جَفا وِدُّهُ فَاِزوَرَّ أَو مَلَّ صاحِبُه
وَأَزرى بِهِ أَن لا يَزالَ يُعاتِبُه
His aloofness pained me, so I decided to visit him or put an end to our friendship.
I blamed him for not remaining a constant companion.
خَليلَيَّ لا تَستَنكِرا لَوعَةَ الهَوى
وَلا سَلوَةَ المَحزونِ شَطَّت حَبَاِئبُه
My friends, do not disdain the torment of passion,
Or the lament of the sorrowful when misfortunes befall them.
شَفى النَفسَ ما يَلقى بِعَبدَةَ عَينُهُ
وَما كانَ يَلقى قَلبُهُ وَطَبائِبُه
What his eyes behold brings joy to his soul,
As does what his heart and body endure.
فَأَقصَرَ عِرزامُ الفُؤادِ وَإِنَّما
يَميلُ بِهِ مَسُّ الهَوى فَيُطالِبُه
So the tether of his heart grew short, though
The touch of love inclines him and makes demands of him.
إِذا كانَ ذَوّاقاً أَخوكَ مِنَ الهَوى
مُوَجَّهَةً في كُلِّ أَوبٍ رَكائِبُه
When a brother of yours is smitten with passion,
His every desire is focused on the beloved.
فَخَلِّ لَهُ وَجهَ الفِراقِ وَلا تَكُن
مَطِيَّةَ رَحّالٍ كَثيرٍ مَذاهِبُه
So turn away and leave him be; do not be
Like the mount of a restless traveler going in all directions.
أَخوكَ الَّذي إِن رِبتَهُ قالَ إِنَّما
أَرَبتُ وَإِن عاتَبتَهُ لانَ جانِبُه
The brother who, when you show him affection says "I have been brought up well"
And when you reproach him claims no one takes his side.
إِذا كُنتَ في كُلِّ الذُنوبِ مُعاتِباً
صَديقَكَ لَم تَلقَ الَّذي لا تُعاتِبُه
If you blame your friend for every misstep,
You will not find one you never reproach.
فَعِش واحِداً أَو صِل أَخاكَ فَإِنَّهُ
مُقارف ذَنبٍ مَرَّةً وَمُجانِبُه
So live as a recluse or make peace with your brother,
For he commits a sin only once in a while.
إِذا أَنتَ لَم تَشرَب مِراراً عَلى القَذى
ظَمِئتَ وَأَيُّ الناسِ تَصفو مَشارِبُه
If you have not tasted bitterness from grit in water,
You will be thirsty, for no man's drink is pure.
وَلَيلٍ دَجوجِيٍّ تَنامُ بَناتُهُ
وَأَبناؤُهُ مِن هَولِهِ وَرَبائِبُه
On a dark night whose children sleep
While their fathers tremble in fear.
حَمَيتُ بِهِ عَيني وَعَينَ مَطِيَّتي
لَذيذَ الكَرى حَتّى تَجَلَّت عَصائِبُه
I peered with it, as did my mount's eye,
At the delightful, glistening starts, until its braids appeared.
وَماءٍ تَرى ريشَ الغَطاطِ بَجَوِّهِ
خَفِيِّ الحَيا ما إِن تَلينُ نَضائِبُه
At water that you see the feathers of wildfowl flutter
When the hidden reptiles stir its pondweed.
قَريبٍ مِن التَغريرِ ناءٍ عَن القُرى
سَقاني بِهِ مُستَعمِلُ اللَيلِ دائِبُه
Near to the direct route, remote from settlements,
The guide of night had me drink it, indefatigable.
حَليفُ السُرى لا يَلتَوي بِمَفازَةٍ
نَساهُ وَلا تَعتَلُّ مِنها حَوالِبُه
The intimate friend of journeys does not wander lost,
Forgetting it so that his mind strays.
أَمَقُّ غُرَيرِيٌّ كَأَنَّ قُتودَهُ
عَلى مُثلَثٍ يَدمى مِنَ الحُقبِ حاجِبُه
A firm-standing male oryx, as if his stubby horns
On a triangle gore from the long passage of time.
غَيورٍ عَلى أَصحابِهِ لا يَرومُهُ
خَليطٌ وَلا يَرجو سِواهُ صَواحِبُه
Jealous regarding his companions, no riffraff mixes with him,
No one hopes for intimates but them.
إِذا ما رَعى سَنَّينَ حاوَلَ مَسحَلاً
يَجِدُّ بِهِ تَعذامُهُ وَيُلاعِبُه
When he feeds for years, he tries his hand at a young female,
Sporting with her while his virility and desire increase.
أَقَبَّ نَفى أَبناءَهُ عَن بَناتِهِ
بِذي الرَضمِ حَتّى ما تُحَسُّ ثَوالِبُه
He refuses his sons from his daughters,
With the branding iron, so their pedigree is undetectable.
رَعى وَرَعَينَ الرَطبَ تِسعينَ لَيلَةً
عَلى أَبَقٍ وَالرَوضُ تَجري مَذانِبُه
He herded ripe dates for ninety nights
In an enclosure, while its meadows teemed at its sides.
فَلَمّا تَوَلّى الحَرُّ وَاِعتَصَرَ الثَرى
لَظى الصَيفِ مِن نَجمٍ تَوَقَّدَ لاهِبُه
When the heat declined and the ground was firm,
The summer blazed from a star rising in flames.
وَطارَت عَصافيرُ الشَقائِقِ وَاِكتَسى
مِنَ الآلِ أَمثالَ المُلاءِ مَسارِبُه
The birds of the anemones flew, and were clothed
In types of finery like the adornments of brides.
وَصَدَّ عَنِ الشَولِ القَريعُ وَأَقفَرَت
ذُرى الصَمدِ مِمّا اِستَودَعَتهُ مَواهِبُه
The stork warded them off the meadows, and the jujube bushes
Were stripped of the riches they hoarded in their purses.
وَلاذَ المَها بِالظِلِّ وَاِستَوفَضَ السَفا
مِنَ الصَيفِ نَتّاجٌ تَخُبُّ مَواكِبُه
The oryxes sought the shade; the herd’s produce wandered
Aimlessly through the summer, their leaders perplexed.
غَدَت عانَةٌ تَشكو بِأَبصارِها الصَدى
إِلى الجَأبِ إِلّا أَنَّها لا تُخاطِبُه
Until they were ailing, complaining with their eyes to the echo,
To the rainclouds, though they do not address them.
وَظَلَّ عَلى عَلياءَ يَقسِمُ أَمرَهُ
أَيَمضي لِوِردٍ باكِراً أَم يُواتِبُه
While upon the hillside he divided his time,
Debating whether to go to the early water-spring or wait for it.
فَلَمّا بَدا وَجهُ الزِماعِ وَراعَهُ
مِنَ اللَيلِ وَجهٌ يَمَّمَ الماءَ قارِبُه
When the face of evening appeared, and the night had announced it
With a face leading the water to its well,
فَباتَ وَقَد أَخفى الظَلامُ شُخوصَها
يُناهِبُها أُمَّ الهُدى وَتُناهِبُه
He spent the night concealing them as the darkness enfolded them,
The mother of guidance attacking while he attacked her.
إِذا رَقَصَت في مَهمَهِ اللَيلِ ضَمَّها
إِلى نَهَجٍ مِثلِ المَجَرَّةِ لاحِبُه
When she danced in the deep darkness of night, he gathered her
To a path like that of a shooting star careening onward.
إِلى أَن أَصابَت في الغَطاطِ شَريعَةً
مِنَ الماءِ بِالأَهوالِ حُفَّت جَوانِبُه
Until she reached a tract of water in the pond,
Whose shores the terrors had encircled.
بِها صَخَبُ المُستَوفِداتِ عَلى الوَلى
كَما صَخِبَت في يَومِ قَيظٍ جَنادِبُه
At it the young females cried out in joy,
As the sandgrouse cry out on a day of blazing heat.
فَأَقبَلَها عُرضَ السَرِيِّ وَعَينُهُ
تَرودُ وَفي الناموسِ مَن هُوَ راقِبُه
He boldly approached, his eye roving,
While in the mosquito net was one watching over her.
أَخو صيغَةٍ زُرقٍ وَصَفراءَ سَمحَةٍ
يُجاذِبُها مُستَحصِدٌ وَتُجاذِبُه
A brother of brown, yellow, and gray partridges,
Wrestled with her while the reaper wrestled him in turn,
إِذا رَزَمَت أَنَّت وَأَنَّ لَها الصَدى
أَنينَ المَريضِ لِلمَريضِ يُجاوِبُه
When she shrieked that she, she alone, possessed the echo—
The moan of the sick for the sick, responding to him,
كَأَنَّ الغِنى آلى يَميناً يَؤودُهُ
إِذا ما أَتاها مُخفِقاً أَو تُصاخِبُه
As if she were an heiress bequeathed wealth
Whether a failure or successful man comes asking her hand.
يَؤولُ إِلى أُمِّ اِبنَتَينِ يَؤودُهُ
إِذا ما أَتاها مُخفِقاً أَو تُصاخِبُه
She favors a mother of two daughters, bringing him wealth
Whether a failure or successful man comes asking her hand.
فَلَمّا تَدَلّى في السَرِيِّ وَغَرَّهُ
غَليلُ الحَشا مِن قانِصٍ لا يُواثِبُه
When he dangled in the enclosure, excited
By the birds he could catch, none escaping him,
رَمى فَأَمَرَّ السَهمُ يَمسَحُ بَطنَهُ
وَلَبّاتِهُ فَاِنصاعَ وَالمَوتُ كارِبُه
He shot, and the arrow coursed over his belly
And side, so he buckled, and death his companion.
وَوافَقَ أَحجاراً رَدَعنَ نَضِيَّهُ
فَأَصبَحَ مِنها عامِراهُ وَشاخِبُه
He encountered rocks that checked his advance,
And he found it settled, though bleak and desolate.
يَخافُ المَنايا إِن تَرَحَّلتُ صاحِبي
كَأَنَّ المَنايا في المُقامِ تُناسِبُه
My companion feared death if I departed,
As if death would keep him company if he stayed.
فَقُلتُ لَهُ إِنَّ العِراقَ مُقامُهُ
وَخيمٌ إِذا هَبَّت عَلَيكَ جَنائِبُه
So I said to him, “Iraq is your place of abode,
A tent, if its sides blow fierce winds upon you.”
لِعَلَّكَ تَستَدني بِسَيرِكَ في الدُجى
أَخا ثِقَةٍ تُجدي عَلَيكَ مَناقِبُه
Perhaps as you travel in the darkness,
You will meet a trusted brother whose merits will benefit you,
مِنَ الحَيِّ قَيسٍ قَيسِ عَيلانَ إِنَّهُم
عُيونُ النَدى مِنهُم تُرَوّى سَحائِبُه
One of Qays of the tribe of ‘Aylan—they
Are springs of dew; their clouds pour down rain.
إِذا المُجحِدُ المَحرومُ ضَمَّت حِبالَهُ
حَبائِلُهُم سيقَت إِلَيهِ رَغائِبُه
When the obstinate misguided one's ties are bound,
Their knots are cast to him, though he disdains them.
وَيَومٍ عَبورِيٍّ طَغا أَو طَغا بِهِ
لَظاهُ فَما يَروى مِنَ الماءِ شارِبُه
On a day of trial when the water skin bursts with him,
Or bursts on him, no drink will quench his burning thirst.
رَفَعتُ بِهِ رَحلي عَلى مُتَخَطرِفٍ
يَزِفُّ وَقَد أَوفى عَلى الجَذلِ راكِبُه
I set out with it on a camel surging ahead
While her rider kept pace though wearied and exhausted.
وَأَغبَرَ رَقّاصِ الشُخوصِ مَضِلَّةً
مَوارِدُهُ مَجهولَةٌ وَسَباسِبُه
My guide through the meadows went astray,
Its stopping places unknown and its passes obscure.
لِأَلقى بَني عَيلانَ إِنَّ فَعالَهُم
تَزيدُ عَلى كُلِّ الفَعالِ مَراكِبُه
To meet the clan of ‘Aylan—their deeds
Surpass all deeds as their riders surpass all riders.
أُلاكَ الأُلى شَقّوا العَمى بِسُيوفِهِم
عَنِ الغَيِّ حَتّى أَبصَرَ الحَقَّ طالِبُه
Exterminators of the doomed, they split blindness with their swords
From falsehood until the seeker of truth sees clearly.
إِذا رَكِبوا بِالمَشرَفِيَّةِ وَالقَنا
وَأَصبَحَ مَروانٌ تُعَدُّ مَواكِبُه
When they ride out on the Mashrafiyyah and Mina Plain,
You would think Marwan's riders beyond count.
فَأَيُّ اِمرِىءٍ عاصٍ وَأَيُّ قَبيلَةٍ
وَأَرعَنَ لا تَبكي عَلَيهِ قَرائِبُه
What obstinate man, what tribe bellows
That their kinsmen do not mourn them when we make war?
رُوَيداً تَصاهَل بِالعِراقِ جِيادُنا
كَأَنَّكَ بِالضَحّاكِ قَد قامَ نادِبُه
Our steeds steadily penetrated Iraq
As if you were at Dhakwan's funeral and the keen woman wailed.
وَسامٍ لِمَروانٍ وَمِن دونِهِ الشَجا
وَهَولٌ كَلُجِّ البَحرِ جاشَت غَوارِبُه
It included Saam going against Marwan, and beyond them jujubes
And terrors—like the swelling of the sea, its billows turbulent.
أَحَلَّت بِهِ أُمُّ المَنايا بَناتِها
بِأَسيافِنا إِنّا رَدى مَن نُحارِبُه
Through our swords, we let the daughters of Death
Loose upon them. We are the sons of kings; above us flutter their banners.
وَما زالَ مِنّا مُمسِكٌ بِمَدينَةٍ
يُراقِبُ أَو ثَغرٍ تُخافُ مَرازِبُه
We have never ceased maintaining control over a city
Or a border whose fortress we fear might fall.
إِذا المَلِكُ الجَبّارُ صَعَّرَ خَدَّهُ
مَشَينا إِلَيهِ بِالسُيوفِ نُعاتِبُه
When an overbearing king scowls,
We march against him with swords, censuring him.
وَكُنّا إِذا دَبَّ العَدُوُّ لِسُخطِنا
وَراقَبَنا في ظاهِرٍ لا نُراقِبُه
Whenever the enemy was roused by our wrath
And watched us in the open without watching us,
رَكِبنا لَهُ جَهراً بِكُلِّ مُثَقَّفٍ
وَأَبيَضَ تَستَسقي الدِماءَ مَضارِبُه
We would ride out against them openly with each soldier
In white, seeking blood, their blades like lightning.
وَجَيشٍ كَجُنحِ اللَيلِ يَرجُفُ بِالحَصى
وَبِالشَولِ وَالخَطِّيِّ حُمرُ ثَعالِبُه
An army that shakes the pebbles and meadows
In throngs, their piebald steeds red, their banners white.
غَدَونا لَهُ وَالشَمسُ في خِدرِ أُمِّها
تُطالِعُنا وَالطَلُّ لَم يَجرِ ذائِبُه
We marched against them while the sun was still in her bedchamber,
Beholding us, dawn not yet having cast its robes.
بِضَربٍ يَذوقُ المَوتَ مَن ذاقَ طَعمَهُ
وَتُدرِكُ مَن نَجّى الفِرارُ مَثالِبُه
With a blow whose taste is death to him who tastes it,
While he who flees for life meets his fate nonetheless.
كَأَنَّ مُثارَ النَقعِ فَوقَ رُؤُسِهِم
وَأَسيافَنا لَيلٌ تَهاوى كَواكِبُه
As if sparks from the flint were above their heads
While our swords, like the night, rained falling stars.
بَعَثنا لَهُم مَوتَ الفُجاءَةِ إِنَّنا
بَنو المُلكِ خَفّاقٌ عَلَينا سَبائِبُه
We unleashed on them the sudden death. We
Are the sons of kings; above us flutter their banners.
فَراحوا فَريقاً في الإِسارِ وَمِثلُهُ
قَتيلٌ وَمِثلٌ لاذَ بِالبَحرِ هارِبُه
Some they took captive, and as many
Lay slain, and a like number fled to the sea.
وَأَرعَنَ يَغشى الشَمسَ لَونُ حَديدِهِ
وَتَخلِسُ أَبصارَ الكُماةِ كَتائِبُه
The neighing of Ar'ar covered the face of his sword,
And the ranks of archers blinked from its blows.
تَغَصُّ بِهِ الأَرضُ الفَضاءُ إِذا غَدا
تُزاحِمُ أَركانَ الجِبالِ مَناكِبُه
The earth, the desert is choked with him when he marches,
His pillar-like legs jostling the mountain crags.
كَأَنَّ جَناباوَيهِ مِن خَمِسِ الوَغى
شَمامٌ وَسَلمى أَو أَجاً وَكَواكِبُه
As if his withers rise from the fray
Like Thamud and Sulum or Aj and its celestial bodies.
تَرَكنا بِهِ كَلباً وَقَحطانَ تَبتَغي
مُجيراً مِنَ القَتلِ المُطِلِّ مَقانِبُه
We left Kalb and Qahtan there, seeking
Refuge from slaughter perpetually stabbing them.
أَباحَت دِمَشقاً خَيلُنا حينَ أُلجِمَت
وَآبَت بِها مَغرورَ حِمصٍ نَوائِبُه
Our steeds made Damascus permissible when they stormed it,
And the deluded people of Hims met its disasters.
وَنالَت فِلِسطيناً فَعَرَّدَ جَمعُها
عَنِ العارِضِ المُستَنِّ بِالمَوتِ حاصِبُه
It attained Palestine, and its army
Fled from the deadly blows of death's swordsman.
وَقَد نَزَلَت مِنّا بِتَدمُرَ نَوبَةٌ
كَذاكَ عُروضُ الشَرِّ تَعرو نَوائِبُه
Indeed we unleashed a raid upon Palmyra
For so does the cycle of evil show its disasters.
تَعودُ بِنَفسٍ لا تَزِلُّ عَنِ الهُدى
كَما زاغَ عَنهُ ثابِتٌ وَأَقارِبُه
It returns to a soul that never swerves from guidance
As Thabit and his kin deviated from it.
دَعا اِبنَ سِماكٍ لِلغَوايَةِ ثابِتٌ
جِهاراً وَلَم يُرشِد بَنيهِ تَجارِبُه
Thabit invited the misguided Ibn Simak openly
And did not guide his sons by his experiences.
وَنادى سَعيداً فَاِستَصَبَّ مِنَ الشَقا
ذَنوباً كَما صُبَّت عَلَيهِ ذَنائِبُه
He summoned Sa'id, who was struck by misery
As sins were poured upon him like heavy rain.
وَمِن عَجَبٍ سَعيُ اِبنِ أَغنَمَ فيهِمُ
وَعُثمانَ إِنَّ الدَهرَ جَمُّ عَجائِبُه
The striving of Ibn Ahnam's son among them is wondrous,
As are ‘Uthman—time's wonders are indeed strange.
وَما مِنهُما إِلّا وَطارَ بِشَخصِهِ
نَجيبٌ وَطارَت لِلكِلابِ رَواجِبُه
Yet from them came only noble souls, while
The dregs went to the dogs, their coffers empty.
أَمَرنا بِهِم صَدرَ النَهارِ فَصُلِّبوا
وَأَمسى حَميدٌ يَنحِتُ الجِذعَ صالِبُه
At dawn we ordered them crucified,
And by evening Humaid was carving their crosses.
وَباطَ اِبنُ رَوحٍ لِلجَماعَةِ إِنَّهُ
زَأَرنا إِلَيهِ فَاِقشَعَرَّت ذَوائِبُه
But Ibn Rauh sided with the faction—he
Let out a roar at us, and his sides shuddered.
وَبِالكوفَةِ الحُبلى جَلَبنا بِخَيلِنا
عَلَيهِم رَعيلَ المَوتِ إِنّا جَوالِبُه
At fertile Kufa we brought against them with our steeds
The vanguard of death—we are its marauding warriors.
أَقَمنا عَلى هَذا وَذاكَ نِساءَها
مَآتِمَ تَدعو لِلبُكا فَتُجاوِبُه
We held funeral rites for this and that woman there,
Crying for weeping, each answering the others,
أَيامى وَزَوجاتٍ كَأَنَّ نِهائَها
عَلى الحُزنِ أَرآمُ المَلا وَرَبارِبُه
Widows and wives who seemed in their sorrow
Afflicted like the stricken, wailing old women.
بَكَينَ عَلى مِثلِ السِنانِ أَصابَهُ
حِمامٌ بِأَيدينا فَهُنَّ نَوادِبُه
They wept for the likes of Sinan, whom
Our pigeons struck down by our hands, so they mourned him.
فَلَمّا اِشتَفَينا بِالخَليفَةِ مِنهُمو
وَصالَ بِنا حَتّى تَقَضَّت مَآرِبُه
When we were satisfied by slaying the Caliph among them,
And fate had accomplished all his affairs,
دَلَفنا إِلى الضَحّاكِ نَصرِفُ بِالرَدى
وَمَروانُ تَدمى مِن جُذامَ مَخالِبُه
We crossed over to Dhakwan, wreaking havoc,
While Marwan bled from the wounds of our claws.
مُعِدّينَ ضِرغاماً وَأَسوَدَ سالِخاً
حُتوفاً لِمَن دَبَّت إِلَينا عَقارِبُه
Preparing threshing floors and flails
For those whose scorpions crept toward us.
وَما أَصبَحَ الضَحّاكُ إِلّا كَثابِتٍ
عَصانا فَأَرسَلنا المَنِيَّةَ تادِبُه
By morning Dhakwan was left like Thabit:
A rebel, so we sent death to discipline him.
