Sol 6.1

  1. يا لَقَومٍ لفَراشٍ يَصطلى

    حَرَّ نارٍ هَرَبَتْ منها الشَّرَارُ

    O people, help a moth that warms itself

    in the heat of a fire whose sparks have fled from it!

  2. مَنْ بنو أَودٍ اذا ما نُسِبوا

    في بني مَذْحَجَ انْ صَحَّ النِّجَارُ

    Who are Banu Awd, when their lineage is traced

    among Banu Madhhij, if their stock is sound?

  3. اِنَّما أَوْدٌ شَظاهُ لصَقَتْ

    بذِراعٍ مخّها في العظمِ رَارُ

    Awd is only a splinter that has stuck

    to an arm whose marrow runs thin within the bone.

  4. نسبُ العَنْقَاءِ قُل لي ما الذي

    يومَ نوحٍ ضرَّ انْ قَلَّتْ نِزَارُ

    A phoenix's pedigree! Tell me, what was it

    in Noah's day that was harmed if Nizar were few?

  5. أَيُّ قَومٍ لم يكن أَوَّلُهُم

    واحداً ثم تلا القُلَّ الكثُارُ

    What people did not have, at their beginning,

    one man, with the many then following the few?

  6. وجلالِ اللهِ لولا عُصبةٌ

    نَعروا بالدِّينِ والدِّينُ سِرَارُ

    By God's majesty, were it not for a band

    who cried out for the faith while the faith was a hidden moon,

  7. ومشَوا فيه كما يَمشي الضحى

    في سواد الليلِ يمحوه النَّهَارُ

    and advanced in it as morning light advances

    into night's blackness, which day erases,

  8. علِمت عِرسُ عريبٍ أَنَّها

    لَقْحَةٌ ليس لها منه حُوَارُ

    Arib's wife would have known that she

    was a milch-camel with no calf by him.

  9. لا تُغَذِي فَتُدَرّى صَبوَةٌ

    اِنَّما نَوَّلَ جلدٌ مُستَعَارُ

    She nourishes no young ones, to be coaxed into milk;

    only a borrowed hide has bestowed a gift.

  10. يا بني قَيلَةَ قد آويتُم

    ونَصرتُم والى اللهِ المَحَارُ

    O sons of Qayla, you have given shelter

    and aid—and to God is the return—

  11. معشراً لولاهم ما كنتم

    بعد حجِّ البيتِ أَهلاً أَنْ تُزارُوا

    to a people without whom you would not have been

    worthy to be visited after pilgrimage to the House.

  12. انْ تكن بدر فبدر فُرصةٌ

    لكم السَّلَّةُ منه والغِوَارُ

    If there was Badr, Badr was an opportunity;

    your share was stealthy snatching and raiding.

  13. وابتلى الله بأُحدٍ صبرَكم

    وحبا الخندق اذْ لجَّ الحِصَارُ

    God tested your patience at Uhud,

    and granted you the Trench when the siege pressed hard.

  14. لكم الكرةُ الاَّ أَنكم

    لم تفوزوا يومَ أَوطاسٍ وفازُوا

    The rally was yours, except that you

    did not triumph on Awtas's day, while they triumphed.

  15. وهو الفيصلُ لو زلَّتْ به

    قدمٌ عن أُختها كان البَوَارُ

    That was the decisive test: had there slipped

    one foot from its fellow, there would have been ruin.

  16. كشفوا كُربَ حنين عنكم

    وحَموكم مثلما تُحمى البِكَارُ

    They lifted Hunayn's anguish from you

    and guarded you as young she-camels are guarded.

  17. كنتم ظَهْراً وكانوا هَامَةً

    ومن الهَامَةِ يمتارُ الفَقَارُ

    You were a back, and they were a head;

    it is from the head that the spine draws sustenance.

  18. أَبلغِ الأَحْيَلَ من ذي يمنٍ

    بَلَغَتْكَ المستَهِلاّتُ الغِزَارُ

    Tell the wily one from Yemen—

    may abundant, pouring clouds reach you—

  19. أَيُّ يومٍ دانَ أَو كانَ لكم

    قبلَ اِسلامِكم فيه الخَيَارُ

    what day submitted, or was yours,

    before your Islam, in which you held the upper hand?

  20. نحن أَصحرنا بنجدٍ للعدى

    مثلَ ما أَصحَرتِ البيضُ الحِرَارُ

    We came into Najd's open country against the foes,

    as fair, freeborn women come into the open.

  21. وطعنَّا فَحَلَلْنا نجوةً

    حولَها فارسُ والرومُ اِطَارُ

    We thrust with spears and settled on a height

    encircled by Persia and Rome.

  22. تتقينا بمواضي مازنٍ

    وَقَنَا لَخْمٍ أَلا ذَاكَ الحِذَارُ

    They shield themselves from us with Mazin's keen blades

    and Lakhm's spears—now that is caution!

  23. فكأَنَّ الغزوَ حَجٌ لهم

    وكأَنا لعواليهم دَوَارُ

    Raiding was like a pilgrimage for them,

    and we were Duwar to their spearheads.

  24. لُهوة الطاحنِ من قُطْب الرحى

    كل ما نالت من الحَبِّ جُبَارُ

    The miller's grain-feed at the millstone's pivot:

    all grain it takes is lost without redress.

  25. روضةُ السُلانِ غيظٌ واظبٌ

    وخَزَازَى لكم خِزيٌ وعَارُ

    The meadow of al-Sullan is a lasting rage,

    and Khazaza is disgrace and shame for you.

  26. والكُلابُ الوِرْدُ أَدْحَمْتُم بهِ

    حارتِ الناسُ به سعد الحَيَارُ

    And at al-Kulab's watering-place you thrust yourselves in;

    there Sa'd al-Hiyar confounded the people.

  27. ملأوا الأرضَ سِناناً وادقِاً

    وحُساماً ما بُرى منه الغِرَارُ

    They filled the earth with piercing spearheads,

    and cutting swords whose edges had not been worn away,

  28. وغُلاماً لا يروغ الجُندَىَ

    عن طريقِ السَّيلِ والسَّيلُ غِمَارُ

    and young fighters: the warrior does not swerve

    from the torrent's path, though the torrent runs deep.

  29. لِفضولِ الدرعِ عن ظُنبُوبهِ

    وذرايعهِ حُسورٌ وانشِمَارُ

    His armor's hanging parts, above his shin

    and his forearms, are drawn back and tucked up.

  30. ويُروّي أكعبَ الرمحِ فما

    دونَ أَقصاهُ لأَقصاهُ قِصَارُ

    He drenches the spear's joints; none

    below its farthest tip falls short of that tip.

  31. موطن لا يسحب الريط به

    اِنَّما يُسحَبُ في الأَمنِ الازَارُ

    A battlefield where no fine robes trail;

    only in safety does one's waistcloth trail.

  32. لم يَغلوا يومَ نَجْرَانَ السُّرى

    انَّ قومي لهم الغزوُ الجِهَارُ

    They did not overdo night marching on Najran's day;

    my people wage their raids openly.

  33. جنبوا كل سَبوح مِرْجَمٍ

    وطِمرٍّ في نواجيه اضطِمَارُ

    They led beside them every swimming-gaited, stone-flinging steed,

    and each fleet horse, lean in its racing limbs.

  34. يتلقين بأَعناقِ المَهَا

    ضاعها من هَدَبِ الرَّملِ حُوَارُ

    They come forward with the necks of oryx

    stirred by a calf from the sand's fringes.

  35. كاحتقارِ التُرب بَقرِفنَ الحَصى

    كلُّ ما مرت عليهِ فهو ثارُ

    As though scorning the dust, they scrape up pebbles;

    all they pass over is stirred up.

  36. لبني بدرٍ عليكم وبالمَعَا

    دقعةٌ شامكم فيها قُدَارُ

    Banu Badr have against you, and at al-Ma'a,

    a dust-dark rout in which Qudar marked you out.

  37. تقع الطير على الوحشِ بها

    ويَلُفُّ الوحشَ بالطَّيرِ الغُبَارُ

    There birds alight upon wild beasts,

    and dust mingles wild beasts with birds.

  38. وَلِتَيمٍ مثلُها في حِميرٍ

    جَونة اللونِ بها العين ضِمَارُ

    Taym has a like one against Himyar,

    black in hue, where sight is lost.

  39. وعلى حُجر أَمالت أسدٌ

    قَصَباً فيهِ لِغُلْبِ الأسْدِ زَارُ

    Against Hujr, Asad inclined

    spear-shafts, amid the roaring of thick-necked lions.

  40. وعدياً خبطتْ عدوتها

    خَبطةَ الشاردِ أَعياه الهِجَارُ

    And its rush battered Adiyy,

    like a stray beast battered, wearied by its hobble.

  41. يتنازعن به مرحولةً

    فوقَها مختلفُ الطَّعْنِ شِجَارُ

    They struggle there over a saddled she-camel,

    above her, crossing spear-thrusts form a lattice.

  42. سبعة من آلِ شِمرٍ قُتلوا

    كلُّهم تاجٌ عليهِ وسِوَارُ

    Seven of the house of Shimmr were killed,

    each with a crown upon him and a bracelet.

  43. وَلِيربوعٍ بِضَاحِي طَخْفَةٍ

    في بني المنذرِ مَنٌّ واِسَارُ

    And Yarbu', on Takhfa's open outskirts,

    held clemency and captive bonds over Banu al-Mundhir.

  44. يومُ قابوسَ يغنّي حِجْلُهُ

    طَرِبَ الساقين والدَّمعُ عُقَارُ

    The day of Qabus—his anklet sings,

    his shins quivering, and his tears are wine.

  45. وأَخوهُ بعدَ عيشٍ دَغْفَلٍ

    خَبرَ البؤسَ وللبؤسِ اختبَارُ

    And his brother, after a life of plenty,

    knew hardship—and hardship has its trials.

  46. كلما نسَّ عليه قدُّهُ

    لين النسّ يحاذيه الشِّعَارُ

    Whenever his leather strap urged him on,

    gently urging, his undergarment kept abreast of it.

  47. ودعا النعمانُ حيَّ يَعْرُبٍ

    فتحامتْهُ البيوتاتُ الكَبارُ

    Al-Nu'man called upon the clan of Ya'rub,

    but the great noble houses shunned him.

  48. أَسلمته طيّءٌ في باذخٍ

    دونه العُقبان تهوى والنِّسارُ

    Tayy abandoned him on a towering height,

    below which eagles and vultures swoop.

  49. يحسب الناظر في الوَاذِه

    انما أَصعادُها فيه انحِدَارُ

    One looking into its mountain recesses thinks

    their ascent within it is only a descent.

  50. وتعدى قومَه مستصرخاً

    ببني عبسٍ فما ذَلَّ الجوَارُ

    He passed beyond his own people, crying for aid

    to Banu Abs, and their protection was not abased.

  51. ثم ذو قارٍ وقارٌ كاسمِهِ

    ذِكره في أَوجهِ الأَعداءِ قَارُ

    Then Dhu Qar—and Qar, true to its name:

    its memory is pitch on the enemies' faces.

  52. وخَبوطِ اليدِ حَدباءِ القِرى

    ما على كاهِلها الصَّعْبِ قَرَارُ

    And one with a battering foreleg and a humped back—

    there is no resting place upon her rugged shoulder.

  53. وطئت كذابَ بكرٍ وطأةً

    بعدما داست طريفاً وهي نَارُ

    She trampled Bakr's liar with a crushing tread,

    after crushing Tarif, herself a fire.

  54. يومَ ماج الدِّينُ وارتدتْ على

    اِبرِ الأَعقابِ عَنْسٌ وصَحَارُ

    On the day religion surged, and there turned back upon

    the points of their heels Ans and Sahar.

  55. عَيْرُ سوءٍ عادَ من مَربَطِهِ

    فلوى جَحْفَلَةَ العَيرِ الزِّيَارُ

    A vile ass returned from his tethering-place,

    and the nose-clamp twisted the ass's lip.

  56. وبعين الجرِّ لاقت مضرٌ

    عَثَجاً رِيعَ ما ريعَ الصِّوَارُ

    And at Ayn al-Jarr, Mudar encountered

    a throng terrified as a wild-cattle herd is terrified.

  57. نَفَضَوا الحشوَ فما شَايَعَهُم

    من سبايا سبأ اِلاَّ الشِّفَارُ

    They shook out the rabble, and none stood with them

    of Saba's captive spoils save blades,

  58. ودروع نسجتْها حِميرٌ

    هن أَكفانُ مَعَدٍّ والشِّعَارُ

    and coats of mail woven by Himyar:

    they are Ma'add's shrouds and undergarments.

  59. أَفلَ الشركُ وما ريشتْ به

    نبلةٌ الا لنا منها الظُّهَارُ

    Paganism set; no arrow was feathered for it

    without its strong back-feathers coming from us.

  60. شَغلت عنكم تميماً وائلٌ

    وقريشٌ لم يُنَهْنِهْهَا الفِجَارُ

    Wa'il kept Tamim occupied away from you,

    and al-Fijar did not hold Quraysh back.

  61. وحروب ليس يُحصيهَا الحَصَى

    بيننا فيهنَّ ظلمٌ وانتصَارُ

    And wars which pebbles cannot number—

    between us, with wrong and redress within them.

  62. واقتحامُ الشِّعبِ اِذْ فاضتْ به

    نعَمٌ هَطْلى وما جَدَّ النِّسَارُ

    And the storming of the pass, when through it poured

    herds in torrents, and what arose at al-Nisar.

  63. وَشَرَعْنا الشرعَ فانقادَ لنا

    كلُّ من كانَ به عنَّا نِفَارُ

    We laid down the Law, and there submitted to us

    everyone who had recoiled from us.

  64. فلنا البَدءُ عليكم والثُّنى

    ولنا الجهلُ عليكم والوَقَارُ

    Ours, over you, were the first encounter and the second;

    ours, over you, were fierce wrath and dignity.

  65. وقريشٌ أنهم ما تَركوا

    شرفاً للناسِ الا ما أَعَارُوا

    And Quraysh—they left no

    honor to others except what they lent.

  66. مِنبرٌ يعلو عليهِ خَاطِبٌ

    وأَذَانٌ يتهاداهُ المَنَارُ

    A pulpit, upon which a preacher mounts,

    and a call to prayer passed from minaret to minaret.

  67. لهم البيتُ الذي حَفَّتْ بهِ

    أُمم قالوا لَهُم دُوروا فَدَارُوا

    Theirs is the House, encircled by

    nations: they told them, 'Circle,' and they circled.

  68. وطَحُونٌ فيلقٌ ملمومةٌ

    كأَتانِ الضَّحلِ ما فيها عَوَارُ

    And a grinding host, a closely massed army,

    like a boulder in shallow water, without flaw.

  69. شَرِقَتْ مُلْسُ الدَّيامِيمِ بها

    شَرَقَ الغَارِ وفاءَتها البِحَارُ

    The smooth desert wastes choked with it,

    as a cave chokes, and the seas matched it.

  70. تذرعُ الصينَ الى قُرطبةٍ

    ذَرعَكَ المشْوَذَ غالاه التِّجارُ

    It measures the span from China to Cordoba,

    as you measure a headcloth merchants have bid up.

  71. لحبَت كسرى وفضتْ قيصراً

    في غَدَاةٍ شَرْعَ ما أَدنى المَزَارُ

    It hewed down Kisra and shattered Caesar

    in one morning, together—how near the destination!

  72. واستباحت جمعَ خاقان ومِن

    دون خاقان دَباً فيه انتِشَارُ

    It ravaged the Khagan's host, and those

    before the Khagan, a spreading locust brood.

  73. نفذت أَعطافها محشورةً

    تتبناها الحَنايا والوِثَارُ

    Its flanks passed through, tightly massed,

    bows and cushioned saddles embracing them.

  74. دانتِ الاملاكُ في الأَرض لنا

    فهم أعبُدُنا والأَرضُ دَارُ

    The kings of the earth submitted to us:

    they are our slaves, and the earth our home.

  75. واذا لم يُذخَرِ الفَخرُ لهم

    فَلِمَنْ يُذخرُ في الناسِ الفَخَارُ

    If glory is not stored away for them,

    then for whom among men is glory stored?

  76. ثم حَالَفْتُمْ علينا قومَنا

    لتَعِزَّوا بهم والحِلفُ عَارُ

    Then you allied yourselves against us with our people,

    to gain strength through them—yet alliance is shame.

  77. يَوم مسعودٌ يبادي جَهْضَماً

    وله في عاملِ الرمحِ جِوَارُ

    On the day Mas'ud openly confronted Jahdam,

    with protection for himself in the spear's upper shaft.

  78. من عَذيري من أُناسٍ عَجَزوا

    أَن يَحُلُّوا حيث ما حلَّ القِطَارُ

    Who will vindicate me against people too helpless

    to camp wherever the camel-train has camped?

  79. غلبَ الحبشُ عليهم مثلما

    غلَب الطِّرفَ على البَغْلِ الحِمَارُ

    The Abyssinians mastered them, just as

    the donkey masters the thoroughbred in a mule.

  80. سَنَّ في الأَيِّمِ منهم وهرَزٌ

    سُنةً ليس لهم عنها ازدِجَارُ

    Wahriz established among their unwed

    a custom from which they cannot turn away.

  81. ليتَ شِعري ضَلةً أَمْ ذلَّةً

    أَم حياءً في حَجَاجِ الأرضِ غارُوا

    Would I knew: through error, humiliation,

    or shame did they sink into the earth's sockets?

  82. سكنوا الفجَ الذي فيهِ لَهم

    وقُرودُ اللهوِ ذَلْقٌ والخِجَارُ

    They settled in the pass where they have

    nimble monkeys for play, and drums.

  83. فهم مثلُ سهيلٍ في الدُّجى

    يركب الأفقَ فيثنيه العِثارُ

    They are like Suhayl in the dark,

    riding the horizon, then turned back by stumbling,

  84. في نجومٍ حولَه مجهولةٍ

    ما لها في فلكِ العِزِّ مَدارُ

    among unknown stars around him,

    with no orbit in the firmament of glory.

  85. أَو بني الأصفر لا يزكو الحيا

    بصحاريهم ولا تربو العِشَارُ

    Or Banu al-Asfar: rain brings no growth

    in their deserts, nor do pregnant she-camels thrive.

  86. واذا ما طُلبوا أَو حُوربوا

    حاربتْ عنهم جبالٌ وبِحارُ

    When they are pursued or fought,

    mountains and seas fight on their behalf.