فُؤادٌ ما تُسَلّيهِ المُدامُ
وَعُمرٌ مِثلُ ما تَهَبُ اللِئامُ
A heart that wine cannot console,
A life as meager as a miser's gift,
وَدَهرٌ ناسُهُ ناسٌ صِغارٌ
وَإِن كانَت لَهُم جُثَثٌ ضِخامُ
An age whose people are petty and small,
Even though their bodies loom vast and large.
وَما أَنا مِنهُمُ بِالعَيشِ فيهِم
وَلَكِن مَعدِنُ الذَهَبِ الرَغامُ
I am not one of them, though I dwell among them;
For the matrix of gold is merely dust.
أَرانِبُ غَيرَ أَنَّهُمُ مُلوكٌ
مُفَتَّحَةٌ عُيونُهُمُ نِيامُ
Rabbits they are—though they title themselves kings,
With eyes wide open, yet sound asleep.
بِأَجسامٍ يَحَرُّ القَتلُ فيها
وَما أَقرانُها إِلّا الطَعامُ
Bodies so soft the killing blow is bewildered,
And whose only adversaries are plates of food.
وَخَيلٍ ما يَخِرُّ لَها طَعينٌ
كَأَنَّ قَنا فَوارِسِها ثُمامُ
Horses before which no pierced victim falls,
As though their riders' lances were blades of grass.
خَيلُكَ أَنتَ لا مَن قُلتَ خِلّي
وَإِن كَثُرَ التَجَمُّلُ وَالكَلامُ
Your steed alone is yours, not he whom you called "friend,"
No matter how much flattery and talk abound.
وَلَو حيزَ الحِفاظُ بِغَيرِ عَقلٍ
تَجَنَّبَ عُنقَ صَيقَلِهِ الحُسامُ
If loyalty could be held without wisdom's guide,
The sword would spare the neck of the one who polished it.
وَشِبهُ الشَيءِ مُنجَذِبٌ إِلَيهِ
وَأَشبَهُنا بِدُنيانا الطِغامُ
Like is drawn to like by nature's law,
And the riffraff are most suited to this world.
وَلَو لَم يَعلُ إِلّا ذو مَحَلٍّ
تَعالى الجَيشُ وَاِنحَطَّ القَتامُ
If none but the worthy ever rose to heights,
The army would tower high while the dust settled low.
وَلَو لَم يَرعَ إِلّا مُستَحِقٌّ
لِرُتبَتِهِ أَسامَهُمُ المُسامُ
And if none but the deserving grazed the land,
The shepherd would pasture them in their rightful place.
وَمَن خَبَرَ الغَواني فَالغَواني
ضِياءٌ في بَواطِنِهِ ظَلامُ
He who knows the ways of fair maidens finds
A radiant light concealing darkness within.
إِذا كانَ الشَبابُ السُكرَ وَالشَيـ
ـبُ هَمّاً فَالحَياةُ هِيَ الحِمامُ
If youth is a drunken stupor, and old age
Is only grief, then life is truly death.
وَما كُلٌّ بِمَعذورٍ بِبُخلٍ
وَلا كُلٌّ عَلى بُخلٍ يُلامُ
Not every soul is excused for being miserly,
Nor is every soul to be blamed for thrift.
وَلَم أَرَ مِثلَ جِيراني وَمِثلي
لِمِثلي عِندَ مِثلِهِمِ مُقامُ
I have never seen the likes of my neighbors and me—
That one like me should dwell among the likes of them.
بِأَرضٍ ما اِشتَهَيتَ رَأَيتَ فيها
فَلَيسَ يَفوتُها إِلّا الكَرامُ
In a land where you see whatever you desire,
Where nothing is lacking—save for noble men.
فَهَلّا كانَ نَقصُ الأَهلِ فيها
وَكانَ لِأَهلِها مِنها التَمامُ
Would that the scarcity lay in its resources,
And that its people possessed that abundance instead.
بِها الجَبَلانِ مِن صَخرٍ وَفَخرٍ
أَنافا ذا المُغيثُ وَذا اللِكامُ
Within it stand two mountains: one of rock, one of glory;
Both tower high: this is the Patron, and that is al-Likam.
وَلَيسَت مِن مَواطِنِهِ وَلَكِن
يَمُرُّ بِها كَما مَرَّ الغَمامُ
This land is not his native home, and yet
He passes over it just as the rain-cloud passes.
سَقى اللَهُ اِبنَ مُنجِبَةٍ سَقاني
بِدَرٍّ ما لِراضِعِهِ فِطامُ
May God water the son of the noble mother who watered me
With a bounty from which there is no weaning.
وَمَن إِحدى فَوائِدِهِ العَطايا
وَمَن إِحدى عَطاياهُ الدَوامُ
Among his many benefits are his gifts,
And among his gifts is the gift of permanence.
فَقَد خَفِيَ الزَمانُ بِهِ عَلَينا
كَسِلكِ الدُرِّ يُخفيهِ النِظامُ
Through him, the ravages of Time are hidden from us,
As the string is hidden by the pearls it holds in line.
تَلَذُّ لَهُ المُروءَةُ وَهيَ تُؤذي
وَمَن يَعشَق يَلَذُّ لَهُ الغَرامُ
Virtue delights him, though it brings him pain,
For he who truly loves finds pleasure in the burning.
تَعَلَّقَها هَوى قَيسٍ لِلَيلى
وَواصَلها فَلَيسَ بِهِ سَقامُ
He clings to glory as Qays clung to Layla,
Yet he attained her, leaving no sickness in his soul.
يَروعُ رَكانَةً وَيَذوبُ ظَرفاً
فَما نَدري أَشَيخٌ أَم غُلامُ
He strikes awe with his gravity, yet melts with charm;
So we know not: is he a wise elder or a youth?
وَتَملِكُهُ المَسائِلُ في نَداهُ
وَأَمّا في الجِدالِ فَلا يُرامُ
Petitions rule him when it comes to his bounty,
But in the heat of battle, he remains unconquered.
وَقَبضُ نَوالِهِ شَرَفٌ وَعِزٌّ
وَقَبضُ نَوالِ بَعضِ القَومِ ذامُ
To receive his gift is an honor and a glory,
While accepting from others is a mark of shame.
أَقامَت في الرِقابِ لَهُ أَيادٍ
هِيَ الأَطواقُ وَالناسُ الحَمامُ
His favors have settled around men's necks,
Like collars, turning people into ringed doves.
إِذا عُدَّ الكِرامُ فَتِلكَ عِجلٌ
كَما الأَنواءُ حينَ تُعَدُّ عامُ
When noble men are counted, the tribe of 'Ijl stands forth,
Essential as the seasons that make up the year.
تَقي جَبَهاتُهُم ما في ذَراهُم
إِذا بِشِفارِها حَمِيَ اللِطامُ
Their foreheads shield those under their protection,
When the fray heats up with the clash of blades.
وَلَو يَمَّمتُهُم في الحَشرِ تَجدو
لَأَعطَوكَ الَّذي صَلَّوا وَصاموا
If you sought them out on Judgment Day to beg,
They would give you the reward of their prayers and fasts.
فَإِن حَلُموا فَإِنَّ الخَيلَ فيهِم
خِفافٌ وَالرِماحُ بِها عُرامُ
If they show mildness, know that their steeds
Are swift, and their lances possess a fierce bite.
وَعِندَهُمُ الجِفانُ مُكَلَّلاتٍ
وَشَزرُ الطَعنِ وَالضَربُ التُؤامُ
With them are feasting bowls heaped high with meat,
And oblique thrusts, and blows dealt in pairs.
نُصَرِّعُهُم بِأَعيُنِنا حَياءً
وَتَنبو عَن وُجوهِهِمِ السِهامُ
We cast our eyes down before them in bashful awe,
While arrows glance harmlessly off their faces.
قَبيلٌ يَحمِلونَ مِنَ المَعالي
كَما حَمَلَت مِنَ الجَسَدِ العِظامُ
A tribe bearing a burden of noble deeds,
Vital as the bones that bear up the body.
قَبيلٌ أَنتَ أَنتَ وَأَنتَ مِنهُم
وَجَدُّكَ بِشرٌ المَلِكُ الهُمامُ
A tribe—and you, O matchless one, are of them,
And your forefather is Bishr, the gallant king.
لِمَن مالٌ تُمَزَّقُهُ العَطايا
وَيَشرَكُ في رَغائِبِهِ الأَنامُ
Who possesses wealth that generosity tears to shreds?
A bounty in which all mankind takes a share.
وَلا نَدعوكَ صاحِبَهُ فَتَرضى
لِأَنَّ بِصُحبَةٍ يَجِبُ الذِمامُ
We do not call you its master, lest you be pleased,
Since mastery implies a duty to protect what one owns.
تُحايِدُهُ كَأَنَّكَ سامِرِيٌّ
تُصافِحُهُ يَدٌ فيها جُذامُ
You shun your wealth as if you were the Samaritan,
Whose hand recoils from the touch of a leper.
إِذا ما العالِمونَ عَرَوكَ قالوا
أَفِدنا أَيُّها الحِبرُ الإِمامُ
When the learned come to you, they proclaim:
"Teach us, O great scholar and leader!"
إِذا ما المُعلِمونَ رَأَوكَ قالوا
بِهَذا يُعلَمُ الجَيشُ اللُهامُ
And when the masters of war behold you, they say:
"From him, the vast armies learn their art."
لَقَد حَسُنَت بِكَ الأَوقاتُ حَتّى
كَأَنَّكَ في فَمِ الدَهرِ اِبتِسامُ
The times have been made fair by your presence,
As though you were a smile upon the lips of Time.
وَأُعطيتَ الَّذي لَم يُعطَ خَلقٌ
عَلَيكَ صَلاةُ رَبِّكَ وَالسَلامُ
You have been gifted what no other soul has received;
Upon you be the blessings of your Lord, and peace.
