إن تقوى ربنا خير نفل — Labid Ibn Rabiah

إِنَّ تَقوى رَبِّنا خَيرُ نَفَل

وَبِإِذنِ اللَهِ رَيثي وَعَجَل

Truly, reverence for our Lord is the best reward.

By God's permission come my delay and haste.

أَحمَدُ اللَهَ فَلا نِدَّ لَهُ

بِيَدَيهِ الخَيرُ ما شاءَ فَعَل

I praise God, for He has no equal.

Goodness is in His hands; whatever He wills, He does.

مَن هَداهُ سُبُلَ الخَيرِ اِهتَدى

ناعِمَ البالِ وَمَن شاءَ أَضَلّ

Whoever He guides along goodness's paths finds guidance,

at peace in mind; whoever He wills, He leads astray.

وَرَقاقٍ عُصَبٍ ظُلمانُهُ

كَحَزيقِ الحَبَشِيِّينَ الزُجَل

Many a flat expanse, its ostriches gathered in flocks,

like bands of clamorous Abyssinians,

قَد تَجاوَزتُ وَتَحتي جَسرَةٌ

حَرَجٌ في مِرفَقَيها كَالفَتَل

I have crossed, beneath me a sturdy she-camel,

a tight bend at her elbows resembling an outward twist.

تَسلُبُ الكانِسَ لَم يوأَر بِها

شُعبَةَ الساقِ إِذا الظِلُّ عَقَل

She steals from the beast in its covert, unfrightened by her,

its branchlike shin, when the shade is held fast.

وَتَصُكُّ المَروَ لَمّا هَجَّرَت

بِنَكيبٍ مَعِرٍ دامي الأَظَلّ

She strikes the flint when traveling at midday

with a battered, bare foot, its sole bleeding.

وَإِذا حَرَّكتُ غَرزي أَجمَرَت

أَو قَرا بي عَدوُ جَونٍ قَد أَبَلّ

Whenever I stir my stirrup, she gathers speed,

or a dark beast's gallop after its escape bears me on,

بِالغُراباتِ فَزَرّافاتِها

فَبِخِنزيرٍ فَأَطرافِ حُبَل

at al-Ghurabat, then its Zarrafat,

then at Khinzir, then the edges of Hubal.

يُسئِدُ السَيرَ عَلَيها راكِبٌ

رابِطُ الجَأشِ عَلى كُلِّ وَجَل

A rider keeps her traveling through the night,

steadfast of heart against every fear.

حالَفَ الفَرقَدَ شِركاً في السُرى

خَلَّةً باقِيَةً دونَ الخَلَل

He has allied with al-Farqad as a partner in night travel,

in an enduring friendship untouched by breach.

اِعقِلي إِن كُنتُ لَمّا تَعقِلي

وَلَقَد أَفلَحَ مَن كانَ عَقَل

Be wise, if you have not yet been wise;

those who have used reason have indeed prospered.

إِن تَرَي رَأسِيَ أَمسى واضِحاً

سُلِّطَ الشَيبُ عَلَيهِ فَاِشتَعَل

If you see that my head has become white,

gray hair has mastered it and flared up.

فَلَقَد أُعوِصُ بِالخَصمِ وَقَد

أَملَأُ الجَفنَةَ مِن شَحمِ القُلَل

I have often confounded an adversary, and often

filled the serving-bowl with fat from the hump-tops.

وَلَقَد تَحمَدُ لَمّا فارَقَت

جارَتي وَالحَمدُ مِن خَيرِ خَوَل

She has praised me when she departed—

my woman-neighbor; praise is among the best possessions.

وَغُلامٍ أَرسَلَتهُ أُمُّهُ

بِأَلوكٍ فَبَذَلنا ما سَأَل

Many a boy whose mother sent him

with a message—we freely gave what he asked.

أَو نَهَتهُ فَأَتاهُ رِزقُهُ

فَاِشتَوى لَيلَةَ ريحٍ وَاِجتَمَل

Or she forbade him, yet his sustenance reached him,

and he roasted meat on a windy night and melted its fat:

مِن شِواءٍ لَيسَ مِن عارِضَةٍ

بِيَدَي كُلِّ هَضومٍ ذي نَزَل

roast meat not taken from a stricken animal,

at the hands of every generous host with ample provisions.

فَإِذا جوزيتَ قَرضاً فَاِجزِهِ

إِنَّما يَجزي الفَتى لَيسَ الجَمَل

When you are rewarded with a kindness, repay it;

it is the young man who repays, not the camel.

أَعمِلِ العيسَ عَلى عِلّاتِها

إِنَّما يُنجِحُ أَصحابُ العَمَل

Put the pale camels to work despite their ailments;

it is those who work who succeed.

وَإِذا رُمتَ رَحيلاً فَاِرتَحِل

وَاِعصِ ما يَأمُرُ تَوصيمُ الكَسَل

When you intend to depart, depart,

and disobey what the languor of laziness commands.

وَاِكذِبِ النَفسَ إِذا حَدَّثتَها

إِنَّ صِدقَ النَفسِ يُزري بِالأَمَل

Lie to yourself when you speak to it;

truthfulness to oneself diminishes hope.

غَيرَ أَن لا تَكذِبَنها في التُقى

وَاِخزُها بِالبِرِّ لِلَّهِ الأَجَل

Except that you must not deceive it concerning piety;

humble it through righteousness for God, the Most Exalted.

وَاِضبِطِ اللَيلَ إِذا طالَ السُرى

وَتَدَجّى بَعدَ فَورٍ وَاِعتَدَل

Master the night when the night journey grows long

and darkness deepens after its first surge and settles.

يَرهَبُ العاجِزُ مِن لُجَّتِهِ

فَيُدَعّي في مَبيتٍ وَمَحَل

The helpless man fears its depths,

and lingers at a sleeping-place and a camp.

طالَ قَرنُ الشَمسِ لَمّا طَلَعَت

فَإِذا ما حَضَرَ اللَيلُ اِضمَحَلّ

The sun's horn lengthens when it rises,

but when night arrives it vanishes.

وَأَخو القَفرَةِ ماضٍ هَمُّهُ

كُلَّما شاءَ عَلى الأَينِ اِرتَحَل

The desert's companion has a resolute purpose;

whenever he wishes, he departs despite fatigue.

وَمَجودٍ مِن صُباباتِ الكَرى

عاطِفِ النُمرُقِ صَدقِ المُبتَذَل

Many a man drenched in lingering traces of sleep,

folding his saddle-cushion, sturdy in his work-worn frame,

قالَ هَجِّدنا فَقَد طالَ السُرى

وَقَدَرنا إِن خَنى دَهرٍ غَفَل

said, 'Let us sleep; the night journey has been long,

and we can rest, if time's ravages leave us be.'

يَتَّقي الأَرضَ بِدَفٍّ شاسِفٍ

وَضُلوعٍ تَحتَ صُلبٍ قَد نَحَل

He shields himself from the ground with a shriveled flank

and ribs beneath a backbone grown lean.

فَلَمّا عَرَّسَ حَتّى هِجتُهُ

بِالتَباشيرِ مِنَ الصُبحِ الأُوَل

No sooner had he halted to rest than I roused him

with the earliest tidings of dawn.

يَلمَسُ الأَحلاسَ في مَنزِلِهِ

بِيَدَيهِ كَاليَهودِيِّ المُصَل

He gropes for the saddlecloths at his stopping-place

with both hands, like a Jew at prayer.

يَتَمارى في الَّذي قُلتُ لَهُ

وَلَقَد يَسمَعُ قَولي حَيَّهَل

He questions what I told him,

though he surely hears me saying, 'Come along!'

فَوَرَدنا قَبلَ فُرّاطِ القَطا

إِنَّ مِن وِردِيَ تَغليسَ النَهَل

We reached the water before the foremost sandgrouse;

first drinking in pre-dawn darkness is among my watering habits.

طامِيَ العَرمَضِ لا عَهدَ لَهُ

بِأَنيسٍ بَعدَ حَولٍ قَد كَمَل

Water overgrown with algae, knowing nothing

of a human visitor after a whole year had passed.

فَهَرَقنا لَهُما في دائِرٍ

لِضَواحيهِ نَشيشٌ بِالبَلَل

We poured for the two of them into a round trough,

its outer edges hissing with the wetness.

راسِخُ الدِمنِ عَلى أَعضادِهِ

ثَلَمَتهُ كُلُّ ريحٍ وَسَبَل

Dung-crusts lay firmly embedded upon its sidewalls;

every wind and shower had notched it.

عافَتا الماءَ فَلَم نُعطِنهُما

إِنَّما يُعطِنُ مَن يَرجو العِلَل

Both rejected the water, so we did not keep them there;

only one hoping for second draughts keeps his camels at water.

ثُمَّ أَصدَرناهُما في وارِدٍ

صادِرٍ وَهمٍ صُواهُ قَد مَثَل

Then we led the two away onto a road leading in

and out, vast, its waymark cairns standing clear.

تَرزُمُ الشارِفُ مِن عِرفانِهِ

كُلَّما لاحَ بِنَجدٍ وَاِحتَفَل

The old she-camel rumbles at recognizing it

whenever it appears on high ground and stands out fully.

فَمَضَينا فَقَضَينا ناجِحاً

مَوطِناً يُسأَلُ عَنهُ ما فَعَل

We pressed on and successfully fulfilled

an undertaking about which one asks, 'How did it fare?'

وَلَقَد يَعلَمُ صَحبي كُلُّهُم

بِعَدانِ السَيفِ صَبري وَنَقَل

All my companions surely know,

on the coastal tract, my endurance and quickness.

رابِطُ الجَأشِ عَلى فَرجِهِمُ

أَعطِفُ الجَونَ بِمَربوعٍ مِتَل

Steadfast of heart at their vulnerable flank,

I wheel my dark horse with a stout, medium-length spear.

وَلَقَد أَغدو وَما يَعدَمُني

صاحِبٌ غَيرُ طَويلِ المُحتَبَل

Often I go out at dawn, and I never lack

a companion kept on no long tether:

ساهِمُ الوَجهِ شَديدٌ أَسرُهُ

مُغبَطُ الحارِكِ مَحبوكُ الكَفَل

lean-faced, powerfully built,

with full withers and a tightly knitted rump;

بِأَجَشِّ الصَوتِ يَعبوبٍ إِذا

طَرَقَ الحَيَّ مِنَ الغَزوِ صَهَل

on a deep-voiced, surging steed who, when

he comes to camp by night from raiding, neighs.

يَطرُدُ الزُجَّ يُباري ظِلَّهُ

بِأَسيلٍ كَالسِنانِ المُنتَخَل

He thrusts past the spear-butt, racing his shadow,

with a smooth cheek like a carefully chosen spearhead.

وَعَلاهُ زَبَدُ المَحضِ كَما

زَلَّ عَن ظَهرِ الصَفا ماءُ الوَشَل

Foam like pure milk covers him, as

trickling water slips from a smooth rock's face.

وَكَأَنّي مُلجِمٌ سوذانِقاً

أَجدَلِيّاً كَرُّهُ غَيرُ وَكَل

It is as though I had bridled a hunting falcon,

of noble falcon breed, unflagging in its returning attack.

يُغرِقُ الثَعلَبَ في شِرَّتِهِ

صائِبُ الجِذمَةِ في غَيرِ فَشَل

He drives the spear-tenon deep in his impetuous charge,

true to the short whip, without faltering,

مِن نَسا الناشِطِ إِذ ثَوَّرتُهُ

أَو رَئيسِ الأَخدَريّاتِ الأُوَل

into the thigh-sinew of the wild bull when I rouse it,

or of the leader of the foremost Akhdari wild she-asses.

يَلمُجُ البارِضَ لَمجاً في النَدى

مِن مَرابيعِ رِياضٍ وَرِجَل

He nibbles the fresh shoots in the dew,

from the spring growth of meadows and watercourses.

فَهوَ شَحّاجٌ مُدِلٌّ سَنِقٌ

لاحِقُ البَطنِ إِذا يَعدو زَمَل

He is a loud brayer, self-assured and sated,

his belly tucked up; when he runs, he races.

فَتَدَلَّيتُ عَلَيهِ قافِلاً

وَعَلى الأَرضِ غَياياتُ الطَفَل

I leaned down upon him, returning home,

while canopies of dusk lay over the earth.

وَتَأَيَّبتُ عَلَيهِ ثانِياً

يَتَّقيني بِتَليلٍ ذي خُصَل

I returned to him a second time,

and he wards me off with a neck bearing locks of hair.

لَم أَقِل إِلّا عَلَيهِ أَو عَلى

مَرقَبٍ يَفرَعُ أَطرافَ الجَبَل

I took my midday rest only upon him or upon

a lookout rising above the mountain's upper edges.

وَمَعي حامِيَةٌ مِن جَعفَرٍ

كُلَّ يَومٍ تَبتَلي ما في الخِلَل

With me is a defending force from Ja'far,

testing each day what lies in men's character.

وَقَبيلٌ مِن عُقَيلٍ صادِقٌ

كَلُيوثٍ بَينَ غابٍ وَعَصَل

And a faithful contingent from Uqayl,

like lions amid reeds and tangled thickets.

فَمَتى يَنقَع صُراخٌ صادِقٌ

يَحلِبوهُ ذاتَ جَرسٍ وَزَجَل

Whenever a genuine cry for aid rings out,

they muster for it a force of clangor and clamor:

فَخمَةً ذَفراءَ تُرتى بِالعُرى

قُردَمانِيّاً وَتَركاً كَالبَصَل

massive, rank with sweat, fastened with loops,

in heavy mail and onion-like helmets.

أَحكَمَ الجِنثِيُّ مِن عَوراتِها

كُلَّ حِرباءٍ إِذا أُكرِهَ صَل

The armor-smith made secure its vulnerable places,

every rivet ringing when put under strain.

كُلَّ يَومٍ مَنَعوا جامِلَهُم

وَمُرِنّاتٍ كَآرامِ تُبَل

Every day they protected their camel herd

and keening women like the gazelles of Tubal.

قَدَّموا إِذ قالَ قَيسٌ قَدَّموا

وَاِحفَظوا المَجدَ بِأَطرافِ الأَسَل

They advanced when Qays said, 'Advance,

and preserve glory with the points of spears!'

بَينَ إِرقاصٍ وَعَدوٍ صادِقٍ

ثُمَّ إِقدامٌ إِذا النِكسُ نَكَل

Between a jolting gallop and resolute running,

then a charge when the coward shrinks back.

فَصَلَقنا في مُرادٍ صَلقَةً

وَصُداءٍ أَلحَقَتهُم بِالثَلَل

We struck a fierce blow among Murad

and Suda', consigning them to ruin.

لَيلَةُ العُرقوبِ لَمّا غامَرَت

جَعفَرٌ تُدعى وَرَهطُ اِبنِ شَكَل

The night of al-'Urqub, when into the fray plunged

Ja'far, summoned, and the band of Ibn Shakal.

ثُمَّ أَنعَمنا عَلى سَيِّدِهِم

بَعدَما أَطلَعَ نَجداً وَأَبَل

Then we showed favor to their chief

after he had ascended high ground and escaped.

وَمَقامٍ ضَيِّقٍ فَرَّجتُهُ

بِمَقامي وَلِساني وَجَدَل

Many a difficult situation I relieved

by my stand, my tongue, and argument.

لَو يَقومُ الفيلُ أَو فَيّالُهُ

زَلَّ عَن مِثلِ مَقامي وَزَحَل

If the elephant or its driver were to stand there,

it would slip from such a position as mine and slide away.

وَلَدى النُعمانِ مِنّي مَوطِنٌ

بَينَ فاثورِ أُفاقٍ فَالدَحَل

Before al-Nu'man I took a stand,

between Fathur Ufaq and al-Dahal,

إِذ دَعَتني عامِرٌ أَنصُرُها

فَاِلتَقى الأَلسُنُ كَالنَبلِ الدُوَل

when 'Amir called upon me to champion it,

and tongues clashed like arrows exchanged in turns.

فَرَمَيتُ القَومَ رِشقاً صائِباً

لَيسَ بِالعُصلِ وَلا بِالمُقتَعِل

I shot at the opponents an unerring volley,

not of crooked shafts, nor of crudely fashioned ones:

رَقَمِيّاتٍ عَلَيها ناهِضٌ

تُكلِحُ الأَروَقَ مِنهُم وَالأَيَل

Raqami arrows bearing a fledged bird's plumage,

making their jutting-toothed and thick-necked men grimace.

فَاِنتَضَلنا وَاِبنُ سَلمى قاعِدٌ

كَعَتيقِ الطَيرِ يُغضي وَيُجَل

We traded shots while Ibn Salma sat,

like the noblest of birds, lowering his gaze, held in awe.

وَالهَبانيقُ قِيامٌ مَعَهُم

كُلُّ مَحجومٍ إِذا صُبَّ هَمَل

The attendants stood with them,

each holding a brimming vessel that streamed when poured,

تَحسُرُ الديباجَ عَن أَذرُعِهِم

عِندَ ذي تاجٍ إِذا قالَ فَعَل

drawing back the brocade from their arms

before a crowned man who acted when he spoke.

فَتَوَلَّوا فاتِراً مَشيُهُمُ

كَرَوايا الطِبعِ هَمَّت بِالوَحَل

They turned away, their gait sluggish,

like heavily laden water-camels about to founder in mud.

فَمَتى أَهلِك فَلا أَحفِلُهُ

بَجَلي الآنَ مِنَ العَيشِ بَجَل

Whenever I perish, I shall not heed it;

enough for me now of life—enough!

مِن حَياةٍ قَد مَلِلنا طولَها

وَجَديرٌ طولُ عَيشٍ أَن يُمَلّ

Of a life whose length we have wearied of;

the length of a life is rightly wearied of.

وَأَرى أَربَدَ قَد فارَقَني

وَمِنَ الأَرزاءِ رُزءٌ ذو جَلَل

I see that Arbad has left me,

and among calamities this is a loss of great magnitude.

مُمقِرٌ مُرٌّ عَلى أَعدائِهِ

وَعَلى الأَدنَينَ حُلوٌ كَالعَسَل

Acrid, bitter to his enemies,

but to his nearest kin sweet as honey.

في قُرومٍ سادَةٍ مِن قَومِهِ

نَظَرَ الدَهرُ إِلَيهِم فَاِبتَهَل

Among noble leaders, chiefs of his people,

Time fixed its gaze on them and pressed relentlessly.

فَأَخي إِن شَرِبوا مِن خَيرِهِم

وَأَبو الحَزّازِ مِن أَهلِ النَفَل

My brother, when they drank, was among their best,

and Abu al-Hazzaz was among the lavish givers.

يَذعَرُ البَركَ فَقَد أَفزَعَهُ

ناهِضٌ يَنهَضُ نَهضَ المُختَزَل

He frightens the kneeling camels, already startled by

one springing up with a lame man's lurch,

مُدمِنٌ يَجلو بِأَطرافِ الذُرى

دَنَسَ الأَسؤُقِ بِالعَضبِ الأَفَل

unceasingly cleansing, with the hump-tops,

the stain of the shanks, using a keen, notched blade.