سَلا عَن تَذَكُّرِهِ تُكتَما
وَكانَ رَهيناً بِها مُغرَما
He ceased calling Tuktam to mind,
though once he was her captive, deeply enamored.
وَأَقصَرَ عَنها وَآياتُها
تُذكّرُهُ داءَهُ الأَقدَما
He turned away from her, yet her traces
recall to him his oldest malady.
فَأَوصى الفَتى بِاِبتِناءِ العُلى
وَأَن لا يَخونَ وَلا يَأثَما
So he counseled the young man to build lofty honor,
never to betray and never to sin;
وَيَلبِسُ لِلدَهرِ إجلالَهُ
فَلَن يَبنِيَ الناسُ ما هَدَّما
to clothe himself in the reverence owed to Time,
for people can never rebuild what Time has torn down.
وَإِن أَنتَ لا قَيتَ في نَجدَةٍ
فَلا يَتَهَيَّبكَ أَن تَقدُما
And if you encounter the foe in a feat of valor,
do not let advancing fill you with dread.
فَإِنَّ المَنِيَّةَ مَن يَخشَها
فَسَوفَ تَصادِفُهُ أَينَما
For Death—whoever fears it—
will meet him wherever he may be.
وَأَن تَتَخَطّاكَ أَسبابُها
فَإِنَّ قُصاراكَ أَن تَهرَما
And if its causes pass you by,
the utmost you can reach is to grow old.
وَأَحبِب حَبيبَكَ حُبّاً رُوَيداً
فَلَيسَ يَعولُكَ أَن تَصرَما
Love your beloved with a measured love,
so parting will not overwhelm you;
فَتُظلَمَ بِالودِّ مِن وَصلِهِ
رَقيقٌ فَتَسفِهِ أَو تَندَما
lest love leave you wronged by one whose bond
is frail, and make you act foolishly or repent.
وَأَبغض بَغيضكَ بُغضاً رُوَيداً
إِذا أَنتَ حاوَلتَ أَن تَحكُما
And hate the one you hate with measured hate,
if you seek to judge with wisdom.
فَلَو أَنَّ مِن حَتفِهِ ناجِياً
لَأَلفَيتُهُ الصَدَعَ الأَعصَما
For if any creature could escape its death,
the sturdy, white-legged ibex would have done so:
بِإِسبيلَ أَلقَت بِهِ أَمُّهُ
عَلى رَأَسِ ذي حُبكَ أَيهَما
on Mount Isbīl his mother bore him,
upon a pathless summit of interwoven ridges.
إِذا شاءَ طالَعَ مَسجورَةٍ
تَرى حَولَها النَبعَ وَالساسَما
Whenever he wished, he climbed above a brimming pool;
around it, bow-wood and sāsam trees were seen.
يَكونُ لِأَعدائِهِ مَجهَلاً
مَضَلّاً وَكانَت لَهُ مَعلَما
To his enemies it was an unknown place,
a maze; but to him, a familiar landmark.
سَقَتها الرَواعِدُ مِن صَيّفٍ
وَإِن مِن خَريفٍ فَلَن يَعدَما
Summer thunderclouds watered it,
nor would it ever lack autumn rain.
أَتاحَ لَهُ الدَهرُ ذا وَفضَةٍ
يُقَلِّبُ في كَفِّهِ أَسهُما
Yet Time sent against him a man with a quiver,
turning arrows over in his palm.
فَراقِبهُ وَهوَ في قَترَةٍ
وَكانَ يَرهَبُ أَن يَكلَما
He watched him from inside a hunter’s blind,
afraid lest he merely wound him.
فَأَرسَلَ سَهماً لَهُ أَهزَعاً
فَشَكَّ نَواهِقَهُ وَالفَما
Then he shot at him a hurtling arrow,
which transfixed his throat-bones and mouth,
فَريغُ الغِرارُ عَلى قَدرِهِ
وَما كانَ يَرهَبُ أَن يُكلَما
wide-bladed and proportioned to his size;
yet he had never feared that he might be wounded.
فَظَلَّ يَشِبُّ كَأَنَّ الوَلو
عَ كانَ بِصِحَّتِهِ مُغرَما
He kept springing up, as though ardent longing
were enamored of his robust health.
أَتى حِصنَهُ ما أَتى تُبَّعاً
وَأَبرَهَةَ المَلِكَ الأَعظَما
His fastness met what had befallen Tubbaʿ
and Abraha, the mightiest king.
لُقَيمُ بنُ لُقمانَ مِن اِختِهِ
فَكانَ اِبنُ أُختٍ لَهُ وَاِبنَما
Luqaym son of Luqman was born of Luqman’s sister,
and so was both his sister’s son and his son.
لَيالي حُمَّقٍ فَاِستُحصِنَت
إِلَيهِ فَغُرَّ بِها مُظلِما
In nights of folly she had sought his protection,
and, in darkness, he was beguiled by her.
فَأَحبَلَها رَجلٌ نابَهُ
فَجاءَت بِهِ رَجُلاً مُحكَما
Thus he begot in her a man who would succeed him,
and she bore him a man of consummate judgment.
Sol 5.6