Sol 6.1

  1. O remnants of the tribe's camp, peace be upon you,

    and may the clouds' downpour water your ruins.

  2. What became of the tribe we once knew

    as our neighbors amid the dwellings of this place?

  3. We turned our worn-out mounts toward the ruins,

    where we thought we discerned traces of the tents.

  4. We turned aside to greet them and there fulfill

    our observance of the covenant and the bond of honor's claim.

  5. But the campsite remained mute and still did not reply—

    and how could effaced remains answer in words?

  6. And amid their traces they furnished us with

    the whisperings of longing and the agony of passion.

  7. Long have the traces of the protected grounds stirred

    ardent yearning in the love-bewildered lover.

  8. And often his longings are stirred by

    the lightning's flash and the doves' lament.

  9. When the east wind at dawn brought us

    lavender's fragrance and the scented breeze of balsam,

  10. longing returned and love came back,

    and the eye overflowed, streaming, streaming.

  11. And it reminded us of our days with loved ones,

    and the beautiful, bashful, comely women—

  12. fair-skinned, soft and full-figured, delicate of limb,

    restraining their gaze as though touched by sickness,

  13. like branches of the ban tree, swaying with

    supple bending and balanced stature.

  14. She visits us out of love, and we visit her,

    mutually sharing and partaking in love.

  15. And we are amid the shades of love,

    and we follow love and defy reproach.

  16. And amid the gardens of the hills, we would give our all for—

    where the bud-sheaths have opened into flowers—

  17. the company of young men endowed with joy,

    and women singers with beautiful melodies,

  18. and a lithe young gazelle who hastens for us

    among the drinking companions with cups of wine,

  19. from an aged, golden maiden of Karkh,

    like musk when her seal was broken.

  20. Until gray hair shone at my hair's parting,

    white as dawn emerging in the darkness.

  21. Then truth stood clear and guidance shone,

    and waywardness desisted and passion ceased.

  22. And the firm resolves of piety obliged us to

    avoid rebuke and renounce sins.

  23. In every state of ours, we delighted

    in wholesome things, and denied ourselves the forbidden.

  24. Why, over what must pass and vanish,

    do people compete, and why this jostling?

  25. My dear brother, through God have no need

    of sins; hold firmly to His protection.

  26. And beware of the world and its deceptions,

    for the world is only possessions doomed to crumble.

  27. And if you cling to it, you only

    grasp tattered, rotting cords.

  28. Good things would have departed, but for the sons of

    Nabhan, the noble masters of generosity,

  29. and the bounty of Kahlan, generosity's ally,

    Abu al-Ma'ali, possessor of great benefactions.

  30. Blessed and auspicious of brow,

    bright-faced, radiant, handsome of feature,

  31. cheerful-faced and affable, with him there are

    joy and smiles for those who ask him.

  32. Refined in judgment, keen of intellect,

    strengthened in resolve, far-reaching in aim,

  33. he works to further the cause of high honor,

    with fine planning and careful attention.

  34. And the fierce horseman is borne at a gallop by

    a handsome, broad-barreled steed that fills its girth,

  35. long and high of neck, short of back,

    wide-mouthed, with an ornamented bridle cheek-strap.

  36. His are the mighty crags of eminence and the peaks,

    and his are glory's withers and its hump.

  37. His forebears and fathers are the Azd

    and the 'Atkis, kings of humankind,

  38. possessors of high honors, generosity, and wisdom,

    and of might, prosperity, and vengeance.

  39. Rather, men of chastity; their dwelling is a refuge,

    mighty men whose neighbor suffers no injustice.

  40. Riders of horses lean of loin,

    shaggy, swift-running, stirring up dust.

  41. No people feel safe from them, as is their wont,

    with a vast host and an all-devouring army.

  42. O Abu al-Ma'ali, may you live in blessing,

    safeguarded amid wealth and permanence.

  43. Long enjoying life, may there come to you all you

    hope for, in the blessings of the 'tale-bearer' [unclear wording],

  44. Muhammad—may you always be granted through him

    the fullest shares from the abundance of goodness.

  45. And rightly do you place hope in him, for he is

    the noblest newborn and the purest boy.

  46. May God gladden you through him as a suckling,

    blessed in the cradle until weaning.

  47. Then may God show you in him contentment

    and your soul's desire, until puberty.

  48. Then may you see the beauty of his character

    in his stations and the excellence of his service.

  49. Then may they both live for all time,

    in bliss and harmonious union.

  50. And may time never cease bringing back to you,

    as you desire, the months of fasting:

  51. fasting, breaking the fast, and Eid, through to

    Adha and sacrifice—thus every year.

  52. And take this radiant ode, strung in verse,

    as though it were pearls set upon a string.

  53. Thought fashioned it, and one with a mind

    ablaze like the flame of kindled fire.

Sol 6.1