قُصار كُلِّ فَتىً مُستَكمِلُ الخَطَر
أَن يَنحني لِقَضاءِ اللَهِ وَالقَدَر
The height of every accomplished man is to bow to the decree of Allah and fate,
And to meet the turns of time however they flow,
وَأَن يُقابِلَ صَرفَ الدَهرِ كَيفَ جَرى
بِالخَلقِ في عَبَراتِ العَينِ وَالعِبَر
With composure in the tears of the eyes and morals.
And to see others as himself except in form,
وَأَن يَرى غَيرَهُ مَعَ عَينِهِ شَرَعا
فَلَيسَ بَينَهُما فَرقٌ سِوى الصُوَر
So I see no mourner for a soul alone,
Except he mourns, if we understand, for all mankind.
فَما أَرى ناعِياً حَيا بِمُفرَدِهِ
إِلّا نَعى لَو عَقِلنا سائِرَ البَشَر
Life is but a procession escorting each of our dead,
And for the first of us it is the span of this life.
لَيسَ الحَياةُ سِوى تَشييعِ آخِرِنا
لِأَوَّلٍ فَهيَ هَذِهِ فُسحَةَ العُمُر
And for death to be absent at its watering places,
Though often a delay is followed by a firm taking.
وَأَن تُغِبَّ المَنايا في مَوارِدِها
فَرُبَّ تَركٍ يَليهِ أَخذٌ مُقتَدِر
He who grants it a day in its battles,
Has referred himself to its other days.
مَن سامَحتَهُ بِيَومٍ في مَصارِعِها
فَقَد أُحيلَ عَلى أَيّامِها الأُخَر
Time has not ceased to be deadly in its arenas,
Be they days white or nights dark.
لَم يَبرَحِ الدَهرَ فَتاكَ المَضارِبُ عَن
أَيّامِهِ البيضُ أَو لَيلاتِهِ السُمُر
It denied doubt of death and admonished and recompensed,
Guiding one who was deluded by the world.
كَفر بِرَيبِ المَنايا وَأَعظا وَجَزا
رُشداً لِمَن كانَ مِن دُنيا عَلى غُرَر
It makes people differ in their desires when alive,
And death unites all that is scattered.
تُخالِفُ الناسَ في الأَهواءِ حينَ حَيّوا
وَجَمَّعَ المَوتُ مِنهُ كُلَّ مُنتَثَر
And it may drive one into the cunning of his enemy,
And had he known he would have been purely untroubled.
وَقَد يَلُجُّ بِبَعضٍ كَيدَ شانِئِهِ
وَلَو دَرى لَصَفا صَفواً بِلا كَدَر
And he may seek victory over his foes,
While he is between the fangs of death and victory.
وَقَد يُحاوِلُ في أَعدائِهِ ظَفراً
وَأَنَّهُ بَينَ نابَ المَوتِ وَالظُفَر
How often has the bow of the feeble drawn back,
And the archer taken away the determination of the bowstring and the arrow.
كَم وَتَّرَت قَوسَ ضَعنٍ كَفَّ ذي تِرَةٍ
فَأَذهَبَ المَوتَ عَزمَ الوِتر والوَتِر
And tears wash away that which is painful in the heart,
As the rain makes the dust of the earth disappear.
وَالدَمعُ يَغسِلُ ما بِالقَلبِ مِن وَضِر
كَما يَزولُ غبارَ الأَرضِ بِالمَطَر
If the downpour were just to a tear it would have
Knowledge of a sea of tears endless.
لَو أَنصَفَ اليازِجي دَمعٌ لَكانَ لَهُ
كَعِلمِهِ بِحرَ دَمعٍ غَيرَ مُنحَصِر
Or if the fire of Abraham saw his death,
It would become a raging inferno from the burning embers.
أَو لَو دَرَت نارُ إِبراهيمُ مَصرَعَهُ
لِأَصبَحَت مِن جَوى لَفاحَةِ الشَرَر
Loss lost when it took away his mind,
Among the writers of prose and verse.
أَودى الرَدى حينَما أَودى بِمُهجَتِهِ
بَأَكتُبِ الوَقتِ مِن بُدوٍ وَحَضَر
By his brilliance the blind can almost see him,
And his eloquence that heals all distress.
بِذي الضِياءِ تَكادُ العَمي تُبصِرُهُ
وَذي البَيانِ الَّذي يَشفى مِنَ الحَصَر
After the wind of eloquence died down,
His compositions became conspicuously lucid.
مِن بَعدِ ما خَمَدَت ريحُ البَيانِ غَدَت
لَهُ بِهِ دَولَةٌ وَضّاحَةُ الغُرَر
A phrase whose rhyme shows no imbalance,
Like justice it doubts not excess or dearth.
عِبارَةٌ لا تَرى في رَصفِها قَلَقاً
كَالعَدلِ لَم يَشكُ مِن طولٍ وَلا قِصَر
You will meet no unsuitable place in it,
As if it came to match the meaning.
لا تَلتَقي مَوضِعاً فيها لَهُ بَدَل
كَأَنَّما جاءَت المَعنى عَلى قَدَر
Eloquent speech wept for him as was his due,
The weeping of all words that came from harm.
بَكَت لَهُ اللُغَةُ الفُصحى وَحَقَّ لَهُ
بُكاءَ كُلِّ كَلامٍ جاءَ عَن مُضَر
O traveller, pens complained of his absence,
And after you none of them remains unbroken.
يا راحِلاً شَكَتِ الأَقلامُ غَربَتَهُ
وَلَيسَ بَعدَكَ مِنها غَيرَ مُنكَسِر
They set forth among the eloquent of the age empty,
Without you they do not shine or illuminate.
نَهَجَت في بُلَغاءِ العَصرِ وارَدَةً
بِالحَقِّ لَولاكَ لَم تُسفِر وَلَم تُنِر
To you belongs your right without injustice or excess,
None deny the sun but the blind.
إِلَيكَ حَقَّكَ لا ظُلمَ وَلا سَرَف
لا يُنكِرُ الشَمسَ إِلّا فاقِدَ البَصَر
If critics blame you for haste,
Only the fruitful tree is stoned.
وَإِن يُؤاخِذكَ نِقادٌ بِبادِرَةٍ
فَلَيسَ يَرجُمُ إِلّا مُثمِرَ الشَجَر
And that which is burdensome in the full moon may be blamed,
But flaws do not take the essence of beauty from the moon.
وَقَد يُعابُ الَّذي في البَدرِ مِن كَلَفٍ
وَلَيسَ يَسلُبُ مَعنى الحُسنِ في القَمَر
To you my greetings with their gentleness,
Like the magic of your words or the breeze at dawn.
إِلَيكَ مِنّي تَحِيّاتٍ بِرِقَّتِها
كَسِحرِ لَفظِكَ أَو كَالنَفحِ في السَحَر
Go to you the peace of Allah from a man,
Past his prime but lasting in effect.
فَاِذهَب عَلَيكَ سَلامُ اللَهِ مِن رَجُلٍ
ماضى الحَشاشَةَ لَكَن خالِدَ الأَثَر
