, and his concerns differ from yours.

in what you love, and his concerns are not yours.

من لم يذُقْ غُصَصَ التفرّقِ لم يمتْ

من لم يذُقْ غُصَصَ التفرّقِ لم يمتْ

الموتُ رمحٌ والفراقُ سِنانُهُ

الموتُ رمحٌ والفراقُ سِنانُهُ

Whoever has not tasted the choking pangs of separation has not died:

Whoever has not tasted separation's choking pangs has not died:

death is a spear, and separation is its point.

death is a spear, and separation its point.

ما كنتُ آملُ قبلَ فرقةِ صاعدٍ

ما كنتُ آملُ قبلَ فرقةِ صاعدٍ

أنّي أرى جبلاً تسيرُ رِعانُهُ

أنّي أرى جبلاً تسيرُ رِعانُهُ

Before Ṣāʿid’s departure, I never expected

Before parting from Ṣāʿid, I had never expected

to see a mountain whose peaks could journey.

to see a mountain whose peaks were moving.

يمّمتُ منهُ البدرَ ليلَ تَمامِهِ

يمّمتُ منهُ البدرَ ليلَ تَمامِهِ

لا أسألُ الظّلماءَ أينَ مكانُهُ

لا أسألُ الظّلماءَ أينَ مكانُهُ

In him I sought the full moon on its night of fullness;

In him I sought the full moon on the night of its fullness,

I never asked the darkness where it dwelt.

not asking the darkness where it was.

وأقولُ للرجلِ المصغّرِ شأنَهُ

وأقولُ للرجلِ المصغّرِ شأنَهُ

الدهرُ خِنْصرُهُ فكيفَ بَنانُهُ

الدهرُ خِنْصرُهُ فكيفَ بَنانُهُ

To anyone who belittles his standing I say:

And I say to the man who belittles his standing:

Time is his little finger—what, then, must all his fingers be?

Time is his little finger; what, then, of his fingers?

حتى إذا هطلتْ عليّ سماؤهُ

حتى إذا هطلتْ عليّ سماؤهُ

وأعادَ عودي مورقاً إحسانُهُ

وأعادَ عودي مورقاً إحسانُهُ

Then, when his sky poured rain upon me

At last, when his sky poured rain upon me,

and his beneficence made my branch green again,

and his kindness made my branch leafy again,

ما كدتُ أُعطي الوصلَ ثِنيَ عِنانِهِ

ما كدتُ أُعطي الوصلَ ثِنيَ عِنانِهِ

حتى تغيّر بالجَموحِ حِرانُهُ

حتى تغيّر بالجَموحِ حِرانُهُ

I had scarcely given reunion a turn of its rein

I had scarcely given union a loose rein

before its balking changed to headlong flight.

when its balking turned into bolting.

نغترُّ من هذا الزمانِ بصاحبٍ

نغترُّ من هذا الزمانِ بصاحبٍ

لا جودُه جودٌ ولا حِرمانُهُ

لا جودُه جودٌ ولا حِرمانُهُ

In this age we are beguiled by a companion

We are beguiled by this age as by a companion:

whose giving is no true gift, nor its withholding true deprivation.

its giving is no giving, nor its withholding true withholding.

ونفارقُ الأحبابَ قبلَ فِراقِهِ

ونفارقُ الأحبابَ قبلَ فِراقِهِ

إنّا على أرواحِنا أعوانُهُ

إنّا على أرواحِنا أعوانُهُ

We part from loved ones before Time parts them from us;

And we part from loved ones before parting from it;

we are Time’s helpers against our own souls.

we are its allies against our own souls.

ولقد تلوّنَ بي تلونَ مَفرِقي

ولقد تلوّنَ بي تلونَ مَفرِقي

وتقلّبتْ بشبيبتي أعيانُهُ

وتقلّبتْ بشبيبتي أعيانُهُ

Time changed color with me as the parting of my hair changed,

And indeed, it has changed colors with me as my parted hair changed,

and throughout my youth its aspects kept changing.

and its forms have tossed my youth about.

وعجبتُ من شَرَقِ الشجيّ بريقهِ

وعجبتُ من شَرَقِ الشجيّ بريقهِ

للمَيْتِ لا تغتالُهُ أكْفانُهُ

للمَيْتِ لا تغتالُهُ أكْفانُهُ

I marveled that the grief-stricken man should choke on his own saliva—

I marvelled at the grieving man's choking on his saliva,

for shrouds cannot slay the dead.

and at the dead man whom his shrouds do not slay.

فَغَضَضْتُ طَرْفي من مخافةِ جفنِه

فَغَضَضْتُ طَرْفي من مخافةِ جفنِه

أعدى الرجال لفاضلٍ جيرانُهُ

أعدى الرجال لفاضلٍ جيرانُهُ

So I lowered my gaze for fear of his eyelid:

So I lowered my gaze in fear of its eyelid:

a man of excellence finds his fiercest enemies among his neighbors.

the men most hostile to a worthy man are his neighbors.

إنْ كان يسلمُ من زمانكَ سالمٌ

إنْ كان يسلمُ من زمانكَ سالمٌ

فالمستريبُ بما تَجنُّ جَنانُهُ

فالمستريبُ بما تَجنُّ جَنانُهُ

If anyone escapes your age unharmed,

If anyone survives your age unscathed,

it is the wary man, suspicious even of what his own heart conceals.

it is the man suspicious of what his heart conceals.

بِتْنا نودّعُ بالثنيّةِ ماجداً

بِتْنا نودّعُ بالثنيّةِ ماجداً

يصفُ البلاغةَ عقلهُ وبيانُهُ

يصفُ البلاغةَ عقلهُ وبيانُهُ

At the mountain pass we spent the night bidding farewell to a noble man

We spent the night at the mountain pass bidding farewell to a noble man,

whose mind and speech give eloquence its definition.

whose intellect and speech define eloquence.

يُغْنيه عن حملِ المثقفِ طرفُهُ

يُغْنيه عن حملِ المثقفِ طرفُهُ

وعن الحُسامِ المشرفي لسانُهُ

وعن الحُسامِ المشرفي لسانُهُ

His glance spares him the need to carry the straightened spear;

His glance spares him the need to bear the straightened spear,

his tongue spares him the keen Mashrafi sword.

and his tongue, the keen Mashrafi sword.

طوبى لشعبٍ حلَّ فيه فإنّه

طوبى لشعبٍ حلَّ فيه فإنّه

تندَى رباهُ وتكتسى قِيعانُهُ

تندَى رباهُ وتكتسى قِيعانُهُ

Blessed is the valley where he has alighted, for

Blessed is the valley where he alights, for

its uplands grow dewy and its plains are clothed in green.

its hills grow moist and its plains are clothed in green.

أتظنُ أنّ الغيثَ من حُسّادِهِ

أتظنُ أنّ الغيثَ من حُسّادِهِ

هيهاتَ أصغَرُ حاسديهِ زمانُهُ

هيهاتَ أصغَرُ حاسديهِ زمانُهُ

I count the rain among those who envy him—

Do you think the rain is among his enviers?

far from it: Time itself is the least of his enviers.

Far from it! His age is the least of his enviers.

لازلتَ ترمي مَنْ رَماكَ بجحفلٍ

لازلتَ ترمي مَنْ رَماكَ بجحفلٍ

جَمِّ الصّواهِلِ تمتطى نيرانُهُ

جَمِّ الصّواهِلِ تمتطى نيرانُهُ

May you never cease to hurl against whoever attacks you an army

May you always strike whoever strikes you with an army

dense with neighing steeds, riding forth upon its fires;

rich in neighing steeds, its fires ridden as mounts.

بيضُ الصّوارمِ جمرُهُ وشرارُهُ

بيضُ الصّوارمِ جمرُهُ وشرارُهُ

زُرقُ الأسنةِ والعجاجُ دُخانُهُ

زُرقُ الأسنةِ والعجاجُ دُخانُهُ

white sabres are its embers and its sparks,

White sword-blades are its embers, and its sparks

blue spearheads its flame, and battle dust its smoke.

are blue spearheads; the dust-cloud is its smoke.

وارَى عدوّكَ في نعيمكَ بؤسَه

وارَى عدوّكَ في نعيمكَ بؤسَه

حتى تموتَ ولم تمتْ أضغانُهُ

حتى تموتَ ولم تمتْ أضغانُهُ

Make your enemy behold his misery within your bliss,

Your enemy has concealed his misery amid your bliss,

until you die while his rancors have still not died.

until you die, while his grudges have not died.