Sol 6.1

  1. وصفتُكَ واللاَّحِي يعاند في العذْل

    فكنت أَبا ذرٍّ وكان أَبَا جَهْلِ

    I described you while the reproacher persisted stubbornly in blame.

    Thus I was Abu Dharr, while he was Abu Jahl.

  2. له شاهِدا زور من النَّهْيِ والنُّهى

    عليك ومن عينَيْكَ لي شاهدَا عَدْلِ

    He has two false witnesses—prohibition and reason—

    against you; from your eyes I have two truthful witnesses.

  3. حبيبةُ هذا القلبِ من قبلِ خلقِه

    يحبُّكِ قلبي قبلَ خلقِك مِنْ قَبْلي

    Beloved of this heart before it was created,

    my heart loves you from before your creation, before my own.

  4. رأَيتُ مُحيّاً منكِ تحتَ ذوائبٍ

    فأَجلستُ طرفي منك في الشَّمْسِ والظِّل

    I saw your face beneath your tresses,

    and seated my gaze upon you in sunshine and shade.

  5. أَلا فارْفَعِي ذَا الشَّعرَ عنه إِنَّني

    أَغارُ عليه من مُداعَبة الحِجْلِ

    Come, lift this hair away from it, for I

    am jealous of the anklet's caresses upon it.

  6. إِذا نشبَ الخلخالُ فيه فإِنَّه

    يعانِقُه والخِلُّ يصبو إِلى الخِلِّ

    When the anklet catches in it, it

    embraces it; a lover yearns toward a lover.

  7. عجبتُ له إِذ يطمئن مُعانِقاً

    أَما أَذْهلَ الخلخالَ خوفُ بَني ذُهْل

    I marveled at it, embracing so securely:

    has fear of Banu Dhuhl not bewildered the anklet?

  8. بشْوك القَنا يحمُون شهدَ رُضَابها

    ولابُدَّ دون الشَّهد من إِبَر النَّحل

    With thorns of spears they guard the honey of her saliva,

    and before the honey there must be the bees' needles.

  9. تطلَّعُ من بدرِ السماءِ إِلى أَخٍ

    وتنظرُ من زُهر النُّجوم إِلى أَهْلِ

    She beholds a brother in the full moon of heaven,

    and sees her kin among the bright stars.

  10. لها ناظرٌ يا حيرةَ الظبي إِذْ رنا

    به كَحَلٌ ناداه يا خَجلة الكُحل

    Hers is an eye—how bewildered the gazelle when it gazed!

    Its natural darkness calls to kohl: “How shamed you are!”

  11. وأَثقلَها الحسنُ الَّذي قد تكاثرَتْ

    ملاحتُه حتَّى تَثَنَّت مِنَ الثِّقل

    Beauty weighed her down, its loveliness

    grown so abundant that she swayed beneath the weight.

  12. وإِني لأَبْكِي وهْي تبكي تَطَرُّباً

    جعلتُك من هذا التَّطرُّب في حِلِّ

    Indeed I weep while she weeps in rapture;

    I release you from this rapture.

  13. إِذا استحسَنُوا في وردةٍ دمعةَ الحيا

    فَما نَظَروا في خَدِّها دمْعَة الدَّلِّ

    If they admire the rain's teardrop upon a rose,

    they have not seen the tear of coyness on her cheek.

  14. وإِنَّ فمي مُغرىً بفيها لأَنَّه

    رحيمٌ به أَبْصَرتم الثَّدْيَ للطفل

    My mouth is enamored of hers, because hers

    is tender toward mine—have you seen a breast with a child?

  15. وقد فَطمتْني النائباتُ وإِنَّني

    علمتُ بها أَنَّ الفطامَ أَخُو الثُّكل

    Calamities have weaned me, and through them

    I have learned that weaning is bereavement's brother.

  16. ووصلٌ تولَّى أَدْمج الدَّهرُ ذِكْرَه

    كما أُدمِجَت في منطقٍ أَلِفُ الْوَصْب

    A union now departed—Time has folded away its memory,

    as the alif of al-waṣb (“affliction”) is elided in speech.

  17. تَقَضَّى فجسمي في أَواخرَ مِن ضَنىً

    عليه وعقلي في عَقَائلَ مِنْ حَبْلِ

    It passed away: my body is in the last stages of wasting

    over it, and my mind in fetters of rope.

  18. سأَمنعُ عَيني كُلَّما يمنعُ البكا

    عليه وأُسلي النفس عَنْ كُلِّ مَا يُسْلِي

    I shall deny my eyes whatever prevents weeping

    over it, and distract my soul from everything that consoles.

  19. وأُغْلِقُ بابَ العِشْقِ عنِّي لأَنني

    جهلتُ إِلى أَن صارَ بَاباً بِلا قُفْلِ

    I shall close the gate of love against myself, for

    I was foolish until it became a gate without a lock.

  20. فبدرُ الدُّجى أَشْهى إِليَّ من الخَنَا

    وأَقبحُ في عينِ الكريمِ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ

    The full moon of darkness is more alluring to me than lewdness,

    and uglier in the noble man's eye than stinginess.

  21. ومن عرفَ الأَيَّام مثلي فإِنَّه

    يعيشُ بلا حبٍّ ويحيَا بِلاَ خِلِّ

    Whoever has known the days as I have

    lives without love and passes his life without a friend.

  22. ومن كانَ في هَذا الوَرى مثلَ يوسفٍ

    ومن أَيْن هَذا المثلُ كان بِلاَ مِثْلِ

    And who among mankind could be like Yusuf?

    Where could such a likeness be? He has no peer.

  23. تَخِرُّ له الأَملاَكُ ذُلاًّ وإِنَّما

    تَعِزُّ إِذا خرَّت لَديه مِن الذُّلِّ

    Kings fall before him in abasement, yet

    gain honor through abasement when they fall before him.

  24. أَعاديه مِن غِلمانِه في بِلادهم

    يُصرِّفهم بينَ الولاَية والْعَزْلِ

    His enemies are among his servants in their own lands;

    he moves them between appointment and dismissal.

  25. وأَنفُسهُم عَاريةٌ منه عِنْدهم

    مَتى ما أَرادَ اسْتَرجَعَتها يدُ الْقَتْل

    Their lives are loans from him, held in their keeping;

    whenever he wishes, the hand of slaughter reclaims them.

  26. إِذا راسلَ الأَعداءَ يوماً فإِنَّما

    كَتائِبُه كالكُتْب والخيلُ كالرُّسْل

    Whenever he sends a message to his enemies,

    his battalions are letters, his horses messengers.

  27. له صارِمٌ يَشْفي به الدينُ صدرَه

    ويُنجِزُ وعدَ النَّصر مِنه بِلاَ مَطْل

    He has a cutting sword with which the faith soothes its breast,

    and fulfills the promise of victory through it without delay.

  28. يُغيِّبُ عَنَّا لونَه بنجيعهِ

    فما يتحلَّى سيفُه حُلَّةَ الصَّقْلِ

    He hides its color from us beneath its gore,

    so his sword wears no robe of polish.

  29. فلا تحسَبوا بالكَفِّ جرَّد نصلَه

    ولكنَّه قد جرَّد الكفَّ بالنَّصْلِ

    Do not suppose he bared his blade with his hand;

    rather, with the blade he has bared his hand.

  30. ظُباه كمثل البَقْلِ لَوْناً وإِنها

    لَترعى العِدى رَعْي الظِّبا ورقَ البَقْل

    Its edges have the color of green herbs, and

    graze upon enemies as gazelles graze upon herb leaves.

  31. حِدادٌ عِدَاةٌ للحديد تقُدُّه

    من الْبُعد حتَّى كُل غمدٍ بلا نَعْل

    Sharp, foes of iron, they cleave it

    from afar, till every scabbard is without a chape.

  32. تكاد تَقُدُّ الهامَ من قبل طَبْعها

    وتخرُجُ من سجن الغُمودِ بلا سَل

    They all but cleave heads before being forged,

    and leave their scabbards' prison without being drawn.

  33. يُجرِّدها من يغمِدُ الجورَ عدلُه

    ويَقوى بها من يُضعِفُ الفقرَ بالْبَذْلِ

    He unsheathes them whose justice sheathes oppression,

    and he whose giving weakens poverty grows strong through them.

  34. ويَحمِلها مَنْ حَمَّل الدينَ كلَّه

    عليه وما يَشْكو سوى خِفَّةِ الكُلِّ

    He bears them, having taken the whole faith

    upon himself, complaining only that the whole is light.

  35. هَل الكرَكُ الثَكْلَى بأَوْلادِهَا انْتَهَتْ

    عَنِ النَّسلِ مِمَّا جُرِّعَتْه من الثُكْلِ

    Has al-Karak, bereaved of her children, ceased

    to bear offspring after the bereavement she was made to swallow?

  36. وكانُوا لها كالعِقْد إِلاَّ أَنَّه وهَى

    وأَضْحى لَها جَيْشُ ابن أَيَّوبَ كالغُلِّ

    They were a necklace to her, but it came apart,

    and Ibn Ayyub's army became a shackle around her.

  37. أَتاهُمْ بمثل الرَّمل يَثْقُل خيلَهم

    إِلى الأُفْق ما فوقَ الطَّريقِ من الرَّمْلِ

    He came against them with a host like sand; their horses are weighed down

    by sand above the road, stretching to the horizon.

  38. عساكِرُ أَرواحُ العساكر شِرْبُها

    وليسَ لها غيرُ الفوارِس مِنْ أَكْل

    Armies whose drink is the souls of armies,

    whose only food is horsemen.

  39. وما طالَ دِرع الذِّمْر تَحصُّناً

    ولكن ليغدو طرفه مِنه في جلِّ

    The warrior's armor was not made long for protection,

    but so his steed might wear it as a covering.

  40. إِذا ما انْحنوا للِحَمْل حاكَوا قِسهم

    على أَنهم للموتِ أَجْرى من النَّبْلِ

    When they bend forward to charge, they resemble their bows,

    yet run toward death more swiftly than arrows.

  41. يكلِّفُهم غزوَ الفرنجِ بِدارِهم

    ويَسُهل إِلاَّ أَنَّه ليسَ بالسَّهْل

    He charges them to raid the Franks in their own land,

    and it becomes easy, though it is no easy task.

  42. إِذا كنتَ من قتلاكَ تملأُ سُبْلها

    فكيفَ يسيرُ الجيشُ فيها بلا سُبْلِ

    If you fill its roads with those you have slain,

    how can the army march there with no roads?

  43. جيادُهُمُ تخشَى العِثَارَ من القَنا ال

    قصيفِ وتَخْشَى في الدِّمَاءِ مِنَ الْوَحْلِ

    Their steeds fear stumbling over the spears—the

    shattered ones—and fear the mire amid the blood.

  44. وما خالَفَتْك الجُردُ قَطُّ وإِنَّها

    لَتَلْحقُ مَنْ عَادَيْتَه وَهْيَ في الشَّكْلِ

    The sleek horses have never disobeyed you; indeed,

    they would catch your enemy even in fetters.

  45. وأَرْجُلُها لو قُطِّعت لسَرتْ بمن

    عليها لَهمْ والصِّل يَسْعى بِلاَ رِجْل

    Even if their legs were severed, they would carry those

    upon them toward their foes; the viper moves without a leg.

  46. جَنى أَهلُ تِلكَ القلعةِ الشَّرَّ إِذ رأَوْا

    هواديَها كالباسِقَاتِ مِن النَّخْلِ

    The people of that fortress reaped evil when they saw

    their horses' necks like towering palms.

  47. غدا بَعْلُها الإِبْرِنْس يلعنُ عُرسَه

    بها وهي لا تنفَكُّ من لعنةِ الْبَعلِ

    Her husband, the Prince, began cursing his marriage

    to her, while she could never escape her husband's curse.

  48. يرى الخيلَ والفرسانَ يَغْشَون رُوحه

    فَيُضْطر لاستعماله غَفْلَةَ الغُفلِ

    He sees horses and horsemen assailing his soul,

    and is forced to use it with the heedlessness of fools.

  49. وقد رجَمتها المنجنيقاتُ إِذ رَمَت

    لشيخٍ لعينٍ كافرٍ جاهلٍ رَذْلِ

    The catapults stoned her when they hurled their missiles

    at an accursed old man, unbelieving, ignorant, base.

  50. فماتَت وما مَات يُفْتح ملكُه

    فخلَّفَها تبكي الفروعَ على الأَصلِ

    So she died, while he did not; his kingdom was being conquered,

    and he left her weeping for the branches over the root.

  51. وصبَّحتَ أُخرى صبَّحتْك بِأَهْلها

    ومَسَّتْكَ إِذْ أَمسيت وهْيَ بِلا أَهْل

    You reached another at dawn; she greeted you with her people,

    and greeted you at dusk, when evening came, with no people left.

  52. فَنابُلْس لما أَن نزلتَ بِرَبعها

    أَقامَت بِهم حقَّ الضِّيافة والنُّزْل

    When you alighted in Nablus's precincts,

    she fulfilled through them the duties of hospitality and lodging.

  53. أَحسوا بطل للخريفِ فجاءَهم

    ربيعٌ من النَّبل المسدَّدِ كَالْوَبْلِ

    They felt an autumn drizzle; then there came to them

    a springtime of well-aimed arrows, like a downpour.

  54. ولَمْ أَرَ أَرضاً جادَها الغيثُ قبلَها

    وتُصبحُ تشكو بَعده غُلَّةَ المَحْلِ

    Never before her have I seen a land lavished with rain

    then waking to complain of drought's burning thirst.

  55. وما شَرِقُوا بالماءِ والرِّيق إِذ رَأَوْا

    جيوشَك لكن بالفوارِس والرَّجْلِ

    They did not choke on water or spittle when they saw

    your armies, but on horsemen and foot soldiers.

  56. شبَبَت وقودَ الحربِ بالبيضِ والقنا

    عليهم فقد أَضْحت دماؤُهُمُ تَغْلِي

    You kindled the war's fuel with bright swords and spears

    against them, till their blood began to boil.

  57. وما أُغْمِدت عَنْهم سيوفُك أَوْ أَتَتْ

    على الغِرِّ والشَّيخِ المغَفَّلِ والكَهْلِ

    Your swords were not sheathed from them until they had finished

    the inexperienced youth, the heedless old man, and the middle-aged.

  58. يُعانق في قتلاهُمُ فيه عابداً

    لصليب بلا حُبٍّ له عابدُ العجل

    Among their slain there, a worshipper is embraced—

    a cross-worshipper—by a calf-worshipper with no love for him.

  59. أَبَدْتَ النَّصَارَى واليهودَ بمعرَكٍ

    وما جاءَ هذا قطُّ في سَالِف النَّقْلِ

    You annihilated Christians and Jews on a battlefield,

    a thing never found in any earlier account.

  60. وكانتْ بهم تلك البلادُ تَنَجَّستْ

    فنابَ دمٌ منهمْ عن الماءِ فِي الْغَسْلِ

    Those lands had been defiled by them,

    so their blood took water's place in washing them.

  61. ولم يبقَ إِلاَّ من سبَى الجيشُ منهمُ

    وإِن كان يَسْبي الجيشَ بالحدقِ النُّجلِ

    None remained except those the army took captive,

    though they themselves captivated the army with wide, beautiful eyes:

  62. عذارى أَسارى كُبِّلت بِشعورها

    فَجرَّحها في السَّاقِ والمعصمِ الْعَبْلِ

    maidens, captives, shackled with their own hair,

    which wounded their calves and full, rounded wrists.

  63. وقدْ شُغِلتْ عن أَهْلِها بإِسَارها

    وأَنتَ بشكرِ الله في أَشْغَل الشُّغْل

    Their captivity distracted them from their families,

    while you were wholly occupied with thanking God.

  64. تكبِّر فيها اللهَ في الجامِع الَّذي

    جمعتَ به بين الفريضَةِ والنَّفْل

    There, in the congregational mosque, you proclaim God's greatness,

    uniting in it the obligatory and the voluntary prayers.

  65. وصليتَ فيها جمعةً بجماعةٍ

    تُناديك للإِسلامِ يا جَامِعَ الشَّمْلِ

    There you offered Friday prayer with a congregation

    calling to you for Islam: “O gatherer of the scattered!”

  66. وعُدْتَ بفضل اللهِ للخلق سَالِماً

    وأَي زمانٍ لم تَعُد فيه بالفَضْلِ

    By God's grace you returned safely to the people,

    and when have you ever returned without bounty?

  67. فقَد شُغِل الأَملاكُ عن شكرِ رَبِّهم

    سوى أَنْتَ بالرَّيحانِ والرَّاح والنّقْلِ

    Kings have been distracted from thanking their Lord—

    all but you—by basil, wine, and sweetmeats.

  68. يقولون ما لا يفعلون أَما اسْتَحَوْا

    من الملكِ المُغْنى عَن القول بالفِعْل

    They say what they do not do. Are they not ashamed

    before the king whose deeds dispense with words?

  69. لك الحكْمُ في الدُّنْيا وما هُو بالهوَى

    مع الجودِ بالدُّنيا وما هو بالهَزْلِ

    Yours is rule in this world, without caprice,

    along with giving the world away—not in jest.

  70. فحبُّكَ مفروضٌ على كلِّ مسلم

    ويُعلَم هذا فيكَ بالعَقل والنَّقْلِ

    Loving you is a duty upon every Muslim,

    known of you through reason and tradition.