Sol 6.1

  1. تَنَزَّه طَرْفِي بينَ زَاهٍ وزَاهِرِ

    عَلَى أَنَّ طَرْفِي أَيُّ ساهٍ وسَاهِرِ

    My gaze wandered in delight between the splendid and the radiant,

    though my gaze was so heedless and sleepless.

  2. فَتَيَّمني مِنْ فِيه لي فردُ عاذِلٍ

    وفيه كما شاءَ الْهَوى أَلْفُ عَاذِرِ

    Then he who held one reproacher for me within him enthralled me,

    while in him, as love wished, were a thousand who excused me.

  3. يَجودُ فَيُعطي كُلَّ سُقْمٍ لمهجتي

    ويُجدي فَيُهدِي كُلُّ سُهدٍ لِنَاظَرِي

    He is generous, giving every sickness to my heart,

    and bestows bounty, gifting every sleeplessness to my eye.

  4. وأَقَبَلْتُ أَبْكِي إِذْ تَبَسَّمَ ضاحِكاً

    فقابَلْتُ منه جَوْهَراً بِجَواهر

    I began to weep when he smiled in laughter,

    and answered his jewel with jewels.

  5. له شاعِرٌ في ثَغْرِه أَيُّ نَاظِمٍ

    ولي كَاتِبٌ في مُقْلِتي أَيُّ نَاثِر

    He has a poet in his mouth—what a stringer!

    and I a writer in my eye—what a scatterer!

  6. وطائِر حُسْنٍ طَار قَلْبي بحسنِه

    فيا عَجَبا مِنْ طَائِرٍ وَكْرِ طَائِر

    A bird of beauty whose beauty made my heart fly—

    how wondrous: a bird that is another bird's nest!

  7. ضَنيتُ به حتَّى ظننتُ بأَنَّني

    غداةَ اعْتَنقنا شعرةً في ضَفَائِر

    I wasted away for him until I thought myself,

    on the morning we embraced, a hair among his braids.

  8. يُشَوِّقُني للحورِ في الخلْدِ وجْهُه

    فيزْجُرني عَنْ وصْلِه أَيُّ زَاجِر

    His face makes me yearn for the houris in eternal Paradise,

    and thus deters me from union with him—what a deterrent!

  9. فيالَك حُسْناً كان عِشْقا لعاشق

    وزادَ إِلى أَنْ عَادَ ذِكراً لِذاكر

    Oh, what beauty you are, once a lover's passion,

    that grew until it became a worshipper's remembrance of God!

  10. أَتاني فهنَّاني بمقدمِ وصْله

    وفي وَجْهه بِالْبشر كُتْبُ البَشَائِر

    He came and gladdened me with the arrival of his union,

    and in his cheerful face were books of glad tidings.

  11. وَوَافى فكمْ مِنْ فرحَةٍ في جوانحٍ

    وولَّى فَكَمْ مِنْ حَسْرة فِي سَرائِر

    He arrived—how much joy within breasts!

    and left—how much anguish in inmost hearts!

  12. إِذا مَا بَدا من بَعدِه البدرُ طالِعاً

    فعندي إِليه نَاظِرٌ أَيُّ نَاظِر

    When, after him, the full moon appears rising,

    I turn an eye toward it—what an eye!

  13. أَحِنُّ إِليه كلَّ يوم وليلةٍ

    حنينَ الحنَايا لا حنينَ الأَبَاعِرِ

    I yearn for him every day and night,

    with the twang of bows, not the moaning of camels.

  14. وإِنِّي لأَهواهُ على الصَّدِّ والقِلى

    وأَذكُره بين الْقَنَا الْمُتَشَاجِرِ

    I surely love him despite rejection and hatred,

    and remember him amid clashing spears.

  15. وأَثْلج صَدْري من هوَاجِر رَبْعِه

    فيا بَرْدَةً مِن حَرِّ تلَكَ الْهَواجرِ

    And my breast cooled in his dwelling's noonday heat;

    oh, what coolness from the heat of those noons!

  16. تَمشَّيْتُ في دار الحبيبِ بِمُقْلَتِي

    وقد سُحِبَتْ فيها ذيولُ المحاجِرِ

    I walked through the beloved's dwelling with my eye,

    where the hems of eye-sockets had been trailed.

  17. ومَا أَرْضُها مَلثومةٌ بِمبَاسمٍ

    ولكنَّها ملثومَةٌ بضمائِر

    Its earth is not kissed by smiling mouths,

    but is kissed by innermost souls.

  18. تَرقَّت إِليها بالسرى لممُ الدُّجى

    وخِلْتُ الثُّريا وَدْعَةً فِي غَدائِر

    The tresses of darkness rose to it by night,

    and I imagined the Pleiades a cowrie among its braids.

  19. وَظلِت لديها خَاشِعاً مُتضرعاً

    أَهيمُ بقلبٍ غَائِبِ اللُّبِ حَاضِرِ

    I remained beside it, humbled and supplicating,

    roaming love-mad, my heart present but its reason gone.

  20. وإِنَّ الهَوى ما زال في كل عاشق

    كَصَارم سَيْف الدين في كُلِّ كَافِرِ

    Love has always been in every lover

    like Sayf al-Din's cutting blade in every unbeliever.

  21. يُجرِّدُه من يابس الدَّم فَوْقَه

    ويُغْمِدُه في سائلٍ منه مَائِر

    He strips it of the blood dried upon it,

    and sheathes it in blood flowing and surging.

  22. مُهَنَّدِ مضَّاءِ الصرائِم طاهِرٍ

    وصارمِ منصورِ العزائمِ ظافِرِ

    An Indian-steel blade, pure, lending keenness to swords,

    a cutting blade, triumphant, with victorious resolves.

  23. إِذا شِئْتَ أَن تَروِي أَحاديثَ بَأْسِه

    يقيناً فما يُنبِيك غيرُ المَغافِرِ

    If you wish to recount tales of his might

    with certainty, only helmets can inform you.

  24. مَناصِلُه في الهام مُغْمدةُ الظُّبا

    وأَرْمَاحُه مركوزَةٌ في الحَناجِر

    His blades have their edges sheathed in heads,

    and his spears are planted in throats.

  25. أَبو الفتكِ من أَسْيافه غير أَبْترٍ

    وأُمُّ المنايا عنده غيرُ عَاقرِ

    The father of slaughter among his swords is not childless,

    and the mother of deaths with him is not barren.

  26. يَؤُمُّ العدا في عسْكرٍ من جُنوده

    وقد سبقت أَخبارُه في عَساكِر

    He advances upon the foe with an army of his soldiers,

    while reports of him have already gone ahead in armies.

  27. يبادِرُ لِلأَقْرانِ قبلَ بَدَادِهم

    ولا يُدرِك العَلْياءَ مَنْ لَم يُبادِر

    He hastens against his peers before they can challenge him,

    and none attains high glory without hastening.

  28. وتَسْري إِلى النَّصر المُبين رِمَاحُه

    فتعبرُ مِنْ أَجْسادهم في مَعَابِرِ

    His spears travel by night toward manifest victory,

    crossing through their bodies along passageways.

  29. فحمْلاته لا تُتَّقَى بسوابغ

    وفِعْلاتُه لا تُتَّقَى بالمعَاذِرِ

    His charges cannot be warded off by full coats of mail,

    and his deeds cannot be warded off with excuses.

  30. له اللهُ ما أَمْضَاه حدَّ عزيمةٍ

    وأَثْبَتَه بَيْن اخْتِلافِ البَواتِرِ

    God be with him! How keen-edged his resolve,

    and how steadfast he is amid clashing blades!

  31. يَظَلُّ بوجهٍ ضَاحِكِ الثغر باسم

    أَمَام نهارٍ كالِح الْوَجه باسِر

    He remains smiling, his mouth laughing,

    before a day grim-faced and scowling.

  32. تَراه إِلى الهَيْجاءِ أَوَّل واردٍ

    وعَنْها إِلى الأَوْطَانِ آخِرَ صَادِرِ

    You see him the first to enter battle,

    and the last to leave it for home.

  33. تَخِرُّ الجِبَالُ الشُمُّ خوفَ خُيولِه

    وتندكُّ رُعْباً قَبْلَ وَقْعِ الحَوافِر

    The lofty mountains fall in fear of his horses,

    and crumble in terror before the hooves strike.

  34. سَنَابِكُها بين العَريش وَغَزَّةٍ

    وعثيَرها بين العُذَيب وحَاجرِ

    Their hooves are between al-Arish and Gaza,

    and their dust between al-Udhayb and Hajir.

  35. يَزورُ الأَعادي في حُصونٍ شوامخ

    ويفصُل عنها عَن طُلولٍ دَواثرِ

    He visits his enemies in towering fortresses,

    and departs from them, now effaced ruins.

  36. مُلوكُ عِداهُ مَا لَها مِنْ مساكن

    وقتلاهُمُ ما إِنْ لها مِنْ مَقَابِر

    The kings of his foes have no dwellings,

    and their slain have no graves.

  37. فكَمْ مِن قلوبٍ في صُدورِ مخَالِبٍ

    وأَلسنةٍ أَفواهُها مِنْ مَنَاشِر

    How many hearts lie in the breasts of taloned beasts,

    and tongues whose mouths are made of saws!

  38. إِذا قَفَلَتْ أَجنادُه فجمالُها

    مَغَانِي الغَوانِي بل قصورُ القياصِر

    When his troops return, their camels are

    the dwellings of beauties—nay, the palaces of Caesars.

  39. يُبيَّتُها مِنْه بأَحنقَ ثائرِ

    وتُصْبح مِنه عِنْد أَكْرَمِ آسِر

    He raids them by night as the fiercest avenger,

    and by dawn they find in him the noblest captor.

  40. يلوذُ بغَفَّارِ الجَرائِر صافِح السر

    ائرِ غلاَّبِ المقاديرِ قَادِرِ

    One seeks refuge with a great forgiver of offenses, who pardons inner

    secrets, a conqueror of fates, powerful;

  41. كريمٍ فما يَنْفَك مُغْنِمَ مُعدِم

    حليمٍ فما ينفكُّ عاذِرَ عَاثِر

    generous, ever bestowing gain upon the destitute;

    forbearing, ever excusing those who stumble;

  42. مُعيدِ النَّدى مُبدِي الهُدى فائِض الجدَا

    مُبيدِ العِدَا جمَّاعِ شَملِ المآثرِ

    renewing bounty, revealing guidance, overflowing with gifts;

    destroying foes, gathering all glorious deeds together.

  43. مَواهِبُه فاتَتْ مَدى كُلِّ شاكدٍ

    كما أَنَّها أَعْيَتْ عَلى كُلِّ شاكرِ

    His gifts surpass the reach of anyone who would repay them,

    just as they prove too much for anyone who would give thanks.

  44. إِذا شِئْتَ أَن تَدْعو مواهبَ كَفِّه

    فقل يا مُقبلاتِ الجُدودِ الْعَواثِر

    If you wish to name the gifts of his hand,

    say: O bringers of faltering fortunes to prosperity!

  45. له الفخر حَقاً من جدودٍ سوالفٍ

    له الملكُ إِرْثاً عَنْ مُلوكٍ أَكَابِر

    His is true glory from ancestors long past,

    his kingship inherited from mighty kings.

  46. ملوكٌ لَهُمْ في الملكِ أَوَّلُ أَوَّل

    وغيرُهُمُ ما زالَ آخرَ آخِر

    Kings who in sovereignty are the first of the first,

    while others have always been the last of the last.

  47. غَدا آلُ نجمِ الدِّينِ في ذِرْوةِ العُلا

    منازِلُهم بَيْن النجومِ الزَّوَاهِر

    The house of Najm al-Din has reached the summit of glory,

    their dwellings among the radiant stars.

  48. تعدَّلَت الأَيامُ منهم بعادِلِ

    كما نُصِر الإِسْلامُ منهم بِنَاصِر

    The days were made just by their al-Adil, the Just,

    as Islam was given victory by their al-Nasir, the Helper.

  49. ولو خَاطَرونِي أَنَّ فِي الدَّهر مثلَهم

    لكَان مآلي أَخْذَ رَهْنِ الْمُخاطرِ

    Were they to wager with me that time holds their equals,

    my outcome would be to take the bettor's stake.

  50. فيا مَلِكاً سادَ الأَنام بِسيرةٍ

    تَغَبَّر في وَجْهِ السِّنينَ الْغَوابِر

    O king, who ruled mankind through a way of life

    that casts dust in the face of bygone years!

  51. حويتَ فما أَبقيتَ مُلْكاً لمالِكٍ

    وسُدْتَ فَمَا أَبْقَيتَ فَخْراً لفاخر

    You have possessed all, leaving no kingdom for any king,

    and ruled supreme, leaving no glory for any boaster.

  52. وإِنَّكَ سيفُ الدَّين والله شَاهِدٌ

    فأَيُّ حُسَامٍ في يديْ أَيِّ شَاهِر

    You are Sayf al-Din, the Sword of the Faith—God is witness—

    what a blade, in the hands of what a wielder!

  53. وإِنِّي عبدٌ لم أَزلْ فيكَ قائِلاً

    قصائدَ عن عَلياك غَيرَ قصائِر

    I am a servant who has never ceased reciting in your praise

    poems that do not fall short of your lofty glory.

  54. وإِنِّي بَعْد المدحِ أَنْشُد دَائِباً

    خليليَّ إِنِّي لا أَرَى غَيرَ شَاعِر

    And after praising, I keep reciting tirelessly:

    My two friends, I see nothing but poets,

  55. يَهيمُون في وادي الفَهَاهَةِ حَيْرةً

    إِذا هَامَ في وادي المجرَّة خَاطِري

    wandering bewildered in the valley of inarticulacy,

    while my mind roams the valley of the Milky Way.

  56. ويَبْغُون ما حاولْتُ مِنْه بجَهلهم

    وهزُّ الْعَوالي غيرُ هَزِّ المْخَاصِر

    In their ignorance they seek what I have sought in poetry,

    but brandishing lances is not brandishing little staffs.

  57. أَتانيَ دُرُّ الشِّعر عَفواً مطفَّلا

    عليَّ وَهُمْ يَجْرون خَلْفَ الْمحَابِر

    The pearls of verse came effortlessly, as uninvited guests

    to me, while they ran after inkwells.

  58. وقد كَسَّروا أَسْنَانهم حين مضَّغُوا

    حَصَاهُ ونبعُ الطَّبع صعب المكاسِر

    They broke their teeth when they chewed

    its pebbles; the nabʿ wood of innate talent is hard to splinter.

  59. ويأْتُونَ بالأَشْعارِ يَبهَرُ حُسْنُها

    ولكِنَّها موجودَةٌ في الدَّفَاتِر

    They bring poems whose beauty dazzles,

    but they already exist in notebooks.

  60. على أَنَّ فيهم من إِذا قَال لَفظَةً

    أَعاد لَنا كَانُون في شهر ناجِر

    Yet among them is one who, when he utters a word,

    brings us winter's Kanun in the month of Najir.

  61. يُروّع بالأَشعارِ والريحُ تَحتَها

    فما شعرُه إِلا كأَشْدَاقِ زامِر

    He frightens with poems, with wind beneath them,

    and his poetry is nothing but a piper's cheeks.

  62. وقد سَارَ ما بين الوَرى ذِكْرُ شِعْره

    ولكنَّه من بيتِه غَيْرُ سائر

    The fame of his poetry has traveled among people,

    yet it has never traveled beyond his house.

  63. أُعيذُك من أَشْعَارِهم فاستماع ما

    يقولونَه مثلُ استماع المعائِر

    I seek protection for you from their poems, for hearing what

    they say is like hearing taunts.

  64. مَقَامَاتُ مَوْلاَنَا مشاعِرُ فَضْله

    له الرَّأْي في تَنْزِيه تِلْك المَشَاعِرِ

    Our lord's assemblies are shrines to his excellence;

    his is the judgment to keep those shrines pure.