لَم تَبلُغِ الحَقَّ وَلَم تُنصِفِ
عَينٌ رَأَت بَيناً فَلَم تَذرِفِ
It has not fulfilled its duty, nor done justice—
You have not reached the truth, nor been fair,
an eye that saw parting but shed no tears.
An eye that saw clearly but did not shed a tear,
مِن كَلَفٍ أَن تَنقَضي ساعَةٌ
يَأتي بِها الدَهرُ وَلَم أَكلَفِ
It is love's anguish that an hour should pass,
I do not burden myself for an hour to pass
brought by time, without my falling in love.
That time brings and I did not burden myself,
لاتَدَعُ الأَحشاءَ إِلّا لَها
تَحَرُّقٌ ذاتُ الحَشا المُرهَفِ
She leaves the inward parts with nothing but
Do not leave the intestines except for it
burning—she of the slender waist.
The blazing guts of the shriveled,
يَضيعُ لُبُّ الصَبِّ في لَحظِها
ضَياعَهُ في القَهوَةِ القَرقَفِ
The lovesick man's reason is lost in her glance,
The essence of youth is lost in its glance
as it is lost in shiver-inducing wine.
Lost in the shallow coffeehouse,
صِفوَتِيَ الراحُ وَساعٍ بِها
فَدونَكَ العَيشَ الَّذي تَصطَفي
My choice is wine and one who brings it;
My elixir is the wide open wind, so yours is the life you choose,
so take the life you prefer.
I swear by God, and if not for the doubt
أَحلِفُ بِاللَهِ وَلَولا الَّذي
يَعرِضُ مِن شَكِّكَ لَم أَحلِفِ
I swear by God, and were it not for what
That comes from you I would not have sworn,
arises from your doubt, I would not swear.
I accept a pledge from a betraying trustee
أَقبَلُ مِن مُؤتَمَنٍ خائِنٍ
عَهداً وَلا مِن واعِدٍ مُخلِفِ
I accept from a faithless trustee
And not from one who promises but does not fulfill,
a pledge, but not from one who makes promises and breaks them.
When men’s generosity is clouded,
إِذا الرِجالُ اِعتَمَت أَجوادَهُم
فَاِسمُ إِلى الأَشرَفِ فَالأَشرَفِ
When men choose the generous among them,
Move towards the noblest, and the most noble,
so aspire to the noblest, then the next noblest.
Repel the accidents of time with the likes of my father Galib,
إِدفَع بِأَمثالِ أَبي غالِبٍ
عادِيَةَ الدَهرِ أَوِ اِستَعفِفِ
Ward off, through men like Abu Ghalib,
Or seek reconciliation,
time's onslaught, or refrain from begging.
He pleased al-Mu'tamid the Buyer,
أَرضاهُ لِلمُعتَمِدِ المُشتَري
حَظّاً وَلِلمُختَبِطِ المُعتَفي
I commend him to the man who looks to Jupiter
With a share, and the conniving profiteer,
for good fortune, and to the petitioner seeking gifts.
Moderation is his way but if
مِن شَأنِهِ القَصدُ وَلَكِنَّهُ
إِن يُعطِ في عارِفَةٍ يُسرِفِ
Moderation is his custom, yet
He gives freely he exceeds,
if he bestows a favor, he is lavish.
If people gathered for Okromah
لَو جُمِعَ الناسُ لِأُكرومَةٍ
وَلَم يَكُن في الجَمعِ لَم نَكتَفِ
If all men were gathered for a noble deed,
And none were there I would not be content,
and he were not among them, we would not be satisfied.
In an event with time in which I did not disgrace
وَوَقعَةٍ لِلدَهرِ بي لَم أَهِن
لِحَزِّها فِيَّ وَلَم أَضعُفِ
Many a blow time dealt me—I did not falter
Or weaken against its injury to me,
from the gash it made in me, nor did I weaken.
I was not the abased begging from it
ماكُنتُ بِالمُنخَزِلِ المُختَتي
فيها وَلا بِالسائِلِ المُلحِفِ
I was not one to withdraw and hide
Nor the insistent asker,
during it, nor an importunate beggar.
Another hosted him, so he transgressed,
ضافَتهُ أُخرى مِثلُها فَاِغتَدى
مُسانِدي أَو واقِفاً مَوقِفي
Another like it visited him, and he became
My aides or those standing in my position,
my supporter, or stood in my place,
Relying on what came to him
مُستَظهِراً يَحمِلُ ما نابَهُ
وَنابَني في المَغرَمِ المُجحِفِ
standing strong, bearing what befell him
And what came to me in biased injustice,
and befell me, in the crushing financial burden.
Increasing from all of me to all of him
يَزدادُ مِن كَلّي إِلى كَلِّهِ
تَوكيدَ ثِقلِ الراكِبِ المُردِفِ
He adds my burden to his own,
Confirming the heaviness of the backseat rider,
as a rider's weight increases with a passenger behind.
How often did a hand raise my state to his
كَم رَفَعَت حالي إِلى حالِهِ
يَدٌ مَتى تَخلُف غِنىً تُتلِفِ
How often my fortune has been raised to his
Whenever it falls short, it destroys,
by a hand that exhausts wealth whenever it replenishes it!
You were rewarded when their transgressor was treacherous
جُزيتَ إِذ فاجِرُهُم غادِرٌ
مَثوبَةَ البِرِّ لَدَينا الوَفي
May you be rewarded, while their wicked man is treacherous,
The reward of righteousness is loyal with us,
with the reward of goodness, for your faithfulness to us.
I sang to you many examples
غَنيتُ مِثلاً لَكَ في تالِدٍ
مِن مالِكَ الرَغبِ وَمُستَطرَفِ
I grew rich, your equal in long-held wealth
From your possession of desire and luxury,
from your ample fortune, and in newly acquired wealth.
And here the priority of one state over
وَهَهُنا رُجحانُ حالٍ عَلى
حالٍ فَخُذ بِالعَفوِ أَو أَسعِفِ
And here one condition outweighs
Another so take to pardon or give relief,
another; so show forbearance, or give aid.
With you is virtue so prepare a distribution
عِندَكَ فَضلٌ فَأَعِد قِسمَةً
تَرجِعُ في العَقدِ وَفي النَيِّفِ
You have a surplus; make a fresh division
That returns in the contract and in the fold,
that goes over the tens and the odd units.
Make it provision for the needy
تَجعَلُها رِفداً لِمُستَرفِدٍ
أَو سَلَفاً قَرَضاً لِمُستَسلِفِ
Make it a gift to someone seeking a gift,
Or a loan, debt for the borrower,
or an advance, a loan to someone seeking to borrow.
Come let us bring together our states
هَلُمَّ نَجمَع طَرَفَي حالِنا
إِلى سَواءٍ بَينَنا مُنصِفِ
Come, let us bring the two extremes of our fortunes
To equality between us, fair,
to a fair equality between us.
The states cannot match unless
وَما تَكافا الحالُ إِن لَم يَقَع
رَدٌّ مِنَ الأَقوى عَلى الأَضعَفِ
And fortunes will not be equal unless there is
There is a retort from the stronger to the weaker.
a giving back from the stronger to the weaker.
Sol 6.1